It is rare these days to find a place of business that really provides customer service. It is also rare to find a good selection of top-notch acoustic players on CD. When you find both rarities at the same place, that is something to be shared with the masses and ACOUSTIC MUSIC RESOURCE fits that bill! I do not even remember how I stumbled on these guys, but I was curious enough to give them a call before I ordered from them.

I started off by ordering Jim Earp's newest selection, SMILES TO GO (which is awesome by the way). The sales person actually took time to talk to me like I was a real person and also shared some information on what else was available (that is what sales people are supposed to do isn't it). He was not trying to push product, but after we had chatted for a moment and he figured out what I liked, he simply shared some valuable information to help me make a future selection.

My next purchase was another winner! The sales person suggested the best value on the planet to me. They had a three CD sampler for a mere $18. Each sampler has 20 songs on it! That is 60 tunes for $18! I think there was one or two songs I did not like (just not my style), but all the artists were great players! Guys like Laurence Juber, Al Petteway, Jim Earp, Ed Gerhard, Muriel Anderson, and a guy I had never heard of until I bought the sampler, Doug Smith (this guy smokes on the guitar). Doyle Dykes and Preston Reed are a few others found here too so you can see the selection is super (must explain why none of my songs have made it here).

Did I mention that they have great service? If nothing else, you owe it to yourselves to at least get the sampler for a start! I had a chance to chat with AMR and here is some more info to get aquainted with these guys!

MF- How did AMR come to be?

AMR-The owner of the company was/is a big fan of instrumental acoustic guitar and frustrated at trying to find CDs in stores. The record business is all about the major stars and I guess that makes sense as they sell millions of CDs ...but that doesn't make this music less valuable...in fact much of this may still be valid years after some of these "fads" have passed by. His idea was to put all the cool titles in one spot, so he tries to find players like Jim Earp and Tom Long who have local followings , and present them to a larger audience. He also made arrangements to import a terrific label from Germany which is features about 50 instrumental titles. The idea was never that this would be a "get rich quick" scheme...but born out of a belief that if you have quality music and great service ...you may at least be able to make a living.

MF- How long have you guys been doing business on line? Is there a physical building where people can come in off the street and buy CD's from you?

AMR-Ha..I wish! It would be wonderful to think that a store selling just instrumental guitar music could survive but alas ..the cost of retail space would be prohibitive. We have a small warehouse and office. Because I am in sometimes 12-16 hours a day after we send out a mailing the owner has installed some exercize gear for me to keep from getting fat sitting in front of the computer and on the phone! so some callers laugh about catching me out of breathe. I tell them we are just VERY excited to be hearing from them!

MF- Are all the selections strictly acoustic? Instrumental?

AMR-Yes..acoustic guitar based instrumental work..with one exception. "Big Blind Bluesy" by Pat Donohue has vocals..but he plays so much wonderful guitar on that release that an exception was made. We have been tempted to add other genres..but heck there are many many other great guitarists we have to add to this offer and I agree with the owners philosophy about keeping our unique focus and commitment to this music.

MF- How many titles are presently available?

AMR- a couple hundred!

MF- Do you carry any videos?

AMR-YES..performance and instructional..and we will be producing some ourselves in the future.

MF- Who are some recent top sellers?

AMR-Laurence Jubers New Video is flying out of here, and the artist you mentioned Doug Smith... his CD "Alone At Last" is VERY popular. Pat Kirtley is also a strong seller, as is Ed Gerhard.

MF- Is there a "normal" price per CD and do you ever run specials?

AMR-Most of the titles we carry have a list price of $16.98 but artists usually sell them for $15 when they play gigs... so we have held that price for all our years in business. When we can we offer specials..The German label lets us do a "buy 3 get one free" special each Holiday season, and Laurence Jubers "Winter Guitar" is only $9.99 for this Holiday. It cracks me up when we hear from customers who find one or two of our titles on say AMAZON and for less... I like to remind them that AMAZON has lost over 100 million dollars and is STILL valued more than SEARS which has been in business for over a hundred years. We have to make a profit or we will not be in business, and we have been for over 5 years. We also keep ALL titles IN STOCK and usually ship the same day or next day an order is placed!

MF- The three CD sampler was a great buy. Is that still available, and will there be any more CD samplers to look forward to in the near future?

AMR- YES it is available... AND credit should go to the artists and their record companies on that they WAVE all royalties on those tracks so we can make them very affordable... the idea is "We are more likely to hear back from you if you HEAR the artists... instead of just read about them". Volume 4, featuring players from Canada, USA, and even a wonderful new talent from Australia, will be out at the start of 2000.

MF- Any new releases due out soon that we should know about?

AMR-Yes... MANY... and we try to mention them on the first page of our website on a kind of movie marquee.. you know.. NOW playing and coming soon kind of feel.

MF- When will your next catalog be available?

AMR-It arrives from the printer Friday afternoon...so guess who will spend the entire weekend affixing labels? the fun and glamour of this job never ends! I must say I really enjoy talking with our customers and we really get to know most of them ...this music doesn't appeal to everybody (why I don't know) so we count on our repeat business from our customers to survive, and they are the best. It is very easy for me to put in long hours when we get an email thanking us for our quick delivery or for making a fathers day gift deadline...

Our next big adventure is to completely revamp the website with more products AND regular contributions in the way of articles from famous guitarists etc..it is very exciting and these guys are all very classy musicians and people who really appreciate all the support. They haven't chosen the most glamorous end of the music business...but the music they make is timeless, and needs to be kept available.

Be sure to visit AMR's web page at:
http://www.acousticmusicresource.com

You can call them at: 1-800-649-4745
Hours are Monday-Friday 7AM-7PM PST

This Review & Interview by Mike Fred. Please Note: Any comments, views or opinions expressed through the site or newsletter are those of their respective authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by, or reflect those of the Editor, Neil Shedden or GuitarSite.com, or publishers Hitsquad.