thanks Phil...my favorite GC trivia is the early 80s origin of their annual Guitarathon sales tagline---an actual guitar-a-thon. My friend and I were one of dozens of guitarists packed onto a stage somewhere in L.A., beside their Sunset Strip store I think, a last man/woman standing marathon kind of thing. Non-stop play the rule, most including us dropping like flies past hour two. I remember us all cheering the last coupla guys on, like 5 hours in or something absurd like that. And a GC manager up there draping a blanket over the last guy like he was James Brown, hunched over his electric practically drooling he was so spent, barely making a sound but enough to win. The coolest Guitarathon tshirt given to all contestants, one of those old classic arty t's one still laments decades later having lost to some laundromat somewhere along the road. Great memories from that night!
The surprising thing is the last few years I took some items to a couple of Guitar Centers and they actually gave me pretty good value for what I took in. Some better, some worse. I like that they are a counterweight to the local Music Go Round here too. If you have a decent item, GC will give you substantially more than the MGR, but it depends on the item, condition, etc. Some days or items are better at GC than others. I like some of the deals at MGR, but they really give you very little for your items, so I just don't take them anything, never sold them anything to date, whereas I have done better at a couple GCs. Not always, but more than I expected.
I think things improved at GC, once Bain Capital got more out of the picture. GC was lowball while Bain was the controlling interest. They seem to be much better on buying your gear the last couple of years in my experience. It really sucked while Bain was in charge.
When I want to avoid shipping, dealing with the public, or possibly save time, I might take something to GC, but I pick my times I do that carefully and don't over do it. Sometimes I sell things myself. I might get more hooked up with Reverb and Sweetwater used gear classifieds when I get more time, kind of busy with a new job the last 10 months now and some other things.
Good stuff about GC. I have a stable full of guitars from Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc., and I enjoy them all. BUT I picked up a Laguna off of Craig's List for $50. Put Dimarzios in it. UNBELIEVABLE AXE! The neck is perfectly straight, the tuners are fine and keep it in tune even after days without playing, and the bridge intones nicely. The Laguna is my every day player. Every Laguna I ever picked up at GC has a straight neck and a good feel. Bottom line is that no one should sneeze at those "house brands". There are some gems in there and the cost is low because they ARE the house brands.
I feel like I'm the only person on the internet that enjoys his local guitar center.... I get great deals and awesome service every time I pop in there.
Lol I’ve been playing for more than 30 days and I’ve enjoyed the 3 guitar centers that are around my place. Their employees have always been friendly land I’ve gotten good deals too. But what the heck do I know? Lol
Philip, you forgot to mention that GC has over $1.5 billion in debt from the Bain buyout and it just got downgraded to near junk bond status last week. I'd be surprised if they last another year... They helped to kill off nearly ever small music store here in Greensboro, NC.
tkdunn - Respectfully, GC didn't put anyone out of business. The people who chose to shop there over the smaller stores did. It's easy to blame a store when it is really the customers making the choice where they shop.
northof50now This is true, but as a direct result of their superior buying power and large scale economic buys their debt is only increasing, and since its bond debt it's getting very nearly unsustainable as the bond value depreciates visibly. Guitar Center may put small businesses in a bad position by having the investment capitol to secure better deals. But that era is over, GC is in a very bad place and the only reason to go there is to feel the guitar before you purchase it from an online retailer like Sweetwater that will actually set it up and take care of you on a personal musician level. Guitar Center will be killed by it's own weight, partially because of the CDA bond system dissolving around 2008, which crashed the economy and made it necessary for them to be saved in a bailout/buyout as to not go out of business. After that a slurry of bad moves caused their Credit and risk rating to nosedive. I can't see an easy way out for them as online retailers are now seeing vastly increased capitol because they fill the market void that Guitar Center cannot, especially in customer satisfaction and overall standings in debt to income and loan risk ratings. Obviously places like Sweetwater don't have stores to maintain, they typically have very small staffs as well, mitigating a huge cost that GC has to deal with. Ironically, the free market that gave GC birth and helped it thrive will be its end if the trends continue.
Uncon... Problem is most of the statements are opinion [respectfully stated - not flaming]. Gateway Computers didn't have stores either, then crashed. Of course, helping the issue was trying to open stores and become bricks and mortar. There is no reason the two models have to be mutually exclusive. My opinion, online purchasing increases the likelihood of poor quality [no direct offense to Sweetwater, at their reputation is excellent]. I don't have the answer, but would like to know how much of the GC debt can be attributed to their in-store financing. It always fascinated me that they could offer 36mo financing without a return on the debt service. At any rate, my cameras are calling me and I have to shoot off for a photo session. Thanks for the respectable back and forth. Unfortunately, uncommon here in YTville. Be well. Invest wisely.
northof50now This is not supposition or guesses, and its certainly not opinion. This is all based on the objective facts about the companies investments, and the results thereof. You can look at the breakdowns yourself, this is an educated projection based on the figures. Not only revenue to debt trends, negotiating power, the type and structure of debt they incurred from their bailout. But bond stability, term dates and interest negotiation classifications, and the companies ability to leverage sustainable loans. There is causality and correlation to the trends that are being seen and it is a fact that the current debt to income ratio is not sustainable and will only get worse in leu of a major investment and restructure. By the facts I cannot see how Ares won't take a hit to that subsidiary, as the major bond debt is increasing pretty quickly as the bond value depreciates.
They have a whole team of reps. If the rep didn't know anything about guitars, there are others. If the rep tried to fake it, I'll give it to you. My rep directs me to others if its a field they are not familiar with. I always get great service because I communicate my needs. Good luck.
Nice video, but I've got to be honest, it seemed like you were pulling punches. I don't blame you, best not to attract negative attention. Guitar Center is frustratingly poorly run these days. Every time I go in to a guitar center it cures me of the desire to buy another guitar. Every floor model is poorly set up and poorly maintained, oftentimes the guitars being sold as "new" have seen so much action that they're clearly a used instrument, even if all that use took place on the floor. It's honestly like they're discouraging people from picking up the guitar. Very frustrating.
Dude I was seriously looking at a $4500 r8 les Paul last week, with intention of buying if I loved it. I respectfully told the MANAGER that the pickup selector is broken (couldn't get neck pickup) and a strap lock was stripped. He said "oh well it's a quick fix, do you want it or not?" Then put it with the defects back on the rack. I know what some people are thinking. I don't think it was Gibsons quality control (which is sometimes suspect) I think it was wear and tear from being on the wall at GC where people with not intention of buying thrash guitars for their social media account.
Yeah, that's just a total management fail, that's exactly what I'm talking about! If it's a "quick fix", why the hell would he not fix it?!?! It's just not caring, and I have to say, I feel for the guys who work at GC, it's not totally their fault, I'm sure they're paid nothing and the vulture capital funds who own them are just sucking out as much profit as they can before driving them into bankruptcy. All that is borne out by the staff. It's a real shame. Oh well, that's why Sweetwater and Sam Ash will eat their lunch.
Honestly could have been either. Guitar Center doesn't inspect or setup guitars when they come from the factory and Gibson has terrible quality control.
Jeremy Carlson I went into GC recently to check out a Gibson Flying V. The salesman asked me if I liked it and said, "Yeah, it's a nice guitar." I never said I was going to buy it though. He grabbed the guitar and went to the register with it and began to ring it up. He asked me how I wanted to pay for it and I told him I didn't say I wanted to buy it. As I left the store it occurred to me that he was going to sell me the demo model off the wall at full price. He also said it came with a gig bag while I was playing it and rummaged around in the back and pulled out some no brand bag that had zero padding for the guitar. They really do insult one's intelligence there.
Jeremy Carlson ... yhea GC has very shady business practices as far as trying to bait and switch the customer. In fact I think it is a regular practice, that they teach their employees to do, even though it's illegal. I've personally seen them change what is advertised and agreed upon by the customer in the store, actually go into the back and switch the item. This happens regularly on an everyday basis in the drum department. They're a shady conglomerate that screws their employees and customer alike. Drives out a free market place for others to compete. It's what you call a very typical corporation.
#6 - GuitarCenter repackages the stuff that is returned within the 45 day period and sells them as new.#7 - Employees are pressured into offering "extended warranties."#8 - GC Special run purchases are great ways of quality guitars a few hundred off what they would normal sell for#9 - GC Interest Free financing is a great way to get new stuff.You take the good with the bad
Agree on the interest free. I've used it a few times to get some stuff that would normally be out of reach price wise but spreading it over 6 or 12 months is no problem. As long as you're good about making the needed payments so you don't carry it past the promo period, it really can be a great way to grow your toolbox.
At this point GC is the Kmart of music stores. You KNOW it's all gonna close, you just don't know when. And hey..nothing says "please buy something" more than seeing vinyl in there.
I remember when you used to could walk in with cash and get a pretty good chunk taken off of what you were trying to purchase. I also remember when they stopped doing that...
Is the Pro Coverag Protection Plan worth buying? I'm buying a new beginner guitar (around the $100 range) for a family member whose a child & I anticipate an accident or two.
