Told Not to Use a Pick in a Store?

[EthanTheHeathen]

We can't say double-u T F? That's kinda funny.

 

[jamesCD]

Besides that, its not like they're actually losing any money. A friend used to work for GC, the mark up is ridiculous high! Something they're selling for a $1000, they probably paid $400! Its unbelievable!

That is not actually a bad price. A small business has to usually get back three times their investment to keep the doors open and employees paid. Being a large chain they can afford to sell it for $1000 instead of $1200.

 

[higain617]

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.

Me either. One of my basses has a guard and one doesn't, and neither are scratched up from my pick usage.

 

[punkjazzben]

If you're gonna play with a pick or slap and an employee politely asks that you play gently as not to cause damage, that's perfectly reasonable. The same goes for asking to take off your jacket with zippers.

+1

I was in an independent store trying basses. Most were in good condition, but one, an Ibanez SR500, had a lot of wear below the pickups. It was from either a picker or a slapper, but either way the wearing had gone through the stain and there was raw wood showing. Someone had really dug in and taken some chunks out.

Suffice to say when I pulled it off the rack to have a play, the shop assistant said they would have to put a massive discount on it because of the damage.

If I was running a music store, I would want to limit the damage inflicted on the instruments I'm trying to sell, too.

 

[Fat Steve]

+1

I was in an independent store trying basses. Most were in good condition, but one, an Ibanez SR500, had a lot of wear below the pickups. It was from either a picker or a slapper, but either way the wearing had gone through the stain and there was raw wood showing. Someone had really dug in and taken some chunks out.

Suffice to say when I pulled it off the rack to have a play, the shop assistant said they would have to put a massive discount on it because of the damage.

If I was running a music store, I would want to limit the damage inflicted on the instruments I'm trying to sell, too.

I'm still baffled as to how one causes that much damage with a pick or from using their fingers for slapping.

 

[davelowell2]

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.

That same thing happened to me as a teenager. It was Mel Bay being the ungrateful store owner ripping a bass out my hands. Only he was walking away while it was still plugged in...

Anyway, his shop is now a parking lot. I like to think my boycott worked...

 

[Gorn]

I'm still baffled as to how one causes that much damage with a pick or from using their fingers for slapping.

Have you ever seen a boisterous teenager, or full grown man for that matter, slapping the hell out of a bass in guitar center? Or picking a punk rock bassline so hard it seems like he hates the bass? Round metal strings smacking into the bass or a tiny thin piece of plastic scraping against it can do plenty of damage.

 

[BawanaRik]

They evidently want to sell minty basses that have nice lookin' pickguards. Sounds reasonable. I rarely demo a bass unless I'm shopping to buy one. Were you a buyer, or just hanging out?

As opposed to the Guitar Center mint that seems to be standard these days.

A shop owner needs to have pride in his wares.

 

[bass geetarist]

Well it's their store, their policy, as others have mentioned, but it does sound like a strange policy to me. If you're a picker, then you gotta try it with a pick, and, as others have mentioned, it's unlikely that this policy applies to guitars, so why they gotta pick on the bass player???

Could be that the employee was just frustrated in general and needed to feel like he'd put someone in his place. I was testing out some Vox amp simulator with headphones once, and one of the store employees came over all in a huff and said "well you're not gonna hear anything with the volume pedal up!" and stomped it down, and then stormed off, still all huffy. Of course, the setting I was using had the volume pedal bypassed, so his huffiness was unfounded, but I just shook it off as a dude having a bad day.

That being said, that same store has had a Duff McKegan J bass with a nasty ding on the front of it hanging on their wall for full price for about a year. I was told a customer dinged it while trying it out and they got stuck with it. I'd be surprised if they ever sold it at full price, but it's not really fair of them to demand full price for a damaged instrument. This is a big store that has been around for a long time, so they can afford to sit on the bass hoping it sells, but obviously smaller stores have more to worry about.

 

[Hamlet7768]

There's an old thread I posted ages ago where a guy told me not to use a pick on bass, because the strings would wear the pick down and I would keep having to buy more.

I wonder if that was the same guy as in OP's situation.

 

[Fat Steve]

Have you ever seen a boisterous teenager, or full grown man for that matter, slapping the hell out of a bass in guitar center? Or picking a punk rock bassline so hard it seems like he hates the bass? Round metal strings smacking into the bass or a tiny thin piece of plastic scraping against it can do plenty of damage.

the wearing had gone through the stain and there was raw wood showing. Someone had really dug in and taken some chunks out.

