Guitar Center - your opinion?

[J Moose]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

I got Slickwater & GuiTarget into a bidding war over the DAW rig I bought two years ago...

Slickwater bowed out when things got (I guess) real close to the bone. I doubt GC made ANY money on my deal. They were going back & forth like it was a tennis match!

hehehehehe

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

Long & McQuade is basically the Canadian Guitar Center... I'll never forget how mad my friend got when they still had all the strings behind the counter and he had to ask the sales guy to get him a 7-string set, only to have the guy argue with him for 15 minutes that guitars only have 6 strings. He tried explaining it every possible way but still couldn't get the guy to look for them.

Each L&M is different, and each department within a single L&M can be different as well.

The staff at the Calgary store is excellent. Vancouver store is good too, except for the PA rental dept. (they put their dumbest guys there I think). When I lived in Ottawa, I HATED their L&M ... the staff was always rude and lied half the time, plus the store was a dump.

On average, I think L&M is better than most music stores. The independent stores here are either staffed by brain-dead stoners, or have crap selection, or both.

 

[Mephis]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

What do you guys think of Guitar Center and their website www.musiciansfriend.com ? Do you shop there? What do you like about it or not like about it? Do you think the company has a good future?

Thanks

Due to personal experences and even getting an interview at a guitar center I have to say they're the scummiest place on the planet. Hahaha they thought my knowlage of guitar equipment was worthless, and that I should be more concerned with bull****ing the customer.

I have bought from them, but I NEVER will again if I can avoid it.

All of their guitars have like 2 inch high action too... Even their $2000 gibsons, complete joke.

The only time I buy from them is when I'm pretty well screwing them over on something.

 

[FenderBender03]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

I'll always buy guitars and amps from an actual store. We just got a new Guitar Center here last fall and in December '06 i bought my new Telecaster there and was treated really well.

But as far as any parts, accessories, and bits & pieces go, i'll order that stuff from Musician's Friend.




FenderBender

 

[RavenMadd]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

one I used to work in Mannys in nyc (class)....(guitar center of hell):firedevil .........I do not like to shop in places with hard sells or never having the item advertised

 

[_Guitarzan_]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

I try not to shop at "GuiTarget". I support local merchants as much as possible.

 

[heymcz]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

My experiences:

MF: Sometimes sells broken, tried pedals, poorly packed. Good for cables, connectors, string, though. Would not buy anything of consequence unless absolutely necessary.

GC (East Brunswick): Got some great deals, and they WILL deal if you buy enough stuff to establish a relationship...great for trying out low-to-midrange gear (Schecter, MXR, EHX). Far, far better than Sam Ash. You do need to know what you're looking for. I got an $800 amp on clearance for $349, and they let me return an entire freakin' drum kit! But they forgot to place my Gibson LP order for 2 months (they turned around and gave me a free phaser....) They're convenient. And things that they keep behind the counter are in great shape.

American Musical Supply (http://www.americanmusical.com) My online goto, unless I need something specific, or want vintage pedals from eBay. Keepin' it in Joisey, yo....

Mom-'n'-Pops: you can get reamed if you're not careful. One place sold my father a standard set of Martin acoustic strings for about $20. Is that keepin' it real?

Local semi-chain ("Dave Phillips") in Easton area. Friendly, mostly knowledgable...though everytime I talk pickups they go, "So you're putting a JB in there, right?" And cheap, must mention, cheap...but I went to one of their satellite stores and I was not pleased by the uptight experience.

So I think, when you get down to it, each store has an individual culture. You can't go by GC vs. SA vs. M 'n' P, you have to know what each store is like in terms of the people who work there, are they nice, flexible, etc., Generally, you really need to do your own research--that's the beauty of Harmony-Central, this forum, and even the product reviews at MF (sometimes) because nobody cares as much as you do, especially in the $7 an hour ballpark. They're not doctors, they're not paid to know what's wrong with your tone, only to suggest items that can be sold or ordered. You have to be realistic about what these stores are and what they're best at. I shop for appliances at Target, but I'd rather not buy clothes there.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

I started my own company partly so that I could skip as many middle-men as possible, so all my accessory needs I supply myself.

I buy only used guitars, so Ebay is my store. The locals, chain, Mn'P or otherwise rarely have anything I want/need at a price I'm willing to pay. I have absorbed more information than pretty much all the people at all the stores combined and I do all my research before I go looking for something. I learned long ago that the sales people at any given store either don't know anythng or don't care about anything. Even when I worked in a store and was asked my opinion, the adivce was rarely taken, but often the customer would come back several months later to say that they should have taken it...

