I tend to not especially when I have a few beers in me. Yesterday a neighbour asked me: "Did you hear that guitar last Friday? Was just playing random things, not even finishing a song" Yeah that would be me just sitting there playing radom riffs and licks. I would probably fit right in at guitar center. Wonder if the neighbour was passive aggressive though. "you suck anyway so keep it down" was implied :P
My signature guitar center move as a kid was to go to the Boss pedal display, turn on every single pedal, then set the delay feedback to infinity, crank the amp.. then play a harmonic and walk out of the store watching the employees run to the pedal board covering their ears. Good times.
I used to work at Guitar Center's San Francisco branch back in the late 90's, and this sure brings back memories. I've both witnessed and been some of these people. But to be fair, there have been some magical moments too, because we had a few talented and skilled musicians working at the branch, and sometimes they'd jam with the customers or each other and blow everyone in the store away. There was this one time when a customer came in to test out amps for his harmonica, and his friend was playing some really basic chords on the guitar to accompany him. One of our guitar techs was an accomplished guitarist and was like, "His friend is totally selling him short." So he plugged in a guitar and joined in, playing some really beautiful and sophisticated chord progressions, and the guy with the harmonica responded by playing some really amazing stuff. The whole store was entranced. There were also times when the drum department guys all got on kits and played together and that was always a lot of fun.
Ill bet guitar center you worked for in san francisco witnessed a lot of well known guys coming through town. You probably know personally .Did you ever deal with guys like (demanding equipment?? Lol
@@dannyhood7433 We've had some famous musicians do clinics or judge competitions, and they were all very nice and gracious. I don't recall any asshole behaviors. We once had Akira Jimbo come do a drum clinic in-store and it was awesome. Drummers from famous bands came to check it out and pay their respects. We also had a drumming competition in-store and the judges were all drummers from famous bands (Faith No More was one of them).
@@vicferrari89 The guy was no Toots Thielemans, but he was pretty damn good. He wasn't just playing some simple blues lines, but jazzy stuff with interesting melodic contours.
I'm a 3/10 guitar player at best and found myself in a guitar store in Mexico City one day, picked up a guitar and started to Noodle it wasn't two or three minutes later a crowd had gathered around me and stared in awe and applauded when I was done. Made no sense but I was King for a day!
There was this guy I saw the other day who got kicked out. He was going around playing in everybody’s face, insulted the old nice tech, insulted the employees, acted insanely arrogant, then I heard an employee say “he auditioned for my band like 2 years ago and he was the weirdest kid I ever met” lmao.
I would give up the locations of all the missile sites, name all the spies, sell out my own family even, if the CIA subjected me to that for even an hour. How on earth anyone can remain sane and work in a Guitar Center is beyond me. They should be trained up as Navy Seals or something 😂
There's an album called "Everywhere at the End of Time." It starts out as music, but slowly devolves into just noise, representing the progression of dementia. That is what that Final clip sounds like
I once thought I was alone in guitar center. I tuned up and played a few notes and landed on an E and from there I went into playing Killer of Giants Ozzy/Jake E Lee and when I got done with the badass solo I was feeling it and ended it with improv and the employee with a customer came out and said "dude, that was beautiful.." and I'm still embarrassed to play at guitar center.. Never again
LMAO...my 4 year old came to see what I was watching and said, "Dad...that sounds terrible!" gave me a nasty face and then ran off covering his ears LOL
I've never been to guitar center. The state I grew up in never had one until literally the day my parents and I moved out. Their grand opening was on the same morning that we started our road trip across the country, and we moved to another place nowhere near a guitar store of any kind. I really feel like I'm missing out on some of the key experiences of every player's journey here. I can only hope that someday I get to experience the joy and embarrassment of annoying the employees with my terrible playing.
I have absolutely no issue with people playing "badly" in a shop, we are all at different stages in our journey and even when you're not great, you need to be able to try out gear.
I've been playing for over 30 years, last time I bought a Guitar in my local store, I played it unplugged for 5 minutes, liked the look and feel of it, plugged it in and played a C major chord arpeggio once for each pick up position to check the volume and tone knobs worked, all I needed to know before bringing it home, I think the store employees are more likely to give me a better deal if I don't make a shit load of noise and annoy them first, like anyone else I'm sure they appreciate a professional attitude, I know I got discount, a strap, a couple of extra picks and a spare set of strings thrown in, and the dude's in the store always say hi when I meet them out and about. Same rule goes for, don't piss off the cook who cooks your food.
Last three guitars I've bought I barely even played them. You may laugh but the first was an Ibanez SZ540QM, the second was a Yamaha RGX640DX, and the last was a cheap Aiersi Chinese Tele copy, that after I levelled the frets is actually the guitar I pick up first. Traded a Marshall 100W Valvestate for the Ibanez, paid $300 for the Yamaha, and $125 for the Aiersi. The Ibanez is in the middle of a fret job as I played it to death, the Yamaha is just an amazing guitar that never needs tuning (and has a floating trem/plays like a $1000 guitar), and the Tele copy is just the workhorse that I'm so glad I drove out of my way to steal at that price. It's hilarious how good cheap guitars can be with a little love. I just look at the level of the frets, the action, obvious chips/cracks, fret wear, and abuse. To me, playing a used guitar won't tell me much unless I sit with it for a week. Usually at the end of the week it plays like I've spent 4 times more than I did. I like turning junk into gold.
