I was at my local guitar center a couple of months ago. I had time to kill so I played at least 15 basses. Of those 15, 3 were setup to some extent. 1 was a new Fender Bronco. This is a $200 short scale bass. (It was great and I did want it) The 2 others were a used Sire and a used Yamaha. Every other new bass was a disappointment. Every Fender was at least $800+. One of them was $1300ish and I could have ducked down and walked under the strings. There were Squiers which were not set up but they were all better than the Fenders or other more expensive brands. I asked a worker about the $1300ish Fender and he just said, "Yeah, that's the way they come from Fender". Isn't a store supposed to present the product at its best so that people want to buy it? When I was growing up, music stores set up the guitars and then put them out for sale. When I order from Sweetwater a $1300ish bass will be inspected and set up. So in the future, my "new bass" business will always go to Sweetwater. Do you think the basses are not set up because Guitar Center charges between $50 and $60 for a setup?
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Does Guitar Center set up their basses?
- Thread starter SMonroeB
- Start date
I am going to wear a Sweetwater T-shirt in there one day
Hope this helps.
I’m convinced manufacturers send GC their factory seconds. They have zero QC control and don’t spend any time making their stock sellable.
To be fair, Sweetwater charged me $99 + new strings for a setup on a new Ibanez. It’s perfect, though.
My repair place, Eric's Guitar Shop, which is in the Sound City complex in Van Nuys, CA (yes, THAT Sound City) charges $98 for a full setup, and I mean full. They inspect everything and correct what's needed at that level. I spend the day there from time-to-time, and all day long people come in for a setup because Eric has an extremely good reputation for all his work. I started going to him about nine years ago, and I made the mistake of trying someone else much closer to me, I vowed never to do that again. Eric and Billy have worked on about thirty-five of my bass guitars and ukuleles.
There are sellers out there who do a setup for free with a sale, knowing it will get the buyer to play more and better, keeping them in the music fold.
There are sellers out there who do a setup for free with a sale, knowing it will get the buyer to play more and better, keeping them in the music fold.
Oh, it’s a set-up alright.
Save money, learn to do it by your own. It's fun and you won't need to buy new basses.
I have a Sam Ash shirt that I really should wear in there next time I head over to GC.I am going to wear a Sweetwater T-shirt in there one day
What an easy way for SW to make $$$.
GC is owned by a hedge fund and seems to exist primarily to create massive tax losses to shelter profit from other businesses they own. It's either that or they have a insane lack of knowledge for how to operate a large music store profitably and don't mind if they never learn.
It's employees seem not to care about the condition of their stock because the company itself doesn't. It may be the last place I would ever want to go to check on instruments especially if my goal is to check out their playability. They unbox inventory and hang it on the wall as is.
It's employees seem not to care about the condition of their stock because the company itself doesn't. It may be the last place I would ever want to go to check on instruments especially if my goal is to check out their playability. They unbox inventory and hang it on the wall as is.
They will turn a truss rod for you if you ask. Many times Ive tried a bass at GC only to find the neck having excessive relief. You can usually walk it over to somebody at a counter or service desk and ask for them to give the rod a twist. What’s good is, you’re also checking of the rod actually works.
if i remember correctly, at least 10-15 years ago there was a similar thread. setup not good enough and old strings. at some point a member chimed in, who was also GC employee at the time. he said something like they have few hundred instruments on the floor and exponentially more in the shop warehouse, and that it was unreasonable to expect them to do weekly setup and stings change.
I bought a 2023 Fender AVII from Sweetwater and it was not set up at all, and this is a $2200 bass. The truss rod had no tension on it at all, it was completely slack.
It’s not just GC
It’s not just GC
When I owned a small guitar shop in California in the 90's every one of our guitars was fully setup before it was hung on the wall.
That said, when Guitar Center came into town we went out of business....
That said, when Guitar Center came into town we went out of business....
To answer your question, NO. Some manufacturers make a half assed attempt but, no one should settle for an "out of the box or off the wall" so called setup. IF they are "adjusted" (not setup) they will be to someone elses standards, not yours. Sweetwater does an OK job but, it's cookie cutter. Everyone needs the best setup for them, not what Joe Schmoe did for themselves. Not to mention the strings alone are probably junk.
