Do your homework before you go shopping!

**Matthew_84** · #1 04-02-2011, 03:24 PM

Hey guys,

I've been to a local shop for a couple of years now, and up until today I've had nothing but great experiences. I'm not about to give out the name because I don't want to tarnish their name because one of their salesmen didn't know his stuff. But it was a huge lesson for me.

I ordered a cabinet, and pre-amp, through this store. I told them of the power amp I was buying (which I had to buy elsewhere because they didn't stock it), so they knew what I had and what I planned to do with it. They knew I wanted to run the power amp bridged into the cabinet and I specifically told them what terminals I needed to use in accordance with the amp and cab's manuals.

Now it was time to order the speakon cable. I knew what I needed, but didn't have the experience of doing this before so I was still looking for their advice. I initially told them the terminals I needed and the guy said, "well that sounds like you just need a 2-pole Speakon." I said, "sure", and the order was placed.

Thank God for TalkBass. A bunch of you informed me that I needed atleast a 4-pole connector for the end (because 2-pole doesn't have 2+). I call back the store and caught someone else who was VERY knowledgeable. I told him what I was doing and he understood, he said that he'll order me a 4-pole, and that it's easy to rewire, no solder joints, everything's screwed. Great. We cancel the original order, and put one in for a 4-pole cable.

I go and pick it up today, and ask the guys there how to wire it into 2+ (the Speakon end was tough and I felt like I'd crack if if I ripped it apart). They didn't even know that it could be re-wired. I then told them what the guy on the phone said, and the guy I was dealing with got upset at me because he thought what he told me initailly (2-pole) was right and I went behind his back. He then went on about how guys on these forums are geeks and say stuff is important when it's not. I got upset with him over this, but he kept telling me to just get a 2-pole, when people on here warned me that it could damage my amp.

Finally I get him to go onto a computer and we look on the manuals. He starts acknowledging that I may be right, and finally calls the guy on his day off, and the guy tells him that I'm right. Now this guy feels like an idiot, and I walk out with my new cable and a grudge against a once perfect store.

If I hadn't done a little research, I would have listened to this guy's word, and finally, when I got my new cabinet home and plugged it in, I would have damaged it or the amp... Do your homework. Don't let them tell you something contradictory to what sounds right.

Munjibunga · #2 04-02-2011, 03:59 PM

Everyone makes a mistake now and then. Cut him some slack and chalk it up to experience. And praise your TB bretheren.

totallyfrozen · #3 04-03-2011, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

...I then told them what the guy on the phone said, and the guy I was dealing with got upset at me because he thought what he told me initailly (2-pole) was right and I went behind his back...

Talk to the store manager and tell him about the experience and specifically tell him that you think a professional sales person should have the maturity to NOT take it personally when a customer makes a decision. Tell him that he might want to give this salesman some additional training on customer service and that the guy should learn to expect customers to get a 2nd opinion.

It's not the fact that the salesman made a mistake. It's beyond that. It's about how he handled it. Getting defensive with customers is immature and unprofessional...period.

There's absolutely NO NEED for you to allow one person to give you bad feelings about a store that you have liked for a long time. The salesman created the problem, put it back in his lap. Talk to the manager (or owner).

**Matthew_84** · #4 04-03-2011, 05:18 AM

Well, everyone else I've dealt with has been great, except that one guy, and I don't feel like taking it up with the manager, besides the guy he called seemed pretty pissed off from what I heard, so I'm sure he'll hear something about it.

Looking back, it was actually pretty funny when I showed him the 4-pole, he looked at it, an said, "what the hell's this?"

His attitude was far from acceptable, especially when he went on about how he's been "just plugging speakons into amps for years, and never had a problem." and then telling me to just take the 4-pole connector home, plug it in, and everything will be fine. Had I done so, I would have shorted out the amp (which I didn't buy at their store). Sure a new fuse may have fixed it, but what a headache.

Anyways, after he got off the phone, he started calming down a bit and it was obvious that was a little embarrased. I'm sure the knowledgable salesman will give him some lesson about it.

