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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | darkbarguitar - 2015-02-05 2:19 PM
Have you guys even WATCHED American Idol???? There are some fantastic players out there. Not just on that show.
I am blown away by the talent exhibited by some of these 20 year olds..... Have you guys even WATCHED American Idol?
No... I can't sit through all the filler crap to see a coupla minutes of music.
Maybe I should search YouTube for some clips.
As to the ability of the young'uns...
There is a kid (20's) I see around town who can play "Sultans of Swing" note-for-note.
Plus he can play most songs asked off-the-top-of-his-head.
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Location: Michigan | oh boy bobg is watching american idol , lurking in the darkness to find the next 20 year old duane allman.GWB |
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Location: Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | ....without sounding like a hawk waiting for road kill, I'm hoping GC has a "going out of business" sale! The odds are slim but maybe I can pick up a deal on a 12-string Ovation I've been lusting for!! What would they do with all that inventory????? Sell it off to Sweetwater, Sam Ash or some other biggie??? |
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Location: Texas | "What would they do with all that inventory"
Musicians Friend is a subsidiary of theirs and I think they are profitable.
They have thinned out employees and stock...and what stock they have left in Amarillo isn't expensive.
Top end is about 1K here. |
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Location: Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | Musicians Friend must have let my customer service rep go since after trying to reach him for a simple request on a past purchase, they never returned my call!!!! |
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Location: closely held secret |
MF was awesome... until GC bought them.
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Location: Jet City | "All that inventory"
Catalogue resellers usually only stock things that move quickly. Most things are drop shipped from the manufacturers or distributors.
At least that's how it's done in the tech world |
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Location: Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | There is tons of store inventory that was my main point. They stuffed every store with a lot of gear which was probably their marketing ploy for the quick purchase but as the new world order of bean counting, having a heavy inventory is a lot of idle cash with interest to be paid on it. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | When I first went to Guitar Center it was because my daughter had a problem with an Ibanez guitar she ordered from MF. She lived in a little town without a GC. The assistant manager was very helpful and he and his successor got to know me as "the Ovation guy." I told both to let me know if they got any good Ovations in, but they never called, so I went in regularly on the way home from work. Both of them gave me great deals on Ovations and a Hamer, but left for other jobs. After that it seemed like I was more of a regular than any of their employees, so I quit going, except to buy strings if I get a GC gift card from a relative. I still get their flyers, but rarely see anything that interests me. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | One of our local GCs just completed a major remodel and it appears that they've added much more inventory. This will be interesting to watch. I stop by every now and then a check out the bargain bins. My most recent purchase was a Live Wire 50' 20 place snake for something like 70% off retail. That thing really helped clean up the bandroom floor. I used to buy cables from them, but now prefer the lifetime guaranteed Ultimates now carried by Alpep for only a few dollars more. |
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Location: Jet City | The last new guitar I bought from Guitar Center was in 1984 (Mark the VXT doesn't count since technically you paid for it).
I won't shed a tear when they go. |
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Location: Colorado | I will admit when they first came out - I liked the fact I could see lots of gear side by side - and A/B the stuff...many of the local stores - which I still prefer supported particular brands - which I understand...but after a few trips - I realized G/C was cold...saw just the same stuff...and quite frankly the staff didn't really know how to use the gear they sold....many years ago I probably sold more Ovations for them than their staff...just by sitting in the room - playing one - and talking about it...and people hearing with their own ears the quality. There was one D-41 - Don McLean model that was sweet...they wanted 2400...a good buy...went home - ran an errand - came back with my pedals to really listen to it through my stuff...it was gone...it was sweet. Played a couple others since then...weren't the same:-). |
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Location: Jet City | My last Guitar Center guitar purchase experience (very recent)...
I called a Florida store and asked about an LX guitar they had in their used inventory. I asked detailed questions about the condition as they had it marked at '3 stars'. He said all looked real good, minor wear, but the action was higher than he prefers.
I asked if they could check to see if there were shims under the saddle. He said it was impossible to check without removing the strings. I politely suggested that I could walk him or his guitar tech through the process of checking without removing.
He asked me to hold... a few minutes later... he picks back up and tells me his guitar tech says it's impossible on a painless bridge. I wanted to assure him it's very possible, but decide it's would only lead to more frustration. So I tell him I need to know this before making the decision to buy. They call me back after removing the strings and tell me there's ONE shim under. I verified that the case came with it per their ad saying it did. I was assured it came with a case. I gave my cc# and info and waited for it to arrive.
Day of arrival...
I hear the UPS truck out front, go get it, and IMMEDIATELY know something is very wrong. It's way too light. I turned the box right side up, opened the top, and there was a layer or so of bubble wrap, and the butt end of the guitar sticking up at me, upside down (standing on the neck), nothing wrapped around it NO CASE, no nothing. There was a small amount of bubble wrap at each end, nothing in the middle but the guitar they obviously just threw in.