It seems to be that Guitar Center should be under constant watch. If they own Musician's Friend, Music 123 and Music and Art, it seems they are trying to elminate competition. I see a potential monopoly here. Sam Ash and those other small music stores could get run of business. Who are they going to buy next, Sam Ash?
That's the point. They fully intend to run other stores out of business. They don't want competition. They want domination so that they can continue to treat their customers like shit and not have any repercussions. I heard my managers talk about putting the other local stores out of business all the time. Joke about it, even. As if it wasn't going to fuck with the livelihoods of all the employees of those other stores. Fuck GC. Fuck MF. And fuck all their other little brands.
Hey thank you Christopher for agreeing with me. They don't want to negotiate, they act like a bunch of arrogant pompous SOBs. When you buy a guitar from and what to sell it back later, you'll be lucky if you get 1/2 your money back. The manager of the store says they have maintain a "profit margin". What a bunch of jerks...
Hey Christopher, thank you for agreeing with. They like a bunch or arrogant jerks. I am selling a new $800 guitar that I bought a year ago from Sweetwater, I wanted to sell so I went to Guitar Center, all they offered me was $225!! The guitar was in excellent condition. I walked away from the Store. The people there suck. They said they have to maintain a "profit margin", I was getting a fucked deal. I am going to advertise it on Craigslist and/or Reverb....Thank you again...
You do realize they buy new guitars wholesale? And are in business to make a profit? How do you think they would stay in business paying more for used guitars you want to return after 6 months of use(?), than they could buy a new one for wholesale? All this in a retail market with the lowest markups ever. No one seems to understand the simple mechanics of retail.
Was "forced" to go to GC to buy 2 packs of strings Got the strings in under 30secs took 15mins for the 3 employees at the counter to check me out and only ONE was working with an actual customer!
I got a set of strings that cost 7.07 after tax. I handed the guy 20.07. The asshat gave me 23.93 back. So I made 23.93 and got free strings. No wonder they are in debt
Hell Yeah I kept the money. #1 if your a manager that hires or puts people on the register that can't do basic 2nd grade math you deserve to be screwed. #2 do you know how many small companies have been put out of business because guitar center ordered a massive invoice and didn't pay in a timely period knowing damn well most new/small companies can't afford to hire an attorney, they eventually paid as far as I know but after the company lost its good standing with their suppliers and folded.
On top of the fact I told the guy the change was incorrect, he continued to tell me it was "right" I was the one that was "mistaken." The way I see it if someone gets reprimanded for that mistake I did the company a favor. If you were that inadequate at your job would you still be employed? I know I wouldn't be.
If you don’t want to wait in line up front, go in the back to the drum shop where no one ever is and get rung up there. I work at guitar center in the drum shop and I tell people waiting in the front getting strings, picks etc. to come back to my register all the time.
Interesting, thanks for sharing this. Now I know :). I hate those annoying coupons that they send online. That one company that I wanted to get it's on the exclusion list, so I say "screw it, I'll go somewhere else then." lol
There are some huge differences between a music shop and a retail store. GC is every inch a retail store. They hire like a retail store and they are operated like a retail store. Think about how much personal attention you get at Wal Mart. There you go.
I do know that Guitar Center is my least favorite place to shop. There are so many customers, that the staff are spread too thin, and most of them don't even have the patience for their customers anymore.
GC is OK . .but Sweetwater kills them. Automatic 2 year warranty at no charge. No hassle returns. Sales rep usually follows up on purchase. Free shipping on most items. GC is more convienience for strings and small items.
The last time I was in GC it looked like a ghost town. The high end guitars were gone. More people working there than buying there. That is a sure way to go out of biz.
I spend more time tuning basses at guitar center than playing them. Like I swear its someones job to go make all the guitars and basses super out of tune.
Guitar Center is the epitome of everything wrong with music today. Soulless profiteers willing to throw perfectly good merchandise in the trash for a loss.
Recently tried two Mitchell MD400 guitars at GC. Both played well and sounded pretty decent, but both had problems. One would cut out when using the coil split and the other had a sticky volume knob that was also installed off center. I think they could do better with quality control before shipping. But, the GC staff was real cool and I would go back again. This was a GC in St. Louis.
# 10 guitar center credit card interest is a zillion points....# 11 guitar center trade ins, bang you over the head and rob you, even if your trade in gear is immaculate...# 12 guitar center doesn't maintain the guitars on the walls for trying out , broken strings, non working electronics, 3 inch action on the necks and come back a month later and still the very same issue's on the very same guitars.....and so on....# 13 etc...etc...and more etc...
Sandwedge Dan That's impossible since their standard practice is to look on eBay for the lowest price on a used model and give you 50 percent of that price. Its highway robbery, bad deals for days. Then you go in and they have it on sale for 4 times what they gave you. Fuck em.
While its cool to point out a few interesting facts about Guitar Center, let's not sweep the reality of this companies shitty practices under the rug. This is going to be long as hell but I'd recommend giving it a read, because people need to stop supporting GC and its crooked practices. If this video could stay up for more than 2 seconds and be allowed to foster a conversation, I'd postulate that the comments are going to reflect how much many people hate GC and the reasons behind said hate. GC is in the position it's in because of its shitty, dishonest, blatantly greed soaked, anti consumer, anti musician policies and customer service. What position are they in you might ask? Their overall ratings from investors are extremely poor, and their official stance of stability on the open investment market is steadily falling more and more into the risk investment zones as their debt increases and their revenue doesn't keep up. The overall debt is over 1.5 billion dollars after having been bailed out in the housing crash in 2008, and is only projected to grow through 2019 due to debt maturation and weak interest securities. Their customer satisfaction ratings are insanely low as well, uncommonly so, and the individual store ratings are also very low on aggregate in the western stores at least. Many firms have stated within the last month alone that GC in it's current state may need to refinance or restructure. Both scenarios are projected to be very bad for them due to the depleted ratings and risk of not securing favorable loans and deals with retailers. They may have a few redeemable qualities, but the company is currently in an ugly position as its capital structure is unsustainable given the thin interest coverage in the EBITDA. A mixture of high leverage and weak cash flow means that just in the past month, at least 3 ratings and risk assessment firms downgraded the companies standings for risk investment and loan viability. Not good. In my opinion they need to change their branding and mean it, show that they are willing to put in the effort to achieve stellar customer service like Sweetwater. Given that they are a brick and mortar and online store, there's no excuse for being beaten in every category monumentally. People lose their minds over the customer service they get with Sweetwater sound, they have something like a 9.3 star overall rating for consumer reports while GC sits at a 2 or a 3. That's a MAJOR difference that has no reason to exist. The reason it does is because Sweetwater is run by people who know that a complete, pleasant buying experience for a customer many times makes a lifetime customer. They compliment their buyers with free customized setups on every guitar, no matter how cheap. As well as the very useful sales engineers that are assigned to you personally. These customer service reps are amazingly well versed in the trade and are never pushy. Sweetwater is an online retailer with a single campus and they demolish GC without ever seeing their customers face to face. The services they offer both paid, like the plekd perfected frets or the cheap part installations. They make customers feel appreciated with free (and really good) setups, free gifts like a small lead cable in each case, calling you after a week to ask how everything is and doing no cost returns to fix any issues that arise. Not to mention the cute little candies they include with a folder detailing the work done and the agent responsible for said work. Accountability and pro consumer policies are why they are liked and succeed. So where are the complimentary setups GC?? Where's the discounts for a blemished shelf display or the restocks, oh wait those are just "new" to GC. Which in some cases is certainly illegal and false advertising, very shady. The reason the stereotype that GC is garbage exists and persists is because there's always truth behind the stereotype or it wouldn't exist at all, and GC epitomizes a shill company with shill practices who support anti consumer policies and are failing because of it. If GC is going to successfully recover and actually dominate, then no more selling a 45 day old return guitar as new or the display units as new. No more stealing the cases, accessory kits, AC adapters and documentation for guitars, amps and pedals and selling them separately while still marking prices up. No more giving people dick for money on trade-ins, then marking them up 300 percent. Offer free setups on every single guitar you sell and stand behind your product. Let your customer know that they are the priority. Free market capitalism works when you put the consumer first, and this is a shining example of that not happening.
Deceased User - RIP In Peace. Sweetwater does a 50 point inspection of every guitar at $299 and up,they are set up, shined up, photos taken of each one and put online. you can even choose the serial number you want. the guitars are inspected by actual guitar musicians, not some half wit off the street. Sweetwater demands quality from the vendor and turns away any blemished guitar to the vendor.....do you know where those blemished guitars end up? GC as new. Sweetwater blows GC our of the water with customer service, I've seen customers bring back a unit after three months and rather than send that item to factory for repair, Sweetwater issues a brand new item at no cost to the customer! Sweetwater has their very own tech support,you actually talk to a person on the very first call. Sweetwater also provides free shipping, even on non warranty items from time to time. GC is horrible to the customer, buying used items at pennies and then marking them up at an almost 300% rate. I've seen used sl1200 M2 turntables, well used marked at $500-$600!!! you know damn well GC paid at most $200 for that. GC is a disater waiting to happen and share holders would be wise to get out now
Every time I'm in there and mention one of my own guitars the guy tries hard to sell me on paying for a setup. I try to respectfully decline and hint that I can do that stuff myself.
