GC Employee here! Thank you for being the first one to make a video on GC that doesn't immediately make a joke of the company! In my experience, you're right on it. I can tell you that there's no one thing responsible for it's decline other than the corporate greed that has sucked the life out of music. I got to watch so many great musicians run away from the store because there just was no longer much joy in the job. Inventory started faltering, and the whole place started looking more like a customer service jungle because sales, inventory, and the whole experience never works as intended anymore. And the only thing competing with stores like sweetwater (trying things in store before buying) became the laughing stock of the music industry. 🙁 To make things worse, stores no longer get a ton of labor hours, and wages are terribly stagnant, especially if you move up. So that leaves you with a bunch of whatever employees they can find that are scrambling to help customers and dream of one day cleaning up the store like it once was. In less than a decade, I watched a day at GC go from over half a dozen employees per department ALL with some sort of specialty, to about 4-6 employees in THE WHOLE STORE who can barely care about anything past the incessant metrics the company puts on them... Man, GC used to be the coolest place to be, and when I started (halfway through music school), I genuinely felt like the worst musician in the room. And over the years, the culture in the place started to die down. Those of us who stuck with it only feel the nostalgia, and still love to help people with their music. It's just neat impossible to do so these days. Thank you again! Come say hi if you ever come visit my Guitar Center in Washington. 🤘🏼
Thank you for sharing this and being so honest. My aim isn’t to blame employees. Like I said I know there are people who love what they do and are trying to work hard.
@@RecordingStudioLoser I totally did not feel blamed by your video, which is why I appreciated it so much! I just know other people have, and I get it. 🤷 Guitar Center has so little reputation left as a good music retailer with knowledgeable people. But it was so refreshing to see someone not go straight for the throat with the company. 🖤 Not to distract from the video itself, though. Some of us are seeing the writing on the wall... and I wouldn't be surprised if GC got acquired or something in the next few years. 😬 Thanks once again! Love your videos and your sincerity within them! Cheers!🥂
As a GC employee, I second this. Our store runs with 4 to 5 employees per shift. Wage is rough and we barely get any hours. I love working at GC and helping people to get the right thing they need and educating them on how to use it properly, but with the new incentive structure, you don’t have time to do this anymore. I almost feel like I’m working at a car dealership with how cut-throat it has become.
@@Bazan14 Exactly! The saddest part is that the worse the in-store experience gets, the less sense it makes to go to Guitar Center instead of Sweetwater. I'm afraid that with this trajectory, there's just no chance for Guitar Center down the road. 🫤
Also a GC employee.The way they push us to sell the stupid warranties is the worst part about the job. We also almost never have nicer gear people come in to buy. Commission rate got lowered. people have been hired who dont know anything about any area of the store, and are not willing to learn after months there. it is truly a shit show
GC came in and put about 4 or 5 decent sized guitar stores out of business by giving deep discounts to customers. once all the competition went under, the discounts went away. no sympathy for them.
The flip-slide is what GC did to mom and pop guitar shops all across the country. I used to work for one around 2000 and their ordering volumes and purchasing power would force the big guitar manufacturers to come down on the small shops and demand completely unreasonable/impossible annual target until ultimately they were forced to drop the Fender or Gibson brands. That matters a ton when you're trying to be a successful small business in the instrument business.
Lol I just got done writing my comment, and then read yours. Anybody who has had to compete with against guitar center has the story of how they ruined the little guy.
What goes around comes around. Hopefully, they do go out of business. Just like they put most of the mom and pops instrument shops of the 80s out of business.
I lived and worked in a city with a fairly robust music store community that had a guitar center come into town and aggressively price all the mom and pop music stores out of business over a 3-5 year span. I can't say I'll shed a tear if they go under. I had a teaching room in a store that was faced with a substantial rent increase on the new lease offer and the owner decided it wasn't worth it to make about 60 cents selling strings because he couldn't make money on the entry level gear. Also, guitar center flexed on their Gibson dealer status and mysteriously he couldn't get anything nice without a major increase in the yearly order level. He closed the shop and within 2 years 3 other larger stores also closed. This is dozens of employees, teachers and repair people all impacted. GC breaks local music store communities. I'm alright with them going away.
My local Guitar center is exactly like this. Only two guys working the whole store, acted like I was bothering them when I asked any questions, almost no inventory for cables and accessories, EVERY guitar locked up so you couldn't try them out without asking, Azure pedals being sold for $85, waiting 10 minutes standing next to the register just to buy strings....yeah they're done. It's too bad but it's only smaller guitar and music shops for me now.
Angels sang when you walked through the second set of doors when going into GC when I was in my late teens to early 20's. It smelled like amps! Our GC had a stage setup like a concert with full stacks (Mesa Boogie, Ampeg and Marshall JMC 900). Then they had the three back walls from floor to ceiling with Ibanez, Fender, BC Rich and Jackson electric guitars ready for the picking. One band became famous from my town in the late 90's and at least one member of the band was there hanging out. I jammed with the guitar player once for a few minutes. Sadly, I went into GC about 4 years ago and I swear a tumble weed rolled past me when I walked it. It was a depressing and frustrating experience.
I came of age on guitar just before Guitar Center was big and I’m thankful I did because it was such a personal network of mom and pop shops and community and knowledge and relationships. The big chains came along with them all those small stores died and one of my main joys in life with them.
I walked in the other day because I was thinking about buying my first synth. The entire place was gutted. Almost no more pro audio gear, no synths, no microphones, no mixers in the live sound room… it was depressing. Even the acoustic room had gone down hill.
Gc employee here. The worst thing is that they messed up my commission scale and make it so you have to work harder for less. That’s how things are on the back end for all GC sales associates. Then the leads work only for hourly pay and get no commission so they end up getting chewed up and spat out when they realize they arent being paid well for all the hours they work opening and closing the store. Lastly, the higher ups can be bullies. I’ve literally had to go to HR to tell the DM that we had a safety issue bc the warehouse manager wasn’t keeping any area of the store or warehouse safe. So much drama at this job but i love music so it’s all i have bc GC bought up all the music stores that stood a chance.
I have a choice here of Guitar Center or Sam Ash, and I stick with Sam Ash. The customer service at GC is horrible. I’m often left standing there for several minutes, and no one even looks up to offer me help. I usually end up walking out.
I worked at Guitar Center 20 years ago, and my big take away from it even back then was that GC is more or less the Wal-Mart of the music gear industry. Since then, I've occasionally gone to a Guitar Center to try out some new gear that I'd then go purchase online someplace else to keep them from getting my money. I'll admit that it was a giant playground and was a lot of fun to hang out in, but in many ways the industry will be better off once it's gone.
"walmart" funny but true. And it's why I went there instead of other places. I barely know squat about playing music and other places intimidated me. I felt like GC was used to players like me.
I dread going to my local GC whenever I have to grab a cable on short notice. They’re also super short staffed and just seem annoyed that customers are there. It’s unfortunate 😅 definitely sticking with Sweetwater and referring others to them. I’ve never had one issue with them in the past decade I’ve been shopping
I worked a 1 specific GC for years. I held 5 different positions at that store then after I left I went to work for a pro A/V rep firm that GC carried a lot of the brands the Rep Firm I worked for repesented. I have my own thoughts on GC but even the outside perspectives from the brands they carry don't think too highly of them either.
I was in the top 5% of buyers in the early 2000s. The manager was a total DH. His name was Eric. The Towson store was one big click. They hated shredders and treated you like garbage. I always played at a super low volume, and not for long. I bough a MM JP6 earlier that week.They had a JCM 2000 head with a 1960A cab used. I had all but 7$. Thats not a miss type. I was seven bucks short and they wouldn't sell it to me. I asked the sales person to ask the manager. He came back and said go home and get 7$. I have never walked in a GC since, or bought from any companies they owned on line..
I worked at a Guitar Center about ten years ago and although it was a fun job it became a bummer when the higher ups only cared about us selling "Pro-Coverage" more than the actual instruments.
I was buying a nice preowned Taylor acoustic earlier this year there, and two employees pitched the warranty before I even made a final decision on an instrument. Total turnoff
My buddy just bought an Alesis drum kit and the sales guy was telling him he'd better get the coverage cuz if he breaks a mesh head he can't just replace that one drum he'd have to replace all of them? That's unless he had the coverage. Sounds a bit odd to me? So he can actually replace just the one, technically. But without the coverage he can't....Weird
Omg they push so so hard on that freaking pro coverage. I’ve heard so many ppl that got that coverage and had all sorts of issues when they needed something repaired or replaced.
@@Donkeypuncherello88 Who reads the fine print ever, I don't believe they even give you anything to read about the coverage before they try to whack ya for it. There's probably a laundry list of things that explains what will "not" be covered
@@JeremyCrookWrites money was always made on selling service contracts even in the 80's computer industry like Compterland, Businessland and Computer age. Now, because of Bill Gates they dont exist anymore. I have been to guitars centers recently and lately just hate to go because they treat customers crappy.
Have to admit if I’m buying a ‘new’ guitar I don’t want one that’s been twanged by who knows how many people that’s just the way I am, hell when I unbox a new guitar I find myself giving it the smell test!
