Funny comment about Guitar Center

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by FoxHound4690

Doesn't sound like it lmao, just curious though how do they get so many damaged instruments just from people playing them in store?

You’re kidding...right?

Perhaps if you lived in the United States of America, you would understand a little better.

[hubcapsc]

I've been to Guitar Center in Greenville SC twice. The first time I
wanted to compare my luthier made guitar to some of their new
Gibsons. The feller had to bring out a 15 foot ladder to climb up
and get them... a couple of j45s and a j15. He stayed in there with
me for a while as I compared them.

The next time I had my $100 197X Japanese guitar, and I wanted
to compare it to some of their Ibanez/Yamaha/Epiphone guitars.
He didn't bother to supervise me while I played those guitars.

My $100 guitar beat the snot out of their $750 guitars ...

Their j45s, especially the rosewood one, edged out my Ken
Stika guitar, which is at the local luthier right now. There's
something (a brace I guess) loose in it, and it needs the
neck relief adjusted, and maybe some new frets. I think the
nearby Guitar Center is closed for the duration, and our
governor just issued a new list of "non-essential" business
which included music stores... my Ken Stika guitar might
be quarantined at the luthier, even though his shop is
just a little building in his back yard... guitars ring out better
when they are "solid", I hope it doesn't sound dull (compared to a
rosewood j45) when I get it back...

-Mike

[Silly Moustache]

Here in the UK, we, thankfully, have no large corporate music box shifers like Guitare Ctre, but we do have two (maybe three) retailers with more than one shop.

One is PMT (Really!) which has 16 (Yes that shocked me too!) stores throughout England and Wales (but not Scotland or N.I).

Based on the one near me they are usually well organised and most of the staff are well informed.
There is a lot of electrics keyboards, drums and 'lectric guitars, however their Acoustic "walls" are definitely aimed at the lower market.

Hobgoblin Music has nine stores in Britain, but mostly focus on cheaper "folk" instruments.

GuitarGuitar (?) have six stores in England and Scotland and have a wider spread of Acoustics including Collings, Santa Cruz and Martin, but also handle lower end brands like Alvarez, Fender, Taylor etc.

Every other retailers are one, maybe two stores and are independent.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I don't get all the Guitar Center bashing. I've bought a couple of used guitars there at good prices. They are what they are. They serve a purpose. Truthfully I'm itching to get back to one in the not too distant future.

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

I don't get all the Guitar Center bashing. I've bought a couple of used guitars there at good prices. They are what they are. They serve a purpose. Truthfully I'm itching to get back to one in the not too distant future.

They sold the used rosewood j45 I played within a couple of days
of me playing it... I thought it was real nice

I said I went there twice, I really went there three times, the first time
just to look around. I had to bother a guy with green hair who was
captivated by something on his phone to ask a question the first
time, I posted about it here and everyone virtually nodded their heads...

-Mike

[SoCalSurf]

I have always had good luck at GC. Higher end guitars-- really, any over about $800-- are locked up, and I rarely, rarely have seen customers ask to play one of those. The kids tend to grab the instantly available ones.

If I am serious about buying a guitar there, I will ask to have it unlocked, and do an immediate inspection of it. If there is a ding or something else, I don't even have to play it. If it checks out, I will play it a bit, and if the strings sound dead, I ask if they are willing to put on a fresh set of strings. I ask to play it in a private room. I have never been turned down. I have always received the best price.

I know that not all GCs are created equal, but if you go in with the right attitude, treat the employees like humans, and be friendly but assertive, you can do very well there.

[Nctom]

I would have to agree with SoCal. Sure, there are any number of bad GC's but there are also plenty of bad small, single owner shops. With any of them there are green-haired salespeople and possibly damaged stock.

I have generally done better buying at Guitar Center than at more "refined" small shops that have new, clean stock and nose-in-the-air salesmen who determine if I am worthy of looking at and playing their guitars.

[6 Strings MI]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Lower end brands like Alvarez, Fender, Taylor etc.

Taylor is a "lower-end brand?"

I believe Guitar Center has some sort of association with Musician's Friend. Though I placed an order with Musician's Friend recently, I haven't been to a Guitar Center in over a decade. Truth be told, I shop at Musician's Friend solely for convenience, because I have their credit card, and because no government has ordered them shut down. I'd much rather support the small-business Davids (when that's doable again) and AGF sponsors.

[Alathea]

In not bashing, they just vary in quality based on management and local market

[Alathea]

Not all GCs comply yet with locking up higher end instruments. Hence the difference of opinions.

[Dbone]

There is this place in Ontario called LA Music. They are very very strict with their instruments. They do not allow tire kickers to damage their instruments. As a result they take a lot of abuse in reviews etc. I have never dealt with them, but I know people that have, and apparently they ship you instruments that are both well setup and not damaged at all. Go figure, they are focusing on aspects that might be important to buyers making expensive purchases. Knowing what I know about them they are exactly the kind of place I would deal with. They have a good record on Reverb.

I personally am with the retailer on these types of issues. People who have no respect for instruments, no money, and don’t know how to handle them have no business touching them. Simple as that. If they are going to touch expensive instruments, and they are not a known quantity to the vendor, then they should be babysat to the nth degree. May sound harsh, but it’s how I see it. Retailers are supposed to eat that kinda nonsense on their bottom line? I don’t think so.

