i get the impression that they have an outlet in every major city.

am i wrong, or are they a franchise operation or??



jimmy

I'm not sure if they're a franchise or corporate stores. My guess is the latter.

I am special vendor for guitar center and as to my understanding its corporate.

Very much corporate.

"On June 26, 2007 Bain Capital Partners bought the then publicly owned Guitar Center for $1.9 billion, and took on the assumption of $200 million in debt. Bain Capital is a private equity investment firm co-founded by former U.S. Presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney."

Publically traded under the name GTRC

Tavo, What's a "special vendor"?

Very much corporate.

"On June 26, 2007 Bain Capital Partners bought the then publicly owned Guitar Center for $1.9 billion, and took on the assumption of $200 million in debt. Bain Capital is a private equity investment firm co-founded by former U.S. Presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney."

Publically traded under the name GTRC

Tavo, What's a "special vendor"?

my pedals are avail for order at any guitar center. As a vendor I supply guitar center with nocturne pedals on a special order basis although they are available to try at the Nashville guitar center in the pro shop.
Lets just say I've only sold a few haha.. two to Keith Urban.
It sound really cool but I've yet to see anything come of it.

Guitar Center is a sister company to Musician's Friend as well.

Bain Capital also lists Staples, Vonage, and Linked In, to name a few, on their ventures page.

Incidentally, according to the sites, ALL GUITAR CENTER EMPLOYEES ARE MUSICIANS.

Bain Capital also lists Staples, Vonage, and Linked In, to name a few, on their ventures page.

Incidentally, according to the sites, ALL GUITAR CENTER EMPLOYEES ARE MUSICIANS.


you made me crack up man!! that is soo funny for some reason! it should state that all guitar center employees are from the drum department :)

you made me crack up man!! that is soo funny for some reason! it should state that all guitar center employees are from the drum department :)

Hahah-lost a mouth full of coffe on my monitor reading that one!

you made me crack up man!! that is soo funny for some reason! it should state that all guitar center employees are from the drum department :)

I think drums might be out of
the realm of some of their
employees. It does involve
keeping time ya know.

===============================

<><> Raspy <><>

I think drums might be out of
the realm of some of their
employees. It does involve
keeping time ya know.

===============================

<><> Raspy <><>

thank god for the Russian Dragon! :)

Guitar Center is a sister company to Musician's Friend as well.

From Wikipedia:

Guitar Center's sister companies/subsidiaries incorporate Music & Arts Center, Musician's Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind and Harmony Central.

They also own American Musical Supply, Music 123, and Lyons Music.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Center

Do you mind stoping with the GC jokes. I happen to be a GC employee who really loves his job. I am a musician and a retailer of almost 25 years. Please isn't this a forum site for Gretsch lovers? I am sure some of you our there work for business that get an unfair bad rap and you wouldn't want me making jokes of your intelligence or abilities because of it.

Do you mind stoping with the GC jokes. I happen to be a GC employee who really loves his job. I am a musician and a retailer of almost 25 years. Please isn't this a forum site for Gretsch lovers? I am sure some of you our there work for business that get an unfair bad rap and you wouldn't want me making jokes of your intelligence or abilities because of it.

I was working on one hell of a GC joke. I feel like a real A-hole now. Sorry Falconlover. I haven't been fortunate enough to run into anyone at the locations I've been to that seem to know much about Gretsch. I guess I don't know that much either though.

Do you mind stoping with the GC jokes. I happen to be a GC employee who really loves his job. I am a musician and a retailer of almost 25 years. Please isn't this a forum site for Gretsch lovers? I am sure some of you our there work for business that get an unfair bad rap and you wouldn't want me making jokes of your intelligence or abilities because of it.

congratulations on 25 years.
having more than 1 store every-one knows you are not their average employee, however it only takes 1 bad apple to spoil a whole barrel, i've heard all kinds of non-complimentary stories about gc ,which is why i asked the question in the first place.
i am very sure no one is aiming any of their jokes at you., but the chain as a whole, should start to listen and act.


jimmy

Do you mind stoping with the GC jokes. I happen to be a GC employee who really loves his job. I am a musician and a retailer of almost 25 years. Please isn't this a forum site for Gretsch lovers? I am sure some of you our there work for business that get an unfair bad rap and you wouldn't want me making jokes of your intelligence or abilities because of it.

I think everyone is just joking around. If GC was staffed only by people that had sold 1,000,000 copies of their first album, we would still be joking around.

It is not a myth that the Gretsch guitars are on the side wall kinda out of your main view at our local GC. And no matter what question you ask about anything in the store the answer usually ends with "course the Gibson (insert model name) is much better." :)

PS: Congrats on 25 years, that's good in anyone's book.

Do you mind stoping with the GC jokes. I happen to be a GC employee who really loves his job. I am a musician and a retailer of almost 25 years. Please isn't this a forum site for Gretsch lovers? I am sure some of you our there work for business that get an unfair bad rap and you wouldn't want me making jokes of your intelligence or abilities because of it.

Falcon lover and many other GC employees are willing to learn. They listen!
No, not all of them but neither do all of the people in congress. They all all human beings as are all of us. I respect people who are willing to LEARN.
I have learned so much in this forum and I appreciate what I have been taught.

ive had some good and bad experiences at guitar center.

in general they carry allof the most popular brands but alot of the people there must be dependant on the one knowledgable person in the store. although all are friendly and try to be helpful. then again there are times when the store wil sell outright junk. for example wheni was looking for an epiphone ej they had one on sale at a discount why? the back around the bottom edge ws split wide open. this should have been returned to the manufacturer or put on the wood pile. instead the store chose to try to unload this junk to a dumb customer. same store a few weeks later i was in there picking up this new ej and there was a salesman trying to sell a high end lespaul to a guy in a wheelchair . the neck was so warped i could see it from ten feet away. so i called over his sister who was with him and clued her in. the guy couldnt play all that well to begin with and to sell him a high end piece of crap. well to me thats lower than low. i did ask the salesperson if they had someone who could do a setup for this guy if he was gonna buy that piece of junk he was trying to unload on him the answer was no.

the third example was when i was looking for an old hagstrom

the same store had a hardtasil hagstrom 2. the paint was cracked and lifting right off the body. so i asked if the price was negotiable the answer was nope. so i handed it back to him went to the conneticut store where they had one in pristeen condition. for the same price.

so guitar center needs to screen there employees . the bad ones are making the store look bad. in my opinion. dump the bad ones and keep the many good ones.

Jimmy,
Thank you for your reply, but you have to realize people have a great way of exaggerating the truth when they come to post stories. Also many people have unrealistic expectations and when their expectations aren't met they come up with some very far fetched stories. Just like any large organization you have good and bad. Not challenging you or anyone else on GT, but how many GC's have you all been in. I have shopped at many GC's prior to working at GC (Hollywood, Nashville, multiple Texas stores, cincinnatti, etc) and my experiences were always very positive. That was why I wanted to work for GC. Stories are Stories, if they were all factual that would be something totally different.

ive had some good and bad experiences at guitar center.

in general they carry allof the most popular brands but alot of the people there must be dependant on the one knowledgable person in the store. although all are friendly and try to be helpful. then again there are times when the store wil sell outright junk. for example wheni was looking for an epiphone ej they had one on sale at a discount why? the back around the bottom edge ws split wide open. this should have been returned to the manufacturer or put on the wood pile. instead the store chose to try to unload this junk to a dumb customer. same store a few weeks later i was in there picking up this new ej and there was a salesman trying to sell a high end lespaul to a guy in a wheelchair . the neck was so warped i could see it from ten feet away. so i called over his sister who was with him and clued her in. the guy couldnt play all that well to begin with and to sell him a high end piece of crap. well to me thats lower than low. i did ask the salesperson if they had someone who could do a setup for this guy if he was gonna buy that piece of junk he was trying to unload on him the answer was no.

the third example was when i was looking for an old hagstrom

the same store had a hardtasil hagstrom 2. the paint was cracked and lifting right off the body. so i asked if the price was negotiable the answer was nope. so i handed it back to him went to the conneticut store where they had one in pristeen condition. for the same price.

so guitar center needs to screen there employees . the bad ones are making the store look bad. in my opinion. dump the bad ones and keep the many good ones.

Brother, when a guitar gets damaged by a customer sending it back to the vendor is not an option, so we will discount the heck out of and try to get something for it. In most cases when something gets damaged it is sold way below dealer cost and we are taking a loss on the item. Sometimes you have handy customers who don't mind a crack to get a beater guitar. Also we have in house techs so if a customer likes a guitar but the neck may have a bow in it our tech can do an adjustment.

I've never had a problem with guitar center to be totally honest.

Other than : "the vultures" that 9 times out of 10 I'm more qualified than they are, and also 9 times out of 10 I decide "I'm just looking" When I get "made" coming through the door. "The tech dept." 7 times out of 10 I'm more qualified than they are.

But as far as price-matching and getting them to mail you something or help you find something that they dont have, "Vultures" are alright sometimes... help you find the food.

I think part of the issue isn't with GC per se or the people who work there, it's the sheer size of the organization. Look at the list of guitar companies owned above. With that size they should be able to negotiate better prices for their gear and yet they sell pretty much only for the sticker price in my experience. Trade ins are even worse.

Compare that to your locally owned guitar store. They shouldn't be the ones to offer the best deals and yet they get you a good deal. I've never had a GC employee offer to sell me a guitar below the marked price. If I ask, "What will you sell that to me for?", the response is always the sticker price or sale price. Ask an independent dealer and it's usually a much better deal.

Plus, on a Gretsch forum, you have to admit most don't know or care diddly squat about Gretsch, certainly not higher end stuff.

I think part of the issue isn't with GC per se or the people who work there, it's the sheer size of the organization. Look at the list of guitar companies owned above. With that size they should be able to negotiate better prices for their gear and yet they sell pretty much only for the sticker price in my experience. Trade ins are even worse.

Compare that to your locally owned guitar store. They shouldn't be the ones to offer the best deals and yet they get you a good deal. I've never had a GC employee offer to sell me a guitar below the marked price. If I ask, "What will you sell that to me for?", the response is always the sticker price or sale price. Ask an independent dealer and it's usually a much better deal.

Plus, on a Gretsch forum, you have to admit most don't know or care diddly squat about Gretsch, certainly not higher end stuff.