People are too concerned with cheaper to be understand that cheaper doesn't equal better value.
As for GC, MF or L&M... I visit GC when I'm in the States, because you never know what you'll find... I get MF's catalogue and e-mails but I never buy anything.

I go to L&M to look at the used stuff and buy the odd Gibson part if I need it for a repair, but other than that...

 

[BGtelecaster]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

I used to hate GC for all the reasons stated but it is the music store of the future. Just like Walmart is kicking out a lot of local business, GC and similar are doing the same thing. You cant stop it, its going to happen. It sucks but they have a good business plan and the big box stores will destory the competition.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

Ain't necessarily so. Mom and Pops can beat the big boxes, they just have to think in terms of what they can do that the big boys can't.

Check out Center City Music in San Diego. They were a "Gibson superstore" long before Gibson was forcing stores to carry really high amounts of their inventory. You can't beat Saul's service or his willingness to wheel and deal, and as if that weren't enough, you really can't get a better deal on a Gibson anywhere, big box or not. His guitars are always in primo shape, and they're consistently the cream of the crop.

I'm not sure how he beats GC and SA and everybody price-wise, but even if he was asking for a little more, his selection and service blows them away. I'd rather buy a Gibson at CC Music than anywhere else -- and he's a 150 miles away from me.

That's the key for the little guy, selection and especially service. Give the customer something they want and can't get at the big box and they'll keep coming back. If not, what's the point of going to a mom-n-pop to begin with if they're just going to be a miniature GC with less selection and higher prices?

 

[pinto79]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

If I was in the market for an up-scale Ibanez I would deal with a place like IbanezRules. He says flat out that he doesn't negotiate or price match. Everything he sells is gone over with a fine toothed comb and totally rebuilt.

He sells Instruments. Not the schlock that most stores carry.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

If I was in the market for an up-scale Ibanez I would deal with a place like IbanezRules. He says flat out that he doesn't negotiate or price match. Everything he sells is gone over with a fine toothed comb and totally rebuilt.

He sells Instruments. Not the schlock that most stores carry.

Good illustration. Rather than blubbering in his beer about the prices at GC he can't match, this guy has apparently found a niche, something he can do that GC can't, and he's making it work. Sort of an Ibanez version of Saul at Center City. Sure he charges more, but you GET more (except that Saul doesn't even charge more -- and no, I don't work for him.) The little guy has advantages in maneuverability and agility, can change directions or implement new strategies or tactics on a dime, something the big box takes months or years to do, and which almost always ends up being a watered down version of the original vision anyway.

Specialization like with this Ibanez guy is a great example, made all the more viable by the internet age. THAT is the kind of thinking that will allow you to compete against the big box, ladies and gents, not trying to ban GC or Walmart.

 

[VTM Mike]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

That's the key for the little guy-find a niche. A good guitar tech, electronics guy, quality used gear, whatever the case may be. I went into a gc awile back and wanted to check out a B52 stack. The goof gives me a Gibson V that I could limbo under the strings on, I asked him if I was supposed to play it or shoot arrows with it. He just stood there dumbfounded. If you know your s..t and let them know it, they change their tune in there pretty quick. I'll buy from them if I can beat them up on price, but it's usually small stuff. I complained that not one guitar on the wall was playable and he told me they sell them so fast that they don't have time to set them up. Yeah, right.:irate:

 

[MattPete]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

My Experience:

I've had my eye on an Explorer and a V for a while. Both are new, but on closer inspection, both have electrical problems (nothing a soldering iron and possibly a new jack or pot won't fix).

I swear, everytime I want to check one out, there are two kids, with amps cranked, playing Epiphones. Poorly.

Maybe I need to start going early in the morning, or wait until school starts back up. Or I need to find a boutique place in the NoVA area that has some Gibsons -- not DC or Old Town Alexandria, as those are a pain in the ass to get to.

Or maybe I'll just say "screw it", and buy a guitar without playing it first from Ebay or Musicians Friend.

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Guitar Center - your opinion?

Well,

I have never had a problem with what I bought from Guitar Center, though I have had service problems on enquiries, from lame salesmen. [There loss not mine]

Only recently dicovered MF was part of them. No purchase experience though.