There is a GC within 30 minutes from me (Moosic PA). The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. There isn't much in the way of bass gear that interests me there...but when I find something that catches my eye, it's usually set up pretty well.
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Trying basses at guitar center sucks
- Thread starter Yup
- Start date
You think thats bad? Try being left handed and walking into any guitar store...
Me: "Any left handed basses or guitars?"
Store Staff: "GET OUT!!!!!!!!"
Me: "Any left handed basses or guitars?"
Store Staff: "GET OUT!!!!!!!!"
The guitar stores closest to me are at Newark/Heath OH. Martin Music, located in Newark, is family owned, but the basses literally were falling apart as I played them and they were almost unplayable. Guitar Guys in Heath is WAY better and I actually recommend it to anyone in the area. Not only do they have a great variety of basses, but they are all set up very very nice. I would definitely recommend Guitar Guys Heath than Guitar Center to anyone in Central OH.
I went to GC a few months ago and tried out fender jazz basses. The one I went to had a good selection about 8 or 10 new and used all the way up to the professional model. I play a high action but I didn’t find the setups to be too high or weird. They also had several amps to choose from. Not the one I use but oh well. I went on an early Friday afternoon and pretty much had the place to myself. So my experience was different than yours. (The professional was the one I liked best. I just wasn’t ready to cough up the cash.)
Went to guitar center yesterday and tried multiple basses. I was comparing p basses but I couldn't even tell which one I liked the feel of better because the strings were *no kidding* half an inch off the fretboard. It was like this for all the basses except for the vinterta series p basses because of their extra thick necks. How do they let this happen? It's really frustrating when you want to see how a bass feels and it is set up like that. Why can't guitar center maintain their demo basses? I feel like they would sell so much more if their instruments were set up halfway decent.
My GC usually does good setups, their tech is decent. The problem there is they only stock extreme budget instruments and a couple of higher end fenders (2k range) that I'm not really going to buy. No middle ground stuff at all.
Between the setups and nothing but low-end basses at my local GCs I keep asking myself why I even bother to stop in any more. Last time I went they didn't even have any bass gig bags which is what I went there for. When they first opened here in MA they were stocking Alembic and Tobias for pete's sake.
I envy those who are in cities like LA where GC still carries pro gear.
I envy those who are in cities like LA where GC still carries pro gear.
Why even bother with brick and mortar stores like GC? MF, AMS, SW, SA all have good return policies. Every bass I've purchased from Musicians Friend and AMS were set up with low action right out of the box and required minimal or no adjustment. I haven't step foot in a guitar store since the early 2000's.
Oddly enough I went in to a local GC to look at the same exact bass last night. The set up on the one I tried was pretty bad as well, but it was just put out recently and wasn't missing anything.
I don't believe that GC should have anyone setting up their guitars unless they are a competent luthier. This is a sure way to wreck a bunch of basses. That being said, Fender ought to have shipped it with a better set up that the way GC received it. It should be at least decent playable. The one I played seemed to be a much better quality than I have seen over the past few years. It was a very nice instrument, but the action and set up was poor.
I have noticed that some other brands send out their stuff, nearly all set up. Both Schecters I have purchased were totally playable straight out of the box. I still worked on them, but both basses I purchased from Schecter were outstanding from the get go.
I've been blasted everytime I've said this. I get "You can expect them to setup every bass!" or "You can't get some idea of how the bass sounds/plays before a setup?"Went to guitar center yesterday and tried multiple basses. I was comparing p basses but I couldn't even tell which one I liked the feel of better because the strings were *no kidding* half an inch off the fretboard. It was like this for all the basses except for the vinterta series p basses because of their extra thick necks. How do they let this happen? It's really frustrating when you want to see how a bass feels and it is set up like that. Why can't guitar center maintain their demo basses? I feel like they would sell so much more if their instruments were set up halfway decent.
Well to the first thing.....It takes 20 seconds to adjust that trust rod enough to make it playable. There are only 2 sizes of wrenches for all fender/squire basses.
And to the second point, no I can't. Some basses, no matter what you do to them just don't ever play as well as others. For example I have two USA jazz basses. No matter how much work is done to the 2nd one, it never plays as good as my main bass.
This is why return policies are import.
Well, we all do things like this differently, but.. to me, how poorly the instrument is set up has absolutely nothing to do with how it "feels". Plays and sounds, yes - but in a store, that is totally irrelevant to my possibly purchasing a particular instrument. That ain't my amp I'm playing thru; even if the bass was set up perfectly to factory specs, it ain't my set up; and if I bought the thing, those factory strings would go in the garbage as fast as I could get them off the bass; so, who cares how it sounds... Playing a bass in a store - any store - for me, is merely an electronics function check; nothing more... How the bass hangs on a strap; how the neck feels in my hand (and if I have to hold the thing up); and how easy the controls are to reach and work? That, to me, is how a bass feels. And, even though I'm a lefty, I can find out what I need to know - even if the bass isn't a lefty. And, in a Guitar Center, I can pretty much guarantee you they aren't...
thats pretty much sums up my beliefs in instrument testing, except the lefty part. even if a bass is "properly" setup, its not my setup.
