Fantom G Now In all "Best Buy" stores

Wow, hmmmm, what does this mean?

The Fantom-G is not the kind of thing you sell at best buy, Casio, yes, but the G is far to advanced for anyone wanting to get a start in music. And they offer free music lesson with purchase, is this some kind of joke. Maybe Roland is struggling more than I thought they were to stay in business. Or it could be they have such faith in the help we provide at Roland Clan they feel they can sell the G to Complete newbies. Whatever the deal is as a professional this kind of diminished the pride I have in owning a Pro Roland Workstation.

I know, it’s not that big of a deal, and probably just a stunt to increase sells for Christmas.
But with the G selling at Bestbuy we can definitely expect a flood of newbies here at Roland Clan, Who knows, maybe it wont be that bad. Now why is the price that high given we are talking about bestbuy, I did expect to see a price drop.

Strange very strange.

It means the G is not getting the market share they hoped for in the professional market..

They now have to hit the lower end of the market to break even after making such a botch up on the G premier release..

Not just the G, but every manner of pro keyboard including the M3, XS, Juno G and the Yam 'MO' A def sign of the financial times. Stores like GC and Sam Ash are not moving enough units in this economic climate so with the exposure these boards now get in local 'everyday' retailers keyboard manufactures hope to counter the poor sales in recent months.

The first dedicated music store opened in Riverside California about three years ago. It didn't happen overnight or for some 2008 Christmas deal. That's ridiculous to assume. Business doesn't work that way. The Fantom-X was one of the first synths into Best Buy.

The Best Buys that carry the Fantom-G, as well as other manufacturers products, are doing so in store locations that have a full-line music pro shop, within the store. These are Best Buys that literally have an entire separate music store built inside them. The staff is specially trained staff just for the music shops. I've trained and some of these locations and the staff are professional and eager to help customers. We're very proud to be in Best Buy stores alongside Digidesign, Ableton, Yamaha, Gibson, Fender, etc.

You can check out more about the other pro manufacturers who are at Best Buy at their website:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=abcat0207000&type=category

By the way, it was my impression that newbies had won the right to post in the Fantom-G forum the day they bought their Fantom-G's, regardless of where it was purchased. I didn't know there was a caste system here...

All I see is that Roland just sold more keyboards to another store chain. From there, Best Buy has to sell them or not.

Hey, maybe a new job opportunity for some of us!

....never mind....

Thanks Dan...


Here are the Best Buy Music Locations...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat157600050015&type=category

It means the G is not getting the market share they hoped for in the professional market..

Well, best buy now carries Apple Computers.
Is that mean apple are not getting the market share they hoped in the professional market? mmmmmmm.......

Ok, that makes me feel better, Thanks Dan, I have never been to this kind of bestbuy (had no clue) I’ll be on the lookout for one.

By the way, it was my impression that newbies had won the right to post in the Fantom-G forum the day they bought their Fantom-G's, regardless of where it was purchased. I didn't know there was a caste system here..

You misunderstand, I would never lookdown on someone in that way.

I just meant because you buy Casio like boards at the general bestbuy that people looking to buy a keyboard to start learning how to play music. Would be confused by the high level of sophistication in the G. It’s not the kind of Board you get if you are unsure if you will stick with it (playing music). Just best to start with something simple like a Casio (like I did) that way if you find you don’t like it at least you did not spend to much.

Thanks Dan

I checked it out. Same price as everyone else. Interesting selection of gear (korg, yamaha, roland). I had hope to see high volume discounts, but no.

guess I wont be getting any thing for Christmas. But then, I could charge it, my wife would never suspect me of buying keyboards at Best Buy. I could tell her it some Christmas gift for a relative in another state, then sneek the thing home.

2 things, First, this may motivate a healthy competition causing sales people to actually learn something about the products they sell. I've had very bad experiences with GC not being able to answer questions about the G and other products In my experience, they seem more like order takers than sales techs. Second, this could open up a new market for us G owners! We could give lessons on programming, sequencing, and midi.

After looking at the list MadaHorn provided I found there is one of these (music) bestbuys close to me. I’ll go check it out, this is a very interesting (and now that I understand) awesome development. And somewhat of a dream come true, I have always wanted to live close to a music store. And now from what it looks like they will be all over the place, I suspect I will spend much time there, Thanks for the heads up MadaHorn, Dan and Understanding.

MadaHorn, thanks again, just something you said

Hey Guys

I actually helped open one of the first Best Buy music stores here in California 3 years ago and they look great. Its a dedicated music store section that is closed off from the rest of the store , it literally has its own glass doorway entry. Its pretty damn cool and Roland is NOT the only company in there.

People want to have choices when and where they shop and not everyone may have a Guitar Center next to them. Ive been a Mac user since about 96 and the one thing i HATED was that i had to drive FAAAAAR ( about an hour ) to get to an Apple store because nobody sold Apple products near me. Now i can drive 5 min to get to a Frys or 15 min to get to an Apple Store at my mall.

Im sure it does NOT mean that Apple was hurting for sales , im sure it meant that the DEMAND was greater and to be able to serve Apple users better AND reach out to NEW apple users meant they had to be more accessible.

You would be surprised at how many talented musicians ( not pro's ) shop the floors of Best Buy and how many aspiring musicians & hobbyist love the fact that those products are there for them to try out.

In the end its all about making music and people going after a dream or love for music. Does it matter where it was bought ?

If Target or Walmart had a TR-808 for a great price , you better believe id be on that. LOL

If you buy your Fantom G from Best Buy nobody is gonna listen to your track and say " Awww man that sounds like a Best Buy beat "

"If you buy your Fantom G from Best Buy nobody is gonna listen to your track and say " Awww man that sounds like a Best Buy beat ""

LWOL!!!!!!!!!

"In the end its all about making music and people going after a dream or love for music. Does it matter where it was bought ?"

Maybe, maybe not. It's not hard to see that Walmart carries some skateboards and bicycles ... even firearms in some cases, but there are skate shops and bike shops and gun shops for people seriously into skateboarding., bicycling and guns/hunting.

You see quite a lot of difference in this types of stores, and manufacturers are careful to differentiate product lines between "pro" and "home/hobbyist" for very good reasons.

Guitar Center has already done quite a bit to "dumb down" the synthesizer and pro-keyboard market ... and the results show in product design and support.

If BestBuy makes a commitment to run a professional music store-within-a-store ... that's fine and even exciting news. Sadly, I think they will take it less seriously than the Home Theater department, and that been obvious from what i ahve seen so far.