Why GC sucks (and why I'll go back)

[Michael Martin]

A week ago I was looking for a battery-powered amp, specifically a Crate Taxi. I did all the calling around, no luck at the places close by, but lo and behold, GC says they have one left. The GC is about 30 miles away...

 

So I drive down, and there it is. It has cuts in the tolex, scuffs all over, pretty dirty--looks like some hard outdoor use to me, but the stoner-lookin' and stoner-talkin' sales dude reassures me that it's, ahem, "new"...

 

Well, OK--long as I drove all this way, let's hear it, so then it's hmmm, no charge left in the battery--where'd we, like, put the power supply? Well hey, man, in the meantime, check out this buzzy little Roland Micro Cube or this other chintzy tinny craptastic little box with flanger and delay and death metal distortion settings! Just what every acoustic player needs! And by the way, I guess we don't have that power supply anymore, man, after all. Bummer. Whatever.

 

Why would I ever go back? Just to play in the acoustic guitar room. I can close the door on all that and revel in the hanging garden of wonders. And of course, probably leave without buying anything, and probably without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it.

 

PS: I did find a Crate Taxi at an old-line mom-and-pop-scale store. It was a pleasure giving them my money, and quite a contrast besides.

[Kerouac]

I'm teaching a small group class at GC tonite. Every 5 or 6 weeks a teacher from our academy comes out. Last time I played a vintage Gibby, and one of the other teachers played a Santa Cruz they had gotten in on a trade.

[guitarist21]

 

Why would I ever go back? Just to play in the acoustic guitar room. I can close the door on all that and revel in the hanging garden of wonders. And of course, probably leave without buying anything, and probably without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it.

 

 

+1 to this post. You totally nailed exactly why GC is terrible and exactly why it is great.

 

Ellen

[EvilTwin]

One other reason it's great is that every now and again, you can get good deals on buying strings in bulk.

 

Other than that, I completely agree with everything you said.

[bsman]

I don't care if they do occasionally have "deals", I won't even walk in the door of the GC in San Jose. The place is staffed by folks who don't give a damn. I am fortunate in that there are alternatives (Guitar Showcase, Gryphon, Starving Musician) in the area that are much friendlier, cleaner, appealing, and have prices just as good.

[dhoenisch]

I'm pretty much at the point where I am refusing to go to Guitar Center. I's hard to get any help in that place, and when you do finally get help, you're lucky if the person helping you knows about acoustics. The two Guitar Centers near me have a Sam Ash music near them, and I can just as easily go there. They may not have the largest selection in acoustic instruments, but at least I can get helped over there, and there are folks that know about acoustics. I know that my last few posts have been against Guitar Center, but they are just such a pain in my butt, that I don't think it's worth stepping foot in those stores anymore. Also, I purchased my Martin a couple of weeks ago, and I had a question about something. I've called a few times, and am still having an issue getting any kind of help. They keep telling me that they'll call me back, and never do. Than, they are supposed to hand me off to someone else, who is never there. Than, when they do call, they call me at my home number, even though I tell them to call me at my work number. Than, I call them back, and that person is busy. I think I am just going to have to go there naked with my Martin in hand to get any kind of response from them.

 

Dan

[Stackabones]

I do my own research before going to GC, so I don't really look to the salesfolks for any help. Sometimes you get one that knows what's up, but in general it's just bunch of "bros" being bounced around.

 

But I haven't really bought much gear from them, though I did pick up a used Aria travel guitar there (of course, they had no idea what it was and it wasn't even assembled) last summer.

 

It's a fantastic place to knock around on the lastest gee-whiz-bang gadget or grubby gear. I also use them when I need something quick ... like a cord or a stand.

[EvilTwin]

 

I's hard to get any help in that place, and when you do finally get help, you're lucky if the person helping you knows about acoustics.

 

 

See, I don't even ask for help in GC anymore. There's usually only a few customers in the acoustic room, and clerks barely come back (if ever). If I see something I want to play, I just pick it up.