I am so sorry you feel that way. We are always offering very deep discounts with our sales and coupons. I know what you mean about deals at independents but their is s real deal and a bogus deal. You can walk in to an independent and see a Les Paul studio tagged at $1000 and they make you a deal for $799 then you can walk into a GC and see the same les Paul studio tagged at the regular price of $799. Do did you really get a deal? You would think our size would let us negotiate better prices with our vendors. In most cases we do and that is how we keep our regular prices so low. The other thing is the haggle environment can be a negative one in the sense that a guy who haggles really hard gets a better deal then a guy who doesn't haggle. The fact of the matter is everyone deserves a good deal and the business deserve to be profitable. In a world where standard retail mark up is usually over 100% I think GC trying to hold 30-35% is more than fair. Afterall we still have to pay our staffs who work long hours. Seriously I get all the complaints,...but from a guy who used to shop everywhere if you spent a day in the shoes of a GC employee and knew how hard we actually work to keep the customers and keep the nice gear coming in you may have a much different opinion.

You can walk in to an independent and see a Les Paul studio tagged at $1000 and they make you a deal for $799 then you can walk into a GC and see the same les Paul studio tagged at the regular price of $799. Do did you really get a deal?

That's a little disingenuous. I agree that's not a real deal, but that's not what I'm talking about. Most of the time the independents beat or at least match GC's prices. I assume they got to be the biggest by selling for maximum profit to people who don't know better.

The other thing is the haggle environment can be a negative one in the sense that a guy who haggles really hard gets a better deal then a guy who doesn't haggle. The fact of the matter is everyone deserves a good deal and the business deserve to be profitable.

I don't look to haggle. I simply ask, "What will you sell that guitar to me for?" That's a question any consumer should ask and, I agree, get the best price that everyone can get. But GC in my experience doesn't do that. Whether to maximize commission or profit, they sell for the listed price. It's not a matter of profit and paying employees, I understand that, as a business owner myself. I've only bought one guitar at GC. They're great for pedals, strings, etc... but for real higher end guitars at a good price, please...

In a world where standard retail mark up is usually over 100% I think GC trying to hold 30-35% is more than fair. Afterall we still have to pay our staffs who work long hours. Seriously I get all the complaints,...but from a guy who used to shop everywhere if you spent a day in the shoes of a GC employee and knew how hard we actually work to keep the customers and keep the nice gear coming in you may have a much different opinion.

I don't deny you work hard and do try to please the customer (after all, you're not stupid and the company is successful.) The GC people I've dealt with are all very pleasant and for most part, knowledgeable folks. It's just, you're the gorilla in the room, the Microsoft, the Google, the lowest common denominator, so you're going to be attacked. I'm sure it is tiresome for you. But as a single consumer I can't change the world, I can only control where I spend my money and choose not to spend it there.

Now, while I have been to other GC, most of my thoughts are conditioned by my local GC, which may just be a bad one. (It never seems very busy and have rarely seen anyone buy a guitar there.) Sounds like your GC is better. Maybe I should visit someday.

Sir, GC's policy as far as pricing goes is we will not be beat. Walking into any GC store with a quote from any independent on Internet store on an apples for apples product and not only will the match the price they will beat it by ten percent of the difference of the two prices. Every GC store has a computer for customers to even search the net looking for a better price then what we have posted. This is policy at all 216 locations and had been since 2008. There are signs in the store which support this policy as well.

I've always had relatively good experiences at Guitar Center. A lot of that has to do with the fact that my whole family visits the local GC frequently, and we are all return customers; ergo: they like to keep us happy to keep our business. Also, I think the notion here is that a good shopper is a good shopper. Do you continue going to the same independent store because you want to give your money to that store, to keep the money flowing in that neighborhood, etc.? Or do you shop in several places and find the best guitar for the best deal? Personally, I try to avoid a guitar if the price doesn't suit my taste. I also take advantage of discounts from GC whenever I can...which is quite often, in fact. I don't burst through the door expecting to blow people away with my knowledge, or worse: I don't set up sales people with trick questions or history questions they probably won't know -- just so I can come home later and make fun of them on a forum. Idiots are idiots, regardless of which side of the counter they are on. Plus...there's just a lot of information out there; some people are good with Gibson trivia, others with Fender, and fewer with Gretsch. It's just a basic reality, init?

Brother, when a guitar gets damaged by a customer sending it back to the vendor is not an option, so we will discount the heck out of and try to get something for it. In most cases when something gets damaged it is sold way below dealer cost and we are taking a loss on the item. Sometimes you have handy customers who don't mind a crack to get a beater guitar. Also we have in house techs so if a customer likes a guitar but the neck may have a bow in it our tech can do an adjustment.

that may be the case at the one or ones you work at. i dont doubt your word. but the stories as youcall them i told are absolutely true and btw the guitar wasnt just cracked the whole back bottom edge was opened up. i wouldnt have the nerve to sell that to anyone.

i found the connetticut store to be much better than the warwick rhode island store same goes for the south attlboro mass store much better . and they have an on site tech. so i guess it comes down to the integrity of the store owner manager and sales people. the split open ej is defenitly not on sales people its either the manager or the owner. were i working there as a sales person i would refuse to sell something like that.

but thats me. not looking for an argument but just responding to your comment about making up stories.

ive heard alot of them stories myself . not about all the other places but about guitar center.

i have to wonder now if there all made up as you say.

I disdain GC for multiple reasons and multiple bad experiences, have been publicly vocal about it for years, and won't buy anything other than small accessory items there, and only if I can't get what I want elesewhere. I prefer to patronize independent music stores run by knowledgable people who know me and don't address me as "dude" when I walk in.

I disdain GC for multiple reasons and multiple bad experiences, have been publicly vocal about it for years, and won't buy anything other than small accessory items there, and only if I can't get what I want elesewhere. I prefer to patronize independent music stores run by knowledgable people who know me and don't address me as "dude" when I walk in.

yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating. lol

"and don't address me as "dude" when I walk in." Wait ! I thought "Dude" was a form of affection ! Now, I'm all confused.

"and don't address me as "dude" when I walk in." Wait ! I thought "Dude" was a form of affection ! Now, I'm all confused.

well if you see it that way. :) not everyone does. but honestly i find most of the sales people to be good there. the dude thing is for a younger crowd. kinda like in my day if you called an older guy hey man. some people didnt like it some didnt care.

personally i d rather they know whats in stock vs what they refer to me as. was there the other day to get a tube for my amp and the sales person said he didnt have any of the tubes i needed dude.

the i pointed out to him there were two in the clear case right in front of him. he says sorry dude.

lol

tht dude behind the counter obviously didnt know what he had to sell.

my thoughts were come on dude get with it. who knows how many sales this dude lost out on because he dont know what hes got in house to sell.

but he was a friendly dude man. lol

yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating.
+ 1 to that no matter where I run into it.

GC has been all in all pretty good to me. I try to deal with the same sales person every time and he does know me when he sees me. Must be all the gray hair. Got an email from him today about a special.
Just wish they had a couple sound proof rooms I could escape the wanna be metal enthusiasts and hear what the guitar actually sounds like. Maybe rent them to us old "dudes" who need to protect what little hearing they have left.

The Guitar Center I go to is great... if you get the right person. I know who to ask certain questions. The accessories lady doesn't know much about guitars, and the guitar tech doesn't know much about sound systems. The beauty of departments and sub-departments is that you can get a very focused knowledge base. But isn't that most places these days?

The Guitar Center I go to is great... if you get the right person. I know who to ask certain questions. The accessories lady doesn't know much about guitars, and the guitar tech doesn't know much about sound systems. The beauty of departments and sub-departments is that you can get a very focused knowledge base. But isn't that most places these days?

well i usually know what i want going in the door. i dont even buy strings there anymore . i can get them cheaper on the net. plus the fact they dont carry what i want any more. but that doesnt bother me because they stock what sells i have no problem with that.

"yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating"

I'd rather be referred to as DUDE then MISTER or SIR.

MISTER and SIR is what they call OLD DUDES.

"yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating"

I'd rather be referred to as DUDE then MISTER or SIR.

MISTER and SIR is what they call OLD DUDES.


well ....... thats me. lol:cool:

Chances are we could all tell a story about the time we were at GC and the guy we were dealing with there knew much less than we did. I must tell this story though, I wanted a 6120SSLVO really bad and the only Gretsches in stock at GC were electromatics if any. I told the salesman there how disappointed I was that they did not stock any upper end Gretches that I could check out. The dude got on their computer, found a 6120SSLVO in stock half way across the country and told me he would transfer it over and I could check it out. I did not have to commit to buying it even, he said if I liked it and bought it, great. If not he would just put it in stock and and hang it on the wall. I honestly could not believe it, I had dealt with GC for years and never had service even close to that. I actually ended up finding a great deal on a used one before that one even hit the store, but I did have another buddy or two interested in one and of course I sent them to him. Just sayin, it's about who you are dealing with, not where you are shopping.

Their bathrooms are crowded and their toilet paper is harsh on my soft brown eye. :rolleyes:

"yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating"

I'd rather be referred to as DUDE then MISTER or SIR.

MISTER and SIR is what they call OLD DUDES.

Yeah but the say it affectionately, Old Dudes generally have more money.
The one name you CANNOT use in Mississippi is "boy" with any type of young man, they universally (any ethnicity) take it wrong.

I hate it when people call me "fella"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONqYuqWY8iM

yep me too the only thing worse would be hey old dude or hey old fella .

kinda sounds like lines from a modern western

Yeah but the say it affectionately, Old Dudes generally have more money.
The one name you CANNOT use in Mississippi is "boy" with any type of young man, they universally (any ethnicity) take it wrong.

your right . i remember it seeming that way to me when i was just a dude and not an old dude.

thats just the way it is . old dudes generally make more money than dudes. and the real young dudes or teeny dudes make less money than dudes or old dudes.

unless ofcourse there the little dudes of some old rich dude. then in that case dude all cards are off the table .

then again theres all the dudeettes to consider . by the way is that the right term dudeettes?

anyhow in every position they generally make 20% less just because there dudeettes. vs being a dude of some sort.