I was a GC salesperson in the early 2000s and one thing that happened on the service side is that they wouldn't pay out "spiffs" or "bonuses" to individual sales people who met their goals unless the whole department met it's goal. That drove knowledgeable and skilled people away. I immediately transferred to warehouse and then started teaching somewhere else because my manager thought a lesson program was a bad idea... 😅😅😅
They suck. If you're not covered in tattoos and piercings, the self important clerks are too busy to treat you with any decency. And everything is marked up and inaccurate.
I say this with respect to each and every GC worker!! I truly hope the guitar center crashes and burns completely to the ground! Corporations are the biggest threat to country, to our health and to our creativity! Monopolies/corporations care nothing about moving our young people forward in education and music and being creative. They care only about making money and profits. There’s always a fine line in capitalism where it can drive innovation, and where creativity can be at the forefront but unfortunately, when the greed takes over everything changes and anything good is crushed. I believe the Guitar Center has got to go as much as I’d like to see mom and Pop stores return I don’t think that that will ever happen but I don’t know what will it seems pretty impossible to be able to check out speakers and hear what headphones sound like or what a symbol Oregon car sounds like on Amazon, lol. Good luck everyone. 😊
This just happened last week. I finally configured a new pedalboard and 6 of my cables would not work on the new board. I decided to go to Guitar Center. One cable was $22 at GC, Amazon (very similar cable) $29 for 6 of them. I would love to support but at those prices, can't do it. Also, no one wanted to talk to me. Actively avoided me. Maybe in a pinch, but I typically avoid it.
I don't have anything against Amazon, but I do have reservations about buying Chinese products. Even if the quality is reasonable, I'm starting to avoid sending my money to support the Chinese government's aggression.
I worked at GC in 2013… everyone there had a masters in music and I had a bachelors. We made $9.50 and hour. 🤦🏻♂️ I was able to make up for the pay by buying gear, gear I still use today… purchased at cost. I’ll say this… everyone knew what they were doing. We had massive pressure to sell, especially to get people to sign up to credit cards. Unfortunately, the people who knew the most in my store sold the least, and the salesmen were the ones that received the praise. I didn’t work there long, and never will again however, it created life long relationships with some of the staff that were dope af and made my career 2% better.
Lol same... I was in ops.. and I made more money buying gear at ops cost and selling it on craigslist.... did that for a year before they caught on. The manager said I can't do that anymore. That day after he left I bought 10k in gear at cost and never went back "066016"
Surprised the salespeople at GC don’t put a set of Elixir strings on every halfway decent guitar they hang on the wall. It’s a negligible cost, and would basically keep the guitar feeling new through every test drive. It takes almost no time to do a basic action adjustment on most electrics. I feel like I need a tetanus shot after playing half the stuff they have hanging up. Especially the used ones…
The previous handful of times I’ve been at guitar center. I go there. I look at the walls of guitars. I see some I want to play. I stand there for 15-20 minutes waiting for someone to help. Finally find someone, they give you a guitar and then they are gone again for 15-20. Then I leave angry.
Man I don’t feel too sorry for Guitar Center because I’m an old guy that valued the small family owned music c store that was crushed by the BigBox Music mega-stores like Guitar Center. My favorite music store on the planet was Reliable Music in Charlotte NC. That place was incredible and you could stand right beside a RockStar at the counter. You could go in for a pack of strings and run into Tom Scholz back in the guitar effects Dept. That actually happened to me in the late 80’s. Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Mars destroyed that
Guitar Center is Bleeding? My frikin hands are bleeding from running them up and down the fret ends of the guitars hanging in that hell hole. The one near me also not looking good, the carpet is disgusting, looks like it hasn't been vacuumed in years, the shelves are a mess, string selection is bleak, string are missing and or hanging off the guitars and the employees look like their puppy just got run over. Plus they don't make a commission anymore, so really they have nothing to excite them about selling a GC product. So sad to see...
This is thankfully happening with most big box stores. I have no idea how office depot/max stay open... Aside from that print counter they're ghost towns.
@@RecordingStudioLoser don’t get me wrong, I work with a lot of really great people who really know their shit, and we try our best when we help every customer. But at the end of the day, it’s a regular ass corporation, and we don’t have the resources to compete with Sweetwater customer service
Sweetwater is owned by MusicTribe based in the Philippines but manufacturing is done in Zhongshan, China. I no longer buy from Sweetwater personally. No need to support MusicTribe or China.
I bought a guitar from Guitar Center on line - Musicians Choice filled the order - they are a sister company to Guitar - in the email - I was told I would get a hard case - made by the same company as made the guitar with the purchase - when I picked the guitar up and got it home - there was no hrs case - I called Guitar Center back immediately - they argued with me through the entire discussion - and refused to give me the case that the email said I paid for - so honestly - I call it karma - when you don’t do what you say and say what you do - it tends to catch up with you - so it couldn’t happen to a more deserving company - there customer service is horrible.
I've generally had positive experiences with their employees, at least at my old GC from a few years ago. The issue I always had was the customers in that store and the condition the guitars were in. I remember deciding I was going to buy myself a high-end acoustic but every time I picked one up, the strings were not just dead but disgustingly dirty, to the point I would just put the guitar back. Another time I waited over an hour for a group of 10 people to finish "jamming" in the acoustic room and then leave without buying anything. Some of that I would say is on the staffing/cost cuts they've had over the last few years, but also some of it is just their customer base at certain locations, where I've repeatedly seen people hanging out for hours without actually shopping. Not saying you have to buy something every time you go to a store, but there's a problem with your business model when paying customers are walking away because of people just hanging out for hours and a lot of your product is used to the point that people don't want to buy it (or even touch it in some instances). It's not an easy problem to fix, but I hope they figure it out because I think if we lose GC, it's not like the mom & pops are coming back; we'll just have fewer local options.
Guitar center was on the verge of filling Bankruptcy During the pandemic, and did a speedy about face, after they were able to get a reorganization deal done, that added new equity and debt capital in 2020. This company has been around a looooong time, and has been a major influence in my life. Especially my teen years. Guitar provided me with a direction to choose. Guitar center was like Disney World to me, but with instruments, and more instruments. My hope is that it's around for a very long time. It's the only gear store that I deal with. The only knock I have on them right now is that, they are making me wait till after October, to get my "Music Man Bongo 4". The Damn thing is on backorder. "All Of Them" lol
It is a bummer that music stores are not as magical as they used to be. Right out of high school i went to work for Goodman music in L.A. We allowed people to play the instruments and gave them real insight on what they were buying. Eventually we got run out of business by Guitar Center... Go figure. We couldn't compete with their volume pricing and eventually were overwelled by all their locations. Its the circle of life with them failing the way they did. As for me in hindsight I glad it happen. I went onto to have a career in music as engineer and producer/writer. Had we not lost Goodman music I probably would have been a manager someday there... dam that would have sad compared to the life I ended up with. Now that I think about it, best thing that could happen to those employees is to move on. Music stores are not real careers!
Consider buying a guitar from a local luthier. They are often just as good or better than name brands, they are made in the U.S.A., and you will be supporting a small biz.
You are right on the mark my friend. I made a point of visiting all the Southern California Guitar Centers last year to see for myself what kind of experience I would have when it came to customer service. My objective was to see if despite GC becoming a corporate shell of itself, will the employees still give their all in helping me find what I'm looking for and will it be at a reasonable price to the point that my experience would be repeat business with them. NOPE. My take away was this quote, "Its all about the deal", usually followed by a smirk. Its NOT all about the deal. Its ALL about the relationship... with the customer. Give them a good experience and the customer will come back. Pretty simple. I hope things change for GC as a company soon. But I would not be surprised if they closed doors and left a few token stores open for nostalgia sake. Thanks for this video man.
Shit it all sucks man, always has. First we had small music stores that did repairs and gave lessons, as well as sold guitars, and some sold brass and wind instruments as well. Those all got taken out by Mars, Musician's Friend and Guitar Center. Sort of like small grocers did by WalMart, HyVee, and wholesalers like Costco and Sam's... I do have a Guitar Center that is sort of close. To be honest that is the only music store that I am aware of within 10 miles of my house, and I live in a suburb of KCMO. The service that I get when I get there is almost laughable if it weren't so truly tragic! I only go there when I know they have something in stock that I can't wait for or don't want to wait for. They have nobody working there that I see from one visit to the next. So how has this affected my shopping experience? There is no reason to go hang out at this place. Nobody there sees and remembers me, nor do I them. There is no interaction of finding a salesman that you can trust. They have turned it into a huge Overstock Outlet Store where nobody knows anything about the products they are selling and there's nobody there that you can trust. It's SAD...in KC we really have only 1 music store that isn't a Guitar Center, and if you are in Kansas City go see the guys at "Big Dudes Music City". They still care about customer interaction and developing long term relationships with customers. Otherwise, just buy online and trust the reviews if you dare!!!
Guitar Center needs to be a franchise. Yes, I'm Boomer but for the time Guitar Center was really really cool! I loved going to the Hollywood Store, which was wow! Now it's lifeless. My local GC is ok but you can tell it's lifeless.
We're fortunate here in Pensacola. We have a fantastic local shop here (Blues Angel Music). But I remember the GC golden era. The staff was not only helpful, but they were also knowledgeable and willing to share their expertise without obligation.