That one is closest to me but I rarely go in there. Seems to be more oriented to selling DJ stuff, percussion, and lessons. Lot's of junk and not much in the way of high end stuff.
Agreed, I ended up buying an acoustic when I first moved out to AZ just to have something but have been really hitting the one on Elliot RD more often.
I go to the Mesa location because I live on the east side of town. I prefer that location also because they seem to get a lot of used inventory that changes over from week to week.
I was standing around Guitar Center in Orange Calif. I coincidentally was dressed in all black. People kept coming up to me to ask technical questions. Maybe i should learn to play guitar? I got that EMO Look
We used to have just 3 Guitar Centers in Dallas/ft worth. One in Dallas, one in Arlington and one in Ft worth. Each of the stores were absolutely awesome, and filled with the coolest pieces. Now we have 11 and they all suck. I don’t know why they thought we needed so many stores. We are lucky to see some independent shops now in our area.
Not very helpful staff at GC in Palm Desert California that's for sure. Good thing I knew what I wanted toing, paid and left. No thank you or anything after spending a few thousand bucks.
Can I bring my own stuff like neck board n picks ups n tunner lockers pegs as in to replacement from which I bought from Amazon to let guitar center replace with my stuff I bought ???? Can they used my stuff to installed it to my electric guitar ??!
Phil, I just bought a nice new, no damage Ibanez RG970WQMZ-BDK RG Premium Electric Guitar, Blazing Dusk. It is simply beautiful. One problem, and one that I am hearing from many other Ibanez owners. Is the inability to adjust the string height to my low action standards. The edge 2 nut adjustment on the post is down as much as it can go, and I still have 1/4 quarter inch height, which is ridiculas for me. I know that the stud screw option is there to adjust, but I also hear others saying no, don't do that shimmy the neck, which to me is silly. It's brand new! I will take it to Guitar Center or a local luthier, but I wanted to get a very experienced Ibanez player as yourself feedback if possible. Is this common? Am I on the right track with adjusting the Stud screws on the Edge 2? Please help! best regards:)
Guitar Center will usually match any offer MAP excludes. I worked at Guitar Center and Sweetwater, and for some reason, Guitar Center was PLAGUED with shotty gear and returns. Unlike Sweetwater, sales people at GC work on commission, so they will feed you a line of bullshit all day long just to make a sale. I no longer work for either, but buy everything at Sweetwater, unless they don't carry a certain brand like Catlinbread, Thorpy, or whatever.
I gotta give a shout out to my local Guitar Centers. cherry hill, NJ. Plymouth meeting, PA. Wilmington, DE. The managers and guitar sales people are great!!! always nice and easy to work with. They handle my "G.A.S." very well.
I never buy from or even consider GC,MF or any company related to them. It was always a bad experience and always cost a lot more.Sweetwater and AMS )American Musical Supply) always gave the best deals and service. Even when buying a guitar I could say "Pick me out the best one you have" and Sweetwater and AMS sent a great guitar. If there ever was a problem they both did everything they could to ensure I was happy spending my money with them. GC is like a greedy hobgoblin to deal with from start to sad,sad finish.
Sorry, gotta disagree with you on this one. We actually talked face to face about a year ago on this, but I will give you mad props for your positive attitude when we talked. GC is the worst thing that ever happened in Phoenix. Do we really need 4 locations? They starved out some decent local shops, and as of late they rarely have what I need in stock. "Oh but we can order it online for you." Yippee! I can do that from home, in the buff (let that image burn in your mind ...ok maybe not). My worst guitar store experiences in the past 3-4 years were all from GC, in particular the Tempe location. I wanted to improve the hardware and pickups on a Epi Les Paul of mine so I started with new tuners and pickups. The GC rep asked in a snobby way "why do you want to do that?" Well because I don't want to pay the Gibson tax and the Epi was a good build, electronics aside. Furthermore, most of the GC employees I've talked to in the past mention they're treated like garbage, and they're not allowed to decide what they can sell in the store, outside of whatever purchasing agreements they have with manufactures. Regardless, they should let their employees have a "little" bit of freedom. Edit: Sorry, meant to add I love your channel!
the financial backer behind their Guitar Center Credit Card . is HSBC card services. The number one predatory lender . with the highest interest rate on a credit purchase in the industry. for the price you financed one guitar from HSBC. you can buy 5 of the same guitars with cash. Oh and by the way you can get up to 70% off retail when you buy in cash. it's called haggling. Ancient Art of negotiation that is lost on the millennial generation. oh and don't participate in any of their Blues guitar competitions. locally those are usually won by anybody who knows sweeps and arpeggios. so if you go in there and try to emulate BB King. You will be overshadowed by anybody pretending to be DragonForce. while their judges may know who blues players are. They still don't understand why they are relevant today.... once you pick up a guitar you've started a pathway to the Blues. Jack White. and if you are shopping at Guitar Center and financing anything. The blues is exactly what you will experience.
Back in 08 when the economy took a dump I had just moved to a new city and I had a hard time finding a job so I put free time to good use and completely disassembled and refinished and rewired a guitar from scratch. I brought it into a Guitar Center and asked to see the manager to ask about a job. Being solely a guitar player at that point in my younger years when he asked me what kind of pickups different basses have, I didn't know the answer so he basically said he couldn't hire me. Bro, I could look that up in 1 minute on a phone, but never mind being able to disassemble and setup up a guitar on my own. I don't mind most GC employees, most of them are fun people. That said there was no interest for me in ever returning to look for a job after that first experience.
I bought an amp from a local guitar center that went bad after GC's return policy expired. They told me there was nothing they could do and to contact the manufacturer. Now, I'm a working musician in a well known local band not some kid playing in his bedroom. The amp went bad during a show and I took it in the following Monday AND had a show the following Friday. All I got from them was "Sorry, nothing we can do..... Take it to the manufacturer." When I asked if the manufacturer would get it fixed or replaced by Friday, they said "I doubt it but sorry." I went to a small 'mom and pop shop' and told them the story. They told me to take whatever amp I wanted off of their showroom floor and use it until I got mine fixed. Since then I have found blown speakers at soundcheck and called my mom and pop shop and they met me at the store after hours and loaned me a brand new speaker to get through the show. Customer service wins over "low prices" every day! I refuse to do business with GC or MF ever again! (then again, the police asked me not to go back into that store because if the scene I caused!)
Definite plus and minus to GC. Some of stores around here, because they dont have any real competition, can treat you like your the walking plague. No matter how much you spend. Ive had good experiences with GC although the prices arent always the best but its ok.
They got rid of the greeters because they're in a bad way with $$$. When guitar center was a small chain in the early 80's the were awesome, carrying upcoming brands like Charvel and had parts and maintenance. Like any company that goes public it becomes all about shareholders, and not about the customer. I cannot support big box music stores. The strip jobs and services from the community. If you get in good with a lcal mom and pop you can get great prices through loyalty.
I go to GC to try out the guitars or amps and buy from AMS. Why? Because it's not been played on and banged up from other people playing them and they look like shit with no discount on open gear equipment. And second how do you lose out millions of dollars a year from door greeters? Their probably not even making $15,000 a year.
I didn't see you cover the agreement with Gibson to be the exclusive dealer in an area. Last I heard, for a music store to be a Gibson dealer, there must not be a Guitar Center within a two hour drive. That makes it difficult to run a single store if you can't sell one of the most popular brands. If GC tanks, it's going to cost Gibson access to their in-store buying retail customers.
I need a Electric Guitar for hard rock and metal that will absolutely stay in tune I am not liking the IBANEZ GI0 going to return it. Fret Buzz , Poor Construction, Won't stay in tune for nothing. Starting to despise it not good since I am just starting out.
Guuitar center sucks. Everythings over priced, it's nearly impossible to get over the phone, or in person. You can't crank up that amp you might want to buy. Mars was the shit!!!! Guitar center always has and always will suck.
The most important thing store brands do is help keep the price of brand names down. Every big store does it. If Duracell batteries are too expensive they get a big shipment of Costco or BJ's batteries and Duracell will negotiate a lower price for the next shipment because of diminished sales. Same with guitars! That's why Mitchel is now here!
Guitar Center sucks! Ordered a brand new set of headphones and was shipped a used P.O.S. because they were supposedly out of stock is all their stores nationwide. Took the used P.O.S. to my local store to demand a refund and low and behold there was a new set of the headphones right there in the store after customer (what a fucking joke) service told me there were none in stock in any store nationwide. GC and their many subsidiaries will NEVER get my business again.
I bought a practice amp recently and he said it was the last one they had. The display model. I showed him the scratches on the sides of it and said I wanted a markdown because of the scratches and it's been probably cranked up to the max here and there from people trying it. He said no problem I'll hook you up. Low and behold a minute later there were plenty in stock! I guess he figured he'd make more in commission selling at a higher price point. Duh! But they probably tell them to try and sell the floor model stuff at new prices if people are willing to pay it. NEVER pay full price for floor model items.
