Some Thoughts on my GC Trip (Good Thoughts)

GrooveWarrior · #1 08-01-2011, 08:01 PM

I went into GC today to return a GK 115MBX I got a couple of weeks ago, and the tweeter stopped working. In the meantime, I decided to shell out a little more and get the much heralded Neo 112-II instead. So, this was a return/swap/upgrade. GC matched the online price I found on the cabinet, adjusting for not paying tax, and no shipping. I paid $314.10 for the cab new. They didn't have one in stock, but they are shipping it from the warehouse to my house before the week is out.

Great interaction from the Cincy GC workers.

I'm a 36 year old who has been playing 22 years. I'm a high school assistant principal, and look like one, so maybe that impacted their treatment of me. I don't know, but a lot of people bash GC here, and I had a great experience.

Now for the basses. I haven't been in GC for like 5 years. I have a Warrior Signature 4 that is my main bass, and is one of the nicest instruments I have ever played, so I haven't really looked at basses that much. (Specifically your typical GC fare.)

I have never played a Stingray I have liked. That changed today. I played one of their Classic Stingray 4's. Natural Ash finish, birdseye neck, birdseye board. Sounded unbelievable. I played it for a few minutes and was really impressed. I quickly realized that you don't need much more than about the first 15-20% of that treble knob!!! Wow that thing can get sizzly!!!! I also played one of the 25th anniversary Reflex 4H. Didn't like it at all. Outside of the fact that the series/parallel switch wasn't working correctly, it just sounded bad. It sounded like it was trying way too hard to sound good. The Classic Stingray killed it in tone and playability by a mile.

I know a lot of people have asked whether they should get the Squier VM or the Squier Classic Vibe bass. I hadn't played either. Today I played both. Today, at GC in Cincy, the Classic Vibe BLEW AWAY the VM. Not even close. That classic vibe (white with rosewood board) bass smokes. Seriously, if it was sitting next to my 2001 American Standard (ash/maple), I would likely grab the Squier 4 out of 5 times. Great finish, fantastic tone, terrific low setup with no dead notes or buzzes. I will probably buy one just to have it around for my students, and to play myself. The VM I played was the natural ash with the maple neck with blocks. It sucked. Bad. Terrible neck, awful tone, and sloppy workmanship. I know I haven't played a lot of either series, but today the winner was clear. The classic vibe J also smoked the MIM deluxe jazz, which I played first and thought was very nice for the money. The classic vibe is 1/2 the price. I know it doesn't have active electronics, but was just a nicer bass, and you can upgrade electronics if you need to.

Also played through the MarkBass stuff for the first time. Sounded good. Honestly, I like my GK MB200 through a GK cabinet much better, and it costs a ton less.

One other negative thought for the day - If you want to waste $479, buy the MarkBass Micromark 1X6" 50Watt combo. Look, I know it's a single 6" speaker, but that thing is completely useless in any situation. Even in your room. Buy a headphone amp. A completely ridiculous and useless product to put on the market. MarkBass should be embarassed. I wouldn't spend $50 for it to run my iPod through.

Just some thoughts.

EagleMoon · #2 08-02-2011, 12:02 AM

The Cincy GC is a nice store. They seem to keep their basses set up pretty well. That's where I bought my CV P bass. I agree with you about them. They're great basses for the money or otherwise. I'm not a fan of Markbass though, sound muffled to me, at least the combos do, no matter how you set them.

MJ5150 · #3 08-02-2011, 12:44 AM

Good to hear. The staff at the GC nearest me, in Tacoma, are good folk too. The guy who laid the bass tracks on one of the early Linkin Park albums used to work in the bass department, maybe he still does. It was cool to go in there and talk shop with him. He even signed my LP pen.

-Mike

DRafalske · #4 08-02-2011, 06:39 AM

I don't get up to the Cincy GC very often, but the one near me in Florence is nice too. Good people. Manager is a bass player, too.

D

N.F.A. · #5 08-11-2011, 08:15 PM

I've had good experiences at both the Cincy and Dayton GC's lately. The sales people were friendly and helpful at both stores.

poorbassist15 · #6 08-12-2011, 01:22 PM

The Guitar Center I went to in Greensboro really took a turn, for the better. For years, they had absolute s*** in regards to inventory, and all the basses were set up horribly, all had dings on them, and most of the staff were a*******. When I went down there for my Kustom amp, the place was laid out well, the staff were very helpful(and knowledgeable), and the basses all played great. It was like this at the Dayton GC too when I went there a few years back.