Why Your Local Guitar Shop Might Not Survive

Why Your Local Guitar Shop Might Not Survive

July 17, 2026 · 1h 22m · Episode 158

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges facing local guitar shops and the impact of direct-to-consumer sales on the industry.

On today's episode, Rhett, Zach, and Addison tackle a hot take that gets genuinely spicy: do all guitars actually sound the same? Then Rhett opens up about having his channel ripped off by an AI slop account (and what that's revealed about how broken YouTube's copyright system is), before the three of them dig into the state of the guitar store industry — why local shops are struggling, how Fender's direct-to-consumer push is undercutting its own dealers, the disappearing amp-repair trade, and what shop owners can actually do about it. Plus, an update on our live show at Fretboard Summit in Chicago, and we rate a viewer's rig — Gibson Flying V, Les Paul Jr., Dr. Z amps and all — to one of the highest scores we've ever given. JOIN US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/dippedintoneMERCH: https://www.dippedintone.com/merchFOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/dippedintone DIPPED IN TONE IS:Rhett Shull https://www.rhettshull.comZach Broyles / Mythos Pedals https://mythospedals.com & https://highvoltageguitars.comProduced & Edited by Addison! https://www.instagram.com/addisonsauvan TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 Intro00:00:24 Zach’s Update00:04:46 Addison’s Update00:06:23 Rhett’s…

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