As a beginner GC has the nicest staff. They let me plug in my own homemade guitar to check how it works. I did buy my Martin dread jr from them. I do wish they’d ship a Firebird to my city to see it because I’d probably buy it but I’d HAVE to buy it first … they have an amazing inventory and the vintage room is really cool.
Happens all the time, everywhere. I trusted my 5.10 climbing shoes with my LIFE, I adored pro competitors like Shauna Coxsey that wore them and when the model I had worn (and rebought every six months) for YEARS came to the end of its lifecycle, I spent 50% more on them to import them from NORWAY. Then Adidas took over, placed their logo next to the 5.10 logo, stopped production in California, shifted everything to China and dropped 13% in net worth after kicking out Kanye West for being a racist… and now I'm faithful to Unparallel, the climbing shoe company founded by the previous employees of 5.10. Tough luck.
Definitely understand this. The running “joke” in Richmond, Va was I’ll try it at Guitar Center then walk next door to buy at Sam Ash. But as a primarily woodwind instrumentalist, Sam Ash had a better selection for me then Guitar Center.
Mars Music was my favorite spot when I was a young teenager. My parents would drive me an hour North to Indianapolis, and I would spend hours in there. They eventually sponsored me just before they went under. Guitar Center used to be great too, but it seems like it's been a lifetime ago since then.
As a lefty guitar player, online instrument sellers like sweetwater and zZounds are the way to go. GC, for me, is really just for guitar strings and accessories. Yeah, back in the day, GC was fun.
It kind of feels like Guitar center’s parent corp is cutting off guitar center’s arm to provide a better value to their shareholders. Seems like a smart move in the short term, but when you think about it, nobody wants a one-armed guitarist; so in the long term they might find out that such sacrifices just kick the can down the road and make things worse. You can’t sacrifice your arm to save yourself from bankruptcy. You’re going to need that arm to make more money in the future.
I've been to Guitar Centers more in the past 3 months than I had in the past 15 years: First to buy a guitar, then to buy a music book. For the guitar, I went to the Guitar Center that the Internet said had it available, only to get there and it was nowhere to be found. The staff was helpful, they tried, but they were clueless! I had a hunch that the system was wrong so I went to another Guitar Center 30 miles away (ironically, that's the one closest to me) and there's where the guitar I wanted was! The book was last week, and I went there just because I wanted to get it right then and there on that day, instead of waiting 3 days for shipping. The book was the last one and was damaged, and they wouldn't give me a discount because "it was just the cover". Both stores had a 'worn out' feel to them; they reminded me of old pool halls where everything is a bit grimy and beaten-up. The staff was great, friendly and willing to try and help, but not very knowledgeable on the inner workings of the store, and they actually asked if I wanted to buy extended warranty... on a book... with a scratched-up cover!
Boom! “The culture of management has changed”… that!… is it in a nutshell. Poor management (and ownership) = FAIL. Sorry for any passionate Guitar Center Employees… GC used to be AWESOME! Now…. Sad…
I can’t really feel bad for a company that made small town shops close. Sweetwater has had better customer experience despite not having a mortar store up until recently. I can’t remember the last time GC had anything more than run of the mill squiers and sales people who hated their jobs.
I haven’t been to a guitar center in a really long time. I just bought my recent guitar online from a friendly local shop in Hawaii But I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The opinions, numbers and percentages had me hooked. You were able to keep everything brief while keeping it tasteful. I will definitely checkout more of your content Thank you for sharing
When I was a kid, I was always looking for the cheapest prices. Now that I’m grown and I’ve seen what GC has turned into, I’m more than willing to pay a few bucks more for an experienced staff that gets paid a decent wage.
I think the reality is that if your local GC closes, it just won't be replaced and you'll have fewer places to go to. Mom and pop stores used to be able to get by because the market was regional and in some markets, that meant you had to pay a bit more. These days everyone is competing with online prices and not many people are willing to pay more to get a guitar locally as opposed to just ordering it from sweetwater or another retailer; some people will go in to demo something and then order it online, which always strikes me as scummy (but some people are scummy). At the end of the day, I'd rather have a local GC than to have practically nothing at all for local retail.
Many comments here state how the GC volume pricing with Fender and Gibson put the local music store under. GC still moves a good deal of Gibson and Fender products, if GC goes belly up, both fender and Gibson will lose a conduit to the market. You have to remember that Gibson, Fender & GC are owned by Private Equity firms. The PE firms involved in this triad need one another. GC may be around a little longer than one believes.
its funny and alarming to hear one of my recent concerns coming from someone else. the benefit/detriment argument of access to floor models to try versus paying full price for a 'new' instrument and not knowing how man grubby little hands have been on it. theres always the classic 'well we can order it for you'. this has had me dragging my feet on a rather substantial guitar purchase, knowing that all guitars are going to feel and sound a little different, even considering that i 'know a guy' and that ill get a substantial discount on a NIB guitar blind from the warehouse either way...
Just be your best to those you can help. If you happen to be at a GC and know the employee is trending downward, provide subtle uplift with positives that could elevate the moment, if not the day. Most of the time YT will censor my in depth explanations, so no time to waste. It comes down to us, as a collective. We fall back on our upbringing, the basics, the golden rule. Do unto others.
I can say that our local Guitar Center in Flint, Mi. Is amazing! Tons of helpful employees and I’ve never been felt to “buy now” and the knowledge of most employees is incredible. They do lack a good drum dept (all electric drums and 0 acoustic).
I went to a guitar center this past weekend, staff were inattentive at best. Had to ask for a $1500 guitar to be brought from up top 3 times before they gave it to me, I picked up a bass that was set up so badly it buzzed out below the 5th fret and when looking at pedals the staff didn’t want to get them out the cabinet Honestly, if the customer service improved. The store performance may also improve At this point, good riddance. Thomann is cheaper and the service is better despite having to pay shipping from Europe
Back in the early 80's you should have seen for sale section in local papers. That's how we bought our instruments then. My first bass was a 70' P bass sold with a 100w Traynor amp with a 4x10 cabinet for 75$.
Youre right about the used section. Ive bought two of my snares from my local GC. But there's two Music Go Round stores in my area. Ive had those type of experiences at GC. I actually know someone that works at one.
I give credit to the sales staff at Whitehall Pa. Always pleasant and knowledgeable. I was shocked to see how bare some of the shelves were the other day though.
Its not too bad there like most of the GC horror stories you hear.... but I still hold a grudge for helping put Dave Phillips out of business...I really miss the old Union Blvd location back in its late 1990s early 2000s heyday.....times change I guess.
The 2 most prized possessions in my bass guitar collection I bought from Guitar Center since moving to Texas in 2010. I bought a Modulus Quantum 5, and A Music Man Bongo 6HS. But the difference between the people in Colorado Springs, and Dallas and Arlington TX is night and day.
Honestly, besides stepping into the Hollywood GC about 10 years ago, the last time I physically went into a GC here in Dallas was probably 2005/6ish? That location closed in early 2006 in North Dallas. Thankfully, Charley's Guitar Shop somehow has made it all these years and we've added some really nice shops in DFW like Guitar Sanctuary and Tone Shop over the past decade that service working musicians (giant difference between general consumer which is they route GC went) which is nice. I've also found several shops online across the US that have been great to work with and chat with on the phone for advice or solution.
I started going to GC, in 1995, when I lived in San Francisco. One of my friends worked there, and it was fun to go look at and play gear, which I couldn’t afford, but you could still get a deal. I remember taking my roommate there, because he was looking to buy an American made Fender bass. With the help of my buddy who worked there, my roommate got a Fender JP-90, with Fender HSC, for $200! Fast forward to 2009, while living in San Diego, I purchased several guitars, amps and cabs, pedals, strings, etc, from the La Mesa GC. I was always able to get a great deal, and eventually had “a guy” there, who, once per month, would give me 20% off of anything I wanted, then call the bank that backed the GC credit card, to have them still give me the interest-free payments (their policy would not allow discounted items to take advantage of their interest-free financing). That GC always did me right. The had a metric shit-ton of new and used guitars, amps and cabs. Fast forward to 2017, when I moved back to Detroit. I went to my local GC, in Southfield, MI, to look for a new or used Fender P-Bass or Jazz Bass. I was shocked at how little inventory they had on the walls. I think they had one P-Bass, and no Jazz Basses, so I had no way of trying out different models, to see which suited me best. This happened several times with other guitars I was looking to demo and purchase. None of the employees seemed very interested in selling me anything either. Then I had my wife buy for a new HSC for my 1991 Gibson SG, as my Christmas present. When I opened my present on Christmas Day, it was not in a box, and when I opened the case itself; you could see that it had had a guitar in it for an extended period of time, and the foam padding had begun to harden. The following day, I took it back to GC, and tore them a new asshole - as my wife said that the guy who sold her the case, reassured her that the case was indeed brand new, but had the original box misplaced. Of course that sales associate was not there that day, but the manager ordered me a new case, at a discount, and had it shipped directly to my house for free. I then ordered an Epiphone Casino, since they had none in the store for me to demo, and had it shipped to the store. When it arrived, I went to the store and opened the box, to make sure the guitar was not a dud. Well, it was a dud (not GC’s fault). Had they had one in the store for me to demo before ordering, it would have saved me a lot of time and gas money. I think they’re cutting costs by limiting the in-store inventory, which is how a customer used to able to get the best deals; three of the guitars which I’ve purchased from GC were “wall-hangers”, which I got the usual dents and dings discount. By not having as much in-store inventory, that allows GC to cut back on having to discount guitars, and having old inventory literally hanging around for years. I could go on for days about my GC horror stories. But that’s for another day. I’ll put it to you this way: if GC folds, I wouldn’t shed a year.
