Testing equipment we can't afford :-(

D-Man · 2011-04-29T20:37:12+00:00

I'm hoping I'm not the only one that does this but how often do you go to a music store and just test out equipment that you know you won't buy? Am I the on...

Testing equipment we can't afford :-(

Tokai-SA

Do any of you clean the guitar after playing it? ?

I think not, and most of the guys that work in the music stores don't clean them either....have you ever seen a black guitar after a week in a music store without being cleaned or wiped down?

I know of guys who wash their hands before playing a guitar in a music store, and then give it a rub down after playing it...I've also seen guys put a nice ding in a guitar, look around to see if anyone noticed, and then casually hang it back on the wall and sneak out of the store. ?

I dunno, if I play a guitar that doesn't belong to me I ask the salesperson for a guitar cloth and give it a good wipe down.

Wizard

I have always wondered what the policy is if a customer puts a ding in a guitar ...
Are they obliged to buy it? Fix it?
(and no - I have never)

ActionArnie

Wizard wrote: I have always wondered what the policy is if a customer puts a ding in a guitar ...
Are they obliged to buy it? Fix it?
(and no - I have never)

I wouldn't have thought they're obliged to pay to fix it ... just wait here while I go fetch my wallet from my car - the old ding 'n dash

D-Man

ActionArnie wrote: old ding 'n dash

HAHA, you almost sound experienced in the "ding and dash" Department ?.

BUt honestly, even though I might not have the money then and there, I might have it in the future. And if the staff at a certain shop was friendly enough to always let me test out gear, despite the fact that I won't buy it at that time, I'll seriously consider investing my money in one of their instruments. I think at the end of the day, for the shop, it helps build a loyal customer base. They might not have the money but their opinion of the shop can send someone else's money in a favourable direction.

Wizard

So far the vast majority of my investments have ended up in the shop which has allowed me to try their equipment and taken the trouble to worry about me as a customer.
If I do browse for a fair while and not need anything, I usually buy plectrums and/or strings as a conscience appeaser.
(yes - I now have a large collection of plectrums)

Highway-Chile

I'm old school and personally treat every instrument, anywhere, with respect and care; but especially in a store or playing a friends guitar.

I don't know how it is in the SA stores but to me it is simple....if they want to minimize damage, put up some Do Not Handle signs and hire more sales staff. At the very least, make it so you have to get help to handle the very expensive instruments....someone who can make sure you don't have a belt buckle or keys on a carabiner that might scratch the guitar. Salespersons who, when they are not busy helping customers, can clean the guitars, arrange the displays and dial out the store in general. Which is what they should be doing rather than standing around shooting the shit or comparing tattoo's, like the place is some sort of social club or something. ?

But the stores are not going to hire more people because it cuts into their bottom line too much...... so hey, some instruments are going to take a beating and the owners just have to deal.

On a related note.....I just recently bought a Fender Nashville B-Bender Telecaster from the Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, California. After trying it out and negotiating a price, I said I wanted one.....but a brand new one, in an unopened carton so I was sure it had never been handled by customers or store sales persons. I said I would not buy it if anyone other than the assembly and QC people at the factory had so much as touched it. So they had one shipped from Fender and called me in when it arrived. I opened the box in front of them, tried it out and went home a happy camper.

ActionArnie

D-Man wrote:
ActionArnie wrote: old ding 'n dash
HAHA, you almost sound experienced in the "ding and dash" Department ?.

I'm more experienced doing the "dine 'n dash". Perfected that one at varsity - 12 students stroll into spur for 8 waters, 4 coffees and a chocolate brownie, last one there ends up paying

singemonkey

I tend to be quite hesitant about playing stuff in stores. And when I do I'm super paranoid about damaging the gear. Maybe this was especially influenced by asking to play an "American" Telecaster and getting handed what turned out to be a 1958? going for 25,000 pounds. I'm really glad I didn't ding it.

I'm really dieing to play that beat old early '60s SG Custom at Marshall Cape Town though. What a beast.

guitarboy2828

When I go into our local lil music store I always just get the salesman to set stuff up for me and to bring me the guitars I want to test. That way I don't have to worry about dinging and banging guitars. Sometimes they are so closely hung next to each other, the chances of not hitting another guitar is nearly impossible.

