01-14-2018, 12:37 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 694
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpbrooks
I am traveling for business and discovered that there is a guitar store across the street from my hotel. So, of course, I go to check it out.
I walk in expecting it to be mostly low end guitars since the music store shares the space with a children's clothing store. I was surprised to see 7 or 8 Martin dreadnoughts all with a sign on them saying to ask for assistance.
I am not really looking for a dread so I pass by those and see a Recording King that looked really nice and I have not had much experience with them so I thought I would give it a try. None of the lower end guitars had a sign saying to ask for assistance so I start to get it down and the owner (I am making an assumption but I am pretty sure) said "Can I help you?"
So I told him that I would like to give it a try and he comes over and says he has to get it for me (it's not high up or anything). As he is getting it, he notices that I have a pic with me. I always use a thin pic in stores being mindful of pic scratches. He tells me I can't use the pic. I said, how do I know how it sounds then and he tells me to use my fingers. Of course, at this point I am pretty sure I am not going to buy a guitar from him because I generally play with a pic and certainly not going to buy a guitar that I have never used a pic on.
It was way out of tune so as he stands 1 foot from me I use the tuner on my phone to get it into tune. While I'm doing that he asks what guitar I own, but not to make conversation. It was obvious, he was evaluating whether I could be trusted to hold and tune the guitar. Then to make conversation I said I am from out of town, but love to check out guitar stores when I travel and he responds are you looking or interested in buying and I said, I am always looking to buy a great guitar at a great price.
I have been playing for just over 4 years and have fallen in love with guitars and playing. I play everyday if possible and am pretty decent player, but I only play for my own pleasure. I have never played in front of anyone other than family so even though I shouldn't have been, I was uncomfortable playing the guitar because he literally stood 1 foot from me staring so I just strummed a few cords and palyed a blues lick and handed it back to him.
I am really looking for a inexpensive small body and he had a Loar so I ask to try it. He gets it down and says it will need to be tuned as well. No problem I say and I get my phone out. I tuned up the E, A, and D strings (they were all at least a step and a half low). I start to tune the g string and it makes a "crimping" sound (sorry no other way to describe it) I turn it a little more and the string snaps. I have changed strings probably 30 times and have only snapped a string once and that was in the first year of my playing. I would have expected him to apologize and offer to restring it so I can try it, but he just says I'll take care of it and acts irritated like "see this is what happens when people play my guitars." So I hand it back to him and he just puts it back where it was so I left.
I highly respect small guitar shops and am conscious of playing their guitars when I am not looking to buy and when I do play them, I treat them with the utmost care, but this guy really ticked me off.
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If he was being that helpful you should've asked him to tune his guitars so you could try them.
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