Yesterday's excursion to local GC- Gems and dogs

[vindibona1]

I was right across the street from one of our local GC's so had to do an exploratory excursion. I had lots of time and NOBODY was in the acoustic room and no drummers "killing it" (if you know what I mean) and no shredders.

While I'm not looking to buy anything I came across a couple of gems in the process. They had a used Martin D15 for around $800. I hadn't played a D15 before and I was pretty impressed. I think if I were buying my first good acoustic without a lot of guitar knowledge I might have taken this one home and been really happy. I've played a few D18's which didn't rock my world, but this one, even though similar to the D18 was really pretty good. It was set up nicely too.

They also had a nice inexpensive Guild for $400 that I felt played well above it's price point. It and the D15 were the nicest guitars outside of the premium room.

I've been hearing a lot about Breedlove guitars lately and GC had several out to try. I have to be honest and was appalled at the setups on every one I tried. One (listed at $800) was so bad the action had to be in excess of 10/64ths. Absolutely unplayable. The one or two in the $500 price range where the action was low enough to play were ok, but the previously mentioned Guild at $400 totally eclipsed them in terms of sound. I wish the Washburn that I liked so well a few weeks ago was still there for comparison... but it was too good to sit on the rack for very long.

Interestingly, all the V-class Taylors that this store had 2 weeks ago were sold. But I confirmed something I suspected for a long time...

They had a 814ceDLX (X brace) and sounded pretty good in the acoustic room. I had a question that I wanted to ask their tech. So I brought it out to the main area and was playing it while talking to him. I was surprised at how different it sounded out of the acoustic room. All the things that I liked about it in the wood paneled room were substantially diminished in a normal open environment. It seems to me that these rooms are built not only to be optimized for temperature and humidity but for sound too. It is so easy to be seduced in the room and then wonder why we have buyers' remorse when we get a guitar home. Anyone else with any thoughts about this?

Edit:I failed to mention that I played a really nice J-45. Cosmetically I'm not fond of that body shape, but the sound was marvelous. If I had come across that guitar earlier on when I began playing again I might have bought on. I'm not a huge fan of Gibson acoustics in general, but I really like the J-45 (and some SJ-200's). I thought it was one of those Swiss Army Knife type of guitars that could do everything if needed.

So that's the report from yesterdays trip to the GC.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

They had a 814ceDLX (X brace) and sounded pretty good in the acoustic room. I had a question that I wanted to ask their tech. So I brought it out to the main area and was playing it while talking to him. I was surprised at how different it sounded out of the acoustic room. All the things that I liked about it in the wood paneled room were substantially diminished in a normal open environment. It seems to me that these rooms are built not only to be optimized for temperature and humidity but for sound too. It is so easy to be seduced in the room and then wonder why we have buyers' remorse when we get a guitar home. Anyone else with any thoughts about this?

So that's the report from yesterdays trip to the GC.

I made the mistake of playing a 2011 614ce in Gruhn Guitar's Magic Carpet room and took it home! It's crazy how awesome it sounded in that little room and how weird and twangy it sounded in my bedroom! Needless to say, it didn't last long in my collection!!

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

They had a 814ceDLX (X brace) and sounded pretty good in the acoustic room. I had a question that I wanted to ask their tech. So I brought it out to the main area and was playing it while talking to him. I was surprised at how different it sounded out of the acoustic room. All the things that I liked about it in the wood paneled room were substantially diminished in a normal open environment. It seems to me that these rooms are built not only to be optimized for temperature and humidity but for sound too. It is so easy to be seduced in the room and then wonder why we have buyers' remorse when we get a guitar home. Anyone else with any thoughts about this?

Did you ever notice when walking into a supermarket that does their own baking, the store's foyer smells so wonderfully of freshly baked bread? Do you know why? It's called marketing or buyer seduction. Most companies use it to sell their products.

Next time you go to buy an acoustic, ask if there is a private room like a teaching room to try it. That will be closer to what we have in our homes.

[5th Element]

A couple of years ago I tried a D15 at GC and thought it sounded surprisingly good. Later I ran into a friend at a neighborhood jam and he had one. Possibly from the same GC, he said it was his favorite dread in the store.

As to the GC acoustic room, I've also wondered about the sound in there. Possibly some of it is due to the smaller dimensions and sympathetic vibrations of the other guitars. Maybe they have some special sauce going on. Whatever it is, I've found that I have to take guitars of of that room to get a better idea of their sounds.