Hey GT brothers,
The point of my reply was not to ruffle feathers. The point was in every company and every organization you have good and bad. GC isn't perfect. We are a business that sells music gear to musicians and we are run by musicians. Also if you take the time to try to understand things in a business you may find yourself a lot happier then you think. I take calls from time to time from unhappy customers and 100% of the time when we are done they are happy.

Hey GT brothers,
The point of my reply was not to ruffle feathers. The point was in every company and every organization you have good and bad. GC isn't perfect. We are a business that sells music gear to musicians and we are run by musicians. Also if you take the time to try to understand things in a business you may find yourself a lot happier then you think. I take calls from time to time from unhappy customers and 100% of the time when we are done they are happy.

hey i dont think anyones feathers are ruffled here were all just having a little fun with this topic.

im sure you can see that .

after all someone could have posted a bit on daddys junky music who are one of your compedators and got the same results. accept maybe not all the dude bits.

I go to the GC near my house so much, I'm on a first name basis with all of the long term employees.

I go to the GC near my house so much, I'm on a first name basis with all of the long term employees.

Ditto.

Old dude, Hey you, Mr., whatever. I don't
care what I'm called. The mere fact that I'm
called something, means that I'm still here.

At my age that's something good.

=========================================

<><> Raspy <><>

I hate it when people call me "fella".... southerners don't use that word, thanks for the
northern code words. I would hate it as well.

AMX: I know that store in Warwick of which you speak. I've tried going back there a few times, but just can't do it anymore. The South Attleboro store is much more customer friendly. I worked in retail for many years so know the rah-rah attitude from some employees. The real fact is: the customer wants a good product, reasonable service and not a feeling that they just lost their shirts. Second fact: the store wants your money.

I hate it when people call me "fella".... southerners don't use that word, thanks for the
northern code words. I would hate it as well.

well sometimes its paired with "big" fella. in which case its like "what am I, Live stock or a child to you?" lol either way... people are just dink's. lol

But i call everyone sir, or dude, or duder, or el duderino if your not into the whole brevity thing. LOL

I look at my dad sometimes and just go "DUDE! WTF!" lol

AMX: I know that store in Warwick of which you speak. I've tried going back there a few times, but just can't do it anymore. The South Attleboro store is much more customer friendly. I worked in retail for many years so know the rah-rah attitude from some employees. The real fact is: the customer wants a good product, reasonable service and not a feeling that they just lost their shirts. Second fact: the store wants your money.

i hear ya. south a seems to have a better selection too.:)

well sometimes its paired with "big" fella. in which case its like "what am I, Live stock or a child to you?" lol either way... people are just dink's. lol

But i call everyone sir, or dude, or duder, or el duderino if your not into the whole brevity thing. LOL

I look at my dad sometimes and just go "DUDE! WTF!" lol

elduderino lol sounds like these cigars i used to smoke 20 years ago. they were real good. ;)

elduderino lol sounds like these cigars i used to smoke 20 years ago. they were real good. ;)

its a quote from the big lebowski. "The Dude" is talking to "the big lebowski" and says "no man, I'm not MR. lebowski, I'm the dude, or his dudeness, or el duderino if your not into the qhole brevity thing."

its a quote from the big lebowski. "The Dude" is talking to "the big lebowski" and says "no man, I'm not MR. lebowski, I'm the dude, or his dudeness, or el duderino if your not into the qhole brevity thing."

I was waitin for the Big Lebowski reference!

I was waitin for the Big Lebowski reference!

...and the Lizardkinged abides.

"yeah dude at my age is a bit irritating"

I'd rather be referred to as DUDE then MISTER or SIR.

MISTER and SIR is what they call OLD DUDES.

OK mister dude, sir. :)

Love the Big Lebouski reference as well. I usually reference my more friendly customers as "brother" because they are my brothers in music. If we share the same spiritual faith I also refer to them as "brother". The young guys are totally "dude" and if they appear older than me they are always "sir".

Thanks to all of you for the open dialogue. I will take any of the negative thoughts to heart and I will be grateful for the positive ones.

By the way how about those awesome Gretsch Git Fiddles!!!! Thanks guys!

When my father was alive, if someone called me "Mister", I would gently say with a smile, "my father is still alive. You simply call me Chad." Now that he has been gone for a few years, and I am a dad, I have had to accept being Mister Wilson.
Get used to it. In another 10 years even people that don't respect you will be calling you sir. :)

"YOU HAVE TO DRAW A LINE IN THE SAND DUDE! I mean... that rug did really tie the room together"

Among the things I have come to disdain the most about GC is the constantly changing parade of salespeople. Every time I go in, there's a different crew, save for one guy who works in the guitar dept. who must be around 50. He's been there for years. The young kids come and go quickly.

There was a drum guy at the GC I go into years ago who I liked a lot. I even bought a drumset from him, but, they treated him badly and he quit. I haven't bought any drum gear since from GC and probably never will again.

Another thing that I find objectionable is the plain-vanilla selection of guitars. You're not going to find anything esoteric or out of the ordinary due to the clientele that GC primarily aims for; beginners, amateurs and intermediate players. I don't know any serious working musicians who shop at GC, to be honest, other than an emergency. I guess at this point, I'm looking for a wider selection of instruments and options. What you have at GC is the most common stuff, in a sense, the lowest common denominator of guitars to choose from. If you look regularly, you will find cool used guitars from time to time.

And finally, this "we're the lowest priced" thing is inaccurate. I can beat GC's price from my two favorite indie music stores every time. Significantly. Same with Musician's Friend.

Falconlover,

As an employee at the competition and stringed instrument repairman at such I have to tell ya, you just have to let it roll like water off a ducks back.

People are going to talk. ...And wait, let's start a thread about guitar techs!

I'm sure, as I do, you take pride in making your work it's best. 'sides, we have our own stories from this side of the fence. ;):rolleyes:

Lol, I'm sure they'd make some great PM's.

For years (from 1986 to 2005) I bought my guitars at Matt Umanov - a very esteemed small individually owned store on Bleeker Street in NYC and got what I felt was really personal service (at prices a bit higher than the chain stores and in easier and in what seemed then to be an easier and less prredatory environment. Bought my first quality acoustic there in about 86 - a Guild widebody acoustic. I bought a Martin OM acoustic there for about $3,600 in 2000 after talking to Matt Umanov about my playing style and I felt he really steered my well and I ended up with a guitar that was dead right for my hands. I bought my first resonator guitar there (a beautiful National Steel) in the early 90s and later I took advantage of their then great trade in policy to get a better resonator guitar. However I bought my Gretsch at GC as I found that Umanov's once very personal service had become no better than the large chains. When my Martin developed a back crack in 2002 Umanov's tech did a great repair job under the warranty. When the crack reopened in 2005 they said they no longer did repairs because Martin did not pay them enough (I quote) under the warranty terms. That really pissed me off - I asked how they could sell a pricey guitar and then decide not to service it. When I bought my Gretch I had decided to trade in my National resonator to pay for it (and then some). Umanov's sales staff could not tell me whether they would do the trade (despite the lifetime trade in policy for "any guitar with the Umanov sticker and the paperwork - and the guitar was in perfect ccondition) despite 2 visits to the store "without the manager being present." I had no trouble getting an immediate trade in quote and fair value at GC in Manhattan. I guess my point is that the small boutique stores are not necessarily any better service anymore. They are all scrambling for a buck. I did track down the former Umanov tech (way in the wilds of Brooklyn at a very inconvenient and slightly iffy address that was a long walk from the subway) and I have used him for guitar work since despite the inconvenience - because he did care about his work and took pride in it. Otherwise, I believe large store or small, its a game of chance!

Thats a good and a bad story D. Spree...

I guess it goes to show that every store has its good and bad...

I have nothing against GC employees. I know they work hard for their money and put up with a lot of racket from Van Halen wanna bees. I have had excellent service although techical questions usually are answered by a blank stare.

Having said that, I have to place GC in the same category as Wal Mart for the damage they do to locally owned businesses.

Thats a good and a bad story D. Spree...

I guess it goes to show that every store has its good and bad...

Yes. Sad about Umanov's in a way. But I guess once you find someone you trust (no matter where they work) stick with 'em if you can.

AMX: I know that store in Warwick of which you speak. I've tried going back there a few times, but just can't do it anymore. The South Attleboro store is much more customer friendly. I worked in retail for many years so know the rah-rah attitude from some employees. The real fact is: the customer wants a good product, reasonable service and not a feeling that they just lost their shirts. Second fact: the store wants your money.

Really good point here. I have had a similar experience. I used to live near the RI border and know the store in S. Attleboro pretty well. I moved to Northern MA and go to a GC in Nashua, NH on occasion and it is pretty second rate compared to the S. Attleboro store. This tells me that there may be some lattittude given the managers. You get a conscientious manager and you probably have a good store. You get a guy who could care less, who knows?

Among the things I have come to disdain the most about GC is the constantly changing parade of salespeople. Every time I go in, there's a different crew, save for one guy who works in the guitar dept. who must be around 50. He's been there for years. The young kids come and go quickly.

There was a drum guy at the GC I go into years ago who I liked a lot. I even bought a drumset from him, but, they treated him badly and he quit. I haven't bought any drum gear since from GC and probably never will again.

To remark on this - many of our employees are working musicians and on many cases leave for gigs. Also sometimes sales guys don't work out. People come to work at a music store thinking they are gonna play gear all day and they found out it's actually work and they quit.

Another thing that I find objectionable is the plain-vanilla selection of guitars. You're not going to find anything esoteric or out of the ordinary due to the clientele that GC primarily aims for; beginners, amateurs and intermediate players. I don't know any serious working musicians who shop at GC, to be honest, other than an emergency. I guess at this point, I'm looking for a wider selection of instruments and options. What you have at GC is the most common stuff, in a sense, the lowest common denominator of guitars to choose from. If you look regularly, you will find cool used guitars from time to time.

GC carries a huge selection of meat and potato guitars, very unique instruments in many cases are very expensive and also have unique customers. If a customer wants a rare instrument we can always order it for them.

As far as serious musicians shopping at GC - how bout a few examples Stevie Wonder was in my store two weeks ago, a month ago Al Demiola came by, slash, Peter gabriel, Keith Urban, John 5, Reverend Hortan Heat, Dave Navaro and hundreds of serious musicians over the past 48 years.

