Why the hell does anyone need to bring a tuner to a GC. If you cant tune a bass by ear then just give it up now. I mean who needs to be exactly A 440 when trying out a bass for a minute or two?
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Ugh, Guitar Center...
- Thread starter Barnabas
- Start date
I think that some people missed the point. Its not that the guitars are not tuned, its that they do not care.
Hey, if (come next year) I get a job a GC, I invite you all down to manchester, CT to see a GC employee who actually knows quite a bit about basses. If I don't get a job there....then....don't come down. The "Used" fender jaguar is in way better condition than the "new" one.
I've always had good experieces at GC. As far as the lack of knowledge by the staff goes, there is on thing you have to realize. They can only hire the people who are willing to work there. I Interviewed and got offered a job at guitar center. They were so excited to have me because I know so much about gear they said I could work in any department except drums. Then they told me what the job paid, and I turned em' down. How many of you people complaining would be willing to work for as little a 900 bucks a month? I know I wouldn't
If you don't like the sales people, tell them you don't want to be bothered. That's what I did. You tell enough sales guys that if they bother you won't buy anything from them, by the thrid or fourth time you go in there no one does.
To be honest, I don't even really like dealing with knowledgeable sales men. The only person who should be convincing you to buy gear is you.
I actually went to both guitar center and a fantastic independant store in Lansing called Elderly's today. Elderly's is probably the most reputable music store in Michigan, and I found most of the instruments to be just as out of tune at both places. Elderly's did have a better selection, and more high end product, but the Squire frettless I played at GC was actually better set up than the one I played at Elderly's. As far as product knowledge goes I didn't talk to many sales people at Elderly's, but there was no one on the staff that could really tell me anything about the double bass I was interested in. I'm not knocking Elderly's, as it is my favorite music store I've ever been to, I'm just pointing out that you will never find the perfect retail situation.
If you don't like the sales people, tell them you don't want to be bothered. That's what I did. You tell enough sales guys that if they bother you won't buy anything from them, by the thrid or fourth time you go in there no one does.
To be honest, I don't even really like dealing with knowledgeable sales men. The only person who should be convincing you to buy gear is you.
I actually went to both guitar center and a fantastic independant store in Lansing called Elderly's today. Elderly's is probably the most reputable music store in Michigan, and I found most of the instruments to be just as out of tune at both places. Elderly's did have a better selection, and more high end product, but the Squire frettless I played at GC was actually better set up than the one I played at Elderly's. As far as product knowledge goes I didn't talk to many sales people at Elderly's, but there was no one on the staff that could really tell me anything about the double bass I was interested in. I'm not knocking Elderly's, as it is my favorite music store I've ever been to, I'm just pointing out that you will never find the perfect retail situation.
You know, I've never even thought about taking a tuner to a store.
But if it makes someone more comfortable to do so, why not?
There are some COA's(Customer Operations Associates) that are not worth their weight in salt. Their paid minimum wage and technically dont have to know anything about music or guitars to work there. Theres also a few salesman that are lazy and dont get the basses ship shape when there put onto the floor. But then theres the one salesman that knows alot about basses and bass amps. If you can find that salesman then your "experience" at guitar will be much more plesant. My point being dont hate all guitar centers just because of an ignorant door guy.I can't tell whats worse: the management or the employees.
I also go to a GC in Northern Virginia (Seven Corners) that I like a lot. It's a different business model than a high-end bass shop, no doubt. But, they can get (and sometimes do have) a lot of nice stuff that you are encouraged to try, the folks working there are nice and helpful (not always expert, though the guy I go to knows his stuff orasks), their prices generally are very good, and my son (11) would rather hang there than go to Disney World. All-in-all, you really can't expect/get more from any large retailer.
That's right, another GC complaint story.
I got my bass back from the shop (fret dress)
My repair shop is right next to a GC, so I went in to see how she sounded.
I had to check my bass in, so the guy takes it out of the case, stares at the headstock (for about a minute) to get the serial, and puts it back in the case. Then he asks me...
"So is that a jazz or a precision?"
It says "Jazz Bass" in huge letters right next to the serial number.
I can't tell whats worse: the management or the employees.
I look at it this way....GC sells guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, live audio gear, amps and a whole bunch of other stuff. If I were the guy on the door and somebody came in with a snazzy guitar or snare drum or cymbals, I would not know crap about them. So I'm not gonna be super-critical of the drummer who's minding the door that doesn't know that my Roscoe really is a nice bass, as opposed to a local wannabe luthier product.
