guitar center rant

GUITAR CENTER
Yesterday I went to Guitar Center with my Guitar Center Buddy for yet another one of their Tremendous Sales<tm>.
They moved the lefty section further off to the side, while not adding much.  We saw an interesting  whilte Standard Strat (made in Mexico) that had a weird `relic’ job done to it.  It wasn’t so [...]

If you followed the sage of my nephew’s guitar, you’ll remember my wife purchased a heavy metal-ish guitar for her nephew for his birthday.  The Guitar Center salesguy really pushed the extended warranty, promising that it covered anything.
Naturally, anything happened and the headstock snapped off.
Nephew took the guitar to a local Guitar Center, who said [...]

As a nurse, my wife gets all the `medical jobs’ in the family.  Most recently my brother’s father-in-law had to be hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer.  He lives in an assisted living facility because he’s unfortunately becoming a lot less sharp than he used to be.
My wife went to visit him this evening in the [...]

Yes, I went to visit Guitar Center again.
When GC’s first started to show up, there was a strong curiosity plus a strong backlash proclaiming SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC STORE.
Now that I look around, there are three chains and very few local music stores.  We now have great selection combined with lowest-common-denominator service.  It’s not a [...]

I just heard that Guitar Center is blowing out Eric Johnson Strats for $999.  No joke; I have friends who are headed there as I type.
I believe the regular price is around $1700.  This is the price of a used one.
I hear incredible things about this guitar from people who know better.  So if you’re [...]

These things never end well, even though they generally start pretty well.
First, let me bring you up to date on New Stuff<tm>.
The best moment had to be the Peavey Xmas Tree Amp.  It’s probably not called that, at least by Peavey, but it was clearly visible across the room because it did a fantastic impersonation [...]

I just learned that a local legend of a music store is closing [Medley Music].
The store has been around way longer than I’ve been visiting music stores (a significant period of time).  I have known one of the sales guys for almost as long as I’ve been playing.  I even hired him to help on [...]

Fourteen brands of dry dog and cat food is being recalled by Mars Petcare.  Two people who may have handled the food became infected with salmonella.  What’s up with this nonsense?  It hasn’t been too long since the last recall, which almost killed Satan, my sometimes beloved cat.  These people should roast right next to [...]

Since it’s been a while and since I’m a glutton for punishment and since I don’t often get to go into guitar stores with another lefty for pure entertainment, I managed to get by tonight.  I heard all sorts of radio spots and even got a flyer for Guitar Center’s Strat Demo Days.   The apparent [...]

Guitar Center just sent me an email on this outlet concept.
Ymmv - wouldn’t exactly call these killer deals but maybe a smart shopper will find something.
Not a single lefty to be found but there are quite a few available on the non-outlet search.   Most amusing is that a TON of lefties can be found in [...]