And finally, this "we're the lowest priced" thing is inaccurate. I can beat GC's price from my two favorite indie music stores every time. Significantly. Same with Musician's Friend.

Lastly, GC's policy is we will not be beat by price, bring your best quotes from your independents and if it is apples for apples GC not only will match the deal they will beat it by giving you 10% of the difference between the two prices. That is policy sir. So sure go to GC and see price A and show that price to a 2nd dealer sure price A will be beat. That's just normal business. You need proof find your lowest legitimate deals then go to GC last. They will beat it.

Falconlover,

As an employee at the competition and stringed instrument repairman at such I have to tell ya, you just have to let it roll like water off a ducks back.

People are going to talk. ...And wait, let's start a thread about guitar techs!

I'm sure, as I do, you take pride in making your work it's best. 'sides, we have our own stories from this side of the fence. ;):rolleyes:

Lol, I'm sure they'd make some great PM's.

You are totally correct sir. Because I know what we do at me stores and I see such great misperceptions and those people quoting as their opinions are fact I felt it was time to open my mouth. Thanks for the input. I have tons of stories from the other side of the fence 

well lets face it gc is the walmart of guitar stores. and yes they do stock the standard stuff. nothing really exotic. on the other hand thats whay there so big . they go by what sells. what moves.

thats smart on there part. if you want the out of the ordinary you have to go elsewhere. over to the line 6 web site ive heard a million times why doesnt gc carry the variax.

im sure that they must have 1 or two somewhere. simple they dont move there too high priced for newbies.

so they will sit and collect dust. and for get it if soeone asks a question about them.

obviously gc makes there money in volume .

so if im looking for something they carry ill look there if i want something out of the ordinary i have to go elswhere.

when i bought my gretsches . they had nothing i was interested in.

i did however buy a ric 325 there. i had to go through it. it was so far out of whack when i tryed it it was just about unplayable. it was in the side amp room they have. i bought it anyway. took it home and set it up. again they had nobody ther that did this.

south attleboro has a good guy but warwick. your on your own. like any other big chain some stores are better than others.

for what there trying to do and the low to mid range stuff there ok

but like i said if you want high end guitars. thats not the place to go. just my opinion.

so this Sam Ash guitar tech goes into the keyboard room at Guitar center...

So I saw this video on youtube... where these kids, take some ball bats, go out to the back shed and find a dead horse... they weren't doing pitching practice out there.

well lets face it gc is the walmart of guitar stores. ...they go by what sells. what moves.

...thats smart on there part.

...im sure that they must have 1 or two somewhere. simple they dont move there too high priced for newbies.

...so they will sit and collect dust. and for get it if soeone asks a question about them...

...obviously gc makes there money in volume..

...if you want high end guitars. thats not the place to go. just my opinion.

A) You're kidding, right? B) That's why they (as any successful business) has been as profitable as they are. C) Exactly. Dust on stuff that doesn't move ties up your inventory dollars when you could be turning a profit. D) Companies make money and stay in business by selling a volume E) Duh. You go to Sam Ash. ;):rolleyes: (J/K. Also, try visiting the Hollywood GC sometime. It'll blow your gasket.)

so this Sam Ash guitar tech goes into the keyboard room at Guitar center...

I love that one!! Like the one about the Guitar Center drum guy who locked his keys in the Sam Ash recording guys car at Best Buy. :p

I just bought my new Gretsch at a GC last saturday and had a great experience, and got a good deal.

A) You're kidding, right? B) That's why they (as any successful business) has been as profitable as they are. C) Exactly. Dust on stuff that doesn't move ties up your inventory dollars when you could be turning a profit. D) Companies make money and stay in business by selling a volume E) Duh. You go to Sam Ash. ;):rolleyes: (J/K. Also, try visiting the Hollywood GC sometime. It'll blow your gasket.)



I love that one!! Like the one about the Guitar Center drum guy who locked his keys in the Sam Ash recording guys car at Best Buy. :p

you should really put the whole quote the reference was to high end gretsch and line 6 variax and why they are not carried in house .:) btw i can only go by the stores i have access to in my area. im probably not gonna fly out to hollywood and buy a guitar . lol

Falconlover: There are some Martin dealers that will give you a price of 40% off list. These prices are not printed because of MAP rules. How would guitar center deal with this in their guaranteed lowest price?

Falconlover: There are some Martin dealers that will give you a price of 40% off list. These prices are not printed because of MAP rules. How would guitar center deal with this in their guaranteed lowest price?

When a legitimate quote is presented and that quote is verified that the other dealer is an authorized seller of the product and it is not a b stock or scratch and dent then we match the price and beat it by 10% of the difference between the two prices. Also list is a varying price - martins msrp the dealers list price etc...you have to watch out for list price comparisons. No one really sells at list.

Actually, MAP is the lowest price a Martin dealer advertise. That's why you see on some sites, "Call for lowest price". I'm just curious how I can prove to Guitar Center if these dealers can only "tell" the price, not advertise it. I have dealt with 2 of them in the past and they truly give you the 40% off list. I think MAP means "minimum advertised price". A dealer can sell a guitar at any price he wants to, he just can't advertise that price. I know most guitar companies go by this, you can tell when every dealer in the country advertises the same prices. I was just wondering what kind of proof you need to get the guarantee.

sounds to me guitar center will make you jump throuhg hoops of fire before they actually give you the discount. by the way checked out there site last night . the hagstrom with the lifting paint that i asked for a discount on. and the guy said nope..... its still on there wall.

hollywood sets the prices he says.

aparently they have to do as hollywood says and let it hang there.

meanwhile im enjoying the one i bought at the connetticut store. lol

Actually, MAP is the lowest price a Martin dealer advertise. That's why you see on some sites, "Call for lowest price". I'm just curious how I can prove to Guitar Center if these dealers can only "tell" the price, not advertise it. I have dealt with 2 of them in the past and they truly give you the 40% off list. I think MAP means "minimum advertised price". A dealer can sell a guitar at any price he wants to, he just can't advertise that price. I know most guitar companies go by this, you can tell when every dealer in the country advertises the same prices. I was just wondering what kind of proof you need to get the guarantee.

Just a quote that can be verified.

sounds to me guitar center will make you jump throuhg hoops of fire before they actually give you the discount. by the way checked out there site last night . the hagstrom with the lifting paint that i asked for a discount on. and the guy said nope..... its still on there wall.

hollywood sets the prices he says.

aparently they have to do as hollywood says and let it hang there.

meanwhile im enjoying the one i bought at the connetticut store. lol

I can't comment on a guitar I know nothing about. Sorry.

sounds to me guitar center will make you jump throuhg hoops of fire before they actually give you the discount. by the way checked out there site last night . the hagstrom with the lifting paint that i asked for a discount on. and the guy said nope..... its still on there wall.

hollywood sets the prices he says.

aparently they have to do as hollywood says and let it hang there.

meanwhile im enjoying the one i bought at the connetticut store. lol

No hoops at all. Look if I asked you to do your job for 20% less just because I asked you would you?

Actually, MAP is the lowest price a Martin dealer advertise. That's why you see on some sites, "Call for lowest price". I'm just curious how I can prove to Guitar Center if these dealers can only "tell" the price, not advertise it. I have dealt with 2 of them in the past and they truly give you the 40% off list. I think MAP means "minimum advertised price". A dealer can sell a guitar at any price he wants to, he just can't advertise that price. I know most guitar companies go by this, you can tell when every dealer in the country advertises the same prices. I was just wondering what kind of proof you need to get the guarantee.

Side note map and list are 2 different things. List is msrp. Map is minimum advertised price.

No hoops at all. Look if I asked you to do your job for 20% less just because I asked you would you?

what i do and selling guitars is apples and oranges. on the other hand we do give discounts to our customers. and quite frankly WE wont sell a defective unit for any price. we scrap them rather than sell a sub par product and mess up our reputation. can you say the same?

let me ask you this would you pay full price for a car with lifting paint? or a tv with a large crack across the bottom of it? oh by the way the 20% is your figure.

I can't comment on a guitar I know nothing about. Sorry.

yes thats an easy out . look it up its an old hagstrom in the warwick store red no tremelo. fish tail headstock. 2 large cracks in the paint two small ones below the tail piece paint lifting off the body easily noticeable. you can even see that in the photo . :) btw i asked is there any discount for the defect not can i have 20% off. and to be honest were i the manager standing behind this guy i have fired him for being cocky to a customer. but thats me ;) hey ill still do business with guitar center if they have what i want at a reasonable price. but im not gonna say there a great store because there not. btw ill save you the trouble of looking it up here it is even in this little picture you can see the defects. blow it up and there huge cracks.

what i do and selling guitars is apples and oranges. on the other hand we do give discounts to our customers. and quite frankly WE wont sell a defective unit for any price.

let me ask you this would you pay full price for a cadillac with lifting paint?

Sir you did not answer my question so I will ask it again in a different way...
You and I are strangers...if I walked up to you and asked you to give me half your paycheck for no other reason then wanting your money would you do it???

yes thats an easy out . look it up its an old hagstrom in the warwick store red no tremelo. fish tail headstock. 2 large cracks in the paint two small ones below the tail piece paint lifting off the body easily noticeable. you can even see that in the photo . :) btw i asked is there any discount for the defect not can i have 20% off. and to be honest were i the manager standing behind this guy i have fired him for being cocky to a customer. but thats me ;) hey ill still do business with guitar center if they have what i want at a reasonable price. but im not gonna say there a great store because there not. btw ill save you the trouble of looking it up here it is even in this little picture you can see the defects. blow it up and there huge cracks.

Not the easy way out...Its the truthful way out. I can't comment on a guitar I know nothing about. If you have such an issue with the guitar have you tried talking to the general manager? And the 20% number was just a hypothetical. My personal opinion is new is new, used is used, and those prices are defined by market value and street price, map etc...if am item has damage to it but it is still functional or can be sold for parts there is nothing wrong with selling it, but it should be sold at a deep deep discount. It should be sold for what it is worth in the condition it is in.