Pretty much the same deal here. I do a check for dead frets unplugged and then play the same run up and down the neck to make sure it's comfortable and not something I'll have to get used to playing. Then I plug it in and do the same run a few times to make sure the electronics are in order and everything sounds clear. Then we're done. Takes like a minute.
On my latest GC visit (at Arlington, TX) I walked in behind a dad and his son. Guessing the son was about 17 or so and soon it was obvious they were shopping for his next guitar. Pop was kinda pushing Teles and Strats, son liked Gibs and Epis. Anyway this kid was awesome, played some warmups then got into various song passages and freeform improvisations, scales and arpeggios, all sounding very technical and musical but in no way stiff or mechanical or riffy. A skilled, gifted player with no bad habits or crutches. He was actually using his repertoire to help him choose a guitar rather than to show off in public. It was some of the best playing I've heard anywhere in a while and I felt lucky to be there. I'm pretty good and been playing for decades but this young man already blows me away and he and dad have class and treated me and everyone with respect. Anyway he did not find what he wanted that day but they hung out and we ended up talking for about a half hour about music, looked at a few guitars together. One of those great days at the guitar store.
Sadly we don't have any guitar center within a few hundred miles of where I live. I actually buy all my gear at a barber shop that happens to also sell guitars.
The last one is literally wat my anxiety sounds like. Like literally every since I was a kid there was this weird anxiety episodes I would get where I just hear and mentally visualized tons of random instruments playing super loud no one in unison and just random loud noises that I couldn’t get to stop. I can’t be the only one and there’s got to be a name for it...or maybe I’m just loony
Not trying to be rude here, people often stigmatize mental illnesses. You may need to see a psychiatrist. That could be fixed with medication, it could be a small tumor. For your health I hope you are getting that checked out by a professional.
Kinda begs the question what would it sound like if these guitar players (I use the term loosely) crashed a Chuck E. Cheese? Im thinking 13th level of Hell
If I bring my gf to GC, she will head to the drums. Which is ok, because she has zero sense of rhythm. You could be blindfolded and throw random things at the drum section, and have better rhythm. Always puts a smile on my face. There is also an older gentleman who seems to think he is putting on a show for us. Plays every 80s metal song he knows, and pauses after each one and looks around for praise.
I remember one time I was in a Music Go Round and I had been trying a guitar out for a few minutes and then another guy sat down at amp with a guitar and started playing. He began laying some licks down over what I was doing and then I did the same to what he he was playing and we went back and forth for a few more minutes. It was pretty cool and sounded good.
I've never really had the guts to be most of those folks, mainly cuz it seem like everytime I plug in at the guitar/music store my mind goes completely blank and I have no idea what to play, or that I even know how to play. Thankfully, that doesn't happen to me live!!
This video takes me back when I was a teenager going to the music stores with my friends. LOL! Our main store here in Ontario Canada was Steve's Music. It was a wall of noise on the weekends.
I had a bad experience at Guitar Center. I was shopping for a new acoustic acoustic guitar and wanted to try the higher end models. Not being a person who just grabs guitars off the rack, I waited for someone to ask me if I needed help. These guys wouldn’t even look at me. One guy was all excited selling a mandolin strap and the other guy was all excited selling a $200 Yamaha acoustic. I told my wife they have 5 minutes to help me or we’re out of there. We ended up leaving and driving 20 minutes away to a small music shop. As soon as we walked in we had the owners attention and he asked what I needed and I told him what I wanted and how much I was spending and he brought me 5 guitars to try that he thought I’d like. I asked him if I could detune and he said sure, you obviously know what you’re doing. I ended up leaving with a nice Taylor guitar. I love it. Sales people acknowledge your customers.
Most salesmen nowadays wait to be approached since most people don’t want to be approached anymore so they don’t bother. Places who still practice standard procedure are nice tho!
I had a similar experience. Some salespeople were making negative comments trying to be funny. Once they learned I owned the biggest recording studio in town, I was then greeted with respect every time, as we had an account there. But it doesn't have to be that way. Basic respect isn't that hard.
I think there is a not insignificant amount of people who downvote strictly based on titles. A lot of people holding onto their hopes that they can make a stand against "clickbait" titles. Some may see the word "cringe" and assume it's used that way.
The best experience i had trying new rig was in a Chilean music store inside a shopping center.. right there they got a small sealed room for testing stuff... it is great idea for both customers and sellers...
I think the guitar center dude said "you gotta go" I actually can't stand guitar center. I mean in small doses to get what I need and leave it's ok. But the staff always seem to think they know more than they actually do and are occasionally rude.
When you said " This is what Hell sounds like" I was laughing for 15 minutes. When I hear all that when I enter G.C., I just walk right out. Great video!
The Kawasaki guy looked a little like your sketch doppelganger. 😄 The kid wasn't wearing headphones, it was ear protection. When I went to buy my last guitar I went to a huge music center after Christmas. It was hell times 10, not just guitars, everything. Parents with vouchers and their kids trying out every instrument on the planet, including violins they couldn't play. It was still fun to buy my guitar, but boy...
the first guy can play but everyone else sucks!😋, BUT If they only played with the Wah Wah Pedal, ALL your solos will sound Good whether your a beginner or a noob. Whammy Pedal is the Ultimate Guitar Invention Ever. It beautifies my crappy soloing and masks my shaky and horrible vibrato.🤘
My first guitar (brown sunburst Memphis Les Paul) was from Wally's pawn shop in beautiful downtown Zion, Il. I don' think Guitar Center was even thought of yet at that time.