This is retail across the board. Here in Australia anyway. I prefer to spend money at shops where it might cost me a little more, but I get great service from the guys that work there. But one of my favourite recording gear stores has slowed down so much since Covid, basically the only thing keeping them open is installations of audio equipment to Churches, Schools and office spaces.
I worked at GC in Sherman Oaks. My coworker in Pro Audio Richard opened up for Jimi Hendrix! Guitar Center can be saved by digital twinning all products for the Metaverse. A small army of 3d artists wait like lions in the reeds, but only 1 of every 3 people think in 3D.
I’m new to your channel and have been enjoying the show! Man, I hear ya. I went to the closest one to me DFW area, TX, to get a few emergency repair parts for my drums before a gig; that’s where I really need these stores, for instant availability. I found what I needed and then had fun listening to some new cymbal sounds. I found a couple in the used rack that I was ready to buy. I waited 30 minutes to get someone to help me… I just wanted to know how much they wanted for a used cymbal. It had some patina and stick marks but was in good condition. They quoted me the brand new factory mint price. I said no, sir, this is a used item. After another 30 minutes no one could give me a price, and I had to leave disappointed. No quote at all! New price or nothin. I got my whole studio setup from a houston guitar center in 2000. It was like my musical fantasy land. But I digress. I’ve had a much better experience the last several years with Sam Ash stores. Better service and huge used market!
I went to the Pearl City store on Oahu for a bass amp. Only had 7 amps in store, with 2 in my budget. I approached the first employee in the door telling him I'm bringing in my bass guitar to check out an amp. He didn't understand what I told him and asked me what time my lesson appointment was. It was hard to make him understand what I was doing. Then when I got to the amps, only one worked, the other display model's on/ off switch was broken. When I asked the attendant if he would bring out another amp from the store room, he said the floor model is all they had. I left the store due to such a bad experience.
I gotta shout out my favorite employee John from the Santa Clara GC he helped me so much in getting my first electric and even built a great relationship with him to where he was willing to offer his discounts because of how much I was active in the store despite not being an employee
Went to the Guitar Center in Ft. Collins, CO last December. The selection was meh and the atmosphere was like that of a funeral. I helped a young fella pick out a nice little used PRS SE. The staff were nowhere to be seen and oblivious to him even being there. All I could think was “what happened to this place”… 😞
I’m the guy that went to GC to try in-store and I had an advisor I would call for deals. I saved 20-30% on new guitars just by making that phone call. Bought an awesome used Classic Series Strat from them last year as well which had to come across the country. Hate to see them struggling like this but also hate to see what they’ve done to small guitar stores in my hometown. I won’t waste my time going up there just to buy some accessories when the rainforest site has everything I want and can have it in 2-3 days. I’m one of those guys who used to frequent the place so much.
I went to GC looking for a cheap gig guitar $200-$300 range just something I wouldn't be heartbroken over if it grew legs and walked away or was damaged. The salesman pointed me in the used guitar section which was full of junk and overpriced. I went to a small family owned music store and they put a bran new JS-Series Jackson in my hand and told me they would sell it for $175 new and I thought they were joking. I picked up the guitar, new Boss Katana amps, and other gear including a focusrite scarlett 2i2 and mics / cables that same day.
Never bought a guitar from GC. I once asked about getting a particular mic which they sold on the website but would take weeks or a month to have one shipped to the store for me to buy.. i even was willing to pay for it upfront.. so I eventually just would go to GC for like picks, strings, cables.. but no instruments. Once i found Sweetwater.. i only buy equipment from them or a few boutique shops near me.
As someone who grew up and learned guitar during the shred renissance of the mid 2000s, i felt this video hard. I just bought ab mim fender jazz, but for my bigger future purchases i prefer the smaller boutique shops that have the staff. I hope i dont sound entitled but i feel spendinf 1.5k to 2k on an instrument or gear deserves staff that will reslly pay attention to you and work with you, sweet water does this with reps, small shops do this as well. Very well articulated video
My most recent experience at Guitar Center was with a guy that wouldn’t even get up from his chair when I asked if the bass I just saw hanging was the last one and if it come with a box, he told me he had no idea and told me to bring it to him, instead of walking with me to see it and I don’t know, make a pitch sale at least so he could make a little money on commission? I’ve only bought 3 guitars there and none has come with a box or tools. That I expect from small companies, not a “giant” like GC.
GUITAR CENTER is the pizza joint that only sells pepperoni pizza. They have hundreds of the exact same thing (thats no longer popular) when I want an Oud or Banjo or a small scale fretboard, baritone, mandolin, dulcimer, flamenco guitar, violin, lute, or ANY of the worlds stringed instruments that are not guitar. Its Absurd.
GC is a very good example of a very poorly run national chain. To the customer, it doesn't matter who is making the decisions at the top - it just matters that the buying experience is often very poor, and the future is Sweetwater and Amazon. I bought my last guitar on Amazon. GC could be great again, but the investment company doesn't want it to be great. They want to bleed it dry and use it for tax games.
Well, all the people at my Little Rock Guitar Center are the bomb! They have been incredible over the past umpteen years and I love going there. I've probably spent over $20k there in the last 10 years. I hope it never goes away.
5:50 - It's possible for this to happen in certain scenarios. One of which is for a business that sells products, they could be selling more than they produced for that year. For example, when you make a product a lot of things go into it including material and labor costs. You're selling less this year but still selling more than products you produced for the year - it's possible if you sold stock from prior years this year.
My dealings with GC in the last couple of years has been awful. Their sales reps know nothing about the guitars and etc. They don't know what they carry and don't carry or can order. If I plan to buy a new guitar then I will go see if they have it and play it then go home and call Sweetwater to order it. I get honest and straight forward answers from them. I would rather play for shipping for that quality of service.
Man it’s been a long time since I’ve had a really cool experience at guitar center, these days I frequent for strings and polish but that’s really about it. I’m always hoping to find something exciting and inspiring but I just don’t find that anymore. And I’ll be real and say that maybe I’m too much a part of the niche market of extended range instruments and high gain amps but I’m also a mixing engineer and so I have needs for outboard gear and other accessories involved in the process. But with all that said I can not find anything that I’m really looking for and that sucks, if I could actually get my hands on a piece of gear and try it on in person I would be so much more into giving my money to them but that’s just not the case. My local guitar center here is awesome as far as the workforce goes, but the selection has been sparse for a long time now when it comes to my needs, but hey if you need some cheap mass produced music product then they’ve probably got it, and strings for the most part. But all in all, I wish Guitar Center could be what we all need it to be.
I supposed technically the last bass I bought, I bought a Guitar Center. I found the deal on the local classifieds and met in the GC parking lot to complete the purchase. 10/10 would do again.
This resonates with me. Just the mention of guitar center invokes memories of teenagers playing the opening riff to "Come as you are" or "Enter Sandman" on loop. Its a bummer to hear about, but you presented it beautifully.
GC Employee here! Thank you for being the first one to make a video on GC that doesn't immediately make a joke of the company!
In my experience, you're right on it. I can tell you that there's no one thing responsible for it's decline other than the corporate greed that has sucked the life out of music. I got to watch so many great musicians run away from the store because there just was no longer much joy in the job. Inventory started faltering, and the whole place started looking more like a customer service jungle because sales, inventory, and the whole experience never works as intended anymore. And the only thing competing with stores like sweetwater (trying things in store before buying) became the laughing stock of the music industry. 🙁
To make things worse, stores no longer get a ton of labor hours, and wages are terribly stagnant, especially if you move up. So that leaves you with a bunch of whatever employees they can find that are scrambling to help customers and dream of one day cleaning up the store like it once was.
In less than a decade, I watched a day at GC go from over half a dozen employees per department ALL with some sort of specialty, to about 4-6 employees in THE WHOLE STORE who can barely care about anything past the incessant metrics the company puts on them...
Man, GC used to be the coolest place to be, and when I started (halfway through music school), I genuinely felt like the worst musician in the room. And over the years, the culture in the place started to die down. Those of us who stuck with it only feel the nostalgia, and still love to help people with their music. It's just neat impossible to do so these days.
Thank you again! Come say hi if you ever come visit my Guitar Center in Washington. 🤘🏼
Thank you for sharing this and being so honest. My aim isn’t to blame employees. Like I said I know there are people who love what they do and are trying to work hard.
@@RecordingStudioLoser I totally did not feel blamed by your video, which is why I appreciated it so much!
