Tales from GC: The guitars are back, but the quality isn’t

Ovibos

Ovibos

Naughty Wood Librarian
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,016
Location
Wilmette, IL
Yesterday, in preparation for our annual Xmas road-trip, I dropped the cat off at camp and hit up the dispensary for my special sleepytime gummies. Since there was a GC just down the road, I popped in.

Stock is back. The guitar wall was full, which was really heartening to see. The PRS selection was just two SEs: hollow body and a Paul’s.

Even tho I was coincidentally wearing a PRS hoodie, I told my inner Sergio that not all other guitars are dumb and tried out a few - mostly to reacquaint myself with different neck profiles.

Y’all…QC on some of those other brands is not good right now. The Jacksons were meh, but the Schecters - woof. I know it’s GC and the standards are low, so I chalked up one with an unplayable setup to that. But another had 100% fret sprout on both sides of the neck. I was surprised it wasn’t already covered in blood. It was so bad that when I showed it to an employee he actually took it off the floor!
 
Although, I despise GC I still go into quite a few of them and try to give them a shot. The past few I've been into recently have been around 100% capacity for guitar stock. A couple had walls full and stands set up all around the store. In the acoustic room there was a makeshift row added to the floor for about 125% capacity. One had used stock at about 80% plus, which was more than all of the used inventory combined I'd seen in a GCs for months. I assumed manufacturers are doing everything they can to get merch out for the holiday season to keep this guitar boom a going!
 
I went into the GC nearest me to buy a Line6 HD500X they had on sale. When I walked up to the door, there was a crudely written sign on the door, "No Power Closed" Well that sucked, I just drove an hour and a half for nothing. The thing I found odd was that they were the only spot without power. Everything and I mean everything in a 4-block radius had power. I am not a betting man, but Odds are good that not enough employees wanted or could come into work to justify opening the store.
Fortunately, the GC in Johnson City NY had the same board for the same price. I was able to walk in the next day and pay cash on my way to the other side of the state for work.

Another guitar store in my area listed a pedal I wanted on their website as in stock, so I strolled in while out doing errands. Lots of guitars on the walls, a few CE's a few SE's too. When I asked the salesman about the pedal, I got the deer in the headlight look and the 'uhm uuh, I.....I don't think we...' my immediate response was to show him on their website where it clearly said "IN STOCK" in red letters. He taps on his computer for a few moments looking scared, then dives behind another cabinet to root through the boxes (it didn't sound like there was many) then finallly tells me 'uhm yeah, we don't have that in stock' I just shook my head, loudly stated "then fix your website" and walked out. I think this place is the training ground for GC, takes the GC rejects. Either way I won't go back to them anymore.
 
Wakester said:
Another guitar store in my area listed a pedal I wanted on their website as in stock, so I strolled in while out doing errands. Lots of guitars on the walls, a few CE's a few SE's too. When I asked the salesman about the pedal, I got the deer in the headlight look and the 'uhm uuh, I.....I don't think we...' my immediate response was to show him on their website where it clearly said "IN STOCK" in red letters. He taps on his computer for a few moments looking scared, then dives behind another cabinet to root through the boxes (it didn't sound like there was many) then finallly tells me 'uhm yeah, we don't have that in stock' I just shook my head, loudly stated "then fix your website" and walked out. I think this place is the training ground for GC, takes the GC rejects. Either way I won't go back to them anymore.
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On one hand, it's surprising that this stuff still happens, but I think a lot of smaller shops either don't have (or won't get) the capability to keep that stuff up to date. Years ago, I went to Best Buy to get a TV. Checked the web site before I left. Pretty much played out exactly the way you described, except I went to Circuit City instead of Johsnson City (my sister-in-law used to live near there - went to Pot Of Gold Records a few times, and a great old used bookstore in Binghamton that had Coke in glass bottles).

When I bought my EP Booster on Black Friday, I chatted w/the dealer online to make sure they had it (I don't know if their system updates in real time or not). The guy I chatted with said they did, I said I'd be in, and he asked if I wanted them to send me a secure link to pay for it and they could hold it. I said, "No - let's live on the edge. If someone else gets it, so be it." Probably a tad reckless, but they remembered me and got a chuckle on what has to be a stressful day.
 
alantig said:
On one hand, it's surprising that this stuff still happens, but I think a lot of smaller shops either don't have (or won't get) the capability to keep that stuff up to date. Years ago, I went to Best Buy to get a TV. Checked the web site before I left. Pretty much played out exactly the way you described, except I went to Circuit City instead of Johsnson City (my sister-in-law used to live near there - went to Pot Of Gold Records a few times, and a great old used bookstore in Binghamton that had Coke in glass bottles).

When I bought my EP Booster on Black Friday, I chatted w/the dealer online to make sure they had it (I don't know if their system updates in real time or not). The guy I chatted with said they did, I said I'd be in, and he asked if I wanted them to send me a secure link to pay for it and they could hold it. I said, "No - let's live on the edge. If someone else gets it, so be it." Probably a tad reckless, but they remembered me and got a chuckle on what has to be a stressful day.
Click to expand...
I tried going into a Circuit City the day they closed all the stores, the doors were locked and people were crying in the parking lot. I didn't know any more than the employees did that they were closing up forever. I liked them better than Best Buy. I think I've been to Pot Of Gold once, back when I was still buying Vinyl Albums.
 
GC Highland Park is the closest one to my house, but I haven't been there since before Covid and even back then, it was mostly cheap crap. I'd go in just to look for used treasure. The Music Gallery in Highwood is still very well stocked, but that's mostly Fender Custom Shop with some assorted American and import models plus a small amount of Gibson and PRS. Don't even get me going on Sam Ass in Buffalo Grove... Guitar shopping in Lake County sucks. The only thing I have going for me up here is that Milwaukee and downtown Chicago are equal distance from my house (about an hour's drive).
 
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mookyshoots said:
GC Highland Park is the closest one to my house, but I haven't been there since before Covid and even back then, it's was mostly cheap crap. I'd go in just to look for used treasure. The Music Gallery in Highwood is still very well stocked, but that's mostly Fender Custom Shop with some assorted American and import models plus a small amount of Gibson and PRS. Don't even get me going on Sam Ass in Buffalo Grove... Guitar shopping in Lake County sucks. The only thing I have going for me up here is that Milwaukee and downtown Chicago are equal distance from my house (about an hour's drive).
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So you can get to either CME or Dave’s!
 
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