Sir you did not answer my question so I will ask it again in a different way...
You and I are strangers...if I walked up to you and asked you to give me half your paycheck for no other reason then wanting your money would you do it???

yes we are strangers .

and a moment ago it was 20% now its half your personal check and its neither its a percentage of the sale that guitar center deems what the sales person should get on top of there base pay. like all retail stores. thats there incentive to sell.

heres the thing your trying to tell me the sales person will get less commission on that sale. obviously its not gonna come out of that persons hourly rate. nor yours.

so the question does not apply.

ill ask you another question. what commission has that sales person made on that guitar?

so ok ill answer your question in another way . no im not gonna give you 20 % or 50% or what ever figure you would like to use. and the reason is that i wouldnt sell a defective unit. a sub par unit. a broken unit at any price. by the way the sales person didnt have to do a thing and he didnt thats why he still has the guitar.


by the way so you dont get the wrong idea here. were just two guys who have a different opinion its not personal. its just my opinion. you think guitar center is wonderful i dont. also thats why other stores sell defective product at reduced prices

you said it yourself earlier that you were selling that broken ej i mentioned at a well reduced price. why not the other one then?

btw thanks for calling me sir and not dude. :)

yes we are strangers .

and a moment ago it was 20% now its half your personal check and its neither its a percentage of the sale that guitar center deems what the sales person should get on top of there base pay. like all retail stores.

heres the thing your trying to tell me the sales person will get less commission on that sale. obviously its not gonna come out of that persons hourly rate. nor yours.

so the question does not apply.

ill ask you another question. what commission has that sales person made on that guitar?

so ok ill answer your question in another way . no im not gonna give you 20 % or 50% or what ever figure you would like to use. and the reason is that i wouldnt sell a defective unit. a sub par unit. a broken unit at any price. by the way the sales person didnt have to do a thing and he didnt thats why he still has the guitar.

aparently guitar center doesnt have that policy.

by the way so you dont get the wrong idea here. were just two guys who have a different opinion its not personal. its just my opinion. you think guitar center is wonderful i dont.

btw thanks for calling me sir and not dude. :)

I would like to comment a lot more on this but honestly this being a public forum I can't really talk about the specifics of our pay.

So, uh, I guess you have your first unsatisfied customer there Falconlover. Streaks like that always get broken when they get spoken of!

so a drummer walks into a Best Buy and gets on the escalator ...

not really i like gc for some things. some stores are better than others is all im saying. never had a problem in south attleboro or connetticut. the warwick store not so good. btw when i bought a epiphone dot studio in south attlboro. i was lookig it over and noticed the finish was chipped in multiple places on the neck. i pointed it out to the sales person. who went looking for another one he came back said they had no more went into the office came back with a 50 dollar reduction if i was still interested.. now thats a good guitar center. the sales person was great . didnt get a nope nor a cocky attitude. like i said some stores are better than others. oh and i bought it. ;)

So, uh, I guess you have your first unsatisfied customer there Falconlover. Streaks like that always get broken when they get spoken of!

Really bro...seriously...

Really bro...seriously...


I take calls from time to time from unhappy customers and 100% of the time when we are done they are happy.



sorry man, I thought you were the guy that 100% always has satisfied customers... you come here as a representative of the company and the first set of questions you get... you kind of shine the guy on...

When I go into a guitar center not in my town, the sales people there are strangers... you announced yourself as the guitar center guy... so, which is it

This is GREAT !

I don't have to get in my car and drive to the local GC anymore. I just gotta come to threads like this and watch customers try to haggle an amazingly unreasonable price with myopic guitar center employees. Pure entertainment.

All we need is some 12 year old playing scales and a 15 year old playing Sweet Child O' Mine and the 3 buddies shredding in one aisle.

Guitar Center Guy - do us ALL a favor and get them to create a NO SHREDDING BAND PRACTICE AT THE GC.

Don't them guys have their own amps and a basement?

This is GREAT !

I don't have to get in my car and drive to the local GC anymore. I just gotta come to threads like this and watch customers try to haggle an amazingly unreasonable price with myopic guitar center employees. Pure entertainment.

All we need is some 12 year old playing scales and a 15 year old playing Sweet Child O' Mine and the 3 buddies shredding in one aisle.

Guitar Center Guy - do us ALL a favor and get them to create a NO SHREDDING BAND PRACTICE AT THE GC.

Don't them guys have their own amps and a basement?

id think most people like to try before they buy. if i did the same would save me the trouble of having to drive back there and go through the bs of telling them whats wrong.

i cant blame them for trying out something before they buy it.

i sure would have liked to at least try the wildkat i bought . took it home one pickup didnt work. so it was another ride back to gc. i exchanged it for another one but had the salesperson plug it in to an amp to be sure everything worked .

besides you know no two of the same model dont play the same.

this could be avoided if instead of taking them out of the box and hanging them up if someone inthe back room plugged them in

at to the people playing in gc. i have no problem with that. you may want to shop elsewhere if your that uncomfortable with it. just a suggestion.:):) btw i dont find there prices to be unreasonable there. there list is about the same as every other store.

I go to ALL the GC's in the midwest on a regular basis. Got a 1986 Fender P-Bass in RARE SURF GREEN (MIJ) from my local GC just last week. I even paid them to do the setup.

Which leads me to...at the local GC they got a full time tech, Joe, who does a really good job on basic setups. He sets up all the higher end guitars, if they need it, and does a once over on all the used gear. No fret jobs, but intonation, string height, truss rod adjustments are all done to your preference.

As for the teenagers that hold band practice with the modelling amps, well, they probably aren't spending a lot at the store. I recall asking a trio once why they did it, and they said something about parents who wouldn't let them play at home, and that they usually got their strings mail order.

I don't have to get in my car and drive to the local GC anymore. I just gotta come to threads like this and watch customers try to haggle an amazingly unreasonable price with myopic guitar center employees.

All we need is some 12 year old...Don't them guys have their own amps and a basement?

+1 one to all of that (although I don't know what a "myopic" GC guy would be).

You guys realize the GC is a business right? Sure they want to be competitive in a competive marketplace, but they're not under any obligation to sell you gear for less or close to what they paid for it. It's a business, not a bazaar in Tunisia.

Do you go into your local grocery store and try to haggle the price of green beans if your buying more? Or do you look for coupons and shop around a bit?

They're in no way obliged to drop their pants for you. And yes, if you haggle some poor guy down you can walk away knowing he's taking less money home to his family or for his own gear. Way to go.

And a big +1 about all the wankers and wanking. You want to try before you buy, great. Awesome in fact. Do it. I'm all for it. However, coming into the store on a day off or after school with no intention to buy and sitting down to play on a Marshall halfstack for an hour on 7 different Les Pauls is a total dick move.

Everyone wants a guitar with no scratches. Lots complain about "used-new" stock at GC. The gear gets damaged from a bunch of numb-nuts and everyone complains and wants a discount or to complain about GC selling "sub par" gear, or a new one in a box. How about some adult behavior here? You go into a Rolex store and demand to put them all on and wear them around for an hour? No. But you'll wank on a '59 Re-issue LP and put wear on it.

And you are put wear on the guitars. Don't even argue it.

AND when it comes to high end guitars, that's the stuff in stock!! A business can't have 100%x2 of everything in back. How much money is tied up in inventory at that point??

GC is NOT obligated to let you sit and wank on it's inventory. It's gear for sale. Not the Hollywood bowl. Not the local practice space. Not your gear.

Really want to buy? try it! See something you might be interested in? try it. Have considered a guitar but you just haven't gotten to play one? Try it. Check it out for 2 minutes and give it back. Otherwise your just being a doucher.

id think most people like to try before they buy. i cant blame them for trying out something before they buy it.

i sure would have liked to at least try the wildkat i bought . took it home one pickup didnt work. so it was another ride back to gc.

besides you know no two of the same model dont play the same.

this could be avoided if instead of taking them out of the box and hanging them up if someone inthe back room plugged them in

at to the people playing in gc. i have no problem with that. you may want to shop elsewhere if your that uncomfortable with it. just a suggestion.:):) btw i dont find there prices to be unreasonable there. there list is about the same as every other store.

You were actually buying an instrument. Why didn't you try it out? Why didn't you plug it in? You're exactly the guy who should have been plugged in at GC. You had to make a second trip and it was your fault.

+1 to what you say about prices though. Do YOUR homework when looking to buy. Call around. Do your business where it pleases you.

Hopefully you won't have to conduct said business screaming at the top of your lungs over some Metallica played poorly.

Good analogy, the Rolex watch thingy. Nicely done.

I go to ALL the GC's in the midwest on a regular basis. Got a 1986 Fender P-Bass in RARE SURF GREEN (MIJ) from my local GC just last week. I even paid them to do the setup.

Which leads me to...at the local GC they got a full time tech, Joe, who does a really good job on basic setups. He sets up all the higher end guitars, if they need it, and does a once over on all the used gear. No fret jobs, but intonation, string height, truss rod adjustments are all done to your preference.

As for the teenagers that hold band practice with the modelling amps, well, they probably aren't spending a lot at the store. I recall asking a trio once why they did it, and they said something about parents who wouldn't let them play at home, and that they usually got their strings mail order.

sounds like you got a good gc in your area.:)

+1 one to all of that (although I don't know what a "myopic" GC guy would be).

You guys realize the GC is a business right? Sure they want to be competitive in a competive marketplace, but they're not under any obligation to sell you gear for less or close to what they paid for it. It's a business, not a bazaar in Tunisia.

Do you go into your local grocery store and try to haggle the price of green beans if your buying more? Or do you look for coupons and shop around a bit?

They're in no way obliged to drop their pants for you. And yes, if you haggle some poor guy down you can walk away knowing he's taking less money home to his family or for his own gear. Way to go.

And a big +1 about all the wankers and wanking. You want to try before you buy, great. Awesome in fact. Do it. I'm all for it. However, coming into the store on a day off or after school with no intention to buy and sitting down to play on a Marshall halfstack for an hour on 7 different Les Pauls is a total dick move.

Everyone wants a guitar with no scratches. Lots complain about "used-new" stock at GC. The gear gets damaged from a bunch of numb-nuts and everyone complains and wants a discount or to complain about GC selling "sub par" gear, or a new one in a box. How about some adult behavior here? You go into a Rolex store and demand to put them all on and wear them around for an hour? No. But you'll wank on a '59 Re-issue LP and put wear on it.

And you are put wear on the guitars. Don't even argue it.

AND when it comes to high end guitars, that's the stuff in stock!! A business can't have 100%x2 of everything in back. How much money is tied up in inventory at that point??

