An evening at the local GC...

[egtact]

Here's something y'all might find interesting...

 

Due to my A/C suffering massive compressor failure on the hottest day of the year (so far), I spent this past Saturday evening at my local GC checking out their nice selection of acoustics. Had a great time. The staff were very nice and attentive without being pushy, so they deserve credit. I would have possibly made a purchase, but whilst getting to know a beautiful Martin dread-cutaway, I heard a rustling in the body when I went to put it back on the wall. Intrigued, I turned this $3000.00 beauty upside down and lo and behold what fell out of the soundhole??

 

Not one, but THREE dessicant pouches!!

 

I have no idea how long GC has had that certain guitar, and I doubt they could do much damage in a humidity-controlled room, but it seems they might have defeated the humidity at some point.

 

So, just a reminder... INSPECT your purchases CAREFULLY and COMPLETELY whenever possible.

 

Now, I have to go back to try out the Martin archtop electric jazzbox (CF1) they've had hanging up at the ceiling for who knows how long! I'll report back on that one later!

 

Stay young, y'all!

[0rbitz9]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I expect

from guitar Center. You can go in and

try some nice guitars, but they're basically

braindead.

[Hudman]

Guitar Center isn't known for their attention to detail.

[relictele]

Originally posted by Hudman Guitar Center isn't known for their attention to detail.

 

Untrue to some degree. Their staff will noodle around on shredder guitars and effects all day long while you wait to get served

[rh2d]

I went into one of their larger stores yesterday to pick up some strings and stuff. Went back to the acoustic room and a salesman said that they had a guitar that had an unbelievable tone and that I had to try it out as soon as they put somw string on it. I looked around for a while till he came over and said the guitar, a Gibson sj 200 I think, was ready. I sat donw with it and played it for a minute as that was all I could take. It was a dead guitar. I don't know how Gibson sells them.

 

The surprise to me was a Martin MX 1, I think, that sold for $499. I did like this guitar and would recommed it to anyone looking for a starter guitar or a low cost guitar. I didn't get a chance to try the Taylor T5 or the Breedloves. I wasn't impressed with the store.

[Frets99]

Originally posted by egtact Here's something y'all might find interesting... Due to my A/C suffering massive compressor failure on the hottest day of the year (so far), I spent this past Saturday evening at my local GC checking out their nice selection of acoustics.

 

I'da thought you'da spent it at a local Sears!!!

 

Silly me!!

[hammergjh]

I went to the Comm Ave location of GC in Boston, right near BU. I was wandering around the store and ended up in the acoustic room. As I was walking into the store earlier a couple of young, scruffy looking kids entered right before me. They were probably 14 or 15. Anyway, I was checking out some Martins, just perusing the ones hanging on the wall and in stands. These two kids were playing a couple of Martins. One had a base that retailed for about 800 bucks or so. The other kid, {censored}in' moron, had a 6800 dollar, blinged out Martin that he was wailing on! My jaw hit the floor. This kid was jamming on a very high dollar guitar and beating the {censored} out of it.

 

I went to the salesman and told him the kid was playing on a guitar that he had no intention of buying and it cost almost 7000 bucks. The guy just shrugged his shoulders. "Nuthin' I can do about it, man."

 

These kids were bangin' around on these guitars and knocking them pretty good. The salesman finally took the guitars away.

 

[thedep3158]

We've had a GC open in Jacksonville in the last year. I've been there 4 or 5 times.

 

The sales people are very helpful and not pushy. I spend most of the time in the acoustic room. They keep the really high dollar guitars locked in a nice display case. Everytime I've been there, a salesman would ask me if I'd like to try something from the case. Not being able to afford a $3000+ guitar, I tell them no. Heck, I can't be gassing over a $4000 guitar, I'm a cop. I'll never be able to afford one..LOL.

 

I've had them offer to change the strings on a Breedlove I was playing.

 

Almost all the sales people are 30+ in years, so maybe that helps. I've never had a bad experience there, and there is a good chance when I buy my Breedlove, it'll be from them.

