Though Daddy's Junky Music is a chain, like Friendly's or Boston Market, it's distinctly New England, and each location comes with its own personable, locally-attuned staff who, for the most part, are attentive and know what they're talking about.
Daddy's Springfield (actually in West Springfield) is no exception. There's a broad range of available stuff, from affordable beginner's equipment to top-of-the-line pro gear, and all packed into a space that's bigger than it looks from the outside, in West Springfield's Riverdale Shops plaza. Although its strip mall location isn't exactly picturesque or "downtowny," parking is ample and it's never a pain to have to haul something bulky and heavy in or out of the place like it can be at more urban-centered music stores.
The shop deserves kudos for keeping enough employees on hand to promptly service its fairly steady flow of customers, who include a variety of gigging pros, aspiring young rockers and their hip-looking parents, and an assortment of garage band grunge-rats who have the look of folks who will probably diddle around more than they lay down cash, but it's no big deal at Daddy's. Its stock of products is fairly comprehensive as well, including hundreds of guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, keyboards, P.A. systems, recording gear and a plethora of necessary accessories from strings to straps, sound cards to cymbal felts. You can even buy Daddy's conveniently packaged 12-packs of your favorite guitar picks.
Perhaps the greatest pleasure available at Daddy's Springfield is the almost airtight try-out chamber, a room at the back where even farting would sound good. Walled with shiny wood and floored with a tight-woven carpet, it houses dozens of acoustic guitars and a small selection of amplifiers to plug into if you want to sample the electrics. It's been built well, so feel free to shred away as long as the door's closed—you can't really hear it much outside the room.
One caveat: No El Kabong moves, Quick-Draw. Call if you need directions: (413) 737-4443.
