Oooh...Guitar Center...

RyRob813 · #1 05-30-2009, 10:14 PM

I've had many annoying encounters in Guitar Center, but this one probably takes the grand prize of

I've been in the market for a small, lightweight rig for quite awhile now. (Many of you may have seen a number of my numerous threads on the subject,) and I'm really interested in Markbass Combos; light, LOUD, and great sound quality.

Also pricey. I wanted to play through one with my own bass before getting serious about buying one in the fall, so I headed out to gc.

First off, the place was packed. Middle school aged kids that could never afford the guitar they're blaring through the Marshall stack galore, and you can't even hear yourself think. I spy my amplifier, and sit down, and start to plug in. Sales guy taps me on the shoulder after I've been sitting there a good minute, and asks me if I'm gonna play that amp, which I naturally respond yes to. He says he's about to show it to someone, and he needs me to go. Now, understandable if you're gonna make a sale, but I watched this guy stand there playing a bass for a good minute, clearly saw me, and waited to I was situated to tell me this bit of info.

So I get about one or two licks in that I can't hear thanks to the noise, and have to unplug and be on my way.

Not a successful trip. Not to mention, I have trouble looking at stuff in gc anyway. I can't relax and experiment with equipment with an entire sales staff staring at me. Too nerve wracking.

Sterling_Bass · #2 05-30-2009, 10:22 PM

That is very obnoxious of the sales associate to remove you from the amp. Of you were there first and it was clear you were trying it out, you should have been left to do your thing. I would let a manager know you were treated unfairly.

sowder · #3 05-30-2009, 10:25 PM

Toss it on top of the ginormous pile of why Guitar Center is the last place anybody should go to for musical equipment. They are horrendous and I hate them with a passion I don't feel for many other things.

MJ5150 · #4 05-30-2009, 10:25 PM

So who did he show it to you after you stepped away? I bet someone famous like Geddy Lee or Flea.

-Mike

Papazita · #5 05-30-2009, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

So who did he show it to you after you stepped away? I bet someone famous like Geddy Lee or Flea.

-Mike

Or someone at least 10 years older than him.

MJ5150 · #6 05-30-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papazita

Or someone at least 10 years older than you.

Someone 48? Wow.

-Mike

warwick.hoy · #7 05-30-2009, 10:42 PM

I would have told the salesman to sod off. I'm the customer...I got there first and the other fella can wait.

Seriously...when the first sentence of your post is "I've had many annoying encounters in Guitar Center"...I question why you go back. Surely St. Paul has more than one guitar shop, and in this day and age...there is more selection than just Markbass in the lightweight amp selection.

I agree that GC sucks,...which means I go there in a pinch to pick up cables and to see if they have any used FX in there. If I have to spend more than 10 minutes in a GC my brains seriously starts to melt. Besides,...the guys that own the mom and pops need to pay their bills more so than Guitar Center.

IMHO.

Papazita · #8 05-30-2009, 10:43 PM

I had a GC dbag once tell me -in all seriousness- that the s1 switch on a Fender Precision was "too complicated of a control setup" for "a guy like you."
This was while i was demoing amps with my 6 knobs plus a switch Chris Larkin bass.

The same guy later told me that there's "no such thing" as a bass that costs more than $3000, while reaching behind me to flip over the price tag on a $4500 Pedulla so I wouldn't see it.

Papazita · #9 05-30-2009, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Someone 48? Wow.

-Mike

OP is 18, according to his profile. That's probably why he was shooed away from the "good stuff."

warwick.hoy · #10 05-30-2009, 11:00 PM

Shouldn't this be in the Misc. Subforum???

My experience with GC is benign, but I rarely go there. It is filled with the same dregs poorly belting out the brootal metals. I'm not going to go on with the normal GC complaints, but I want to at least go on about this.

The GC in this town is in strip mall land. The Division Street corridor is about 90 blocks of nothing but Fast Food joints, K Marts and strip malls. I hate to seem elitist, but I hate going there. Parking is always a bee because it is in between a Burlington Coat Factory and an Outback Steakhouse and situated in a strip mall that has a Ross, and an Old Country Barfett. This is in a town full of white boy wannabee ganstas, and F-350 driving wannabe Cowboys (amusing juxtaposition) and old people. It's not that it is a ghetto part of town,...it's just an ugly, uncultured part of town.

Now the mom and pops are located in a really quaint Main Street portion of town called the Garland District...(oh they sell Genz Benz stuff there). If Mike has ever visited Spokane...he may be familiar. There is a violin shop, a 2nd run theater that is actually pretty nice...Coffee Shops,...bistros, a great second hand clothing store that specializes in Levis. These are all in older buildings...no preconceived crappy commercial architecture here.

Where would you rather go? As someone who prides himself in supporting the local guy...I go to the Garland District store. I've noticed that the same guys that opened the store are till there...absolutely no turnover. GC? I never recognize a face from one visit to the next.

Papazita · #11 05-30-2009, 11:00 PM

I always like the "Duuuuuuuuude!" 18 & 19 year olds they occasionally hire.

I was playing a fretless Warwick Corvette Std. The "duuuuude" dude walks up.
"Duuuuuuuude! You like rockin' that 'wick, dude? Check it out man, there's no frets on it! It's a fretless, dude!"

"Duuuuude! Check out that body, man! Solid. Freakin'. Ma-ha-gany, dude!"
*ahem*
Actually, it's bubinga.
"..."
"Yeah, dude. Freakin' walnut, man. Awesome."
...please go away.
"Riiiiiight...check ya later, dude! I'll, like, be right over there when you need me, dude. Oh and my name's like..."
I don't care.

