I think I've had my fill of Guitar Center

[fickle]

The last time I was in GC a salesman tried telling me that V30s were Greenbacks
And would only budge 15 bucks on a Les Paul custom that has been hanging in there for at least 6 or 7 months when I had cash on me..
Frig that place..

Im with charveldan on this one.. Anything you can get there you can get online

 

[jmgman69]

Well it has been months since I've been to a Guitar Center. Today I had some extra time and decided to drive over and check out some stuff. Needless to say, I had a horrible time. I was just completely mentally exhausted at how disappointing the selection, etc. was.

There was a used Peter Frampton Custom that a guy pulled down for me (for the record I just couldn't connect with that guitar. Something seemed too twangy with it). Anyway, I plugged into about 4 amps and every single one either didn't work, was crackling, or had been set at ridiculous settings for a normal guitarist.

As usual, one kid was playing the same rumbling note over and over (ala' KORN) on my right, while another kid was on my left playing an out of tune solo with the treble at ear-piercing levels. Meanwhile a drummer (awesome player by the way) was playing an entire drum solo in the next showroom. All of these events separately wouldn't have been a big deal. You add my frustration with the guitar, the amps all screwed up, and the extra noise, and I had just had it.

I like the concept of Guitar Center. I like being able to walk into a store without a snobby salesman rolling his eyes when I want to try something out. I'm sure every Guitar Center is a little different but I don't know...I just hit a wall today with that place. For the first time I walked out of there and thought I may never go into one of those every again.

Man,that sucks,I kinda dig the local GC but I know the feeling on that Peter Framton guitar as the local GC had one in the glass case and I told them to pull it out,I didn't play that thing for 2 minutes and put it right back,IMHO it really lacked any good qualities

 

[ashesofphoenix]

I set up a GCPro acct years ago at the Hollywood Ca store. Anything I want I send an email and my rep sends it to my doorstep. Also he only charges me 3% tax and anything I want is about 30% cheaper than anywhere else. No haggling , no noise, no salespeople.

I worked at guitar center for about 3 months nearly 10 years ago, I used the computer system and found the phone contact numbers of satch, vai, a bunch of artists. I ended up calling Stephen Perkins from janes addiction, told him I was a big fan and he thanked me. One of my co workers thought that was awesome and was laughing and hi fiving me, he then went and told the management and got me fired.

I was actually relieved. I'll never know why they put me in the keyboards Dept in the first place But then again fuck them.

That's awesome. I love getting the opportunity to tell my favorite artists that I'm a fan and appreciate them. I recently got to meet the guys from Alter Bridge (Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips), as well as Jasin Todd and Brad Stewart from the original Shinedown line-up (They're currently touring with Fuel). Jasin has a pretty sick rig. If you ever get a chance to check it out.

 

[The_Kid]

OP, I know what you're talking about however, as I've been to some pretty shady GC's. The one in Appleton, WI sucks balls and the one I went to in Chicago was only ok.

I'm in Appleton, well Little Chute, do you get to Appleton often?

I hate the Guitar Center. I used to have a friend who worked there. She never got back to me when I wanted to know the price of a TC Electronic G-System, found a decent deal online, bought it. Then went into GC to get a longer CAT5 cable for it, and she started asking questions about what it was for. I told her, she then asked me to return and order it through her, I said only if you give me a better deal.....and it can be here tomorrow. Got it for $50 less, and was shipped to my door.

I did that shit to her all the time cause i could find better deals than what they would 'offer', but walk in after you buy something and they will match it.....fine go ahead...saves me more money. lol

 

[dstroud]

The last time I was in GC a salesman tried telling me that V30s were Greenbacks
And would only budge 15 bucks on a Les Paul custom that has been hanging in there for at least 6 or 7 months when I had cash on me..
Frig that place..

Im with charveldan on this one.. Anything you can get there you can get online

I had a guy trying to sell me an EL84 trying to tell me it was a sub tube for a 12ax7

 

[King Guitar]

IMO the only Guitar Center worth going into in the Hollywood Store on Sunset Blvd. It was true 25 years ago and its true today.

 

[voma79]

thanks have a good day, next

 

[glassjaw7]

The only bad GC experience I've had (besides having to listen to wannabe metalheads have "band practice" in the main showroom) was when this new dude started at my old hometown store. He was sooo fucking pushy and knew nothing about quality gear whatsoever! I was playing through an Electra-Dyne for the first time and really digging it and checking out some pedalboards and pedals, and he comes up and compliments my playing, then when I started talking he interrupted me and asked about my rig. I told him what I was using and again he interrupts me, and says I should buy a Boss Noise Suppressor pedal....I said that my rig is dead quiet and I don't need one and that they suck tone. He replies, "well you might not be using your rig right if you're not getting any noise".... WTF??? I just walked away and he followed me around and kept trying to push the pedal on me.

