Guitar Center Opinion?

[Dave W]

some are good, some are bad.

Truth.

There are 5 within easy reach of me. They are all hit and miss. The only shopping I tend to do is usually with their used gear. Or when they have a good coupon and I actually want something they stock.

 

[SurferJoe46]

The point to me is now moot anyway - the next nearest GC is 540+ miles away.

 

[tdub0199]

Like most have said already, some are good and some are bad.... same with every retailer out there, the GC i go to in Marietta, Ga. has been really good to me......

 

[ctbass]

Called Park Meadows location in Colorad the other day. Asked for Effects. Asked the Sales Guy if they had a specific pedal in stocks.
"No.".....
Okay do you ever stock it?
"No.".....

I didn't even get the proverbial, "but we can order it for you." He couldn't wait to get off the phone with me.

So many lost sales....so little time.

 

[Dave W]

My hope though somewhat against the whole mom and pop thing, is Best Buy gets their music instrument thing going, as to me they are the anit-GC, in many categories.

Why is Best Buy the anti GC to you? To me they are very similar. High volume, higher prices, uneducated sales people, bad CS, etc.

bought a used G&L ASAT from the guitar center in NYC and the truss rod was maxed out on it. When i went in there again to pick up a new bass i bought with the store credit, the same ASAT was right back on the wall for sale. I told the manager it was wrong to sell it and he basically told me hes not taking it down

Is that the black & maple ASAT in Union Square? Just to play devils advocate, unless the rod was snapped that should be fixable.

Called Park Meadows location in Colorad the other day. Asked for Effects. Asked the Sales Guy if they had a specific pedal in stocks.
"No.".....
Okay do you ever stock it?
"No.".....

I didn't even get the proverbial, "but we can order it for you." He couldn't wait to get off the phone with me.

Was it a brand that GC carries?

 

[bassmaster831]

Why is Best Buy the anti GC to you? To me they are very similar. High volume, higher prices, uneducated sales people, bad CS, etc.



Is that the black & maple ASAT in Union Square? Just to play devils advocate, unless the rod was snapped that should be fixable.



Was it a brand that GC carries?

yeah it's that one. it can be fixed but that repair will cost 400 dollars minimum and the truss rod has to be replaced. The truss rod cant be tightened anymore because someone over tighened it and it wont move. trust me i wanted to keep it at that price, but i refuse to repair something that I just bought.

 

[stambroker]

I haven't really respected GC since John Turner's epic story of how they sold a blatent copy of his Ritter despite the fact that they were presented evidence to the contrary.

Did one store ruin it for the rest of them? Yeah, kinda. Bill's Music in Catonsville is much better, anyways.

 

[ctbass]

Why is Best Buy the anti GC to you? To me they are very similar. High volume, higher prices, uneducated sales people, bad CS, etc.



Is that the black & maple ASAT in Union Square? Just to play devils advocate, unless the rod was snapped that should be fixable.



Was it a brand that GC carries?

According to the behringer website, yes.

 

[Dave W]

yeah it's that one. it can be fixed but that repair will cost 400 dollars minimum and the truss rod has to be replaced. The truss rod cant be tightened anymore because someone over tighened it and it wont move

For a repair like that, you probably wouldn't need to replace the truss rod unless it was actually snapped. You would loosen the truss rod and then clamp the neck back into straightness. If that didn't work, you can add washers to give you a little more adjustment.

 

[pablomigraine]

I have always had a good opinion of Levins. Not so much can be said for my Baltimore GC's. Just read my long winded post if it appears here ----->>>My feelings about our local Guitar Center is the employees I have dealt with are just short of used car salesman.

I recently went in with hopes of finding a nice used different kind of guitar than one I already had. After finding a Black Strat with Maple neck, marked as a 1989 Am Std for $749, I looked for a salesman to ask about if it had a case, whammy bar and missing rubber cap for the pickup selector.
He said it should as he looked at the back of the tag and went in back for about 5 minutes. Upon his return he said there was no case that he could find belonging to that guitar.
The cynic in me says it had a nice tweed case that they would be able to sell separately to make up $$$ they were taking off the guitar to move it to me. I almost told them I did not want it unless they found the case. Then the salesman said he could throw in a cheap case all for $700 something. Well, I said nah, how about a price w/o case. He said he could do $660.
Well, I said I could come back the next day with my check book and prior to leaving I told him I could leave a deposit. He said no need but he would not be there the next day. He had his co worker hear us discuss the price so he could handle it when I'd come in to pay. Well, the next day I called 45 minutes ahead of time to speak to the co worker to ready my guitar. He asked me if he could call me back because he had to verify that it was still there. I then asked him why would it NOT be there? He said well I never put a deposit on it so heck someone in Alaska could have bought it online out from under me.
BS is what I said to myself. Also, I took a chance to ask him to look for the missing case. He said "if the other salesman could not find it, it wasn't there." Anyway, he called back to say the guitar was still available so I drove to get it. My last effort for me to restore my good faith feeling or still have that "used car salesman" feeling came when I asked if he could throw in a set of strings. I was flat out refused as he said they were already cutting off nearly $100 bux off marked price and "he was doing the other salesman a favor" by handling his deal during his day off.