[OldGuitarPlayer]

Well..up here in the "great white north" we don't have any GC stores. ( that I know of) The biggest chain we have is Long & McQuade based out of Toronto. The one in my city (Ottawa) is pretty good and the guys that work there are musicians. They don't really have a very good selection of acoustics but they have what appears to be just about every type of Epiphone electric guitar invented. My main beef with it is that it is not located very close to me. I generally do my gear shopping at SongBird Music (used gear)or Steve's Music which is closer to my house and they have been in business here for almost 30 yrs. The same dudes have been working there since the place opened I think

 

OGP

[Cripes]

No problems here with GC - at all. But, I won't sacrifice my evening snack or weekend chore to go there unless there is something curiously nagging that I want to check out, which seldom happens. I'm pretty set with the guitars I have so I don't get GAS other than for a classical, which isn't available there, IMO. Every now and then I get jitters to play a Gibson J-185 but that's natural.

[Hudman]

There is a fairly new GC a mile from work. I drive by it everyday and rarely get the urge to go in. I think I have been in there 6 times over the past year.

 

The acoustic room is always empty. It would be awesome if they maintained their guitars.

[babablowfish]

I have listed the first of my rare books on ebay and if I succeed in selling enough of them at good prices then I will likely proceed with buying that Taylor (I forget what model it was GC 8? - but I'll know it when I see it.) When (and if) I am ready to pull the trigger, I will definitely go to GC to see if the one I played is still there. I have no problems with GC

[spruce goose]

Some of the guys at GC (manhattan, brooklyn, queens..) are ok. I've only recently started to really learn about guitars (though I've been playing for quite a while), and GC has been helpful (as has this forum).

 

Some of the salesmen/women are nice, and some are idiots. One of the latter types tried to help me find an acoustic the other day, so he gives me a maple s/b gibson w/ spruce top, and I start to play it. He asks me what kind of sound I'm looking for, and I tell him that I want something for strumming rock/rhythm for recording (or something to that effect, anyway).

 

So, then I mention that I have a Taylor that I might want to replace because the Taylor is too bright. Then, the guy starts to tell me how great the gibson would be, because the combination of spruce and maple generates the brightest sound.... then he does this face: realizing his error, and mumbles something unintelligible to complete the sentence.

 

I almost felt sorry for the guy. Instead of being honest, and telling me that the guitar I'm holding might be too bright, he just had to try and sell me this one (even though they have dozens of other guitars..).

 

For the record, I don't have a problem with spruce top / maple side gibsons. The dove (spruce/maple gibson) is actually one of my favorite acoustics. I don't think doves are "bright" either. At least not like Taylors are. But then again, I'm not an expert salesman at GC.

[flatcat]

I find it frustrating that the guitars in every GC I've gone into - that's four in the past six months - have had acoustic guitars that had absolute crap for strings on them. I will say that the one north of Hartford, at least there was a guy in there changing the strings. The other ones though....I mean, it's not just that they're old - they're rusty and corroded, just absolute crap.

 

I can't really think of anything positive I can say about GC, now that I think about it. I haven't ever had a pleasant experience shopping there, not once.

[Queequeg]

I've had the pleasure of avoiding GC for a couple of years now and it's fairly close by.

I'm old enough that the teenybopper sales staff leave me alone because they must figure I'm the grandfather of some kid banging on a Fender Squire over there.

But I'm fortunate to have a pretty good shop in Ann Arbor, and when I am willing to drive an hour I can shop @ Elderly. So I know everybody doesn't have these opportunities, but I have to say I feel sorry for all you guys who like the GC because I have to assume your options are quite limited.

[DonK]

 

A week ago I was looking for a battery-powered amp, specifically a Crate Taxi. I did all the calling around, no luck at the places close by, but lo and behold, GC says they have one left. The GC is about 30 miles away... So I drive down, and there it is. It has cuts in the tolex, scuffs all over, pretty dirty--looks like some hard outdoor use to me, but the stoner-lookin' and stoner-talkin' sales dude reassures me that it's, ahem, "new"... Well, OK--long as I drove all this way, let's hear it, so then it's hmmm, no charge left in the battery--where'd we, like, put the power supply? Well hey, man, in the meantime, check out this buzzy little Roland Micro Cube or this other chintzy tinny craptastic little box with flanger and delay and death metal distortion settings! Just what every acoustic player needs! And by the way, I guess we don't have that power supply anymore, man, after all. Bummer. Whatever. Why would I ever go back? Just to play in the acoustic guitar room. I can close the door on all that and revel in the hanging garden of wonders. And of course, probably leave without buying anything, and probably without feeling the slightest bit guilty about it. PS: I did find a Crate Taxi at an old-line mom-and-pop-scale store. It was a pleasure giving them my money, and quite a contrast besides.