I just wanted to let people know to know as much about what you're buying as you can. Don't expect the salesmen to be gurus. A lot are really smart, but if something seems wrong, ask someone else.

**Matthew_84** · #5 04-03-2011, 05:23 AM

And to be fair, a lot of amps come with a bridged connector, but Crown doesn't, and they don't stock Crown, so maybe he never ran into that before. But still, when I said, "I need 1+ and 2+ into 1+ and 1-" and told him that's straight out of the manuals. He should have understood that this wasn't an everyday connection.

Jason P Bass · #6 04-03-2011, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Everyone makes a mistake now and then. Cut him some slack and chalk it up to experience. And praise your TB bretheren.

Exactly right.

totallyfrozen · #7 04-03-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

...I don't feel like taking it up with the manager...

Well then, I guess what's done is done.
At least you got what you wanted in the end.

Pilgrim · #8 04-03-2011, 01:38 PM

The valuable point from this is exactly the one the OP made: DO YOUR HOMEWORK. He did, and as a result he avoided making an expensive mistake. He is to be congratulated.

And...he has also learned who at that music store knows their stuff, and who does not. It's not unusual for there to be disparities of expertise at any store. That doesn't mean the store is "bad"...it just means you have to learn about who to trust for information.

**Matthew_84** · #9 04-03-2011, 02:30 PM

I don't think I should be congratulated, but thanks...

And yeah, that was really my point... I turned it into a bit of a rant because I tend to do just that, but bottom-line is that I want people with a lack of experience to understand that just because a guy works at a music store, doesn't mean he's a master at everything in the store, or even everything in his own department.

PS. I shouldn't have said "now he feels like an idiot, and I have a grudge against the store."... Definitely was a little frustrated yesterday, lol.

Munjibunga · #10 04-03-2011, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

Had I done so, I would have shorted out the amp (which I didn't buy at their store). Sure a new fuse may have fixed it, but what a headache.

No, you wouldn't have shorted out the amp. You would not have heard anything, though, because the connection would have been open between 1+ and 2+. There would have been no damage to your amp unless it had a tube power section.

**Matthew_84** · #11 04-03-2011, 07:53 PM

lol, well I don't know... there's all sorts of contradictory information everywhere I go, maybe the tube power section is what caused the confusion.

Anyways, I'll just leave it alone from now on.

ehque · #12 04-04-2011, 11:09 AM

A geek is almost always right.

A group sufficiently many geeks, is always right.

Pay heed.

crijan · #13 04-04-2011, 11:15 AM

My complaint would be with whomever decided to make Speakon connections not have a standard wiring!

Munjibunga · #14 04-04-2011, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crijan

My complaint would be with whomever decided to make Speakon connections not have a standard wiring!

Speakon connectors do have a standard wiring. However, you have to alter the wiring to accommodate bridged mono operation in most amps. A few amp manufacturers provide a separate output for bridged mono which is internally wired such that it's not necessary to change the wiring in the Speakon plugs.

**Matthew_84** · #15 04-04-2011, 12:00 PM

I'm just glad to know that I won't short out the amp if I happen to wire the Speakon wrong.

Not going to lie, I feel like a pretty huge jack-ass today. I should rename the thread to: "Do your homework before you go on a lunatic's rant!"

gnjpowell · #16 04-04-2011, 12:06 PM

Sounds like a legit honest mistake. Most salesmen are not engineers. Bridging amplifiers is not trivial for the non-technical and there are a lot of misconceptions and bad info out there about amplifier bridging. Excellent advice to educate yourself first and to know what to ask technically and what to be concerned about.

Munjibunga · #17 04-04-2011, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew_84

I'm just glad to know that I won't short out the amp if I happen to wire the Speakon wrong.

Not going to lie, I feel like a pretty huge jack-ass today. I should rename the thread to: "Do your homework before you go on a lunatic's rant!"

Nah ... you're cool.