Gibson CS Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I just got back from L&M Burlington... As I told Tim in a PM, I get tired of seeing young guys that you know have no intention of buying, sitting there playing a high end guitar. We get it guys....AC/DC! back in black. Belt buckles, cargo pants, bracelets, chains....all do a lovely number on the guitars finish. If I owned a guitar shop there would be some type of cloth or towel youd have to lay on your lap before you dare even sit down with a guitar....even better, a smock! I know the owners cant weed out whos buying and whos not, but in some cases its pretty obvious. I dont want to find a nice guitar that I fall in love with only to discover a 6 inch zipper scratch on the back. Go ahead guys...call me anal! lol =D> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I too find it anoying... so much people (not qualified a-holes actually) play a guitar at one of those big shops that i dont think they should qualify as "new". Shops should keep expensive guitars where everyone can see them but noone can play them. And the cheap ones? they should be there for testing purposes only, and the minute you say you are buying them, they should go to the back and bring you a new really unused one. Thats' why im gonna start making my own damn guitars... hehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGod319 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I just got back from L&M Burlington...As I told Tim in a PM' date=' I get tired of seeing young guys that you know have no intention of buying, sitting there playing a high end guitar. We get it guys....AC/DC! back in black. Belt buckles, cargo pants, bracelets, chains....all do a lovely number on the guitars finish. If I owned a guitar shop there would be some type of cloth or towel youd have to lay on your lap before you dare even sit down with a guitar....even better, a smock! I know the owners cant weed out whos buying and whos not, but in some cases its pretty obvious. I dont want to find a nice guitar that I fall in love with only to discover a 6 inch zipper scratch on the back. Go ahead guys...call me anal! lol [/quote'] i play gibsons in stores,because im deciding on what one to save up for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibis Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 You gotta reconcile those "I wouldn't buy a guitar I hadn't played" comments with "I want an unplayed one"! If all guitars are different, then you must allow people to find the right guitar by playing it. The only time I'd want an 'unplayed' one was if I was buying mail order from a shop that I knew 'drop shipped' or at most set up before shipping. I bought a beautiful Hamer Studio Custom at near cost price because it had been played in the shop and the owner felt he couldn't advertise it as 'unplayed' or mint. When it arrived, it was perfect! I guess the paranoia about feint scratches worked in my favour! That said, yes shop owners should be very careful who plays their unsold guitars and what they are wearing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy503 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I just got back from L&M Burlington...As I told Tim in a PM' date=' I get tired of seeing young guys that you know have no intention of buying, sitting there playing a high end guitar. We get it guys....AC/DC! back in black. Belt buckles, cargo pants, bracelets, chains....all do a lovely number on the guitars finish. If I owned a guitar shop there would be some type of cloth or towel youd have to lay on your lap before you dare even sit down with a guitar....even better, a smock! I know the owners cant weed out whos buying and whos not, but in some cases its pretty obvious. I dont want to find a nice guitar that I fall in love with only to discover a 6 inch zipper scratch on the back. Go ahead guys...call me anal! lol [/quote'] I hear ya.... Before I strap on my guitars I always be sure to either take my belt off or spin the buckle to the left side of my waist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibis Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I hear ya.... Before I strap on my guitars I always be sure to either take my belt off or spin the buckle to the left side of my waist. Anyone else here always wear their belt buckled to the left of the first loop in their jeans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I'm the same, I hate it. It's why a lot of Americans dislike GC. L & M's the same, I find. If I'm gonna spend a small fortune on a guitar, it has to come out of the box...or close to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 You gotta reconcile those "I wouldn't buy a guitar I hadn't played" comments with "I want an unplayed one"! That was my ponit... sort of... Those idiots that damage nice guitars (regardless of thir price), just go and play wathever they can find, if they buy, they buy regardless of who and how has played the guitar in the store... so for them, the guitar is new, because it has never been sold.. they just go and play and scratch a nice 3k gibson or a new 100 squier because they dont care and they dont know (**** the store, right brats?). For me the guitar is new if it hasnt been sold AND has been played only by qualified players and under the surveliance of the store attendant (i know those guys are even less qualified to handle equipment than the brats damaging it, but...). If i wnet shopping and found one of you guys playing the guitar i want, with respect for her and treating her right, i wouldnt mind buying her and paying for her "new", but i wouldnt ever pay as new for a guitar that has been hanging on display and played by who knows what kind of person. Does that make any sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
