GC visit & rant

[Father Gino]

I went to GC in Manchester, CT yesterday, hoping against hope that they'd have some of the new MMs there to scope out. Unfortunately, it was the usual less than perfect experience. No fretless anythings, no Sterlings, One HH Bongo 4., one HH SR4 and one 30th Anniv. SR4.

The Good: The sales dude was OK and even gave me a cord and a tuner when I asked him for one (none of the basses were in tune with each other). The 30th Anniv. SR4 was real purdy and everything worked on it.

The Bad and Ugly: The HHSR4 pickup selector switch was messed up. Position 5 worked sometimes if you jiggled it. #4 didn't want to work at all. #s 1-3 sounded identical to my ears. I later found that position 4 worked if you pulled the lever towards the strings. So that was pretty much of a bummer so I decided to give the Bongo a whirl. It didn't want to work at all. The batteries seemed OK and the sales monkey even gave me a new set to no avail. Then I noticed that it worked if you jiggled the plug at the bass. The cord was OK, but the bass' jack must have been bent. It worked fine if I balanced the barrel of the plug on my thigh a certain way; not the most comfortable or natural playing position. I'll have to admit that it was enjoyable to play, pesky frets, messed up jack and all. The neck and setup were very nice. Half a dozen knobs seemed somewhat overwhelming, but I guess you'd get used to it.

But back to the rant. This just seems like a piss poor way to display what should be premium products.

 

[TSanders]

Thats sucks.

Weve tried the GC discussion here a few times, and it always gets rough.

So, just consider yourself warned.

 

[lonote049]

What's worse yet is that there are people out there who think it's the MANUFACTURER'S fault that the instruments at GC are beat up. It's a damned shame to see nice instruments get trashed before they can even be sold.

 

[Mobay45]

 

[Motojunkie]

 

[Disquieter]

will someone at EBMM please contact this GC in Manchester and get the defective 5 way switch fixed?


please?

 

[francric]

I'm with you guys............

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

 

[bovinehost]

Father Gino, we've had just terrible luck with GC threads. They always degenerate into bedlam, thus the guys above posting the popcorn eatin' gifs.

I'm going to let this stay open, but be advised - if it turns into another repository of GC hate, I'll close it.

Thanks.

Jack

 

[adouglas]

The beauty of this is that it can be taken in at least two different ways.

 

[Father Gino]

Jack, take this thread out if you want. I'm really not trying to start anything. As much as anything, I'm just disappointed that I've yet to see very many of all these new MM products yet.

 

[bovinehost]

No, I'd rather not delete posts because of what MIGHT happen.....being a liberal at heart, it pains me to do such things.

I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

 

[Mobay45]

Just be careful what you post here.

 

[drgroovenstein]

 

[Big Poppa]

Ive sent it to Enzo at GC (Michael Doyle)

 

[Disquieter]

Ive sent it to Enzo at GC (Michael Doyle)

thanks

 

[Enzo]

Thanks "Big Poppa" for letting me (GC) know about this.

"Father Gino",

I welcome your input about GC and appreciate the opportunity to respond via the forum....

Other dealers have a policy of keeping their instruments - especially high end one's like Music Man - behind glass, out of reach, or under lock and key - reserved for the privileged few.

Guitar Center on the other hand encourages all of our customers to experience all of our guitars and basses, all of the time. Thanks to this musician friendly policy, it is a constant challenge to keep them all "factory fresh". That said, I thank you for bringing this to my attention, and have requested that the Assistant Manager at your Manchester store, Chris Spada, will rectify the problems you mentioned.

With regards to your comments about selection, Guitar Center has over 1,000 Music Man basses in-stock, though admitedly not all of them are in Connecticut! Please let me or Chris know specifically what fretless bass you are looking for and we will try to help.

I am pleased to say that Chris verified that we do indeed have a Blue Pearl Sterling on display in our high-end bass room. Please feel free to call him at the store to set up a personal appointment to check it out. His tel number is 860 648 3900, and he's at the store every day except Thursdays.

I hope this meets your satisfaction, if not, please let me know.

All the best,

Michael.

 

[tommyindelaware]

seems to me.......any store w/ alot of traffic is gonna reek havic on the guitars on display. & the busier they are....the harder the geetars get beat up.
i was in washington music (imho a great store) a couple weeks ago. the place was mobbed as usual.....(a good thing).....& it just goes w/ the territory for the instruments to get mugged.

if a music store is sucessful,then it has to be busy. if it's busy........then that means they are experiencing alot of traffic.
do the instruments need to be maintained ??well .........yea......but it takes time.....& time is money.

does spelling count ???

 

[tommyindelaware]

Thanks "Big Poppa" for letting me (GC) know about this.

"Father Gino",

I welcome your input about GC and appreciate the opportunity to respond via the forum....

Other dealers have a policy of keeping their instruments - especially high end one's like Music Man - behind glass, out of reach, or under lock and key - reserved for the privileged few.

Guitar Center on the other hand encourages all of our customers to experience all of our guitars and basses, all of the time. Thanks to this musician friendly policy, it is a constant challenge to keep them all "factory fresh". That said, I thank you for bringing this to my attention, and have requested that the Assistant Manager at your Manchester store, Chris Spada, will rectify the problems you mentioned.

With regards to your comments about selection, Guitar Center has over 1,000 Music Man basses in-stock, though admitedly not all of them are in Connecticut! Please let me or Chris know specifically what fretless bass you are looking for and we will try to help.

I am pleased to say that Chris verified that we do indeed have a Blue Pearl Sterling on display in our high-end bass room. Please feel free to call him at the store to set up a personal appointment to check it out. His tel number is 860 648 3900, and he's at the store every day except Thursdays.

I hope this meets your satisfaction, if not, please let me know.

All the best,

Michael.

i hear y'all are finially gonna come to delaware ?????