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Guitar Center Stage Fright!!!

#61
AJ Brown said:
I usually don't play much at all in GC. When trying out basses, I just play every note on the neck chromatically looking for any deadspots.
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That's usually what I do. Once, I was doing it, and apparently I interrupted the guy who was playing the fist 2 1/2 bars of "Crazy Train" over and over again for his girlfriend. He said something smarmy, and I asked him if he was playing the Philip Glass remix of the song or something.

I plucked the A string and just let it reverberate, and I yelled, "I get it! Minimalism! I can do that, too! I went to ART SCHOOL!"

He left after that, and I went back to testing the harmonics.
 
#62
I always carry in my own headphones and Tascam Bass Trainer, the same two items I practice with at home 99% of the time. If I really like something after trying it on that, I might plug in to something if I'm thinking about buying it, but usually I'm just in there to goof around.
 
#63
DesertCreature said:
NickInMesa,

Check out the GC at 101 and Indian Bend. Good guys there.
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I know :)

And Milano's in Mesa, and the Bass Place in Tempe.

I know :)

Last time I went to buy strings at that GC in Scottsdale, I asked for a pack of D'Addario flats. And there the guy says: "you know, the kind that I personally prefer at Rotosound 77 Jazz, you'll be glad you listened to me" and he grabbed the pack or the LESS EXPENSIVE Rotosound strings.

And I love them. Not much much different, but cheaper, hey ;)

But they don't carry Peavey basses :(
 
#65
I've always been a little shy about playing in music stores, too. But a few months ago I was trying out some amps at GC, and I started playing Family Man Barrett's bass line from "Is This Love?" It's easy, I've known it forever, and it covers all four strings.

After a few times through the riff, one of the sales guys came around the corner, kind of dancing and singing the song along with me. At least HE dug it!

Ed
 
#67
I usually just play some scales and some simple 12-bar Blues line. I don't see the point in sweating over some complicated piece or a song that everyone in the store should recognize. What's the point? Unless you're there to be a wanker, you only need to play it enough to know if you like the instrument. I think.
Besides, I only play if I'm planning to buy...and I'm not planning to buy another bass anytime soon. If I want to have fun playing, then I'll practice at home or go to a jam. No one in those stores can even tell if you know what you're doing or not. You're wasting your time over it.

Useless side note: We don't have a GC here anyway, but BestBuy has the same set up. In fact, the mgr at BestBuy said that they set up the instrument shop to compete with GC.
 
#69
totallyfrozen said:
I usually just play some scales and some simple 12-bar Blues line. I don't see the point in sweating over some complicated piece or a song that everyone in the store should recognize. What's the point? Unless you're there to be a wanker, you only need to play it enough to know if you like the instrument. I think.

Useless side note: We don't have a GC here anyway, but BestBuy has the same set up. In fact, the mgr at BestBuy said that they set up the instrument shop to compete with GC.
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They tried guitars at Best Buy here, Hanna Montana guitars :)

They stopped because little kids would strum randomly and it was really aggravating. Note that now people can't go to Circuit City anymore so they don't really have anymore choice.
 
#70
Kenny Allyn said:
In a word DON'T ...

It does not impress anyone! :scowl:

I was in a GC the other day and in the bass room was a nationally known A-list player just quietly playing a few notes, nothing special. He didn't feel the need to go "commando" and try to show off (and trust me he could).


;) ... That was VERY IMPRESSIVE!
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+1.

Why I hate GC. If you want to show off, go call up a bunch of your friends, get a six pack and close the garage door. You will be better for it.
 
#71
Eublet said:
I always carry in my own headphones and Tascam Bass Trainer, the same two items I practice with at home 99% of the time. If I really like something after trying it on that, I might plug in to something if I'm thinking about buying it, but usually I'm just in there to goof around.
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Good idea, but the bass tone through the TASCAM BT is less than stellar.
 
#73
I think some people are missing the point of the OP with the notion that we(the people who experience the 'GC stage fright') are trying to impress others. I can honestly say I could care less what someone else thinks about my playing, however, my whole beef is that I`ll often sit down in a GC and will just forget everything I`ve ever learned before in my life. It`s not that I necessarily want to play something fast to show off, it`s just that I would like to play something that requires some skill so I can see how well the basses neck and string spacing works with my style of playing. That said, doing scales up and down the neck won`t cover what I need to see in a bass considering the type of music I play.
 
#74
I don't pick up a bass long enough to tell. I'll hold it in my hands and play it unplugged to see if I like the fell of it. Then I'll take it home and put it through my rig. I know what a good live tone to me is like so I'll try to aproximate it. If it passes this stage I'll bring it to a gig and see what my soundman says. If it doesn't pass tis stage back to GC it goes.
 
#75
I just consider any time spent playing a bass at GC as extra practice time. What's the point; good gear is as rare as hen's teeth, and when it is there the action is high and the strings are ancient.

Good time for muted quarter note thumping. Bout it.
 
#80
NickInMesa said:
They tried guitars at Best Buy here, Hanna Montana guitars :)

They stopped because little kids would strum randomly and it was really aggravating. Note that now people can't go to Circuit City anymore so they don't really have anymore choice.
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OFF TOPIC: Yeah, BestBuy is the only highschool wanking center in town. The other--the actual, REAL--music store (Mammoth Music) doesn't allow unsupervised teenage wanking. Mammoth sells name brand and high-end stuff (but not Ampeg! :mad: ) and it's privately owned so they can't really afford to have kids playing around in there. BestBuy's a joke and I don't see how they're not losing money on the Wanking Center--but it's still open.

Sorry for the highjack...now back to your regularly scheduled program...:bassist:
 

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