My Trip To Guitar Center

[outofthedeep]

Now it may not seem like a big deal for someone to go to GC, but for me, it's like 2 1/2 hours away, and I am very busy, so basically I never get to go. When I found out I had today off, I knew I had to go.

I went mainly to try out and price some amps, so I could have an idea of what I should save my money for. I play for my church (mainly acoustic and piano driven songs, ... noting to hard) for my college ministry ( harder than church, think alterntive rock worhip) and some Chrstian rock ( pretty hard stuff... like hard alternative.) Needless to say, the amp needed to be versitile and portable.

Oh, and did I mention I am broke so, cheaper is better? Anyway, I went to try a SWR super redhead, but they didn'y have one in stock.. However, they did have something that I was totally blown away with.... a Mesa Boogie M-pulse Venture. Holy Cow, that thing was awesome.... I tried the 2x10 combo, and even with only like 10 minutes of playing with it (on an unfamiliar bass even) the thing just blew my mind. The tone was incredible, even if the knobs took some time getting used to. And the raw POWER! wow, with the master volume at 1 o'clock, and the gain at about 9 o'clock, I was shaking the walls. Man it was nice... and one day throw in the 15" extension cab. woah.. i'm getting shivers...... anyway, I am 99% sure it will be my amp purchase in a few months.

As far as basses goes, they didn't have a huge selection like I had hoped.. mostly just some Fender J & P's .. all nice of course.... I did play some $2300 warwick..... and I must say that it was awful. I had never played one, and looked forward to getting the chance to play it. I was slightly dissappointed. Had the cool warwick growl, but it sounded very muddy, even after tweaking the knobs, and the setup seemed like it belonged on a $200 bass, not a $2000 one. Just not impressed.

However I did play a Spector Euro 4 4 string that was hands down the best bass I have ever played. ( just remember I live in a smaller east texas town, with nothing really high end in our area) Slim neck, very light for a neck through, no neck dive, the tone from the PJ EMG's was silky smooth, with lots of kick. Not to mention it was pretty to look at as well. I think I will research them some more, and one like it will be on my list to buy.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys about my trip. If you have any questions about the gear I posted about, feel free to post or Im or PM me, and I will tell you all I can.

[hateater]

Originally Posted by outofthedeep

Now it may not seem like a big deal for someone to go to GC, but for me, it's like 2 1/2 hours away, and I am very busy, so basically I never get to go. When I found out I had today off, I knew I had to go.

I went mainly to try out and price some amps, so I could have an idea of what I should save my money for. I play for my church (mainly acoustic and piano driven songs, ... noting to hard) for my college ministry ( harder than church, think alterntive rock worhip) and some Chrstian rock ( pretty hard stuff... like hard alternative.) Needless to say, the amp needed to be versitile and portable.

Oh, and did I mention I am broke so, cheaper is better? Anyway, I went to try a SWR super redhead, but they didn'y have one in stock.. However, they did have something that I was totally blown away with.... a Mesa Boogie M-pulse Venture. Holy Cow, that thing was awesome.... I tried the 2x10 combo, and even with only like 10 minutes of playing with it (on an unfamiliar bass even) the thing just blew my mind. The tone was incredible, even if the knobs took some time getting used to. And the raw POWER! wow, with the master volume at 1 o'clock, and the gain at about 9 o'clock, I was shaking the walls. Man it was nice... and one day throw in the 15" extension cab. woah.. i'm getting shivers...... anyway, I am 99% sure it will be my amp purchase in a few months.

As far as basses goes, they didn't have a huge selection like I had hoped.. mostly just some Fender J & P's .. all nice of course.... I did play some $2300 warwick..... and I must say that it was awful. I had never played one, and looked forward to getting the chance to play it. I was slightly dissappointed. Had the cool warwick growl, but it sounded very muddy, even after tweaking the knobs, and the setup seemed like it belonged on a $200 bass, not a $2000 one. Just not impressed.

However I did play a Spector Euro 4 4 string that was hands down the best bass I have ever played. ( just remember I live in a smaller east texas town, with nothing really high end in our area) Slim neck, very light for a neck through, no neck dive, the tone from the PJ EMG's was silky smooth, with lots of kick. Not to mention it was pretty to look at as well. I think I will research them some more, and one like it will be on my list to buy.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys about my trip. If you have any questions about the gear I posted about, feel free to post or Im or PM me, and I will tell you all I can.

I ****ing hate GC. They have some decent gear, but it is never set up correctly. Dead strings, high action, jizzed stained basses. The amps are just as bad sometimes. The only thing they are good for is to put up flyers for your brand new HARDCORE band. DrUmMeR and BaSeSt wanted!

[discoboo]

i got my stingray from gc in atlanta 2 years ago. it was my first trip and was disappointed at the small number of basses they carry. they're not lying by calling it Guitar center. i did like the fact that they carry used instruments. my stingray was used w/o a scratch on it and i paid $400 less than if it was new. woo-hoo!

[Mike Flynn]

Originally Posted by outofthedeep

I did play some $2300 warwick..... and I must say that it was awful. I had never played one, and looked forward to getting the chance to play it. I was slightly dissappointed. Had the cool warwick growl, but it sounded very muddy, even after tweaking the knobs, and the setup seemed like it belonged on a $200 bass, not a $2000 one. Just not impressed.

However I did play a Spector Euro 4 4 string that was hands down the best bass I have ever played.

I have to agree with you on both counts - most Warwick's i see these days look cool but I really don't enjoy the way they play compared to mine - and I agree ono the sound issues as well - they do sound a bit dissapointing IMO.

But as for Spectre's, they have a few in Sound Control - under the Virgin Mega Store in central London, sounds similar to GC - i.e. bit of a nightmare for all the noise and idiots playing metal guitar *badly* - but the Spectre's all sound and look lovely - really great basses for an 'off the shelf' make, some of the best by today's standards - they really are worth considering/buying.

There's my $0.02's worth.

M

[Levi]

Originally Posted by hateater

I ****ing hate GC. They have some decent gear, but it is never set up correctly. Dead strings, high action, jizzed stained basses. The amps are just as bad sometimes. The only thing they are good for is to put up flyers for your brand new HARDCORE band. DrUmMeR and BaSeSt wanted!

dead string means more money for GC,High action means no slap which means it won't tear up the bass, jizzed stained basses? What do you expect a lot of people play em'.

yeah i hate that too i always untune the basses with high action so it a pain in the ass for the people to tune 10 basses everyday. I wonder if they notice that only the ones with high actions are getting untune?

[hateater]

Originally Posted by Levi

dead string means more money for GC,High action means no slap which means it won't tear up the bass, jizzed stained basses? What do you expect a lot of people play em'.

yeah i hate that too i always untune the basses with high action so it a pain in the ass for the people to tune 10 basses everyday. I wonder if they notice that only the ones with high actions are getting untune?

Dead strings mean that GC gets more money, yes... however, they should all be properley set up.