Members dangerous dan Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 All your Americans love to hate Guitar Centre and some of the posts on hear about the place are just great. I go to the US a few times a year on business and always pop into one to pick up some stuff as it's much cheaper than the UK and I can relate to all the stuff you hate about the place. Sadly we don't have a chain like that in Europe. So what's you favourite story / incident / event in the place ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CicadaSilence Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 I was a couple people back in line, waiting my turn to buy something small but crucial: picks, strings, something like that... This tall, skinny white guy in red hightop Nikes, neon pink lycra bicycle shorts, a mesh top, and one of those cycling caps with the brim flipped up barged to the front of the line, holding some 80's super-strat guitar with appropriately garish paint-job. The Floyd Rose unit on the guitar was sticking out at a 90 degree angle from the front of the guitar, strings and tension springs flailing madly with his anguished efforts to be noticed. When the clerk looked at the guy, he just held the guitar up by the neck, and pointed at the ruins of the bridge and panted, "I need a new one of these." EDIT: The guitarist in my old band once asked a GC employee what kind of microphone would be appropriate for mic'ing a djembe. The guy kind of gave him a crosseyed, confused look and asked, "Why would you want to mic a djembe?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The_Spice Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 One time I asked the guy at the accessories counter if they had any delays with fx loops... and he gave me a sales pitch for the Digitech Jamman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members murtaghstyle Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 "You can download thousands of effects onto this thing on the net..." as I check out a Bass Pod Xt Live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheAtomicJeff Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Not really an anecdote but a couple of weeks ago I saw a kid who must have been no more than 4-5 years old (probably more towards 4) drag a $1000 Telecaster across the floor and plug it into an amp and proceed to make noise. Dad wasn't around and no one seem to care. I don't know any other retailer in the world who allows a small child to handle a $1000 piece of merchandise unsupervised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Friendly Ranger Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Originally posted by TheAtomicJeff Not really an anecdote but a couple of weeks ago I saw a kid who must have been no more than 4-5 years old (probably more towards 4) drag a $1000 Telecaster across the floor and plug it into an amp and proceed to make noise. Dad wasn't around and no one seem to care. I don't know any other retailer in the world who allows a small child to handle a $1000 piece of merchandise unsupervised. I think the employees are numb to it now. It's not like an unsupervised toddler would be much different than what they're used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 The guy that plays Metallica riffs poorly. Every GC has that guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatmullingskid Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Originally posted by TheAtomicJeff Not really an anecdote but a couple of weeks ago I saw a kid who must have been no more than 4-5 years old (probably more towards 4) drag a $1000 Telecaster across the floor and plug it into an amp and proceed to make noise. Dad wasn't around and no one seem to care. I don't know any other retailer in the world who allows a small child to handle a $1000 piece of merchandise unsupervised. was this at the arlington guitar center?i may have seen the same kid. just strummed the open strings into some loud marshall right next to the pedals i went to try out.kept at it for a good half an hour at least.if this is a different kid then i wonder how often this happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Friendly Ranger Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Originally posted by Wilbo26 The guy that plays Metallica riffs poorly. Every GC has that guy. On Friday afternoons after school there are usually a half dozen of those guys going at it full blast. Add to that an employee playing a half-hour drum solo and you've got the recipe for a headache and possibly infertility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheAtomicJeff Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Originally posted by thatmullingskid was this at the arlington guitar center? No, it was at the Plano store but this kid was also just strumming open strings at very loud volumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dangerous dan Posted August 27, 2006 Author Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 Originally posted by Wilbo26 The guy that plays Metallica riffs poorly. Every GC has that guy. Ah, I know him well, he was in the GC in San Jose a few months ago, couldn't hear the DL4 I was wanting to buy for the pointy guitar and big marsahll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuyaGuy Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 i returned a slide someone gave me because it had a skull and crossbones silkscreen. the salesperson asked why i was returning it. me: "oh, i want to exchange it. i just don't need a skull and crossbones on my slide." salesperson: gives to coworker a faux-puzled look followed by a "whatever" shrug, as if to say "why WOULDN'T you want a skull and crossbones on it? yourr loss, dude." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members forgottenking Posted August 27, 2006 Members Share Posted August 27, 2006 I got one. I was looking for a main amp for club gigs and what have you, and as I am walking in there is this guy in full metal outfit (leather pants... the whole 9 yards) bashing some riffs onto a mesa Triple rectifier full stack with some EMG equiped 7 string, fully scooped sound... and it sounded like crap. So I walk in, take a tele and proced to test a humble F-30 (what I had walked in there for) . It took ONE simple blues lick to make the guy shut up. He put the guitar away and walked out. That's really why I had to get one (remember metal kids, mids are your friend ) ... on the other hand, maybe he thought I sucked so bad he couldn't take it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tocs100 Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 Originally posted by TheAtomicJeff No, it was at the Plano store but this kid was also just strumming open strings at very loud volumes. LOL. Reminds me of that scene in Mallrats where the unsupervised kid keeps getting on the elevator...