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This was very insightful and highly entertaining! Great pace and interviews were thoughtfully and carefully placed. Excellent. Keep up the great work.

How's part 2 coming along?

like everything else there is always a hit of miss factor i have several guitars both Name and off the wall brands whatever pleases the buyer .

The main reason I go to SW for my more expensive guitars is SELECTION / CHOICE. I can pick a guitar, and then see online all the guitars they have of that one. See the different woodgrain patterns in each guitar, see the weight and then pick the one I want.

I use the GC app to see what's avail in my area for me to go pickup. Cheaper guitars I'll buy from GC. Anything over 400 I get from SW.

Maybe it’s not doing so good now but I got a lot of great deals there. Labor Day sale, 1958 Gibson Les Paul Burst reissue $1800. The guy nest to me bought the 1957 Goldtop Les Paul. A few months ago I wanted to get that Epiphone Power Players SG. It was hanging on the wall and I asked for the price. $109, sign up and get a $5 coupon. No gig bag or accessories that usually come with the package. Great deal, nearly 1/2 off. Still love the 45 day return policy.

I really enjoyed 'The Charvel Gang' documentary! Grover Jackson didn't really have anything nice to say about it, however. I believe GJ referred to it as a 'trainwreck'. Take that for what it's worth.

Enjoy your channel, have collected several guitars over the years and like to mod or just put the time into setting them up correctly all of them needed something budget and expensive. If somebody says they have guitars I want to see them great hobby.

Looking forward to part 2! I've been a fan of Hamer guitars since the early 90's...still have my 92' Sunburst...I've become fascinated with the rise of the boutique (for lack of a better term) and Japanese guitar industry that really took off in the 70's and your research helps piece things together!

I'll stick with mom &pops stores

Liked Sam Ash better than gc

I recently went to a Guitar Center in the inland Empire and they were offering a 15 minute trial lesson for free. I was conversing with the music lessons coordinator and she stated that she does not play any instruments or know anything about music. She does all the hiring of instructors. If she does not know anything about music, how does she know that she is hiring a great instructor or not? Then to make matters worse on of the young vocal instructors comes out and joins the conversation and I ask him a few basic questions about breath support and he could not answer them. He said oh maybe the other vocal coach could answer that question. The Piano instructor was teaching beginning piano without a metronome and when I asked him to use it the instructor was having trouble staying on the beat. He is a nice guy, but how the hell is he a music instructor. Guitar Center use to have real musicians when I went there in the 90's. What happened?

I have two Donners on order. One is the DLP-124S and the other is the DJZ-1000S. Incidentally, the DJZ looks a helluva lot like the GearIT guitar, but of course it would because they're both Thinline Telecasters with a sunburst finish and maple fretboard. I have faith that the Donners will be good based on reviews I've seen and the fact that they don't have that "high rate of return" warning on their Amazon listings. I just bought them because I wanted three cheap-but-good guitars so that I'll be more willing to leave my expensive Godin guitars safely in their gig bags. I already have a really good Washburn Strat with a tobacco-burst finish and I think that the two Donners will compliment it perfectly with their sunburst finishes. Great video!

You seem to have elected yourself as the spokesperson for everyone. I must have missed the vote. Give me the $5000 and I’ll take it right to GC. I’d never buy a guitar without playing it. The service is fine, the selection is better than anywhere else, and you can play anything you want. Keep buying online and then complain when there is nowhere to check out a guitar. At least you are getting praise from the professional victim crowd.

Just wanted to say on the second guitar classical guitars don’t usually have truss rods because of the low string tension. Also tying the strings at the bridge is also normal

Hey in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the lines at Guitar Centers are short. As in, no wait to check out. Is that bad?

20 years ago my dad went to the hamer factory for a tour, and to hand pick the curly maple top for his Monaco. I ran the water jet at an aerospace company so I made some custom hamer usa signs out of polished diamond plate and he gave them to the people who mattered

I think instrument reviews are the least reliable because the buyer is often a parent or grand parent and says their kid loves it so 5 stars. They aren't the ones actually trying to make the junk instruments work or it's for a small child who's just banging on it like it was a toy.

