Guitar Center trip, questions
 

Made a trip to Guitar Center today, 90 minute trip one way. Local is 45 minutes one way. With that said, local shops are limited are far as stock. I was somewhat disappointed at GC because it seemed they had very inexpensive guitars $200.00 and under, and somewhat upper tier guitars at $1200.00 and more, but not much in the 500 - 700 range. I had wanted to try Ibanez avc11 artwood, av4ce artwood, Alvarez Delta Blues51, 12 fret, and Recording King Classic 000, and ROS-G9m, along with a Seagull Mini Jumbo. Unfortunately, they had none of these in stock. Very much enjoyed a Washburn, Breedlove, and a couple of Seagulls S6 and an Entourage. Any thoughts/opinions on the above guitars? I know GC has a 45 day return policy, but must it be defective, or can it be that it just doesn’t work for me , can it be returned? Thanks in advance.

As long as the guitar is in the same condition as when purchased, it's a no-questions-asked return policy. But to be safe, I wouldn't change the strings or even remove the pickguard film until I was sure it was a keeper.

Well, you could save the original strings and put them back if you returned the guitar, but no, don't take the plastic off of the pick-guard.

I recently purchased a Washburn Wd7sce off Craigslist. I am thoroughly pleased with its tone, good luck ....

I'm thoroughly enjoying my Breedlove. The cedar top doesn't have the type of headroom I'm used to, but it let's me get thumpy without playing loud, and I'm really enjoying that when unplugged. Fun. It's got a heavy build, especially in comparison to my 000-15m, and feels like a brick outhouse when I'm switching back and forth. In terms of bang for the buck, I'm amazed at where $700 will take you with a Breedlove.

I have no complaints with it other than I had to install my own pickguard. Now that I've been through that process, I'm glad to have been able to choose the exact guard I wanted from StewMac, and installation was a lot more simple than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the reply, I too like a pickguard!

I am a huge fan of the Washburn and Alvarez guitars at GC.
So much so that I purchased a Washburn at a time that I had no need for another guitar. Just liked it so much I had to have it.
The price was amazing for such a great guitar.
This is coming from a guy that also has a D-35 Martin and a D-55 Guild.

I highly recommend giving Washburn a try.

Was at GC yesterday in Las Vegas and they had a lot of guitars in that price range. Call first.

FYI, you can search your local stores inventory online first to see what they have in stock. Might save or prompt a trip.

Heck, I've even taken a used guitar that I've purchased to my local luthier and had them make tweaks to it and then returned it to GC with no questions asked.

:D

Dave

I bought a Washburn HD100swcek from my local music store. I never considered a Washburn. I play a Martin DC16GTE and a 12 string Taylor when I am out. Was looking for a second 6 string to have at the ready in an alternate tuning. Store manager asked "ever played one of these"? Solid mahogony back and sides, solid torrified sitka spruce top, Fishman electronics, nice hard shell case, warm, great sustain and easy action. Sounds good acoustic or through my Fender acoustic amp. (I have not tried it through my PA yet) I went back to the store 3 times to play in before I purchased. I even checked out the bracing inside to see if I could find some place where they cut some corners. Nope. After I failed to find a good reason not to buy, I forked over $700 and out the door I went. We will see what happens after some time but so far - so good. The usual price is $800 but I bought it on Christmas Eve and the manager dropped another $100. Oh, I have noticed that it did not come with a strap button for the strap. I think they run a couple of bucks. Time will tell if it was money well spent. But if you are looking in that price range and you happen to see the HD100swscek try it out. It got my attention.

Mini Jumbo shortage
 

You probably didn't find a Seagull Mini Jumbo because they are discontinued. The current Concert Hall size has replaced the MJs and the Folks. That's too bad, because the also changed the scale length to 25.5." Liking the old neck specs, I bought their top model last summer, an SWS Maritime MJ. I've owned others, including the spruce/walnut Natural Elements and the Simon & Patrick Woodland in cedar/cherry. They're all wonderful choices- the NE is bright and loud, the S&P is mellow and harmonious, and the SWS is rich and full-bodied on the bottom and crispy on top. How to describe these things? I encourage you to find one, but it will be a used guitar.

You can buy something from a Guitar Center online, have it shipped to you, and then return it at no shipping cost to any Guitar Center. So you'd want to have a pretty good idea about what you wanted, but overall, it's about as pain free a return policy as you can get outside of a truly "local" store.

I want to make clear that you will be paying for shipping to you.

Every GC is different in their inventory.

We have 5 or 6 in Phoenix. The one in North Phoenix has nicer/more expensive insruments. The one in Avondale has mostly cheap low end stuff. Mesa, Tempe, Scotsdale are in between.

my philosophy is -play before you pay