Fed up with Guitar Center

[MusicManJP6]

I just moved to Greenville, SC and went to check out the local GC. I was excited that I was so close to one of these stores! Well, I get there and there are NO Mesa amps except a used Rectoverb combo. NO Ernie Ball guitars and only a few PRS guitars. It was filled with Fender, Marshall, Line 6, VOX, Peavey, etc, etc - mostly the cheaper lines for the beginner guitarists.

The icing on the disappointment cake was just today when I spent half my lunch break driving over there thinking, "surely they have some preamp tubes in stock". Not so. They don't have a single 12ax7 or ANY tubes for that matter! WTF?!

/end rant

 

[Elpelotero]

ouch...

I can't say my GC is that bad, but it's not as good as some others I hear of. Luckily the audio salesman is also my recording engineer and he hooks me up. I see good products in there, but never the top of the top quality line.

 

[bigpine]

That was a allright store when it first opened but after a year or so it went down hill pretty quickly. Thanks to GC several shops in Greenville closed shortly after they came to town.

 

[MusicManJP6]

There's a place called Eastside guitars that I may call tomorrow and see if they have any preamp tubes. It's a shame that GUITAR CENTER has rows of (crappy) amps but can't carry one 12ax7 for the real players that know tubes are the way to go... sheesh.

 

[Griz]

I'm sure there are some good Guitar Centers somewhere. The ones here remind me of WalMart minus all of WalMart's good attributes. I honestly don't know how a good music store stays in business anymore. I try to support one [Eddie's] but between GC and eBay and Craigslist and now Best Buy is giving it a go? Whats up with that?

 

[MusicManJP6]

The local music store where I grew up in Johnson City, TN is awesome. They are a Mesa dealer and keep several tubes in stock. I ordered all three of my Ernie Ball guitars from them (one of which I've since sold). I know what you mean though - it's a wonder how they can still do business with all the other (usually cheaper) alternatives.

 

[TemporarilyStairs]

GC, as a rule, sucks. Welcome to reality ;P

There's some stores that are somewhat decent though. Having driven around half the country and been to a lot of GCs, I've learned that they're fairly hit or miss, but even the 'hits' kinda suck, and even if you found one with a great, friendly, helpful staff and great selection... well, it's still Guitar Center. Don't expect miracles. It's a great resource for certain things (particularly because mom-and-pop places are a crapshoot and don't always show up on the GPS as 'points of interest') and if you haven't walked into a GC while drunk, grabbed a Daisy-Rock guitar, plugged into a Triple Rec, cranked it, and shredded your nuts off, you really haven't lived. That's about all they're really good for.

I'm kinda surprised though, not a single preamp tube? I haven't checked in a while but I do remember my local GC carrying at least a cursory variety of pre/power tubes. (TWO WHOLE VARIETIES of 12ax7, iirc.) That's amazingly lame, but I guess it makes sense... y'know, why take up warehouse space with fragile, low-profit-margin valves when you make the bulk of your living through non-musicians and impulse buys?

 

[t0aj15]

WalMart's good attributes.

That is a classic oxymoron if I've ever heard one. :roll:

 

[Griz]

WalMart's good attributes.

That is a classic oxymoron if I've ever heard one. :roll:

WalMart has at least one redeeming quality; keeps the riff-raff off the street and gathered in one location. :mrgreen:

And if you can't find 'em there, check your local GC. :lol:

 

[jdurso]

There are some good GCs out there. GC Hollywood had a great selection, the GC in SF was cool, the GC in Phoenix is pretty good as well as GC Memphis. When I say good i'm talking selection and high end gear. Actually (and this has more to do with the personel), the GCs in East brunswick and Springfield NJ are pretty **** good. Always have a nice stock of boogies, PRSI, Les Pauls and plenty of tubes (both pre and power) which is all i need. I have visited many many (too many) GCs in my travels for work and I will say unless they're near a major city or a highly developed suburb they are pretty much crap in terms of selection and high end stuff. I will so though most mom and pop shops suck just as much because they're more or less hit or miss and make their money off of doing lessons. There are however a select amount of private (mom and pop to some) shops that are what all shops should be... Bass Exchange, Manny's in NYC, Russo's Music Center, Victor's House of Music, etc... but those shops exist on a whole different level than your run of the mill mom and pop shop.

 

[6L6C]

The first GC on Long Island was in Carle Place and did not open till 1998 and they started off pretty strong, giving Sam Ash a run for the money right off the bat. Pretty good selection, bottom line better than Ash. Then a few years later they opened another in Commack Long Island. That store was slightly larger with a great selection, fair amount of Boogie and Gibson.

But they really have slipped as far as I'm concerned and they rarely have anything in stock, 12AX7 no you wont find one there. However if you want a Fender Squire or a Line 6 Spider, that you can get!

