Good Guitar Center

[EBMan]

GC gets a lot of bashing, but I have had nothing but good experiences with the GC on 75 in Dallas and the GC in Lewisville. In both cases I have found them very pleasurable to deal with. I just have to make sure I do my serious purchasing at off hours when their people are able to spend more time assisting.

GC is about the only viable option in Dallas. One of the high profile independents caters mainly to six stringers. Bass is an afterthought. Plus they have a very condensending attitude. The other independent has good service but sometimes their inventory is scant and often times more beat up than GC's stuff.

We could use a few more stores.

[powellmacaque]

I have four GC's within two hours from where I live (Orlando, Tampa, Clearwater and Lakeland). I've been to three, the two Tampa area ones (Clearwater and Tampa) are very good as far as service and pricing goes, I like the Tampa GC best because the guys there know the customers by name and they have a huge bass section (in comparison to the others I've seen).

The one in Orlando was really obviously a tourist trap store, they charged way too high on their gear, and they tried talking me into buying something I didn't need.

It just depends on the store... We've got A LOT of mom-and-pop stores in Central and West Florida, and we have Sam Ash that competes with GC... So I think thats why they have to be a little bit more approachable around here...

[ClassicJazz]

Good Guitar Center.....now is that not a oxymoron!

[cricketfever32]

this thread was meant to glorify guitar center, not bash it even more, and it really depends on the kind of people working there, not necessarily the store itself

[jacob_edwards91]

I've never had a bad experience at Guitar Center either. I've never bought any expensive gear there, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy expensive gear from them. Unlike a lot of people, I have had plenty of bad experiences at local stores; some of the experiences were so bad that I will never go back to the local stores.

[TrooperFarva]

The Guitar Center on 14th street in NYC is a great store, lots of vintage and used gear.

[BobKos]

I have (2) GC's that I shop regularly - Roseville MI & Canton MI. I find some pretty good deals at the stores. I have a single sales rep at each store that I deal with exclusively. That helps alot.

I don't agree with very much of the GC bashing I see. I've just not experienced the problems others have. I'm sure there are individual and store problems that can be expected within the ranks of any large company. But in all I'd have to say my experiences at GC are pretty good.

[Flintc]

Personally, I tend to avoid GC for two reasons: I can only get there on Saturday, when every 15-year-old wannabe guitarist is cranking every amp in the place, and the selection of basses is, uh, pedestrian. Now, these complaints are related: GC's customer base is very young, and the very young don't have a whole lotta bux. A good-sized GC might have 100 basses, 10 of which are over $1K, and maybe a Pedulla or two over $2K. And 90 of them are your basic Fender, Schecter, Ibanez, Yamaha, OLP, B.C.Rich and schlockbass brands.

Now, I am NOT saying that any of these are poor instruments! Most of them are in fact excellent. But what they are, is a recognition of the financial capabilities of the GC clientele generally. It would be fatal for GC to stuff their inventory with basses their customers can't afford.

On the other hand, I've found GC's staff to be both helpful when help is required, and hands-off when I just want to noodle with their stuff. I've never bought an instrument at a GC, so I'm not very familiar with their willingness to haggle. Once, I found a store willing to sell me for $3000 what the GC half a mile away wanted $3800 for. I told the GC folks what their neighbors were asking, and they just shrugged. But even for people willing to pay that much for a bass (I didn't), an $800 difference is still meaningful. Always do your homework.

[billbass1]

Guitar Center is great .
The downside is that they really put the squeeze on the
little Mom and Pop stores, and more and more are disappering.

[jacob_edwards91]

Originally Posted by TrooperFarva

The Guitar Center on 14th street in NYC is a great store, lots of vintage and used gear.

My high school jazz band went to NYC this past spring break, and we got to spend some time just walking around the city. Me (I'm the bassist in the second jazz band and a trombonist in the first jazz band) and the bassist from the first jazz band spent about an hour and a half there. It was great!

[realdeal]

Originally Posted by cricketfever32

this thread was meant to glorify guitar center, not bash it even more, and it really depends on the kind of people working there, not necessarily the store itself

VERY well put- +1

GC as an "entity" is what it is- A chain superstore of Musical gear. Their growth has been phenomenal, and they serve a purpose for all of us whether we want to patronize them or not.
They make certain brands available at competetive pricing; most of the time an independent dealer can't hang with them on EBMM or Ampeg, in my personal buying experiences.

Some of the Sales Staff are less than competent or customer-service oriented and there's a lot of turnover of course.
The other factor is the Store Manager and his (or her) decisions regarding sales. I had a Sales Associate bust his &**^ to get me the price I wanted on a piece of gear, The Manager would not budge.
Easy- I went to another GC about 10 miles away, and they happily made the deal.
I felt bad for the Salesman, but--not really my issue. I offered a fair price IMO.

The atmosphere certainly is circus-like at times, noisy, with gear in disarray, non- working, but again, it's very hard for them to get motivated crews to merchandise and maintain the gear...Even if they did, a 15-16 year old shredder could take care of that pretty quick.

On the other hand, where else can a young, developing rock star go to blast out arbitrary licks on different guitars, etc??

I mean, what?? Practice hard at home...???!
Ya think...?