[Guitaurman]

I've only bought one guitar at Guitar Center, a Gibson Hummingbird Pro. It was marked down to $1395. It looked and played great. I loved the sound of it in their High End room. When I got it home it sounded just as great. I've played wonderful sounding guitars there and also was disappointed by quite a few. I played a HD28 Martin there this week and it was dead, not the strings the guitar! I also played a used D 35 that was absolutely fantastic.

[catfish]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

They had a 814ceDLX (X brace) and sounded pretty good in the acoustic room. I had a question that I wanted to ask their tech. So I brought it out to the main area and was playing it while talking to him. I was surprised at how different it sounded out of the acoustic room. All the things that I liked about it in the wood paneled room were substantially diminished in a normal open environment. It seems to me that these rooms are built not only to be optimized for temperature and humidity but for sound too. It is so easy to be seduced in the room and then wonder why we have buyers' remorse when we get a guitar home.

But you have the same model of Taylor in your signature. May I ask you how did this guitar sound comparing to your own guitar? Both in the acoustic room and open space. Thanx.

[BFD]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

...I was surprised at how different it sounded out of the acoustic room....It is so easy to be seduced in the room and then wonder why we have buyers' remorse when we get a guitar home. Anyone else with any thoughts about this?...

I've played many guitars in a number of GC acoustic rooms, some with low/high tier rooms, some w/just one room. I don't have too much problem deciding if I like a guitar there and of the guitars I've bought from them, I've never been shocked when I got one home. I have returned a number of them, mostly after A/B-ing them w/other instruments I own or have borrowed (likewise with on-line orders).
This illustrates my main thought on your post - a good return policy is extremely valuable when choosing a guitar. I know there are folks who feel returning a guitar is unseemly; I don't agree, nor do most reputable vendors.

[taylorgtr]

The last 2 or 3 times I've been in GC, the acoustic rooms have been occupied by 'kids' (anyone under 25) doing Instagram shoots.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by taylorgtr

The last 2 or 3 times I've been in GC, the acoustic rooms have been occupied by 'kids' (anyone under 25) doing Instagram shoots.

Try going on a Saturday morning when they open. The little heathens aren't up yet.

[YamahaGuy]

I've always wanted to take my guitars into a music store and do an A/B comparison to see/hear how the rooms make anything sound good.

[Earl49]

If I am serious about buying, I always go back with one of my guitars to the store for an A/B. That way I can compare the candidate guitar directly to a well-known sound, and not be seduced. I've passed on many a guitar that way, and also bought a couple too when they held their own against a known quantity.

Of course, the local Boise GC never seems to have anything that I might want during my "annual" visit. My house is much better stocked than their acoustic room, and no shredders allowed.....

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Earl49

If I am serious about buying, I always go back with one of my guitars to the store for an A/B. That way I can compare the candidate guitar directly to a well-known sound, and not be seduced. I've passed on many a guitar that way, and also bought a couple too when they held their own against a known quantity.

Of course, the local Boise GC never seems to have anything that I might want during my "annual" visit. My house is much better stocked than their acoustic room, and no shredders allowed.....

Is it too late to come over?

[Earl49]

Come on down, eh? I like our Canadian cousins......

[CASD57]

I did the same thing today...
I played a Yamaha Newer Yamaha A3M Sounded small
Alvarez AMP660 Parlor
BreedLove, purist or something $499 Breedloves have a weird tonal spectrum
A couple Recording Kings one was the Century 33 it was decent in the volume dept. but lacked depth probably because the body was shallow.
Martin 00xce or something like that,Black HPL thing.. decent but no character in tone.
Played a Yamaha FGX800 not bad
Fender CD60... Small voice
Taylor 114 OK nothing to write home about $699. Honestly for $699 you could do better
Taylor GSmini...I had one and I still like them for what they are, If I was going to spend $699 on a Taylor...this would be it.
Gibson J45 cut away...$1699 sorry my J15 kicks it to the curb
Back to the Alvarez AMP660 actually I use this one to compare the others too.
This was the nices sounding Parlor I've played.. it didn't sound like a Parlor, to be honest, it sounded bigger... $399

I'm going to have to play more Alvarez's before I buy a AMP660 but I really liked it

I also played a Martin Okangol(sp?) Dread...just OK Sorry Martin fans..

[Earl49]

That's ovangkol. It can be a nice body wood, with tonal characteristics of both mahogany and rosewood. My first Taylor from 2001 is a 414ce with a nice ovangkol set. Haven't tried a Martin with that wood yet.