Basically my first time in a Guitar Center

ryansummit · September 10, 2012, 09:22:46 PM

delaylab was $269 at gc
so i brought online listings at $219 so i should have got 10% off the $219
i even brought a printout of their beat any price policy
girl rings it up at 199+tax or wahtever it was and im ready to pay
all of a sudden manager comes over and says
"oh wait thats a mistake we're sellin it for $219 too"
after some cursing and mumbling to myself
i ended up paying $219+tax+80miles round trip with tolls
saved -$37 and decided never to go there again

when i said anything about "thats messed up""hold on ,i think youre in the process of ripping me off"
they said yeah they know but thats the way the computers work
and started putting it back under the counter

dogfood · September 10, 2012, 10:15:48 PM

That right there is some shady business. Ain't there some kind of government consumer protection agency that protects consumers from that sort of predatory...stuff?

RAGER · September 10, 2012, 10:25:43 PM

States Attorney General

ryansummit · September 11, 2012, 10:08:55 AM

i always thought it was the government doing this to me in the first place

in my head, if i call some govt agency to complain(about anything)
they call me down,say theyll straighten it out for me
and i end up in the middle of circle of five or six g-men with suits and badges
giving me wedgies, purple-nurples,noogies, and take my lunch money

Metal and Beer · September 11, 2012, 02:23:47 PM

It's shitty but legal; a behemoth that size is highly unlikely to leave a hole like that. Read the fine print (if you have a microscope) on the receipts or elsewhere and you'll find some disclaimer that says, essentially, "We don't guarantee anything and you agree to...." ad nauseum (add nausea )

RacerX · September 11, 2012, 02:28:08 PM

Quote from: ryansummit on September 11, 2012, 10:08:55 AM
i always thought it was the government doing this to me in the first place

Guitar Center is close to being a monopoly, but they're not government agency.

Yet.

zachoff · September 11, 2012, 02:35:07 PM

What bothers me the most about Guitar Center is how horribly they care for the instruments. Every time I go in there I'll pick up at least one decent bass ($800+) that's poorly set up, has scratchy pots and/or switches, and is out of tune. It's not all of them, but man... I'll be damned if it's not a slight majority. Really sucks & makes me not at all want to buy from them. Last thing I bought there was a $20 boom stand during one of their big sales.

bass sic · September 11, 2012, 07:14:15 PM

My wife got me a $100 gift card there for Xmas. When I went in all I needed was a set of strings and some fretboard oil. Since then I can't find the fuckin card that's got over 80 bucks on it. I fully blame guitar center for this. But seriously, I think the tool didn't give my card back. And this tool walked out without it.

dogfood · September 11, 2012, 09:00:20 PM

Last fiddle I bought (NOT from GC) I wanted to get the nut replaced and took it to a nearby fiddle repair dood. He tells me he refinishes/touches up guitars as well of a laundry list of other shit he does. Then proceeds to tell me how some brainiac at GC put a shipment of PRS guitars within reach of every customer. PRS figures this out when GC wants them to refinish the entire shipment due to dings and damage to the finishes, SHOCKING! PRS pays him to retouch all the guitars. GC=clown shoes.

Oh, the guitar store I bought my Tradition Lester was owned by a Jazz Cat, real friendly dude. His wife on the other hand was a nazi. He stocked Eastman Jazz Boxes, very cool indeed. I really dig the Tradition, it's built by Samick, nicer than any Epi I've ever picked up, unplugged sounds like it should be playing Sweet Home Alabama, and the company that sells'm is in Fort Worth. I kind of buy into that local connection gimmick.

bitter · September 11, 2012, 09:43:18 PM

Can you elaborate on naziwife?

The Shocker · September 12, 2012, 07:56:53 AM

Quote from: dogfood on September 11, 2012, 09:00:20 PM
Last fiddle I bought (NOT from GC) I wanted to get the nut replaced and took it to a nearby fiddle repair dood. He tells me he refinishes/touches up guitars as well of a laundry list of other shit he does. Then proceeds to tell me how some brainiac at GC put a shipment of PRS guitars within reach of every customer. PRS figures this out when GC wants them to refinish the entire shipment due to dings and damage to the finishes, SHOCKING! PRS pays him to retouch all the guitars. GC=clown shoes.

I think Sunn Jake does something similar for his local GC.

VOLVO))) · September 12, 2012, 09:21:13 AM

Quote from: The Shocker on September 12, 2012, 07:56:53 AM
Quote from: dogfood on September 11, 2012, 09:00:20 PM
Last fiddle I bought (NOT from GC) I wanted to get the nut replaced and took it to a nearby fiddle repair dood. He tells me he refinishes/touches up guitars as well of a laundry list of other shit he does. Then proceeds to tell me how some brainiac at GC put a shipment of PRS guitars within reach of every customer. PRS figures this out when GC wants them to refinish the entire shipment due to dings and damage to the finishes, SHOCKING! PRS pays him to retouch all the guitars. GC=clown shoes.

I think Sunn Jake does something similar for his local GC.

Used to do overflow and amp repairs for them under the table!

ryansummit · September 12, 2012, 11:06:37 AM

when i shoppin around for an sg i went to gc in brooklyn with a buddy of mine to try some stuff out
really wanted a used, cheap beater so perusing the clearance wall
there was a g400 that looked brand new but had a red tag so i was pumped
it was only $10 off the exact same model in the new section 5 feet away(new $399,this $389)
the headstock had been broken clean off and repaired, but SOOO crooked
back and to the left and a little bit of a twist
ended up losing my ipod in there that day too
do they haggle on the prices in the used section,is there like a trained in house haggler?
the problem though, just like local hardware/building supply and home depot,is my local shop
has a bunch of bullshit that the owner is fixated on at the moment,and expensive
and because no one buys shit there, he doesnt buy/trade in,hes currently into buying(free?) broken ass amps,rigging them to make some noise,and labeling them as vintage

RAGER · September 12, 2012, 04:53:53 PM

Quote from: Instant Dan on September 09, 2012, 04:22:20 PM
Details on the strap, good sir.