led floyd9 Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 At my local store, ALL of the guitars have a sign on them that says "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH", and I assume it's because of the reason you just posted. All of the guitars they sell are only the models hanging in the store. (none are in the back, or anything) It's good to have that "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH" sign on them because that way, all of their guitars are kept in perfect condition. Since the store is small, the employees can keep an eye on everyone who looks at the guitars, so you have to ask an employee before you play a guitar, and then stand right next to you, while you're playing it. The best part is, the employees like Gibsons alot, so they don't like people playing too roughly with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonicchaos Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 while i'm a teenager (14 too) i always use the utmost care when playing a guitar in a store. the people in the guitar stores have seen me a few times and know that i'm really careful - that's why they let me play their top-end guitars with no problems. that is one of the many things i really don't like about guitar walmart - they always have some punks beating the crap out of thousands and thousands of dollars worth of guitars at the highest volumes the amps can go to. you can't hear yourself think let alone play! they worst part is their employees do the same thing. the manager even does it. when i got my vm i brought in a flyer advertising a 50 dollar lower price. they say in their policy that they will match any price guaranteed but i had to show them their policy on a receipt from a previous purchase for them to even acknowledge it existed. they finally gave me that price but not without a little fight on my part. (and keep in mind that i'm dealing with the manager). okay so i finally got my guitar. everythings good right? nope i'm not that lucky. when i brought the guitar home it was defective. the guitar would make no sound when plugged in and i had tried it at the store. i returned it and it turned out that the cable that they had thrown in had broken the jack of the guitar. so to make a long story short - i ended up going to the store 3 times in one day (and i live a good 20 minutes away). and the guitar that they finally gave me was a display model (it was the last vm that they would get in for a few weeks they said) and when i examined it when i got home it had dents and scratches all over it. i would've taken it back for a mint one but i didn't want to bother my mom for a 4th time and i was excited about getting my first guitar. so i really got screwed. i paid for a guitar worth about 100 dollars less than what i paid for it. okay sorry about the rant but this is something that really bothers me because i've experienced the affects. another thing i thought was amazing is the other day i was in best buy and i was trying to get one of their mp3 players to work because i wanted to see what is was like and it would't work. i noticed that quite a few of their other mp3 players wouldn't work also (mostly the really high end ones) so i asked one of the salesmen why they wouldn't work and he said that kids come in all the time and try to break them. they seem to be doing a pretty good job at it also! i didn't believe him at first because i couldn't believe it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 i wont buy anything that has been touched unless i get a good discount. if i order something brand new and it sucks or is defective, it's going back. and i will never buy anything from GC that costs more than 20 dollars. Worst store. Ever. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 while i'm a teenager (14 too) i always use the utmost care when playing a guitar in a store. the people in the guitar stores have seen me a few times and... what are you doing here kid? isnt it past your bedtime? hehehe just kiddin' ... nice to see you are a smart one and know how to trear nice guitars. there should be more like you' date=' most of the people twice your age i see in stores arent as educated as you when it comes to handling expensive (or not) equipment. that is one of the many things i really don't like about guitar walmart - they always have some punks beating the crap out of thousands and thousands of dollars worth of guitars at the highest volumes the amps can go to. you can't hear yourself think let alone play! they worst part is their employees do the same thing. the manager even does it. yes, i hate this too, its a shame those poeple are majority and are the ones that make this stores as big as they are, you know, millions of idiots buying kazoos and strings vs some hundreds buying expensive guitars. I really think a private room for expensive guitar test driving would be a huge improvement... one of the local stores here (the one i go to) has one... i only buy from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Yeah. GC is kinda the opposite of "don't touch". When I went in there to check out and eventually by my VOX AD50VT, the guy asked me what I played so he could get me a similar guiater. I told him a Gibson LP, but I said an Epi would be fine because I didn't feel the need to take a chance banging up a Gibson. He brings me one of those 3K VOS LPs! Go figure? To be honest, it was a nice axe, but I didn't find that it played any better than my Studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlekenny Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 