 

 

Had this same thing happen to me when I bought my Fender Twin Reverb a couple of years ago. Since it was an Anniversary model, it was in relatively short supply. My local store had sold out their allotment, so I was relegated to GC. I called around, but none of the nearby ones had it in stock, so I started calling the Baltimore stores. I found one that said they had it in stock, with the sales rep assuring me it was "new-in-box". Well, the next day I drive 55 miles to the store, whereupon the sales rep proceeds to take me into the vintage guitar room: lo and behold, there it is, looking for all the world like it had recently returned from a long and rough world tour. When I reminded him that he'd said it was "new-in-box" he said, "well, it is, it's never left the store and I've got the box in the back, and it's covered by the full warranty." I don't even think he was trying to be a jerk: he just didn't understand that "floor model" (and a well worn one at that) and "new-in-box" are different things. I think he was scratching his head as I left; he was just genuinely perplexed. I shouldn't have been surprised, since that kind of perspective is typical of just about every GC I've ever visited.

 

Fortunately, my local store was eventually able to scare one up for me, and since they do a huge volume and have great prices, I was able to get for $150 less than GC was asking.

[BrandonBrinley]

Musicians friend has got them for $149 :]

[denvertrakker]

...I have to say I feel sorry for all you guys who like the GC because I have to assume your options are quite limited.

 

Limited? I live in a town of 11,000 people. One music store, carries Ibanez only. At list prices. I can drive north to another store, 35 miles away, that carries two brands - Jasmine (not even Takamine) and Montana! Or, I can drive 100 miles to Denver. Thank heaven for the internet - it makes living in cattle/corn/beet country tolerable.

 

OTOH, my closest neighbor is a horse...

[babablowfish]

 

I've had the pleasure of avoiding GC for a couple of years now and it's fairly close by. .... So I know everybody doesn't have these opportunities, but I have to say I feel sorry for all you guys who like the GC because I have to assume your options are quite limited.

 

 

There are 3 GCs about 1/2 hour in various directions (Nashua, Danvers and Boston); Daddy's Junky Music about 2 minutes from my house, The Musician's Workshop also 2 minutes away, The Guitar Garage 5 minutes from here, Daddy's in Manchester, Saugus, Nashua, Portsmouth and Boston 30-40 minutes each, Darren's Music Center about 15 minutes in Derry and I could go on. My options are actually quite numerous. I still like GC.

[guitarist21]

 

The Guitar Garage 5 minutes from here, Daddy's in Manchester, Saugus, Nashua, Portsmouth and Boston 30-40 minutes each, Darren's Music Center about 15 minutes in Derry and I could go on. My options are actually quite numerous. I still like GC.

 

 

I've been to the Daddy's in Boston. A couple of times my visits were dedicated entirely to the acoustic room. I was suprised/happy to see they had some A&Ls (for some reason, there aren't a lot in Chicago). LOTS of Ibanezes. Just a lot of guitars in the sub-$300 range. They really outnumbered everything else. I would've like to have seen a few more Martins and a few less Ovations, but that's just me. Overall the staff there has been nice enough but I can tell some of them are kind of sick of Berklee students (its right across the street).

 

I can't get to the GC without taking the extensive public transportation, so I'm stuck with Daddy's for a while. Not a terrible thing to be stuck with though. It reminds me of a smaller, quieter GC.

 

Ellen

[babablowfish]

 

I've been to the Daddy's in Boston. A couple of times my visits were dedicated entirely to the acoustic room. I was suprised/happy to see they had some A&Ls (for some reason, there aren't a lot in Chicago). LOTS of Ibanezes. Just a lot of guitars in the sub-$300 range. They really outnumbered everything else. I would've like to have seen a few more Martins and a few less Ovations, but that's just me. Overall the staff there has been nice enough but I can tell some of them are kind of sick of Berklee students (its right across the street). I can't get to the GC without taking the extensive public transportation, so I'm stuck with Daddy's for a while. Not a terrible thing to be stuck with though. It reminds me of a smaller, quieter GC. Ellen

 

 

Ellen, you will learn how to ride the T sooner or later. GC is just a short ride up Commonwealth Ave which is just a couple of blocks up Mass Ave from Berklee. They have a really nice acoustic room with Martins, Taylors, Gibsons and a whole lot more.