Now, there is little excuse for the guy not reading the headstock, but hey, it happens. Just because somebody does not know what we know about our specialty doesn't mean they are clueless.
After a recent trip to my 3rd GC I'm convinced that they get so much abuse than they deserve. No, they're no boutique bass/guitar shoppe but they are far from the Walmart of instrument stores (for one thing Walmart has sales running 24/7, 
). The first and second GCs I went to were OK. Nothing special but I got the opportunity to try out a bunch of basses and amps that I hadn't before and yeah, some of them were out of tune. No biggie, you just tune 'em 
. The third one was flat out amazing, imo. Loads of Markbass amps to try and a bunch of basses that I hadn't ever touched (though most people would have by now, lol). Thanks to that visit I 1) Finally found a Fender bass that I totally love and 2) I'm now absolutely sure I want to go 100% Markbass with my rig. The staff was helpful if not a little uninteresting and the selection of instruments was great. Now the only thing stopping me from buying anything form there (or any other music store for that matter) is the fact that I can't bring myself to pay full price for something that I know I can get for 40%+ less on the used market .
). The first and second GCs I went to were OK. Nothing special but I got the opportunity to try out a bunch of basses and amps that I hadn't before and yeah, some of them were out of tune. No biggie, you just tune 'em . The third one was flat out amazing, imo. Loads of Markbass amps to try and a bunch of basses that I hadn't ever touched (though most people would have by now, lol). Thanks to that visit I 1) Finally found a Fender bass that I totally love and 2) I'm now absolutely sure I want to go 100% Markbass with my rig. The staff was helpful if not a little uninteresting and the selection of instruments was great. Now the only thing stopping me from buying anything form there (or any other music store for that matter) is the fact that I can't bring myself to pay full price for something that I know I can get for 40%+ less on the used market .
After a recent trip to my 3rd GC I'm convinced that they get so much abuse than they deserve. No, they're no boutique bass/guitar shoppe but they are far from the Walmart of instrument stores (for one thing Walmart has sales running 24/7,
My experiences have been the same. I find GC's atmosphere "fun" and I like that they don't seem to take themselves so seriously. I wouldn't want a salesperson breathing down my neck when I'm giving a Fender Mustang a shot, just because I'm unfamiliar with them.
I have only been to 3 GC also. The first was rather cool with amazing things to look at and plug in......all of the basses had the strings at least 3/8" off of the FB, except the used ones. The second I went to had almost nothing, except a few Markbass amps. There were a few MM basses and 1 American Jazz bass....also every bass had the strings at least 3/8" off the FB and nothing was in tune. The third and final GC I went to might possibly be the last GC I go to, they honestly had nothing, everything there was crap. All of the basses were just taken out of a box and put on the wall, strings were WAY off the FB, all of the amps(what very few they had) were unplugged and terrible quality, the employee was rude and ignorant. I spent about 30 minutes there and could not stomach the experience any longer.
I understand they are the "Wal-Mart" of the music world, but I shop Wal-Mart because they have most everything I need and use and they are cheap, not just because they are cheap. Honestly many of your local music stores pay more for instruments than GC sells to the public, but they will work with you on prices. The quality seems to me to be better also.....just sayin'.
I understand they are the "Wal-Mart" of the music world, but I shop Wal-Mart because they have most everything I need and use and they are cheap, not just because they are cheap. Honestly many of your local music stores pay more for instruments than GC sells to the public, but they will work with you on prices. The quality seems to me to be better also.....just sayin'.
My take on GC is this, it is what it is, and serves a purpose, and when you go there you need to have your expectations in check. I have got some amazing deals there, although I have only purchased a couple of things there. My Peavey VB-2 when they were giving them away and a used T-bird, I new what I wanted. Other than that fortunately for us here in Atlanta there is The Atlanta Bass Gallery where I make all my major purchases and go when I need help from people that know.
In my opinion and experience, the GC in Fairfax has a better bass department. But better than all of that is a certain world famous music store in Wheaton, MD.
There's a bass centre down here in melbourne
All these horror stories of guitar centre make me just want to go to america and have a look first hand.
Why don't you just go down to Billy Hydes Blackburn? Same thing in my opinion. Once I bought a DVD and the guy hands me one of the shelf. To my surprise he'd handed me the store demo, which had no discs in it. They are also prone to give as much disinformation as possible, and are clueless about new products until they actually arrive in the country. They could at the very least check Harmony Central once a month.
