it would be hilarious for someone to bring their instrument to GC for this, and post pictures.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Anyone know if guitar center does these mods?
- Thread starter Samuel Smelser
- Start date
There are a good number of nice guys that work at GC, but I never ask the "tech" to do anything on a possible purchase, except to lower the action so that I know the truss rod works BEFORE I leave with it. IF I buy it.
When I purchased this bass pre-owned in 2013 the bridge needed to be countersunk deeper into the body. It was originally built for a double bass player who likely preferred higher action than I do. So I took it to my local GC. As you can tell, they did awesome work on my instrument. 
You got me, I'm fibbing. I sent it to the luthier who built it. Can you imagine dropping this bass off at a Guitar Center? The OP asked for opinions on repairs at GC. Many of us have given their honest opinion. Some say it's a good idea, others say it's not a good idea. That's TB in a nutshell.
M. M.
You got me, I'm fibbing. I sent it to the luthier who built it. Can you imagine dropping this bass off at a Guitar Center? The OP asked for opinions on repairs at GC. Many of us have given their honest opinion. Some say it's a good idea, others say it's not a good idea. That's TB in a nutshell.
M. M.
Last edited:
For many years we had two stores here that had their own (I believe subletted luthier on sight, weren't GC employees) they both had a small shop in the corner room in the store. The sales guys had nothing to do with any work that went in there.
Eventually one store closed and was turned into apartments, the other store remodeled and became a C level store, so repair shop gone.
The store closest to me has a luthier come and pick up instruments to work on at his shop, and brings them back whem done.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
No. I'm glad your GC has a good tech. But that's a rarity. I've gone to a number of the stores in my area, and often they just put up the instruments up without checking them. More than once, I told them I was interested in an instrument, but it was near (or in one case totally) unplayable because they would not adjust the neck, even when asked.
This. Don’t know if he’s still there, but As an example the Sacramento GC had a tech there for a long time who was really good. And he wasn’t a kid.
It all depends on the store. Some stores are really good, some are a joke. I will say that the one closest to me went from being really good until about three years ago. The manager was great, but he finally left. He felt the company management really didn’t care about being a music store, only a profit center. Sad really.
Some are good, but if you don't know the tech is good I would look at more established luthiers in your area. The tech turnover seems to be pretty high at most GC stores.
I worked at GC long enough to become an assistant manager, before quitting because of exactly the type of crap we are all griping about here. Our store had a heavy corporate presence as a new opening (it’s been here about ten years now I suppose), including long-time managers who moved here to run it for the first several years, and a straight-up corporate guy who apparently just floats between new openings in the region for several years just to make sure they are working as designed.
this isn’t a myth, this isn’t ‘typical TB bull****
it is the rule, and your experience is the great exception. You’re either in a big city where the employee candidates are actually competitive and the market actually allows for competence to be paid for, a town where GC is old enough to have been left alone by corporate for awhile, or you just plain have a twilight zone GC
OP would be better off with a basic MIM PJ. The one I have isn’t bad at all; the bridge pickup in it actually sounds better than another much more expensive PJ I have.
It’s because GC doesn’t care at all which one they have. They don’t screen them, they don’t train them, they don’t care what they know. If someone is a good GC tech, it’s because of their own passion and competence.. so yes, there are good ones, but it certainly makes sense to hold ones nose at the idea of a GC tech, since the companies own contribution and standards for the position are laughable.
in other words, there are probably some people at
Last edited:
So there you have it. I guess he’s still there in Sacto. From my experience, that is a really good store.
Taco Bell isn't a good example. Taco Bell is yummy as hell. Choose Burger King or Chipotle or something.
I just got back from trying some basses out at Guitar Center to see if I liked a few of the 5 string offerings from Ibanez.
Every single one of them hanging on the way had a bowed neck and action so high I could probably have fit a whole finger in between the string and the fretboard so I just walked right back out the door without even picking one up. I have a feeling this has nothing to do with Ibanez...
Wouldn't let them near any of my instruments.
Every single one of them hanging on the way had a bowed neck and action so high I could probably have fit a whole finger in between the string and the fretboard so I just walked right back out the door without even picking one up. I have a feeling this has nothing to do with Ibanez...
Wouldn't let them near any of my instruments.
^That. Wouldn't it make more sense to see about trading it and a little cash for a P/J Mustang or something?
To be honest I’d rather attempt to do it myself than allow GC employees to mess with my basses. For one as others have said they’ll hire just about anyone off the street willing to work for minimum wage. But also it’s not a common mod for most of them either. One of the guitarist in my band had a pickup swap done at GC recently. They did such a bad soldering job that the guitar didn’t even make it through an entire rehearsal. Find someone who knows what they are doing. I drive a good 40 minutes to go to the guy that works on my stuff. It’s worth the drive
They typically don't do much to the basses and guitars hanging on the wall. In a perfect world, I get that they would keep them in tip top shape but they don't want to put the labor cost into the instruments and especially don't want to spend money on new strings. I have had employees adjust the truss rod on some basses when the action is high. Basically, if they don't sell to you or me, they'll sell to someone else that will be less picky and may pay for a setup.