My Saturday job while still at school was in a music shop. (Polishing, re-stringing, etc. Making coffee or tea.) It's a real experience more need to go through!
This is why I always look at a few electrics casually, then dive into the acoustic room, where I can hide, feel comfortable, and not allow myself to look like any of these people :)
I worked at guitar center around the time those Line 6 Spiders came out with the iPod jack. I remember like it was yesterday… Three times a week this smelly guy would come in, plug his iPod into the spider, grab a $1500+ type guitar off the wall, and he’d jam out to his iPod with his volume set at eleven. We had two nicknames for him “Sweat Master Zero” or “the dude who smells like cheese” our GM told us we had to let him do his own thing because every once in a while he’d buy something. After he left we used to have to wipe his nasty sweat of the guitars. Fond memories I tells ya!
Had a part time gig in a local music store back in the mid 2000s. There was a guy who was known as “The Serenader” among the staff. He would always come in every Tuesday morning, grab a Gibson or Martin off the wall in the acoustic room and sing James Taylor and Harry Chapin songs for an hour. Over the six years I worked there, we wound up changing a lot of strings on those guitars solely because of that guy.
For some reason Everytime I'm in Guitar Center, instead of playing the stuff I know down pat, I always am like oh that riff I just learned of three seconds ago I'll try that lol. So I understand ... Kind of lol
That last video is the grand opening of the Guitar center in times square ( RIP btw) they called it " the night the gates to hell opened" i was part of the opening crew and personally turned up everyone's amps...
When I was 15 a shop in London gave me a Les Paul custom shop to play. Store guy put the strap over my shoulder and it just dropped off the strap button onto my foot! Everyone in the store was like 😡😲. Then they told me to get the hell out!
Yeah, playing what you can is fine. If youre a beginner nobody judges you. But if you try to be yngwie but cant even play smoke on the water on time. People will judge you
I was thinking CFH. Either that or a very, VERY bad attempt at Walk without bending the string and hammering from F to Gb and then G to try to get the same effect.
I worked in a Guitar Center for almost a year and a half and had previous experience selling guitars, keyboards, pro audio, etc. and know how to program drums and keyboards besides being as audio engineer in NYC for 20+ years!! That wasn't good enough for them!! The managers helped their buddies who worked there take away my sales, refused to make me full time although one of the stipulations of me taking the job was to be full time in 6 months but the worst fail I experienced was a new store manager who got the idea in his head that I was a Republican ( He's a Democrat and I'm an Independent although it was none of his business!), calls me into his office and says "Republicans all hate women and are all Racist!!" That's all he said and the following week he cut my hours down to 4 a week and when Covid happened I was the first to be laid off!!! It's funny because in pro audio I was the only one who knew MIDI, recording, signal flow plus I could work in any department and do good but they don't care about that stuff!!! I won't tell you which store it was but I live in West Palm Beach, Florida!!!! They never asked me to come back but they did hire more hacks for sales!!! I feel so much better now!!!!
you should have sued him for discrimination based on political beliefs or affiliation. same as religious or racial discrimination. you have laws protecting you from this kind of treatment.
My worst experience at a Guitar Center, I went in to buy a mixing board and the salesman's breath was so bad I excused myself and went into another section of the store (the Saturday guitar playing groupies) and that made me really want to hurl.
That was completely unfair, you melted yourself out the video and left me alone my ears bleeding 😃 thank you for your continued enthusiasm for the craft
In the early 80's, we had Willis Music inside the Fayette Mall in Lexington, Kentucky...lol A couple friends and I spent more time at that place on the weekend than some of the employees...lol The older piano salesman hated us but the younger instrument salesman were as cool as you could be in 80's...lmao!
I jammed with Billy Cox ( Band of Gypsies ) in a music store for about 30 min without knowing who it was . He was playing bass behind a stack of amps and on the other side I was messing with a Stratocaster playing blues which he then began accompanying
The only time I turn it up in a guitar store is when I'm buying an amp, or if I think I'll buy the guitar. Even then i can make either decision in just a couple of minutes. Many times I've made the decision not to buy a guitar before I even plugged it in.
I went to a guitar center during the last hour one night. I had joined a bigger band and was in the market to buy a much better bass than I had currently. I was looking for something with an active pre-amp. There was hardly anyone in there so when I plugged in I turned way down. I was really trying to vibe with the active controls so I was plucking hard, popping, slapping… just trying to understand what the EQ can do for me. That’s when a kid in a Misfit’s shirt came in and plugged up on the other side of my amp and cranked up. He was obviously beginner level as I listened to him bang away annoyingly at super volume. I picked up my bass and moved to an amp further away. He moved a little bit closer playing obnoxiously loud again. I was being trolled. I think I was supposed to engage in a volume war? After that I moved into the small bass room they had at that GC and closed the door. Looking back that’s hilarious, but it was pretty annoying at the time. I ended up falling in love with an American Jazz Bass Deluxe that I later went back and bought.
We had this stellar music shop in my city. I only bought from them to support them, then they built a GC a couple blocks away and the old music shop is dying. I'm forced to go to GC a lot now cause my shop just doesn't have what I need half the time anymore. I always go there first, but at least 60% of the time I end up having to leave and go to GC. Sucks.
