In support of Guitar Center

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Fusioninspace

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I just want to counter some of the bad vibes a lot of folks around here give Guitar Center. I've been going to them ever since they've opened and I have generally been pleased with what I've purchased there.

Going beyond guitars, our local GC has been the primary vendor in building our sound system at my church since I've been lead of our AV ministry. The variety, quality and pricing of used equipment is second to none. Many of the staff at my closest two stores have been there since day one and many more are gigging musicians just trying to make a living. Given that I've built a professional relationship with the good guys, I can always count on getting excellent advice... and getting decent "additional" breaks from time to time.

I recently gave kudo's to a local store that I feel does an outstanding job of thriving in the shadow of GC... But at it's own game, GC is the one to go to.

Ok, I have my flameproof spandex and slipknot faceshield on. Flame away!

:D
 
Your, lucky to find an employee that doesn't have anything on his agenda other than doing his job and being honest. I have one guy I always go to in Charlotte. He works in PA, but I will have him ring up anything from drum heads to guitar stuff cause he is straight up . If he doesnt' know about a product, he won't jive you into buying it with a BS line.
 
gcapel said:
Your, lucky to find an employee that doesn't have anything on his agenda other than doing his job and being honest. I have one guy I always go to in Charlotte. He works in PA, but I will have him ring up anything from drum heads to guitar stuff cause he is straight up . If he doesnt' know about a product, he won't jive you into buying it with a BS line.
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Which dude do you deal with? I used to always go to Tim but last time I was there he gave off a really shitty vibe and I haven't been back since. There are some cool dudes there but also some total sleazeballs.
 
timthetortoise said:
Which dude do you deal with? I used to always go to Tim but last time I was there he gave off a really shitty vibe and I haven't been back since. There are some cool dudes there but also some total sleazeballs.
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Mike the older guy. He's pretty cool.

I have'nt seen Tim the keyboard guy in a while. I wonder if he's still there. I didn't like Tim. If you asked him somthing he didn't know about he would make up something.
 
Fusioninspace said:
I just want to counter some of the bad vibes a lot of folks around here give Guitar Center. I've been going to them ever since they've opened and I have generally been pleased with what I've purchased there.

Going beyond guitars, our local GC has been the primary vendor in building our sound system at my church since I've been lead of our AV ministry. The variety, quality and pricing of used equipment is second to none. Many of the staff at my closest two stores have been there since day one and many more are gigging musicians just trying to make a living. Given that I've built a professional relationship with the good guys, I can always count on getting excellent advice... and getting decent "additional" breaks from time to time.

I recently gave kudo's to a local store that I feel does an outstanding job of thriving in the shadow of GC... But at it's own game, GC is the one to go to.

Ok, I have my flameproof spandex and slipknot faceshield on. Flame away!

:D
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Like many other big chain operations, there is a lot of variability from store to store, depending on the store managment and the sales staff. When it's good it's fine, and when it's bad...
 
gcapel said:
Mike the older guy. He's pretty cool.

I have'nt seen Tim the keyboard guy in a while. I wonder if he's still there. I didn't like Tim. If you asked him somthing he didn't know about he would make up something.
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Is he the dude with the ponytail? Actually I was talking about Tim the guitar guy, but I guess the Tims there in general suck. Next time I go I'll ask for Mike
 
I had a dude at our local GC tell me that the "nicest" Samson mics sounded almost the same as a Neumann U87.
 
pdadda said:
I had a dude at our local GC tell me that the "nicest" Samson mics sounded almost the same as a Neumann U87.
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He could be right to some peoples' ears, but the diff between "almost" and the Real Deal is why Neumann can keep selling U87's.
 
Fusioninspace said:
I recently gave kudo's to a local store that I feel does an outstanding job of thriving in the shadow of GC... But at it's own game, GC is the one to go to.

Ok, I have my flameproof spandex and slipknot faceshield on. Flame away!

:D
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chuck at the north county store is a great guy... and joe in fairview... but the rest are pretty much idiots IMO.... who did you recommend away from GC???? McMarkup is dead.... swing city maybe????
 
dementedchord said:
chuck at the north county store is a great guy... and joe in fairview... but the rest are pretty much idiots IMO.... who did you recommend away from GC???? McMarkup is dead.... swing city maybe????
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I wrote about Fazio's last week. Great store - I think St Louis is lucky to has some other nice small stores as well. McMurry was just another chain with a local name attached.