I just know other people have, and I get it. 🤷 Guitar Center has so little reputation left as a good music retailer with knowledgeable people. But it was so refreshing to see someone not go straight for the throat with the company. 🖤
Not to distract from the video itself, though. Some of us are seeing the writing on the wall... and I wouldn't be surprised if GC got acquired or something in the next few years. 😬
Thanks once again! Love your videos and your sincerity within them! Cheers!🥂
As a GC employee, I second this. Our store runs with 4 to 5 employees per shift. Wage is rough and we barely get any hours. I love working at GC and helping people to get the right thing they need and educating them on how to use it properly, but with the new incentive structure, you don’t have time to do this anymore. I almost feel like I’m working at a car dealership with how cut-throat it has become.
@@Bazan14 Exactly! The saddest part is that the worse the in-store experience gets, the less sense it makes to go to Guitar Center instead of Sweetwater. I'm afraid that with this trajectory, there's just no chance for Guitar Center down the road. 🫤
Also a GC employee.The way they push us to sell the stupid warranties is the worst part about the job. We also almost never have nicer gear people come in to buy. Commission rate got lowered. people have been hired who dont know anything about any area of the store, and are not willing to learn after months there. it is truly a shit show
GC came in and put about 4 or 5 decent sized guitar stores out of business by giving deep discounts to customers. once all the competition went under, the discounts went away. no sympathy for them.
The flip-slide is what GC did to mom and pop guitar shops all across the country. I used to work for one around 2000 and their ordering volumes and purchasing power would force the big guitar manufacturers to come down on the small shops and demand completely unreasonable/impossible annual target until ultimately they were forced to drop the Fender or Gibson brands. That matters a ton when you're trying to be a successful small business in the instrument business.
I totally agree. I can’t get nostalgic over a company that was just an archaic version of a lesser Sweetwater.
@@mf_rat yup, GC undercut the mom and pops, amazon and sweetwater then did it to them
Lol I just got done writing my comment, and then read yours. Anybody who has had to compete with against guitar center has the story of how they ruined the little guy.
What goes around comes around. Hopefully, they do go out of business. Just like they put most of the mom and pops instrument shops of the 80s out of business.
I don't remember the mom and pops in my area ever carrying Fender and Gibson. It's been Dean and Aria as long as I can remember
I lived and worked in a city with a fairly robust music store community that had a guitar center come into town and aggressively price all the mom and pop music stores out of business over a 3-5 year span. I can't say I'll shed a tear if they go under.
I had a teaching room in a store that was faced with a substantial rent increase on the new lease offer and the owner decided it wasn't worth it to make about 60 cents selling strings because he couldn't make money on the entry level gear. Also, guitar center flexed on their Gibson dealer status and mysteriously he couldn't get anything nice without a major increase in the yearly order level. He closed the shop and within 2 years 3 other larger stores also closed. This is dozens of employees, teachers and repair people all impacted. GC breaks local music store communities. I'm alright with them going away.
I agree. It having seen that side of things. In my area it was as if GC brought a lot of possibilities with it.
But yeah that’s totally shitty.
My local Guitar center is exactly like this. Only two guys working the whole store, acted like I was bothering them when I asked any questions, almost no inventory for cables and accessories, EVERY guitar locked up so you couldn't try them out without asking, Azure pedals being sold for $85, waiting 10 minutes standing next to the register just to buy strings....yeah they're done. It's too bad but it's only smaller guitar and music shops for me now.
Angels sang when you walked through the second set of doors when going into GC when I was in my late teens to early 20's. It smelled like amps! Our GC had a stage setup like a concert with full stacks (Mesa Boogie, Ampeg and Marshall JMC 900). Then they had the three back walls from floor to ceiling with Ibanez, Fender, BC Rich and Jackson electric guitars ready for the picking. One band became famous from my town in the late 90's and at least one member of the band was there hanging out. I jammed with the guitar player once for a few minutes. Sadly, I went into GC about 4 years ago and I swear a tumble weed rolled past me when I walked it. It was a depressing and frustrating experience.
Are you a writer. Because you paint a picture.
I came of age on guitar just before Guitar Center was big and I’m thankful I did because it was such a personal network of mom and pop shops and community and knowledge and relationships. The big chains came along with them all those small stores died and one of my main joys in life with them.
I walked in the other day because I was thinking about buying my first synth. The entire place was gutted. Almost no more pro audio gear, no synths, no microphones, no mixers in the live sound room… it was depressing. Even the acoustic room had gone down hill.
Gc employee here. The worst thing is that they messed up my commission scale and make it so you have to work harder for less. That’s how things are on the back end for all GC sales associates. Then the leads work only for hourly pay and get no commission so they end up getting chewed up and spat out when they realize they arent being paid well for all the hours they work opening and closing the store. Lastly, the higher ups can be bullies. I’ve literally had to go to HR to tell the DM that we had a safety issue bc the warehouse manager wasn’t keeping any area of the store or warehouse safe. So much drama at this job but i love music so it’s all i have bc GC bought up all the music stores that stood a chance.
I have a choice here of Guitar Center or Sam Ash, and I stick with Sam Ash. The customer service at GC is horrible. I’m often left standing there for several minutes, and no one even looks up to offer me help. I usually end up walking out.
I worked at Guitar Center 20 years ago, and my big take away from it even back then was that GC is more or less the Wal-Mart of the music gear industry. Since then, I've occasionally gone to a Guitar Center to try out some new gear that I'd then go purchase online someplace else to keep them from getting my money. I'll admit that it was a giant playground and was a lot of fun to hang out in, but in many ways the industry will be better off once it's gone.
"walmart" funny but true. And it's why I went there instead of other places. I barely know squat about playing music and other places intimidated me. I felt like GC was used to players like me.
I dread going to my local GC whenever I have to grab a cable on short notice. They’re also super short staffed and just seem annoyed that customers are there. It’s unfortunate 😅 definitely sticking with Sweetwater and referring others to them. I’ve never had one issue with them in the past decade I’ve been shopping
Yes. And that’s sad. It used to be awesome
It is a joyless place. They spelled my name wrong on the gear card. I left it that way.
I worked a 1 specific GC for years. I held 5 different positions at that store then after I left I went to work for a pro A/V rep firm that GC carried a lot of the brands the Rep Firm I worked for repesented. I have my own thoughts on GC but even the outside perspectives from the brands they carry don't think too highly of them either.
I was in the top 5% of buyers in the early 2000s. The manager was a total DH. His name was Eric. The Towson store was one big click. They hated shredders and treated you like garbage. I always played at a super low volume, and not for long. I bough a MM JP6 earlier that week.They had a JCM 2000 head with a 1960A cab used. I had all but 7$. Thats not a miss type. I was seven bucks short and they wouldn't sell it to me. I asked the sales person to ask the manager. He came back and said go home and get 7$. I have never walked in a GC since, or bought from any companies they owned on line..
I worked at a Guitar Center about ten years ago and although it was a fun job it became a bummer when the higher ups only cared about us selling "Pro-Coverage" more than the actual instruments.
I was buying a nice preowned Taylor acoustic earlier this year there, and two employees pitched the warranty before I even made a final decision on an instrument. Total turnoff
My buddy just bought an Alesis drum kit and the sales guy was telling him he'd better get the coverage cuz if he breaks a mesh head he can't just replace that one drum he'd have to replace all of them? That's unless he had the coverage. Sounds a bit odd to me? So he can actually replace just the one, technically. But without the coverage he can't....Weird
Omg they push so so hard on that freaking pro coverage. I’ve heard so many ppl that got that coverage and had all sorts of issues when they needed something repaired or replaced.
@@Donkeypuncherello88 Who reads the fine print ever, I don't believe they even give you anything to read about the coverage before they try to whack ya for it. There's probably a laundry list of things that explains what will "not" be covered
@@JeremyCrookWrites money was always made on selling service contracts even in the 80's computer industry like Compterland, Businessland and Computer age. Now, because of Bill Gates they dont exist anymore. I have been to guitars centers recently and lately just hate to go because they treat customers crappy.
The last couple times I went in GC, I got some serious Circuit City flashbacks, and that just has no place in 20-anything, let alone 2023
Fender should just rotate it's new stock through Guitar Center showrooms to get authentic relicing.
hahahahaha good one!!
Have to admit if I’m buying a ‘new’ guitar I don’t want one that’s been twanged by who knows how many people that’s just the way I am, hell when I unbox a new guitar I find myself giving it the smell test!
I was a GC salesperson in the early 2000s and one thing that happened on the service side is that they wouldn't pay out "spiffs" or "bonuses" to individual sales people who met their goals unless the whole department met it's goal. That drove knowledgeable and skilled people away. I immediately transferred to warehouse and then started teaching somewhere else because my manager thought a lesson program was a bad idea... 😅😅😅
They suck. If you're not covered in tattoos and piercings, the self important clerks are too busy to treat you with any decency. And everything is marked up and inaccurate.
I say this with respect to each and every GC worker!!
I truly hope the guitar center crashes and burns completely to the ground! Corporations are the biggest threat to country, to our health and to our creativity!
Monopolies/corporations care nothing about moving our young people forward in education and music and being creative. They care only about making money and profits. There’s always a fine line in capitalism where it can drive innovation, and where creativity can be at the forefront but unfortunately, when the greed takes over everything changes and anything good is crushed. I believe the Guitar Center has got to go as much as I’d like to see mom and Pop stores return I don’t think that that will ever happen but I don’t know what will it seems pretty impossible to be able to check out speakers and hear what headphones sound like or what a symbol Oregon car sounds like on Amazon, lol.
