Exactly. Contrary to the OP, I don't see a problem of consequence. Take it home, humidify it as desired, then either play it when the fret sprout is reduced or correct the fret sprout.
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Severe Dryness at Guitar Center
- Thread starter mellowinman
- Start date
Exactly. Contrary to the OP, I don't see a problem of consequence. Take it home, humidify it as desired, then either play it when the fret sprout is reduced or correct the fret sprout.
I was entertained by this thread, but the whole way through just one question was on my mind.
Did he punch the GC kid?
Did he punch the GC kid?
So you buy the instrument you like and set it up how you like and maintain it through out the seasonal change such as truss adjustment and also fret sprout. That's pretty simple. Expecting to buy an instrument from GC that doesn't need attention is like getting mad because Walmart won't tailor fit your underwear? If you get mad because of a salespersons lack of care you are going to get your feelings bruised all through life. The person at GC cares as much as the person at Walmart about your purchase.
There is an upside to GC being dry, a friend once picked up a Series II Alembic due to a long crack in the fingerboard. This was back when GC sold Alembic. They called the factory and dropped the price to a point he couldn't refuse.
I remember reading 3 years ago that Guitar Center was going out of business and "on their last legs". Yet they continue on... Does anyone know the truth? (If this has been discussed in a million other threads please excuse me.)
Nobody knows, but we like to speculate. Essentially, they are the music industry. If they go, it would hurt the industry a lot. But you see manufacturers hedging their bets. Fender is exploring selling direct.
Here are my problems with Guitar Center:
- Guitar Center doesn't care about anything except getting out of debt.
- The employees of GC are often mistreated by the company and care less about GC than walmart employees care about walmart.
- Instruments at GC are often abused more than instruments at other retailers.
- Never shop at Guitar Center. Ever. Under any circumstances. Seriously, don't even look at it as you drive by.
unless you had an hydrometer with you to measure the humidity levels - this thread is crap.
No big deal Fret sprout is common in the winter and goes away when heating season stops.
I have the same issue in N.E. with expensive basses.
My tech said bring the basses in January for a fret dressing.
Quick fix and no more sprout in the winter.
I have the same issue in N.E. with expensive basses.
My tech said bring the basses in January for a fret dressing.
Quick fix and no more sprout in the winter.
You only have to do it once. (If done properly.)
It seems that if Fender (and Squier) left GC would be history. Maybe that's because I'm not an Ibanez kind of guy.
Yeah, their business model of maintaining 10s of 1000s of feet of retail showroom space, all just to trick people into those lucrative $50-100 guitar repairs is a brilliant strategy and clearly something to be emulated by others.
Have faith. Most of us would never think such a thing. Your posts are always worth reading.
I learned from day one to always give my bass a bath in the morning and a sauna at night to offset the dry/humid weather.
I think the point has been totally missed by most of you.
You're paying for a quality instrument, made by a reputable company. It is a used instrument by any definition (yes, it is remove from packing, hung on a wall and played by who knows how many people), and you still pay new price (maybe a slight discount because the wiggle room is built into the pricing).
You're perfectly happy to have to make repairs to it because the dealer neglects proper care of this investment built to last a lifetime, and likely generations. I'm not talking a setup to get it to your comfort specifications. I'm reiterating negligence!
When you buy a car from a dealer, do you notice the loose bolts and think "That's ok, I have wrenches and sockets, I'll just tighten them up when I get it home", or smudges and scratches that you can just buff out?
And the Walmart reference is just ludicrous. Nothing there is made to last, to be a lifetime investment.
You're paying for a quality instrument, made by a reputable company. It is a used instrument by any definition (yes, it is remove from packing, hung on a wall and played by who knows how many people), and you still pay new price (maybe a slight discount because the wiggle room is built into the pricing).
You're perfectly happy to have to make repairs to it because the dealer neglects proper care of this investment built to last a lifetime, and likely generations. I'm not talking a setup to get it to your comfort specifications. I'm reiterating negligence!
When you buy a car from a dealer, do you notice the loose bolts and think "That's ok, I have wrenches and sockets, I'll just tighten them up when I get it home", or smudges and scratches that you can just buff out?
And the Walmart reference is just ludicrous. Nothing there is made to last, to be a lifetime investment.
I'm not sure how that would be possible since I literally copied and pasted your exact words (actually the forum system did it automatically once I selected them, but same difference).
Surely any reasonable person would conclude that your post at least heavily implied that ACTUALLY SELLING INSTRUMENTS is not a worthwhile "revenue stream" for GC and that they should instead scramble for repair dollars a few bucks at a time. My point is that some humidification would be a cheap way to prevent having to fix anything in the first place. Not to mention, doing necessary repairs even on lowly low priced instruments can still be worth more than face value in consumer good will.
Also, I may have been being somewhat sarcastic for comedic effect. Maybe.
i disliked bain a lot, but they seemed to leave GC management alone to an extent. since ares took over, i'm seeing less and less merchandise in the 6 stores (including the flagship hollywood store) - the hollywood store and the west l.a. store have very few bass amps, no larger cabs at all, and i'm seeing new brands in the guitars and less of the old brands. there's a lot more floor space to walk around, which says it all - these stores used to be packed. while yes, that will save some money in the short run, having less stuff means there's less stuff to sell. i've personally made several purchases elsewhere (*cough samash*) that i'd have made at GC had they had what i was looking for in store. what i didn't do is buy it from GC's website.
which works fine except that if the wood has pulled away from binding - especially neck binding - there's nothing you can do about it as the glue will have broken away from the wood in many places, and this can get worse over the years.
