Some humble advice to Guitar Center

[NoSlapForYou]

I agree. The Philly metro area has three GCs, and only one of them is sometimes plagued with the problems we all know about. Last time I was there, I tried to test a bass, and the most accessible Fender amp didn't work. I've also encountered an Ibanez with its neck in a severe backbow, so it was unplayable. Most of the time stuff there is OK, and the folks are always friendly, but it has issues.

The Wilmington, DE GC, on the other hand, is very well-managed. For many years, it was the same dude managing the place, and he might still be there. The instruments are always in decent shape, the amps all work, etc. And Delaware has no sales tax, which is a nice bonus.

Yes, I would definitely say it varies from store to store. The Chicago one was way better than the one I go to now.

ETA: before we pin it all on the manager, sometimes there are circumstances outside of his/her control. I've been in management, so I get that.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

I do my set ups too. But we can't be talking about personal set ups here- something close to the standard factory specs would be fine! One employee that's good with set ups walking through the store and spot checking would go a long way.

Exactly. You're asking me to imagine what this instrument "might play like" once set up. That's pretty hard to do, and it's a little bit ridiculous to ask of someone who's about to spend $1000.

There are plenty of instruments -- which are well made by good companies -- that I don't like the feel of even after they're set up. For me, feel is everything. I want to feel that the instrument is an extension of me. It's impossible to tell whether that will happen when I'm fighting string height. If the instrument is a good enough deal, I might take a chance on it anyway. But it's far from ideal.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

Nah. Instruments are adjustable for a very good reason- they shift, especially when they go from one climate to another- international travel is a great example of that. The whole 'they should set it at the factory' idea is a total fail from the get go, because those settings shift!

And sometimes the instrument is hanging on the wall for a year. At a certain point it may need to be set up again.

Also, it doesn't matter whose "fault" it is. If the factory didn't set it up properly, GC should still do another set up. And this doesn't even get into used instruments, which are often set up according to the crazy preferences (or incompetence) of the previous owner.

 

[LoTone]

Consistent reasonable setups is something that I have seen only in Mom and Pop shops.

There is an upside to this though. If the instrument stays on the wall for long, at some point, they will just write it off by discounting it.

 

[BeSeeingYou]

Only because all the GC guitars are all shopworn.

The price is exactly the same at GC, SW, SA or AMS.

If GC had a new guitar in a box, they'd get the sale.

Ironically, for me this was the exact opposite. The bass I ended up buying was one of 3 I had been trying out over several weeks - I had gotten to know it's feel, its sound, its balance, etc. As a rank beginner, I don't know what to look for with a bass "out of the box" vs the actual physical instrument I had been holding and playing for weeks. But I do know what I liked about the bass I had been holding. Even if it's the same model "new in box," there are variances across production that I'm not able to detect (or that I would even know to look for).

Yes, it was a wall-hanger demo, but they adjusted the truss rod, wiped down the body, wiped down the fretboard and strings, and at least examined the bridge. Might not have been a full set-up, but it was enough that I've been playing it every day since I bought it without any problems. (Well, no problems with the bass itself; my beginner-level fretting and muting technique...that's another story!)

 

[40Hz]

It's just a paycheck.

Apparently someone cares enough to continue collecting one each week however.

I don't support companies with bad labor relations, or which offer low pay or zero benefits. But if you're getting a check, I can't see the fact it doesn't compensate you in a way you consider fair as justification for your not caring about anything. It's not like you can't leave.

 

[arbiterusa]

The whole 'they should set it at the factory' idea is a total fail from the get go, because those settings shift!

I worked the supply side for too many years and have a pretty jaded perspective on all this. Your point, to all the parties involved save for the end purchaser, is irrelevant. The idea is a "total fail" only from the perspective of some customers. It's great from everyone else's.

Guitar Center/Musician's Friend/AMS/Music123/all the rest of the GC army of subsidaries - make deals with manufacturers to allow that manufacturer to sell their items through what is, at the moment, the largest MI sales chain in the world. Part of that deal says that GC employees won't have to do anything to set up the instruments (i.e GC won't have to spend money on labor costs to do so).

That the end goal is unrealistic is of no concern to either party. The manufacturer gets distribution and sales, GC gets profit, and spends less money.

The real problem here, if you see it as one (I do not) is that people keep buying instruments at Guitar Center no matter the condition they are in, rewarding this behavior.

 

[Dluxe]

I guess I am lucky to live in Austin TX. Both Guitar Center stores are staffed with knowledgeable musicians. I enjoy visiting my local South Austin location which is only a couple of miles from my house.

 

[Brich]

The G C's in my area employ a repair/set-up person. Surely it would be his responsibility to at least ensure the instruments are playable?

It's not. I worked at my local GC as a tech and one thing they consistantly harped on was getting people to pay for the "premium" set up which I believe was close to $100. I was even questioned when I restrung a classical for an older woman who was donating the guitar to a church. Managers didnt understand why I didnt charge her a restringing fee.

However anyone that came up to me asking for strings to be lowered/neck adjustment I would do it on the spot for them so they could get a better feel and idea of how the instrument played, even though it would need a more in depth setup (intonation, pickup ht. ect.)

They liked keeping the tech (singular because they only employ one person) busy with back logged worked then maintaining current inventory.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

My latest bass was bought from GC online from S.Carolina.
A fretted twin of the fretless that I already had.

I WANTED the bass.
So whether the bass was set up was of no concern.
One man's great set up is another's unplayable set up.

Besides,I know how to do my own set up.

Set it up with middle action. That'll get closest for everyone.