I purchased a gretsch not too long ago. Didn't plug it in. Just checked how it sounded acoustically and checked throughout the neck and inspected the body. The salesman was surprised when it took me a couple of minute to purchase it. He asked if I wanted to hear it plugged in. I asked if the pickups were working. He said yes. I was looking for a light guitar to "hide" at work :) . No need for a concert.
When I was a kid I loved jamming out something cool trying out gear in any store. As an adult I just mine my own business, investigate what I want and get out quick! Salesman are just annoying now a days, and the vibes going into a music store now a days just feels so fake. All the small pieces of gear I need now just order online.
10:21 That feedback triggered my PTSD. One time wen I was at Sam Ash trying out guitars, some dude close by me turned on the amp and it fed back with his guitar SUPER loud. I remember the employees looking over at me and I was thinking "Please don't think that was me!"
The cringe level is over 9000!
Love u bro
I understood that refernce! And I'm proud of it!
Let us know when you are out here in Orygun.
Cringe
@Aubert Lachance you can probably change language
Shout out to anyone else too self conscious to plug in a guitar in Guitar Center.
Only when I was too drunk or half drunk LOL
I used to plug in and play; then I turned 17 and stopped
You got this, brother. Learn a riff and just use it to test gear. No need to be Eddie
@@JustinSpakable I got open chords for days buddy.
Lol , tune up, hit the E chord, call it a day
Meanwhile I keep my volume on a blues junior at 2 and still wonder if I’m being an asshole
Couldn’t relate more 😂
Jajajajajajajajaja
Lmfaooo this was me just last week
I tend to not especially when I have a few beers in me. Yesterday a neighbour asked me: "Did you hear that guitar last Friday? Was just playing random things, not even finishing a song" Yeah that would be me just sitting there playing radom riffs and licks. I would probably fit right in at guitar center. Wonder if the neighbour was passive aggressive though. "you suck anyway so keep it down" was implied :P
@@IrLosin my neighbor likes my playing so much, he threw a brick through my window so he could hear me better😂😂
My signature guitar center move as a kid was to go to the Boss pedal display, turn on every single pedal, then set the delay feedback to infinity, crank the amp.. then play a harmonic and walk out of the store watching the employees run to the pedal board covering their ears. Good times.
So YOU'RE the reason most of those are unplugged 😒
Love it. Legend
That shit is hilarious
@@georgehill6098 this was the early 00s, it guitar center was the Wild West haha
@Casual Observer that is funny as fuck.
I clicked faster than it takes for someone with perfect pitch to tell me they have perfect pitch
This deserves to be hearted 😂
As someone with perfect pitch, I would like to say that I don’t say that I have perfect pitch every opportunity I have.
But I agree xD
Rudy Ayoub
I rarely ever talk about mine tbh.
@@noahprice4894 you just did
I used to work at Guitar Center's San Francisco branch back in the late 90's, and this sure brings back memories. I've both witnessed and been some of these people. But to be fair, there have been some magical moments too, because we had a few talented and skilled musicians working at the branch, and sometimes they'd jam with the customers or each other and blow everyone in the store away. There was this one time when a customer came in to test out amps for his harmonica, and his friend was playing some really basic chords on the guitar to accompany him. One of our guitar techs was an accomplished guitarist and was like, "His friend is totally selling him short." So he plugged in a guitar and joined in, playing some really beautiful and sophisticated chord progressions, and the guy with the harmonica responded by playing some really amazing stuff. The whole store was entranced. There were also times when the drum department guys all got on kits and played together and that was always a lot of fun.
Ill bet guitar center you worked for in san francisco witnessed a lot of well known guys coming through town. You probably know personally .Did you ever deal with guys like (demanding equipment?? Lol
@@dannyhood7433 We've had some famous musicians do clinics or judge competitions, and they were all very nice and gracious. I don't recall any asshole behaviors. We once had Akira Jimbo come do a drum clinic in-store and it was awesome. Drummers from famous bands came to check it out and pay their respects. We also had a drumming competition in-store and the judges were all drummers from famous bands (Faith No More was one of them).
@@LunatiqueRobcool
I'm sorry, I don't believe that a harp player played anything amazing. (Mic drop)
@@vicferrari89 The guy was no Toots Thielemans, but he was pretty damn good. He wasn't just playing some simple blues lines, but jazzy stuff with interesting melodic contours.
To be fair, if im usually a 5/10 guitar player, when i step into a store im automatically a 3. I dont know why this happens but its real.
when I used to go in hungover,I was usually less self-conscious and knew the person that worked there was trying to impress them with my latest flicks
I get that same disorder whenever someone asks me to play for them. Can’t remember how to play anything.
@@doughnut3639 when that happens my mind can only go to songs u learned 15 years ago when i started.
@@blackmage567 it’s a curse, my mind instantly goes to smoke on the water 😂
Same I forget everything when I test out a guitar, and I’ve gotten into Berklee jesus....
Alex Van Halen has the Harley shuffle; Guitar Center visitor has the dirt bike groove.
