NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I almost bought a guitar today from Guitar Center. No kidding, as much bullsh!t as I've seen with those guys over the last 20 years, I almost bought one today. I stopped in to pick up a couple loudspeaker cables for my Marshall on the way home from town. I don’t mind buying the occasional accessory there if they have what I want and the price is decent. So I said hello to Eddie (the only guy I really care to talk to there) and looked on the wall behind the counter. They got some new American Strats as I could see behind him, that’s about all they had worth noting, he said. Wow. All of them had hang tags in the 1700-1800 dollar range. For a new Strat? Eddie says “Yeah, we got another price increase from Fender…” as I’m searching the wall for anything to look at. Nothing. Damned sure not with prices like THAT. So I head over to their small “Platinum Room” to see what they’ve done with their Gibsons lately. They have maybe a dozen Gibson SGs and Les Pauls total in the store. I see that the Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro has a satin finished back – I did not know that. Gotta get the Traditional PLUS to get gloss paint all over like Ted McCarty intended. What the hell is Gibson thinking for that kind of money? Then I see an SG Classic with P-90s.... Hey, that looks pretty sharp. I sold one a couple years ago, kick myself in the *** for doing it. It’s cherry, looks pretty good except for a few scratches on the pickguard – I’m okay with that. The hang tag says it’s a clearance item. List price is $1538, the hang tag has it at $799. That seems like an okay price, especially if it has a factory hard case like my old one did. Maybe I’ll see if they wanna deal a little. I gave $700 for the one I had, made a few bucks on it so that’s the only reason I sold it. So I move along, seeing what else might be in competition for a pocketful of hunnerd dollar bills. Nothing in the Fender line. Nothing on the used rack. I walk through the acoustic room, and don’t see anything in there that would be a smokin’ clearance deal. So I walk back to the SG Classic to grab it off the wall and look it over. If it’s clean enough, I might go plug it in and see how it acts. No dings in the finish, only light swirls here and there, neck is smooth. Almost as an afterthought, I look at the back of the headstock – it is a Gibson ya know… It has the NASTIEST headstock repair I’ve ever seen on a Gibson! I mean, it was broken along several different grain lines and jagged as hell. Okay, so it’s glued back in place, but WHAT THE FxCK? $800 dollars is their idea of a clearance price on a guitar with a broken headstock? Oh my God.... Anybody else still wanna buy anything from those d!ck heads? Oh, and I haven’t even bought the speaker cables yet. That’s another story. Cash purchase locks up their computer.... Cash sale at Guitar Center - try it! :D/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Some people NEVER learn..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Amazing, Almost exactly the same thing happened to me a couple years ago, but it was a Worn Brown 335. Not a big fan of Worn stuff, but it looked pretty good on that 335, and The tag was only $800. Figuring I "shouldn't but will" drop $800 on a guitar I wasn't planning on getting I picked it up to give it the once over. On the neck, near the Head Stock, was a disgusting Black Smudge about the size of a fist where it was repaired. They didn't even try to match the finish. The sales rep said, "Yeah, that baby's a steal for 800. A real Gibson for less than a grand, and it's been professionally repaired". "Yeah, that would be no," was my reply. I mean really, what are they trying to pass off on us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowdiddley Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I ALMOST thought you were going to be satisfied with GC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 A broken, and then poorly-repaired headstock? That's all? ...I take it that you've probably never heard of "Road Worn"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 A broken' date=' and then poorly-repaired headstock? That's all? ...I take it that you've probably never heard of "Road Worn"? LOL Road Worn is one thing. Guitar Center Sales Floor Worn is another story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Yeah, it wasn't "worn" at all and it had never been anywhere near a road. Eddie told me it was dropped in the showroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 once at GC i saw a clearance satin 335 marked at $1499 (from $1999). it had a neck crack that had NOT been repaired. i'm pretty sure the string tension was holding the headstock in place. now that was a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Yeah' date=' it wasn't "worn" at all and it had never been anywhere near a road.Eddie told me it was dropped in the showroom. [/quote'] Just call it a "Guitar Center Exclusive." I'm sure you could justify the purchase then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I only would buy used guitar from GC. When these guys get a guitar company that doesnt have that much info they either put it for nothing or to much. Most of the time its to much but once in a while ill see a cheap unknow brand guitar that sounds awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 If you wanted to buy a Gibson and GC was the only authorized Gibson dealer within 160 miles, just how would you go about making that purchase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 i would order from saul and trust his judgment if i wanted a new one. sweetwater maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep59 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Why did you walk in there if you already hated GC so much? You should have read the sign that is posted right when you walk in: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Ha I knew Neo wouldn't buy anything important from them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 No, I might.... The bastards just won't let me! [angry] [angry] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 If you wanted to buy a Gibson and GC was the only authorized Gibson dealer within 160 miles' date=' just how would you go about making that purchase?