Good luck everyone. 😊
This just happened last week. I finally configured a new pedalboard and 6 of my cables would not work on the new board. I decided to go to Guitar Center. One cable was $22 at GC, Amazon (very similar cable) $29 for 6 of them. I would love to support but at those prices, can't do it. Also, no one wanted to talk to me. Actively avoided me. Maybe in a pinch, but I typically avoid it.
Wow
I don't have anything against Amazon, but I do have reservations about buying Chinese products. Even if the quality is reasonable, I'm starting to avoid sending my money to support the Chinese government's aggression.
I worked at GC in 2013… everyone there had a masters in music and I had a bachelors. We made $9.50 and hour. 🤦🏻♂️ I was able to make up for the pay by buying gear, gear I still use today… purchased at cost. I’ll say this… everyone knew what they were doing. We had massive pressure to sell, especially to get people to sign up to credit cards. Unfortunately, the people who knew the most in my store sold the least, and the salesmen were the ones that received the praise. I didn’t work there long, and never will again however, it created life long relationships with some of the staff that were dope af and made my career 2% better.
Lol same... I was in ops.. and I made more money buying gear at ops cost and selling it on craigslist.... did that for a year before they caught on. The manager said I can't do that anymore. That day after he left I bought 10k in gear at cost and never went back "066016"
I practically lived at GC in LA in the 80s. When I moved back to CLE, they followed me. Things went south after the Bain Capital deal.
I really miss ProSound in Denver. I had a relationship with a single salesperson and bought a great deal of gear from them. Those were the days.
They're still around in the Springs
The closest GC is about 2 hours away, better off ordering online🤷♂️ Sweetwater for the win!!🥰
I completely stopped going about 5 years ago when the experience was so negative I just never want to go back. They want to rush you in and out.
Surprised the salespeople at GC don’t put a set of Elixir strings on every halfway decent guitar they hang on the wall. It’s a negligible cost, and would basically keep the guitar feeling new through every test drive. It takes almost no time to do a basic action adjustment on most electrics. I feel like I need a tetanus shot after playing half the stuff they have hanging up. Especially the used ones…
The previous handful of times I’ve been at guitar center. I go there. I look at the walls of guitars. I see some I want to play. I stand there for 15-20 minutes waiting for someone to help. Finally find someone, they give you a guitar and then they are gone again for 15-20. Then I leave angry.
Man I don’t feel too sorry for Guitar Center because I’m an old guy that valued the small family owned music c store that was crushed by the BigBox Music mega-stores like Guitar Center.
My favorite music store on the planet was Reliable Music in Charlotte NC. That place was incredible and you could stand right beside a RockStar at the counter. You could go in for a pack of strings and run into Tom Scholz back in the guitar effects Dept. That actually happened to me in the late 80’s.
Guitar Center, Sam Ash, Mars destroyed that
Guitar Center is Bleeding? My frikin hands are bleeding from running them up and down the fret ends of the guitars hanging in that hell hole. The one near me also not looking good, the carpet is disgusting, looks like it hasn't been vacuumed in years, the shelves are a mess, string selection is bleak, string are missing and or hanging off the guitars and the employees look like their puppy just got run over. Plus they don't make a commission anymore, so really they have nothing to excite them about selling a GC product. So sad to see...
This is thankfully happening with most big box stores. I have no idea how office depot/max stay open... Aside from that print counter they're ghost towns.
As someone who currently works at GC, when I quit, I’m buying for Sweetwater
This says ALOT
@@RecordingStudioLoser don’t get me wrong, I work with a lot of really great people who really know their shit, and we try our best when we help every customer. But at the end of the day, it’s a regular ass corporation, and we don’t have the resources to compete with Sweetwater customer service
Sweetwater is owned by MusicTribe based in the Philippines but manufacturing is done in Zhongshan, China. I no longer buy from Sweetwater personally. No need to support MusicTribe or China.
I bought a guitar from Guitar Center on line - Musicians Choice filled the order - they are a sister company to Guitar - in the email - I was told I would get a hard case - made by the same company as made the guitar with the purchase - when I picked the guitar up and got it home - there was no hrs case - I called Guitar Center back immediately - they argued with me through the entire discussion - and refused to give me the case that the email said I paid for - so honestly - I call it karma - when you don’t do what you say and say what you do - it tends to catch up with you - so it couldn’t happen to a more deserving company - there customer service is horrible.
I've generally had positive experiences with their employees, at least at my old GC from a few years ago. The issue I always had was the customers in that store and the condition the guitars were in. I remember deciding I was going to buy myself a high-end acoustic but every time I picked one up, the strings were not just dead but disgustingly dirty, to the point I would just put the guitar back. Another time I waited over an hour for a group of 10 people to finish "jamming" in the acoustic room and then leave without buying anything. Some of that I would say is on the staffing/cost cuts they've had over the last few years, but also some of it is just their customer base at certain locations, where I've repeatedly seen people hanging out for hours without actually shopping. Not saying you have to buy something every time you go to a store, but there's a problem with your business model when paying customers are walking away because of people just hanging out for hours and a lot of your product is used to the point that people don't want to buy it (or even touch it in some instances). It's not an easy problem to fix, but I hope they figure it out because I think if we lose GC, it's not like the mom & pops are coming back; we'll just have fewer local options.
Guitar center was on the verge of filling Bankruptcy During the pandemic, and did a speedy about face, after they were able to get a reorganization deal done, that added new equity and debt capital in 2020. This company has been around a looooong time, and has been a major influence in my life. Especially my teen years. Guitar provided me with a direction to choose. Guitar center was like Disney World to me, but with instruments, and more instruments. My hope is that it's around for a very long time. It's the only gear store that I deal with. The only knock I have on them right now is that, they are making me wait till after October, to get my
"Music Man Bongo 4". The Damn thing is on backorder.
"All Of Them" lol
GC corporate is literally the worst
YUUUP. Have a Guitar Center less than a mile from my house and I've been there approximately zero times since i've lived here.
It is a bummer that music stores are not as magical as they used to be. Right out of high school i went to work for Goodman music in L.A. We allowed people to play the instruments and gave them real insight on what they were buying. Eventually we got run out of business by Guitar Center... Go figure. We couldn't compete with their volume pricing and eventually were overwelled by all their locations. Its the circle of life with them failing the way they did. As for me in hindsight I glad it happen. I went onto to have a career in music as engineer and producer/writer. Had we not lost Goodman music I probably would have been a manager someday there... dam that would have sad compared to the life I ended up with. Now that I think about it, best thing that could happen to those employees is to move on. Music stores are not real careers!
Consider buying a guitar from a local luthier. They are often just as good or better than name brands, they are made in the U.S.A., and you will be supporting a small biz.
You are right on the mark my friend. I made a point of visiting all the Southern California Guitar Centers last year to see for myself what kind of experience I would have when it came to customer service. My objective was to see if despite GC becoming a corporate shell of itself, will the employees still give their all in helping me find what I'm looking for and will it be at a reasonable price to the point that my experience would be repeat business with them. NOPE. My take away was this quote, "Its all about the deal", usually followed by a smirk. Its NOT all about the deal. Its ALL about the relationship... with the customer. Give them a good experience and the customer will come back. Pretty simple. I hope things change for GC as a company soon. But I would not be surprised if they closed doors and left a few token stores open for nostalgia sake. Thanks for this video man.
Shit it all sucks man, always has. First we had small music stores that did repairs and gave lessons, as well as sold guitars, and some sold brass and wind instruments as well.
Those all got taken out by Mars, Musician's Friend and Guitar Center. Sort of like small grocers did by WalMart, HyVee, and wholesalers like Costco and Sam's...
I do have a Guitar Center that is sort of close. To be honest that is the only music store that I am aware of within 10 miles of my house, and I live in a suburb of KCMO.
The service that I get when I get there is almost laughable if it weren't so truly tragic!
I only go there when I know they have something in stock that I can't wait for or don't want to wait for.
They have nobody working there that I see from one visit to the next.
So how has this affected my shopping experience? There is no reason to go hang out at this place. Nobody there sees and remembers me, nor do I them. There is no interaction of finding a salesman that you can trust.
They have turned it into a huge Overstock Outlet Store where nobody knows anything about the products they are selling and there's nobody there that you can trust.
It's SAD...in KC we really have only 1 music store that isn't a Guitar Center, and if you are in Kansas City go see the guys at "Big Dudes Music City". They still care about customer interaction and developing long term relationships with customers.
Otherwise, just buy online and trust the reviews if you dare!!!
I can relate to all this.
I used to have my GC guy. You would go when you knew they were working….
Guitar Center needs to be a franchise. Yes, I'm Boomer but for the time Guitar Center was really really cool! I loved going to the Hollywood Store, which was wow! Now it's lifeless. My local GC is ok but you can tell it's lifeless.
I'm a financial guy by training & work experience. Your take/perspective here was spot on.
If I need something and there is only a GC, I’ll just go without. That’s how I feel about them. They made their bed, they get what they deserve.
We're fortunate here in Pensacola. We have a fantastic local shop here (Blues Angel Music). But I remember the GC golden era. The staff was not only helpful, but they were also knowledgeable and willing to share their expertise without obligation.