I'm a 3/10 guitar player at best and found myself in a guitar store in Mexico City one day, picked up a guitar and started to Noodle it wasn't two or three minutes later a crowd had gathered around me and stared in awe and applauded when I was done. Made no sense but I was King for a day!
you dont sound too 3/10 to me then lol
There was this guy I saw the other day who got kicked out. He was going around playing in everybody’s face, insulted the old nice tech, insulted the employees, acted insanely arrogant, then I heard an employee say “he auditioned for my band like 2 years ago and he was the weirdest kid I ever met” lmao.
The last clip could literally be a form of mental torture
It's the sound of imminent death I wonder the store owner didn't kick them out
I like your name
I would give up the locations of all the missile sites, name all the spies, sell out my own family even, if the CIA subjected me to that for even an hour. How on earth anyone can remain sane and work in a Guitar Center is beyond me. They should be trained up as Navy Seals or something 😂
9:17 almost fell of my chair laughing! "Its like stubbing your toe, on drums"
There's an album called "Everywhere at the End of Time." It starts out as music, but slowly devolves into just noise, representing the progression of dementia. That is what that Final clip sounds like
I believe it's like 6 hours long or something like that isn't it?
@@Krullmatic it is
Lmao -“this is what hell sounds like.” You hit the nail on the head.
I once thought I was alone in guitar center. I tuned up and played a few notes and landed on an E and from there I went into playing Killer of Giants Ozzy/Jake E Lee and when I got done with the badass solo I was feeling it and ended it with improv and the employee with a customer came out and said "dude, that was beautiful.." and I'm still embarrassed to play at guitar center.. Never again
can we get a lesson on that dirt bike technique??
Just bend the A5 chord down
I'm gonna put it on my TikTok www.tiktok.com/@musicisw?lang=en
You need a Yamaha! They make both guitars AND bikes :)
LMAO...my 4 year old came to see what I was watching and said, "Dad...that sounds terrible!" gave me a nasty face and then ran off covering his ears LOL
You're not playing enough metal around your child. I'd recommend 'Ba-by Shark djent djent djent-djent djent-djent.' to start.
8:55 When you get caught stealing and have to pay a different way
Lmao, Best comment
I don’t get who you’re referring to?
@@vs4571 he's referring to Tyler describing the low strings on the 8 string by stroking his hand back and forth and making a "choking on dick" sound.
Only at guitar center.
2:51 Me trying to impress the employees in the store
I clicked on this video so fast that playing the forbidden riff in guitar stores was still a trend
Cringe
Is the forbidden riff paradise city?
@@jackgraham5037 no it's darude sandstorm bro
11:34 that scene in Toy Story 3 when the kids come in from recess and screw around with the toys
"the bass player doesn't seem to pay any attention" as a bass player I can confirm that sometimes, that is the case xD
As soon as he said that I felt like there almost needed to be a tongue in cheek fourth wall break
The drummer sets the beat and the vocalist sets the key. Once the bass player knows both of those things, everything else is irrelevant.
What goes around comes around
As a bass player I also second that lol.
11:15 "Dude, Guitar Center on a Saturday, this is what Hell sounds like." LMAO
I strive for these peoples level of “not giving a damn”
Air Guitar Demon: Only a true master of guitar would see that I am there... When is this meet up this summer?
8:54 I’m sure someone will make a meme of this 😂
Of an ad?
@@tahirmukic5460 Ararararararararara
Guitar center was different in the 90s. Now, it's a lot more tame
cause people regularly have Cameras now.😂
Scheters going into a line 6... exactly what I had when I was 15 still have them actually
I've never been to guitar center. The state I grew up in never had one until literally the day my parents and I moved out. Their grand opening was on the same morning that we started our road trip across the country, and we moved to another place nowhere near a guitar store of any kind. I really feel like I'm missing out on some of the key experiences of every player's journey here. I can only hope that someday I get to experience the joy and embarrassment of annoying the employees with my terrible playing.
I have absolutely no issue with people playing "badly" in a shop, we are all at different stages in our journey and even when you're not great, you need to be able to try out gear.
I've been playing for over 30 years, last time I bought a Guitar in my local store, I played it unplugged for 5 minutes, liked the look and feel of it, plugged it in and played a C major chord arpeggio once for each pick up position to check the volume and tone knobs worked, all I needed to know before bringing it home,
I think the store employees are more likely to give me a better deal if I don't make a shit load of noise and annoy them first, like anyone else I'm sure they appreciate a professional attitude, I know I got discount, a strap, a couple of extra picks and a spare set of strings thrown in, and the dude's in the store always say hi when I meet them out and about.
Same rule goes for, don't piss off the cook who cooks your food.
Last three guitars I've bought I barely even played them. You may laugh but the first was an Ibanez SZ540QM, the second was a Yamaha RGX640DX, and the last was a cheap Aiersi Chinese Tele copy, that after I levelled the frets is actually the guitar I pick up first. Traded a Marshall 100W Valvestate for the Ibanez, paid $300 for the Yamaha, and $125 for the Aiersi.
The Ibanez is in the middle of a fret job as I played it to death, the Yamaha is just an amazing guitar that never needs tuning (and has a floating trem/plays like a $1000 guitar), and the Tele copy is just the workhorse that I'm so glad I drove out of my way to steal at that price. It's hilarious how good cheap guitars can be with a little love.
I just look at the level of the frets, the action, obvious chips/cracks, fret wear, and abuse. To me, playing a used guitar won't tell me much unless I sit with it for a week. Usually at the end of the week it plays like I've spent 4 times more than I did. I like turning junk into gold.
