Is your guitar center like this?

[Stege]

Here in the NYC area, I find the stores vary quite a bit. The 14th street store is pretty well stocked, but the set ups are atrocious - as in every other GC store. When I was shopping for a MIA Jbass, I did not even get an offer to plug in at a couple of stores. I don't look like a guy with big money, but I'm not a 13 year old kid with no cash. If a middle aged guy comes in (or any serious customer, really), what does it take to go get a cable? I'm not there to waste your time, and I don't like to try in the store and buy online - unless the store is completely uncompetitive.

Anyway, I finally ended up at a GC in Deer Park, Long Island and guess what? - they not only plugged me in, but gave me a good deal. They still had to order the color I wanted, but I'd rather wait a week and get one out of the box anyway.

In short, I'm not crazy about GC, but sometimes Discover Card runs a 10% cash back for GC.com purchases, and that closes the deal for me.

 

[Flyingfrets]

I told him I expected a product that worked properly. He refunded my money, but the amp was back on sale for the same price the next day.

Tried a used Fender Super Champ at our local GC. flipped the power switch and got an ear-splitting shriek of white-noise. Instintively grabbed the neck to damp the strings & before I could reach over to turn the volume down, got a pretty wicked shock.

The sales-droog wandered over after I let loose a string of expletives, "something wrong?' he asks. So I tell him what happened. His reply? "Huh, was working fine yesterday. Well, it IS used you know."

Was still sitting on the shelf 5 weeks later. Wonder how many other unsuspecting folks it fried before they fixed it. Or if they ever did...

 

[BpcYT]

My experience has been similar to others who have posted. Set-ups were horrifying some times, terrible more often than not. Unless you're looking for Fender/Ibanez/EBMM/Markbass/Ampeg/GK you're not going to find much else, and like many of you Guitar Center is just a really big string shop to me.

 

[Troph]

Tried a used Fender Super Champ at our local GC. flipped the power switch and got an ear-splitting shriek of white-noise. Instintively grabbed the neck to damp the strings & before I could reach over to turn the volume down, got a pretty wicked shock.

The sales-droog wandered over after I let loose a string of expletives, "something wrong?' he asks. So I tell him what happened. His reply? "Huh, was working fine yesterday. Well, it IS used you know."

Was still sitting on the shelf 5 weeks later. Wonder how many other unsuspecting folks it fried before they fixed it. Or if they ever did...

I have no clue what their store policies are for things like this, but some managers/reps certainly don't err on the side of caution. They err on the side of "maybe no one will notice and someone will buy it anyway"... I have to think they do this only because it helps their numbers somehow.

In their defense, I haven't observed this behavior at many GC stores. Calling around to various stores asking about used inventory, I've been very impressed with the helpfulness (if not the knowledge) of the employees. If I want to buy a used amp from across the country, I ask if they'd mind plugging it in and checking it out for me, and they always do. And almost always they are very honest. On two occasions the rep has told me not to buy something because it wasn't working right, and they were going to have the store tech take a look at it. Hard to beat that.

So as usual, it's hard to generalize. You can find rotten people anywhere, and GC is no different.

 

[Flyingfrets]

You can find rotten people anywhere, and GC is no different.

Very true.

Kind of sad (and telling at the same time) that 5 years ago, I'd have told you this particular GC was absolutely top notch.

Different store manager back then & there's no way he'd have put up with the way this store operates now.

Knew him quite well just from doing alot of business with him. Good guy. Always made sure I was hooked up & satisfied. Heard he was promoted (good on him), but I have no idea where he ended up. Never saw him again.

The crew in there now...

 

[butchblack]

I know the three you're talking about and yes, they usually suck. Natick usually has good used gear at the very least.

You should head up to Boston if you want decent gear. I was in the other day, two SVT-CLs and an Orange AD200B, good selection of higher end basses (pedulla, fender, ebmm, Gibson), great selection of used gear, plus the platinum room.

