Guitar Center

[joelayres]

what a bunch of BS.

Unless you've been to my local Guitar Center, your statement is the load of crap.

[hippietim]

Unless you've been to my local Guitar Center, your statement is the load of crap.

I have no idea where you live so I can't say what your Guitar Center is like. However, I've been to the Guitar Center stores listed below and none of them were as you described:

Seattle, WA
Tacoma, WA
Tukwila, WA
Kirkland, WA
Lynwood, WA
Raleigh, NC
Charlotte, NC
Durham, NC
Fairfax, VA
Falls Church, VA
Richmond, VA
Fredericksburg, VA
Rockville, MD
Indiannapolis, IN
Hollywood, CA
Edina, MN
Roseville, MN
Austin, TX

They all had some decent folks. Sure, some of them have knuckleheads but that's the same thing you will run into at any store eventually. The worst thing about GC is also the best thing - they let pretty much anyone come in and try out whatever they want. In my experience, music store customers are far more obnoxious than music store employees. And that's not limited to GC, I've walked into plenty of small shops where the customers were just intolerable.

I was at the Raleigh GC a number of times over the holidays - what those guys have to put up with all day would drive me fucking nuts. The worst area is always the guitar area. Someday I will understand why people with the worst chops insist on playing out of tune and as loud as possible with the worst tones. I did tell one loud mouthy smart ass 30-something wannabe rawkker: "you know, they sell tuners here".

I seriously doubt your GC is as awful as you assert.

[Jayster]

Someday I will understand why people with the worst chops insist on playing out of tune and as loud as possible with the worst tones.

JVHT ?

[wilkinsi]

Look on the bright side, you've not had to deal with Sound Control (Leicester, UK)

[Vass]

Best thing about GC is that on occasion they get trade ins that they totally rape on & then sell way cheaper than they should.

Example- Brand new SL1 (my first Jackson) for $1200 a few years ago..not used, but had been there a while & someone lost the original case for it. Blam, huge price drop.

More recently- 1982 Kramer "The Pacer" w/ original case for $180.

That's what I go there for.

Same as Sam Ash. They had a black RR1 on the wall forever for $1100, used. I never bought it- For all I know it's still there. But if I had the scratch to burn at that point, the deal, along with a performance guarantee, would have been hard to beat vs the uncertainty of ebay.

I imagine that used gear is going to be amazing over the next few months- yes, it is sad, but people are selling gear because they need fast cash. Alot of em are going to GC & SA, which are also hurting, and are going to be looking to move cheaply what they brought in cheaply.

Better in my hands than in some guy's closet I guess.

Vass

[Ben...]

JVHT ?

Whatever happened to that neanderthal? He certainly seems to have stopped posting, especially after he got put in his place by Bill and all the other guys.

[JetFixxxer]

I returned a sreamin' demon at GC. I didnt get my money back but I got an instore credit

Fuck that in store credit. You paid cash you should receive cash back.... They are forcing you to spend your money in their store at that point. That in store credit should be illegal.

[fullmetalguitar]

In Hollywood, there is a Sam Ash right across the street from Guitar Center. Sam Ash has a far better selection of guitars. They even had a new Paul Gilbert Ibanez, which I never see at GC. Anyway, I was just there last weekend and in GC it's mostly cheaper guitars, and mostly Fender, Gibson. I think I saw one USA Jackson way up at the top of the wall.

[FloydRose4Prez]

"Better in my hands than in some guy's closet I guess."

Excellent point.

[MikeStrat]

Someday I will understand why people with the worst chops insist on playing out of tune and as loud as possible with the worst tones.

No you won't. I call it the "American Idol Syndrome". A lot of the these tone deaf, no talent, rock star wannabes actually think they sound good.

[atomic charvel guy]

When I was first learning guitar, I'd crouch into a corner and play only at levels that a dog could hear no matter what the store. I didn't have the balls to amplify my playing at first, especially if there was someone who was really good playing. I was usually only in there to find a great playing guitar as opposed to tone in the beginning as well. I had plenty of pedals for tone at home-lol

[AlexL]

I have no idea where you live so I can't say what your Guitar Center is like. However, I've been to the Guitar Center stores listed below and none of them were as you described:

...

Edina, MN
Roseville, MN

...

Yep, I can vouch for those two stores, especially Edina. It's a good, well maintained store, and they always treat me right when I go in. My main guy there, Adam, always remembers my name. He called Fender for me TWICE while I was there once when he couldn't answer a couple of questions off his head.

Figuring the guy deals with 100 people a day, I'm amazed he greets me with "Mr. Trombley, how's it goin!" when I walk in. That's impressive, and yes, it makes a difference to me.


- E.

[Ben...]

When I was first learning guitar, I'd crouch into a corner and play only at levels that a dog could hear no matter what the store. I didn't have the balls to amplify my playing at first, especially if there was someone who was really good playing. I was usually only in there to find a great playing guitar as opposed to tone in the beginning as well. I had plenty of pedals for tone at home-lol

I do that but I just play at low levels plugged in. I hate when people play overly loud and don't have the skill to back it up. It seems everyone at my local shop does that so I don't want to add to the problem. I try out the guitar with the amp set quiet and if the tone is good then I unplug and focus on playability, which is always first and formost for me.

[CharvelRocker]

It is lame at Lancaster... not a lot of stuff, they won't deal on anything without a fight, and the used prices are never all that good. Some good people there, they just never have what I want. My favorite places locally are Lifesong Music and Drums Etc. Manor Music is also a nice place Spiv and I think he may do a trade, but I know he has been trying to move stock so I don't know how that will go. I know Lancaster Musical Instrument Repair will do the install; I believe Jim does all their guitar work if he is still there.

[PowerTube]

When I was first learning guitar, I'd crouch into a corner and play only at levels that a dog could hear no matter what the store.

I'm a fairly accomplished player and I still do that. I think it's obnoxious as hell for someone to insist on everyone in the entire store hearing their "performance," whether they can play or not. Now in the rare situation where I might need to hear an amp at high volume, I would ask to set it up in a back room or something.

The employees in the Knoxville store are a mixed bag of "pretty okay" to "belligerent ass." My current favorite guitar is a 2003 SL2H that I got there for $1100.00 and some change. They had marked it down dramatically after a couple of months of no interest in it. I have to admit that GC is convenient because they almost always have the strings, picks, etc... that I like at a reasonable price. It's also a good (and BAD) thing that anyone can grab pretty much any guitar and hook it up to any amp and try it all out.