I quit going into Guitar Center when the CEO made a Political decision that I did not agree with and the CEO kicked out Fulltone and would not let That brand be sold in his store but since the Election Guitar Center has Reversed that Decision

As a beginner, guitar center is awesome. My local store is staffed with good folks. They’re extremely helpful and really reasonable with suggestions.

I'm lucky enough to have a guitar center in my town. I have 2 heads, 2 cabinets, and 4 guitars that I've bought used from them. But what I'll do is order from one of their other stores online, have it shipped to my local store, then unpack it and try it out there. So far I've only refused one purchase. I've been trading to upgrade with them for 20 years. I used to have a couple of music-go-round stores nearby, but they all closed down. I'm not surprised because I've sold them amp's and guitars and they never even turned them on or plug them in to see if they worked.

Guitar Center did get a discount on some of the demo gear.

I know three things about GC: a)Musician's Friend is their online wing, so their website isn't likely to blast off, and really is only there for things that you don't need to play to see if you want, and to check stock in a particular store. b) if they want to improve, they should retool their in-store POS and stocking computer systems, which haven't really been updated since the 1990s(!) c) They need to cater to the entry-level guitarist, or else they need to go away, so that local music shops can reappear.

Proud to say I was an endorsing artist from 2001 until kaman was bought, so the last decade of Hamer. They made me 3 customs (SATF, Vector, Standard), all one of a kind, no serial numbers, irreplaceable. Incredible guitars

Bring back hamer

They need to follow AMS AND ZZOUNDS

Every time I’ve been to the guitar center they’ve always treat me like I was gonna steal things like I was paying him to buy a case and I was like alright so what’s the price and he slowly says 200 like if I was gonna be like no I don’t have enough nope the guy even said before he pulled the case out he said this case is 200 dollars which is why I was confused as to why he was hesitant I didn’t get a chance to see the case it was more of like you pay first then you can see it

Out of touch- is their problem.

Guitar center needs to use the advantage they have over Sweetwater which is that they have physical stores. They need to get better online, at Sweetwater levels, offer high end stuff, and allow you to order it to the local GC for you to try it and if don’t like it return it to the physical store. That’s a huge advantage over buying online something you haven’t had a chance to play and that it might be a hassle to return such as with sweetwater

Good Riddance to them. Had a really bad experience with the manager today. Been shopping there since the early 90s. Never again.

Any viewer a member of the Hamer forum? Been trying to register on that forum for months and never get the automated email allowing me to join.

I picked up a js34q in trans blue from gc and a spider v amp online. I messaged the little text box that said contact us for discounts etc. I will say, the rep responded quickly and had a good convo. I explained that I was looking at used gear and he said he couldn't offer anything else on used gear. Tried to get me to look at new stuff for free shipping but, didnt push when i explained that i was medically retired recently and this was the only way I got everything I needed. So, not a bad experience honestly with that guy. Pictures online are atrocious. Dark and blurry and a vague " good" condition. No excuse for not taking a few clear pics and seeing what flaws you are buying. Also, same guitar, like exact model at different stores rated excellent, great and good with no decent pics or descriptions and good js24q for the price of great or excellent at another location. No consistency in pricing. I would still probably have bought what i did as I got my jackson for $179 and a spider V amp with all the stickers and factory papers just like new for $129. Shipping was reasonable. About $25 on each and coming from different locations. It was packed well in two jackson boxes. It has a decent ding on the side that someone touched up badly that wasn't represented and a tip of the clear on the headstock missing. I can fix both but, would have liked to have seen or gotten a call or email with specifics. Albeit, i get it its a $179 guitar. What i was disappointed in was how filthy it was. I dont think running a rag over it would have put them out so much. When i was looking for a bass, i ended up buying from a father son shop off reverb for a js3qm trans blue with matching headstock. I spent more on it than the js34q but had good pics and great communication. They even gave a great deal once i showed some interest in the bass. Yeah, it needs a polish but , I knew exactly what i was getting and it is the best bass ive ever played. GC really needs to up their online presence and not just showcase a few items here and there. I dont believe they only have 15 or so JS34s'S nationwide. I go there for selection and you'd think quality control as an online supplier. I still browse but, other than strings, unless they have something unique or a great deal I'm not impressed by what they are presenting. It's almost 2025 and etsy has better sites and pics. They need to step up or unfortunately disappear. Ive always gone with mom and pop shops since 88 and yes selection was and can be very limited but I like having players to take my stuff to if I have a repair or setup issue. For incidentals like picks and straps, maintenance kits etc., I can't justify spending 3x as much than the same kit from a discount online app. If i need something now I'll go to the small shop though. I think the brick and mortar GC stores will probably be relegated to the big stores in major cities soon. If anyone is in Florida, DB Music in Zephryhills just above Tampa is who I bought my bass from off of reverb. After talking to both the father and son, if I'm shipping anyway I'll check with them first. Customer service and passion is sorely missing everywhere. Good shops stand out. Honestly, it was the first time I've actually enjoyed a purchasing experience in a long time.