GC is NOT obligated to let you sit and wank on it's inventory. It's gear for sale. Not the Hollywood bowl. Not the local practice space. Not your gear.

Really want to buy? try it! See something you might be interested in? try it. Have considered a guitar but you just haven't gotten to play one? Try it. Check it out for 2 minutes and give it back. Otherwise your just being a doucher.



You were actually buying an instrument. Why didn't you try it out? Why didn't you plug it in? You're exactly the guy who should have been plugged in at GC. You had to make a second trip and it was your fault.

+1 to what you say about prices though. Do YOUR homework when looking to buy. Call around. Do your business where it pleases you.

Hopefully you won't have to conduct said business screaming at the top of your lungs over some Metallica played poorly.


honestly i dont see where kids are in there for the reason you mentioned . and at the ones i go to its never very noisy.

as to trying before i buy i now do that since i had the wildkat experience. you can believe i do my homework. related to prices.

ive just never brought a defective guitar home from anywhere else. like you said though thats on me for not following the buyer beware credo.

as to guitar center being a business. your correct sir. as to not asking for a deal..... i have a nice car id like to sell you. so what your saying is you always pay sticker price for everything you buy?

your truely the best customer any store could ask for. :)

Several.

I've been to the one in Warwick a dozen times (technically I work in West Kingston, you might know the company). In fact, I once bought an amp head there, they shipped it to my local GC for free, and the only bad thing about that experience was I had to pay the RI sales tax rate (higher than Michigan).

I work in West Kingston,

Is Custys still there in Kingston ?

The first time I went there, the
"all you could eat lobster buffet"
was $3.95.

=================================

<><> Raspy <><>

+1 one to all of that (although I don't know what a "myopic" GC guy would be).

You guys realize the GC is a business right? Sure they want to be competitive in a competive marketplace, but they're not under any obligation to sell you gear for less or close to what they paid for it. It's a business, not a bazaar in Tunisia.

Do you go into your local grocery store and try to haggle the price of green beans if your buying more? Or do you look for coupons and shop around a bit?

They're in no way obliged to drop their pants for you. And yes, if you haggle some poor guy down you can walk away knowing he's taking less money home to his family or for his own gear. Way to go.

And a big +1 about all the wankers and wanking. You want to try before you buy, great. Awesome in fact. Do it. I'm all for it. However, coming into the store on a day off or after school with no intention to buy and sitting down to play on a Marshall halfstack for an hour on 7 different Les Pauls is a total dick move.

Everyone wants a guitar with no scratches. Lots complain about "used-new" stock at GC. The gear gets damaged from a bunch of numb-nuts and everyone complains and wants a discount or to complain about GC selling "sub par" gear, or a new one in a box. How about some adult behavior here? You go into a Rolex store and demand to put them all on and wear them around for an hour? No. But you'll wank on a '59 Re-issue LP and put wear on it.

And you are put wear on the guitars. Don't even argue it.

AND when it comes to high end guitars, that's the stuff in stock!! A business can't have 100%x2 of everything in back. How much money is tied up in inventory at that point??

GC is NOT obligated to let you sit and wank on it's inventory. It's gear for sale. Not the Hollywood bowl. Not the local practice space. Not your gear.

Really want to buy? try it! See something you might be interested in? try it. Have considered a guitar but you just haven't gotten to play one? Try it. Check it out for 2 minutes and give it back. Otherwise your just being a doucher.

You were actually buying an instrument. Why didn't you try it out? Why didn't you plug it in? You're exactly the guy who should have been plugged in at GC. You had to make a second trip and it was your fault.

+1 to what you say about prices though. Do YOUR homework when looking to buy. Call around. Do your business where it pleases you.

Hopefully you won't have to conduct said business screaming at the top of your lungs over some Metallica played poorly.

Thank you megabutter!!!

Several.

I've been to the one in Warwick a dozen times (technically I work in West Kingston, you might know the company). In fact, I once bought an amp head there, they shipped it to my local GC for free, and the only bad thing about that experience was I had to pay the RI sales tax rate (higher than Michigan).

yeah i know what you mean . thats just another reason for going to south attlboro. and i work 2 minuts from the warwick store.:)

listen id still go to warwick if they had what i wanted at a good price. there was one kid there went out of his way to try to help me . wasnt sure what i wanted that day. when i finally found what i wantes. a ric 325 v63. i went looking for him to make sure he got the sale. im sure the commission was good on that one. he deserved it in my opinion.

guess what hes no longer there. go figure.

as far as asking questions. ive never had to in any guitar store. the only question i ever asked was who is there amp tech. they gave me a phone number and i delt direct with the guy.

Kids get dropped off at these places to be babysat while the folks do other things. Little Jimmy can kill 2 hours easy making irritating noises with no intention of buying anything, more times than not. Get a few of these kids together, and you have a typical saturday afternoon in big box musicstore land.

I worked for many years at 2 different large independents, and we found a great way to deal with the problem using 200 dollar Ibanez guitars and Pods or modeling amps. This solution kept the shopwear of the midline and up guitars at a minimum, saved the sanity of the sales staff and buying customers, and satisfied the kids for as long as they wanted.

Any of you stores ever heard of headphones?

I go to the GC near my house so much, I'm on a first name basis with all of the long term employees.

Jeff...There aren't any "long term employees" at the Totowa, NJ GC. There's a new crop of salespeople practically every time I go in. That's another reason I can't stand GC. No continuity. It's not uncommon to see a guitar salesperson there one day and gone the next week. It happens all the time.

Yet, in my two favorite indie music stores, the same guys have been there for years and know my name when I walk in.

Both these stores beat GC's prices every day of the week. That "we beat any price" mantra of theirs is based on conditions of having a written or verifiable quote from another store. I walk into either one of these two indie stores and get 40-45% off without batting an eye.

Guitar Center is an extremely controversial topic on any forum.

I will repeat my mantra: patronize independent music stores.

Is Custys still there in Kingston ?

The first time I went there, the
"all you could eat lobster buffet"
was $3.95.

=================================

<><> Raspy <><>

not sure but i think its gone. :)

Is Custys still there in Kingston ?

The first time I went there, the
"all you could eat lobster buffet"
was $3.95.

=================================

<><> Raspy <><>

not sure but i think its gone. :) iggys is still there though

not sure but i think its gone. :) iggys is still there though

With all the good restaurants that'll do a whole lobster for $15-$25, why go to the cheap places? I stay away from buffets as a rule.

As for GC employee longevity, maybe Detroit is an anomoly. I can name over a dozen employees who have (or had) 5+ year runs.

Maybe they are quitting because of the sometimes spiteful, hateful and elitist attitudes of certain customers who feel self-entitled to higher level of treatment than the other customers? ;)

Nice one Chad!!! I think I am probably in a similar place with this as you are - its hard for me to get riled up about GC or any other large chain store as I believe they have their place - they are great for buying at a relatively "same price everywhere" predictable price. For any complex set up and higher end work I choose to find someone with a small and quality business, I don't look to GC for that. When I bought my Gretsch there I did the set up as it was pretty straighforward. They are easy with returns if there's a problem and they are friendly enough and less pushy than some of the large chains - you can sit and test drive as many guitars as you want for as long as you want and they pretty much leave you to yourself - I like that. They are what they are - maybe the Target of the guitar world!

For any complex set up and higher end work I choose to find someone with a small and quality business, I don't look to GC for that... you can sit and test drive as many guitars as you want for as long as you want and they pretty much leave you to yourself - I like that... They are what they are - maybe the Target of the guitar world!

I agree that you'll probably end up taking your set up/repair work somewhere else. It wouldn't hurt to ask if your location has an experienced tech w/ a few good certifications. But I don't think many do. Like guitar lessons, GC doesn't offer that service.

As far as the test drive, blecchh. If you're able to sit there and play a bunch of guitars for long periods without being bothered those guys are not doing their jobs. Period.

While as the customer, I do have an expectation of being given respect and courtesy, it also my duty to treat the employees with respect and courtesy.

...make a cacophony of noise. One of those kids might be a future touring artist getting their start.

I would hope that both salesperson and customer would engage in that. Right on. American customers can be so entitled. "I'm here, so get over here and get on your knees and with one hand...." And this isn't just at guitar stores. I'm going to make a broad stroked generalization here.

When I was in sales, my favorite customers were foreigners and soccer moms. (Not because I could "sell" them either) They were a pleasure to do business with.

As far as the noise, love you Chad but, bleecccchhhh. Go home and practice. Come in to do business. Want to window shop? Awesome. Wank? Go away.

Jeff...There aren't any "long term employees" at the Totowa, NJ GC. There's a new crop of salespeople practically every time I go in.

Both these stores beat GC's prices every day of the week. That "we beat any price" mantra of theirs is based on conditions of having a written or verifiable quote from another store. I walk into either one of these two indie stores and get 40-45% off without batting an eye.

Guitar Center is an extremely controversial topic on any forum.

I will repeat my mantra: patronize independent music stores.

When I was at GC in '97 there were guys who had been there for years. They were able to make a living and support a family. Those days are gone. Between GC's over cannibalizing of it's own market (too many stores, too fast, too close together), Internet sales and the recession, GC has been sold off to a national conglomorate corp. The whole industry is in a shift because of it. Sales gigs at GC are for guys/gals just out of high school working on their AA degrees. And those are not long term employees. I'm not knocking, but stating what I'm pretty damn sure is fact.

As for getting a huge percentage of w/out batting an eye, you still get that at GC. It's already on the sticker. Nothing is priced anywhere close to MSRP. They want you to see low prices as you're walking around. And the "lowest advertised price" mantra is totally fair. That is a more than fair business practice. You want them to beat a price? Do some work. Get it writing. Why should they drop their pants just becaused you've decided to walk through the door that day?

Side note: if you want indie music stores to survive you're going to have to embrace other brands. Guitar players don't do that. You need to embrace indipendant builders for your pro stuff. Do you know how much capital you have to have invested to carry Gibson?? How much you're required to purchase each year? If you're a start up, you can't call these guys up and say, "ok! I want to carry your stuff, send me some!". There's requirements. Requirements that a bulk of indie stores can't hang with. For indie stores to survive you cannot, as a guitar playing community, only play on the "vintage" brands.

