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Told Not to Use a Pick in a Store?

#102
This reminds me of an incident at a local too me then shop back in the 90s. Some guy is trying out rather expensive Martin guitar, and asks the salesman if he can go back into the managers office to get away from the showroom noise. The salesman obliges.

Several minutes later there's then horrible "thwack, clang, crack" noise. The dude decided to hold the guitar up in the air to look inside the sound hole in better light, and stuck it into the running office ceiling fan. Oops...

Don't know who ended up eating the cost, but it was one of the more exiting music shop trips I've been on. :)

Moral of the story: ceiling fans are more dangerous than picks.
 
#103
There sure are a lot of self entitled whiners around this thread. Somebody else owns it and you think you deserve free access to do as you like? I've walked in to more than one store and found some guy wanking on the piece of equipment I wanted to check out, or maybe buy. I generally leave and go elsewhere for better treated inventory.

It's not all about you.

Grow up.
:hiding:
 
#104
I suppose some of us don't realize that the average person that comes into the store isn't as careful as some of us are. As Munji said, if I were to use a pick in a music store, you would never be able to tell afterwards. I'm sure some people come in and scratch up the body with careless (and arguably bad) technique.

To a careful and respectful consumer, the request not to use a pick might seem rude or ridiculous, but I guess we have to look at it from their perspective.

I think any form of playing technique can be done in a way that is harmful to the instrument, but I guess the stores are just going by what they encounter on a day to day basis.
 
#105
carl h. said:
There sure are a lot of self entitled whiners around this thread. Somebody else owns it and you think you deserve free access to do as you like? I've walked in to more than one store and watched some guy wanking on the piece of equipment I wanted to check out, or maybe buy, only to leave and go elsewhere for better treated inventory.

It's not all about you.

Grow up.
:hiding:
Click to expand...

Actually, that's what I was trying to say.
 
#106
There sure are a lot of people who don't understand what the purpose of floor model music store gear is for. Last time I checked, it was there to be played and tried out. While it's certainly within the store's purview to make sure it isn't abused, if it's too expensive to be played in a normal way it shouldn't be sitting there within reach next to the amps.
 
#110
Is this where we compare our recent purchases to see whose "bill" is bigger?


BTW, I don't buy new gear from a store where I can't play before buying, and if it is full price and pre-abused I don't buy it. I mostly avoid those sort of places which are easily detected by just listening the moment you open the door.

Yeah, everybody is going to buy everything so all the customers should be allowed to do whatever they feel like to try out instruments the way "they" will use them.
 
#111
carl h. said:
Yeah, everybody is going to buy everything so all the customers should be allowed to do whatever they feel like to try out instruments the way "they" will use them.
Click to expand...

Stop me if I'm wrong, but when you say "whatever they like" and "the way 'they' will use them" you seem to be implying some level of abuse. I think we're all in agreement that abuse and carelessness is perfectly legit for a store to prevent. But that's not the issue here. Playing a bass with a pick in no way constitutes abuse. Being told it can't be played that way, in a perfectly legitimate non-abusive way--should be allowed on floor models. If it can't be allowed, it shouldn't be on the floor.
 
#112
scottfeldstein said:
Stop me if I'm wrong, but when you say "whatever they like" and "the way 'they' will use them" you seem to be implying some level of abuse. I think we're all in agreement that abuse and carelessness is perfectly legit for a store to prevent. But that's not the issue here. Playing a bass with a pick in no way constitutes abuse. Being told it can't be played that way, in a perfectly legitimate non-abusive way--should be allowed on floor models. If it can't be allowed, it shouldn't be on the floor.
Click to expand...

+1. If they can see that you're not doing anything wrong, I don't think they would stop you anyway.
 
#113
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.

You've got to play by their rules and play the game to get what you want. Your rules don't mean squat where somebody else's possessions are concerned.

My toys, my rules. Don't like it? Go home. (shop somewhere else)
 
#114
scottfeldstein said:
Stop me if I'm wrong, but when you say "whatever they like" and "the way 'they' will use them" you seem to be implying some level of abuse. I think we're all in agreement that abuse and carelessness is perfectly legit for a store to prevent. But that's not the issue here. Playing a bass with a pick in no way constitutes abuse. Being told it can't be played that way, in a perfectly legitimate non-abusive way--should be allowed on floor models. If it can't be allowed, it shouldn't be on the floor.
Click to expand...

Let's change things around. Let's say you're in a shop and someone wants to play YOUR bass. Same rules when it's your bass??
 
#115
I can see both sides to this I guess. There are 2 local shops in my town. One lets you grab whatever you want and I've never had anyone say anything to me about picks. The other however has signs all over about not using picks and even not to play the instruments at all if you're wearing a shirt or jacket with buttons or zippers that may scratch the back. (I don't shop there at all)

on the other hand I've been to Guitar Center and seen guitars and basses I'd never buy at new price they were so scratched up.

I always try to be careful and considerate. It would depend on the the associate's attitude about telling me if I'd stay in the store or not.
 
#117
carl h. said:
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.
Click to expand...

You kind of are assuming it. You want to assume that he looked like a hobo or that he picked up a Warwick Thumb and thrashed the hell out of it, go ahead. But nothing about that was said in the original post, so I'm going to go ahead and not assume it.

I'm 43, with a disposable income. But I still remember being treated poorly in music stores when I was a kid. If a sales guy ever gave me that feeling again, I'm out like the proverbial fat kid in dogeball.

carl h. said:
My toys, my rules. Don't like it? Go home. (shop somewhere else)
Click to expand...

Very true. But there's a flip side: it's my money. They don't like it, they can sell $150 starter kits to 12 year olds while I go shop at a real music store.
 

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