unfortunately for me there is only two music stores that sells guitars in my area, two of which are guitar centers and the other is a small private company but they dont have gibsons. One of the Guitar Centers is in a pretty small town so there may only be around 10 customers in there at a time compared to the other GC which probabley has around 50. The people at the smaller guitar center are a lot more personal and smarter for that matter, the keep all the high end guitars in the back or on the wall at the very top also, most of the amps they have out are hooked up to headphones so you can hear yourself without having to compete with mr. tone-deaf down the aisle banging on a 150 watt marshall. I'm also 14 and the people there know me because ive bought my first guitar of any kind and first electric from there and i go there somewhat regularly for the last 2+ years so they trust me but ive seen them tell people to leave just because they dont have any respect for the staff, guitars or any other equipment. All in all, for me guitar center isnt that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson CS Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Im curious to go into a GC... Wheres the closest one to Niagara Falls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out_Of_Control Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I like to buy from Musicians Friend. I get to be the first to open the factory box. That's a pretty good feeling and the smell of a freshly popped guitar is heaven. I did buy a Slash at GC, it was still in the box. Got to be the first to pop it. Gotta love it man! I don't pay full price unless I get to Pop It! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlekenny Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Im curious to go into a GC...Wheres the closest one to Niagara Falls? i'm pretty sure there only in america Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 It is a shame to see so many high-end guitars with dings and scratches, but I'll tell you I have been in stores and have seen not just teens mishandling instruments, but people of all different ages. It's seems to just be a general disregard for something that doesn't belong to them. That's why I don't mind dealers who keep higher end guitars behind counters and not out on the sales floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaresz Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I couldn't agree more! I fell in love with a LP GT at the local Guitar Center only to find it completely beat up. Not to sound too corny, but it breaks my heart seeing how people treat others property. The guitar shop I visit is a high end place, and they keep the items surrounded by velvet covered ropes 3-4 feet away. If you wanna see something the manager has to hand it to you. The place is filled with leather couches and persian rugs, and a true luthier on the premises. You pay more that the local GC, and it's worth every penny! I would pay hunderds extra to see these types of places succeed, rather than the guitar wal-marts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 me too man... those are the shops that really matter and shouldnt get out of bussiness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Martin Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 At our local Guitar Center, just about anything over the price of an SG Standard is above your head hanging on the wall. Every damn kid in the place desecrates any guitar within reach, so at least GC is trying to make an effort. On the flipside though, a friend of mine who plays guitar and is in his mid thirties went in there and wanted to play a LP Custom, fairly high up on the wall. Obviously he needed an employee to get it down, and they outright refused. He said "what if I paid cash, right here, right now" and they still refused. He walked out. He wasn't some punk kid, and it's not as if he didn't look like a serious musician. Bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 On winter time it's the people who don't remove their coats with zippers, or those with belt buckles that don't take care to keep the back of the guitar off the buckle. I've been to a few store that hand out smocks you have to wear if you want to play a guitar. The results from what I have seen have been excellent. Their inventory always looks new with no signs of wear or damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson CS Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Ian... They refused to take it down? Thats a whole new issue. I wouldnt be a happy camper if I were in his shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I see plenty of people my age who are careless with guitars as well so I wouldn't go blaming just the young players. (by the way, I'm 41). Personally, I wouldn't let a little wear on the back of a guitar stop me from buying it; in fact, I'd use it as a bargaining point. I know a good number of you guys tend to worship your guitars, put them on display and clean them with only the finest vintage chamois woven by virgins, but they're just guitars. If you play them, they're going to get some wear on them and that's all there is to it. If you find a guitar with some marks on the back that is otherwise a good instrument, get over the bit of wear located where nobody is going to see it except you and tell the sales guy you want a better price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sycephant Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 I always take off my belt buckle and unzip my pants before playing any guitar....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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