As for playing and never buying, I do think that's a big problem around here. Personally, I have made a deal with myself that if my local store holds the brand I'm keen to buy, I'll pay the extra and get it from them. Reality is, music stores around here don't have a whole lot and so, it tends to be my only option to ship from elsewhere.

chris77

I'm too self conscious to play electrics in-store. I will strum the odd acoustic though, but always preceded by a May I? to the assistants. We've even ended up having a jam a couple of times, which is worth more to me than any guitar hanging on their walls. It seriously sucks not having regular jam buddies hey.... Anyhow, I walked into Toms in Bloemfontein a while back, just browsing and talking a bit of k@k with the staff like always, when the manager says he wants to show me something. Turns out to be a new Jem 77 with the floral pattern that they ordered for a customer. I was too scared to take it out of the case, let alone play it! Just stroked it and admired the detail for a bit. I reckon it would cost about 30grand +, but I didn't even ask - just nicely put it back in it's case. Now that was an expensive guitar that, beautiful as it is, isn't on my To Die For list. Heaven knows how I will react to a Prs Singlecut or a Es-335 and a goldtop les paul, and even that will be mild compared to a vintage Tele or Strat. So I don't know how you okes can do it hey - to just walk into a store and jam the crap out of a decent guitar. I will be to poep scared to try.

Kalcium

singemonkey wrote: I'm really dieing to play that beat old early '60s SG Custom at Marshall Cape Town though. What a beast.

??? theres a '60s SG Custom in a music store in SA!!! How much is it going for? Must be worth ALOT! According to this http://vintage-guitars.blogspot.com/2006/01/gibson-sg-les-paul-standard.html

1961 - 1963 > $19 000 to $25 000 ( SG les paul standard )
1963 - 1965 > $18 000 to $25 000 ( SG Standard )
1966 - 1967 > $7 000 to $8 000
1968 - 1969 > $6 500 to $8 000

1961-1963 > Avg Upward Trend of 36% a year since 2000
1963-1965> 33% 1966-1967> 22% 1968-1970>16% 1971-1975>11%

I'd also love to give it a go!

D-Man

The main things I usually test out are pedals. I usually ask them for a couple of pedals and they set up the nearest line 6 with a 5k Washburn. So It's not like I'm playing with fire. I mean yeah, I can't afford it but its not like a 20k strat through a Fender Twin Reissiue... That's just dangerous... There will be discrepancies... =D

chris77 wrote: Now that was an expensive guitar that, beautiful as it is, isn't on my To Die For list. Heaven knows how I will react to a Prs Singlecut or a Es-335 and a goldtop les paul, and even that will be mild compared to a vintage Tele or Strat. So I don't know how you okes can do it hey - to just walk into a store and jam the crap out of a decent guitar. I will be to poep scared to try.

+1 on the Singlecut! What do those retail for nowadays?

AlanRatcliffe

Highway Chile wrote: On a related note.....I just recently bought a Fender Nashville B-Bender Telecaster from the Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, California. After trying it out and negotiating a price, I said I wanted one.....but a brand new one, in an unopened carton so I was sure it had never been handled by customers or store sales persons.

Wise demand. GC/MF have quite a rep for selling shop-soiled as new. They even have a return policy on the online/mail order stuff that means the guitar you get might have been "tried" by half a dozen people (for a few weeks each) before you.

I've got no problem with people trying out stuff with a view to buying, even if it's not immediately (shop staff won't either), but when it's high price items and the person has no intention of ever buying one, that's just wrong...

Tokai-SA

singemonkey wrote:

I'm really dieing to play that beat old early '60s SG Custom at Marshall Cape Town though. What a beast.

Playing a beat up 'oldie' is different, if you ding it it looks even better. ?

When I look at some of the brand new guitars in music stores I see circular scratches all over the back, old dried sweat in the tailpiece screws, and all over the body what appears to be the fingerprint records from Pollsmoor Prison. ?

Having said that, I have no problem with someone playing guitars for fun in a music store, as long as they show some respect and care for it...even if they don't plan to buy it.

singemonkey

Kalcium wrote:
singemonkey wrote: I'm really dieing to play that beat old early '60s SG Custom at Marshall Cape Town though. What a beast.
??? theres a '60s SG Custom in a music store in SA!!! How much is it going for? Must be worth ALOT! According to this http://vintage-guitars.blogspot.com/2006/01/gibson-sg-les-paul-standard.html

I'd also love to give it a go!

This is a white and (once upon a time) gold SG custom.