#6 Beware of deals that say Clearance, to me that means a new guitar on sale but not at the Lubbock Guitar Center, it is a used guitar with dings and scratches on it and when I bought it they went in the back and just threw together what they had on hand . I'm talking about a Fender Deluxe Plus American guitar, you know the one with the personality cards. Well I got a black case with it, almost got no personality cards, and the eye candy that came with the guitar was not the eye candy for that guitar the string bend handle was not for that guitar. I took it home and began to do some research and lo and behold the guitar was on clearance because the guitar was phased out by fender which meant sorry about your luck when trying to find cards for it, then the case was the wrong case it was black plastic instead of the tweed case that should have come with the guitar which had the spaces for a wallet type case for the 3 cards that was supposed to come with it. I immediately took it back and the dude that sold me the guitar says sorry no refunds on Clearance items. I was so upset.. I told him I understand your policy is no refunds on clearance guitars but this one is not even complete and you sold it to me with mismatched items and then I showed him the dings and scratches. He said well you got a better case with it and you got a 1900 dollar guitar for 999 dollars. I told him that was not the point the point is that when they sell an item on clearance at least sell it complete. I called the head office and told them about my complaints and they said they could only talk to the store manager. I got a call from him within half an hour and he assured me that he would get the proper items for the guitar and that he would be willing to give me a further discount due to the dings and scratches. This was back in January, I went to the store last month because I still hadn't gotten anything and spoke to the manager face to face.. He went to the computer and looked on the screen and said oh the case will be here on the 19th that's all he said. Here it is May 21, 2017 and nothing. Oh and by the way he told me not to call them he will call me. So never ever ever buy anything on clearance at Guitar center. Oh and by the way #7 guitar center has the most unprofessional people working there. #8 Never ever eve has a guitar set up by them, they charged me 75 dollars to set up a Fender I had previously and the guitar buzzed in so many places. When I confronted the set up guy about it he says of as long as the strings don't buzz when you bend them it is ok, come on guys. I took the guitar to a proper Luthier and he charged me 50 dollars for a proper set up and by the way he said it didn't even look as though they even touched my guitar. There you have it will I go back and buy anything from guitar center.....no and by the way I won't buy from the other stores owned by them. I am going to talk to the manager again this week since I haven't heard from him....lets see what his excuse is this time.
My only experience with Guitar Center. I'm one of those touch it taste it turn it up loud kind of guys that will do what he can to avoid buying anything on line. So during a vacation to the Rockford Ill area roughly 4 years ago, I decide to buy an electric Classical guitar to help with my elbow rehabilitation that I broke while skate boarding at 62 years old. I was met at the door just as I was told would happen, as they discourage browsers. But other than that, the clerk was attentive and set me up with a decent guitar and case. My point is, I'm an old retired coot and I don't enter any store unless I'm looking to buy. I love browsing and they may have lost a major sale buy attaching to me like a vulture eyeing dinner. I generally buy local but thought I needed to buy something from an online store at least once, thus I'll probably never go back to Guitar Center.
Laguna guitars owned by Guitar Center? Surely there was some rebranding involved. Only Laguna I know of is the one Greg Howe played. And I'm sure it's not the same as GC's Laguna Oo
Here's a fun fact . In the 80's A young Yngwie Malmsteen was mad about something, slammed his beer bottle down breaking the glass case at the old Hawthorne Store that closed soon after opening. Another sad fact, that was the store that kind of forced the great Hogans House of Music to move. In an alternate universe Hogans is still in business and Guitar Center went out of biz ...
I have a limited edition custom deluxe Epiphone Les Paul model that was made and sold exclusively for "Guitar Center". Is this a good thing or a bad thing, or a makes no difference feel good thing???
there is a music store here in Corpus Christi Texas called Clawson's music at 2701 spid they have all soooooo much stuff it's a family owned business some very nice people been open since 1963 they have music lessons and repair gear.
Acoustic and Deltalab were once their own independent companies. But GC bought or salvaged the trademarks on those brands. So not the same 'in house' as Mitchell and some of the others that only ever existed in GC. Disapointingly they seem to have nothing to do with the original brands.
Our local Guitar Center in Overland Park KS is great, I have yet to have a bad experience in there. As far as my gear goes, I have bought many things used on GC on-line, no one beats their price on used gear. Never pay the asking amount, be patient and watch for things that have been on-line for a while, make a stupid offer and they will take it or counter with a decent offer. Last summer I bought a 2015 (Mex) Fender Special Ed. Deluxe Ash in mint condition for (tax and all) $315.00. I have bought several amps for next to nothing. I hope they don't go out of business, I can't afford to shop anywhere else.
As long as the stupid "It has to go to 11 and yes this is my variation of Sweet Child O'Mine, I call it Sour Ears O'Yours!" kids believe the Predator stuff, all is good. :)
4 things about GC. 1. One side of the store is cheap stuff 2. The other side is really expensive stuff. 3. There is a collection of PRS's by the door. 4. No one is there to help you.
Hey, how about them playing their own radio station over the speakers, all the time. So if you really wanted to hear the difference between an Epiphone Dot and a Sheraton, good luck! Image a music store where can't really hear the instrument very well.
A friend of mine worked for them, said he was paid minimum wage but had to pay that back to them with sales or they got rid of them. Most employees I deal with are generally nice, but they don't know anything about what they are pushing, they're just trying to up their sales numbers. I hope it has changed.
I sent my Mitchell guitar to guitar center for a setup and when I got my guitar back it was in the same condition as when I gave them my guitar so I payed guitar center 75 dollars for nothing
Let the buyer beware. Make sure you get what you paid for. Check guitar serial numbers with the manufacturer to avoid getting ripped off. I'll not buy from them again ever !
Guitar Center trash guitar's and other thing's that could be donated To schools underprivileged children wanting to learn This being said I could never support GC will order from Sweetwater
First in "related videos" is "Noam Chomsky on Participatory Economics" . . . . so maybe I'll click that and when I'm done, youtube will have a "cats beating up bewildered dogs" type video cued up next?
Revenue is income from sales and payroll is on the expense side of the equation. So cutting a position helps with net profit (but not with revenue streams). Don't cross the streams. :)
question for anyone. Guitar pedals or guitar rig? and why. I am just starting out. I have been only playing a yr, and do not know much about which ones I should go with.
![[TH] FS vs BME - VCT Ascension Pacific - Lower Bracket Final](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wnygqsR2Fig/mqdefault.jpg)
Takes 3 minutes to pick something out, and 20 minutes to pay for it.
and you gotta pay close attention they dont throw something in the bag and charge you for it
Pri yon Joni yes!!
Pri yon Joni takes 3 minutes to try something, then I unplug and go to my local store to purchase.
Pri yon Joni I CANT like this comment enough!!!
TJ Kombo you didnt actually "like" the comment
thanks Phil...my favorite GC trivia is the early 80s origin of their annual Guitarathon sales tagline---an actual guitar-a-thon. My friend and I were one of dozens of guitarists packed onto a stage somewhere in L.A., beside their Sunset Strip store I think, a last man/woman standing marathon kind of thing. Non-stop play the rule, most including us dropping like flies past hour two. I remember us all cheering the last coupla guys on, like 5 hours in or something absurd like that. And a GC manager up there draping a blanket over the last guy like he was James Brown, hunched over his electric practically drooling he was so spent, barely making a sound but enough to win. The coolest Guitarathon tshirt given to all contestants, one of those old classic arty t's one still laments decades later having lost to some laundromat somewhere along the road. Great memories from that night!
I always try to patronize my local ma and pa shops. I HAVE used Musicians Friend since pre internet days though.
The surprising thing is the last few years I took some items to a couple of Guitar Centers and they actually gave me pretty good value for what I took in. Some better, some worse. I like that they are a counterweight to the local Music Go Round here too. If you have a decent item, GC will give you substantially more than the MGR, but it depends on the item, condition, etc. Some days or items are better at GC than others. I like some of the deals at MGR, but they really give you very little for your items, so I just don't take them anything, never sold them anything to date, whereas I have done better at a couple GCs. Not always, but more than I expected.
I think things improved at GC, once Bain Capital got more out of the picture. GC was lowball while Bain was the controlling interest. They seem to be much better on buying your gear the last couple of years in my experience. It really sucked while Bain was in charge.
When I want to avoid shipping, dealing with the public, or possibly save time, I might take something to GC, but I pick my times I do that carefully and don't over do it. Sometimes I sell things myself. I might get more hooked up with Reverb and Sweetwater used gear classifieds when I get more time, kind of busy with a new job the last 10 months now and some other things.
Good stuff about GC. I have a stable full of guitars from Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc., and I enjoy them all. BUT I picked up a Laguna off of Craig's List for $50. Put Dimarzios in it. UNBELIEVABLE AXE! The neck is perfectly straight, the tuners are fine and keep it in tune even after days without playing, and the bridge intones nicely. The Laguna is my every day player. Every Laguna I ever picked up at GC has a straight neck and a good feel. Bottom line is that no one should sneeze at those "house brands". There are some gems in there and the cost is low because they ARE the house brands.
is that the guitar center at dana park
Yes it is
Guitar Centers corporate executives have detroyed everthing for their portfolios let it fall
I am one of the alien predators and i am watching you!
looks like it was posted yesterday at over 3 mintues and now that version is down, and this took its place maybe some edits ,or something??????????
