“If you walk through a Guitar Center, you see an awful lot of $300 guitars
 

“If you walk through a Guitar Center, you see an awful lot of $300 guitars. If I’m a serious musician, it doesn’t feel like the right place for me anymore”:

Article with new Guitar Center CEO

I have no take on this, we don't have Guitar Center in the UK so I have no experience. Just sharing.

I'd agree with that statement. It's what I see with the closest one to me (< 1 hr.). There is no reason to go there for me.

Guitar Center has literally never felt like the right place for me.

Love it or not, GC is the place with the largest selection in my area. They don't have everything I'd like to sample, but they have a range of guitars from the top companies like Martin, Taylor, Gibson, and Guild. Again, not everything, but a decent selection. And I also keep an eye on the stuff they take in trade.

I went there yesterday hoping to find a Yamaha FG9 but no bueno. I did play a Martin 0012-28 that I freaking fell in love with...

I also tried out another dozen or so guitar ranging from $500 to $5000. There aren't any other places near me where I can do that.

I've gotten to know one of the guys there pretty well and we talked about this article. His biggest concern is managing the inventory if they bring in even more higher dollar guitars. As it is now, nothing is under lock and key. The 000-12 28 was hanging on the wall right above a Taylor 214ce and within reach of anyone who might want to try it. All it takes is a ding or chip and now it's technically damaged and that creates a whole process for the GC employee to deal with...

Anyway, I like the thought of GC finding better ways to service the customers searching for higher end guitars. But I think, in addition to getting better high end inventory, they also will need to do something to protect that inventory and do some kind of screening on who can pull them out and play them.

Man, that 0012-28 was amazing...

The new CEO has said the right things, now let's see whether 'execution' is a priority to the hedge fund that owns GC. The ones within an hour of me fit the mold outlined in this interview: high end guitars locked up with old strings and loads of finger marks all over them. Truly not the place for me anymore, if it ever was.

Its been that way at the GCs around here for decades. There was a time in the middle 90s when GC was full of nice, higher end guitars. I remember seeing 65 LPs - mostly reissues and Custom Shops at the big GC in Houston back in the “good wood” era of the mid 90s. The acoustic rooms used to be stocked with a wide selection of high end stuff as well. Now - its all cheaper Epiphones and Mexican Strats and sub $500 acoustics. The last time I bought a guitar from GC was in about ‘97.

It has its place. Folks shouldn’t expect it to be something it’s not. Likewise, beginners probably wouldn’t have a broad selection of starter guitars in Gruhns, for example.

It’s fine for strings and miscellaneous accessories and the occasional good deal on a used or low end electric.

Roger

The lesson I get out of this is that shops that sell only high end stuff go out of business. The money is in the beginner stuff, no matter what he says.

If you like WalMart, you'll love Guitar Center.

Bought a lot of stuff over the years at the 2 GC's closest to me, including a few guitars, none of which were on the high end side. I understand why there are a lot of $300 guitars hanging around. You sell to the market. But there is no reason they couldn't add some additional high end stock. I think you have to work a little harder at reaching the market for higher quality guitars, but it's there.

I’ll bet there isn’t a single serious musician out there who hasn’t bought something from GC, at some point in time.

They have their place.

Well.....I have to admit....a few months back when I walked out of there with my new Gibson 57 reissue custom shop.....I kind of wish it was only 300 bucks!!!

I like Guitar Center stores! When traveling, I'll visit the local Guitar Center as each store differs slightly from others.

True. I have 3 GCs in the metro area, but I only go to the one that's nearest to me. It's in a very suburban area. I hear that some have their higher-end guitars under lock and key, but not where I go. Everything is available for everyone. That can be good or bad, depending on perspective, I suppose.

While I've not visited them, the other 2 GCs in my area are in the more urban areas so I suspect they might have tighter control of higher-end inventory. I should visit them one day just to see...