Pretty much the same deal here. I do a check for dead frets unplugged and then play the same run up and down the neck to make sure it's comfortable and not something I'll have to get used to playing. Then I plug it in and do the same run a few times to make sure the electronics are in order and everything sounds clear. Then we're done. Takes like a minute.
On my latest GC visit (at Arlington, TX) I walked in behind a dad and his son. Guessing the son was about 17 or so and soon it was obvious they were shopping for his next guitar. Pop was kinda pushing Teles and Strats, son liked Gibs and Epis. Anyway this kid was awesome, played some warmups then got into various song passages and freeform improvisations, scales and arpeggios, all sounding very technical and musical but in no way stiff or mechanical or riffy. A skilled, gifted player with no bad habits or crutches. He was actually using his repertoire to help him choose a guitar rather than to show off in public. It was some of the best playing I've heard anywhere in a while and I felt lucky to be there. I'm pretty good and been playing for decades but this young man already blows me away and he and dad have class and treated me and everyone with respect. Anyway he did not find what he wanted that day but they hung out and we ended up talking for about a half hour about music, looked at a few guitars together. One of those great days at the guitar store.
Sadly we don't have any guitar center within a few hundred miles of where I live. I actually buy all my gear at a barber shop that happens to also sell guitars.
And pizza??
"Not everyone has to hear you, believe it or not." -My FAVORITE quote!
The last one is literally wat my anxiety sounds like. Like literally every since I was a kid there was this weird anxiety episodes I would get where I just hear and mentally visualized tons of random instruments playing super loud no one in unison and just random loud noises that I couldn’t get to stop. I can’t be the only one and there’s got to be a name for it...or maybe I’m just loony
Auditory illusions from schizophrenia?
Not trying to be rude here, people often stigmatize mental illnesses.
You may need to see a psychiatrist. That could be fixed with medication, it could be a small tumor. For your health I hope you are getting that checked out by a professional.
“Guitar Center on a Saturday... this is what hell sounds like” 🤣🤣🤣 So very true.
Those two kids rehearsing in guitar center sounded like an old 56k dial up modem
"This is what Hell sounds like."
Apparently, he hasn't been to Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday afternoon.
Kinda begs the question what would it sound like if these guitar players (I use the term loosely) crashed a Chuck E. Cheese?
Im thinking 13th level of Hell
If I bring my gf to GC, she will head to the drums. Which is ok, because she has zero sense of rhythm. You could be blindfolded and throw random things at the drum section, and have better rhythm.
Always puts a smile on my face.
There is also an older gentleman who seems to think he is putting on a show for us.
Plays every 80s metal song he knows, and pauses after each one and looks around for praise.
I remember one time I was in a Music Go Round and I had been trying a guitar out for a few minutes and then another guy sat down at amp with a guitar and started playing. He began laying some licks down over what I was doing and then I did the same to what he he was playing and we went back and forth for a few more minutes. It was pretty cool and sounded good.
I've never really had the guts to be most of those folks, mainly cuz it seem like everytime I plug in at the guitar/music store my mind goes completely blank and I have no idea what to play, or that I even know how to play. Thankfully, that doesn't happen to me live!!
This video takes me back when I was a teenager going to the music stores with my friends. LOL! Our main store here in Ontario Canada was Steve's Music. It was a wall of noise on the weekends.
"I thought the fail was gonna be like the guy was gonna turn up the amp and play terribly..."
No Tyler, that's you.
BOOM. ROASTED.
I had a bad experience at Guitar Center. I was shopping for a new acoustic acoustic guitar and wanted to try the higher end models. Not being a person who just grabs guitars off the rack, I waited for someone to ask me if I needed help. These guys wouldn’t even look at me. One guy was all excited selling a mandolin strap and the other guy was all excited selling a $200 Yamaha acoustic. I told my wife they have 5 minutes to help me or we’re out of there. We ended up leaving and driving 20 minutes away to a small music shop. As soon as we walked in we had the owners attention and he asked what I needed and I told him what I wanted and how much I was spending and he brought me 5 guitars to try that he thought I’d like. I asked him if I could detune and he said sure, you obviously know what you’re doing. I ended up leaving with a nice Taylor guitar. I love it. Sales people acknowledge your customers.
Most salesmen nowadays wait to be approached since most people don’t want to be approached anymore so they don’t bother. Places who still practice standard procedure are nice tho!
That's the difference between a guy who plays and that has his life invested in the store as opposed to some kid who has a shitty retail 'job'.
I had a similar experience. Some salespeople were making negative comments trying to be funny. Once they learned I owned the biggest recording studio in town, I was then greeted with respect every time, as we had an account there. But it doesn't have to be that way. Basic respect isn't that hard.
Please remember when you go into a music store with the intention of being super loud, you don’t have to be there and the employees do.
1:48 that's called the guitar world standing seizure!
I love how someone disliked the video without even watching the whole thing :|
@The SNES Man yeah, I tought so as well, but after seeing Aidan's coment I think they actually do that.
I think there is a not insignificant amount of people who downvote strictly based on titles. A lot of people holding onto their hopes that they can make a stand against "clickbait" titles. Some may see the word "cringe" and assume it's used that way.
Probab is y one of the cringe people lol
11:25 They are just playing Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.
Every time I wanted to try an electric guitar, this was the atmosphere, so I usually just gave up and went to the acoustic room.