My pedal board power adapter died last night, gotta go to gtr center today before my gig tonight. I always look forward to being around all sorts of stuff I want. I'm usually disappointed with their selection... I did impulse buy a used squier jag HB in february... maybe they'll have something else fun today.
I always take the bass setups there with a grain of salt and don't let it color my opinion of the instrument. I'm going to put different strings and do intonation and setup to my liking with any new-to-me bass. Gtr center is so far below ideal conditions for playing a new instrument for so many reasons... but there are no other options for me within a 15 mile radius... and around me, 20 miles is a 3 hour round trip...
I always take the bass setups there with a grain of salt and don't let it color my opinion of the instrument. I'm going to put different strings and do intonation and setup to my liking with any new-to-me bass. Gtr center is so far below ideal conditions for playing a new instrument for so many reasons... but there are no other options for me within a 15 mile radius... and around me, 20 miles is a 3 hour round trip...
It would be nice if every GC had one person to just tweak the instruments into a range of acceptable neck relief. I'm not saying they all need to be set up impossibly low, but there's certainly a level of adjustment that most test players would accept. And whether they prefer high action or low, if it's within a reasonable range, they'll get the idea. That sort of adjustment is easily made by even the most basic of techs.
To the OPs point, I've seen quite a few instruments at multiple GCs that really needed the neck adjusted, if only to make them enticing enough to be sold. It's pretty lame when you pull a brand new $2200 Musicman off the wall and it's got bow and arrow-style action.
Hey GC, do you actually WANT to sell this $2200 bass? Maybe make it feel worthy of my money, eh?
To the OPs point, I've seen quite a few instruments at multiple GCs that really needed the neck adjusted, if only to make them enticing enough to be sold. It's pretty lame when you pull a brand new $2200 Musicman off the wall and it's got bow and arrow-style action.
Hey GC, do you actually WANT to sell this $2200 bass? Maybe make it feel worthy of my money, eh?
I certainly "get" why guitars and basses aren't given extra attention to insure their playability at Guitar Centers. Understaffed, undertrained employees and $ale$-goal focus insures that they're NOT going to take any time on tweaking the stock. Most all the other store stock (amps, keyboards, microphones, drums, accessories, etc) arrive ready-for-the-floor right outa the truck.
However, if I had a big car dealership, and I understaffed the place to the point that I didn't know if any of the cars had gas in the tank or air in the tires...
I do my own (and other's) setups, so I see a poorly playing bass as a "discount" waiting for me to cash in... or a good chance that instrument will get sold by GC and then brought to my little setup shop almost immediately.
So, I an't complaining, lol.
However, if I had a big car dealership, and I understaffed the place to the point that I didn't know if any of the cars had gas in the tank or air in the tires...
I do my own (and other's) setups, so I see a poorly playing bass as a "discount" waiting for me to cash in... or a good chance that instrument will get sold by GC and then brought to my little setup shop almost immediately.
So, I an't complaining, lol.
- Jun 6, 2012
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Okay. I'm gonna let the cat out of the bag. Ready? They don't care.Went to guitar center yesterday and tried multiple basses. I was comparing p basses but I couldn't even tell which one I liked the feel of better because the strings were *no kidding* half an inch off the fretboard. It was like this for all the basses except for the vinterta series p basses because of their extra thick necks. How do they let this happen? It's really frustrating when you want to see how a bass feels and it is set up like that. Why can't guitar center maintain their demo basses? I feel like they would sell so much more if their instruments were set up halfway decent.
I buy used 99 44/100% of the time. I live in a densly populated metropolitan area so there are a lot to choose from locally. I've bought a number of basses offa eBay and TalkBass and have generally had good luck. However, most of my basses are Fender type parts basses made up of mostly used parts that I've acquired from Craigslist, eBay and here on TalkBass. My homegrown builds are typically wild cards with the results being good to excellent because I utilize Fender USA, MIJ, or MIM along with Warmoth, USACG or AllParts components that all adhere very well to standards and usually fit together nicely. If the fundamentals are there, I can almost always set them up to, at least, play the way I like.
This is why I don't bother going to guitar center to look at stuff even though its more convenient to get to than Sam Ash. The demo instruments at Sam Ash are always pretty in-tune and aren't terribly set up. And they have cooler gear to try too. 
It's for that reason I've deliberately ordered anything new from Sam Ash and haven't bought anything except a used Phase 90 from Guitar Center in years.
It's for that reason I've deliberately ordered anything new from Sam Ash and haven't bought anything except a used Phase 90 from Guitar Center in years.
Cave Puppy
"Humph Bo, he's wond!" - John Lennon
While most are complaining about GC not doing a setup... why aren’t y’all mad at the manufacture for not setting it up before leaving the factory?