If I had a guitar business (would never happen) I would probably do some mix of online sales and a “by appointment only” approach. Carry brands people want and have better control. Better odds this way that you are getting serious people, filtering the tire kickers.

I remember the guy at the piano shop we bought our daughter’s piano at laughing his face off when I asked him why he doesn’t sell guitars. No thanks was his response.

Here is a response from the owner of LA Music to a bash they took on yelp.com. I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE SAID, AND FULLY APPRECIATE WHERE HE IS COMING FROM. I am one of those buyers that demand near perfection when dropping multiple thousands of dollars on higher end instruments —>

9/2/2017 In your own words "I go to guitar stores to dream....." Laurence we have one of the best selection of guitars on this great planet of ours. 5% of our stock is in our Retail Store, 95% in our warehouses. We cater to buyers, collectors, and players not dreamers. Our Customer base travels from as far away as Brazil, Mexico, and Europe to buy guitars. Our customers demand perfect guitars without fingerprints, fretwear, or damage caused from the "DREAMERS" Good luck and keep dreaming and don`t be so annoyed and entitled, we are not a public library!
Again in your own words:
"start the good, great selection" we say: Thank you
"they stock a number of very high end models" we say: Yes we do!
"it`s a big store with a lot of stock which is great" we say: Thank you
"I found it a bit annoying to have the nicer instruments locked away" we say: Your guitar will be perfect when you buy from us!

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

I don't get all the Guitar Center bashing.

This isn't directed at anyone here, okay? Have you ever spent any time on an elementary school playground? Kids are like little defensive sponges. An "influencer" starts talking down one of the kids on the playground and everyone looks around, sighs a sigh of relief, and says inside his head, "It is safe to bash that kid. At least it isn't me who is being bashed." And then they join in and begin to enjoy it. It is all fine and dandy until they tire of picking on that person and the "influencers" need a victim to bash. Then everyone on the playground is susceptible again.

Think about that when you get in the circle and start pounding the easy target.

Speaking of which, do you remember the football toughening exercise called "bull in the ring"? You put the team in a circle, pick a guy to put in the middle, and then get everyone churning their feet. The coach calls a number and the player with that number charges in and hits the guy in the middle. It is the guy in the middle's job to rotate around to the incoming guy's direction, get prepared, and take the hit head-on. That exercise could quickly degenerate into the same phenomenon. One season I had an assistant coach who hated me. My head coach called me in and volunteered that info to me after the season. That assistant coach used bull in the ring as his opportunity to inflict pain on anyone he was mad at. One time he put me in the ring and ran me for about three times the number of hits normally doled out. As I fatigued, he sped up his calls until I was unable to recover quickly enough from one to face the next one from the side or the back. Eventually the hits from the back started knocking me down. After one of the times i went down, as I was trying to drag myself back up, the coach called on the team captain to hit me. The team captain said, "Coach, he's had enough. I'm not going to hit him."

That young man had the guts to defy this coach, who was built like a gorilla. He is now a four star general in the Air Force in charge of our country's combat aircraft. When I heard of it, I wasn't all that surprised. He showed leadership back then and I'd trust hm now.

Bob

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by SoCalSurf

I have always had good luck at GC. Higher end guitars-- really, any over about $800-- are locked up, and I rarely, rarely have seen customers ask to play one of those. The kids tend to grab the instantly available ones.

That's what I've found in the GCs I've visited in Washington State. They keep the nicer guitars locked up, and generally will only unlock a couple at a time for me. But then they leave me alone until I have questions. I've bought a few guitars there, though I much prefer trying smaller shops first. If you're ever in the Seattle area visit Dusty Strings.

One problem I've had with my local GC is that, I swear, whenever I go into their acoustic room, no matter what day it is, I sit down to try a guitar and after 5 minutes of relative quiet a 5-piece Mariachi band shows up. They all pull guitars off the wall and start going at it - which wouldn't be quite so annoying if they were actually good.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Here in the UK, we, thankfully, have no large corporate music box shifers like Guitare Ctre, but we do have two (maybe three) retailers with more than one shop.

One is PMT (Really!) which has 16 (Yes that shocked me too!) stores throughout England and Wales (but not Scotland or N.I).

Based on the one near me they are usually well organised and most of the staff are well informed.
There is a lot of electrics keyboards, drums and 'lectric guitars, however their Acoustic "walls" are definitely aimed at the lower market.

Hobgoblin Music has nine stores in Britain, but mostly focus on cheaper "folk" instruments.

GuitarGuitar (?) have six stores in England and Scotland and have a wider spread of Acoustics including Collings, Santa Cruz and Martin, but also handle lower end brands like Alvarez, Fender, Taylor etc.

Every other retailers are one, maybe two stores and are independent.

How's the pre-shipping quality control when purchasing mail-order from mass marketers like Andertons and Thomann - over here it's kinda hit-or-miss from GC, MF, zZounds, American Musical, et al. (IME Sam Ash and Sweetwater tend to be a bit more conscientious)...

[6 Strings MI]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

It's kinda hit-or-miss from GC, MF, zZounds, American Musical, et al. (IME Sam Ash and Sweetwater tend to be a bit more conscientious)...

I bought my guitar from MF. When it arrived, I opened the box, pulled out a factory shipping box, and then pulled out the retail box. Thus far, I've had good luck with them.