E-minor7 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 They are too much. You arrive with serious intentions of trying instruments high on your wish-list and meet nothing but strezz. It's like proposing on the Central Station in the middle of the rush-hours. The chairs are strange – the stools are stranger. Maybe there's only amps to sit on. Nowhere to put your coat, which must be taken off in order not to scratch the instruments. Suddenly you see your jacket lying on the floor beneath a co-customers ignorant feet. Those co-customers who sneaks around spying on your test-licks or trying to overpower you with out of tune Neanderthal-strumming. Then the fact you are out of tune yourself and somehow unable to get things under control. Any sense of a regular 440 hertz A totally vanished. Whining electric guitars in the background sawing their way through Smoke On The Water or dated grunge with the volume on 10. Guys, I'm investigating the flageolets of a 1962 C&W here. Over-smart salesmen who think they are 'something'n'someone in showbiz' just because they earn a living by selling picks. Supplied by the fact they know virtually nothing about Gibsons. The lame feeling when leaving the shop with a set of strings after sitting there trying HQ guitars with a humble smile on your face the whole afternoon. The sweaty feeling of absolute exhaustion when hitting the pavement with only vague fragments of what just happened remaining in your brain. The conviction you have to come back. Allrite, a grain of satire, but do you recognize the film. Seriously – I think it would be major to be able to 'rent' the shop after it's closed (or before it opens). Maybe a bit too deluxe, but how about the possibility to bring, let's say 3 guitars, home over a weekend – for a smaller price. That would ideal – nothing is better than A/B/C'ing under completely remote and peaceful circumstances. It's there and there only you are able to create the right kind of skinless encounter. …................................................…....................................Ask her out - Take her home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Dave Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I hear ya, there aren't too many guitar shops where I live and fewer still that carry HQ guitars. I find the stores intimidating. The staff have always been nice enough but I can't help feel they're thinkin I'm just in to kick tyres and wastin time. At least one store has a room where you can take gear to test in peace which is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ in FL Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 They are too much. You arrive with serious intentions of trying instruments high on your wish-list and meet nothing but strezz. It's like proposing on the Central Station in the middle of the rush-hours. The chairs are strange – the stools are stranger. Maybe there's only amps to sit on. Nowhere to put your coat, which must be taken off in order not to scratch the instruments. Suddenly you see your jacket lying on the floor beneath a co-customers ignorant feet. Those co-customers who sneaks around spying on your test-licks or trying to overpower you with out of tune Neanderthal-strumming. Then the fact you are out of tune yourself and somehow unable to get things under control. Any sense of a regular 440 hertz A totally vanished. Whining electric guitars in the background sawing their way through Smoke On The Water or dated grunge with the volume on 10. Guys, I'm investigating the flageolets of a 1962 C&W here. Over-smart salesmen who think they are 'something'n'someone in showbiz' just because they earn a living by selling picks. Supplied by the fact they know virtually nothing about Gibsons. The lame feeling when leaving the shop with a set of strings after sitting there trying HQ guitars with a humble smile on your face the whole afternoon. The sweaty feeling of absolute exhaustion when hitting the pavement with only vague fragments of what just happened remaining in your brain. The conviction you have to come back. Allrite, a grain of satire, but do you recognize the film. Seriously – I think it would be major to be able to 'rent' the shop after it's closed (or before it opens). Maybe a bit too deluxe, but how about the possibility to bring, let's say 3 guitars, home over a weekend – for a smaller price. That would ideal – nothing is better that A/B/C'ing undercompletely remote and peaceful circumstances. It's there and there only you are able to create the right kind of skinless encounter. …................................................…....................................Ask her out - Take her home Dude: Have you ever tried DEcaf? Chill out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Beautiful! Brilliant! That is a great expression and really gets the "feeling" across. It really takes me there. I thought for a moment, if instead of a writing, the artistry would be well put to a song, a song that you could play in a shop. But alas, I feel it would fall on deaf ears, ears that you should know are deaf...evidenced by the sounds of the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzGtr Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 So true. I visit the local GC during off peak hours like noon on a Sundays. I don,t play music or spend thousands of dollars when I piss either. Relax dude it,s not important, life is shorter than you know. Jazz, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 It's really not the stores who are to blame. They simply provide the locale for all this chaos. The real problem is us humans. We're a pain-in-the-***. