Guitar Center

[Greg Riley]

Alot has changed at Guitar Center Nashville since Tony left Gibson, and took over as the Platinum Room Manager.. With Friedman Amps in the Nashville, it gives players local and in the south a chance to actually get a feel of what great amps they are. Not everyone gets to go to the Amp Shows out west and NAMM.

Agreed about Nashville GC kicking butt. Didn't know they were carrying Friedman. Have not been in the store in a few years.

Reza, Guitar Center Nashville is a dealer and stocks Friedman. I hooked up Tony Higbee with Dave and Rob. They have a new BE-100 and a Dirty Shilrley in stock. I'm sure Tony could hook you up with 18 months on the GC card. Call Tony Higbee, 615-297-7770, cell 615-499-0432. Tell him I sent you Tony is going on the road as Tom Keifers lead guitarist in 3 weeks. They also carry and stock Splawn. Not your normal Guitar Center GC is going to be going national with Friedmans in the data base from what Tony said. Pictures are listed in used section at current (but new). Since Nashville is the only at current dealer. I have to work Tony on Suhr next

I have a hard time buying gear anywhere else. 18 months no interest financing?!
Tons of used gear at super cheap prices online?
It's hard to beat.
If I could buy a BE-100, a Suhr , a Luxxtone, and a number of other awesome pieces of gear with those financing terms , I would.

 

[Greg Riley]

It's the opposite in Nashville.. Sam Ash offered me $600.00 for a mint Warrior Isabella, when they carried them in their NYC store. They would not move on a 2008 Les Paul Custom Shop Standard they had for 3 yrs hanging on the wall (strings never changed!). They are trying to copy GC in Nashville. They built their own Platinum Room (high end)..lol. It's a joke, other then them having 3 Monkeys Amps. Now Sam Ash in Cincinnati is huge, and better then the Guitar Center there slightly. But if you go to Memphis, GC is kinda lame. Martin Music is where you go for the good stuff. In Chicago, I go to Makin Music. I don't even bother with GC in Hollywood. I have never been to a Sam Ash in California..I guess it all depends on location and managment.

Lately I've been loving Sam Ash.

Bought a Bass on Craigslist for $125.
Traded it to Sam Ash for $250.
Traded someone for a guitar, around $2000 invested, sold to Sam Ash for $2600.
Bought a Fender Strat for $700...didn't like it, sold it to Sam Ash for...well...$700. But at least I didn't lose anything!

Guitar Center was super low ballers on all the same items!

Even tonight, just got back from Sam Ash, picked up a new Les Paul, cheaper than everywhere else...by a few hundred~

GC is good to try stuff out, but the greedy commission salesmen are really really annoying...and usualy know squat about quality gear...they are only interested in the silly moms and dads who buy those Line6 and other cheap amps, because they sell a lot of them...but if I find something I want, I can order from elsewhere online Tax Free!
I always feel GC employees really don't give a shit about the customer...just their commission...
check this out. I ordered a cab used from GC on their website...
Look how it arrived! (All I did was open the box, and was horrified at the lack of packing anything as the cab was bouncing around in the box when I went to move it...and snapped this pic...

They Care Not.

 

[Aristocat]

When I was living back in the Boston area, mom and pop stores were rampant and filled with great used and new gear.

Daddy's Junky Music? I miss that place.

I've had good experiences with GC personally.

I worked at Daddy's and that place can rot . Although, we did get killer used gear in that was easy to scoop up (old rack units, Marshall/Hiwatt/Soldano (once in a blue moon).

My favorite place has been Manchester Music Mill in Manchester, NH. Other than that, Guitar Gallery in Amherst is cool but the guys can be a little condescending and snobbish at times.

Planning a trek out to Brad's later in the year to check things out (don't go to Rhode Island much). Can't wait to see his shop.

 

[Splinterhead]

Lately I've been loving Sam Ash.

Bought a Bass on Craigslist for $125.
Traded it to Sam Ash for $250.
Traded someone for a guitar, around $2000 invested, sold to Sam Ash for $2600.
Bought a Fender Strat for $700...didn't like it, sold it to Sam Ash for...well...$700. But at least I didn't lose anything!

Guitar Center was super low ballers on all the same items!

Even tonight, just got back from Sam Ash, picked up a new Les Paul, cheaper than everywhere else...by a few hundred~

GC is good to try stuff out, but the greedy commission salesmen are really really annoying...and usualy know squat about quality gear...they are only interested in the silly moms and dads who buy those Line6 and other cheap amps, because they sell a lot of them...but if I find something I want, I can order from elsewhere online Tax Free!
I always feel GC employees really don't give a shit about the customer...just their commission...
check this out. I ordered a cab used from GC on their website...
Look how it arrived! (All I did was open the box, and was horrified at the lack of packing anything as the cab was bouncing around in the box when I went to move it...and snapped this pic...

They Care Not.

That's funny I had just the opposite experience. Whenever I'd go to Sam Ash the apathy from the sales people was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I recently helped a friend out with purchasing a Fender at a new Guitar Center and the staff was great. They didn't hover and just let us run rampant through the place trying expensive guitars. It goes to show you that its really the people and not necessarily the name of the store that makes the place great.

I'm not sure if any of you guys are in NY but a great place to check out is Alto Music. I've had nothing but great experiences with them.

 

[Woodsie]

When I was living back in the Boston area, mom and pop stores were rampant and filled with great used and new gear.

Daddy's Junky Music? I miss that place.

I've had good experiences with GC personally.

I worked at Daddy's and that place can rot . Although, we did get killer used gear in that was easy to scoop up (old rack units, Marshall/Hiwatt/Soldano (once in a blue moon).

