Posted this on the Acoustic Forum in response to a post about not being allowed to use a pick when looking at a guitar in a store. Reminded me of this incident:
About 40 years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to play the 'cello, so I went looking for a beginner's 'cello. At the time, there was a music store here that catered to the local string players (we have both a professional symphony and several civic orchestras as well as a world respected graduate music school). Before I asked about 'cellos, I noticed a vintage Gretsch archtop that looked to be in pretty good shape. I noticed the strings were slack, just barely enough tension to hold the bridge in place. I asked if they'd tune it up or let me tune it up and was told, sure, if you're going to buy it, we'll tune it for you. Well, I wasn't about to spend anything on a guitar I couldn't play first, and it left a bad taste in my mouth about the place. I had $1500 dollars in my pocket that I promptly took to a local guitar store and bought an Ibanez 2355, their ES-175 copy, and still had $1,000 left over. Still think about getting a 'cello, though.
Anybody ever had a similar experience?
Brad
About 40 years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to play the 'cello, so I went looking for a beginner's 'cello. At the time, there was a music store here that catered to the local string players (we have both a professional symphony and several civic orchestras as well as a world respected graduate music school). Before I asked about 'cellos, I noticed a vintage Gretsch archtop that looked to be in pretty good shape. I noticed the strings were slack, just barely enough tension to hold the bridge in place. I asked if they'd tune it up or let me tune it up and was told, sure, if you're going to buy it, we'll tune it for you. Well, I wasn't about to spend anything on a guitar I couldn't play first, and it left a bad taste in my mouth about the place. I had $1500 dollars in my pocket that I promptly took to a local guitar store and bought an Ibanez 2355, their ES-175 copy, and still had $1,000 left over. Still think about getting a 'cello, though.
Anybody ever had a similar experience?
Brad