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 GC is not my definition of a guitar shop - not even close. I'm lucky, I work half a block away from Two Old Hippies guitar shop - wonderful people, small, and a wide selection, comfortable padded stuffed chairs - and there is no hard sell at all. Martins, Huss&Dalton, Breedlove, Santa Cruz, Collins,Bedell, but alas, not a Gibson Dealer - I've been going there almost every day for 5 years, and the only Gibson I've ever seen there is the J45 I brought in to get a setup suggestion on. The guy (Ian) said - tighten the truss rod a quarter turn. He was dead on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passthej45 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 They are too much. You arrive with serious intentions of trying instruments high on your wish-list and meet nothing but strezz. It's like proposing on the Central Station in the middle of the rush-hours. The chairs are strange – the stools are stranger. Maybe there's only amps to sit on. Nowhere to put your coat, which must be taken off in order not to scratch the instruments. Suddenly you see your jacket lying on the floor beneath a co-customers ignorant feet. Those co-customers who sneaks around spying on your test-licks or trying to overpower you with out of tune Neanderthal-strumming. Then the fact you are out of tune yourself and somehow unable to get things under control. Any sense of a regular 440 hertz A totally vanished. Whining electric guitars in the background sawing their way through Smoke On The Water or dated grunge with the volume on 10. Guys, I'm investigating the flageolets of a 1962 C&W here. Over-smart salesmen who think they are 'something'n'someone in showbiz' just because they earn a living by selling picks. Supplied by the fact they know virtually nothing about Gibsons. The lame feeling when leaving the shop with a set of strings after sitting there trying HQ guitars with a humble smile on your face the whole afternoon. The sweaty feeling of absolute exhaustion when hitting the pavement with only vague fragments of what just happened remaining in your brain. The conviction you have to come back. Allrite, a grain of satire, but do you recognize the film. Seriously – I think it would be major to be able to 'rent' the shop after it's closed (or before it opens). Maybe a bit too deluxe, but how about the possibility to bring, let's say 3 guitars, home over a weekend – for a smaller price. That would ideal – nothing is better that A/B/C'ing undercompletely remote and peaceful circumstances. It's there and there only you are able to create the right kind of skinless encounter. …................................................…....................................Ask her out - Take her home While I like the idea of keeping(especially small) guitar shops in business by shopping in them....THIS IS THE EXACT REASON why awhile back I advocated the use of the mail order(Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, Music 123, etc.) return policy. Think about it, how much time can you actually spend test playing a guitar(undistracted) in a shop? Even if you stopped in every day for a couple of weeks ? Here's a plan : *open up a credit card that has a little room on it * order a few guitars to compare * I think that the return policies range from 10-30 days but could be mistaken(Of course check to be certain) * a/b/c the guitars to your heart's content in the privacy and comfort of your own home for hours and hours * But......BE CAREFUL not to do any damage !!! * ship back the unwanted guitars. It will cost you a couple of bucks for shipping and insurance(a must). This might even be an investment of say 150 bucks when comparing 3 or more guitars. But if you are shopping for a guitar in the 2-3k range, wouldn't that be worth it? I dunno , my 0.2 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickax Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I ordered a 4k Guitar from Sweetwater Music and they gave me a 30 day trial period. Played it for that month and kept it. Their 30 day trial might be one of the most generous in the business. They were great to deal with and I would likely shop them again. NFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I order from out of state to save the tax. how cheap is that :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hey, Acoustic Monk, you forgot the line about the Dude with bearbated breath who sits down and starts trying to jamming with you. I understand and well put! chasAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I would like to know first ... which excact guitar shop were you referencing that triggered this reaction Em7 ? I think its also about luck. Getting into the shop at right time when its almost empty, not easy, and a lot had to do with luck. My recent experience in Denmark Street was quite different. The Sales guy was very down to earth and took me into the back room (70's rehearsal room of Sex Pistols) and let me take my tiime, which was over 45 mins). Across the road Leftyguy introduced to the shop owner who was very knowledgable about Gibson acoustics who showed me 5 different models with detailed description of each and let me try them out, no stress. But yes, Ive also had quite a few expereinces that Em7 described, a lot is in the lukc of hte draw ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 No need to say I actually love guitar shops. As stated, post 1 was a satire on all the things that can be annoying when you enter such place. Reality is more relative. Have to say my spirit rises everytime I see or pass a shop, I often go in, always do if I'm in a foreign town and always feel exited to see what they have on the walls. Had so many intriguing situations happening over the years on that account and appreciate them all. Good chats - Nice well balanced salesmen with loads of knowledge – not least in legendary Denmark Street though I never got as far as you EuroA (got a record though). Cups of steaming coffee at the right time. Lots of "You just do as you please". Isolated cabins with plenty of time. Glimpses of local guitar aces trying the newest wah-wah pedals. The privilege of comparing one Bird to the other, , , and then go to an AJ. I even had the shop-keeper driving me home after buying an Ibanez J-200 before