@ caeman

not bloody likely

the good ones are woodshedding at home and barely see the light of day, let alone the inside of a guitar center

how many recent "stars" have ever been quoted as saying "Thank you to Guitar Center for allowing me to expand my repertoire at their store." ?

answer - ZERO

@ caeman

not bloody likely

the good ones are woodshedding at home and barely see the light of day, let alone the inside of a guitar center

how many recent "stars" have ever been quoted as saying "Thank you to Guitar Center for allowing me to expand my repertoire at their store." ?

answer - ZERO

Plus M-F'in One to that!!

As far as employee longevity most of my current staff has been with the company for over 6 years. Sales is not for everyone and a cold reality is many people think working at a music store means they are going to spend all day playing with gear. The reality is they spend little time playing with gear and more time tagging, polishing, making displays, taking training sessions, and most importantly helping customers. Some stores are employeed by nothing but vet associates. It can be challenging though to keep staffs a long time because as a company we aid our staffs in pursuing their musical careers (this means gig leave as well as using industry connections to help them get gigs and deals, such as warped tour slots) this means that we loose employees to their performance careers a lot, but we see that as a good thing. We know that it is not always the dream of an employee to be a retailer. We want to help the reach their dreams.

That's a fair assessment. I've been to a dozen GCs across the country and they range from excellent to poor in terms of associates. Not all indie shops are hitting home runs either. I like to shop local, and am willing to pay for some knowledge, but there just aren't many good independent shops in the greater Boston area anymore.

http://www.automation-drive.com/EX/05-14-16/monkey-riding-bull.jpg

Guitar Center is Bed Bath and Beyond. It is what it is. I will make sure to ask the kid working the counter the next time I'm in there if GC is helping him reach his dreams. Good lord.

http://www.automation-drive.com/EX/05-14-16/monkey-riding-bull.jpg

Guitar Center is Bed Bath and Beyond. It is what it is. I will make sure to ask the kid working the counter the next time I'm in there if GC is helping him reach his dreams. Good lord.

Didn't mean to strike a nerve, man! Sure it's corporate America, but you find good folks at Home Depot and Walmart on occasion. It's a shame the independent retailer in general is struggling to compete. There's one in your neck of the woods (Fontana? Ontario-can't remember which) that had a bunch of vintage Fender amps and a guy who knew something about them. I almost bought a 3 x 10 Bandmaster there.

Guitar Center is Bed Bath and Beyond. It is what it is. I will make sure to ask the kid working the counter the next time I'm in there if GC is helping him reach his dreams. Good lord.

I watched the movie "Rockstar" the other day. The best way to follow your dreams is to perfect your favorite bands songs and go to their show and take over for current band members.

I walk into either one of these two indie stores and get 40-45% off without batting an eye.

Guitar Center is an extremely controversial topic on any forum.

I will repeat my mantra: patronize independent music stores.

According to this statement, I can buy a MSRP $5,100 Gretsch for somewhere around $2,800 to $3,000 at an indie store. Man that's sweet. PM me the name of that store.

I'm not for or against eithe GC or indies. GC is a store for the masses, but I would not expect expect anyone to let me fumble around and maybe scratch a high end ($3,000 up) guitar, without the idea that if I like it I'm buying it.

If they have some out as demos fine....but get a brand new one out? Not without a deposit.

Didn't mean to strike a nerve, man! Sure it's corporate America, but you find good folks at Home Depot and Walmart on occasion. It's a shame the independent retailer in general is struggling to compete. There's one in your neck of the woods (Fontana? Ontario-can't remember which) that had a bunch of vintage Fender amps and a guy who knew something about them. I almost bought a 3 x 10 Bandmaster there.

Bob,

I wasn't commenting on your post... I think I am gonna need to get some hip boots from the big businessman from guitar center though... good lord, the kid who calls me from our local guitar center is a good kid, not a musician, and I think if I asked him if he was being helped to 'reach his dreams' he'd find it as ridiculous and silly as the assistant manager from bed bath and beyond claiming that they were helping their clerks become decorators.

I think guys slogging it out in retail deserve a lot of credit, there are lots of customers who are always crawling the bottom for a deal (who see themselves as good customers)...

The whole "guitar center" as good guy corporate citizen and "do you guys know how business works" stuff is condescending and lame. I think there are a fair amount of people on this thread who might know some things about corporate life, business and how it works that getting the birds eye view from the internet expert is a great experience only in that my eyes could use the exercise and so rolling them is a worthwhile pursuit.

So, yeah, Bob, I wasn't referencing you at all... but, your point that there are good and nice people who work at home depot etc is assuming so wildly incorrectly that it is hard to fathom how you arrived at the conclusion that ANYONE questioned that there aren't nice people working in retail. Clearly and without question, there are nice and competent people in nearly all walks of life... I haven't seen anyone question that.

I think the thread derailment began with the GC site manager begging everyone not to make jokes about GC and then proceeded to tell us how flawless his record is with GC. For me, GC is like most big box retail experiences. It focuses on price more than value (except in its premier stores) and volume and for a customer base that is more consumer than professional. It is, apparently, a good business model for them, but, for many, it is a mixed experience (like going to wal mart)... not bad, not great, just another big box store... full of some very inspired people (apparently falconlover) and some less so. like a lot of places.

I watched the movie "Rockstar" the other day. The best way to follow your dreams is to perfect your favorite bands songs and go to their show and take over for current band members.

my dreams? or do you mean 'your' in the 'collective sense?

I want to say I understand what you are on about, but, I don't get it. Humor is difficult.

my dreams? or do you mean 'your' in the 'collective sense?

I want to say I understand what you are on about, but, I don't get it. Humor is difficult.

I was trying to be funny. I apologize.

I was trying to be funny. I apologize.

no apology necessary, I just need a smiley face!:D

I'm not too swift.. I need a signal!

also, I live no where near fontana... although I have mad respect for those who can tolerate the inland empire, that takes grit!

I've had both good and bad experiences at Guitar Centers. A lot seems to depend on the attitude of the employees at each individual Guitar Center.

Like everywhere else, some guys there are jerks, some are nice guys..

no apology necessary, I just need a smiley face!:D

I'm not too swift.. I need a signal!

also, I live no where near fontana... although I have mad respect for those who can tolerate the inland empire, that takes grit!

Sorry. I just saw "Sunny Ca" and assumed you were in Fender country.

Regards,

Bob M.

Sorry. I just saw "Sunny Ca" and assumed you were in Fender country.

Regards,

Bob M.

No worries, I know how you Mainers think all us californians are in the desert!

no apology necessary, I just need a smiley face!:D

I'm not too swift.. I need a signal!

also, I live no where near fontana... although I have mad respect for those who can tolerate the inland empire, that takes grit!


I'm offended...

:D

Fontucky is unofficially not part of the Inland Empire.. holy hell I just drove through there today for the 1st time in a decade on the way to the K1 indoor cart racing in Ontario..

I would like to second Tavo in that. :). And I'm also offended.

T, you were in Ontario and didn't swing in to say hi?! I am offended.

And Caeman, for no reason whatsoever, I'm offended. :)

I will not get in the middle of this except to say the way every one feels is probably justified by their own experiences. You don't like GC I don't like Gov. Police, we have all had life experiences. I do know that I can name 5 people who GC has help to meet their goals in the last year. They worked hard, they listened and they earned more by being promoted. Many of you younger folks have great ideas and I learn from you. I appreciate the frustration on both sides, because I have been there. I suggest we go back to discussing Gretsches, Guitars and music and stop talking about the Walmart of Music.
Thank God we can all discuss anything !

I will not get in the middle of this except to say the way every one feels is probably justified by their own experiences. You don't like GC I don't like Gov. Police, we have all had life experiences. I do know that I can name 5 people who GC has help to meet their goals in the last year. They worked hard, they listened and they earned more by being promoted. Many of you younger folks have great ideas and I learn from you. I appreciate the frustration on both sides, because I have been there. I suggest we go back to discussing Gretsches, Guitars and music and stop talking about the Walmart of Music.
Thank God we can all discuss anything !

I'd never go to Walmart, ever! :)

YouTube - &#x202a;Wal Mart: The High Cost Of Low Price- Full Length Documentary&#x202c;&rlm;

Maybe they are quitting because of the sometimes spiteful, hateful and elitist attitudes of certain customers who feel self-entitled to higher level of treatment than the other customers? ;)

That drum guy I liked at GC quit because they were jerking him around financially.

I will not get in the middle of this except to say the way every one feels is probably justified by their own experiences. You don't like GC I don't like Gov. Police, we have all had life experiences. I do know that I can name 5 people who GC has help to meet their goals in the last year. They worked hard, they listened and they earned more by being promoted. Many of you younger folks have great ideas and I learn from you. I appreciate the frustration on both sides, because I have been there. I suggest we go back to discussing Gretsches, Guitars and music and stop talking about the Walmart of Music.
Thank God we can all discuss anything !

Who is the 'you' above? If you are referencing me, read what I wrote. I have no dislike for Guitar Center, I'm just realistic about it...

it is an interesting rhetorical device to say "I won't get in the middle of this" and then get in the middle... it must just be a manner of speaking so to speak.


the debate began because an employee tried to direct the forum and tell the forum that they were not allowed to hold their opinions nor express them.

then, he said he didn't want to ruffle feathers.

In your post, you tell us that we should go discuss something else and not discuss this any more... and then end with 'thank god we can discuss anything"

Well, which is it? We should only discuss what you want as long as you want and we can't speak our minds freely about good or bad experiences and if yours are different, they are more valuable? It doesn't work like that.

The only stuff we DON'T discuss here is religion and politics... (i guess that is the stuff you want to discuss since you mentioned it.)

Tavo, I stand corrected on the geography of Fontana... I have a relative in Corona and I have heard him sigh "7 miles, 7 stinkin' miles and I'd be in Orange county."

(I'm kidding you guys about the inland empire... and I took your posts as the wry whimsy of people who know their way around a soldering iron)

Who is the 'you' above? If you are referencing me, read what I wrote. I have no dislike for Guitar Center, I'm just realistic about it...

it is an interesting rhetorical device to say "I won't get in the middle of this" and then get in the middle... it must just be a manner of speaking so to speak.


the debate began because an employee tried to direct the forum and tell the forum that they were not allowed to hold their opinions nor express them.

then, he said he didn't want to ruffle feathers.