About a week or two later, I get a call from the same guy (he got my number from the computer system) saying that someone just brought in a used Boss Noise Suppressor pedal and it was only $50. What the fuck? Needless to say, the next time I went in that store, I asked about that salesman and my usual manager I deal with told me he was fired shortly after my prior visit.

 

[Marshall Law]

guitarget

 

[romanianreaper]

Hahahaha, so you must be the guy who is sitting playing some nice blues/rock riffs and tasteful improv and gets pissed when a kid like me walks in and starts crunching some modern metal riffs and original tracks I've written. Now don't get me wrong, I don't play KORN or any shit like that, but it happens almost every time. I don't mean anything by it, but there is always that guy sitting over by a combo amp that is giving me dirty looks just for breathing there. It's funny that I should read an experience that speaks from the opposite point of view

LOL! No, believe it or not I'm older but still jam on heavy riffs. I'm not the guy playing blues in the corner.

I think I may have misled you a bit. When I say chugging on a KORN song, I mean a kid chugging on the same note, on the same fret for 15 minutes straight. Imagine someone playing the beginning of "Cowboys from Hell" but staying on the open E the entire time. I actually don't mind listening to different people. I just want some talent from time to time.

 

[droptrd]

There are many in the chicago area and only 3 are any good. Halsted is OK. Villa Park and Arlington Heights are great for used gear and new stuff. Now that I moved out of chiacgo and into the sticks I dont get over there that much.

 

[bravedude2]

i had a good chuckle at sam ash about a week ago, i went looking for a pair of string trees. and was asked if i needed help, i answered " i'm looking for string tree" for what kinda of guitar was the response i got. poor guy had no idea what i was talking about. so i pointed on out on a nearby strat. "oh we can order one for you". if i had a small screw driver i would have one right now! just had to share that one. p.s he was as nice as could be though.

 

[JakeAC5253]

i had a good chuckle at sam ash about a week ago, i went looking for a pair of string trees. and was asked if i needed help, i answered " i'm looking for string tree" for what kinda of guitar was the response i got. poor guy had no idea what i was talking about. so i pointed on out on a nearby strat. "oh we can order one for you". if i had a small screw driver i would have one right now! just had to share that one. p.s he was as nice as could be though.

LOL, don't get trees from them. Buy them from Graphtech.com even if they are gaudy and plastic looking. At least it'll perform its function as a string tree without causing hangups and tuning problems and you won't have to worry about rusting. At least that's how I see it.

 

[tom_h]

i had a good chuckle at sam ash about a week ago, i went looking for a pair of string trees. and was asked if i needed help, i answered " i'm looking for string tree" for what kinda of guitar was the response i got. poor guy had no idea what i was talking about. so i pointed on out on a nearby strat. "oh we can order one for you". if i had a small screw driver i would have one right now! just had to share that one. p.s he was as nice as could be though.

I had a similar experience at SA recently. I was looking for a DiMarzio ProTrack. I figured I'd check to see if I could find one in stock locally. I stopped by SA, and they had 1 DiMarzio Rail-style pickup in their case. I told the guy what I was looking for and asked him to see the pickup they had. Turns out the model name was covered by their SKU label... which read "DIMA DP182" (Which is a Fast Track 2). The guy looked at me and said "DIMA... Oh, This is Dimebag's pickup! Yeah man, is this what you're looking for?" I replied as nicely as I could: "DIMA is short for DiMarzio. It's not Dimebag's pickup and it isn't what I'm looking for. Thank you for your time" and I walked out. In hindsight, I was probably rude to the kid, which I didn't mean to be...

 

[threadkiller]

Guitar center serves its purpose and I'm glad it's there. Wide variety (mostly shit or course), extended hours over most neighborhood stores, and a pretty good return policy. I use them for what they do well. I know what I want before I get there. I call ahead to make sure they have it in stock. I go in, I buy and I leave. I usually sneak a peak at the used gear to see if anything grabs my attention. I don't even look at the new stock for the most part. I pretty much never buy anything major such as a guitar or amp. Usually accessories like strings, stands, cables, etc. If I can get it at a local store I do, but need an XLR cable Saturday at 8 oclock, guitar center. Need something on Sunday, guitar center. Need a pretty generic piece of mass produced gear that might not be immediately available elsewhere like a direct box or something, guitar center. I don't go in there for a knowledgable sales staff or to try to figure out what I want. I know what I'm looking for before I hit the door. If I actually need a professional to help me with gear that I care deeply about I go to a real music store. I try to give as much of my business as possible to local shops but GC comes in handy sometimes. I basically try to stay out of there.

By the way, I hear that the sales staff are payed poorly and treated like crap. Might explain some of their behavior.

 

[thiswaythatway]

One thing that annoys the piss out of me in GC is no matter what amp you plug into, some GC salesman walks by with the same BS everytime, " oh that amp is sick dude" And it could be a solid state Gorilla amp for all they care. And yes, the amount of cool gear finds in GC is pretty rare, i don't think they have room for any cool used gear with all the Line 6 crap boxes talking up all the space.