Guth Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Hey all, My family and I visited Victoria B.C. a couple of weeks ago and I got to spend a little bit of time picking some Gibsons. Not only was this my first trip to B.C., but it turns out that I also had my first Long & McQuade experience. I had never heard of Long & McQuade until joining this forum. To be honest, the folks at L&M in Victoria all struck me as very friendly and helpful, at least the 3 or 4 people that I interfaced with while there. They had no problems with me playing the guitars and happily pulled them down off the wall for me with no hassles, no sales pitch, etc. They just let the guitars speak for themselves. They were also helpful with recommendations and directions for a few espresso and food joints. I first tried a J-185 (standard issue, MC I guess). Someday I'd love to find a J-185 that sings to me, but this wasn't the one. It was nice to look at (yet no inlays on the bridge!) but rather lifeless. I also tried a used SJ TV and loved it. Very similar to my own J-45 TV, just priced quite a bit higher. I also checked out a standard issue J-45 and SJ and thought that they were both good guitars, much more impressive than the J-185. I'm guessing that they must have had around 15 or so Gibson acoustics in stock, I just didn't have that much time to sample. Overall it was a good experience. I also got to try out a J-200 at a little independent shop in town (I don't recall the name of the place now). It was a big guitar with a big sound, yet somewhat balanced. Unfortunately it was in need of some minor setup work. I also happened upon a store that primarily featured acoustics made in B.C. (a few builders that I had not heard of, really nice guitars). All in all, a great trip was made even better by getting a chance to do some picking. All the best, Guth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Sounds good Guth....hope you wowed them with some of your blues playing...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 i've also heard great things about victoria. a co-worker of mine just returned from a trip there. he told me i should go - saying i'd like it there. "it's full of arsty fartsies like you" he said. thanks. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 When I was travelling through Nth America for business i spent several days in Vanouver BC. I visited L&M and a big grin came on my face when i saw all the Gbson acoustics that were hanging. The sad thing was that 90% of them sounded like they were stuffed with socks. The whole Gibson 'inconsistency' debate suddenly came to light and this was living proof. This was in sharp contrast to the Gibsons I played when I was in NYC where the Gibbys sounded stellar. The sales assistant I agree were very helpful and not pushy in anyway, but tried to justify the tone of the Gibsons as they need time to 'open up' ..... not an argument thats going to convince meet to put a few grand on the table. i've also heard great things about victoria. a co-worker of mine just returned from a trip there. he told me i should go - saying i'd like it there. "it's full of arsty fartsies like you" he said. thanks. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Glad you were able to visit a few shops that treated you right. B) Too bad you didn't return home with a new baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 the l&m here is poorly stocked, acoustically. there are 4 - an uninteresting j185n, 2 - swd's and a '07 (been there since birth) j45 that is, as you say, full of socks maybe due to its unloved status. for ontario, its the bloor st store in toronto that carries a more complete line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 Thanks for sharing. Could you explain the difference between the J-45 Standard you had down and the TV you are playing on the other thread. Walking Nick's a fine vignette. the StriNg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted September 5, 2010 Share Posted September 5, 2010 Actually I did ... I pickeup the 69 Country Western from Umanov guitars in NYC Glad you were able to visit a few shops that treated you right. B) Too bad you didn't return home with a new baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted September 6, 2010 Author Share Posted September 6, 2010 EuroAussie, I remember that we've each experienced a good number of less than stellar sounding Gibsons (to put it nicely) in the not too distant past. Since this most recent experience was actually quite a positive one, I thought it would be good to mention it, lest anyone out there think my only intention is to bash Gibson. BigKahune, I don't really get too worked up about passing on guitars I play, even the really nice ones, as doing so would mean getting rid of another I already own. So far, I've yet to play any other Gibsons that I liked better than the two I already managed to find. Some have been tempting, but I tend to chalk that up to in-store excitement. E-minor7, Hard to describe the differences. The standard seemed to need a bit more effort to get a lively response. This might work out well for a hard strummer or forceful flatpicker, neither of which would be me. But, this was just one guitar. I've played other standards that I felt were a bit more responsive, but I didn't care nearly as much for the tone. I always try to keep in mind that every guitar is a compromise in some way. All the best, Guth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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