Guitar Center in trouble?

[Brent Davenport]

It's funny how unplayable so many of GC's guitars and basses are a lot of the time. I guess offering to sell you a set up to go with your new guitar/bass is a way they can make extra money.
If they had a reasonably smart employee just doing basic set ups for their inventory (nothing drastic: truss rod, action, radius, intonation, maybe a little fret end filing...) there would be more sales. Unless they are looking ONLY to sell to Mr. & Mrs. Jones buying their son his first Squier, in which case they deserve a slow, painful demise.
Those of us who know what a well set-up instrument feels like are tired of wading through walls of poorly set up instruments. I'm not going to buy something that I need to perform work on unless I'm getting a screaming deal. It's likely I'm not getting a screaming deal.
My locally owned stores will set up before, and after a sale.

It' funny that you say that. I was in Guitar Center today and played both a Fender Elite 5 Jazz and a Stingray 5. The factory setup was really nice on the Fender, so it made it feel like that much better an instrument. The setup on the Stingray was horrible! To someone who didn't know, the Stingray would have seemed like a sub par instrument. Of course they offered to set it up for $50.....

 

[Two-Spirit]

I like Musicians Friend better anyway and the local music shop down the road.

 

[toowrongfoo]

Business is hard. I hope GC can figure this out. There are lots of jobs at stake.

Absolutely. BTW, how many cities had this happen. The accessory department was canned to put in lessons booths (which mostly are empty) ?

 

[Kukulkan61]

I won't miss going in there and trying out the basses,99% of the ones I tried had horrible action. Bowed necks so bad you could fling arrows with them...

 

[toowrongfoo]

It' funny that you say that. I was in Guitar Center today and played both a Fender Elite 5 Jazz and a Stingray 5. The factory setup was really nice on the Fender, so it made it feel like that much better an instrument. The setup on the Stingray was horrible! To someone who didn't know, the Stingray would have seemed like a sub par instrument. Of course they offered to set it up for $50.....

And those guys can be hacks at times. Yeah, it's a shame. There is a place I bought a guitar from in Napa (think it was napa music supply) and everything was neat and clean there. They took the time to set up the guitar I was interested and gave me a reasonable deal. Don't have a clue if they or anyone else still does this but it was nice.

 

[4001]

I remember the GC on Milwaukee Ave. in Niles, IL.. I think it was in Niles.. anyways, that store had a wall of guitars and basses that would make your head spin. This was in the early to mid 80's... I got some great deals from GC over the years.

 

[TinyE]

Are you a cop? You must be a cop.

lol

 

[Deak]

Absolutely. BTW, how many cities had this happen. The accessory department was canned to put in lessons booths (which mostly are empty) ?

The Olathe store in KCMO did just that. Is depressing, and fairly empty, at least compared to the glory days.

 

[gitfiddl]

I haven't bought a brand new bass in decades, and the used ones have come from private individuals, and small local shops. The last PA gear (amps, mixer) have been online purchases. Stuff like cables I buy in bulk and make my own.

When GC finally got to Jacksonville 10 or 15 years ago I was stoked. I'd visited one in CA when I was visiting my eldest son in Temecula. Actually purchased a Korg digital piano out there so that I could jam with his band over the weekend. The sparkle wore off fast, even when my son moved back to Jacksonville and was sponsored by GC and their house brand Laguna guitars. My youngest son wanted a used Jackson Dinky they had on the wall. I put it on layaway and asked about the bar for the licensed Floyd. The guitar "manager" gave me some story about not all licensed Floyds being the same, but he'd get me one that fit before I picked up the guitar. Never happened. Wound up getting the guitar, driving down the street and grabbing one of the Allparts rack at a small local shop.

I went back a while later, cash in hand, to hear and buy a Boss RT-20 Leslie sim pedal to run my clone-wheel through. GC didn't have one. "We've got an H&K Rotosphere...". I wound up driving to George's and buying what I wanted from them.

Bottom line: The customer service and knowledge base of my local GC stink. I only go there as a last resort.

