Went To A Guitar Center For The First Time In A While

JF-30

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So a little over a year ago my wife and I inherited a house that we got due to her fathers passing. Its in Little River, SC. We are transitioning down there, and I was just there over the 4th holiday. Well a GC popped up in North Myrtle, just 10 mins form the house. I had not been in a CG for a few years. I'm an all acoustic player now so I just walked by the sad and I mean sad assortment of Mexican and Chinese junk and the 3 or 4 USA made guitars in the electric side of the house. If you wanted an American made guitar you had to get one of there friendly 20'something associates to go up the ladder unlock and get it. F U no thanks. There was one $1999 LP and a $1200 American Fender Pro Something. My D-35 is worth more than any guitar in the electric room. Now off the acoustic room. 3 Martins priced at $1500 and a heap ton of Mexican ones. 2 Gibson's both locked up and unobtainable unless said associate climbs the ladder and unlocks it. CG should have 2 acoustic rooms. One for the 16 year olds with the $299 Chinese guitars for them to ruin Stairway on and one room for the adults that can afford nice American made guitars.

So here is the short version. GC blows. Especially the one in North Myrtle. Good thing I can buy picks and strings online. I doubt I will ever step foot in there ever again.
 

GAD

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All GCs are different. I’ve been in GCs with amazing selections but those are usually in big cities. I’ve also been in big city GCs that suck.

The chinese “junk” is there because it sells. That’s more of a socio-economc thing than a GC thing IMO.
 

The Guilds of Grot

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So a little over a year ago my wife and I inherited a house that we got due to her fathers passing. Its in Little River, SC. We are transitioning down there, and I was just there over the 4th holiday. Well a GC popped up in North Myrtle, just 10 mins form the house. I had not been in a CG for a few years. I'm an all acoustic player now so I just walked by the sad and I mean sad assortment of Mexican and Chinese junk and the 3 or 4 USA made guitars in the electric side of the house. If you wanted an American made guitar you had to get one of there friendly 20'something associates to go up the ladder unlock and get it. F U no thanks. There was one $1999 LP and a $1200 American Fender Pro Something. My D-35 is worth more than any guitar in the electric room. Now off the acoustic room. 3 Martins priced at $1500 and a heap ton of Mexican ones. 2 Gibson's both locked up and unobtainable unless said associate climbs the ladder and unlocks it. CG should have 2 acoustic rooms. One for the 16 year olds with the $299 Chinese guitars for them to ruin Stairway on and one room for the adults that can afford nice American made guitars.

So here is the short version. GC blows. Especially the one in North Myrtle. Good thing I can buy picks and strings online. I doubt I will ever step foot in there ever again.


Wow, quite the vitriol. Do you feel like they owe you the store you want it to be, or did somebody just crap in your coffee this morning?
 

JF-30

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Wow, quite the vitriol. Do you feel like they owe you the store you want it to be, or did somebody just crap in your coffee this morning?

No they don't owe me anything. Just like I don't ever have to go in there ever again and spend money.

The GC I went to in Atlanta was the biggest one I was ever in. I remember it being a nice one, but I don't live in Hot 'Lanta.
 
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richardp69

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I'll admit, I'm not a big GC fan either. Not much of a selection for what I'm interested in but they do serve a niche for young players who can't afford the higher end stuff. And, in all fairness, some of the Asian etc. import stuff is really not all that bad.

Mostly, for me anyway, any town with over 5,000 people or so makes me really nervous and jerky. So, I pretty much limit my buying to online sources. Plenty to choose from, prices can be pretty good and be it Ebay or Reverb, there is significant protection for both the buyer and seller.
 

wileypickett

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Just like all businesses, it mainly comes down to who runs the store and how they translate a good, bad or indifferent management style to their employees.

Most of the GC's I've been in fall into the "indifferent" category. Employees are disinterested, marking time; the selection of instruments is mostly on the dull side, etc.

That said, I do own a couple guitars bought at GCs I've stumbled upon while en route somewhere else, including a Westerly Guild D4-12.

They're crapshoots -- you never know what you'll find. I tend to go in with low expectations, but sometimes I come across something interesting.
 

adorshki

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Just like all businesses, it mainly comes down to who runs the store and how they translate a good, bad or indifferent management style to their employees.
Most of the GC's I've been in fall into the "indifferent" category. Employees are disinterested, marking time; the selection of instruments is mostly on the dull side, etc.
Yeah kinda hard to find motivated employees in retail, and think about what that means for management development as well.
First thing that occurred to me after original post was "consider the local market", too.

That said, I do own a couple guitars bought at GCs I've stumbled upon while en route somewhere else, including a Westerly Guild D4-12.
They're crapshoots -- you never know what you'll find. I tend to go in with low expectations, but sometimes I come across something interesting.
I'm with the folks that find the travel and crowds irksome and will only go to ANY store for a very specific reason, but that's the real point.
 
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dreadnut

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So, JF-30, why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel? LOL

I share many of your sentiments for our local GC as well; the only reason I go there is because sometimes you can score a really good deal on equipment.
 