Is that the one near Fenway Park? I haven't been to that one yet. I've had OK experiences with the Natick Store and have seen some decent used deal there. But I don't buy much in larger items. I just moved to Woburn and am in walking distance of Performance music and National music. I'll probably go to one of them tomorrow as I need a new mic stand and see how they are to deal with.

 

[bassbenj]

Very true.

Kind of sad (and telling at the same time) that 5 years ago, I'd have told you this particular GC was absolutely top notch.

Different store manager back then & there's no way he'd have put up with the way this store operates now.

Knew him quite well just from doing alot of business with him. Good guy. Always made sure I was hooked up & satisfied. Heard he was promoted (good on him), but I have no idea where he ended up. Never saw him again.

The crew in there now...

THIS^^^

It's really all about who is in charge. A decent knowledgeable manager knows what decent knowledgeable associates look like. A manager who is an idiot hasn't a clue what a person who knows what they are doing looks like. And that simple fact makes a huge difference in a store. Our GC is really very good. I've bought a LOT of stuff there. I've had very little to complain about. And it keeps getting better and better. Basses used to be sort of the poor cousins shoved off in the corner. But stock has just kept expanding. Latest thing was they added a "platinum room" for expensive guitars AND basses. Now three grand for a Fender I wouldn't have hit a dog in the butt with back in the day isn't my cup of tea, but it does show that the store recognizes there is more business out there than just selling Squiers to noobs.

Now the WORST store on the planet was the Sam Ash down the street. The manager did not have a CLUE. But oddly I bought a lot of stuff there too. Things would sit around the store forever and the manager would get tired of it and slap some random price on it. Sometimes it would be rediculously high (I'd ignore it) and sometimes rediculously low (I'd scarf it up) My favorite SA story was when I back-ordered something (A HUGE no-no at SA!) I kept waiting for it to come in and not being pushy about it I'd ask every couple of weeks. They'd always check and give me the same story: Not in yet! At about 4 months (I really wasn't in any huge hurry) After getting the same identical story again (which by now I knew was a lie) I (purposely) threw a gigantic fit right in the middle of the store. I started screaming for the manager. And eventually he came out of his office. I told him I wanted to find out about my order and was not going to take any BS for an answer. Ok. He gets on the computer, and on the telephone and after about 10 minutes he "explains" it to me. It seems that "policy" was that when an associate quit his job (which was a REALLY common thing at that store) they just also cancelled all his back-orders at the same time. When did he leave? A couple weeks after I placed the order. So all these months I've been asking about a cancelled order and they kept telling me it will be next week for sure! Wonderful. But then Mr. Clueless was replaced and the new guys were really sharp businessmen and the bargains disappeared forever (along with my business). Sometimes they do have sales (like my Zoom pocket recorder I got for half price) but it's not a place I'd go looking for a bass.

Which only goes to show that it's always about a group of employees who know about music, musicians, and retail sales. And when they are a great bunch, the store is great. And when they all are wandering in the wilderness, the store may have bargains from time to time but basically it will still suck.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Is that the one near Fenway Park? I haven't been to that one yet. I've had OK experiences with the Natick Store and have seen some decent used deal there. But I don't buy much in larger items. I just moved to Woburn and am in walking distance of Performance music and National music. I'll probably go to one of them tomorrow as I need a new mic stand and see how they are to deal with.