If I didn't like this Maple Necked Strat so much I would have told them to pound sand. I guess Y'all know how I feel about GC now!! Usually I buy all New Gear at my mom and pop music stores, and my used gear off Ebay or Craigs.

Hey don't take me the wrong way but lemme understand this right.... Guitar Center is a bad place and their employees are slimy used car salesman because they ONLY took $100 off a $750 guitar and then refused to give you a hi-quality case and a pack of strings for free on top of that? So... because they refused to sell you $850 - $950 worth of stuff for $660, just because you want them to...that makes them slimy used car salesman a-holes? I'm glad I don't work at GC !!!

Tell you what lets scale this scenario back a little... why don't you go to the gas station and pump $75 worth of gas then go inside and offer them $66 and tell them they should throw in a 6-pack and candy bar to make it a good deal and see what happens.... gas stations make the same 15% profit margin as gear stores do... go tell them they're scum for not giving you your gas for 30% off!

Working at Daddy's I learned that most people operate under the impression that every used guitar gets traded in with a case (less than 50% of trades come in with cases) and that if it doesn't come with one they should just "throw one in for free". Most people also seem to operate under the idea that at retail stores like Sam Ash and GC and Daddy's .... a bass that sells for $599.99 probably cost them like $200... otherwise they wouldn't feel justified asking for hundreds and hundreds of dollars off "just because" and then demand a free $120 case to boot.... like I said I'm glad I don't work at GC .... that poor used car salesman bent over backwards to give u a deal on the guitar you wanted and probably earned about $6 in commission for his efforts only to have you think of him as scum ....

 

[MD]

Close to 40 years playing and never been in GC. Far out!

 

[Brad Johnson]

Overall I've have what I'd guess most would consider great luck at GC... possibly phenomenal. I rarely run into the type of salespeople that so many complain about. They typically try to help if I need it and don't bug me.

A couple of weeks ago a friend sold a bass I'd recently sold him to GC so I called to find out when it would be available. The salesperson in guitars that I talked to said he didn't know anything about it, checked inventory, no record of the bass. So I asked to speak (by name, I know him) to the manager. Silence on the other end then he tells me he'll get him. A few minutes later I'm talking to the manager, he knows the bass I'm talking about, it already sold.

Turns out the salesman I had originally spoken to was the buyer. For reasons I can't figure out he lied to me.

I don't look at that as a reflection on GC, just a guy being a ___. I'll still shop at GC when the need/want arises.

 

[bassmaster831]

For a repair like that, you probably wouldn't need to replace the truss rod unless it was actually snapped. You would loosen the truss rod and then clamp the neck back into straightness. If that didn't work, you can add washers to give you a little more adjustment.

In any case, they're essentially selling a broken guitar for 820 dollars after tax and saying that its "certified used". Ill never buy from any guitar center again. Just a bunch of commission hungry crooks

 

[bordinco90]

I went to the one in Scottsdale, the people seemed nice enough, but all the basses I wanted to play were behind the counter and I didn't feel like asking for different basses over and over and over... so I just grabbed a couple of Fenders for fun and tried them then left. Not sure why a $1000 Fender is on the wall, yet a $1200 Stingray is behind the counter.

Yeah the people were nice, but when I brought my bass that I had bought in Beaumont, TX to get set up, the tech was very rude and told me to go to another store. I just traded that bass and got another one.

 

[bordinco90]

GC?

Mass merchandising with a policy of...take one down and try it. This translates (at least somewhat) to dinged headstocks, out of tune basses, and dead strings. How well are the instruments setup? It greatly by store from what I've observed.

Find one you like at GC? One common recommendation on music forums is-tell the store you'll buy it-if they have a fresh one in the box.

If that's your plan, don't express your preference in a subdued way, tell them with authority that you will buy it, if they have one NIB! The problem with that is that the boxed item could be less desirable (in quality) than the demo version on the wall, and it may be in a different finish/color.

The noise level from some players that go to GC for an hours-worth of entertainment with no intention to buy, is that you may not be able to hear yourself think, or play! Asking the employees for a break in my local store will get a response, but some GC locations & employees will not help you silence the Rock God playing way loud, so you can hear your own demo.

