Why do YOU hate Guitar Center?

[ben12390]

personally I love GC. they've been nothing but awesome to me. I live in Nebraska, so maybe thats why. the people are just nicer here.

go ahead. spill your guts

[Munjibunga]

I don't.

[thwump64]

Because there aren't any in Canada.

[Floridabwoy]

What a horrible thread topic.... you shouldn't HATE anybody.

[Phalex]

Because I don't care if the kid behind the counter uses stainless round wounds in his band. Gimme my flats and I'll be going.......

[yeggi]

phalex is right, they hire unexperienced personell and it gets quite aggravating. after a day of searching for a nice cheap mic set or just a usb instrument cable, i was raging red walking around GC to just have each person tell me they didnt know what i was talking about. after that i went right to sam ash, asked the same question and got handed 3 things, a stealth plugs ( which i bought and it died ) and some mic sets.

[Jim Nazium]

"Hate" is too strong a word, but it isn't my favorite place to shop. Why? For one, inconsistent sales people. Sometimes you get someone who is helpful and knowledgable, sometimes you get a clueless surly kid with a bad attitude who looks and acts like he just took five bong hits. For another, the fact that it's a large chain means that their inventory tends to be very plain-vanilla - lots of Fender basses and GK amps, which are great products, but hardly unusual.

I lived in LA back in the 90's, and there was a shop called the Bass Center up in the SF Valley. They only stocked bass gear, the staff were all knowledgable and helpful, and they had a great selection of hard-to-find items. They had every brand and gauge of string you could imagine.

If I was lucky enough to live near a shop like that, I'd go there all the time. But there's only a GC near me, so ...

[Yerf Dog]

They have to check everything you purchase on your way out and stamp your receipt.

[tangentmusic]

Untill a GC opened in my city, you had to go to a locally owned shop. They have all the great guitar lines (Fender,Gibby ect) But their attitude was that if you're not a cool "Rock Star" type with lots o' money to spend then they would really look down their noses at you. You had to practically beg them to let you try anything out, and most times they made you feel intimidated to even ask. I love Guitar Center. They have all the same great gear and have a much more relaxed attitude. I don't live in a little remote town either. There are several "Mom & Pop" music stores in town, but they don't have much good selection. When GC opened here, it really took a chunk of business away from the "attitude shop" and I'm glad they did... Serve's 'em right!

[zachoff]

I don't hate them. I just think there are better places to go.

I don't like trying out effects through headphone or a 1x15 combo that bears absolutely zero resemblance to my rig. Or when I bring my bass and they ask what my rig is they look at me funny and say "You're playing that old Yamaha through that [SVT/810]?" I say, "Yup... This Yamaha slays Fenders." and they look at me as if I'm retarded. There are some people that aren't so condescending/know-it-all types but for the most part they're condescending/know-it-all types.

[Burlington]

Who else is gonna work for $9 an hour besides some kid who wants to be a rockstar?

I like GC. I just do my own research before I go in

[Warrior_Bass]

I wish they had more variety. Every GC I've been to has nothing but entry level gear, half of which is used.

[Jazzdogg]

I don't have anything against Guitar Center, per se. But I dislike shopping at GC because there are too darned many young wankers making noise. Get off my lawn you noisy young whippersnappers - and while you're at it, pull your pants up!

[jpTron]

I research what I want, and if I don't already buy it online, then I go in with a purpose and get what I need without asking questions.

[coldfoot_luke]

I don't hate GC... but it seems the people that work there want you too cater to their taste, rather than having well-rounded knowledge of the musical equipment that is best for various musical tastes.

[Alucard817]

i niether love GC nor hate it. the prices at the one near me (tampa florida) are a bit higher then others. the sam ash near me has an idiot for a tech, but then again GC has an experienced luthier. so its kind of a trade off.

[GBassNorth]

I like Guitar Center, bought lots of good stuff there, both new and used at very fair prices. I do wish they had a better selection of strings.
However, I avoid going in the store on weekends or holidays due to the abundance of wankers that all insist on shredding some poor Ibanez guitar on a Marshall half stack at full volume non-stop. If ya think ya wanna buy it, try it. But if ya aint got the cheeze, don't play - PLEEZE!

[grifff]

I don't hate Guitar Center. I usually go in to Guitar Center with the intent of buying something; If they don't have what I want then I leave. Sometimes I have to clarify what it is that I want if it's something odd that not everyone knows about then I am happy to do so.

Guitar Center is one of the few places where you can actually try semi-higher end gear through multiple rig setups. I'm glad we have one in my town.

[essentre]

Here's why I do...

When I first started playing bass it was to fill-in for a friends cover band. I've always played guitar so the bass was something I'd fooled around with numerous times. Now I was really getting into it and figured I'd get a bass and really learn to play. I had no intention of buying a bass from GC, I always buy used gear. I went in just to test drive some basses. After talking with the "bass guy" and gaining some insight he thought a Stingray would be a good bass to try. I played the HH and liked it.

After telling him it was too expensive (again, I'm not buying it new anyways) he directs me to a single humbucker one thats on clearance. Nice looking, plays nice.

So I say "Why is it on clearance" to which he answers "Its an older model we just can't sell so we wanna get it out of here"

Now heres where my ignorance hits. I start thinking that this could actually be a good deal for once...

I go back the next day and play it again and notice that when the selector is in the middle position theres no sound. I bring this to the guys attention and he tells me thats how its supposed to be. Since theres only one pickup its just an extra slot. Now I'm not an idiot so i just say ok and go home to look this up online. OF COURSE theres supposed to be sound coming from it, obviously the pickup isn't working. They also said the tech guy in the store had looked at it and for him to fix it was too much of a hassle so they were just selling it as is.

To make a long story short I go back and confront the guy about this with a printout of the specs to show him. He of course backtracks and says "Yea thats why its on clearance" I then asked him why he denied this when I asked and why he lied about it and he obviously had nothing to say.

In the end I did buy the bass because it was so cheap. I had called EBMM and told them about it first. They told me it was under warranty so they'd fix it for free. Turns out the pickup was bad. This wasn't anywhere near what the dude at GC had said was the problem. I don't even remember what he had said it was.

Anyways, I got the bass back from them and it was like new. In the end I did make out, but had I not known anything or just trusted the guy at GC, I would've really gotten screwed.

[DWBass]

I can't stand my local GC! They never seem to have any 'backroom' stock! Only what's on the floor, which is always used and abused and they want to charge you full price! This has been my experience with the Bass Dept. Seems they have plenty of stock when it comes to guitars, keys and drums! They also have limited brands. Mostly Fender (not many American models in stock) and Squier! Some Ibanez, Deans, a couple 'Rays and 'Wicks! Markbass, GK, Fender combos and Ampeg amps and not much of anything else!