I travel to Boston area a lot on business. I stay in Lowell sometimes, Woburn sometimes. I'll definitely check out Performance Music and National Music on the next trip. Didn't want to deal with parking near Fenway, so I never went to Guitar Center at that location.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I'm done with guitar centers. There's two that i know of in driving distance of me . Skibo rd in Fayetteville, NC and capital blvd in Raleigh NC. The one in Raleigh used to be great i bought 4 German warwicks and found my conklin used there. But they stopped carrying decent stuff. it's all beginner stuff now. The one in Fayetteville is even worse. In Fayetteville they have like 12 basses, 10 of them are junk IMO. And the other two are overpriced Mia 4 string jazz basses hung 20' up in the air. The amps are a complete joke. They only have the lowest lines of peavey and gk. But they can still order whatever you want right? Wrong!!! when I got my Aguilar obp3 for my conklin i wanted the Aguilar obp3 sk pp kit. Of course no one there knew anything about them. I went the first day and they were not able to get in touch with Aguilar but wrote down what i needed and said they would keep trying to contact Aguilar. When i went back a week later and asked and the guy looked me in the face and said "oh you didn't just order it online." He hadn't even tried calling Aguilar back. I spent over $10,000 in guitar centers and get treated like a homeless person when i walk in. I can go to my mom and pop dealer and get treated like a rock star. People know me because they actually are involved with the music scene and don't have a turnover rate like a McDonald's. If they don't have something they'll order it for me. They have a repair guy that will fix just about anything as fast as imaginable. I dropped of my conklin and got lunch came back and the Aguilar pre and new pots was done

 

[RobBottom69]

I live by 2 GC, San Mateo and SF. I hate going to the SF one because parking on Van Ness is such a PITA.

Funny enough, I've been GASsing for a MIM Fender Jazz, so I stopped in the Emeryville location for the first time because I was in the neighborhood.

Checked out the Fender Jazz Modern Player. Didn't like that it was made in China, but the set up was non existent. I swear the action was a good 1/2 off the neck. Then I looked at the first of 2 Fender FSR natural ash bass. Same non setup, and there was a glue smudge on the nut and one of the pickup screws looked like it was about to fall out.

Then I checked out the 2nd FSR jazz and the setup was perfect. I couldn't believe it. Nice low action, no buzzing. No blemishes that I could quickly see. I bought it right then and there and it only took 5 minutes to get out the door once I made the decision.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I'm done with guitar centers. There's two that i know of in driving distance of me . Skibo rd in Fayetteville, NC and capital blvd in Raleigh NC. The one in Raleigh used to be great i bought 4 German warwicks and found my conklin used there. But they stopped carrying decent stuff. it's all beginner stuff now. The one in Fayetteville is even worse. In Fayetteville they have like 12 basses, 10 of them are junk IMO. And the other two are overpriced Mia 4 string jazz basses hung 20' up in the air. The amps are a complete joke. They only have the lowest lines of peavey and gk. But they can still order whatever you want right? Wrong!!! when I got my Aguilar obp3 for my conklin i wanted the Aguilar obp3 sk pp kit. Of course no one there knew anything about them. I went the first day and they were not able to get in touch with Aguilar but wrote down what i needed and said they would keep trying to contact Aguilar. When i went back a week later and asked and the guy looked me in the face and said "oh you didn't just order it online." He hadn't even tried calling Aguilar back. I spent over $10,000 in guitar centers and get treated like a homeless person when i walk in. I can go to my mom and pop dealer and get treated like a rock star. People know me because they actually are involved with the music scene and don't have a turnover rate like a McDonald's. If they don't have something they'll order it for me. They have a repair guy that will fix just about anything as fast as imaginable. I dropped of my conklin and got lunch came back and the Aguilar pre and new pots was done

 

[bubba-b]

I live by 2 GC, San Mateo and SF. I hate going to the SF one because parking on Van Ness is such a PITA.

and now i feel old. when did gc move from mission to van ness???

to us sf bay area old-schooler's, remember stores like don wehr's? spitzers? k&k?

the don wehr's on columbus was a favorite of mine. nice hangout and no stress.

at least nowadays there are still options in the bay area. places like gelb and guitar showcase have survived all these decades. also got a couple of deals at music works in el cerrito back in the day.

 

[lpbfender]

Guitar centers are financially in dire straits. In fact when fender tried to go public this past year, Guitar Center was listed as a major credit risk. So they won't tie up capital in higher end equipment that will sit, but rather where they can move volume.