 

[Kombo]

I like Musicians Friend better anyway and the local music shop down the road.

Isn’t musicians friend guitar center?

 

[gitfiddl]

I like Musicians Friend better anyway and the local music shop down the road.

Musician's Friend and GC have been basically the same entity for years.

 

[glocke1]

According to this article, they're at risk of bankruptcy.

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Edit: I realize it's been talked about for so long now but it looks like this is the year they'll have to do it.

Its a shame really...

At one point I could walk into one of the GC's near me and there would almost always be something worth checking out..Used Alembic, Modulus etc. and I think at one point they carried some higher end stuff since I remember Warwick basses being in there as well as MesaBoogie amps. This is going back 15 years or so though. Than there was the Acoustic Guitar room.

The last few trips I made to one of the local ones I was left feeling meh...no basses were in stock that I felt were worth trying out, same for amps. The acoustic guitar room was kind of a disappointment as well, and the higher end guitars (2k and above) were under lock and key.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Someday Starbucks will close and we'll be getting coffee drone delivered from Faceboogleazon

Wow don't bet on that one. FB's been in a lot of hot water lately. They used to be the "go-to" and now they've become sort of the villains of online social. I say that's good, no company should be worth billions and billions and owned by one person. Too much danger there and it's already been proven out.

How many kids started out going to GC and listening to "cooler" older kids riffing away on guitar or bass? I always drop by the Westlake store and Southcenter store in Seattle and they've always had a great selection and the people are super cool.

One idea mentioned already is GC should take a more proactive role in selling used equipment. They get a lot in, roll it out-- start selling itself as a good place to swap and meet. Anyway, I know there are a lot of GC haters here on TB but I always hate to see any American company fail. Those people need jobs like we do. Besides, I've been on TB under a couple different names going on 18 years and every year there's yet another GC closing its doors story. They are too intertwined with Fender and Gibson to close the doors. They HAVE to stay open.

 

[MegaSwing]

Overall, I won't miss GC. They never cared about players, only spenders, and didn't really know how to help people.

But, to be fair, last year I walked into my semi-local GC and was remembered by the sales guy who sold me the only brand-new off-the-rack bass I ever bought, ten years earlier. I was truly flabbergasted—and barely remembered HIM.

 

[Hand slap]

They already have online stores-guitarcenter.com and musiciansfriend.com

I think Music 123 is affiliated too.

 

[IamGroot]

There used to be a store here in Houston called the Drum Keyboard Guitar Shop. It was HUGE and had anything you would ever want. It's been gone for years though. Ask we have left in the Houston area is a bunch of Guitar Centers and a few small time shops. I like aspiring small business, but guitars get pricey and they can't afford to match places like GC. I guarantee the won't be many small shops that will put a Stingray 5 on sale for $1600 like GC just did.

I know the former owner who is a great jazz musician. He ran through $$$$$ in that store before he shut it down. I bought my first bass there.

 

[IamGroot]

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Rockin Robin in Houston for sale

 

[Kmonk]

This is old news. It's been in the press for several years. It wouldn't surprise me if they close their stores and just continue to operate Musician's Friend and Music 123.

 

[Chrisk-K]

GC’s trouble is reflective of the current state of music rather than GC’s (poor) management.

 

[Michedelic]

I like Musicians Friend better anyway and the local music shop down the road.

Isn’t musicians friend guitar center?

Musician's Friend and GC have been basically the same entity for years.

I think Music 123 is affiliated too.

Yep, yep, and yep. As far as online(including EBay stores), GC=Musician’s Friend=Music 123=Woodwind Brass. I guess they wanted to create the illusion of competition, but you order from any of them and it all ships out of the same big warehouse in Kansas City, MO. Ten years ago, they even had an outlet store there for damaged, shopworn, returns, etc., but that’s been closed down. That stuff now is handed off sideways to a local liquidator, Cargo Largo, who has lot auctions and retail, as well as an EBay store. Often it ends up in the hands of bottom feeders who populate the local flea markets and swap meets.