Today's GC experience

After asking at the counter a few times, my local Guitar Center now stocks the set of John Pearse strings I use. Went in today to browse their big sale & pick up a set with some other odds & ends.

All the sales people were rather friendly & conversed easily on the usual topics. Each one asked what I played, & each reacted with a raised eyebrow, the approving nod, & a "oooh nicccceeee guitar" when I told them of my Guilds. The real kicker came with the last kid who tried to follow-up with, "Guild is one of my favorite....well, 2nd favorite....ummmm in the top 3 anyway, behind Taylor &" -----wait, here it comes---- "Alvarez."

I politely ignored him after that. :roll:

Oh well Don, with age comes wisdom.

West

Churchill

Don & West - What was it that Winston Churcill said? "If one is under 20 and not a liberal - you have no heart. But if one is over 30 and still a liberal, you have no wisdom." Or is that sense? Or maturity? In this case, I would have to paraphrase Churchill...."If you are not a Guild fan, you are a git. If you own a Guild, you're probably a Geezer with great taste." Something like that. BTW, I never go into Guitar Centers. NEVER! Too much noise and children calling me 'Dude' - how presumptuous of them to suppose they know me well enough call me by such a personal moniker! The shame of it!

Also, I went into a GC when it first opened here and asked the kid at the counter if they carried Guild and he said......wait for it......'never heard of Guild - what is it?' I turned on my heels and have never been back. dbs

never go into Guitar Centers. NEVER! Too much noise and children calling me 'Dude' -

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Children with piercings & tatoo's . Guitar Center is an awful experience. All the shouting into one another's ears & constantly repeating the question because it's too loud to converse at anything like normal conversation level.

Although from time to time I look at one of these tattoo'd, pierced characters with purple hair & wonder what messages & ornamentaion they're sporting on some of their more private spaces.

I'm sure I'm better off not knowing, Friend if mine has an adult daughter with several hedious tatoos, the worst is a multi colored parrot about 12 inches high, covering most of one shoulder & her left breast. Absolutely hedious.

Can't think of an antonym for erotic, but that parrot doesn't do it for me. I keep wondering what it is going to look like 40 years from now when gravity finally wins the battle.

Re: Churchill

SmithfieldFair said:

I never go into Guitar Centers. NEVER! Too much noise and children calling me 'Dude' - how presumptuous of them to suppose they know me well enough call me by such a personal moniker! The shame of it!

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I travel for my company on a infrequent basis, but as you might guess, I will not take my Guilds on an airplane.

So before I go on travel, I will locate a nearby GC so that I can go and sit int the acoustic room and keep my fingers limbered up.

Like everybody said, too noisy, too many "snot nosed kids", and too many piercings, but they are consistent. Same "snot nosed kids" in every store, whether it is Phoenix, Santa Ana, or Chicago. :wink:

The problem with trying out acoustics at GC - even in their closed-door room - is that you can't compete with the youngster around the bend blasting the "Smoke on the Water" riff...

I always find a couple kids in the acoustic section banging out Metallica on an acoustic. So, I just grab the nearest 12 string off the wall, plug it into the always present Bose PAS, and drown them out with Bon Jovi's Dead or Alive. Then a little bit of Zep Tangerine. Repeat.

Yep, I know the feeling.....I usually grab the nearest Montana or First Act and hit'em with "Free Bird" :lol: or "I'd Love to Change the World"!

:wink: West

Too much

You guys are too much................

for them!

Ha! dbs

I keep going back to the parrot tattoo story...... :roll:

I bet it looks like a vulture in 10 years....... :lol:

today's gc experience

I have to join in on the GC trashing. Last guitar I bought was my tele, they had the exact model, finish, etc, that I was looking for hanging on the wall. The next day I went to the small music shop up the street (who I normally deal with) and ordered from them. Guitar Center doesn’t care who ‘tries-out’ their guitars or how they bang on them. A bigger problem I have with them is their “vintage” items. When someone trades in a guitar they just throw it on the wall with a price tag. Besides the f212xl and f50 I have on my wish list, I’m also checking out a Martin d-35, all at least pre-1980. The GC here had a 1972 version of the latter model and when I sat down to play, I almost cut my fingers on the rusty strings and it was in serious need of a set-up.

I have a sincere respect for any musical instrument, no matter how inexpensive, because of the joy it can bring to everyone, no matter what level the player. It doesn’t take much effort to perform basic regular maintenance to keep it looking great, feeling good to the player, and, most importantly, sounding great.

Have a little respect, GC!

Whew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

gilligan

Man, Sam Ash in Columbus is like that, too. All that stuff. I can't get comfortable inside the Big Box. And the sales kids always look at me with a constant smirk like I'm the geezer from Mars, which I probably am.

Nothing wrong with being a geezer from Mars.

Mars! That's where I bought my D-55! I got a great deal on it 'cause it was shortly before they went out of business. I don't remember the name of the Florida businessman who tried to give GC and Sam Ash a run for their money, but he didn't make it. I did get to see Dan Crary and Beppe Gambetta there, though, before they closed. They did a Talylor clinic. Very cool!

Guildmark