 

[cewillm]

I don't care for GC as a source for new equipment. They don't carry anything I really want. But I do love their used inventory site. I find all kinds of cool stuff there, and I've got probably two dozen locations within an afternoon's drive by virtue of living on the eastern seaboard. When I see something remotely interesting within a five hour drive, I'll take a roadtrip.

There has been more than one occasion where I've pissed off a bunch of GC employees with zany transactions, such as purchasing a used bass in PA, then returning it in a VA store to buy another used bass. But hey -- their return policy is what keeps them in business.

 

[jmverdugo]

I like the GC that are close by where I live, 3 within 30 min driving. I go there and hang around play some basses and then take off, sometime I buy some stuff. I don't expect them to cater my bass needs because at this this point - call me snob - I may be out of their market target, I don't mind they not having all bass brands for me to try out because that would be the only thing I would do, to try them out, then I would make my purchase online. My main issue with them is they sell the floor products, I hate that. Other than that, I take it for what it is, a big corporation trying to make money.

 

[Tonygrilli1985]

All in all, just about the worst place to try out gear. Many reasons...

 

[msact]

My GC is about 10 minutes from my house. I stop by periodically just to kill some time and to see if they have anything interesting in their used bass section. The folks at the one I go to have always been very nice to me. They do have a couple of higher end Fenders, but they keep those out of the reach of the customers. I do feel sorry for the basses. The way some people pick them up and beat the heck out of them makes me cringe. I couldn't tell if they were trying to play bass or drums. Any bass that stays at my local GC for any length of time ends up getting trashed. Anyway, anytime I have talked to anyone there or asked a question they have always been very polite to me and try to be helpful. That's not to say they knew what they were talking about, but that's another matter. I can excuse lack of knowledge if people are polite and try to help, which they generally seem to do.

 

[EricMordus]

I do wish GC had a wider selection of bass gear, they just don't. Sam Ash does have a much better bass section, but I'm just not a huge fan of theirs. Fortunately for me I work within walking distance from the Manhattan Sam Ash, where Larry Hartke (yes, THAT Hartke) has the Hartke Bass Lounge. If you're ever in NYC you MUST check it out!

 

[Lowbrow]

Guitar Centers seem to vary based on how well-managed a given store is.

1. Several managers don't seem to care about the condition of their "new" instruments hanging on the wall. Broken strings, missing knobs, horrendous setup, sitting there for 18+ months, and no discount. Smarter managers would realize they could move more inventory if they spent a bit more time taking care of it.

2. Some managers seem to care more about their bottom line than admitting that there is a problem. The customer isn't always right, even if they've been good customers in the past.

True story: I had to return an amp (GK Goldline 500) I'd purchased off the GC used website that I planned to donate to a local music school. I was disappointed because it arrived and clearly had a completely busted pre-amp.

I took it to the local store, and the manager wanted to hear the "busted pre-amp". So we lugged it over to the corner and hooked it up. I showed him how if you turned the pre-amp gain above 1 (out of 10), anything you played distorted badly (an un-usable, transistor-clipped distortion, not the signature GK "grind"). He said, "Well, it seems fine as long as you keep the gain low" and played a few muffled notes. I showed him how even at a low gain setting, the sound was muffled like a wet blanket. He exclaimed that he thought it sounded fine. I told him that it sounds nothing like it should, and you could hear part of that by plugging directly into the effects return (bypassing the preamp), which I then demonstrated, and immediately you could hear a huge difference in tone.

He then admitted that it sounded "different", but that was to be expected, because you weren't supposed to plug into the effects return. He then said "This amp is probably just a darker sounding amp, that's all." Finally, he exlaimed, "Well, what do you expect for only $225?"

I told him I expected a product that worked properly. He refunded my money, but the amp was back on sale for the same price the next day.

Cripes.