 

My son, who loves the drums, usually ends up in their percussion room, playing on a set of electronic drums with a headphone. They have always been nice to him and allow him to play even though we have no intention of buying drums anytime soon.

 

I hate to hear the horror stories from other GCs. Hope this one never takes a nose dive.

 

Just my experience with GC.

Dep

[Treborklow]

I've seen many kids destroying guitars at GC but they're not the only ones. Last week I saw an adult woman strumming very heavy on a guitar and she had a charm bracelet on her strumming wrist. The metal charms were slapping the guitar as she dragged it over the finish repeatedly while strumming. The salesman was right there helping her and never said a thing to her. It would be no big deal if she bought the guitar... but she didn't.

 

I was looking at a used $1500 Martin and the strings were unbelievably old and dead. The salesman helping me was telling me what a great guitar it was but it was too bad the strings were dead. WELL... CHANGE THEM! It was like, oh well, it's too bad and talked about it like there was nothing that can be done about it. I told him I could not buy the guitar without hearing what it really sounds like. He said he understood. Again, no thought of changing the strings came to him. I hung it up and he let me walk.

[knockwood]

Wondering how dessicant pouches got into that Martin dread. Is that something Martin would do? Or is it some batty store policy? Seems nuts.

[Tony Burns]

Why does that not surprise me , the Walmart of Guitar Stores - just hanging it on the wall, not giving a S--T , I dont believe Martin put those things in their, probably some customer screwing around or some insensitive sales clerk ---

[Coral Head]

I find megastores like Guitar Center to be so overwhelming in the number of choices and the auditory abuse when you walk in the door that I would never do business with them.

 

If you ever decide to try out anything outside of the acoustic room, you can't judge the sound or tone because it is lost in the noise of Guitar Center Radio playing rap style commercials and all the other customers in there beating out power chords at 120 db.

 

I also hate Best Buy and Home Depot for pretty much the same reasons.....maybe I am just an old geezer, but I'll stick with the small local stores thanks.

 

C

[Tony Burns]

Coral Head , its always surprised me when i walk into a guitar Center that they have about every electric guitar ever made hanging on the wall someplace, takes up about 3/4's of the store - everything from s--t to shinolla , with 5 or 6 reps running around trying to apise all the future jimmy pages of the world , when the acoustic room is about 3/4 full of 1-2 hundred dollar beginner guitars , with a few decent instruments thrown in here and their that are obviously abused and neglected with dead strings -- pretty much every decent acoustic is lifeless with dead strings - wonder if they dont care because about 3/4 to 90 percent of the guitars they sell are beginner models , and the good stuff is just for show ! their Classicals are even worse-- they have a few decent ones, but their strings were super dead. A nice place to visit but i wouldnt want to buy a guitar from their !

[0rbitz9]

 

Untrue to some degree. Their staff will noodle around on shredder guitars and effects all day long while you wait to get served

 

 

Attractive women never have to wait for

service at GC.

[rcfs1834]

GC just opened a branch up here in Maine. I've had an OK experience so far, bought some effects and misc junk.

 

I always wondered how they could let all of these people try out the guitars and not care that the guitars were being wrecked. So I asked a salesman how GC could do that and he said they have some sort of "insurance policy" that covers the use and abuse of the floor models. So if someone does drop the $3000 Martin, GC gets their money back.

 

Believe it or not, but how else could they let people try the $3000 Martin without caring.

[0rbitz9]

If you find a guitar a GC that you do like,

but can't quite afford for a few more

weeks, just thrash the strings by grinding

the edge of a quarter up and down the

strings, and throw a few packs of dessicant

in it just to be safe.

[t60 fan]

I was in GC Columbus Ohio yesterday. Was dissappointed to find they didn't have a GS yet, but they offered to call me when they got one. (That would almost be as bad as if a strange woman called asking for me if my wife answered the phone) I did get to check out a new Gibson SG with P90's, bound neck and gloss finish for like $850 or something like that - don't need another electric but it was tempting.