Scott Gallimore guitar center angry!! lol
I needed a confirm on the GC on Kramer and it came late.
I feel like I'm the only person on the internet that enjoys his local guitar center.... I get great deals and awesome service every time I pop in there.
Yes you are
@@natethebesttt oh yeah; 4 years later; this comment is still applicable and true.
@@JgHaverty Your not the only one. My local one is good too.
Lol I’ve been playing for more than 30 days and I’ve enjoyed the 3 guitar centers that are around my place. Their employees have always been friendly land I’ve gotten good deals too. But what the heck do I know? Lol
Philip, you forgot to mention that GC has over $1.5 billion in debt from the Bain buyout and it just got downgraded to near junk bond status last week. I'd be surprised if they last another year... They helped to kill off nearly ever small music store here in Greensboro, NC.
tkdunn - Respectfully, GC didn't put anyone out of business. The people who chose to shop there over the smaller stores did. It's easy to blame a store when it is really the customers making the choice where they shop.
northof50now This is true, but as a direct result of their superior buying power and large scale economic buys their debt is only increasing, and since its bond debt it's getting very nearly unsustainable as the bond value depreciates visibly.
Guitar Center may put small businesses in a bad position by having the investment capitol to secure better deals. But that era is over, GC is in a very bad place and the only reason to go there is to feel the guitar before you purchase it from an online retailer like Sweetwater that will actually set it up and take care of you on a personal musician level.
Guitar Center will be killed by it's own weight, partially because of the CDA bond system dissolving around 2008, which crashed the economy and made it necessary for them to be saved in a bailout/buyout as to not go out of business. After that a slurry of bad moves caused their Credit and risk rating to nosedive.
I can't see an easy way out for them as online retailers are now seeing vastly increased capitol because they fill the market void that Guitar Center cannot, especially in customer satisfaction and overall standings in debt to income and loan risk ratings.
Obviously places like Sweetwater don't have stores to maintain, they typically have very small staffs as well, mitigating a huge cost that GC has to deal with. Ironically, the free market that gave GC birth and helped it thrive will be its end if the trends continue.
Uncon... Problem is most of the statements are opinion [respectfully stated - not flaming]. Gateway Computers didn't have stores either, then crashed. Of course, helping the issue was trying to open stores and become bricks and mortar. There is no reason the two models have to be mutually exclusive. My opinion, online purchasing increases the likelihood of poor quality [no direct offense to Sweetwater, at their reputation is excellent]. I don't have the answer, but would like to know how much of the GC debt can be attributed to their in-store financing. It always fascinated me that they could offer 36mo financing without a return on the debt service. At any rate, my cameras are calling me and I have to shoot off for a photo session. Thanks for the respectable back and forth. Unfortunately, uncommon here in YTville. Be well. Invest wisely.
northof50now This is not supposition or guesses, and its certainly not opinion. This is all based on the objective facts about the companies investments, and the results thereof. You can look at the breakdowns yourself, this is an educated projection based on the figures. Not only revenue to debt trends, negotiating power, the type and structure of debt they incurred from their bailout. But bond stability, term dates and interest negotiation classifications, and the companies ability to leverage sustainable loans. There is causality and correlation to the trends that are being seen and it is a fact that the current debt to income ratio is not sustainable and will only get worse in leu of a major investment and restructure. By the facts I cannot see how Ares won't take a hit to that subsidiary, as the major bond debt is increasing pretty quickly as the bond value depreciates.
I don't think he forgot to mention this. It just isn't pertinent to the discussion.
I prefer Sweetwater 👍🏻
Second this. Deal with them and you'll know why.
Great service , and better reps , add the bags a penny candy and it's definitely a win.
Michael Raykovich yup
Michael Raykovich 👍
They have a whole team of reps. If the rep didn't know anything about guitars, there are others. If the rep tried to fake it, I'll give it to you. My rep directs me to others if its a field they are not familiar with. I always get great service because I communicate my needs. Good luck.
I saw the Preditor Alien rip a guys spine out for putting one of those Guitar Center picks in his pocket....true story
onefatstratcat no stairway to heaven encore?
now that's funny!
I always suspected the alien/predator connection. Thanks for having the courage to blow this wide open.
Nice video, but I've got to be honest, it seemed like you were pulling punches. I don't blame you, best not to attract negative attention. Guitar Center is frustratingly poorly run these days. Every time I go in to a guitar center it cures me of the desire to buy another guitar. Every floor model is poorly set up and poorly maintained, oftentimes the guitars being sold as "new" have seen so much action that they're clearly a used instrument, even if all that use took place on the floor. It's honestly like they're discouraging people from picking up the guitar. Very frustrating.
Dude I was seriously looking at a $4500 r8 les Paul last week, with intention of buying if I loved it. I respectfully told the MANAGER that the pickup selector is broken (couldn't get neck pickup) and a strap lock was stripped. He said "oh well it's a quick fix, do you want it or not?" Then put it with the defects back on the rack. I know what some people are thinking. I don't think it was Gibsons quality control (which is sometimes suspect) I think it was wear and tear from being on the wall at GC where people with not intention of buying thrash guitars for their social media account.
Yeah, that's just a total management fail, that's exactly what I'm talking about! If it's a "quick fix", why the hell would he not fix it?!?! It's just not caring, and I have to say, I feel for the guys who work at GC, it's not totally their fault, I'm sure they're paid nothing and the vulture capital funds who own them are just sucking out as much profit as they can before driving them into bankruptcy. All that is borne out by the staff. It's a real shame. Oh well, that's why Sweetwater and Sam Ash will eat their lunch.
Honestly could have been either. Guitar Center doesn't inspect or setup guitars when they come from the factory and Gibson has terrible quality control.
Jeremy Carlson I went into GC recently to check out a Gibson Flying V. The salesman asked me if I liked it and said, "Yeah, it's a nice guitar." I never said I was going to buy it though. He grabbed the guitar and went to the register with it and began to ring it up. He asked me how I wanted to pay for it and I told him I didn't say I wanted to buy it. As I left the store it occurred to me that he was going to sell me the demo model off the wall at full price. He also said it came with a gig bag while I was playing it and rummaged around in the back and pulled out some no brand bag that had zero padding for the guitar. They really do insult one's intelligence there.
Jeremy Carlson ... yhea GC has very shady business practices as far as trying to bait and switch the customer. In fact I think it is a regular practice, that they teach their employees to do, even though it's illegal. I've personally seen them change what is advertised and agreed upon by the customer in the store, actually go into the back and switch the item. This happens regularly on an everyday basis in the drum department. They're a shady conglomerate that screws their employees and customer alike. Drives out a free market place for others to compete. It's what you call a very typical corporation.
#6 - GuitarCenter repackages the stuff that is returned within the 45 day period and sells them as new.#7 - Employees are pressured into offering "extended warranties."#8 - GC Special run purchases are great ways of quality guitars a few hundred off what they would normal sell for#9 - GC Interest Free financing is a great way to get new stuff.You take the good with the bad
"You take the good with the bad" is the best way to sum it up. Thank you for posting.
Agree on the interest free. I've used it a few times to get some stuff that would normally be out of reach price wise but spreading it over 6 or 12 months is no problem. As long as you're good about making the needed payments so you don't carry it past the promo period, it really can be a great way to grow your toolbox.
#10 Sweetwater is going to put them out of business.
Russ, all of mine have been 36mo interest free. You cannot beat it.
Not likely. Odds are better that the GC conglomerate would buy Sweetwater.
At this point GC is the Kmart of music stores. You KNOW it's all gonna close, you just don't know when. And hey..nothing says "please buy something" more than seeing vinyl in there.
As a former employee, I can tell you that your CSM (customer service manager) can override the coupon exclusions most of the time to make a sale!
I remember when you used to could walk in with cash and get a pretty good chunk taken off of what you were trying to purchase. I also remember when they stopped doing that...
Edward - agreed. The reply I get from the employees, "...we have to put that in the ad..."
Edward Kim you Korean?
* can being the operative word. Will? Likely not.
Is the Pro Coverag Protection Plan worth buying? I'm buying a new beginner guitar (around the $100 range) for a family member whose a child & I anticipate an accident or two.
It seems to be that Guitar Center should be under constant watch. If they own Musician's Friend, Music 123 and Music and Art, it seems they are trying to elminate competition. I see a potential monopoly here. Sam Ash and those other small music stores could get run of business. Who are they going to buy next, Sam Ash?
That's the point. They fully intend to run other stores out of business. They don't want competition. They want domination so that they can continue to treat their customers like shit and not have any repercussions. I heard my managers talk about putting the other local stores out of business all the time. Joke about it, even. As if it wasn't going to fuck with the livelihoods of all the employees of those other stores. Fuck GC. Fuck MF. And fuck all their other little brands.
