Sam Ash

Full review
I have shopped for and purchased an assortment of musical instruments and supplies from many on line sites, Sam Ash amongst them. Each site has it's unique strengths and weaknesses and San Ash is, overall, not markedly better or worse than any of the others - but it doeshave certain uniquenesses that are worth mentioning when deciding with whom to deal about what.

On the positive side, I found their phone staff to be VERY cooperative and more than willing to not only match but beat the best price I had found on line for a 12-string guitar I coveted and wound up buying from them for almost @ $200.less than it was available anywhere else. In this particular instance, it was a Taylor 355. Unfortunately, the setup was WAY off and I actually had to ship it back and forth to Taylor twice to get it right - because Sam Ash simply did not check it prior to shipping - a rather strange anomaly in my experience. Asked about it, they insisted that Taylors are usually delivered perfectly set up and that customers do not want them to reset or check them. I believe this is hogwash.

I have also noted, in further inquiries, that they do not stock a full range of ANY of the brands they carry. They carry, for example 3 or 4 Taylors, a half a dozen Gibson acoustics and a small group of Guilds. There are many brands they do not stock at all.

So, if they have exactly what you want, it is worth shopping it around and then calling and asking if they can/will beat the best price you have found. They probably will. However, their stock is less comprehensive than many other sites including the less well known but fabulous (for the brands they carry) poweralley.com from whom I have recently purchased two new guitars at very good prices with excellent set up included at no extra cost.

San Ash ships quickly and reliably (from Florida)and the shipping cost is generally included in all purchases over $199. Again, nice people, a good competitive attitude, limited stock and a rather odd view of their responsibility or lack thereof for set ups.