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Told Not to Use a Pick in a Store?

Do you test drive a new car and smoke a cigar in it? Same thing. Makes perfect sense for them to not want you to use a pick on a new bass. They are in the business of selling NEW instruments, not ones that are scratched up. Perhaps you would like it if someone came over to your house and used a pick on your bass and scratched it up. If you buy it, then by all means use a pick.

If you can't play a picked bass without scratching it even a tiny bit, you should really reevaluate your technique. It's not hard to do at all. Just don't play like a spazz in the store. Done. You don't have to beat the sh#t out of it just to test it out. I've never understood the point or need for a pickguard, other than purely for looks. I guess there are those who "need" them though. Wow.
 
Personally, I never use a pick. Just my fingers. Problem solved.

...but that is not at all what this thread is about...problem not solved. The op IS a pick user. Your comment is not helping him understand any better. You might as well tell us your favorite jelly bean flavor, and expect him to feel his question had been answered.
 
Wow, this story is quite funny! I have the luck to have 4-5 shops quite close to me. I am a pick bass player, and if I was stopped from trying a bass in the way I would play it, I'd just walk out with money in the wallet.
I perfectly understand that shops need and have the right to keep their stock mint, and I agree! But seriously, does anyone here think that 15 minutes of pick playing scratches a bass to death? -_- because in that case you have a wrong imagine of pick playing.
Of course it's right to tell users to be soft, but even that should be clear to costumers, it's all about respect. A respectful player plays softly, who picks like a mad on a shop instrument like id he was tilting land, has a problem, lol.
 
The few times I have been in GC I have notice that almost every bass shows some wear, there is not way that I would paid full retail price for a bas that in my opinion should be sell it as used.

In the other hand, the mom and dad music store in my town keeps their basses in pristine condition, of course their rules are more strict but it is understandable, how many people go to the music store without any money and use the gear to practice or to show off how fast they can slap/play.
 
I was told today in a music store by a worker to not use a pick on the bass i was trying out because it's too aggressive and it would turn a new bass into a used bass. I just kinda' laughed, went with it, and used my fingers for a minute until he walked away. I just thought this was odd, and pretty funny. My friends that were with me got a kick out of it, too.

This ever happen to anyone else?

No, in fact my local GC encourages me to pickup any bass I like. I don't use a pick for the most part, maybe that is why?

Quite frankly I am more interested in the GC used gear.
 
I know GC will use a returned item and put it up on the wall if at all possible. I was at my local store not too long ago, and saw my friend's returned bass on the wall (not being sold as used but as a try out bass). My friend had returned the bass a few days previously as he had bought it new and it had two distinct cracks on it. I instantly recognized it. Most smaller stores don't offer a return policy as liberal as GC, usually they'll only accept a return if defective. GC is a huge corporation, they can afford to have a sample of each guitar and bass up on a wall to allow people to try them out. Mom and Pop stores simply can't compete against this- their stock is limited and they can't really afford to have a demo model of each and every guitar and bass.
Yes, people for the most part are respectful of instruments that aren't theirs, but I have also seen some that go into a store and really abuse the instruments.
A pick if used properly will cause no damage to the instrument, it takes an idiot no time to damage it though, with or without a pick.

I do have a suggestion that might be a good compromise.Post a sign at the store that says something like " Be respectful of the instruments- feel free to play it with your pick, finger or slap but damage or scratch it and you'll be the new proud owner of the instrument".
 
i let a guy up on stage to play a couple tunes with my back then just purchased 2010 CS 64 Relic Jazz.The guy pulls out a pick clanked away for two or three songs.Later i looedk close at my bass there was a wack of pick stroke lines all over my pick guard i was pissed mad they did come out with plastic headlight cleaner.
 
I don't know how people are doing so much damage with a pick, I only ever use one & play pretty aggressive music, and never leave these sorts of marks.

I don't mind paying more to get an instrument from a store, but part of the reason I'm happy to do so is because I can play the bass before I buy it. If I can't play it the way I'd play it normally, there's not much incentive for me to get it there, when the same model is usually cheaper online (and in the case of stores down here, there'll be a lot more colour choice online, too).

I think it's reasonable to ask people to play gently/take care when using a pick or slapping, but to not do it at all? Maybe if they applied the same rules to guitars also.
 
Huh? They paid for the bass and own it just like you own yours.

Quite likely untrue.

In most cases they "paid" for the bass and "own" it in the same way that a new car dealership "paid" for their cars and "owns" them.

Why would they take a chance on some kid scratching it up with a pick?

Because it greatly increases their chance of selling it?
 
I don't think any reputable store would have issue in letting a valid customer properly try out a piece of equipment prior to a sale. But first impressions go a long way. Walking in dressed like some punk wannabee (not saying the op was here, not by any stretch of the imagination am I doing so) with an entitled attitude gives off a fairly strong vibe to anyone with an inventory worth anything.

I had a friend in high school from a very well off family. Always had cash to buy whatever he wanted.

His favorite hobby after he decided to buy something (preferably expensive) was to show up at vendor storefronts dressed so shabbily as to the point of almost looking homeless and try to get service/test out the item.

If he got good service, he'd tip the service person handsomely. If he got poor service - he'd inform them and their manager, all while flashing the cash he WAS going to spend, letting them know that their competitor was now going to get it.

My favorite was the guy in the high end bike shop who wouldn't give him the time of day... when he was planning on dropping $3000 on a Litespeed Tachyon.
 
You aren't buying a burger for a dollar, if it doesn't taste good, throw the ****n thing away! You're dropping hundreds on a new instrument, if its gonna damage it or not, its something they should do something about it, protect it somehow, they dont say anything to guitar players, its the same concept! If you're a pick player, you should try it out with a pick! Simple!
 
Bottom line here, is that it's the store's instrument until you buy it.

It's their choice as to what their policies are. If you don't agree, you, as the customer are free to leave and go to another store.

It's like when we were kids. My dad used to say "My house, my rules". This is the same thing.

Understand the OP may not like it, but until he buys it, it's the store's guitar.

All the best,

Bob
 
I don't get it. You have to be a special kind of spazz to scratch up a bass with a pick. It's not like you're playing Richie-Havens-at-Woodstock style (unless, you're that special kind of spazz).

Anyway, on a slightly related note, I had an experience at a local shop that left a bad taste in my mouth. I was trying out one of the Pawn Shop Bass VIs right after it came out. Honestly, I wasn't going to buy it, but how often had I gotten a chance to play a Bass VI before then? Never! (I'm not going to mess with a Custom Shop or vintage instrument just for kicks.)

Anyway, the guy working at the shop came up to me and literally took it out of my hands as I was playing it because he said he had another guy who wanted to buy it. ***? I wasn't being the slightest bit loud or rough, I'd only had it for a few minutes, and if he'd asked I would have gladly handed it over. Instead he pulled that jerk move. This was just a case of strange social skills in that particular dude, though. I still like the shop, and I still buy stuff there, but I was pissed for a few weeks after that.