Picked up the strap today. really nice well built. it will last longer than me. pretty serious strap, I mean it came with a carabiner so.....

But seriously recommend these. mono cases GS1. $50 from the mfr. $40 from GC

RacerX · September 12, 2012, 04:56:30 PM

I swear by these:

http://www.couchguitarstraps.com

RAGER · September 12, 2012, 06:22:43 PM

those do look nice. Gee i wonder what one you use?

I'll look into those the next time.

bitter · September 12, 2012, 06:35:29 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I really need to move away from Ernie ball straps. They work fine, but if the strap isn't directly on my shoulder, the nylon material tends to rub my neck raw.

bass sic · September 12, 2012, 09:30:23 PM

Im diggin the "none more black" strap. 1/2 foot longer than most others.

edit: I do not have one yet, was not endorsing it. Just gassing.

spookstrickland · September 12, 2012, 10:05:05 PM

I like guitar center for the fact that it's one of the only places where you can truly touch and feel what you are buying with out some sales person standing over the top of you making sure you don't smudge the pickguard.

A fun thing me and my old drummer used to do was go into the drum department get them to give us a couple pairs of sticks then proceed to jam out at as hard as we could and play the newest slipknot tune. It usually took us about 30 seconds to clear the room and another 30 before we were asked give it a rest but it was always pretty funny

Ranbat · September 12, 2012, 10:32:39 PM

I dig'em for a couple reasons. First, if you're looking to buy stuff like Peavey, it's almost always way under priced. I bought a USA Predator in need of paint for $25. Their EH pedals are always that way too. I bought a PolyChorus for something like $30 because they didn't have the power supply. The second thing I like is they do lotsa pickup swaps, so I'm always getting good deals on pickups for resell projects. I bought a set of Teisco pickups for $20. I can get Epi chrome covered buckers for $5 usually.

RacerX · September 12, 2012, 10:47:39 PM

Quote from: RAGER on September 12, 2012, 06:22:43 PM
those do look nice. Gee i wonder what one you use?

I'll look into those the next time.

heh.

Believe it or not, I don't own one of the RacerX straps, just 2 of the deadstock vinyl (None More Black, Red 80's Mercedes). I will eventually get one, though, probably black w/ red stripe. I really dig red & black.

bbottom · September 12, 2012, 11:56:58 PM

Quote from: spookstrickland on September 12, 2012, 10:05:05 PM

A fun thing me and my old drummer used to do was go into the drum department get them to give us a couple pairs of sticks then proceed to jam out at as hard as we could and play the newest slipknot tune. It usually took us about 30 seconds to clear the room and another 30 before we were asked give it a rest but it was always pretty funny

That right there is one of the exact reasons why I hate going into GC

bitter · September 13, 2012, 05:02:53 AM

Quote from: bbottom on September 12, 2012, 11:56:58 PM
Quote from: spookstrickland on September 12, 2012, 10:05:05 PM

A fun thing me and my old drummer used to do was go into the drum department get them to give us a couple pairs of sticks then proceed to jam out at as hard as we could and play the newest slipknot tune. It usually took us about 30 seconds to clear the room and another 30 before we were asked give it a rest but it was always pretty funny

That right there is one of the exact reasons why I hate going into GC

The Shocker · September 13, 2012, 08:59:17 AM

I went in there a few times when I was starting out with my guitar playing. I always felt extremely uncomfortable. Too much noise everywhere (not just the wanking, but fucking loud music overhead), hipster douches that couldn't be assed to help anyone besides the occasional cute girl, or old guys that were fucking snobs and acted like any basic question was beneath them. Fuck that place.

Pissy · September 13, 2012, 02:10:35 PM

I have no fond memories of mom and pop shops around here. They are all gone inside the limits of Charlotte.

Exceptions: Coleman music in China Grove NC -dude is an old school
Orange nut, and always has a line on the cool stuff ( Sunn, hiwatt, lawsuit guitars, decent players quality used stuff). He is still in business, but he's 45 minutes up the road.

There was also a cool place that dealt in old school band equipment where awesome deals could be had on drum stuff. Cymbals mostly, but hardware and thrones and pedals and shit, if you needed them you could totally afford them. They went away long befor Mars, Sam Ash and GC came to town.

Everybody else in town I don't have good memories of. And by that I mean most of them I didn't care for. Didn't deserve to get Walmarted out of town by any means, but I don't really miss them. The best places from back then are still around today, just not inside the city.

Fat Sound in Cary NC (Raliegh)
2112 percussion in Raliegh
Coleman Music in China Grove NC
Mullis Music in Concord NC
Elderly in Lansing MI
Gruhns in Nashville TN
Capital City Guitars in Olympia WA
Guitar Maniacs in Tacoma WA
Kenelly Keys chain in the Seattle area.

All still alive and great places with cool stuff. And those are only the places that I've been to that I thought were cool.
Ok that's it...
I call thread jack.

List out your favorite music stores so that the jet set might visit one of these cool places and give the finger to the man.
I'd add that place in Dallas I went to, but all the cool shit was hanging on the wall, not for sale as it was part of the owners collection. Lame.