I didn't pull it out or anything at that point. I closed the end back up, put it in the car, and drove to the nearest local GC store. I was there within 30 minutes of the UPS truck dropping it off. I brought in the box, asked for a manager, and had him open it up the rest of the way. He couldn't believe it either. I wanted to be sure the manager saw any damage first hand.
Well, guess what. Ovations are fuckin-badass and ready for a war zone, cuz there was NOTHING wrong with it, and as a matter of fact, it was still in tune.
The local manager was kind enough to deal with the Florida store for me and the case was eventually sent out, but REALLY PEOPLE. There is a person who's JOB IT IS to pack and ship at these stores. There's a sales person who's supposed to LISTEN to the customer. There's a so-called 'tech-guy' that could have learned a new trick for his trade. And there's a store manager who's supposed to be making sure all of these folks are doing these things, but no...
This was a fail at all levels.
It was an EPIC fail for a company that is supposedly trying to pull themselves out of the crap they're in. There's no quality control, there's no accountability, there's no care in the world about customer service. Have a look at retail organizations that actually do well. Two local companies here, Costco and Nordstroms, are great examples of customer service centric companies that are thriving.
This is just the last story, I have MANY others. There's been 2 different times they've shipped me guitars that were totalled beyond repair, and it was obvious they left the store that way. One time they sold me a guitar without telling me someone had done a home made scallop job on the fretboard. And then, and then, and then
I get better customer service at Jack In The Box
They deserve all the ill that's coming their way. |
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Location: Jet City | Oh, BTW...
While the local manager was on the phone with the Florida manager hashing things out, I sat in front of him, slacked the strings, capoed the 12th fret, and lifted up the saddle to find two (not 1 like they had told me) shims.
The local manager just shook his head and smiled.
Ovation ROCKS
Guitar Center sucksass |
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Location: Pueblo West, CO | damon67 - 2015-02-21 2:59 PM
slacked the strings, capoed the 12th fret, and lifted up the saddle to find two (not 1 like they had told me) shims.
That's all the better. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | So? Which chain store will you miss more: Guitar Center? Or Radio Shack? 
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Location: Utah | I used to love Radio Shack 30 years ago. I would check tubes from the old B&W tv there and could buy whichever ones I needed. I bought lots of electronic components from them to build various projects. |
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Location: closely held secret | damon67 - 2015-02-21 2:53 PMThere is a person who's JOB IT IS to pack and ship at these stores. There's a sales person who's supposed to LISTEN to the customer. There's a so-called 'tech-guy' that could have learned a new trick for his trade. And there's a store manager who's supposed to be making sure all of these folks are doing these things, but no...
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Location: Midwest USA | FlySig - 2015-02-22 9:15 AM
I used to love Radio Shack 30 years ago. I would check tubes from the old B&W tv there and could buy whichever ones I needed. I bought lots of electronic components from them to build various projects. Me too! It was about 50 years ago when I was 9 my Dad would take me to the radio shack to test the television tubes. I loved figuring out the pin pattern on the tube tester. We got hooked on Heathkit electronic stuff. Built the electric garage door opener first and then moved up to the ham radio and electronic organ. Spent a lot of time soldering as a young girl. Dad was an electrical engineer. Too bad parents don't build projects with their kids any more. Those are some of my favorite memories.
Edited by Bird Dog 2015-02-22 2:36 PM
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Location: Utah | The younger generation only knows throwing things away, not fixing them or building them. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | And the art of soldering is becoming a lost art!! Nothing like the smell of sizzling flux to get yur adrenaline going!! |
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Location: Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire | I still have a pair of 676 GC German made power tubes I bought from Radio Shack many years ago. Gold plated pins and a lifetime warrantee! Doesn't sound like the warrantee will last too much longer! And Yes, they had a tube tester which was great! A great place for hobbyists but its so true that many don't have a clue on soldering, building simple circuits etc. Amazon was rumored to be looking at acquiring them.......who knows.
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| My 16 year old had a bad input capacitor on his Bass head. He thought he needed a new amp. I went to Radio Shack got a replacement cap and soldered it in. For a day or two I was elevated to "*** like" status. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I recently went to Radio Shack for the first time in years for a couple of outdoor speakers. I must admit that I was shopping online and didn't think about Radio Shack until I saw that they had the best price online. The store was on the way home and had what I wanted for 25% off because of the closures. The clerk even seemed to know what he was talking about, but couldn't get the credit card scanner to work, so I couldn't buy them. I went back the next day and bought them. I just like being able to see what I'm shopping for and talking face to face with someone, unless that someone doesn't know anything. |
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Location: Jet City | I used to go to radio shack all the time. There's one not even a half black away. I don't have much ill to say about them, they just kinda lost their relevance in my world.
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The End of an Era
