Guitar Center Strikes Again

[Hopkins]

I think it's amusing. That's why I started this thread. Why are you so defensive over something that really doesn't involve anyone here?

I guess I just don't get the constant need to bash Guitar Center on this website. I have had mostly good experiences with them.

 

[tuci77]

I bought a Guild Pilot from them online, my fault for that, that they swore was great++ condition !! Well, when I got the bass it needed SOOOO much work that I probably have $400 tied into it now. I will NEVER buy a bass from them again. The neck was so bowed OUT, I didn't even think it could be fixed without having a new neck !! Luckily I have a good tech that knows what he's doing.

 

[MattZilla]

I recently saw one of the modern players that was running for 500$. It was tagged as new, but it must have been getting kicked around for years as the pick guard looked as if it had been on tour. The rest of the finish was perfect, but the guard had insane abuse.

I work at a high beginner traffic independent shop, sometimes we get too busy dealing with chatty parents or actual customers to catch the next kurt cobain rocking out on a fresh Takamine or whatever with the thickest pick- three runs through come as you are and we have to mark it down fifty to a hundred bucks because ol' kurt thrashed the pickguard and managed to dig through the paint. How? Beats me. About once per regular month and three times during december this happens. One kid, after loudly bragging to his girlfriend about learning everything he needed to know from youtube busts out a quarter to use as a pick on a new mexi strat! I catch him three strums in and- "no, it's okay dude, I do this all the time." he reassures me.

 

[Psychbunny]

I have mixed results with my local GC. Having said that I have never been "stuck" with a crappy product because they have a great return policy. If you buy a POS in the store that is your fault. If they have what you want in stock and it has been beat by the local Flea wannabe They will gladly get you a new one in a matter of days.

If you buy used on-line you have thirty days to return and are only out the shipping ($22.00 for my recent Gibson SG Special).

Service in the store has been spotty. A young guy in the drum room completely ignored my wife. That cost them about $800.00 that went to Musicians Friend, the local mom and pop and pawn shops. One of the guys in the bass section has been good enough that I have sold three basses and bought three basses there.

GC offers a huge online used selection and that in itself is reason for its existence.

 

[Showdown]

I have mixed results with my local GC. Having said that I have never been "stuck" with a crappy product because they have a great return policy. If you buy a POS in the store that is your fault. If they have what you want in stock and it has been beat by the local Flea wannabe They will gladly get you a new one in a matter of days.

If you buy used on-line you have thirty days to return and are only out the shipping ($22.00 for my recent Gibson SG Special).

Service in the store has been spotty. A young guy in the drum room completely ignored my wife. That cost them about $800.00 that went to Musicians Friend, the local mom and pop and pawn shops. One of the guys in the bass section has been good enough that I have sold three basses and bought three basses there.

GC offers a huge online used selection and that in itself is reason for its existence.

Guitar Center owns Musician's Friend, so they got the money anyway.

 

[bolophonic]

Somebody damaged the bass, put it back and nobody at the store noticed it yet. Big deal. The OP could have alerted someone at the store, but decided instead to run to his computer and start slagging all GC employees as useless and incompetent. Smooth, dude... great way to improve the world around you.

 

[Immigrant]

Guitar Center is just what it is. It's another retail discount store and you have the same sorts at ALL retail stores. Some people actually know their stuff, some don't care, products aren't in the best condition but you can find one that is.

The best thing about GC and MF is when they really expanded, all the local places had to get honest with their pricing or get vaporized. Anyone remember when MSRP was on the tag and you had to dicker to get a deal?

Guitar Center owns Musician's Friend, so they got the money anyway.

MF, GC, and Music 123 are all related. I haven't shopped at any of them since learning who actually owns all three, a capital investment firm that was mentioned heavily in the "news" 2 years ago. Marvelous!

If you want to order online and get the actual instrument you see on the website, try Sweetwater. Those guys are the best.

 

[Showdown]

Guitar Center is just what it is. It's another retail discount store and you have the same sorts at ALL retail stores. Some people actually know their stuff, some don't care, products aren't in the best condition but you can find one that is.

The best thing about GC and MF is when they really expanded, all the local places had to get honest with their pricing or get vaporized. Anyone remember when MSRP was on the tag and you had to dicker to get a deal?



MF, GC, and Music 123 are all related. I haven't shopped at any of them since learning who actually owns all three, a capital investment firm that was mentioned heavily in the "news" 2 years ago. Marvelous!

If you want to order online and get the actual instrument you see on the website, try Sweetwater. Those guys are the best.

I agree about sweetwater, they have great customer service. They call every 6 months or so to see if I need anything. You don't see the others do that.

 

[Psychbunny]

Ouch I didn't know MF and GC were one and the same. Woodwind and Brasswind is also part of this group. Sweetwater is great but I have only bout accessories as they do not have used. GC also buy's trades. I have traded three bases there and Was given a fair amount. I would love if the mom and pops could provide variety but the guidelines for dealers must be pretty cumbersome since the small shops around me are pretty much Dean and then a couple of Asian companies. Everyone can choose to shun GC but the fact remains that if I am looking for a specific bass that is Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Musicman, or anything used GC is the only option up here in Amish-land.

 

[HeebHammer70]

The bass in the OP is atrocious, buuutt...

NOT ALL GUITAR CENTER STORES ARE LIKE THAT!

Okay, okay, so a lot of them are, but sometimes the GC hate is ridiculous. Whenever you shop in retail stores, including big box stores like Guitar Center, you shouldn't expect everything to be perfect. Sure, it's a bummer to think of it like that, but it's the truth...if you go into Guitar Center expecting the bass to be set up to your specs you're going to be disappointed.

That being said, the bass in the OP is not even in playable condition, but I'm sure it was an honest mistake on someone's part.

The only GC I frequent is the North Paramus, NJ one. My relatives live about 10 minutes away, so whenever my family goes up to visit I make sure to stop by. The basses (and other instruments) are always set up well, and the employee who works to bass room (I'd like to say his name is Vince...something with a "V") is knowledgeable and passionate about the instrument.

That being said, I went to the Paramus, NJ store once (a few miles away from the store I mentioned above) and it was absolutely awful. They had a wider selection (including some Sterling Classics I wanted to try out), but the basses were sub-parly set up, and there weren't even cables on the showroom floor (so you could plug in and actually demo the bass). I only saw one associate in the store, and he was pretty much useless.

So, like anything, there's good and bad Guitar Centers...while the problem presented in the OP isn't an isolated incident (lots of people, including myself, have had incidents at GC), it shouldn't reflect on every GC out there.

North Paramus is terrible for basses. They had maybe three 5-stringers and like two P basses. I asked the employee if they had a fretless and he said no, that's not something they would carry in a store. How is that possible? I don't blame him, I blame GC.
Another time, I heard one employee talking about a 12-string bass. I asked to demo it and he basically told me to f*** off. Thanks bro.
Also, Paramus is just too small to hold a large enough selection of basses. There's a good Sam Ash down the road, and a really good GC in Totowa about 20 minutes away.
I've only had good deals with GC. Every now and then I buy a used pedal that I either decide I don't like or doesn't work great and I've never had an issue returning anything.

 

[elgranluis]

There was a guy who used to stroll into the Guitar Center in Canton MI back in the early 2000s. The poor guy was mentally ******** or something similar. He came in and was playing a 7 string Conklin like it was a guitar. QUOTE]

Not mentally ********, probably just a singer/guitarist

(edited to type "mentally ********" as I got censored over reeeet ard"