As a beginner GC has the nicest staff. They let me plug in my own homemade guitar to check how it works. I did buy my Martin dread jr from them. I do wish they’d ship a Firebird to my city to see it because I’d probably buy it but I’d HAVE to buy it first … they have an amazing inventory and the vintage room is really cool.
Happens all the time, everywhere. I trusted my 5.10 climbing shoes with my LIFE, I adored pro competitors like Shauna Coxsey that wore them and when the model I had worn (and rebought every six months) for YEARS came to the end of its lifecycle, I spent 50% more on them to import them from NORWAY. Then Adidas took over, placed their logo next to the 5.10 logo, stopped production in California, shifted everything to China and dropped 13% in net worth after kicking out Kanye West for being a racist… and now I'm faithful to Unparallel, the climbing shoe company founded by the previous employees of 5.10. Tough luck.
Definitely understand this. The running “joke” in Richmond, Va was I’ll try it at Guitar Center then walk next door to buy at Sam Ash. But as a primarily woodwind instrumentalist, Sam Ash had a better selection for me then Guitar Center.
Mars Music was my favorite spot when I was a young teenager. My parents would drive me an hour North to Indianapolis, and I would spend hours in there. They eventually sponsored me just before they went under. Guitar Center used to be great too, but it seems like it's been a lifetime ago since then.
We come from the same area sounds like!
@@RecordingStudioLoser I'm near Columbus, South of Indy on 31.
Kokomo
@@RecordingStudioLoser I'm there all the time. Small world.
As a lefty guitar player, online instrument sellers like sweetwater and zZounds are the way to go.
GC, for me, is really just for guitar strings and accessories. Yeah, back in the day, GC was fun.
It kind of feels like Guitar center’s parent corp is cutting off guitar center’s arm to provide a better value to their shareholders.
Seems like a smart move in the short term, but when you think about it, nobody wants a one-armed guitarist; so in the long term they might find out that such sacrifices just kick the can down the road and make things worse.
You can’t sacrifice your arm to save yourself from bankruptcy. You’re going to need that arm to make more money in the future.
they stopped paying their sales people commission. thats when it started to decline.
I’ll drive an hour and a half to go to Sweetwater, as opposed to drive 40 minutes to go to GC.
Hey. I’m an hour and a half from sweetwater!
I've been to Guitar Centers more in the past 3 months than I had in the past 15 years: First to buy a guitar, then to buy a music book.
For the guitar, I went to the Guitar Center that the Internet said had it available, only to get there and it was nowhere to be found. The staff was helpful, they tried, but they were clueless! I had a hunch that the system was wrong so I went to another Guitar Center 30 miles away (ironically, that's the one closest to me) and there's where the guitar I wanted was!
The book was last week, and I went there just because I wanted to get it right then and there on that day, instead of waiting 3 days for shipping. The book was the last one and was damaged, and they wouldn't give me a discount because "it was just the cover".
Both stores had a 'worn out' feel to them; they reminded me of old pool halls where everything is a bit grimy and beaten-up. The staff was great, friendly and willing to try and help, but not very knowledgeable on the inner workings of the store, and they actually asked if I wanted to buy extended warranty... on a book... with a scratched-up cover!
Boom! “The culture of management has changed”… that!… is it in a nutshell. Poor management (and ownership) = FAIL. Sorry for any passionate Guitar Center Employees… GC used to be AWESOME! Now…. Sad…
I can’t really feel bad for a company that made small town shops close. Sweetwater has had better customer experience despite not having a mortar store up until recently. I can’t remember the last time GC had anything more than run of the mill squiers and sales people who hated their jobs.
I agee. It sucking doesn't equal feeling bad for the company as a whole.
@@RecordingStudioLoser totally. I got where you were going no doubt!
I haven’t been to a guitar center in a really long time. I just bought my recent guitar online from a friendly local shop in Hawaii
But I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The opinions, numbers and percentages had me hooked. You were able to keep everything brief while keeping it tasteful. I will definitely checkout more of your content
Thank you for sharing
Hopefully, there is resurgence of mom and pops guitar stores. Hell, they always have cool unique gear anyway.
agreed
When I was a kid, I was always looking for the cheapest prices. Now that I’m grown and I’ve seen what GC has turned into, I’m more than willing to pay a few bucks more for an experienced staff that gets paid a decent wage.
I think the reality is that if your local GC closes, it just won't be replaced and you'll have fewer places to go to. Mom and pop stores used to be able to get by because the market was regional and in some markets, that meant you had to pay a bit more. These days everyone is competing with online prices and not many people are willing to pay more to get a guitar locally as opposed to just ordering it from sweetwater or another retailer; some people will go in to demo something and then order it online, which always strikes me as scummy (but some people are scummy). At the end of the day, I'd rather have a local GC than to have practically nothing at all for local retail.
Many comments here state how the GC volume pricing with Fender and Gibson put the local music store under. GC still moves a good deal of Gibson and Fender products, if GC goes belly up, both fender and Gibson will lose a conduit to the market. You have to remember that Gibson, Fender & GC are owned by Private Equity firms. The PE firms involved in this triad need one another. GC may be around a little longer than one believes.
its funny and alarming to hear one of my recent concerns coming from someone else. the benefit/detriment argument of access to floor models to try versus paying full price for a 'new' instrument and not knowing how man grubby little hands have been on it. theres always the classic 'well we can order it for you'. this has had me dragging my feet on a rather substantial guitar purchase, knowing that all guitars are going to feel and sound a little different, even considering that i 'know a guy' and that ill get a substantial discount on a NIB guitar blind from the warehouse either way...
Just be your best to those you can help. If you happen to be at a GC and know the employee is trending downward, provide subtle uplift with positives that could elevate the moment, if not the day.
Most of the time YT will censor my in depth explanations, so no time to waste. It comes down to us, as a collective. We fall back on our upbringing, the basics, the golden rule. Do unto others.
I can say that our local Guitar Center in Flint, Mi. Is amazing! Tons of helpful employees and I’ve never been felt to “buy now” and the knowledge of most employees is incredible. They do lack a good drum dept (all electric drums and 0 acoustic).
I went to a guitar center this past weekend, staff were inattentive at best. Had to ask for a $1500 guitar to be brought from up top 3 times before they gave it to me, I picked up a bass that was set up so badly it buzzed out below the 5th fret and when looking at pedals the staff didn’t want to get them out the cabinet
Honestly, if the customer service improved. The store performance may also improve
At this point, good riddance. Thomann is cheaper and the service is better despite having to pay shipping from Europe
Back in the early 80's you should have seen for sale section in local papers. That's how we bought our instruments then. My first bass was a 70' P bass sold with a 100w Traynor amp with a 4x10 cabinet for 75$.
Just talk to " Greg " at Guitar Center is a forever Nashville classic.
GC helped to put many mom and pop stores out of business, and now the internet and lack of new instrument sales is killing them.
Youre right about the used section. Ive bought two of my snares from my local GC. But there's two Music Go Round stores in my area. Ive had those type of experiences at GC. I actually know someone that works at one.
I give credit to the sales staff at Whitehall Pa. Always pleasant and knowledgeable. I was shocked to see how bare some of the shelves were the other day though.
Its not too bad there like most of the GC horror stories you hear.... but I still hold a grudge for helping put Dave Phillips out of business...I really miss the old Union Blvd location back in its late 1990s early 2000s heyday.....times change I guess.
@@jasonrackawack9369 Yes so do I. But time moves on and now they're the only game in town.
I've spent a lot of money there! Including just last week. Sometimes you just don't want to wait for delivery
The 2 most prized possessions in my bass guitar collection I bought from Guitar Center since moving to Texas in 2010. I bought a Modulus Quantum 5, and A Music Man Bongo 6HS. But the difference between the people in Colorado Springs, and Dallas and Arlington TX is night and day.
Honestly, besides stepping into the Hollywood GC about 10 years ago, the last time I physically went into a GC here in Dallas was probably 2005/6ish? That location closed in early 2006 in North Dallas. Thankfully, Charley's Guitar Shop somehow has made it all these years and we've added some really nice shops in DFW like Guitar Sanctuary and Tone Shop over the past decade that service working musicians (giant difference between general consumer which is they route GC went) which is nice. I've also found several shops online across the US that have been great to work with and chat with on the phone for advice or solution.
I started going to GC, in 1995, when I lived in San Francisco. One of my friends worked there, and it was fun to go look at and play gear, which I couldn’t afford, but you could still get a deal. I remember taking my roommate there, because he was looking to buy an American made Fender bass. With the help of my buddy who worked there, my roommate got a Fender JP-90, with Fender HSC, for $200!
Fast forward to 2009, while living in San Diego, I purchased several guitars, amps and cabs, pedals, strings, etc, from the La Mesa GC. I was always able to get a great deal, and eventually had “a guy” there, who, once per month, would give me 20% off of anything I wanted, then call the bank that backed the GC credit card, to have them still give me the interest-free payments (their policy would not allow discounted items to take advantage of their interest-free financing). That GC always did me right. The had a metric shit-ton of new and used guitars, amps and cabs.
