Just want to mention a couple of things before commenting on the Cream City store.
1. I have, at times, owned and/or run large combo music stores that have focused on a similar mix of instruments and customer bases to Cream City.
2. I am a professional music artist (guitar) with well over 50 albums, 10 films and hundreds of commercials under my belt.
3. I have been in the industry well over 35 years and have received industry recognition for my work.
4. I love guitars of all types and have a significant, high quality collection, focusing on vintage instruments.
5. I currently perform and record (after all these years) with 4 different music acts and love it.
I've known the proprietors since before the stores' beginnings and have nothing but highest regard for them ethically and personally. Their love for all things guitar and the way they select and train their staff is nothing short of amazing. Regarding the mix of inventory, I can honestly say that I have never seen as good a mix of really good vintage and a massive brand mix of new as complete and thoughtfully distributed, priced, merchandised and above all MAINTAINED, as seen in Cream City.
The staff goes out of their way to be that hard to find combination of product specialists and hard working, conscientious, service-oriented people that any retailer would kill to find.
Every single one, and that is saying something.
Regarding purchasing items from them, I would estimate that, over time, I probably have bought several hundred things from them. Easily. Every sale was effortless and competitively priced, with trades, repairs, return issues, etc. all dealt with professionally and with real attention to what was best for the customer, not the store. All follow-up was stellar.
Regarding their in-house repair staff, they employ one of the finest luthiers in the midwest, Ron Jones, who has done the majority of the work on my collection for the past thirty years. Truly a treasure for the store. Ben, their young amp tech, has a knack for tube electronics that you would normally only find in a place like LA or NYC and is usually a guy in his fifties and typically highly opinionated and difficult to work with. Not Ben. The guy knows his stuff, is approachable and as far as I can see, is not stumpable.
The look and feel of the store should be commented on. It does NOT have the garishly flourescent, linoleum slat-walled look of the big chain stores and has managed to acquire an elegant, quirkily retro personality supplied by use of wrought iron work (from the building's original owners), oriental carpeting (like a concert stage), odd fifties lamps and over head light fixtures, vintage blonde and glass display counters from the fifties that mimic Fender's old teles, etc., etc. There is a room called simply Gretsch World that has the most stunning collection of Gretsch guitars and amps you ever saw.
You have to see it. Oh, speaking of that, you can. They have webcams set up throughout the whole building that, when you hit their site, cycle through - make sure to check it out.
Next, they have made a commitment to creating a community of musicians and to accomplish that, have a talented staff of teachers and a constant stream of product clinics hosted by the finest musicians from the brands that are represented within their store. To promote each one, they have developed a forward-thinking system for staying in touch with their customers that combines an array of advertising and promotion including a significant social media component that is far more efficient and focused than their competitors.
The store also has chosen a fine charity - Guitars for Vets, that supplies guitars and instruction for America's wounded warriors and supports all of its events by directly contribution of and promotional assistance.
Well, I've gone on a bit too long, but I've wanted to write something about Cream City for awhile and have developed a bit of a backlog of opinion. My apologies for wordiness but it is from my heart.
In closing, my advices is that if you are within driving distance, please consider a visit to them and check their store out in person.
If that is not possible, hit their website, dive through their massive online selection and then call and speak with one of their staff.
You will not be disappointed.
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