Layaways are okay on most instruments/gear but don't expect a 60-90 day term.

Have fun, and don't expect the experience to be-like most small guitar stores. YMMV.

Oh yeah i know exactly what you are saying. On my trip, I went through 3 basses before I finally found one that was set up decent, and they still had a attitude when I asked them to set the bass up for me. The manager at the Tempe location was very nice, but he pointed me to a used cort bass that was really nice. But when I tried it out and was commited to the buy. He then told me that they have a 10 day hold on used gear. It sounded kinda fishy to me...... but who knows.

 

[bordinco90]

In my opinion, the bass selection in Atlanta is awful. They tend to only stock the same two to three models of basses (4 String MIMs, Ibanez and Musicman)semi setup on the instruments, No Fender 5's, and they are horrible at keeping accurate online information on the used items.

Now I just order strings and gear online and just ship it back if I'm not happy. I've had a much better experience that way.

I have noticed that too. At all three stores that was about the only selection. At the beaumont texas location I was wanting to buy a squier, but the salesmen convinced me to buy an ibanez which was poorly set up. But I traded it and got a squier in arizona anyway.

 

[bordinco90]

My (thankfully few) experiences with Guitar Center (the Evil Empire) have been anything but pleasant. First off, you're just dealing with the faceless Corporate Machine. Secondly, the employees tend to be low-paid kids working a part-time job; I even had one belch in my face once. Third, I'd rather keep my money local and visit the mom & pop shops that DO give a damn about customer satisfaction - if you can find one that GC hasn't run out of business yet. Much more personally satisfying to me to NOT contribute to the Corporate Machine.

If you get bad service at GC, you can threaten to "take your money elsewhere" and they'll just laugh at you. For every one of us that refuses, there's a hundred more ready to plop down the cash without so much as a shrug. GC knows it and they don't care. The local shops want every sale they can get and will often bend over backwards to make you happy (provided you're not nasty to them).

Ok, in all fairness, I have seen the occasional helpful and competent GC employee. They are definitely a rare breed.

Yeah you are 100% correct and I was one of them. I'm not going to say that I regret my purchase. I really love the bass that I got, I'm just saying that the experience was not that great.

 

[bordinco90]

I havn't had any problems with my local GC in Millbury, MA. I can go in and browse all I want, and I don't get bothered, possibly because I'm old and I sound like I know what I'm doing. It is what it is.

Yeah possibly. When I went and asked where the squier basses were (it was my first time ever at guitar center). The staff at all locations just gawked at me like If I didn't buy a fender that I wasn't worth anything.

 

[klejst]

The city I live in finally got a Guitar Center last year. I have been there a handful of times because it is actually a pretty far distance from my house to travel too. I have a buddy who got a job there so when he is working it is never a problem. However I have been there before when he is not and the experience is not the same. I can look around and browse all I want, but occasionally a salesman will come around and try to pitch me on certain things (I get it is their job), but then some of them can try be real "know-it-all's." There was also a time where the guy at the front door was the only one who said anything to me the whole time I was there. They generally do not ever seem to have what I am looking for either.

I still prefer this local ma 'n pa music place I go to. It's closer, friendlier and more humble staff who care about music and not a commission, and seem to always have what I need and if not they get it. I have become a good "customer friend" with a majority of the staff that work there and they give me discounts all the time and really take care of me.

 

[mellowinman]

Hey don't take me the wrong way but lemme understand this right.... Guitar Center is a bad place and their employees are slimy used car salesman because they ONLY took $100 off a $750 guitar and then refused to give you a hi-quality case and a pack of strings for free on top of that? So... because they refused to sell you $850 - $950 worth of stuff for $660, just because you want them to...that makes them slimy used car salesman a-holes? I'm glad I don't work at GC !!!

Tell you what lets scale this scenario back a little... why don't you go to the gas station and pump $75 worth of gas then go inside and offer them $66 and tell them they should throw in a 6-pack and candy bar to make it a good deal and see what happens.... gas stations make the same 15% profit margin as gear stores do... go tell them they're scum for not giving you your gas for 30% off!

Working at Daddy's I learned that most people operate under the impression that every used guitar gets traded in with a case (less than 50% of trades come in with cases) and that if it doesn't come with one they should just "throw one in for free". Most people also seem to operate under the idea that at retail stores like Sam Ash and GC and Daddy's .... a bass that sells for $599.99 probably cost them like $200... otherwise they wouldn't feel justified asking for hundreds and hundreds of dollars off "just because" and then demand a free $120 case to boot.... like I said I'm glad I don't work at GC .... that poor used car salesman bent over backwards to give u a deal on the guitar you wanted and probably earned about $6 in commission for his efforts only to have you think of him as scum ....

I will never understand posts like this one.