Hey thank you Christopher for agreeing with me. They don't want to negotiate, they act like a bunch of arrogant pompous SOBs. When you buy a guitar from and what to sell it back later, you'll be lucky if you get 1/2 your money back. The manager of the store says they have maintain a "profit margin". What a bunch of jerks...
Hey Christopher, thank you for agreeing with. They like a bunch or arrogant jerks. I am selling a new $800 guitar that I bought a year ago from Sweetwater, I wanted to sell so I went to Guitar Center, all they offered me was $225!! The guitar was in excellent condition. I walked away from the Store. The people there suck. They said they have to maintain a "profit margin", I was getting a fucked deal. I am going to advertise it on Craigslist and/or Reverb....Thank you again...
Even thought I still have friends that work there, I honestly hope they do go out of business.
You do realize they buy new guitars wholesale? And are in business to make a profit? How do you think they would stay in business paying more for used guitars you want to return after 6 months of use(?), than they could buy a new one for wholesale? All this in a retail market with the lowest markups ever. No one seems to understand the simple mechanics of retail.
Was "forced" to go to GC to buy 2 packs of strings
Got the strings in under 30secs
took 15mins for the 3 employees at the counter to check me out and only ONE was working with an actual customer!
I got a set of strings that cost 7.07 after tax. I handed the guy 20.07. The asshat gave me 23.93 back. So I made 23.93 and got free strings. No wonder they are in debt
Hell Yeah I kept the money. #1 if your a manager that hires or puts people on the register that can't do basic 2nd grade math you deserve to be screwed. #2 do you know how many small companies have been put out of business because guitar center ordered a massive invoice and didn't pay in a timely period knowing damn well most new/small companies can't afford to hire an attorney, they eventually paid as far as I know but after the company lost its good standing with their suppliers and folded.
On top of the fact I told the guy the change was incorrect, he continued to tell me it was "right" I was the one that was "mistaken." The way I see it if someone gets reprimanded for that mistake I did the company a favor. If you were that inadequate at your job would you still be employed? I know I wouldn't be.
If you don’t want to wait in line up front, go in the back to the drum shop where no one ever is and get rung up there. I work at guitar center in the drum shop and I tell people waiting in the front getting strings, picks etc. to come back to my register all the time.
Interesting, thanks for sharing this. Now I know :). I hate those annoying coupons that they send online. That one company that I wanted to get it's on the exclusion list, so I say "screw it, I'll go somewhere else then." lol
Please answer this..... Prior to the advent of computers (eBay's "sold" listings), how did Guitar Center figure out the value of a guitar?
There are some huge differences between a music shop and a retail store. GC is every inch a retail store. They hire like a retail store and they are operated like a retail store. Think about how much personal attention you get at Wal Mart. There you go.
Ah man, I always piss off the predators. :(
Number 6. Every time you order something online, THEY DONT KNOW WHERE THE FUCK IT IS, OR WHEN ITS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do know that Guitar Center is my least favorite place to shop.
There are so many customers, that the staff are spread too thin, and most of them don't even have the patience for their customers anymore.
GC is OK . .but Sweetwater kills them. Automatic 2 year warranty at no charge. No hassle returns. Sales rep usually follows up on purchase. Free shipping on most items. GC is more convienience for strings and small items.
Can you really handle all the phone calls you'll get from them during the year??
You know there's the one person who legitimately thinks GC actually hired predators.
"We Don't Have Those But We Can Order It Center"
Could have sworn this video was up earlier this morning. Was it taken down because you revealed the Predator secret?
Hey can you review Indian guitar manufacturers..?
Predators?! I'll get to the chopper before he can catch me.
The last time I was in GC it looked like a ghost town. The high end guitars were gone. More people working there than buying there. That is a sure way to go out of biz.
I spend more time tuning basses at guitar center than playing them. Like I swear its someones job to go make all the guitars and basses super out of tune.
I work at GC now and its actually pretty fun. I enjoy helping people find what they need and share my musical knowledge.
...that's why I only deal with Sweetwater.
Guitar Sinner
Guitar Center is the epitome of everything wrong with music today. Soulless profiteers willing to throw perfectly good merchandise in the trash for a loss.
I actually own a Roadrunner gig bag and an Acoustic G10 amp. Good for starters.
Recently tried two Mitchell MD400 guitars at GC. Both played well and sounded pretty decent, but both had problems. One would cut out when using the coil split and the other had a sticky volume knob that was also installed off center. I think they could do better with quality control before shipping. But, the GC staff was real cool and I would go back again. This was a GC in St. Louis.
Michael Palmer NEVER EVER BUY A MITCHELL ANYTHING. I'm a tech at GC and let me tell you, they all suck. BAD.
I got that idea after two different guitars in the same store had problems.
# 10 guitar center credit card interest is a zillion points....# 11 guitar center trade ins, bang you over the head and rob you, even if your trade in gear is immaculate...# 12 guitar center doesn't maintain the guitars on the walls for trying out , broken strings, non working electronics, 3 inch action on the necks and come back a month later and still the very same issue's on the very same guitars.....and so on....# 13 etc...etc...and more etc...
i've had good experiences with guitar center trade ins
Sandwedge Dan not me bro...
Sandwedge Dan That's impossible since their standard practice is to look on eBay for the lowest price on a used model and give you 50 percent of that price. Its highway robbery, bad deals for days. Then you go in and they have it on sale for 4 times what they gave you. Fuck em.
HeROsiNhEaVeN which they're completely up front about, the extra 30 bucks that Rasta on Craigslist is gonna give me, sometimes isn't worth it
Sandwedge Dan haha!
While its cool to point out a few interesting facts about Guitar Center, let's not sweep the reality of this companies shitty practices under the rug. This is going to be long as hell but I'd recommend giving it a read, because people need to stop supporting GC and its crooked practices.
If this video could stay up for more than 2 seconds and be allowed to foster a conversation, I'd postulate that the comments are going to reflect how much many people hate GC and the reasons behind said hate.
GC is in the position it's in because of its shitty, dishonest, blatantly greed soaked, anti consumer, anti musician policies and customer service. What position are they in you might ask?
Their overall ratings from investors are extremely poor, and their official stance of stability on the open investment market is steadily falling more and more into the risk investment zones as their debt increases and their revenue doesn't keep up.
The overall debt is over 1.5 billion dollars after having been bailed out in the housing crash in 2008, and is only projected to grow through 2019 due to debt maturation and weak interest securities. Their customer satisfaction ratings are insanely low as well, uncommonly so, and the individual store ratings are also very low on aggregate in the western stores at least. Many firms have stated within the last month alone that GC in it's current state may need to refinance or restructure. Both scenarios are projected to be very bad for them due to the depleted ratings and risk of not securing favorable loans and deals with retailers.
They may have a few redeemable qualities, but the company is currently in an ugly position as its capital structure is unsustainable given the thin interest coverage in the EBITDA. A mixture of high leverage and weak cash flow means that just in the past month, at least 3 ratings and risk assessment firms downgraded the companies standings for risk investment and loan viability. Not good.
In my opinion they need to change their branding and mean it, show that they are willing to put in the effort to achieve stellar customer service like Sweetwater. Given that they are a brick and mortar and online store, there's no excuse for being beaten in every category monumentally.
People lose their minds over the customer service they get with Sweetwater sound, they have something like a 9.3 star overall rating for consumer reports while GC sits at a 2 or a 3. That's a MAJOR difference that has no reason to exist. The reason it does is because Sweetwater is run by people who know that a complete, pleasant buying experience for a customer many times makes a lifetime customer. They compliment their buyers with free customized setups on every guitar, no matter how cheap. As well as the very useful sales engineers that are assigned to you personally. These customer service reps are amazingly well versed in the trade and are never pushy.
Sweetwater is an online retailer with a single campus and they demolish GC without ever seeing their customers face to face. The services they offer both paid, like the plekd perfected frets or the cheap part installations. They make customers feel appreciated with free (and really good) setups, free gifts like a small lead cable in each case, calling you after a week to ask how everything is and doing no cost returns to fix any issues that arise.
Not to mention the cute little candies they include with a folder detailing the work done and the agent responsible for said work. Accountability and pro consumer policies are why they are liked and succeed.
So where are the complimentary setups GC?? Where's the discounts for a blemished shelf display or the restocks, oh wait those are just "new" to GC. Which in some cases is certainly illegal and false advertising, very shady.
The reason the stereotype that GC is garbage exists and persists is because there's always truth behind the stereotype or it wouldn't exist at all, and GC epitomizes a shill company with shill practices who support anti consumer policies and are failing because of it.
If GC is going to successfully recover and actually dominate, then no more selling a 45 day old return guitar as new or the display units as new. No more stealing the cases, accessory kits, AC adapters and documentation for guitars, amps and pedals and selling them separately while still marking prices up. No more giving people dick for money on trade-ins, then marking them up 300 percent. Offer free setups on every single guitar you sell and stand behind your product. Let your customer know that they are the priority.
Free market capitalism works when you put the consumer first, and this is a shining example of that not happening.