In your post, you tell us that we should go discuss something else and not discuss this any more... and then end with 'thank god we can discuss anything"

Well, which is it? We should only discuss what you want as long as you want and we can't speak our minds freely about good or bad experiences and if yours are different, they are more valuable? It doesn't work like that.

The only stuff we DON'T discuss here is religion and politics... (i guess that is the stuff you want to discuss since you mentioned it.)

Tavo, I stand corrected on the geography of Fontana... I have a relative in Corona and I have heard him sigh "7 miles, 7 stinkin' miles and I'd be in Orange county."

(I'm kidding you guys about the inland empire... and I took your posts as the wry whimsy of people who know their way around a soldering iron)

your relative is not alone! We were moved out of south Orange county in the late 70s and I've never been able to move back ( I dream of living in the hills of irvine).
The IE will always be the butt of jokes but an ol beater 2000 sqft house and pool that doesnt leak is almost half the price of a condo in the OC. ..now Fontucky whoooooweee. thats a new frontier (sadly it was doing well before they shut Kaiser Steel down)


..sorry to tangent, back to the bain of having to go to guitar center because the local music store sells only Arbor guitars from 1980 and the sheet music choices are Styx greatest hits or Elton John does Barry Manilow.

Which of youse jackweeds live in the IE? It sounds pretty crappy for sure.

4 million people in 27,000 square miles. I was happy to hear Michigan was the only state that lost people.

More room for me.

Which of youse jackweeds live in the IE? It sounds pretty crappy for sure.

4 million people in 27,000 square miles. I was happy to hear Michigan was the only state that lost people.

More room for me.

living in the I.E. has its bonus.. no floods, perfect weather.. did I mention no floods, no cold weather, no tornadoes.. just smog and horrible food.

your relative is not alone! We were moved out of south Orange county in the late 70s and I've never been able to move back ( I dream of living in the hills of irvine).
The IE will always be the butt of jokes but an ol beater 2000 sqft house and pool that doesnt leak is almost half the price of a condo in the OC. ..now Fontucky whoooooweee. thats a new frontier (sadly it was doing well before they shut Kaiser Steel down)


..sorry to tangent, back to the bain of having to go to guitar center because the local music store sells only Arbor guitars from 1980 and the sheet music choices are Styx greatest hits or Elton John does Barry Manilow.

man! this is a great post! It made me laugh out loud...

I spent part of the early 80's playing in a country band all over san berdoo and riverside county... it is kind of a blur, but I think we played antelope valley and fontana and some of those areas....

look on the bright side, Waits, Zappa, etc all hail from that direction and my favorite John Stewart (the kingston trio guy) was from Pomona... so, all is not lost...

I remember going with my dad to chino as a kid and they still had rings in the sidewalks to tie up your horse! we ended up in a bar for lunch (my old man, oh boy) anyway, the guys in the bar were slaughtering a lamb in the bathroom for a barbecue....

the good news was the bartender let us kids shoot pool for free...

it is all strip malls and fast food joints now...

I loved your post though!

This jackweed lives in the IE too. From Huntington Beach, to Anaheim hills and now to lovely Corona area.

We did the same thing. Weighed having a nice new home in the IE vs an old S-hole closer to the beach.

New home won out. I would love to move back to AH. Or to Denver. Or Nashville. Or somewhere pretty.

TV's right on the weather though!

TV, that post made me laugh out loud as well.

Where were we? ...

Tavo and Megabutter

I'll trade the smog for cold weather any day. Although being close enough for day trips to the ocean would be cool. With Global Warming we only had 3 bad snowstorms this year. Down from the 12 or so we had annually 40 years ago when i was a kid. No tornados or flooding either, and no wild fires.

No worries, I know how you Mainers think all us californians are in the desert!

Now I'm offended. I was trying to take the high road here and you call me a "Mainer"!

In all seriousness, this thread has been kind of remarkable. It has touched a lot of nerves, but settled down real nice. I do think Pilgrim has a point-time to start talking guitars again.

Thanks

Now I'm offended. I was trying to take the high road here and you call me a "Mainer"!

In all seriousness, this thread has been kind of remarkable. It has touched a lot of nerves, but settled down real nice. I do think Pilgrim has a point-time to start talking guitars again.

Thanks

there are plenty of guitar threads in the naked city.....

I'll trade the smog for cold weather any day

Prefer smog or cold weather? Or you could move to Salt Lake City and have both. The mountains there create a crazy winter inversion. They also have a Guitar Center. ...for good measure.

Cold air is VERY breathable. Smog chokes you.

Keep the smog.

Cold air is VERY breathable. Smog chokes you.

Keep the smog.


I cannot survive cold weather. 85-105 with no humidity is perfect! Thats why we have air conditioning and swimmin pools here. We drive up the mountain
some 50 minutes away to big bear for 4 painful hours if we want to pretend
a white christmas is desirable but that elevation and clean air makes me feel ill.

If I made a mistake and end up in Hell, the air would be cold and I would be chained to the guitar wall of guitar center looking down the check out aisles of walmart with a cold cup of mini-mart coffee. http://papundits.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/smiley-face-cigar.png

I cannot survive cold weather. 85-105 with no humidity is perfect! Thats why we have air conditioning and swimmin pools here. We drive up the mountain
some 50 minutes away to big bear for 4 painful hours if we want to pretend
a white christmas is desirable but that elevation and clean air makes me feel ill.

If I made a mistake and end up in Hell, the air would be cold and I would be chained to the guitar wall of guitar center looking down the check out aisles of walmart with a cold cup of mini-mart coffee. http://papundits.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/smiley-face-cigar.png

you left out the part where rupaul is singing 'believe' to you with longing eyes with the vocoder turned way up.

I'm going to White Castles for a box of 15.

Then I'm gonna autotune my farts.

I'm expecting to be the next Lady Gaga.

Or Lady Gag.

Getbent, I'm pretty sure I just vomited a little in my mouth.

you left out the part where rupaul is singing 'believe' to you with longing eyes with the vocoder turned way up.

or cher.. they are the same person

Then I'm gonna autotune my farts.
.

If you vocode them, you sound like part of the alan parsons project.

if you delay them, you sound like outtakes from a U2 project

if you autotune them... it always sounds like laughter in the rain...

if you phase them.... hot blue alien women (think Shat era Star Trek) will come with a trimmer and put their alien logo on and around los testículos

Los Tesiculos

I just found the name for the surf band I'm forming.

Instead of Mexican wrestling masks we're gonna wear surgical masks.

I just wish that we had somethig like GC in the UK for me to complain about. Outside our few large cities there are mainly only only small music shops with limited stocks of guitars and over priced strings etc. Being a long time guitar player I've taught myself to do most of the tech stuff and am forced to buy online.

I just wish that we had somethig like GC in the UK for me to complain about. Outside our few large cities there are mainly only only small music shops with limited stocks of guitars and over priced strings etc. Being a long time guitar player I've taught myself to do most of the tech stuff and am forced to buy online.


it is convenient in a pinch thats for sure.. kinda like radioshack (tandy in europe) although radioshack is fast becoming just another cell phone
outlet. When I go in and they ask if I want help, I love to spew component
terms and get the same look on their face as the guy from the drum department in guitar accessories.

Yeah, in a pinch, and to get pinched. Bought a couple of pedal connectors today and the knob behind the counter told me that GC doesn't discount accesorries anymore. I asked him since when, and he said they no longer did because they offered lifetime warranties on some accesories. What in the hell that had to do with my question, I'll never know.

So, was charged full pop and tax, all I wanted was the tax included, and got told they don't do ANY discount of accessories. Wow, you just lost a customer who has spent thousands over the last 30 years at many GCs over less than 10% off of full pop. Oh, and it was cash.

Great way to lose business and customers Walmart of music!

well the GC by me is $499.99 short for the MIM white tele that i didn't even get a chance to plug in, after a half hour of plunking around on it, i bought a 5120 in Oct. a Blues Jr. in Dec. and strings and pedals etc. etc. etc. recently... ( mantis shrugs shoulders) guess no one wanted a commision tonight.
also are these MIM teles supposed to have a anniversary neck plate on them? it was a nice surprise to see that, and the tele played nice, but i was not approached to see if i needed assistance so out the door i went. :(

GC has a new feature.

On HOLIDAY WEEKEND SALES they now post THE LIST on the individual store web sites.

Sometimes you can get a screamin' deal on a not so popular item that you're looking for.

Recently, I had a very good experience at the GC store in So. Portland, Me. They were very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Of course, that is likely to vary from store to store. Not all GC employees are created equally...Having said that, please support your local mom & pop music store. They are having a hare time going up against giants like GC.:):)


"I'll be the first one to admit that I don't play that well.
But Elvis didn't either, least as far as I can tell..."

I've also had bad experiences with GC, in multiple stores. Everything from uninformed sales people, to misrepresented gear and defective equipment. (Once had a sales guy try to convince me there was no Jimmy Vaughn Strat. "It's Stevie Ray Vaughn. I've worked here blah blah number of years, never heard of Jimmy Vaughn.") But there is one GC about 45 minutes from where I live where the staff has been very helpful. I tend to buy new gear from independent dealers and used gear from GC because of the return policy.

well the GC by me is $499.99 short for the MIM white tele that i didn't even get a chance to plug in, after a half hour of plunking around on it, i bought a 5120 in Oct. a Blues Jr. in Dec. and strings and pedals etc. etc. etc. recently... ( mantis shrugs shoulders) guess no one wanted a commision tonight.
also are these MIM teles supposed to have a anniversary neck plate on them? it was a nice surprise to see that, and the tele played nice, but i was not approached to see if i needed assistance so out the door i went. :(

see the have me quoting myself on the internet, thats how f'ed up they are.
went back today, same results... time for a boycott.

I recently visited the Carle Place, NY GC and bought a couple of Par 56 cans, which was the only place I could find them in a pinch. It was a nicely laid out store. Good selection of guitars also...for GC. It sure beats the hell out of the Totowa, NJ store.

I think there are many guitar center opened in major city because most of the people want to learn an play guitar. Many types of guitar available in market.opening a guitar center it is most memorable experience in life and increases your music knowledge.

Guitar Center is not a franchise chain. Guitar Center is a publicly traded company that is on the New York Stock Exchange (GTRC). They also own Musician's Friend and Music 123.