Recently I attempted two guitar trades in Madison. My experience with Spruce Tree Music was excellent; not so with Madison Music. Spruce Tree offered me a fair, actually very good price, for my trade in guitar. The used Martin I picked up in return was also priced more than fairly. The salesperson (Will) told me the story of the previous guitar owner, as he installed a strap button for free. There was no dickering or games. Will was knowledgeable, laid back, and honest; more to the point I'm happy that his business will find a good home for my former instrument. In contrast,Madison Music's salesman denigrated my trade in guitar instead of offering me a dollar figure right away. This is an old sales ploy that does not impress me. I do not need to be told that the guitar will need a new fret job, or that it's been "well-played." I know this already. And I know the fair market value. He came back from the computer and quoted an "average" ebay price that I knew to be disingenous. He finally came around to offering an insulting 1/3 below what he should have, and tried to make it sound like he was doing me a favor. When trading in an outstanding instrument, I am looking for someone who can resell it for its intrinsic value. He obviously could not, because he didn't know its value. Worse, he tried to steer me to grossly overpriced "boutique" guitars and somewhat denigrated the Martins I was in the market for. Specifically, he claimed that "everybody" is using bolt-on necks now. I was looking for a dovetail neck, the same technology used for guitars and violins for centuries; he basically made some statements about guitars that made me question his knowledge. In short, Spruce Tree Music is a cool, earthy little place with a somewhat more limited product line, but vastly superior in every other respect. Madison Music sells trendy, overpriced boutique guitars with "cutting edge" features for aging baby boomers with more money than sense. If you need a Martin, I recommend Dave's Guitar Shop in LaCrosse.
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