(dialogue anyone?).I think the Guitar Center logo should have this phrase under it: I came, I saw, I found nothing decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members YourHerodDGC Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 A friend of mine had this hot pink Kramer strat copy laying in her attic. Well i had to have it. Probably the funniest guitar i've ever touched. It actually played pretty nice, so i decided that i was going to use it for a show and just beat it up. The only thing was, when i put the guitar in tune, the combined tension would raise the trem bridge and all that. So i went to guitar center to get some fresh springs to make the bridge tighter. I go up to the counter and explained my problem and told them exactly what i needed. The kid i ened up dealing with (I'm 21 years old, he was younger than me. So i use the word "kid" to make him seem more like an asshole) suggested that i could be wrong about said springs, and it could be a different problem all together. His hawaiin shirt with sparkly dragons on it should have told me right then and there that I could not have been wrong about anything while in guitar center that day. But he convinced me to bring my guitar in for him to have a look at. I live close by, so it wasn't a big deal. I should add at this point that the gig bag holding this hilarious monstrosity of a guitar has a Billy Squire signature on it. I'm not sure if it's real. I really don't care. So i get back with my pink guitar and bring it back to the kid. I should also note that i've already beat this guitar up quite a bit. I sawed off part of the headstock because it was rediculously pointy, i had a strap taped on, etc. Anywho, this kid loved it. He thought it was the coolest thing. Not "ha ha" cool, but like "DuDe ThIs {censored}'S eFFiN SwEeT!!!." He suggested i get a decent pair of strap locks and remove all duct tape from the guitar. He also suggested that it was worth a lot of money, especially since it had a really "rare color." He even asked a fellow employee walking by if it was worth anything. His fellow employee kinda gave us a half-assed, "Yeah, that looks great." I kept assuring that i would more than likely be beating the {censored} out of this guitar on stage later on that day. So after this kid finished peeing everywhere about my guitar, we finally get around to checking out the bridge, and lo and behold... I was right!!! He put the springs in for me and all was well. Not 6 hours later the guitar was in less than working condition after a super fun benefit show we played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CapnMarvel Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 Originally posted by TheAtomicJeff No, it was at the Plano store but this kid was also just strumming open strings at very loud volumes. Ugh. I think I saw that kid. I literally can't stand that place anymore. I just wait for the Guitar Store in Richardson to happen upon whatever it is I want to buy. Or get it online. I stay away from Guitar Center altogether now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensex Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 Guys, just imagine how much fun that little kid must've been having! I wish I'd had an opportunity to rock out at full volume when I was four years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 My favorite anecdote was when the guy didn't know what {censored} he was talking about. That anecdote happens a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 I have an anecdote when the guy didn't know what the {censored} he was talking about, but was compelled to make {censored} up out of thin air. That anecdote happens a lot, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuyaGuy Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 i KNOW that guy!he works at MY local GC now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fusionid Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 yeah he must be rotating all around the nation cuz I've sure met the {censored}er.In all honestly it is not that they dont know. It is that they act like they do, and give you false information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrowan Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 I had a guy in the effects section try and sell me a compressor to reduce noise in my signal chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members therhodeo Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 Had a guy in GC last thursday try to sell me this crappy 70's Gibson Les Paul. "They just made them better back then." I said its a Norlin and it sucks(it really did play and sound terrible). Guess what I get. "What do you mean Norlin?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ZachOmega Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 OKay...Here is a story...not sure if it is an anecdote or not, but there is definitely some stuff to be learned.I bought a late 60's Sunn 200S cabinet from GC some time ago. Actually I got it on trade for some junk. They had it marked at 300$. The jackasses didn't know it had JBL D140F's in it. Plus this cabinet had wood 1 1/4" thick all around. You absolutely needed two guys to move this monolith. Needless to say, it took up a lot of space. I decided I didn't need it anymore. I call ahead and ask GC what a reasonable expectation would be if I sold or traded the cabinet. In past dealings, I've dealt with GC pretty straight forward and everybody makes some money. They tell me they can't tell me that over the phone. They can't even give me a range even though they just take the numbers straight out of a book. I lug this massive cabinet up. I get this yuppy prick with a pony tail dealing with me. This asshole will do anything for a sale and anything to screw me. Prior to this, I've had the guy move TONS of {censored} just to watch him bust his ass and have me leave without buying a damn thing because he is an ass. He tells me the best GC can do is 100$ on the cab. I state that it has JBL D140F's in it which are worth 300$ or so on their own without the massive cab. He probably didn't even know what I was talking about and tells me that doesn't matter. I'm pissed that I lugged this massive cab for all of 100$. I take it home. Later that week, I ask a friend who collects a bunch of junk if he has 2 EXTRA {censored}ty 15" speakers around. We make a swap. The two 15"s we put in didn't even match. I bring it up to GC. Make a trade for a junk squier. I still have the speakers. I know it isn't really a "nice" thing to do. But to be honest, it is buyer beware. That works for both GC and the guy who buys from GC.Anybody want to buy a pair of JBL D140F's? -Zach Omega Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted August 28, 2006 Members Share Posted August 28, 2006 Originally posted by therhodeo Had a guy in GC last thursday try to sell me this crappy 70's Gibson Les Paul. "They just made them better back then." I said its a Norlin and it sucks(it really did play and sound terrible). Guess what I get. "What do you mean Norlin?" :freak: Are you sure you don't work at guitar center? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.