[/quote']Go to Guitar Center first. Doesn't hurt to look. If you can't make a deal without some sort of involuntary sex acts being involved, drive 160 miles. I live way west of Phoenix. My favorite store is 50 miles away, amp guy is nearly 60, and my guitar guy is 70. I just make a day trip out of it. And your GC needs to know your Plan B involves driving those 160 miles without giving it a second thought... :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverbursted Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 OMG Neo, when I read that you made this posting, I had to open it up. But you did not fail me. You must have been bored. So this is their idea of a clearance guitar huh? With damage like that, they should pop all the electronics and hardware out and use the rest for kindling. I must confess though, I brought in a couple of my guitars into the Scottsdale GC for "set-up". The tech they have doing the guitar work (Adam) is squared away, and is very talented. He did an amazing job on them, so I brought in my R7 for setup and PuP replacement (Wolftone Marshalheads) that I wanted coil-tapped. Again, no disappointment. He did a great job!!! And perfect intonation. Right now he has my R9 that he is doing the "Jimmy Page" treatment on. I'm dropping in a set of Dimarzio PAF 36 Anniversaries (double black bridge and aged cover neck) in that will be coil-tapped and reverse phased (Push-Pull Pot). I have the Grover Lockers at home, and will put those in when he is finished. Should be pretty sweet, when all is said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Well, if YOU say Adam is on top of his game I'll believe you. With an upscale market like Snottsdale, I would hope they could provide good service. The only advice I have - get his cell phone number so you don't lose him if he leaves.... How's that store look up there now? Last couple times I went it was looking pretty shabby. I can't believe they would let a store (and the merchandise) get so far gone in such a high-end part of town. Leroy is an okay guy, I've never bought from him but I wouldn't rule it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canon_mutant Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Guitar Centers seem to be allot like Auto Service Departments. There are some that are great and some that completely $uk. Of course, I had a buddy that was assistant manager at my local GC that has since moved on to other employment, but I've gotten excellent deals on 3 guitars and an amp there. Even though he's gone, I'm still on first name basis with the local store manager and I am confident that I could still get a great deal there. Now, are there high school drop outs in there that don't know crap? Sure. I don't deal with them. Are there guitars on the wall that ought to be in the repair shop? Sure. I don't buy them. Not every guitar problem on the wall is GC's fault. While there, my buddy sent a number of Gibsons [and others] right back to them because of some pretty serious out of box functional or finish flaws. Lots of DOA amps from some of the better known amp companies largely due to moving production overseas. Again, not GC's fault. My only gripe with the whole MF, GC, Walmart type chain stores is what it's doing to the great ma and pa shops. They have the buying power to in some cases completely corner the market on particular guitar/amp models to where you can't even buy what you want from the ma and pa shops any more. Again, that has more to do with the equipment suppliers agreeing to such deals than it does Guitar Center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Yep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 OMG Neo' date=' when I read that you made this posting, I had to open it up. But you did not fail me. You must have been bored. So this is their idea of a clearance guitar huh? With damage like that, they should pop all the electronics and hardware out and use the rest for kindling. I must confess though, I brought in a couple of my guitars into the Scottsdale GC for "set-up". The tech they have doing the guitar work (Adam) is squared away, and is very talented. He did an amazing job on them, so I brought in my R7 for setup and PuP replacement (Wolftone Marshalheads) that I wanted coil-tapped. Again, no disappointment. He did a great job!!! And perfect intonation. Right now he has my R9 that he is doing the "Jimmy Page" treatment on. I'm dropping in a set of Dimarzio PAF 36 Anniversaries (double black bridge and aged cover neck) in that will be coil-tapped and reverse phased (Push-Pull Pot). I have the Grover Lockers at home, and will put those in when he is finished. Should be pretty sweet, when all is said and done.[/quote'] I'd love to hear what you think of those DiMarzios when you put them in. I remember reading about them when they first came out. I've seen some GuitarWorld YouTube videos and from what I can tell from those they seem great. Really fairly priced too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I had their classic 15% coupon once and wanted to upgrade from CUBASE 4 to CUBASE 5. So I call them up and tell them that I'd like the upgrade for my software, which is normally half the price of buying it new. They tell me "Yep we got that, so c'mon on over." When I get there I tell them what I want and they tell me "Yep we got that. It's $499.99 minus your 15% off." I told them "No, the upgrade is much cheaper" to which they say "What upgrade?" Now I proceed to nicely tell them that I called and specifically told them I wanted the UPGRADE not the NEW version and I was reassured that they had the UPGRADE. So I get the classic GC look; Neo obviously knows this look all too well. After what seemed like 15 minutes of typing (I wonder if they aren't just playing video games and pretending to actually make you believe they are looking up something) they tell me "Well we can order it for you." I tell them "I can do that for myself" and now I'm starting to boil. I ask for a manger, which isn't a good idea but I'm p!ssed off and I need to blow off some steam. I give him a few choice words and left the store. How am I going to trust them with a guitar purchase when they can't get the simple things down right??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 So I get the classic GC look; Neo obviously knows this look all too well. Indeed. Kinda like this... [blink] I give him a few choice words and left the store. You didn't let 'em WIN did ya? NO!!! Say it ain't so! Okay, which store is it? :D/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I learned long ago to say my peace and walk away. There's only one in the Buffalo area. I do stop there on the way to choir practice and I do admit to buying picks and things there, but nothing over a few hundred dollars. Actually for the most part they are pretty nice. But they just don't know what they are selling. I'd love to see their "training video." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Unfortunately, I know the GC look all too well. I do have a friend who works at my local one who gives me fat discounts though. I'm not gonna lie. I bought my SG at GC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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