It must be from the first 3 years of production. It has the deep neck joint, the extreme bevels and the sideways vibrato. I think it also has "Les Paul" on the scratchplate but I was too busy checking out the rest of it to notice properly. A bit dinged up and refretted, so not a mint example. But I suspect it's worth muchos dineros nonetheless.

Kalcium

singemonkey wrote:
Kalcium wrote:
singemonkey wrote: I'm really dieing to play that beat old early '60s SG Custom at Marshall Cape Town though. What a beast.
??? theres a '60s SG Custom in a music store in SA!!! How much is it going for? Must be worth ALOT! According to this http://vintage-guitars.blogspot.com/2006/01/gibson-sg-les-paul-standard.html

I'd also love to give it a go!
This is a white and (once upon a time) gold SG custom.

It must be from the first 3 years of production. It has the deep neck joint, the extreme bevels and the sideways vibrato. I think it also has "Les Paul" on the scratchplate but I was too busy checking out the rest of it to notice properly. A bit dinged up and refretted, so not a mint example. But I suspect it's worth muchos dineros nonetheless.

I want!!! hahaha but will never have...but its cool i can always pretend ? plus in 10 years time my guitar will be as old as that one is now...not that its the same thing, but it makes me feel good ?

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: I've got no problem with people trying out stuff with a view to buying, even if it's not immediately (shop staff won't either), but when it's high price items and the person has no intention of ever buying one, that's just wrong...

Wot 'e just said!

aubs1

Highway Chile wrote: ... I said I wanted one.....but a brand new one, in an unopened carton so I was sure it had never been handled by customers or store sales persons. I said I would not buy it if anyone other than the assembly and QC people at the factory had so much as touched it. So they had one shipped from Fender and called me in when it arrived. I opened the box in front of them, tried it out and went home a happy camper.

I can understand that. But I personally don't go that far. If I like it, and they have cleaned it off (properly), and I don't see a SINGLE mark, (finger-prints or otherwise), I am happy to take it ......

I never play guitars in a shop. If I'm not going to buy it, I will not touch it. If I buy it, I take it home, put it through it's paces, and if I then decide I don't like it, I will just return it. Never had a problem returning a guitar, (including a White Gibson Les Paul Custom, which I had for about 4 days). But then I would never buy a guitar on-line!!! That's just me.

Will I play OP's guitars? Only with the owner present!

Vintage-Vibe

My 5 1/2 cents (as an ex salesman/customer, a techie etc for 16 years)

#1 - If you ask to test a guitar politely, I find you usually get a polite "yes" or "no" answer.
#2 - I think we need to see the bigger picture - if you were eg 16 years old,went in to check out a car
dealership & asked a salesman to show you around/educte you to, that's his job.
If you ask him to test drive a Hyundai i10, and you have no intention of buying it/no financial means to do
so, then he is perfectly entitled to say no.
(Incidentally I have seen a PRS for sale asking over 100k retail - I know the buyer and I KNOW he wouldn't
have appreciated other people's pick scratches etc on his purchase, hence the comparison)

The reality is that shops in this country can't afford to have 1 of every display guitar duplicated in a fresh box
on hand - the storage & financial logistics are impractical
Those guitars up on the wall are stock investments - adding up to millions of rands.
This is why I love those "Please Do Not Handle - Ask For Assistance" tags on guitars at Marshall Cape Town.
It's the 1 way to make sure the next axe YOU buy is good as new!
Sadly not all the players out there have been shown how to respect their own possessions, much less other
people's/businesses.
In my time in the business I see people picking across the entire width of the body, leaving lovely mild scratches, people picking up or putting back guitars on hangers & knocking them into walls then quietly sneeking off hoping no-one has spotted the potential chip/ding they have left on the guitar.
Are you wearing a belt with a buckle? Metal jewellery? metal buttons on your shirt? It all adds up ...

That vintage SG/Custom LP in Marshall is 50k - I don't like picking it up, and I work on stock there everyday ...
Not to be the grouch, but it's a touchy subject for everyone in the industry - pedals on the other hand are a lot smaller and easier to look after when demoing ?

Vick

One of the most powerful forms of advertising is word of mouth...if you have good products then let people try them...he might not be abel to afford it, sumone he knows might...and there opinion just might get the guy that can afford it into the shop....

If someone is going to import something,there going to import it...you can't do much about that.

My 2c's