Also, many of us don't know if we want a bass or not until we've played it. We may have never tried a Lakland, but saw there was one in stock and drove down there to play it with enough cash in our bank accounts to buy it if we loved it. However, we may leave still having no idea if we liked it because it was set up so horribly.

Beyond that, you're clearly less particular about the individual feel of an instrument than I am. I wouldn't ever assume I was going to like a bass, even with a proper setup, just because it was a "twin" of the instrument I already had. Instruments vary so much, even within brands. I own two of the same brand, set up by the same person, and I like one of them much better than the other.

 

[vid1900]

Yes, it was a wall-hanger demo, but they adjusted the truss rod, wiped down the body, wiped down the fretboard and strings, and at least examined the bridge. Might not have been a full set-up, but it was enough that I've been playing it every day since I bought it without any problems.

Excellent, no problems are good problems!

But even if they had a guitar brand new in box, they would have taken it out, adjusted the truss and set the string height to your liking in just a few minutes.

For instance, if you liked the string height on the demo bass, the tech would have transferred those measurements to the new bass in 2 minutes.

Or when I do a fretjob, I measure everything before I begin. That way I give the customer back "the same bass" and not one that feels alien to them, lol

 

[NoSlapForYou]

It's not. I worked at my local GC as a tech and one thing they consistantly harped on was getting people to pay for the "premium" set up which I believe was close to $100. I was even questioned when I restrung a classical for an older woman who was donating the guitar to a church. Managers didnt understand why I didnt charge her a restringing fee.

However anyone that came up to me asking for strings to be lowered/neck adjustment I would do it on the spot for them so they could get a better feel and idea of how the instrument played, even though it would need a more in depth setup (intonation, pickup ht. ect.)

They liked keeping the tech (singular because they only employ one person) busy with back logged worked then maintaining current inventory.

Do you think they would do this for me at any GC if I asked? I wouldn't care if the intonation was a bit off as long as I could feel what the instrument played like with a reasonable string height.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

Was the bass with missing knobs new or used?
Did it arrive with knobs missing?
Or did the knobs"walk away"in someones pockets?
You don't know.Do you?

Did I say it was one bass? I see issues like that constantly.

Look, if it happened five minutes before that's one thing. But if you go back three days later and the knob is still missing, that tells me no one's giving even a cursory glance at the instruments.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Don't they have someone who regularly does a walk through to test if they need to repair or reprice stuff?

Doing basic setups seems like the lowest hanging fruit though.

Don't hold your breath.

Guitar Center is run by a financial services company. I doubt its CEO knows a tube amp from a tuba.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Brich, makes sense, that is what i have observed while at a GC.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Ahh, good ole GC. I had to go there a couple weeks ago because my guitar player needed to replace a pedal on the way to a gig. I could have joined the f@%*@ing Navy in less time than it took to buy that single pedal (which was even sitting on display in the cabinet, right there under the register)... Oh but, they couldn't sell that one. Of course not. The salesman had to ask a different employee, who was busy doing something else, to go in the back and search for an unopened pedal, even though my guitarist told them that he's fine with the display and we just wanted to get on the road. 20 minutes later the other dude emerges from the back and says he can't find the unopened one that the computer said they had. So then they start discussing inventory problems for a few more minutes while the first guy is typing crap into his computer, trying to look like he's doing something to help us. My bandmate is an easy going dude, but he had to get a little bit pissed and raise his voice to get them to just sell him the display pedal like he asked for in the 1st place. We were in there for about 45 minutes by that time, and it was supposed to be a 5 or 10 min stop max. Then of course, the credit card reader wouldn't work, so we waited another 5 minutes for the other register to be open to ring him up.

Anyway, as all this was going on, I walked into the bass area and picked a $2k Fender Original '60s Jazz Bass off the wall, and I can't say I was surprised that even on the most expensive bass in the store, they still didn't put any effort into making it play even remotely well. The action was over 1/2" high at the heel end of the neck. It was also missing a volume knob and had a couple chips and lots of scratches in the paint. Still full price with "brand new" on the tag. I didn't even bother saying anything. Luckily we still got to the gig in time, but that's because we always try to give ourselves a time cushion. GC is a masterclass in what not to do for your business.

That reminds me of the old days of buying a car, the hot box treatment

 

[Brich]

Do you think they would do this for me at any GC if I asked? I wouldn't care if the intonation was a bit off as long as I could feel what the instrument played like with a reasonable string height.

I would say yes, most techs and GC employees are cool people, it's the managers who are questionable. That, and anything that might be a potential sale they liked.

 

[Ostie]

Well, you better get used to it because the days of the Family owned music store are limited. I know that a couple of family owned music stores in my town are struggling. I don't know if the GC in town has taken their business away or not. It's hard to believe that, with what I know about GC. But I can foresee a time in the future when GC will be the only game in town. That's why we Better all are learning to do our own set ups.

 

[DanBass]

I doubt its CEO knows a tube amp from a tuba.

 

[Carl Hillman]

A 10 minute tweak on a $1000 instrument can mean the difference between a sale and someone walking out and posting another GC Sucks thread.

That would be based on the assumption that most of the people who walk into Guitar Center can tell the difference between a good/bad/nonexistant set up.

GC is in the business of mass-selling $100 to $300 "Starter Packs" to parents who have been nagged by their kid to get an instrument. After a month or so, most of those end up gathering dust in the corner or are chucked in the trash. It's not about gaining and maintaining a life-long relationship with a customer.

Heck, one of the first things Ares Capital Management did when it bought Guitar Center was fire the head of GC Pro, Guitar Center's Gear/Advice/servicing branch.