Cougar

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....So, I pretty much limit my buying to online sources. Plenty to choose from, prices can be pretty good and be it Ebay or Reverb, there is significant protection for both the buyer and seller.

There's also an occasional good deal in GC used gear that might be at a GC on the other side of the country. They'll ship to your door or the local GC for a nominal fee, and if something's wrong with it (not sure what their return-for-any-reason policy is), you can just return it to your local GC - no return shipping!

The only experience I've had with this, I received a gorgeous Gibson Songwriter 12-string, but it had a seriously separated center seam from the bridge to the bottom that was not disclosed. Whether it happened during shipping, I don't know, but whatever. Returned it to my local GC no problem, full refund. :tiger:
 
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walrus

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I have two pretty close to me. Both are OK, no problems with the staff or anything, and I have bought guitars and accessories there. IMHO, it depends on the management of the store. And the return policy can't be beat.

walrus
 

JF-30

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Most of the time I'm in Newport News, VA and the closest GC is in Virginia Beach. Its bigger than the one in North Myrtle and obviously has more, but its over and hour away.
 

dapmdave

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+1 on buying from GC on-line. I have scored several nice items that way, including last year's purchase of my Peregrine. You just gotta love a solid return policy for used gear bought on-line.

But I rarely get into the stores. There are 2 of them in the Orlando area.
 

MLBob

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All GCs are different.

,,,, +1 as that's been my experience as well. There is a GC and a Sam Ash within walking distance of each other not too far from me, and it's nice to have the opportunity to check out what's in there first hand. It's nice to be able to sit down with whatever is currently in stock in their acoustic rooms. It's unrealistic for those of us here on LTG to think that businesses will follow our idea of what should be within their walls, especially given how we probably go about researching and purchasing the guitars we'd like to own.
Unfortunate if an employee of any music outlet - major chain or small independent - acts in a manner to put people off, but I also think we need to be careful of being so quickly "offended" by what we think the business model (and /or clientele) that suits us should be.
I do have to say that the dealers near me are pretty good about letting folks sit down and play what's there. Matter of fact, there's a big sign on the door of the Sam Ash acoustic room that says. "Come in and Play." I can totally understand why some of the high-end acoustics might be locked behind glass, but none of the staff I've dealt with have ever refused - or shown they felt inconvenience - to get something out for me when asked. Matter of fact, I ended up with my Gibson Hummingbird 12 after the acoustic manager at the local GC asked me if I had seen it while I was on a search for a 12 with a slimmer neck profile than my JF 30 -12. (I had missed it, as it was hanging up high on the wall in the room for better acoustics) He also set it aside and held it back for me for a few days while I continued to look at what other shops had. In addition to the GC & Ash stores, there are also quite a few smaller shops that I'm glad are staying "healthy" enough to remain in business, and it's nice to be able to drop in on them as well.

Bob
 

mike1100

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All GCs are different.
Hahahahaha, are they?

What?! I love Guitar Center. Where else can one go to hear "Smoke on the Water", "Thunderstruck", "Sweet Child of Mine", and my absolute favorite.................just the first measure of "Nothing Else Matters" with more repeats than a 90s techno song.

Yea, I know....kids have to start somewhere. For a laugh, I swear, I want to go into a Guitar Center and belt out "Smelly Cat".
 

adorshki

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Yea, I know....kids have to start somewhere. For a laugh, I swear, I want to go into a Guitar Center and belt out "Smelly Cat".
On an F20?
789c55e77420ba85-600x338.jpg

Or a D4?
01b7ae68-1259-4ccf-98b3-37b201c96c37.jpg
 

mike1100

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On an F20? Or a D4?

I love Chrissie Hynde, but her cover pales in comparison. To her credit, it is a hard song. Going D4. I need all the help I can get to emulate Phoebe's tone. It's a shame I wasn't born a "Double Jointed Boy."
 

JF-30

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Hahahahaha, are they?

What?! I love Guitar Center. Where else can one go to hear "Smoke on the Water", "Thunderstruck", "Sweet Child of Mine", and my absolute favorite.................just the first measure of "Nothing Else Matters" with more repeats than a 90s techno song.

Yea, I know....kids have to start somewhere. For a laugh, I swear, I want to go into a Guitar Center and belt out "Smelly Cat".
All your gonna get are sideways looks. 16 YO's have no clue what Friends was.

Now impress me and without Googling it post all lyrics to that song. I think the chords are A, D and of course E.

All I can remember is:

Smelly Cat Smelly Cat
What are they feeding you
Smelly Cat Smelly Cat
It's not your fault

I know there is more.
 
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mike1100

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All your gonna get are sideways looks. 16 YO's have no clue what Friends was.

Now impress me and without Googling it post all lyrics to that song. I think the chords are A, D and of course E.

All I can remember is:

Smelly Cat Smelly Cat
What are they feeding you
Smelly Cat Smelly Cat
It's not your fault

I know there is more.

Sorry, I don't know all the chords, much less the lyrics. I don't even have a guitar strap (shame).

(wish I could find a better quality video clip)
 
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Westerly Wood

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I went to a local one a couple days ago and they had a killer deal on strings, holiday sale. very friendly staff too.
 
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