My first visit to a guitar centre .... oh dear

[Manxmusicman]

Hi all, long time lurcher here. I live on the Isle of Man and where our only shop selling guitar gear closed 12 months ago so I have to order everything and rely on YT videos and reviews. I’m currently on holiday in Florida and was in the market for a Marshall in a box style OD pedal and was looking forward to actually going to a proper guitar shop and trying out a few pedals.

Nearest shop to me is a guitar center, still a 30 minute drive but worth to actually try something out before I buying. Got to the shop to find a slender selection of OD pedals but I did see a Friedman Be-od, a keeley red dirt and a full tone ocd so I asked the assistant if I could give them a try. All good up to this point.

I was then amazed as the guy walked me over to their pedal station and plugged the pedals direct into a line 6 powered cab, clearly setup for the many modellers they had on display. I don’t claim to be anything more than a humble covers player but I know gear and was surprised but thought they might have the cab setup for this so gave it a go. As you can expect it was awful, when I asked if I could go through a proper amp the guy looked at me like I had three heads and then got his colleague over, explaining that he was about to go on lunch so his colleague would help. His colleague then explained that we’re all guitarists here so they understand why I was being fussy!!

Anyway, I got plugged into a fender 68 custom reverb (which I absolutely loved!) and tried the pedals with the Friedman coming out on top. It then took 30 minutes to try and find the box as apparently only the manager could open the ‘pedal cage’ but the manager was busy dealing with another issue. They didn’t end up finding the box.

Ultimately a very disappointing experience and left me wondering if all of my US amigos suffer the same thing from your local music stores and also wonder how hard can it be for a bunch of ‘guitarists’ to run a store given that they really should ‘get’ their customers.

On the plus side the be-od through the fender sounded epic. Fender was set clean, pedal set with the gain at 9, presence off and tight half way, barely needed to touch the eq.

 

[fek]

Unfortunately, that is par for the course at GC and has been for a long time. Everyone in the store seems to be busy all the time and it takes forever to get anything done.

 

[maddnotez]

Lol congrats. Yes music stores can be horrible.

For me where I am it is either guitar center, a small shop that has nothing you would want or a high end shop with snobbery.

 

[ClintN667]

Yeah we have 2 GC's here, a Sam Ash, and a boutique store. The Sam Ash has a great selection of pedals but basically a couple Orange, Blackstar, and Marshall origin amps.

The GC will have an occasional gem in the used section, typically a better selection of guitars, but their customer service freaking sucks.

The local boutique shop is loaded with Fenders, Suhrs, a few PRS, and a few other random boutique brands but nothing I would consider playing. The amp selection is all clean amps leaning more towards the fender type sound. It basically caters to the guys chasing the Jon Mayer sound or to boomer bankers. The price tag on everything is way out of my price range but the styles and types of gear doesnt even tempt me to begin with. I would love to see a Friedman, Bogner, or hell even a Splawn(which SHOULD be easy considering they are located 20 minutes away). Nope Suhr amps and Fender.

 

[Racerxrated]

I always say that if you stalk their used site long enough, you’ll find something cool for a great price. But for new gear to try, I have no clue as I always buy based on reviews and if I don’t like it, back it goes. I have a 65 Bassman on hold now. 600. Not a steal but low based on most others I see for sale.

 

[panhead]

Yeah we have 2 GC's here, a Sam Ash, and a boutique store. The Sam Ash has a great selection of pedals but basically a couple Orange, Blackstar, and Marshall origin amps.

The GC will have an occasional gem in the used section, typically a better selection of guitars, but their customer service freaking sucks.

The local boutique shop is loaded with Fenders, Suhrs, a few PRS, and a few other random boutique brands but nothing I would consider playing. The amp selection is all clean amps leaning more towards the fender type sound. It basically caters to the guys chasing the Jon Mayer sound or to boomer bankers. The price tag on everything is way out of my price range but the styles and types of gear doesnt even tempt me to begin with. I would love to see a Friedman, Bogner, or hell even a Splawn(which SHOULD be easy considering they are located 20 minutes away). Nope Suhr amps and Fender.

Are you old enough to remember Action Music/Big Al owner in Charlotte. Mostly used killer shit back then. I bought 3 100 watt jmp in a rack owned by the dude in Firehouse/ Bill L for $1200 man those were good days back then.

 

[gbsmusic]

You can learn so much more here than any music store

 

[shredhead7]

When they first came to my town around 2001, they were actually pretty good. It was helpful that I knew most of the guys working from the local scene, but they would let you try out pretty much everything. Starting around 07 with the market crash, it started to change. It's been at the point where I have known more about amps, pedals, and guitars than any of the staff.

 

[romanianreaper]

LOL, oh man you described many Guitar Center stores perfectly! Unfortunately, it can be frustrating walking into one of the stores. I drive an hour to one Guitar Center to avoid the other that is only 20 minutes from my house. Better service, better gear, more knowledgeable staff, etc. When I'm playing, and some guy walks up and says "So hey man, how's that guitar workin' out for ya", I just want the pain to stop. LOL

As mentioned though, you can find some good stuff from time to time and they'll work with you to bring stuff in. For me personally, a great Mom and Pop store with nice, talkative staff, just can't be beat. Such a great experience, talking about gear and knowing they want to make you happy.

 

[Zachman]

LOL, oh man you described many Guitar Center stores perfectly! Unfortunately, it can be frustrating walking into one of the stores. I drive an hour to one Guitar Center to avoid the other that is only 20 minutes from my house. Better service, better gear, more knowledgeable staff, etc. When I'm playing, and some guy walks up and says "So hey man, how's that guitar workin' out for ya", I just want the pain to stop. LOL

As mentioned though, you can find some good stuff from time to time and they'll work with you to bring stuff in. For me personally, a great Mom and Pop store with nice, talkative staff, just can't be beat. Such a great experience, talking about gear and knowing they want to make you happy.

Miss those days, when you'd come hang out and jam, and talk stories in the Shop.

 

[UltraGary]

Everyone claims to know that retail is dying, yet no one seems to understand why stores are thinly staffed. I vote to support GC whenever possible so they're not gone soon.
Signed~ A dude who ran record stores for over 20 years (remember those?)

 

[mixn4him]

Yeah we have 2 GC's here, a Sam Ash, and a boutique store. The Sam Ash has a great selection of pedals but basically a couple Orange, Blackstar, and Marshall origin amps.

The GC will have an occasional gem in the used section, typically a better selection of guitars, but their customer service freaking sucks.

The local boutique shop is loaded with Fenders, Suhrs, a few PRS, and a few other random boutique brands but nothing I would consider playing. The amp selection is all clean amps leaning more towards the fender type sound. It basically caters to the guys chasing the Jon Mayer sound or to boomer bankers. The price tag on everything is way out of my price range but the styles and types of gear doesnt even tempt me to begin with. I would love to see a Friedman, Bogner, or hell even a Splawn(which SHOULD be easy considering they are located 20 minutes away). Nope Suhr amps and Fender.

Are you old enough to remember Action Music/Big Al owner in Charlotte. Mostly used killer shit back then. I bought 3 100 watt jmp in a rack owned by the dude in Firehouse/ Bill L for $1200 man those were good days back then.

I worked at Reliable Music for 10yrs, it amazes me how bad it is around here..Big AL is the king of Golf lessons now and just recently starting playing in a band again..

 

[kurtsstuff2003]

I worked in music retail for about 30-35 years...brick and mortar stores are a thing of the past but...there is still a few good ones up and running..