Why i hate guitar shops

[guitartango]

OK, i don't really hate them , just you walk into them and you feel you shouldn't be there because your not wearing the latest heavy/nu metal t-shirt. The young lad behind the counter and his spotty girlfriend just look at you as if you have landed from planet 1980's.

For the past three weeks i have been looking for a second hand Gibson, each shop i go to wants to sell me the latests all singing and dancing studio model.

No "mate" i want a second hand Gibson for around £600.
Shop owner: You are better off with a new model, how about 10% discount if you buy it now.

Dads are allowed to play guitar you know.:

[ShootTheGlass]

A couple of the shops I tried did seem to have an element of snobbery; more from the customers (mostly kids with those stupid side-swept haircuts) who seemed hellbent on trying to (badly) outshred each other. They shot me disapproving glances when it was obvious I wasnt going to play at 500mph.

I sat there, rather smugly, wearing a Racer X tshirt my cousin had given me

Never had a problem with staff, especially in my d'habitude guitar shop now, theyre always happy to chat and demo stuff even if Ive told them Im not buying.

[Tig***]

This reminds me of surf shops and some of the young surfers...
They tend to use their surfboards and haircuts as hood ornaments meant to impress others or make a trendy statement. I'd rather hang with the more skilled soul surfers who are cool, yet warm, regardless of their style (short board thrashers or longboard cruisers).

I think as we age and hopefully gain wisdom, we learn that the shallow world of appearance and being in the in crowd is a fruitless pursuit. To express from the soul or heart, no matter what style of music, is the most sincere use of an instrument. Sometimes we can say in one note, what couldn't be expressed with hundreds, as long as that note wells out from the heart. I'm certainly not bashing any shred techniques. Heck, some of the most expressive blues guitarists could play quicker than lightning.

I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes, function (expression) rules over form (blazing technique). Some of the best recorded sessions came from fairly basic guitars with a simple fuzz box or wah and an old amp.

[jpfeifer]

Hey I can relate to this story. I've always felt weird in guitar shops because I don't have that "musician" look. No body piercings, no tattoo's, didn't have big hair in the 80s, ... They probably thought that I'm a shoe salesman or something. :-)

This situation is actually getting better these days because most of the guitar shops now realize that us guys who have gray hair, and love guitar, are the ones who are more likely to buy the expensive equipment that we could never afford in our younger days! Guitar Center is really friendly with me now, especially when I ask to play their more expensive guitars, etc. They often come by several times to see if I have questions, the owner will come by and chat with me, etc. They probably have a special alert system at the front door now when a 40-something guy walks in and wanders over to look at the Gibsons and PRS guitars. They know that these are the ones who will go for the more expensive stuff that they always wanted.

When I lived in the LA area in the late 80's I couldn't get any attention from people in the guitar shops because I didn't have the required permed hairdoo that identified you as a serious guitar player :-) I would often have guys in these shops trying to educate me about guitar equipment as if I were an idiot, without having any clue about my background or interests in gear, etc. Fortunately, this seems to be changing as I get older.

So now it seems that I'm finally treated as a serious customer in the shops, either because I look like someone's Dad or because I look like I still have a job. Either way, they seem to be clued in about who is likely to spend money in the shops. It's nice to finally get decent customer service for once!

-- Jim

[guitartango]

Hey I can relate to this story. I've always felt weird in guitar shops because I don't have that "musician" look. No body piercings, no tattoo's, didn't have big hair in the 80s, ... They probably thought that I'm a shoe salesman or something. :-)
-- Jim

I know the feeling Jim, a friend of mine went into a shop to get his Gibson 68 Hummingbird setup and the shop owner said that the guitar was bad one and he would take off his hands for £800!. My friend then went to a local guitar repair workshop and they said , if you want to sell this let me know as its worth over two grand!

Anyone else being ripped off ?

[rylanmartin]

money talks....
I've gone as far as when I go music store shopping, to prep my wallet. I'll stock my wallet with a few bills, but cut up newspaper into bill size rectangles and stuff my wallet so I can do that power move of "flipping through bills" while in the PRS/Gibson sections. Talk like money is no object and work with the confidence of a pro without being cocky...

The wallet flip as well as the "I'm GOING to buy something very expensive TODAY if I find something truly impressive" attitude works 90% of the time with the super snobby stores...

Super sad really.

[wingsdad]

... I'll stock my wallet with a few bills, but cut up newspaper into bill size rectangles and stuff my wallet ...
Super sad really.

sorta like stuffin' a pair of tube socks down the front of your trou b4 walkin' into a bar, eh?

My mistake at emporiums like GC is wearing a tie, taking a break from a business call. To the pimple-pocked 'experts', I may as well have scurvy.

They open their mouths with their 'knowledge' just this side of a harm-central jagoff rant, and I know I'm in a place I don't care to be.

[rylanmartin]

sorta like stuffin' a pair of tube socks down the front of your trou b4 walkin' into a bar, eh?

Actually I use the zucchini wrapped in aluminum foil...

TAP! TAP! TAP!!

[otaypanky***]

Ahhh, that's just one of the joys of being 56, ( oops, almost 57 ). I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks of me ~

[evenkeel]

Ahhh, that's just one of the joys of being 56, ( oops, almost 57 ). I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks of me ~

Exactly!! : We're the same vintage otay. I head into a big box store, mom and pop, whatever... If my khaki shorts and T shirt don't measure up with the all black clothing, green hair and tattoo crowd what do I care. Honestly however, I've never been treated badly. I was in a big box store a couple of weekends ago and was messing around in the acoustic room (what a surprise ). Ended up having a good conversation with the black clothing, tattoed, mid 20's something clerk about alternate tunings. All good!!!

[just strum]

I go to the mom and pop store and I think they realize that despite my khaki shorts and t-shirt with no reference to anarchy, I have more money than most of the ones dressed in black, chains, tats, and piercings (not that there is anything wrong with that).

Besides, most of the mom and pop stores are owned by people my age (55).

[pes_laul]

I usually get the "You darn kids!" attitude when I first go to a guitar shop. But after treating the instruments with proper care (and not drop D'ing all the guitars) and show them I'm not the typical kid that gets dropped off while their parents go do stuff, they seem to start to like me and stuff.

[just strum]

But after treating the instruments with proper care (and not drop D'ing all the guitars) and show them I'm not the typical kid that gets dropped off while their parents go do stuff, they seem to start to like me and stuff.

:

[Plank_Spanker]

I love to watch and listen to the weekend GC guitar hero wars:

Usually three or so young guns with their posse at rapt attention and adulation..............meedly, meedly, meedly, look up to see who noticed; stare intently at the enemy camps.....................wait for the meedly, meedly, meedly reply; look around at the customers and try to act cool; hope some old dude like me doesn't comment that the guitar you're playing is way out of tune.

Repeat for effect.................................

[tot_Ou_tard]

I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks of me ~

You're lucky there

[P.J.]

Dads are allowed to play guitar you know.:

That would be a great tee shirt!! I would wear it! The thing I hate the most about most big guitar shops is that kids are playing badly loudly.

=-) PJ