Trying basses at guitar center sucks

[Knavery]

That's why I buy used from Talkbass or buy from a reputable dealer. I bought an Elite Fender Jazz from Dave's Guitars in Wisconsin and it is probably the best jazz I've ever owned hands down. The action is really low and there's no buzz. It still hasn't needed to be tweaked and it's been several months. Guitar Center is just a place to pick them up and see if you like them--the neck radius, the weight, etc. Other than that, I just buy strings there. I've bought basses there that had to be brought back because the necks were warped.

 

[cataract]

Man, there sure are a lot of armchair critics around here. I happen to work at my local Guitar Center, and I do a lot of maintenance & setting up on the stringed instruments while things are slow. It’s pretty chill.

And like someone said above- probably 7 out of 10 of everything with strings on it that gets shipped to us brand new needs some sort of tweaking done to it.

I think most of you with complaints are confusing a fast paced high instrument turnover warehouse showroom with places like CME or even smaller privately owned “Mom & Pop” stores.

I’m not defending GC. It is what it is. My store’s pretty tight though.

 

[Williethump]

I'm with killedbydeath, the guy (and it's always a guy) shredding death metal on the strat at eleven mean I can't hear the bass. I bring headphones and Vox amp if I remember and that helps some.
I expect bad setup and bad intonation but I can still tell a lot about handling and tone in the store.
I like the kids in the store. Not the greatest sales clerks maybe, but I try to learn from everyone. And I've gotten lots of help from them too.
And I believe chatting with fellow employees, smoking behind the store, and drum shredding instead of stocking shelves might be the appropriate attitude when deadend wage slaving for a rapacious and uncaring corporate moloch (not singling out GC-corporations all are soulless greed machines defined as humans by law).
But then I'm retired so I'm never in a hurry and I don't get out much. I like talking to people and playing the basses, set up perfectly or not. It's an event.
I love that I can drive that unloved ax 3 miles and return it with no hassle. Try that with Craigslist.
When you need strings or straps or picks there they are, maybe a dollar more that online but right next door.
Try to be grateful there is still a place you can sit and play a wall o' basses. GC may go the way of Kmart, Sears and so many others and I, for one, would miss it, warts and all.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Yeah, ultimately I treat GC like Walmart, I don't expect any help or knowledgable sales staff, I go in on a Mission From God when I occasionally buy something, having already researched the bee-jeezus out of it. Maybe I'll bring in my hex key set next time and do a setup on the spot, given the Ghost Town vibe in the bass section, I wonder if anybody would notice? I've heard some great stories about this or that GC in somebody's home town, it's a franchise, so what you get depends on who's running that particular store, or what this month's crop of soon to be ex-employees feels like doing to while away the time.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Really high action would put me off. The action being too low is an easy fix in comparison, so I could deal with that.

I like high action. It keeps everything nice clean and strong when I'm playing hard, which I tend to do. My strings are about an eighth inch off the 12th feet.

Maybe slightly higher than that

 

[sonic 7]

The concept of shopping for basses at brick and mortar music stores is pretty much ancient history to me , anyway. Stores can’t possibly stock a decent variety of high quality instruments. I mean there were many more independent stores back in the 70s and 80s and most carried the top brands, like Fender and Gibson , because more people played instruments back then . Kids just don’t start bands that much anymore. They play video games. In my High School there had to be at least 5 different bands at any given time. We had Battle of the Band nights. Neither of my kids knew of any kids playing in bands in High School. They couldn’t even think of anyone that even had a guitar or drumset.

 

[Wfrance3]

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 bought a Schecter Raiden 5 (a really good bass, especially for the money btw...) that was NIB from an online retailer. It was ready to play. In fact, it was darn close to in tune when I took it out of the shipping carton!

 

[Ellery]

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.

You're doing it wrong... you need to play a bunch of slap bass, really loud. They'll love that.

 

[Mugre]

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!!!!!!!!"

Yeah! and Piano Center never has any left handed pianos!

Lefties are 10 percent of the population and some of them, like me, play right handed. That's not a lot of market. Businesses, and especially ones like guitar center, big and perpetually in financial peril, are not about being fair.

I'll always thank the guitar teacher who told 12 year old me that it would simply be smart to start out right handed.

Mugre

 

[Wfrance3]

why aren’t y’all mad at the manufacture for not setting it up before leaving the factory?

I just think that a retailer should have a minimal amount of pride in what they sell. Take My GC for instance, they inventory around 50 basses. Seems like an instrument being generally playable and complete should be something that gets checked every week or so. Not saying a bass should be completely set up, because that's a ridiculous expectation. Just tune, wiped down and square away anything obvious, repeat. That many instruments doesn't seem that daunting to keep presentable. Especially since more that half won't even need any attention, just a check over and next...