I moved from my parents. But still there's something to the O.P. - - - Some stores are just better suited for the right treatment than others. It can be like a train station – it can be too hard to concentrate in certain places. But there's ways around it and it's up to us to find out and then receive the gifts every store has to offer. What I wanted with my bold intro was to open the discussion and hear from your corners of the world people – (and don't forget we are scattered seeds from a rich man's hand). Experiences from the Centers. The well respected oldies that survived through generations with art-deco lamps and vintage bassoons hanging from the ceiling. The steel and glass boxes with 2 or 3 floors and robots in the staff. The hippie caves with oriental carpets, refurbished sitars, incense sticks and Claptons autograph from 1974 in a bronze-frame over the entrance. Feel free to add your own. And imagine a world without those oases (maybe the place where Gotomsdos resides). It definitely would create some dry throats for the most of us. I Love Guitar Shops, , , and hate them a little also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Caveat Emptor. It only gets rude in the last 30 seconds or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqc42nVT2VA Echoes of the Mary Whitehouse Experience. You see that psycho teddy bear, that's you, that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjl200 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^That's Funny^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duende Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 1330905018[/url]' post='1140956']They are too much. You arrive with serious intentions of trying instruments high on your wish-list and meet nothing but strezz. It's like proposing on the Central Station in the middle of the rush-hours. The chairs are strange – the stools are stranger. Maybe there's only amps to sit on. Nowhere to put your coat, which must be taken off in order not to scratch the instruments. Suddenly you see your jacket lying on the floor beneath a co-customers ignorant feet. Those co-customers who sneaks around spying on your test-licks or trying to overpower you with out of tune Neanderthal-strumming. Then the fact you are out of tune yourself and somehow unable to get things under control. Any sense of a regular 440 hertz A totally vanished. Whining electric guitars in the background sawing their way through Smoke On The Water or dated grunge with the volume on 10. Guys, I'm investigating the flageolets of a 1962 C&W here. Over-smart salesmen who think they are 'something'n'someone in showbiz' just because they earn a living by selling picks. Supplied by the fact they know virtually nothing about Gibsons. The lame feeling when leaving the shop with a set of strings after sitting there trying HQ guitars with a humble smile on your face the whole afternoon. The sweaty feeling of absolute exhaustion when hitting the pavement with only vague fragments of what just happened remaining in your brain. The conviction you have to come back. Allrite, a grain of satire, but do you recognize the film. Seriously – I think it would be major to be able to 'rent' the shop after it's closed (or before it opens). Maybe a bit too deluxe, but how about the possibility to bring, let's say 3 guitars, home over a weekend – for a smaller price. That would ideal – nothing is better that A/B/C'ing undercompletely remote and peaceful circumstances. It's there and there only you are able to create the right kind of skinless encounter. …................................................…....................................Ask her out - Take her home Thanks for making me smile; that was great :) Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I hear ya, Em! I worked in a large retail instrument dealer for many years and know of what you speak. All levels of players and individuals milling about, some kicking tires, some killing time and others actually looking to invest in a new guitar. Saw paupers and kings, idiots and rocket scientists all on the same floor, breathing the same air......making noise. But hey, if it were left to the internet alone some of us may never have picked up a guitar...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I love 'em. Then again I have never been in a guitar meglomart like GC. But you just ain't hanging around the right store. We have four music stores within a 1/2 hour drive and I enjoy walking into all of them. At my favorite, there ain't no place to sit and there are those times you will have to put up with some guy blasting "Sweet Child of Mine." But the owner knows his guitars, always lets me know when he has something in I might be interested in, and will let me take pretty much any used guitar home for a test drive - often more than once. It don't hurt that he knows this is about the only way he has a prayer of selling anything to me. The last one I took home to kick the tires was a 1947 LG-2. And yeah, I bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Touche Mojo – I feel your dagger prick my carotid artery. Hilarious cartoon and a magnificent find for the occasion. What can I do but give you a green. I know you are in business and imagine how much blur you have to go through during a day. All in all it's a pretty intense scene isn't it. There's so much passion involved and the fact that you as customer have to expose yourself in public to get close to the product to want, can bring things to the edge. It not like buying a refrigerator. Guess sales people need to be half psychologists to make everything glide – the shaky beginner, the pompous star, the overblown mediocre, the neurotic brilliant. I just returned from a shop in the center of town – had to check my own theories (and needed a detail for my neck-project). Yes there was noise in the corners, yes I had to throw both jacket and coat. But the staff was immaculate. Excellent – never been better (perhaps they read