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Some humble advice to Guitar Center
- Thread starter NoSlapForYou
- Start date
. Plus their return policy is awesome....
Yikes, I can just imagine it: "Good lord Cooke! When was the last time you changed these urinal pucks?!!"
One of my local shops Doesn't stock flatwound strings (The "Fender" shop - see my post a few above about one of two shops in my city) So I have my choice of Ernie Ball Slinky Rounds or going to the "Gibson" shop (again, see my above post) and paying $108 for a set of Rotos (my preferred flatwound string), or ordering online and waiting 5 days for delivery and hoping Australia Post doesn't lose it or deliver it to the wrong address (both of which have happened in the past year).
What? You folks don't bring your own Allen wrenches and files to GuitarMart? For shame....
At the GC where I last worked (nearly a decade ago), they had a tech who, when he was not doing work for customers, steadily made his way around the walls, setting up all guitars and basses.
They fired him for "giving away" some work (as in not charging a customer for something so fast and easy that he felt wrong for charging them).
As I no longer work there, I don't know for sure, but based on a couple of visits as a (potential) customer in the years since, I suspect they have not replaced this person. In fact, I think they may have stopped offering guitar services?
Use the points you made to give you leverage in negotiating a better price. The one I go to has authority to lower a price. Especially, if it's been siting on the rack a long time and you point out the flaws in the bass.
Guitar Center is just another chain store and you're not likely to get boutique level service from them. They just don't have the time to setup every bass or guitar that comes in. It costs the business money to restring and setup every guitar/bass that comes in the store. Besides, it's expected that you will have it setup to your specific liking. A setup can be a personal thing anyways, and each player may have their own preference as to how it is setup. It's typically expected to have a guitar setup after it's purchased. But I know what you mean. Many have the strings set way to high and that makes it difficult to play and judge the guitar in the first place. It's a conundrum.
You can find some good deals hanging on the racks (mostly used guitars) as long as you know your basses. Buy and then take it to good Luthier and have them fix whatever issue and set it up for you. Expect to pay $50-100 for a good setup not including new strings and more if it needs fret conditioning, etc. They will offer to perform this service in the store but I'd rather take it to a recommended luthier.
They usually can come down on price but it depends on their profit margin on the item but you should at least get a discount for the price of a setup if not more,.
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Unfortunatley, GC is the only place within an hour that carries more than 3 basses.
And I live in the Bay Area
And I live in the Bay Area
Then they wouldn't be able to charge you $50 for a set up before you take it home.
Yeah though not even close to what it used to be. Now just a GC alternative. Bananas in San Rafael also not bad. Sadly no one carries anything remotely boutique.
My guess they just pull them out of the box? Maybe Fender and the others should do a simple factory setup before shipping them. I know what you mean, a new Fender not setup is like a Chinese bass. Can really spoil your Fun !!
Somewhat off topic but related.
I went to the Amigos or whatever it's called guitar show in Marin a couple of weeks ago. Actually a not bad selection of basses, some nice late 50's P's and mid 60's J's but I couldn't believe how poorly most of them played. You'd think if you were packing up your trailer with a bunch of instruments, driving a few hours, playing probably $1000 for a booth plus travel expenses that maybe you'd go through them all, change the strings and do a little setup work? Maybe? There was a mid 60's Gibson 345 (guitar not bass) there that said "needs some work" so priced accordingly. It had 3 rusty strings on it! Compare that to my visit to The Bassment at Chicago Music Exchange. Every bass was set up perfectly, had recent strings and was in tune making it easy to compare say a 65 jazz vs a 67.
I went to the Amigos or whatever it's called guitar show in Marin a couple of weeks ago. Actually a not bad selection of basses, some nice late 50's P's and mid 60's J's but I couldn't believe how poorly most of them played. You'd think if you were packing up your trailer with a bunch of instruments, driving a few hours, playing probably $1000 for a booth plus travel expenses that maybe you'd go through them all, change the strings and do a little setup work? Maybe? There was a mid 60's Gibson 345 (guitar not bass) there that said "needs some work" so priced accordingly. It had 3 rusty strings on it! Compare that to my visit to The Bassment at Chicago Music Exchange. Every bass was set up perfectly, had recent strings and was in tune making it easy to compare say a 65 jazz vs a 67.
I actually don't mind GC. I have been treated very fair there. Most if not all of my trips there were pretty good. If it is something I really think needs a second look they had no problem stringing something or me bringing something in to compare it to. I do agree some stuff can be a little rough, sometimes that can work out in your favor. I am glad I can still walk into a local store that is not out of business and play stuff.
Hi from Oxnard
If you ever need anything from GC, you're only 50 or so miles from decent inventory.
Or you could literally stop at Instrumental Music and get better service!
That does sound pretty lame. I wonder if it's because the vendors figure that collectors don't care about playability? Or maybe they're reluctant to do anything lest it affect the "vintage value"?
I've never heard of it either. Looks like Ventura, Thousands Oaks, and Santa Barbara. Instrumental Music
Although, the Ventura store is closing. Final sale on 1 Feb.
- John
I agree, there was some kind of change over at Gelb a few years back and some old staff were let go and it hasn't been the same. Bananas hasn't been the same since they moved either.
You have one in Ventura and one in Thousand Oaks.
Haven't been to either in awhile since I no longer live down there, but the TO one was always good.
As a bonus, Wally World Music is nearby.
Wally always had a great sheet music selection and some good teachers with reasonable rates. Plus, Wally is one of the most memorable people I have ever met.
It's a sad day when you find a better music store than GC but the closest one is closing soon