[capnsandwich]

i go to guitar center mainly just to get odds and ends stuff like strap locks or pick up an amp since they're a GK dealer and i love GK stuff. i really don't get much stuff from there for me. however, since i play in church, i find some good deals for church instruments there. i got the church a 4 string warwick corvette and restring it with nickle elixrs from there.

to me, GC is like the Walmart of music stores. you go there, they pretty much have all the usual mainstream items, Gibson, Fender, Schecter, Ibanez, and so on. every once in a while i'll find a nice bass like Pedulla or Alembic sitting on the wall but i wouldn't necesserily buy one that's been sitting out in the open with 300 people's fingerprints on it. i did, however, realize that i love Alembic fretless 5's from a bass i played there.

GC has it's place in society. they serve a purpose, to get the mainstream player the mainstream instrument at the mainstream price. if you're not a mainstream player, it's not the place for you. if you are then it's heaven on earth.

[Tbirdbassist]

I visit Guitar Center in Manhattan on 14th Street every week If I can. Always nice stuff and mostly a great staff. And you'll always get a great deal.

[bacid]

I love GC. I have been going there at least once a week if possible since the Clearwater store opened last year. I have had nothing but great customer service there. I love that place so much that I got a job there. I have been working there since Monday. I just passed my certification test today and got to sell things instead of train for once. I had to work in drums because we only have one drum guy and he wasn't there for half of the day. But starting Sunday I will be in guitars/bass. I'm so stoked. I love sales and I love GC. Especially the Fender 51 RI, I love that bass. Come in and buy a bass or an amp or a guitar or just wank around if you're ever in Clearwater, I'll do my best to help out my fellow TBers. Ask for JM (not a plug, just friendly advice and suggestion from you're friendly neighborhood GC salesman/TB brethren).

[Yankeesfan1115]

The ones in larchmont NY and Orange CT aren't too shabby
the Orange one has nicer salespeople IMHO

[IotaNet]

I do have to say that the GC's here are not bad but it's primarily a function of the people working there.

There are 4 GC's within a 45-minute radius of the Twin Cities and two of them are brand new. Of the remaining two, one is not-bad-at all (Edina) and the other one is EXCELLENT (Roseville) -- primarily because the guy who manages the basses is a smart guy who is a basist and he is also an "up-and-comer" in the GC management ranks. Combine that with the fact that he's cool-people and it all adds up to a good shopping experience for a bassist. (For the TC-folks, I'm speaking of Mike Pressley - the Bald guy.)

Regarding the endless LOUD wanking, that's simply a fact of life at GC. Luckily I tend to visit the stores during the day either on lunch or between sales calls so I miss a lot of the squids.

[bertbassplayer]

Originally Posted by EBMan

GC gets a lot of bashing, but I have had nothing but good experiences with the GC on 75 in Dallas and the GC in Lewisville. In both cases I have found them very pleasurable to deal with. I just have to make sure I do my serious purchasing at off hours when their people are able to spend more time assisting.

GC is about the only viable option in Dallas. One of the high profile independents caters mainly to six stringers. Bass is an afterthought. Plus they have a very condensending attitude. The other independent has good service but sometimes their inventory is scant and often times more beat up than GC's stuff.

We could use a few more stores.

Yeah I know what your talkin about (being in the Dallas area myself).

Plano isn't too bad depending on who's working... hard thing is you can never tell because there's a TON of turnaround there more so than most GCs, but their selection of high end stuff seems to have gotten worse and worse over the last couple years... they used to carry a nice selection of basses from $1-2k (usually what I look for) but now it's like all beginner basses and the only basses in the upper range are all either Stingrays or a Warwick or two. They do have some good deals on used every once in a while, but they don't get too many used bass stuff... though they get good guitar trade ins, there was a time where this one guy like traded in his entire Gibson acoustic collection, somethin like 7 acoustics.

Central Dallas (75 and Lovers I think it is) Isnt too bad, but they seem to have 0 selection of amps, and bass wise it's either cheap basses or like super expensive $2k+ basses. They seem pretty friendly and there's this one old guy that's pretty helpful. Usually a good place to find used gear, sometimes for a good deal, though sometimes overpriced on the used stuff.

North Dallas 635 - I've only been there a couple times, it's okay not a big selection, and their bass stuff is kinda spread out with the expensive stuff like on the ceiling. It's funny where most stores I'm hounded by sales guys, it's hard to find a guy here that'll talk to you. Their drum guys are really cool there though if your drummer needs stuff. Don't think I've seen any used bass stuff here ever really with exception to a cheapo beginner bass every once in a while.

Lewisville - This one's kinda far from me, so I've only been there a couple times. Not that great of a bass selection last time I went, and worse amp selection, but a couple of the good sales guys from the other Dallas stores have transferred there as managers or assistant managers so they have pretty good sales people. Last time I went it was fairly brand new so no used stuff.

[XYZ]

Yea I agree with all of you who said GC isn't really that bad. I just think that their electric bass section is quite small. Even the drum section of the store is larger then the bass section. Which brings me to the question, why are there drums in a GUITAR center?

[jacob_edwards91]

Originally Posted by XYZ

Which brings me to the question, why are there drums in a GUITAR center?

Well, they couldn't put them in a music store, could they?

[BenderR]

The GC in Tucson is well managed and truly the best GC I've ever been in.