The best experience i had trying new rig was in a Chilean music store inside a shopping center..
right there they got a small sealed room for testing stuff... it is great idea for both customers and sellers...
Most decent stores have a 'practice room' that has diminished audio output
I think the guitar center dude said "you gotta go" I actually can't stand guitar center. I mean in small doses to get what I need and leave it's ok. But the staff always seem to think they know more than they actually do and are occasionally rude.
I think that's why the " can I help you" is mostly treated with "no, go f yourself"
When you said " This is what Hell sounds like" I was laughing for 15 minutes. When I hear all that when I enter G.C., I just walk right out. Great video!
The aired guitar demon is like watching Stevie Wonder try to play guitar
Idiot- Stevie wonder can play every instrument
Consider this: he is a multi-instrumentalist.
The man is blind, and could STILL play better than most everyone here.
That made me laugh too hatd
The Kawasaki guy looked a little like your sketch doppelganger. 😄
The kid wasn't wearing headphones, it was ear protection.
When I went to buy my last guitar I went to a huge music center after Christmas. It was hell times 10, not just guitars, everything. Parents with vouchers and their kids trying out every instrument on the planet, including violins they couldn't play. It was still fun to buy my guitar, but boy...
My favorite fail is when they send a well used floor model even if you purchased as “new” online. :D
I lost it with the dirt bike!!!! Well played, Sir! Great edit!
the first guy can play but everyone else sucks!😋, BUT If they only played with the Wah Wah Pedal, ALL your solos will sound Good whether your a beginner or a noob. Whammy Pedal is the Ultimate Guitar Invention Ever. It beautifies my crappy soloing and masks my shaky and horrible vibrato.🤘
Not sure which video you watched, but the first player in this video sucked out loud.
My first guitar (brown sunburst Memphis Les Paul) was from Wally's pawn shop in beautiful downtown Zion, Il. I don' think Guitar Center was even thought of yet at that time.
The nice thing about being a bassist, you've got your own corner of the store
My Saturday job while still at school was in a music shop. (Polishing, re-stringing, etc. Making coffee or tea.) It's a real experience more need to go through!
This is why I always look at a few electrics casually, then dive into the acoustic room, where I can hide, feel comfortable, and not allow myself to look like any of these people :)
yeah I agree
And it sounds phenomenal in there. I love hooking a nice Taylor up to an acoustic amp. Omg it sounds great and hardly anyone goes in there lol
I worked at guitar center around the time those Line 6 Spiders came out with the iPod jack. I remember like it was yesterday… Three times a week this smelly guy would come in, plug his iPod into the spider, grab a $1500+ type guitar off the wall, and he’d jam out to his iPod with his volume set at eleven. We had two nicknames for him “Sweat Master Zero” or “the dude who smells like cheese” our GM told us we had to let him do his own thing because every once in a while he’d buy something. After he left we used to have to wipe his nasty sweat of the guitars. Fond memories I tells ya!
Tyler: I wish I could have coffee with Jimmy Page."
Also Tyler: *Plays Eddie Van Halen's guitar* "Oh well!"
Also Tyler as well: *plays Eric Clapton's guitar with Van Halen's pick*
Had a part time gig in a local music store back in the mid 2000s. There was a guy who was known as “The Serenader” among the staff. He would always come in every Tuesday morning, grab a Gibson or Martin off the wall in the acoustic room and sing James Taylor and Harry Chapin songs for an hour.
Over the six years I worked there, we wound up changing a lot of strings on those guitars solely because of that guy.
For some reason Everytime I'm in Guitar Center, instead of playing the stuff I know down pat, I always am like oh that riff I just learned of three seconds ago I'll try that lol. So I understand ... Kind of lol
“Shelter guitar through a Line 6 Spider. Classic tone” one of my favorite lines of all time
2:26 he just has a lot of feeling 😂
That Crack Groove 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@justintaylor8043 lmao
That last video is the grand opening of the Guitar center in times square ( RIP btw) they called it " the night the gates to hell opened" i was part of the opening crew and personally turned up everyone's amps...
10:50
Probably the song is Flight of the Bumblebee, I can’t tell 😂
That's what i thought 😂
When I was 15 a shop in London gave me a Les Paul custom shop to play. Store guy put the strap over my shoulder and it just dropped off the strap button onto my foot! Everyone in the store was like 😡😲. Then they told me to get the hell out!
why I'm too scared to pick up any instrument in a music shop...you just never know who is filming
@Nostalgia For Infinity you make a good point
Yeah, playing what you can is fine. If youre a beginner nobody judges you. But if you try to be yngwie but cant even play smoke on the water on time. People will judge you
“Guitar center on a Saturday” - I laughed so hard I was crying...I still can’t catch my breath...
8:55 can you spell that the close captions didn’t get it. 😂🤘🏽
10:00 cowboys from What the hell?
I think you are right about CFH. Dime guitar and all!
I was thinking CFH. Either that or a very, VERY bad attempt at Walk without bending the string and hammering from F to Gb and then G to try to get the same effect.
What the guy played at 10:00 kinda makes me think about one of the riffs in Harvester of Sorrow lol
Can't wait for the Oregon stop. It would be awesome to meet you.