I call BS on someone doing that with a pick or their nails. No way is that wear and tear from playing it super hard or even abusive. That comes from taking keys or a screwdriver to it, not a piece of plastic.

 

[Munjibunga]

If I owned a guitar store, I would strongly discourage the use of picks. They can damage the finish of an instrument. Then I'd have to reduce the price of the instrument, and that comes directly off the profit.

 

[punkjazzben]

I call BS on someone doing that with a pick or their nails. No way is that wear and tear from playing it super hard or even abusive. That comes from taking keys or a screwdriver to it, not a piece of plastic.

Your belief and opinion has no bearing whatsoever on the fact that picks and nails can and do damage the finish on a bass. You might not have experienced it, but that is no reason to believe it doesn't happen.

And besides, why are you calling my a liar? What would I possibly have to gain from it? And why are you so invested in the idea that you can't damage a finish?

 

[OEW3]

If I owned a guitar store, I would strongly discourage the use of picks. They can damage the finish of an instrument. Then I'd have to reduce the price of the instrument, and that comes directly off the profit.

No picks at all, even guitar players?

 

[Solarmist]

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.

People who play Fenders must need them I guess.

Seriously though - I've never understood the need for them either - I personally think they detract from the looks of a bass.

Have you ever seen a boisterous teenager, or full grown man for that matter, slapping the hell out of a bass in guitar center? Or picking a punk rock bassline so hard it seems like he hates the bass? Round metal strings smacking into the bass or a tiny thin piece of plastic scraping against it can do plenty of damage.

Yes - unfortunately there are exceptions.

 

[Fat Steve]

Your belief and opinion has no bearing whatsoever on the fact that picks and nails can and do damage the finish on a bass. You might not have experienced it, but that is no reason to believe it doesn't happen.

And besides, why are you calling my a liar? What would I possibly have to gain from it? And why are you so invested in the idea that you can't damage a finish?

Easy killer, I'm not calling you a liar. You saw the bass post damage. I believe that, as you have no reason to lie. It's just the first time in my life I've heard about a bass being played through the finish down to the wood where chunks were removed from the wood simply from playing it. Dropping it? Sure. Throwing it? Absolutely. Using it as an implement of destruction against the swarming hordes of Fall Out Boy fans? Right there with you.

But playing it with a pick or slapping it till fingernails rip chunks of wood off? Eh, not so much. I've seen wear from aggressive playing, and that didn't involve chunks of wood missing. However, I will now be on the lookout for that kind of damage, as it must look pretty brutal.

Either way, I've got nothing against you and didn't intend to get your hackles raised like that. Long days and pleasant nights to you and yours.

 

[Munjibunga]

No picks at all, even guitar players?

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your ... oh, never mind.

 

[Korladis]

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?

People use picks on guitar at stores all the time. I don't see what the difference is with bass.

Besides which, I play as aggressively with my fingers as I do with a pick.

 

[lfmn16]

People use picks on guitar at stores all the time. I don't see what the difference is with bass.

Besides which, I play as aggressively with my fingers as I do with a pick.

Some people are offended that bass players use a pick and will use any BS excuse for why they shouldn't. I would be willing to bet that there are far more dents in dings in basses from careless finger pickers knocking into things than damage caused directly by a pick.

 

[gregmon79]

In all seriousness that is weird...

Maybe it is where I live, but I see store employee's beating up bass's with really aggressive slapping.

One recent situation the employee was showing off and after he finished, put the bass back and said "I'm really a drummer."

If a bass player knows what they are doing, pick or not, they are not going to destroy a bass... They could have thought you were going to play it like a guitar player, and the bass maybe didn't have a pick guard on it? usually pick guards on guitars in shops are covered in the factory plastic but they end up getting torn to shreds! No pickguard on a bass could mean a scratched bass...

I have to completely agree with this. IMO and IME, if an instrument is BRAND new then almost ALL the time they have that protective sheet of thin plastic over the pickgaurd and other hardware to help protect that stuff in shipping and also when and if it ever makes it to the sales floor for display and so people can pick them up and play them. If a bass didnt have this covering on it, I would wonder about their claims of it being a "brand new" or "mint" instrument. If that plastic is removed who knows where its been. But IMO, I think its kinda bogus to tell you you couldnt use a pick. All they had to say was take it easy and try it out. They could also provide you with a store, lighter gauged pick. Just the way i think. I know there is a lot of people out there that want their bass to be nice and shiny and new forever. Me, I cant stand that. I almost want to get a bass home so I can put a few dings in it to get it a little beat up look, weathered. Not everyone is like that though. Now I've strayed away from the OP's original post, sorry. Carry on.........