On the upside Sam Ash has become a bit better, for a while I was avoiding them. But over the past 6 month's have been shopping there again, I was really happy to see some Keeley pedals in there showcase (Yes I got a compressor)

A few weeks ago I was out and had pasted what use to be GC in Carle Place but to my surprise it was gone, not moved just history was surprised cause the place was always pretty crowded.

 

[cvansickle]

I've been in that Greenville GC a couple of times. It's pretty worthless, IMO. The Haymes Music up the road in Gaffney is much better.

Also, there's a Hooters just a few blocks away from the Greenville GC. That's a much better place to spend your lunch break!

 

[MusicManJP6]

Also, there's a Hooters just a few blocks away from the Greenville GC. That's a much better place to spend your lunch break!

Agreed!

I've not been to Haymes yet... I may go to the factory outlets and Haymes one weekend though.

 

[ketiov]

I only buy strings at GC now.

The thing that annoys me most about the GC I go to is that THEY NEVER HAVE ANYTHING NEW. For 3 years they've had the same stuff.

 

[clutch71]

While the selection is hit in miss across the country, it's the incompotent "sales" people that annoy me. Two of my favorites...

Columbus
Me - "Do you have any TSL60 w heads in stock?"
"Sales" person - "I don't think they made those?"
Oddly enough they were behind me, he was facing them, I just didn't see them when I walked in.

Des Moines - Used 4x12 Straight rectifier Cab with "custom" speakers.
Me- "Hey, What's that loaded with?"
'Sales" person - "Something by Eminence. They don't sound mushy like a vintage 30."
Now I know tone is suggestive but I prefer vintage 30's and have never found them mushy.

 

[AustinK]

Guitar center is full of morons.

Case in point.

I go in to buy 2 sets of strings. My total comes out to around 8 bucks. I give the clerk a 20. He hands me back the 20. Then he proceeds to give me the strings and a receipt. He then give me 12 dollars in change.

Twelve dollars and free strings. That is my local guitar center.

 

[cvansickle]

I go in to buy 2 sets of strings. My total comes out to around 8 bucks. I give the clerk a 20. He hands me back the 20. Then he proceeds to give me the strings and a receipt. He then give me 12 dollars in change.

"This is your brain on drugs..."

 

[MusicManJP6]

Wow, they have to pay you to shop there!!

One time I went there and there were like 3 guys in the accessories and i was asking for some strings. They asked what guitar I played and I said, "ernie ball", and at the same time two of the three said, "no, guitar", :shock: so I said, "ernie ball", again shaking my head for emphasis. There was a pause and then the third guy said, "yeah, ernie ball music man". Then they were all like, "oh ok"! :roll:

Now, granted they don't sell any EB stuff, but they kinda talked down to me as if they are all knowing and i'm some kid that plays an Epi SG or something.

The last time I went I actually had a decent experience though. one of the more knowledgable and laid back guys (doesn't run his mouth about gear 24/7 to his coworkers despite customers waiting in line) got me setup to play a JS series Ibanez through a Mesa 5:50 (all used gear mind you). Anyway, it was cool to hear and play both because i'd never had the chance. That is what GC is supposed to be like, but you can't win them all...

 

[Turumbar82]

I agree that the sales people for the most part don't know what they are doing. The Guitar Center in West Palm Beach always had mesa in stock and like someone said, stuff was there forever. I lived there for a year and everytime I went there I played on the same Triaxis in the same spot over top of a line 6 pod xt pro in their rack stuff.

I have dealt with "mom and pop" places that I didn't like either. Lynchburg Music in Lynchburg Virginia are a bunch of crooks. I had a Russian made EH Small stone. They are like 50 bucks brand new and mine was old. I traded it at a pawn store in Lynchburg. A couple of months later I walk into Lynchburg Music and see my old phasor there. I could tell because there were some distinct scratches on it.

They were selling it for $140 dollars!!!! I asked them why and they said it was an original vintage one. (I happened to have one of those too at the time)

I tried to tell them it was my old phasor and brand new they cost under 60 dollars and the sales guy got mad at me.

My buddy recently told me of a mesa dealer (small local place) that he went to and he was trying out a Roadster and the sales guy was helping out and my friend asked him if the rectifier was switch to solidstate from tube and the guy got offended and started to argue with him saying there was nothing solid state on the amp and it was completely tube. My friend explained to him the difference between a silicon diode and a tube rectifier and he still insisted it didn't have anything like that in it.

I think there are a lot of stores that have idiots working there.

It's got me to the point where I think I should start my own store and make sure I have intelligent staff

 

[rocksalt7]

I guess I've been lucky here in Dallas. The GC in North Dallas has a couple of pretty good people in it. I just don't talk to any body else, it's a waste of my time usually. Some of the other GC's around here are as you all have said, just a total waste of space. It seems like we all have our stories to tell....