So I Went To Guitar Center

[vintage2]

I went to guitar center, in Houston. I grabbed the most expensive strats they had, and I'll say that about 75% of them were just horrible. Not even close for their price range. I played a 6,000$ Mary Kay master built, and it was fretting out really badly. I played a 1954 master built anniversary edition too (3,600$). I mean, really? Has their quality control just been lost in translation? It's not the radius or anything that I don't like, as they had a 1963 strat which I loved. I played an Eric Johnson one as well, and I just loved the neck on it! Unfortunately I didn't like the pickups much, and the strings felt slinky due to the string trees missing. As usual, I had to snag the cheapest Squier in the store to enjoy myself. Am i weird, or are these new strats junk? Of course, they could have been "set up" by monkees that worked at the store.

[PennyCentury]

What about a local store, like Fuller Vintage Guitar?

[pjholland]

Yeah, Guitar Center. Around where I live if you want a set-up or anything else done you drop your guitar off and they ship to somebody that knows what they are doing. My guess is that at the GC you visited nobody's doing any maintenance to keep them in good playing condition. They do have to be adjusted occasionally and those high end guitars have probably been sitting there for awhile.

[Mark Davis]

Ive played a few masterbuilts and they all needed the nut cut right and a good setup.

I know they cant all be as bad as the ones I played but the examples I tried I wouldnt buy.

[vintage2]

I noticed Mars music had instruments that played well. In fact, there was a 1957 reissue there I loved to death. Unfortunately I never had enough to buy it at the time. It was still there when the store was closing too for around half the normal price.. I'm still to this day kicking myself for not buying it. But Mars is gone now, and all I see now are these guitar centers and Best Buy where the instruments just don't play right at all. The Mom and pop shops around, all I see are strat knockoffs, so it looks like I'm stuck with Guitar Center monkees..

[PennyCentury]

If you feel that Guitar Center is not displaying their gear at a positive advantage, why not go somewhere else in Houston? Unlike my home town, which has only ONE independent guitar shop as well as a Best Buy location, Houston does have a few competent guitar shops IMO. You are lucky enough to have a choice where you are. My advice might make more sense if you ignore my name and my avatar.

[Telenator]

Any time I have been seriously considering a high-end purchase at Guitar Center or any other decent store, they have always been willing to do quick adjustments for me.

Lets face it. If you're looking at guitars in the $3000+ range, you already have some specific ideas of what you want, and a set-up tailored more towards the way you play is one of those things.

If you're serious about buying a $6000 guitar, then you should ask for some service and expect they'll accomodate you. It they don't, then they suck.

But if you're just popping into GC to evaluate the quality of their gear and set-ups so you and your buddies can criticize it later, well, I'm not sure what the merit is in that.

[grasspicker]

+1 on Fuller's!
THAT store has a selection of instruments...and good folks, too.

[Dizi]

Give me any Fender, some tools, a blank piece of bone, and about an hour. You won't care where it was bought from.

[Parma_TeleMon]

it's a lovely day for a GC rant! If the only Fender guitars I ever played were the ones sitting in a GC (pick one - I've been in several in different states), I'd never buy one because they won't stay in tune and the intonation is normally abhorrent. I realize that for a mass retailer volume is everything, but c'mon folks, how about showing a little pride in your stock? And I agree with the OP - high end guitars should be setup properly before they get hung on the wall. Period.

[Post Toastie]

Proper set up is different for different people.
some like 9s some like 10s
some like high action some like low
some like hot sounding pickups some like colder sounding pickups(due to the height of the pickup)
some like more relief some like less
some like a tremelo that is very active some dont want any tremelo
How do you want yours set up????

[beep.click]

The high end Fenders haven't knocked me out, period. Some are nice; some aren't.

I play a lot of stuff, in all price ranges. The good ones are good, no matter what it says on the tag.

[Radspin]

In the Commack GC it seems like they just take guitars out of the box and hang them on the wall. I've seen many that needed a neck adjustment--why don't they just do it?

The most ridiculous instance of a guitar needing a setup was at 30th Street Guitar in NYC. They had a used Foam Green Thin Skin Limited Edition Strat that I had my eye on. I played it and told them it needed a neck adjustment (it was pretty badly bowed). The salesman's response: "If you buy it, we'll adjust it for you." Well, how the heck would I know if I wanted to buy it or not if it wasn'tt adjusted properly? And what if I was dumb enough to buy it and then it turned out that the warp in the neck could not be adjusted out?

[Old Cane]

Originally Posted by pjholland

Yeah, Guitar Center. Around where I live if you want a set-up or anything else done you drop your guitar off and they ship to somebody that knows what they are doing. My guess is that at the GC you visited nobody's doing any maintenance to keep them in good playing condition. They do have to be adjusted occasionally and those high end guitars have probably been sitting there for awhile.

My guess is that someone at this GC did do a setup on all the guitars in question.

[Sterling Indigo]

LOL, yeah I'd be asking to set my own up!

EDIT: Nothing against GC, BB or any other super retailer but we go there for price, not knowledgeable sales staff, and great set-ups, etc...

[vintage2]

So these expensive Fenders really aren't crappy, it's just no maintenance on a guitar that costs as much as a car? =/

[drewsblues]

Originally Posted by PennyCentury

My advice might make more sense if you ignore my name and my avatar.

I don't get it. What's wrong with your name and your avatar?

[Old Cane]

Originally Posted by Sterling Indigo

LOL, yeah I'd be asking to set my own up!

EDIT: Nothing against GC, BB or any other super retailer but we go there for price, not knowledgeable sales staff, and great set-ups, etc...

You're exactly right. But what i don't get from some folks here is that they have never shipped or flown with a guitar I guess. If you travel, or your guitar does anyway, you need to be able to do your own work if you plan on having it functional. It's made of wood. It's gonna shift a bit just day to day.

[Telenator]

Originally Posted by vintage2

So these expensive Fenders really aren't crappy, it's just no maintenance on a guitar that costs as much as a car? =/

That is correct.

I like my action a bit higher than most. Someone would pick up one of my guitars and look at it in disgust complaining about the crappy set-up. I happen to like it that way!

The Guitar Center near me has a full time tech set up in what used to be "The Loud Room."

[Parma_TeleMon]

"The Loud Room" - around here they call that the main showroom!!

[Thekillertree]

Its gotta be hard to set up all those guitars though, i know the one round here the repair guy sets up the guitar, but he is also setting up the guitars of costumers. Also they seem to set up used ones first, and one that have quick turn overs, and no so often the 10 grand one that every wank wants to rock out on and not buy. But really if you are interested, i bet they would double time get that thing set up.