Fast forward to 2017, when I moved back to Detroit. I went to my local GC, in Southfield, MI, to look for a new or used Fender P-Bass or Jazz Bass. I was shocked at how little inventory they had on the walls. I think they had one P-Bass, and no Jazz Basses, so I had no way of trying out different models, to see which suited me best. This happened several times with other guitars I was looking to demo and purchase. None of the employees seemed very interested in selling me anything either. Then I had my wife buy for a new HSC for my 1991 Gibson SG, as my Christmas present. When I opened my present on Christmas Day, it was not in a box, and when I opened the case itself; you could see that it had had a guitar in it for an extended period of time, and the foam padding had begun to harden. The following day, I took it back to GC, and tore them a new asshole - as my wife said that the guy who sold her the case, reassured her that the case was indeed brand new, but had the original box misplaced. Of course that sales associate was not there that day, but the manager ordered me a new case, at a discount, and had it shipped directly to my house for free. I then ordered an Epiphone Casino, since they had none in the store for me to demo, and had it shipped to the store. When it arrived, I went to the store and opened the box, to make sure the guitar was not a dud. Well, it was a dud (not GC’s fault). Had they had one in the store for me to demo before ordering, it would have saved me a lot of time and gas money.
I think they’re cutting costs by limiting the in-store inventory, which is how a customer used to able to get the best deals; three of the guitars which I’ve purchased from GC were “wall-hangers”, which I got the usual dents and dings discount. By not having as much in-store inventory, that allows GC to cut back on having to discount guitars, and having old inventory literally hanging around for years.
I could go on for days about my GC horror stories. But that’s for another day. I’ll put it to you this way: if GC folds, I wouldn’t shed a year.
This is retail across the board. Here in Australia anyway. I prefer to spend money at shops where it might cost me a little more, but I get great service from the guys that work there. But one of my favourite recording gear stores has slowed down so much since Covid, basically the only thing keeping them open is installations of audio equipment to Churches, Schools and office spaces.
I agree the store inspire us as musicians
I worked at GC in Sherman Oaks. My coworker in Pro Audio Richard opened up for Jimi Hendrix! Guitar Center can be saved by digital twinning all products for the Metaverse. A small army of 3d artists wait like lions in the reeds, but only 1 of every 3 people think in 3D.
remember when Barones was there?
I’m new to your channel and have been enjoying the show!
Man, I hear ya. I went to the closest one to me DFW area, TX, to get a few emergency repair parts for my drums before a gig; that’s where I really need these stores, for instant availability. I found what I needed and then had fun listening to some new cymbal sounds. I found a couple in the used rack that I was ready to buy.
I waited 30 minutes to get someone to help me… I just wanted to know how much they wanted for a used cymbal. It had some patina and stick marks but was in good condition.
They quoted me the brand new factory mint price.
I said no, sir, this is a used item. After another 30 minutes no one could give me a price, and I had to leave disappointed. No quote at all! New price or nothin.
I got my whole studio setup from a houston guitar center in 2000. It was like my musical fantasy land.
But I digress. I’ve had a much better experience the last several years with Sam Ash stores. Better service and huge used market!
I went to the Pearl City store on Oahu for a bass amp. Only had 7 amps in store, with 2 in my budget. I approached the first employee in the door telling him I'm bringing in my bass guitar to check out an amp. He didn't understand what I told him and asked me what time my lesson appointment was. It was hard to make him understand what I was doing. Then when I got to the amps, only one worked, the other display model's on/ off switch was broken. When I asked the attendant if he would bring out another amp from the store room, he said the floor model is all they had.
I left the store due to such a bad experience.
The girl working in the guitar area in my local gc said she doesn’t play guitar so does not know much about guitar. Wtf ?
we just got a guitar center in my home town. They really are selling beat up old used instruments for new prices.
I gotta shout out my favorite employee John from the Santa Clara GC he helped me so much in getting my first electric and even built a great relationship with him to where he was willing to offer his discounts because of how much I was active in the store despite not being an employee
Went to the Guitar Center in Ft. Collins, CO last December. The selection was meh and the atmosphere was like that of a funeral. I helped a young fella pick out a nice little used PRS SE. The staff were nowhere to be seen and oblivious to him even being there. All I could think was “what happened to this place”… 😞
I’m the guy that went to GC to try in-store and I had an advisor I would call for deals. I saved 20-30% on new guitars just by making that phone call. Bought an awesome used Classic Series Strat from them last year as well which had to come across the country. Hate to see them struggling like this but also hate to see what they’ve done to small guitar stores in my hometown. I won’t waste my time going up there just to buy some accessories when the rainforest site has everything I want and can have it in 2-3 days. I’m one of those guys who used to frequent the place so much.
They definitely are, they even cut sales commissions recently
I went to GC looking for a cheap gig guitar $200-$300 range just something I wouldn't be heartbroken over if it grew legs and walked away or was damaged. The salesman pointed me in the used guitar section which was full of junk and overpriced. I went to a small family owned music store and they put a bran new JS-Series Jackson in my hand and told me they would sell it for $175 new and I thought they were joking. I picked up the guitar, new Boss Katana amps, and other gear including a focusrite scarlett 2i2 and mics / cables that same day.
I dont mind if that means local shops can replace them.
I bought a guitar from them a few months ago and I made sure the guitar I was looking at came in the box and wrapped.
Never bought a guitar from GC. I once asked about getting a particular mic which they sold on the website but would take weeks or a month to have one shipped to the store for me to buy.. i even was willing to pay for it upfront.. so I eventually just would go to GC for like picks, strings, cables.. but no instruments.
Once i found Sweetwater.. i only buy equipment from them or a few boutique shops near me.
As someone who grew up and learned guitar during the shred renissance of the mid 2000s, i felt this video hard. I just bought ab mim fender jazz, but for my bigger future purchases i prefer the smaller boutique shops that have the staff.
I hope i dont sound entitled but i feel spendinf 1.5k to 2k on an instrument or gear deserves staff that will reslly pay attention to you and work with you, sweet water does this with reps, small shops do this as well.
Very well articulated video
My most recent experience at Guitar Center was with a guy that wouldn’t even get up from his chair when I asked if the bass I just saw hanging was the last one and if it come with a box, he told me he had no idea and told me to bring it to him, instead of walking with me to see it and I don’t know, make a pitch sale at least so he could make a little money on commission?
I’ve only bought 3 guitars there and none has come with a box or tools. That I expect from small companies, not a “giant” like GC.
GUITAR CENTER is the pizza joint that only sells pepperoni pizza.
They have hundreds of the exact same thing (thats no longer popular) when I want an Oud or Banjo or a small scale fretboard, baritone, mandolin, dulcimer, flamenco guitar, violin, lute, or ANY of the worlds stringed instruments that are not guitar.
Its Absurd.
GC is a very good example of a very poorly run national chain. To the customer, it doesn't matter who is making the decisions at the top - it just matters that the buying experience is often very poor, and the future is Sweetwater and Amazon. I bought my last guitar on Amazon. GC could be great again, but the investment company doesn't want it to be great. They want to bleed it dry and use it for tax games.
Guitar Center: where you ask for a new guitar, and they will push the display unit on you and try to charge you as new.
Well, all the people at my Little Rock Guitar Center are the bomb! They have been incredible over the past umpteen years and I love going there. I've probably spent over $20k there in the last 10 years. I hope it never goes away.
5:50 - It's possible for this to happen in certain scenarios. One of which is for a business that sells products, they could be selling more than they produced for that year. For example, when you make a product a lot of things go into it including material and labor costs. You're selling less this year but still selling more than products you produced for the year - it's possible if you sold stock from prior years this year.
My dealings with GC in the last couple of years has been awful. Their sales reps know nothing about the guitars and etc. They don't know what they carry and don't carry or can order. If I plan to buy a new guitar then I will go see if they have it and play it then go home and call Sweetwater to order it. I get honest and straight forward answers from them. I would rather play for shipping for that quality of service.
I just bought a guitar there about two weeks ago. Got a good deal. Got a Les Paul for 175. I have been playing it at church/
So true! I used to love going myself, now the selection is lacking and service is horrible.
Man it’s been a long time since I’ve had a really cool experience at guitar center, these days I frequent for strings and polish but that’s really about it. I’m always hoping to find something exciting and inspiring but I just don’t find that anymore. And I’ll be real and say that maybe I’m too much a part of the niche market of extended range instruments and high gain amps but I’m also a mixing engineer and so I have needs for outboard gear and other accessories involved in the process. But with all that said I can not find anything that I’m really looking for and that sucks, if I could actually get my hands on a piece of gear and try it on in person I would be so much more into giving my money to them but that’s just not the case. My local guitar center here is awesome as far as the workforce goes, but the selection has been sparse for a long time now when it comes to my needs, but hey if you need some cheap mass produced music product then they’ve probably got it, and strings for the most part. But all in all, I wish Guitar Center could be what we all need it to be.
I supposed technically the last bass I bought, I bought a Guitar Center. I found the deal on the local classifieds and met in the GC parking lot to complete the purchase. 10/10 would do again.
This resonates with me. Just the mention of guitar center invokes memories of teenagers playing the opening riff to "Come as you are" or "Enter Sandman" on loop. Its a bummer to hear about, but you presented it beautifully.
It’s nostalgically romantic… as much as a corporate setting could be I suppose. I’m