music shop rant

[s_mcsleazy]

i wish they would lern how to set up a bass propally

i was trying out some basses yesterday after a hard week at work and half of them had super high action, played outta tune when you went past 14th fret, neck was a little bowed.

theres only one music shop in my area that actually gives there basses a proper set up befor they sell it and what do you know they sell super quick. theres so meny times where ive tryed out a bass and i feel "this needs a good set up" or "this is a great bass but the neck is a bit bowed"

or another thing that anoys me is when your trying somthing out (usually outta cureosoty) and one of the staff comes up and says "so are you going to buy it" when you only just finished tuning it up

or whats even worse is when your trying out a squier and they try to sell you a fender or somthing else (like a warwick/lakland). a few months ago i asked to try out one of the squier vintage modified basses since i herd good things about it so i asked the employee there to try it out. he hands me down a american lakland. i said to him i wanted to try the squier and he said "just give this a try insted" not wanting to seem like a dick i played it and i hated it to say the lest. so he came back 5 mins later and said "shall i ring that up for you" i asked to try a £250 bass and he trys to sell me a £2600 bass that i didnt like.

another thing that anoys me is even if you ask they never plug you into the amp you want or a amp that doesnt really reflect the bass your trying out. its more a problem ive noticed when your trying a guitar tho. they will plug mini metalheads into fenders. alt rockers into mesa boogie rectifers and country guys into marshall stacks.

another story is theres one guitar shop that ALWAYS plugs you into a guitar amp (a behringer one) even if your trying out a bass.

and the little metal heads who think trying out a guitar is a volume war with anyone else in the room. i got a good example of this last week. was trying out a epiphone jack cassedy and some little metalhead across the shop herd me play and decided a good idea was to turn up his amp. i was so anoyed i got up and left the shop.

HOWEVER there are ocasions where there has been someone who starts playing along with me. few weeks back i was playing a rickenbacker 4003 and because it was a rick i decided to play some jam. man across the room playing a strat started playing along with me.

just a little rant

[pin_head_47]

Don't feel so bad, we have the same issues on our side of the pond, too. Finding a good music shop that addresses the concerns you have is hard to find, no matter where you are.

[Vincent P]

To play devils advocate for a moment.

You have to feel for these shops/centers. The majority of the traffic through the place is someone who will spend an hour or two taking down, playing and insturment, not putting it back where they got it from. I have seen many a nice insturment, or amp that had so much wear and tear from all the handling. They come in, noodle around then leave.

I don't find it hard to see why they would only want one amp used, and why the setups are not 100%. If the player really likes the insturment, then they will usually pull one out from stock, as in the case of the shop that I go to. I will then try out this before I pay my money.

I agree with you when you pick up a sweet looking bass, and it looks and plays like crap. But think of how many hands who don't show the care we do, that have been on that bass.

[Staccato]

When I purchased a used bass, recently, the local store had polished, cleaned, setup, and replaced the strings on the axe. This is not a typical find-from my experience...

In the used market, IMO, it is not appropriate for every used guitar/bass to get a new set of strings.

A music store should clean 'em, don't you think?

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by Stacatto

When I purchased a used bass, recently, the local store had polished, cleaned, setup, and replaced the strings on the axe. This is not a typical find-from my experience...

In the used market, IMO, it is not appropriate for every used guitar/bass to get a new set of strings.

A music store should clean 'em, don't you think?

It works both ways.

I got a really scrungy AEB10 that had greasy paw prints and what might've been drool all over it for $139.00 since it was so dirty.

I immediately took it the the in-store luthier and he restrung it with new bronze rounds and out the door I went to be cleaned, waxed, played and loved.

But - yeah - a new bass should look new.

What makes me like going to my GC is that the in-store luthier can answer any questions and perform the necessary adjustments right there for you if you ask.

It's just impossible to stay ahead of all the shredder urchins that like to mess with things on them and then there's the theft thing going on all the time.

From a guy shoving a bass in his pants and knobs being taken and batteries getting taken out of the available cavities; I once saw a fuse get stolen out of an Ampeg once too - but the store also saw it and the guy got turned over to the cops. Zero tolerance - I like that.

I would never get into retail sales ever again - you can't win - and then there's people who complain but I don't know any of them personally.