this thread during lunch-break). But even more impressing was the 2 Gibsons I played. A Custom J-45 w. mop rosette and gold tuners and, , , a Custom Firebird. Man they were good. The latter left my jaw dropped. So much that I wondered if it was too well sounding to be considered an ordinary acoustic guitar on the way home. Now that's ridiculous, but heavenly father it sang like 6 angels on a candy-cloud. I - as the wellbehaved customer I am Mojo - naturally found my guide-person in the landscape before leaving the building and told him thanks. Must be the blue sky, the milder temperatures, the signs of spring – "The pleasure was all ours", he smilingly replied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 ....a Custom Firebird. Man they were good. The latter left my jaw dropped. So much that I wondered if it was too well sounding to be considered an ordinary acoustic guitar on the way home. Now that's ridiculous, but heavenly father it sang like 6 angels on candy-cloud. The Firebirds are very fine guitars! There was a lefty at the shop when I bought my 45 that was to die for tonally......heavenly, as you said. The long scale was the deal breaker for me, otherwise I'd have come home with that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Touche Mojo – I feel your dagger prick my carotid artery. Hilarious cartoon and a magnificent find for the occasion. What can I do but give you a green. I know you are in business and imagine how much blur you have to go through during a day. All in all it's a pretty intense scene isn't it. There's so much passion involved and the fact that you as customer have to expose yourself in public to get close to the product to want, can bring things to the edge. It not like buying a refrigerator. Guess sales people need to be half psychologists to make everything glide – the shaky beginner, the pompous star, the overblown mediocre, the neurotic brilliant. I just returned from a shop in the center of town – had to check my own theories (and needed a detail for my neck-project). Yes there was noise in the corners, yes I had to throw both jacket and coat. But the staff was immaculate. Excellent – never been better (perhaps they read this thread during lunch-break). But even more impressing was the 2 Gibsons I played. A Custom J-45 w. mop rosette and gold tuners and, , , a Custom Firebird. Man they were good. The latter left my jaw dropped. So much that I wondered if it was too well sounding to be considered an ordinary acoustic guitar on the way home. Now that's ridiculous, but heavenly father it sang like 6 angels on candy-cloud. I - as the wellbehaved customer I am Mojo - naturally found my guide-person in the landscape before leaving the building and told him thanks. Must be the blue sky, the milder temperatures, the signs of spring – "The pleasure was all ours", he smilingly replied. Glad you appreciate it EM, but actually I often see things more from your perspective. I don't usually dare ask to play the expensive guitars in guitar shops. I was really seeking out a video which goes in your direction, but hit on this one instead, and then thought about how long suffering certain guitar sellers must be. One or two that I have known have been truly stellar people - including the (seems now) Steve Earle lookalike who used to work at Carlsboro in Norwich in the 1980s, and who despite an apparent heavy metal personal style tried very hard to turn me on to the ES 335 instead of the Les Paul as the model that would suit my playing. He was right, and I was an ignorant teenager who couldn't really hear the difference. It was a real joy to hear him wax lyrical about the vintage Casino they once had - when he looked like he should really be into Charvels. A man of taste where it really mattered, and a master of the deceptive outer appearance. I wish I'd sunk some savings/persuaded my long-suffering father to invest in a 335 Studio then. It was only 539 pounds. That seemed a lot then, but money was not much scarcer than it is now and the 1000 pounds plus for the same model 20 years down the line is much more prohibitive. But the dirty fingers pickups were hot and the Les Paul Studio was only 489 pounds and sounded similar. So I bought neither and stuck with my Hondo. Fool! I'm not in business as it happens, more in languages for business purposes. I appreciate this video as something that Flaubert might have made had he lived now. If I can find its dialectical partner, I will post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdd707 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 *Laugh* Yeah, thanks for the satire and ... satire and humor is based on some element of truth. I've been to that shop. Lucky for me, there is a local shop that caters to beginners where I can always pop in and buy strings and little stuff .... play an old fender. It's a one man shop and I always feel welcome even though they know I'm not a big spender with them. Also lucky for me, a larger shop with many Gibsons is in my area. About twice a month (yeah, one has to go when it's not busy) I go and enjoy a hour or a morning of playing. The salesman knows me and knows that I'll respect their instruments. I'm allowed to play anything and occasionally they will bring out the beat up boxes from the back and they are great fun. My playing is average and I'm given all the privacy it need. Better yet, none of the young salesmen pick up an instrument and "show off". If I ask them to play one for me so I can get the out front sound, they do so helpfully and tastefully but never obnoxiously. I leave better educated and feeling good about the guitar "hobby" ... but usually with a worse case of GAS. Heck, every once in a while, I even buy a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Guitar shops are evil, corrupt places, that entice us, to spend out hard earned money. I hate them. Curse them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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