Deceased User - RIP In Peace. Well said! It's such a shame, all the sneaky things they pull on the regular
Deceased User - RIP In Peace. Sweetwater does a 50 point inspection of every guitar at $299 and up,they are set up, shined up, photos taken of each one and put online. you can even choose the serial number you want. the guitars are inspected by actual guitar musicians, not some half wit off the street. Sweetwater demands quality from the vendor and turns away any blemished guitar to the vendor.....do you know where those blemished guitars end up? GC as new. Sweetwater blows GC our of the water with customer service, I've seen customers bring back a unit after three months and rather than send that item to factory for repair, Sweetwater issues a brand new item at no cost to the customer! Sweetwater has their very own tech support,you actually talk to a person on the very first call. Sweetwater also provides free shipping, even on non warranty items from time to time. GC is horrible to the customer, buying used items at pennies and then marking them up at an almost 300% rate. I've seen used sl1200 M2 turntables, well used marked at $500-$600!!! you know damn well GC paid at most $200 for that. GC is a disater waiting to happen and share holders would be wise to get out now
Every time I'm in there and mention one of my own guitars the guy tries hard to sell me on paying for a setup. I try to respectfully decline and hint that I can do that stuff myself.
I love the used gear section online. It is the easiest way to buy used lefties now.
GC is best used gear store in USA. Go online . lowest prices, largest selection. I never buy new.
I literally live down the street from that guitar center!
Hey that's the GC on Val Vista and Baseline!
Yes it is.
Adrian Sekaquaptewa crazy, Im there quite often
That one is closest to me but I rarely go in there. Seems to be more oriented to selling DJ stuff, percussion, and lessons. Lot's of junk and not much in the way of high end stuff.
Agreed, I ended up buying an acoustic when I first moved out to AZ just to have something but have been really hitting the one on Elliot RD more often.
I go to the Mesa location because I live on the east side of town. I prefer that location also because they seem to get a lot of used inventory that changes over from week to week.
also guitar center 1.3 billion dollars in debt and will go out of business in the next year or two
Been hearing that for 6 or 7 years now.
2Faced Drunk yeah me two but I think this time it's real.
Thanks for letting me know who else not to shop from.👍🏿
I was standing around Guitar Center in Orange Calif. I coincidentally was dressed in all black. People kept coming up to me to ask technical questions. Maybe i should learn to play guitar? I got that EMO Look
GC is the Burger King of music stores. I prefer Sam Ash; they carry more high end instruments and band instruments.
Haven’t stepped foot in a GC in at least 6 years and I am a happier person for it. Never again.
Here is another Guitar Center Fact: Guitar Center just got a CCC- credit rating....that means default is imminent.
LOL I recognize this location
6: theyre a bunch of scamaz! (jokes aside, you spelled patreon wrong in the description)
We used to have just 3 Guitar Centers in Dallas/ft worth. One in Dallas, one in Arlington and one in Ft worth. Each of the stores were absolutely awesome, and filled with the coolest pieces.
Now we have 11 and they all suck. I don’t know why they thought we needed so many stores. We are lucky to see some independent shops now in our area.
The Guitar Center in my neighborhood in Chicago still has a greeter. Didn’t know they killed the position, for the most part.
Not very helpful staff at GC in Palm Desert California that's for sure. Good thing I knew what I wanted toing, paid and left. No thank you or anything after spending a few thousand bucks.
selling used gear at new pricing, you forgot that one
Can I bring my own stuff like neck board n picks ups n tunner lockers pegs as in to replacement from which I bought from Amazon to let guitar center replace with my stuff I bought ???? Can they used my stuff to installed it to my electric guitar ??!
Phil, I just bought a nice new, no damage Ibanez RG970WQMZ-BDK RG Premium Electric Guitar, Blazing Dusk. It is simply beautiful. One problem, and one that I am hearing from many other Ibanez owners. Is the inability to adjust the string height to my low action standards. The edge 2 nut adjustment on the post is down as much as it can go, and I still have 1/4 quarter inch height, which is ridiculas for me. I know that the stud screw option is there to adjust, but I also hear others saying no, don't do that shimmy the neck, which to me is silly. It's brand new! I will take it to Guitar Center or a local luthier, but I wanted to get a very experienced Ibanez player as yourself feedback if possible. Is this common? Am I on the right track with adjusting the Stud screws on the Edge 2? Please help! best regards:)
Guitar Center will usually match any offer MAP excludes. I worked at Guitar Center and Sweetwater, and for some reason, Guitar Center was PLAGUED with shotty gear and returns. Unlike Sweetwater, sales people at GC work on commission, so they will feed you a line of bullshit all day long just to make a sale. I no longer work for either, but buy everything at Sweetwater, unless they don't carry a certain brand like Catlinbread, Thorpy, or whatever.
I gotta give a shout out to my local Guitar Centers. cherry hill, NJ. Plymouth meeting, PA. Wilmington, DE. The managers and guitar sales people are great!!! always nice and easy to work with. They handle my "G.A.S." very well.
I never buy from or even consider GC,MF or any company related to them.
It was always a bad experience and always cost a lot more.Sweetwater and AMS )American Musical Supply) always gave the best deals and service.
Even when buying a guitar I could say "Pick me out the best one you have" and Sweetwater and AMS sent a great guitar.
If there ever was a problem they both did everything they could to ensure I was happy spending my money with them.
GC is like a greedy hobgoblin to deal with from start to sad,sad finish.
Sorry, gotta disagree with you on this one. We actually talked face to face about a year ago on this, but I will give you mad props for your positive attitude when we talked. GC is the worst thing that ever happened in Phoenix. Do we really need 4 locations? They starved out some decent local shops, and as of late they rarely have what I need in stock. "Oh but we can order it online for you." Yippee! I can do that from home, in the buff (let that image burn in your mind ...ok maybe not).
My worst guitar store experiences in the past 3-4 years were all from GC, in particular the Tempe location. I wanted to improve the hardware and pickups on a Epi Les Paul of mine so I started with new tuners and pickups. The GC rep asked in a snobby way "why do you want to do that?" Well because I don't want to pay the Gibson tax and the Epi was a good build, electronics aside. Furthermore, most of the GC employees I've talked to in the past mention they're treated like garbage, and they're not allowed to decide what they can sell in the store, outside of whatever purchasing agreements they have with manufactures. Regardless, they should let their employees have a "little" bit of freedom.
Edit: Sorry, meant to add I love your channel!
the financial backer behind their Guitar Center Credit Card . is HSBC card services. The number one predatory lender . with the highest interest rate on a credit purchase in the industry. for the price you financed one guitar from HSBC. you can buy 5 of the same guitars with cash. Oh and by the way you can get up to 70% off retail when you buy in cash. it's called haggling. Ancient Art of negotiation that is lost on the millennial generation. oh and don't participate in any of their Blues guitar competitions. locally those are usually won by anybody who knows sweeps and arpeggios. so if you go in there and try to emulate BB King. You will be overshadowed by anybody pretending to be DragonForce. while their judges may know who blues players are. They still don't understand why they are relevant today.... once you pick up a guitar you've started a pathway to the Blues. Jack White. and if you are shopping at Guitar Center and financing anything. The blues is exactly what you will experience.
Back in 08 when the economy took a dump I had just moved to a new city and I had a hard time finding a job so I put free time to good use and completely disassembled and refinished and rewired a guitar from scratch. I brought it into a Guitar Center and asked to see the manager to ask about a job. Being solely a guitar player at that point in my younger years when he asked me what kind of pickups different basses have, I didn't know the answer so he basically said he couldn't hire me. Bro, I could look that up in 1 minute on a phone, but never mind being able to disassemble and setup up a guitar on my own. I don't mind most GC employees, most of them are fun people. That said there was no interest for me in ever returning to look for a job after that first experience.
I bought an amp from a local guitar center that went bad after GC's return policy expired. They told me there was nothing they could do and to contact the manufacturer. Now, I'm a working musician in a well known local band not some kid playing in his bedroom. The amp went bad during a show and I took it in the following Monday AND had a show the following Friday. All I got from them was "Sorry, nothing we can do..... Take it to the manufacturer." When I asked if the manufacturer would get it fixed or replaced by Friday, they said "I doubt it but sorry." I went to a small 'mom and pop shop' and told them the story. They told me to take whatever amp I wanted off of their showroom floor and use it until I got mine fixed. Since then I have found blown speakers at soundcheck and called my mom and pop shop and they met me at the store after hours and loaned me a brand new speaker to get through the show. Customer service wins over "low prices" every day! I refuse to do business with GC or MF ever again! (then again, the police asked me not to go back into that store because if the scene I caused!)
Definite plus and minus to GC. Some of stores around here, because they dont have any real competition, can treat you like your the walking plague. No matter how much you spend. Ive had good experiences with GC although the prices arent always the best but its ok.
They got rid of the greeters because they're in a bad way with $$$. When guitar center was a small chain in the early 80's the were awesome, carrying upcoming brands like Charvel and had parts and maintenance. Like any company that goes public it becomes all about shareholders, and not about the customer. I cannot support big box music stores. The strip jobs and services from the community. If you get in good with a lcal mom and pop you can get great prices through loyalty.