I worked in a Guitar Center for almost a year and a half and had previous experience selling guitars, keyboards, pro audio, etc. and know how to program drums and keyboards besides being as audio engineer in NYC for 20+ years!! That wasn't good enough for them!! The managers helped their buddies who worked there take away my sales, refused to make me full time although one of the stipulations of me taking the job was to be full time in 6 months but the worst fail I experienced was a new store manager who got the idea in his head that I was a Republican ( He's a Democrat and I'm an Independent although it was none of his business!), calls me into his office and says "Republicans all hate women and are all Racist!!" That's all he said and the following week he cut my hours down to 4 a week and when Covid happened I was the first to be laid off!!! It's funny because in pro audio I was the only one who knew MIDI, recording, signal flow plus I could work in any department and do good but they don't care about that stuff!!! I won't tell you which store it was but I live in West Palm Beach, Florida!!!! They never asked me to come back but they did hire more hacks for sales!!! I feel so much better now!!!!
Sounds a bit like Nazi germany. Progressive liberals, which are 99% of musicians are funny that way
you should have sued him for discrimination based on political beliefs or affiliation. same as religious or racial discrimination. you have laws protecting you from this kind of treatment.
My worst experience at a Guitar Center, I went in to buy a mixing board and the salesman's breath was so bad I excused myself and went into another section of the store (the Saturday guitar playing groupies) and that made me really want to hurl.
8:36 Primus but unironically
That was completely unfair, you melted yourself out the video and left me alone my ears bleeding 😃 thank you for your continued enthusiasm for the craft
Tyler: Stay tuned for the meet-up
Me watching from India: Yeah Sure buddy!
Hope you are staying safe over there friend.
@@doughnut3639 that's so kind of you Thank you❤
That second to last group sounded like a flock of bees coming at you 😂
I am a simple person, I see Tyler, I click and press the like button
In the early 80's, we had Willis Music inside the Fayette Mall in Lexington, Kentucky...lol
A couple friends and I spent more time at that place on the weekend than some of the employees...lol
The older piano salesman hated us but the younger instrument salesman were as cool as you could be in 80's...lmao!
I jammed with Billy Cox ( Band of Gypsies ) in a music store for about 30 min without knowing who it was . He was playing bass behind a stack of amps and on the other side I was messing with a Stratocaster playing blues which he then began accompanying
that last one - you know they told all their friends that they had a monster jam session at the guitar center and it was AWESOME
The only time I turn it up in a guitar store is when I'm buying an amp, or if I think I'll buy the guitar. Even then i can make either decision in just a couple of minutes. Many times I've made the decision not to buy a guitar before I even plugged it in.
I went to a guitar center during the last hour one night. I had joined a bigger band and was in the market to buy a much better bass than I had currently. I was looking for something with an active pre-amp.
There was hardly anyone in there so when I plugged in I turned way down. I was really trying to vibe with the active controls so I was plucking hard, popping, slapping… just trying to understand what the EQ can do for me. That’s when a kid in a Misfit’s shirt came in and plugged up on the other side of my amp and cranked up. He was obviously beginner level as I listened to him bang away annoyingly at super volume. I picked up my bass and moved to an amp further away. He moved a little bit closer playing obnoxiously loud again. I was being trolled. I think I was supposed to engage in a volume war? After that I moved into the small bass room they had at that GC and closed the door.
Looking back that’s hilarious, but it was pretty annoying at the time. I ended up falling in love with an American Jazz Bass Deluxe that I later went back and bought.
When I bought my first guitar , GC wasn’t even a wet dream , not to mention a total destruction of great mom and pop music stores everywhere.
We had this stellar music shop in my city. I only bought from them to support them, then they built a GC a couple blocks away and the old music shop is dying. I'm forced to go to GC a lot now cause my shop just doesn't have what I need half the time anymore. I always go there first, but at least 60% of the time I end up having to leave and go to GC. Sucks.
I purchased a gretsch not too long ago. Didn't plug it in. Just checked how it sounded acoustically and checked throughout the neck and inspected the body. The salesman was surprised when it took me a couple of minute to purchase it. He asked if I wanted to hear it plugged in. I asked if the pickups were working. He said yes. I was looking for a light guitar to "hide" at work :) . No need for a concert.
11:20
Raining Blood solo (or basically every Slayer solo)
Guy at 9:51 sounds like he’s trying to play cowboys from hell lol
I'm really glad I stuck around for the ending. Haven't been there for a while. Thanks for the memories 😊
Thank God, I never had any failures like that in any music store I walked into. At least I knew what the hell I was playing and doing.
When I was a kid I loved jamming out something cool trying out gear in any store. As an adult I just mine my own business, investigate what I want and get out quick! Salesman are just annoying now a days, and the vibes going into a music store now a days just feels so fake. All the small pieces of gear I need now just order online.
10:21 That feedback triggered my PTSD. One time wen I was at Sam Ash trying out guitars, some dude close by me turned on the amp and it fed back with his guitar SUPER loud. I remember the employees looking over at me and I was thinking "Please don't think that was me!"
You had me dying with that one guy who was playing that noisy riff that sounded like a motorcycle muffler! Hahahaha
I wish you had gotten to WA sooner, at least in the Seattle area we have had 2-3 of my favorite guitar shops close down due to covid.
When you visit WA, you should come to the Guitar Center in Redmond Town Center!
The guy having at it with the unplugged strat reminds me of the poor fellow that was sliding around trying to shovel snow.
One thing I like about most of these people, they really don't seem to care what others think. That can be a pretty good quality to have.
11:42 everyone louder than everyone else