Checking out guitars in the store's acoustic room

spantini

COO of me, inc.
Our local GC has been open to walk-in trade for awhile now, though I've only been in once since the lockdown. Got the itch today to scoot over to their acoustic room for some strumming - didn't go, though.

Do any of you get to your local stores to play with different acoustics? What music do you play there? Standards, your own stuff?

I always play my own material and about half the times I'm there someone will grab a guitar and sit in. Last time, I sat with my back to the room and played a new song I was working on. When I restarted, someone was playing along improvising a lead guitar part. This guy was on the money first time through. I was so excited I neglected to invite him to record when it came time. Hope he shows next trip.
 
I've generally always been too shy to play in a music shop, be it guitar or bass. Although when I bought my 12 string back in '99, I spent ages in the shop trying out guitars before I narrowed it down to 2.
But I have been in situations when I've been playing with people in public where I've just launched into one of the songs I've written or co~written. But a shop ? Rarer than hen's teeth. For a long while I used to see those electric double basses in this place called the bass cellar {or something like that} and I wanted to try one but I was always too shy. Eventually I got brave and I'm glad I did because they didn't sound like double basses at all. Well, to me they didn't. In the end, I bought a proper acoustic one. It's not even bottom of the range, it's in a Jules Verne range {ie 20,000 leagues beneath the sea} but it sounds better than the electric ones.
 
I'm a little shy too and won't join in when someone else is playing. I try to wait for them to finish as I handle the merchandise, lightly strumming to get a feel for the instrument. It usually takes me a couple months of spaced out visits to narrow down an acoustic guitar. It was easier during the couple of years leading up to covid as the room was usually empty when I went in. Before that period, the store was always crowded and there were several people in the main store playing all kinds of instruments, as well as drummers banging away in another section - exactly what a good music store should sound like, IMO.
 
I have often gotten a groove going with others in the acoustic room. Never out with the electric stuff. Kinda weird. Anyway, if someone else is already playing I might riff of it, if not someone may end up riffing off of me. Usually just some chord sequence I come up with to start out.
 
I'm not a lead guitarist, though I can hang using a combo of eighth and sixteenth notes in a slow, melodic style. None of that frilly stuff or string bending. I'd have to be feelin' pretty good to even think about joining in with some lead.

A lot of the stuff I've heard in the electric areas were mostly riffs from well known classics. Everyone knows ten seconds of something :guitar:
 
Music stores are not jam places. I'd be annoyed as hell if I was working there and saw people doing that all the time without buying anything. I've never seen anyone jamming together at any of the GCs I've been too. Haven't been to one since the lockdown started. When I go to a music store and play some guitars, I will not play any one song, but instead will try different picking styles, different chords up and down the neck to see how it sounds.
 
That's surprising, to me. Our store encourages that behavior and gladly assists in pulling down a guitar from the top tier for us to play. Though these days, with almost no staff, they just don't have the time to monitor the behavior - if they do mind at all. Some customers actually appreciate the "performance". A recent visit, I was playing a song on a Yamaha when a mother entered with her young son of about 7 years. A salesperson walked them once around the room pointing out various models with some explanations, then left them to browse. They seemed to be interested in bass guitars as the boy picked one up and awkwardly played a few notes before setting it down.

Instead of picking out another guitar to play with, they simply stood and watched me for 20 minutes as I played different songs on various guitars. She applauded, complimented me, thanked me and departed.

I will add that I'm usually the only one playing when I'm running through a song. If I see another customer, such as yourself, pick one out and begin playing, I will cut back on volume and song playing, reducing to your aforementioned different chords up and down the neck.

I do buy their guitars, eventually. It just takes me more than a few trips to determine which one.

If ever I find myself at a GC in the New England area, I shall restrain myself ;)
 
I would go first thing in the morning on a weekday (when school was actually "in session") so I'd have the place to myself. Take a portable digital recorder and usually one of my own guitars. Just play a few that were actually interesting and listen and record. The rooms may sound good, but they're not really ideal for evaluating how the instrument will sound out of the room.

I usually run some scales and standards, and anything I'm working on that might be a little challenging for chord shapes or something, just to see if I can find something that makes one thing or another easier/harder.

I'm trying to remember a time when someone played at the same time and it added to the experience, but coming up empty.

Yeah, I'm not what you call an extrovert...
 
Glad I'm not the only one too shy too play in front of others in a store (or anywhere else).

And the GC's I've been to will have high school kids come in and have almost full band practice.
 
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