 

[jbastienmusic]

Yeah! and Piano Center never has any left handed pianos!

Lefties are 10 percent of the population and some of them, like me, play right handed. That's not a lot of market. Businesses, and especially ones like guitar center, big and perpetually in financial peril, are not about being fair.

I'll always thank the guitar teacher who told 12 year old me that it would simply be smart to start out right handed.

Mugre

Right?!?! And they NEVER have any left handed drums either!!! LMAO (I do play drums right handed)

No i totally get it from a business side of things. And some companies offer more left handed models than others for sure. I could't do the right handed thing. I tried at first and it was just not comfortable in the slightest. Sure I have far less options instrument-wise but, for myself anyway, I think trying to force myself to play right handed would have been more of a hindrance than a lack of lefty instruments.

 

[cataract]

That many instruments doesn't seem that daunting to keep presentable. Especially since more that half won't even need any attention, just a check over and next...

I guarantee you that if you approached a salesperson on the floor with an instrument and asked for a quick adjustment, they’d be happy to oblige. They’re there to help you out, make a sale and move instruments out the door.

People complaining about off the wall setups should probably work on their people skills and simply ask an associate to assist them- it’s not that hard of a thing to do.

Also, for all of the intrigue surrounding the idea of properly set-up mass produced instruments, it sure seems like a lot of people in this thread haven’t played a Fender or Ibanez— each one is completely different, you know. Gotta try em all! And they must be properly set up to fully appreciate each one!!

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

The ones near me do a good job keeping their instruments set up and in tune.

 

[Ric5]

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.

Ya bad setups, bad strings, missing knobs, and add to that missing cables so you can't plug in … and then you have smelly salesmen with black fingernails who lack basic product knowledge

 

[PotsdamBass8]

View attachment 3562352 I just bought this from GC

It was squirrelly bad set up. E string was slap the fret board low, the rest were decent enough to tell what I was playing. I just figure GC is like that...
It’s not high service, it’s not pro. You know that going in tho. The bass I bought was actually missing a knob. - seriously, the salesman started to tell me they couldn’t take one off one of their other basses, but would order me a knob. That lasted about 2 seconds...
So, the bass was pretty, weighs 8.25 lbs, and everything else was good to go. Nothing wonky or less than brand new, so I bought it. This was on a Monday. Took it to my guitar repair shop that I like the same day. Ordered some low tension flats and had the shipped direct to the repair shop. GC not having LTFs is just another accepted norm. Kinda like GC not having someone competent enough to do a basic setup correctly. Got my bass, ready to rock that Friday. - Just kinda how it is. Nothing new under the sun. They did meet their own deal (Musicians Friend internet sale), which I thought was pretty sporting of them...

The P I just bought from them was also missing a knob...as was the one next to it. They were going to give me a set of knobs they had but they were black so I declined and just ordered one from Amazon.

 

[Wfrance3]

I declined and just ordered one from Amazon.

Dude, really?? A brand new bass missing stuff???
I hope they at least knocked off the cost of your Amazon order...

 

[bobba66]

I just buy from random strangers on the internet. What could go wrong?

 

[PotsdamBass8]

Dude, really?? A brand new bass missing stuff???
I hope they at least knocked off the cost of your Amazon order...

It was a new bass on clearance, down from 1500 to 1100. I got them to throw in a pack of Elixirs. There was literally nothing wrong with the bass except the missing knob and a couple minor scratches that were par for something that's been on the floor for probably a year. I already asked if they could do any better on the price and they said no since it was clearance. Believe me I look for the best deal I can get, but I felt good about this one and was fine with buying a knob.

 

[Harold Runyan]

I’m convinced many basses sit for extended periods of time because they’re so poorly set up when buyers try them out. I know I’ve bought used basses that the owners didn’t like due to them being too hard to play with such terrible setups. I bought a great Pbass once that the owner thought was a dud. I told him it needed a good going over and a good setup and that I’d be happy to do it for him. Said “naw it just sucks” and dramatically cut the price. When I got it home I gave it a good bath and a nice setup (everything was way out of whack) put on new strings, and it is fantastic! Next time I saw him he had bought a used MIM Pbass that wasn’t half the American Standard bass he’d sold me. What can I say?

 

[Aidenn7]

When at guitar center.. I look and see if it warped.. I loosen the strings a little tune by ear.. Feel the neck.. Feel balance.. If I like that.. I amplify it.. Start finger style chromatics.. Sliding notes.. Then slap.. A Simple jazz funk pattern into Steve Harris or Lee Clay pool