He didn't last too long working there. Can't imagine why, duuuuude.

Papazita · #12 05-30-2009, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

The GC in this town is in strip mall land. The Division Street corridor is about 90 blocks of nothing but Fast Food joints, K Marts and strip malls. I hate to seem elitist, but I hate going there. Parking is always a bee because it is in between a Burlington Coat Factory and an Outback Steakhouse and situated in a strip mall that has a Ross, and an Old Country Barfett. This is in a town full of white boy wannabee ganstas, and F-350 driving wannabe Cowboys (amusing juxtaposition) and old people. It's not that it is a ghetto part of town,...it's just an ugly, uncultured part of town.

Dang...you sure you're not in Ohio? That sounds just like Morse Rd in Columbus!

Except for the uber-snobby Easton Towne (with an E!) Center. I went there once. Never again.

Chriss62 · #13 05-30-2009, 11:04 PM

I thank god everyday for the bass emporium.

warwick.hoy · #14 05-30-2009, 11:11 PM

I'm sure Spokane and Ohio have a lot in common. Growing up on the East Coast...I consider Spokane to be the fringe of the Midwest. Most people would look at it and say....West Coast...yeah that's like 5 hours away.

I really feel like I'm coming off as pretentious here, but I just feel better going to the Mom and Pop...as opposed to the big boys who have cornered the market with cheap crap. I feel like an actual musician as opposed to a Wal-Mart shopper. I'm actually treated like a musician. I had my bass worked on at the M&P and they respected that I knew what I was talking about. I'm sure it is nothing new on these boards, but if I make a major purchase it's either here on TB, or at the M&P's

Papazita · #15 05-30-2009, 11:19 PM

Of course, there are some m&p shops that are just as bad. I can think of one in particular...they're just flat-out rude!
"Ask first" signs on every instrument. Ask and you'll get the same response every time: "You want to try it out? Well I don't know about that...are you gonna buy it?"
Go in with a female and the employees hover 10 feet away, ogling her and making really obnoxious jokes and comments.
How that place has stayed in business for so long, I'll never know.

warwick.hoy · #16 05-30-2009, 11:30 PM

We've got one of those...The guy gouges you and will not price match. The selection isn't that great (lot's of Stagg and novelty type instruments) and he posts on CL constantly. Not that it is against the CL TOS, just bad form. I bought a little practice amp from him (Ashdown Perfect 10) and paid about $30 too much. I got burned and I'll never go back.

We have another one downtown and it is a pawn shop that so happens to have tons of gear. They have a few good second hand instruments and lots of new S101 (Rondo/SX I believe) stuff, but the staff is supportive of the local scene, involved with bands around town. They are competent repairman, always willin to wheel and deal, always humorous...If I want to check something out I never have to ask. They had a beat up TU-2 with a price-tag of $80...I offered $50 and they accepted. They probably appreciated that I new what it was worth used. They always have a rotating selection of used FX and every time I go in there I usually walk out with something I can use, DI boxes, cables, straps, EAR PROTECTION!!!.

MakiSupaStar · #17 05-30-2009, 11:48 PM

They've got a 30 day return policy. Buy it. Take it home. Play it in the privacy of your home. Make a decision to return or keep it.

Papazita · #18 05-30-2009, 11:54 PM

The one local shop in the town I live in is owned by a former pro Nashville session and touring bassist, yet he never has ANY bass gear, unless it comes in as part of a trade.
He was an Ampeg dealer for a while, but he never stocked a single product and refused to order anything when asked. I think he just wanted the cool Ampeg sign to put in his window.
And according to him, there's no such thing as a speaker cabinet that runs at 4 ohms, only 8 or 2; and every brand of guitar and bass string is made by GHS anyway, so there's no need for him to sell anything else.

These days, I think he keeps the shop open just to get out of the house and away from the wife. She won't let him go fishing every day, so he "goes to the shop" instead.

warwick.hoy · #19 05-31-2009, 12:02 AM

Oh there is that...the return policy at GC is about it's only redeeming quality.

I'm not familiar with the M&P's return policy around here, then again they've never sold me anything under false pretenses, so I've never had to return anything.

FWIW...I received a pedal in trade from a private party and it needed some work done to it. It was a pedal made by a local boutique pedal maker (ToadWorks...made in Spokane) and the M&P in the Garland District stocked those pedals. After a back & forth with the maker I took it to the M&P and they handled it from there. Brownie points for both entities.

EDIT: [/thread hijack]

CamMcIntyre · #20 05-31-2009, 12:17 AM

My favorite technique for Guitar Center related shopping is this: if I need to try something out, go when it is the least busy. My days off are Monday & Friday. There's not a whole lot going on Monday morning at Guitar Center.

If it's something that I just need to buy-cables, strings, etc, I can typically get in & out really quick, as long as it is not a special order. Even then, some of the guys are much quicker at processing a special order than others. The guy that I placed an order with to get an Edirol R09 and Tascam MP3 Bass trainer-good. Guy that didn't understand how to use the Guitar Center website's search engine-very bad. Like, I won't have him help me unless if I just need strings or to pay for a cable. If it requires thought-he's a no go.

If it's a guitar/bass that I want, there's 1 guy that I go to and he's knowledgeable and doesn't try and sell me stuff that I'm not interested in.

I enjoy being able to pull instruments off the wall and mess around for awhile. The ones that I want to play most, are the hardest to reach, so I rarely do that. If I'm just messing around there, it means I'm in Lincoln Park and have some major time to kill for some reason.