My favorite place has been Manchester Music Mill in Manchester, NH. Other than that, Guitar Gallery in Amherst is cool but the guys can be a little condescending and snobbish at times.

Planning a trek out to Brad's later in the year to check things out (don't go to Rhode Island much). Can't wait to see his shop.

What's Brad's? I'm in RI all the time.

I worked near the Daddy's in Dedham. I used to stop in there a couple times a week. I bought my Peavey Classic 50 212 at the Warwick store.

 

[dooredge]

http://www.kingguitar.com/

See bottom right corner of webpage for address info.

 

[romanianreaper]

I like going to Guitar Center to get basic stuff like software or to try out something I've been eyeing.

I agree though that I'd rather not buy a guitar that someone in a goth outfit downtuned to "Satan Tuning" and beat on all day.

 

[Aristocat]

When I was living back in the Boston area, mom and pop stores were rampant and filled with great used and new gear.

Daddy's Junky Music? I miss that place.

I've had good experiences with GC personally.

I worked at Daddy's and that place can rot . Although, we did get killer used gear in that was easy to scoop up (old rack units, Marshall/Hiwatt/Soldano (once in a blue moon).

My favorite place has been Manchester Music Mill in Manchester, NH. Other than that, Guitar Gallery in Amherst is cool but the guys can be a little condescending and snobbish at times.

Planning a trek out to Brad's later in the year to check things out (don't go to Rhode Island much). Can't wait to see his shop.

What's Brad's? I'm in RI all the time.

I worked near the Daddy's in Dedham. I used to stop in there a couple times a week. I bought my Peavey Classic 50 212 at the Warwick store.

I worked at Daddy's in Nashua and just like others, we in competition with the guys over at GC (literally across the street).

I couldn't stand the business model (GE Financial owned everything-entire stores built on floor plans) nor customer relations. Daddy's employees would have friends/relatives/significant others come in and lay away goods for employees under their names. That's why choice gear was seldom to be seen.

Brad (from all accounts) is a wicked nice guy to deal with and from the little I've talked to him, he's really down to earth. Plus, his shop looks like the ultimate man cave. You'll have a blast there!

 

[vchizzle]

Our GC is pretty solid here. Problem is, they don't have much in stock of higher end gear, some - but not much. But, there are 3-4 sales people that know a decent amount about gear there. So I don't feel like I'm talking to a brick wall. We have a big warehouse store www.fullcompass.com which is has some really nice stuff in stock, but they don't really have a sales floor to try stuff because it's mainly an online store. 1 mom & pop store that is nice, but limited selection and feels stuffy to me. I don't feel like I can walk it and turn up an amp and turn it above 1/2. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE www.davesguitar.com - just wish it was closer and I could establish some kinda relationship with a salesperson.

 

[vchizzle]

I have a little different point of view. I buy as much online as possible. The GC in Milwaukee is low end, mostly a waste of time. I go to Music Go Round (a place that specialized in used gear) and a place called Lincoln Music. Lincoln Music has been around forever and while they have mostly low end stuff 3 of the guys there are real cool and can get almost anything you need at very good prices.

Apparently, I just need to go to your place to try some amps
Funny thing is, your GC has nicer gear than mine. I got a Red Witch moon phaser there. They have a few boutique-ish pedals, some nice PRS, Gibsons but very few amps. Not a great experience with any staff I've dealt with there though. Music-Go-Round is still there, huh?

 

[Woodsie]

http://www.kingguitar.com/

See bottom right corner of webpage for address info.

No kidding. I'll have to check that out.

 

[Woodsie]

I got a great deal on my Gold Top at GC. I had it on layaway. Two days later, the salesman started calling. He offered me all kinds of a discount if I came and got it. I held out for a while. Honestly, I didn't have the cash. When I was finally ready, I had an appointment with the salesman to come get it. When I got there, he had gone home sick and no one else was interested in helping me. I was pissed but I saw an opportunity. I called a couple of days later and told him I was just going to come get my money back. He offered me another discount on too of that. Then I applied for financing, which gave me another 15% off. I ended up getting it for less than $1700. Listed for $2200.

 

[FondledDuck]

I heard somewhere that GC was going out of business. No?

 

[Ventura]

Buying a guitar at guitar center is like marrying a prostitute

You say that like it's a bad thing

 

[fek]

I heard somewhere that GC was going out of business. No?

You probably read that from a few sources as a matter of fact. Could be internet rumor. Or not.

My issue is that, if true, GC owes the big name manufacturers lots of cash. Millions even. If that is the case, why would Friedman get involved in giving GC credit terms? Hopefully, he worked out a deal where they pay upfront for his amps.

 

[sandman]

I heard somewhere that GC was going out of business. No?

If the GC chain was going under, I find it odd they would be opening a new store in my area.

 

[ACShreds]

I heard somewhere that GC was going out of business. No?

If the GC chain was going under, I find it odd they would be opening a new store in my area.

Yeah they just opened a new store right across from Berklee where a Daddy's junkie music used to be. The original Boston GC in Fenway is still there less than a mile down the street.

 

[Subclavian]

I only go on weekday mornings at 11 a.m when they first open up and even then its only for a quick walk through to pick up strings or to glance at the used pedals. Most of the time I try to use mom and pop stores but if I have to order, I order from sweetwater.

 

[MKibanez]

What about Guitar Center in Houston, TX? Anybody know's?

 

[skoora]

Daddy's across from Berklee was cool, at least back in the early 90's when I was there. Bought my first Gibson there, a 78 LP Custom. EU Wurlitzer wasn't bad either. Little more corporate feeling than Daddy's but I got the best used deals I've ever got from them. Two 100 watt Silver Jubilee heads for $550 and $600 each. late 60's bassman head for $150. Used plexi reissue for 6 something.