Interesting thoughts on Big box music stores. My opinion is that all you're seeing that you don't like now about music stores that sell guitars and bases is that the entire music industry is taking a giant dump on rock and roll right now. I would say it would be completely unfair to underestimate how hard it must be for any big box music retailer to be doing well in an environment where rock and roll and metal were purposefully shunned and are no longer receiving the big promotion from the music business. If you're being honest you have to realize that rock and roll is not being awarded even remotely fairly anymore. And I would go as far to say it was purposefully abandoned in order to prop up much lower forms of music that they wanted to see succeed instead. I think once you understand that then you can really stand back and look at the whole picture and see that it's not just one thing but in fact it's everything. Executives in important positions that make big decisions for whatever reason decided that rock and roll and metal wasn't in the world's best interest anymore. Those are my thoughts

Sweetwater is doing what Guitar Center should have. Guitar Center's only option for survival is to copy Sweetwater, but do what Sweetwater can't. #1 Fewer stores but be regional, where SW has 1 location. #2 Free setups. #3 GC would have to drastically up their customer service. #4 Limit and control what is on the floor and retrain the customer to not abuse the instruments. Sweetwater has some flaws and their competition is going to have to take advantage of those. Some people go to GC to try a guitar, then go home to buy from SW.

I have the sc 550 les paul and its an absolute banger. Love it . Same with the b stock parlor guitar clp 12 all solid. They came both perfectly fine . No adjustments needed or other issues detected. My next will definitely be a hb again. Iam done spending thousands just for a big name on it ✌🏼

Pretty much right on

Local mn guitar center. I went in to pick up an entry level keyboard (psr e 383) and i had done all my research before going in and all i was met with was up sell up sell up sell . He didnt know what he was talking about which is sad considering I'd only reseadched for a week and knew more about the keyboard than him. He tried telling me that because it's only 200, it won't have a transpose function. (It does). He was trying to talk me into this super not suspicious korg instruments keyboard that's marked down from 1400 to 300 with (no issues ), then he tried talking me into a 500 88key controller. Then, I told me my sustain pedal doesn't have a polarty switch, which is right on the front of the box, and it says w a polarity switch. At that moment, i knew to get a what i came in for and not listen to the guy at all.

The real answer to these questions is, always come down to what we all call...GREED ! Being greedy is always the downfall for anyone and everybody. Trust me on this, folks !

Can't thank you enough for what you're doing! Putting all of this together into a cohesive presentation is obviously a huge effort, but man is it ever worth it. Thank you for giving it the time it deserves, and thank you so much for sharing it with the world. Bravo!

I’m a musician with a decent following on my musicians Instagram. The service and business is so bad at Guitar Center I go out of my way to buy gear online. 😂

I’ve had so many rude experiences at GC. I get they are underpaid, but if you accept the job, do it. Don’t take it out on the customer.

End of an era if GC goes away, but the greedy owners are to blame. Shit pay, trash commission.

They want more expensive guitars there? Where I’m at people are barely buying the cheaper ones.

Nothing happened. Except their commission is a scam.

If you are mechanically inclined, learning to set up a guitar, following YT instructions, is not very hard. But it may take a while to know how to get it "right." As simple as each step is, people who are not "hands on" tinkerers may find it daunting. I've gotten great deals on many guitars that needed relatively simple repairs.

Ive got a mustang ..love it..and a p90 goldtop les paul from Them..its the best LP budget ive played..