I go to GC to try out the guitars or amps and buy from AMS. Why? Because it's not been played on and banged up from other people playing them and they look like shit with no discount on open gear equipment. And second how do you lose out millions of dollars a year from door greeters? Their probably not even making $15,000 a year.
I didn't see you cover the agreement with Gibson to be the exclusive dealer in an area. Last I heard, for a music store to be a Gibson dealer, there must not be a Guitar Center within a two hour drive. That makes it difficult to run a single store if you can't sell one of the most popular brands. If GC tanks, it's going to cost Gibson access to their in-store buying retail customers.
I need a Electric Guitar for hard rock and metal that will absolutely stay in tune I am not liking the IBANEZ GI0 going to return it. Fret Buzz , Poor Construction, Won't stay in tune for nothing. Starting to despise it not good since I am just starting out.
Guuitar center sucks. Everythings over priced, it's nearly impossible to get over the phone, or in person. You can't crank up that amp you might want to buy. Mars was the shit!!!! Guitar center always has and always will suck.
The most important thing store brands do is help keep the price of brand names down. Every big store does it. If Duracell batteries are too expensive they get a big shipment of Costco or BJ's batteries and Duracell will negotiate a lower price for the next shipment because of diminished sales. Same with guitars! That's why Mitchel is now here!
Guitar Center sucks! Ordered a brand new set of headphones and was shipped a used P.O.S. because they were supposedly out of stock is all their stores nationwide. Took the used P.O.S. to my local store to demand a refund and low and behold there was a new set of the headphones right there in the store after customer (what a fucking joke) service told me there were none in stock in any store nationwide. GC and their many subsidiaries will NEVER get my business again.
I bought a practice amp recently and he said it was the last one they had. The display model. I showed him the scratches on the sides of it and said I wanted a markdown because of the scratches and it's been probably cranked up to the max here and there from people trying it. He said no problem I'll hook you up. Low and behold a minute later there were plenty in stock! I guess he figured he'd make more in commission selling at a higher price point. Duh! But they probably tell them to try and sell the floor model stuff at new prices if people are willing to pay it. NEVER pay full price for floor model items.
#6 Beware of deals that say Clearance, to me that means a new guitar on sale but not at the Lubbock Guitar Center, it is a used guitar with dings and scratches on it and when I bought it they went in the back and just threw together what they had on hand . I'm talking about a Fender Deluxe Plus American guitar, you know the one with the personality cards. Well I got a black case with it, almost got no personality cards, and the eye candy that came with the guitar was not the eye candy for that guitar the string bend handle was not for that guitar. I took it home and began to do some research and lo and behold the guitar was on clearance because the guitar was phased out by fender which meant sorry about your luck when trying to find cards for it, then the case was the wrong case it was black plastic instead of the tweed case that should have come with the guitar which had the spaces for a wallet type case for the 3 cards that was supposed to come with it. I immediately took it back and the dude that sold me the guitar says sorry no refunds on Clearance items. I was so upset.. I told him I understand your policy is no refunds on clearance guitars but this one is not even complete and you sold it to me with mismatched items and then I showed him the dings and scratches. He said well you got a better case with it and you got a 1900 dollar guitar for 999 dollars. I told him that was not the point the point is that when they sell an item on clearance at least sell it complete. I called the head office and told them about my complaints and they said they could only talk to the store manager. I got a call from him within half an hour and he assured me that he would get the proper items for the guitar and that he would be willing to give me a further discount due to the dings and scratches. This was back in January, I went to the store last month because I still hadn't gotten anything and spoke to the manager face to face.. He went to the computer and looked on the screen and said oh the case will be here on the 19th that's all he said. Here it is May 21, 2017 and nothing. Oh and by the way he told me not to call them he will call me. So never ever ever buy anything on clearance at Guitar center. Oh and by the way #7 guitar center has the most unprofessional people working there. #8 Never ever eve has a guitar set up by them, they charged me 75 dollars to set up a Fender I had previously and the guitar buzzed in so many places. When I confronted the set up guy about it he says of as long as the strings don't buzz when you bend them it is ok, come on guys. I took the guitar to a proper Luthier and he charged me 50 dollars for a proper set up and by the way he said it didn't even look as though they even touched my guitar. There you have it will I go back and buy anything from guitar center.....no and by the way I won't buy from the other stores owned by them. I am going to talk to the manager again this week since I haven't heard from him....lets see what his excuse is this time.
My only experience with Guitar Center. I'm one of those touch it taste it turn it up loud kind of guys that will do what he can to avoid buying anything on line. So during a vacation to the Rockford Ill area roughly 4 years ago, I decide to buy an electric Classical guitar to help with my elbow rehabilitation that I broke while skate boarding at 62 years old. I was met at the door just as I was told would happen, as they discourage browsers. But other than that, the clerk was attentive and set me up with a decent guitar and case. My point is, I'm an old retired coot and I don't enter any store unless I'm looking to buy. I love browsing and they may have lost a major sale buy attaching to me like a vulture eyeing dinner. I generally buy local but thought I needed to buy something from an online store at least once, thus I'll probably never go back to Guitar Center.
Laguna guitars owned by Guitar Center? Surely there was some rebranding involved. Only Laguna I know of is the one Greg Howe played. And I'm sure it's not the same as GC's Laguna Oo
Here's a fun fact . In the 80's A young Yngwie Malmsteen was mad about something, slammed his beer bottle down breaking the glass case at the old Hawthorne Store that closed soon after opening. Another sad fact, that was the store that kind of forced the great Hogans House of Music to move. In an alternate universe Hogans is still in business and Guitar Center went out of biz ...
I have a limited edition custom deluxe Epiphone Les Paul model that was made and sold exclusively for "Guitar Center". Is this a good thing or a bad thing, or a makes no difference feel good thing???
there is a music store here in Corpus Christi Texas called Clawson's music at 2701 spid they have all soooooo much stuff it's a family owned business some very nice people been open since 1963 they have music lessons and repair gear.
Acoustic and Deltalab were once their own independent companies. But GC bought or salvaged the trademarks on those brands. So not the same 'in house' as Mitchell and some of the others that only ever existed in GC. Disapointingly they seem to have nothing to do with the original brands.
Our local Guitar Center in Overland Park KS is great, I have yet to have a bad experience in there. As far as my gear goes, I have bought many things used on GC on-line, no one beats their price on used gear. Never pay the asking amount, be patient and watch for things that have been on-line for a while, make a stupid offer and they will take it or counter with a decent offer. Last summer I bought a 2015 (Mex) Fender Special Ed. Deluxe Ash in mint condition for (tax and all) $315.00. I have bought several amps for next to nothing. I hope they don't go out of business, I can't afford to shop anywhere else.
As long as the stupid "It has to go to 11 and yes this is my variation of Sweet Child O'Mine, I call it Sour Ears O'Yours!" kids believe the Predator stuff, all is good. :)
4 things about GC.
1. One side of the store is cheap stuff
2. The other side is really expensive stuff.
3. There is a collection of PRS's by the door.
4. No one is there to help you.
Hey, how about them playing their own radio station over the speakers, all the time. So if you really wanted to hear the difference between an Epiphone Dot and a Sheraton, good luck! Image a music store where can't really hear the instrument very well.
could you do a video on 5 things about 5 things? or maybe 7 things about 7 things...or if you wanna get nuts...5 things about 7 things???
I used to work for GC. It was common to see items marked for sale even though the "sale price" was actually higher than the original price.
A friend of mine worked for them, said he was paid minimum wage but had to pay that back to them with sales or they got rid of them. Most employees I deal with are generally nice, but they don't know anything about what they are pushing, they're just trying to up their sales numbers. I hope it has changed.
Another interesting fact -- GC's parent company is Bain Capital, which is in turn owned by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
I sent my Mitchell guitar to guitar center for a setup and when I got my guitar back it was in the same condition as when I gave them my guitar so I payed guitar center 75 dollars for nothing
Times have changed the store in Sacramento.ca is half displayed with dj equipment and keyboard rentals it's lame but I know guitar will never die 🤘
Let the buyer beware. Make sure you get what you paid for. Check guitar serial numbers with the manufacturer to avoid getting ripped off. I'll not buy from them again ever !
Guitar Center trash guitar's and other thing's that could be donated
To schools underprivileged children wanting to learn
This being said I could never support GC will order from Sweetwater
First in "related videos" is "Noam Chomsky on Participatory Economics" . . . . so maybe I'll click that and when I'm done, youtube will have a "cats beating up bewildered dogs" type video cued up next?
When you don’t have a sweet water nearby so you have to go to guitar center
Revenue is income from sales and payroll is on the expense side of the equation. So cutting a position helps with net profit (but not with revenue streams). Don't cross the streams. :)
question for anyone. Guitar pedals or guitar rig? and why. I am just starting out. I have been only playing a yr, and do not know much about which ones I should go with.
The red guitar picks laying around Guitar Center.....who makes them? Someone has to know.
Do Sweetwater have stores in San Francisco? Can anyone recommend a guitar store in San Francisco I’m flying there from Australia to spend some money?