M I SPY
A Triumphant Return to Chicago, Part 1 I’ve been locked down for more than three months in the MI Spy Cave because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three months of eating far too much, trying to jog it off on steep and solitary mountain-path runs, and binge-watching espionage thrillers on Netflix. So when the Chief finally called with this month’s mission, I was thoroughly bored, and quite pleased at the prospect of a fresh assignment. “We need you back in the field, Spy. Things are starting to open back up again,” the Chief started. “Pack for Chicago. You were there recently, but we need you to go back and check out the west suburban market.” “Sounds great, Chief,” I replied too quickly. “What’s the mission?” “Specifically, we’re looking for intel on entry- and intermediate-level keyboards for serious students, from stores along the western corridor reaching out of the city,” he ordered. “And, generally, we need to know how retailers are bouncing back from this pandemic shutdown. What’s the new normal? How are they protecting their customers and staff? What’s the instore vibe now, and how do they feel about it?” “Got it. Keyboards for serious students, huh? That’ll mean a full 88 keys, weighted and with a pedal. Hmmm.” I thought it over for a moment. “I know. I’ll pose as a local music schoolteacher being asked by students and parents for my shopping suggestions on first or upgrade instruments. I’m just doing the retailer rounds to update my product and pricing recommendations list. That should be the perfect cover.” “That’ll work. We’ll send a car in the morning to pick you up from your flight. Pack a mask,” the Chief said. I signed off with an enthusiastic “Will do, Chief!” This was great news! I was finally going to jump back into action again after doing virtual visits for months! As I journeyed to Chicago, I noticed that the airport crowd and the number of people on my plane were understandably sparse. The flight attendants seemed delighted to see me, eyes crinkling in smiles above their 30
masks. The ride was smooth, and the window-seat view was beautiful. At least that much hadn’t changed. With the thin crowd, I breezed through arrival and my rental car checkout. Then I made my way through the unusually light Chicago traffic to the safehouse and hunkered down to make my final preparations for the following day’s store visits.
Guitar Center – Naperville 996 N. Route 59 Aurora, IL 60504-7923 630.375.1466
While technically located in Aurora, Ill., this Guitar Center bills itself with the name of the city whose limits begin literally across the street to the store’s east. Naperville is an especially affluent Chicagoland suburb and a ripe market for the music retailers I was visiting for this mission. It is home to North Central College, renowned for its performing arts programs; supports a sprawling publicschool system with its own band-andorchestra programs; and offers many opportunities for private musical instruction. The city even boasts its own Municipal Band, founded in 1859(!), which still performs every Thursday summer night at the Central Park Bandshell … during non-pandemic times, of course. The approach to the front doors of this Guitar Center location was quite impressive. There were large placards standing on the sidewalk clearly marking where to queue and pull up for “contactless” curbside pick-up, and even several newly signed and numbered parking spots close to the doors where customers could park to have their purchases walked right to their vehicle. The window and door signage repeated the state-mandated mask requirement, and further nicely asked that customers keep a considerate six-foot distance from others wherever possible. When I went in, I was quickly greeted by a masked staffer stationed at the now Plexiglas-protected checkout counter. I explained my research mission to him, and he escorted me right away to the keyboard gallery.
I’ve been in many Guitar Centers over the years, and this is one of the larger layouts that I’ve seen. The store had an impressive number of instruments on display up and down the walls around the perimeter of the room, and several island stacks of stock staged to grab and go. I asked my helper if it was still OK to play the keyboards, and he said sure, but let’s use some hand sanitizer first. He spun about looking around the gallery, and seeing none, we walked out to a counter in an adjacent department to find some. To GC’s credit, there were plenty of hand-sanitizer dispensers distributed around the store, and in its defense, there was no counter space or other suitable surface on which to just set one in the keyboard gallery. Perhaps a small table to serve as a standalone hand sanitizer station or one of those nifty dispensers with the builtin stands may be a good addition for this hands-on display area. GC’s instrument offering was expansive and impressive. It offered the popular Yamaha P45 and P125 models, comparably priced to the other stores I would visit during this mission, at $499.99 and $649.99 respectively. These prices were without pedal or stand, but the staffer told me that from time to time, the store featured bundled packages at discounted prices. Since I didn’t have any more immediate questions and still had several other keyboards to check out, my helper, who had given me a good deal of time and attention already, excused himself to return to his front-entrance station. I moved on to the store’s Casio brand line offering next, first sampling the CDP-S100 priced at $449.99. This starter instrument has 10 tones onboard and was my introduction to Casio’s ebony and ivory textured keys, which have kind of a wood-grain look and feel. The keyboard felt lightly weighted, and the tones seemed a bit thin from this modest chassis. The next Casio offering was the PX-S1000 at $649.99, with 18 tones and Bluetooth connectivity for easy SEPTEMBER 2020