A great site for new musical gear
Written: Sep 05 '01

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The Bottom Line If you are looking for new gear and you know what you want, definitely check MarsMusic.com's price and availability before you waste money!
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One of my "favorites" for online shopping in general, and for musical gear in particular. The site is really well designed and laid out, with pictures for many of their items (not all unfortunately). As far as their inventory, it's vast! They carry an amazing amount of new equipment, from rock to orchestra and even some unique items that will raise your eyebrows.
I first became aware of the site since I am out of Tampa quite a bit. There is a Mars store there that is great to go to, with a wall full of electric guitars and basses and rows and rows of other equipment. I spend a lot of my time working contracts in small towns, where the music stores are very, very limited in their in-stock inventory. In fact, most are so limited that I do most of my shopping online for gear anymore, so finding Mars online has been a lifesaver for me.
I have bought items both in person at the Mars store and online at MarsMusic.com. Truth be told, if you know what you are looking for, I'd recommend shopping online even if there's a store in your town. Unless you want to go in and try out all those ax's you'll never afford! After recently making a purchase in their online store, I found myself in Tampa again and decided to drop by for some things I'd remembered I needed. Using the store clerk actually took me longer than if I'd used the website! I actually had to tell him he had what I was looking for because I had seen it online (I was looking for some black pickguard screws).
Unfortunately, the site's inventory is accurate to the store's and they just don't carry a lot of repair and modification inventory. They do have a certified Luthier on-site to actually perform repairs and mod's if you want to send your ax in...but if you are looking to change out pickup's or put a new bridge system on an old guitar and do it yourself, you are better off going to a site like WD Music Products (which is where the Mars guy I talked to would order them from anyway).
If you are looking for new or replacement gear, however, Mars is the place. New straps, packs of picks, music books, cases, guitars, amps, effects, etc. they have them. Depending on what you are buying, you may want to actually try it out at a Mars or other music store then check the price against the MarsMusic.com price. You may find it cheaper to order it online and have it shipped to you than to go get it at another store.
They have great deals and if you don't have a Mars in your town, you should bookmark the MarsMusic.com site to check in on them! They recently ran a special on some guitar strings for 99 cents a pack. I know, they aren't D'Addario's...but then again, for the price of one pack of D's you can almost get enough strings for a year! They sound ok too...I loaded them on an old 'cheap' guitar I have that I use for pounding on and slide work. They also had a Marshall Mini-Stack set on special for only $279.
The last purchase I made online with Mars was for a really nice gig bag, 12 sets of strings, and a capo during their big anniversary special...all for under $50! They all got here in just a few days too. Very well handled online purchase.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me: In my honest and biased opinion...
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