It's funny, Mars is out, then another chain came in the Chesterfield area and then went out of business within a year. So the name of the game seems to be either go to GC or to a nice locally owned store that provides lessons and nicer gear.

... plus there's always the pawn shop :-)
 
I had one really great experience with guitar center. the guy gave me a super good deal on hi-hats and then called me about a week later to make sure I was happy with the purchase.

I've also seen the ex-car salesman type in there. I've seen them in all music stores though. In every music store you have to find a guy that you like and can deal with and just deal with him.

I still hate going into guitarcenter and the guitarcenter type stores. If the obnoxious kids aren't there being loud and obnoxious, the music that's supposed to be in the background is too loud and obnoxious.
 
I have 2 guys I use at the local GC, one in guitars and one in pro audio. If they left, I would follow them to the next job they worked. Hell, I'd order pizza from them. They have done a great job gaining my business as well as a friendship.

And then there's the guy that, when I was walking out with my Mesa Boogie Lonestar 100w Class A amp (read:expensive, at least for me) told me how much better the Line 6 amps were, because they could perfectly recreate the guitar sounds of any Mesa. Plus, Mesa's aren't known for their reliability, so nobody tours with them.

I asked him what dept. he worked in, and he said drums. So, ironically, I might be ordering pizza from him sometime soon, but I think the other 2 are safe.

Pete
 
I've never been able to build a relationship at either of the two St. Louis Guitar Satans. I've never seen the same salesman twice (high turnover I suppose). I shop at Fazio's. Besides, he's a very good friend of mine. I fear that the Banjo Marts of the world are going to drive the mom and pop stores out of business and that would be a shame.
 
Syracuse NY GC seems to have fairly consistent staff, but they are mostly not very in-the-know. They can help with basic stuff, but they know nothing about higher-end gear, and don't know their amps very well...

They also seem to represent a large collection of used car salesmen, as I get a lot of hastle in there. I also got heckled by two of the employees when I bought a package of picks and that was it.

All I could say was "heh yea" as I was walking out of the store, but they wouldnt fuckin let it go. Yea... sorry I didn't want to drop a coupe hundred to feel less embarassed about making a minimal purchase.

Now I order shit online, or go to another local place in the area if I need stuff, and I've never been happier :)
 
Track Rat said:
I've never been able to build a relationship at either of the two St. Louis Guitar Satans. I've never seen the same salesman twice (high turnover I suppose). I shop at Fazio's. Besides, he's a very good friend of mine. I fear that the Banjo Marts of the world are going to drive the mom and pop stores out of business and that would be a shame.
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Thats exactly what Blockbuster finally did to the last of the mom and pop video stores in the 90's but I think since serious musicians tend to be a much more picky anal-retentive bunch about thier gear and service than video renters, something tells me the small guy will somehow always survive.

My personal shopping proceedure is :
1) Shop it online
2) Try it at Guitar center
3) Then order it from my local guy

Nothing against GC, its just run like any other big super chain where low employee pay leads to frequent turnover of a young novice staff and commision based incentive leads to used car salsman type of tactics. Plus I'd much rather feed my local guys family than big corperate pockets. Luckily though, theres always a few a seasoned pros floating around most stores like this, you've just got to know how to spot them.

Usually its the balding 40 something yr old guy with the pony tail who still lives in his mothers attic, gigs 3-5 nights a week, and probably took a bus to work that day cause his liscence is revoked, but the guy will damn sure know music gear as its probably been his last 20 year obsession that got prioritized above all else..
 
Guitar center is the only place I can try out some stuff before buying it. It's good for that, at least. Also, if you know exactly what you want and exactly what you're willing to pay, go ahead and go to GC. I only shop there when I'm getting one hell of a deal, which has happened before.
 
Fusioninspace said:
McMurry was just another chain with a local name attached.

... plus there's always the pawn shop :-)
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that was only true of mc murray at the end... for years john was smart enough to let some very talented guys run it for him esentially... when guys like scott laytham quit the writting was on the wall....
 
NRS said:
Thats exactly what Blockbuster finally did to the last of the mom and pop video stores in the 90's
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[OT] Here in Austin there are still several small independent video rental places even if you don't count the porn shops.
 
Re

GC is a great place because you can try stuff before you buy it, and their selection is huge, at least the two by my house are. I almost bought something online but tried it out there first and realized it wasn't what i wanted.
 
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