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

[SFCRetired]

There has to be a balance. Cheap guitars are for beginners and they need that market. But you also have to keep that customer coming back when and if they graduate to actual playing.

I can't blame them for locking up higher end guitars. You do not want some hack beating on a 3K instrument. And boy I've seen it happen.

[fpuhan]

@SFCRetired beat me to it. Many businesses are a balancing act: You have to sell what pays the rent. I'd bet a high percentage of customers at GC are first time buyers, and many of those abandon the instrument within the first few years of ownership. Granted, a better instrument may provide a smoother glide path for continuance, but I suspect there's a lot of pushback on price when uncertainty is in play.

Those who have played for a while and continue with the instrument aren't beating down the doors of GC every day looking to upgrade. So, GC has to satisfy the person walking through the door. And, I suspect, most of them aren't in the market for a $3K+ instrument.

[FLRon]

GC needs a consistent influx of cash, and the way to do that is cater to the sub $500 market. In doing that they are not prioritizing those who are more experienced and who have more $$$$ to spend. That is their business model, and I respect that.

GC is not on my list of potential shops because they make little if any effort to protect their higher end guitars from people that are careless. That some stores restrict access to their better guitars is a step in the right direction IMO.

[TheGITM]

When I was in GC yesterday there were probably a dozen younger people in there with a parent shopping for what I assume to be their first guitar. A couple of them were in the acoustic demo room so I know it was shopping for their first one... some others were out looking at the electrics.

Yeah, the $500 and below price point is critical for their operation... and that shouldn't go away. Actually, I'm constantly amazed at what they can get these days for $500... adjusting for inflation, I didn't have those options when I was a teenager...

There are fantastic quality guitars at all price points, these days.

[jaymarsch]

I’m lucky to have a locally owned brick and mortar guitar store in my town and several others within a 25 mile radius. That said, I have friends in places where Guitar Center is their only option to try out a good selection of guitars. As others have said, it has its place. Things like customer service and good quality control can differ greatly among guitar dealers of all types and sizes.
Best,
Jayne

[LAPlayer]

I spent a little money at the Sunset GC in the '80s when I didn't know what a GC was. Since then, I've spent tens of thousands on equipment, guitars and essentials. If you use GC like a pro, have them order in almost anything you would want to try, they are better than almost any LGS. If you walk in looking for them to have 3 Authentics for you to strap up and try - right now, you might not be successful. However, if you take the time to develop a relationship with your rep, and you have a great rep, they will let you know when something you are looking for drops into their system and they can bring it in for you to sample from any GC store in the country. They aren't missing the mark if you aren't expecting the unreasonable.

Plus many people seem to think they're a guitar store. They are a musical instrument store that can't possibly have every drum, cymbal, guitar, amp..... in stock in every store all the time. They don't just cater to guitar buyers.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by Charlie Bernstein

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

Exactly... Most people just want something cheap. If you want something expensive, you go somewhere else.

[sinistral]

In the NYC area, GC is like a tale of two cities, or more precisely, a tale of the city and the suburbs. The suburban GC near me, and the the other suburban GCs I’ve visited, sound very much like the GCs others have described here—a giant room with a bunch of inexpensive guitars, and a smaller room with a smattering of more expensive guitars from Taylor, Gibson, Martin, etc., with the most expensive typically being in the range of an HD-28.

The GC on 14th Street is a different animal—the back wall of the main acoustic room has a giant Taylor wall with at least 60 guitars, and easily half or more are over $2k. The inner room has Martins, Gibsons and other brands. The last time I was in the store, they had a couple of Murphy Lab and other premium Gibsons, and numerous Martins at or above the Standard Series level. They didn’t have any Authentics on the last visit, but they have had two or three at various times in the past. It will be interesting to see how long the 14th Street store lasts. Sam Ash closed their flagship store on 34th Street (and some other underperforming suburban stores) in order to concentrate on stores that are profitable.

The internet has and continues to change how people shop for guitars, among so many goods. The pandemic accelerated that, and now the (apparent) glut and slowdown is going to squeeze brick-and-mortar stores even more. It seems that there are only a handful of stores in the country that seem to be able to support a truly high-end guitar shopper.

I agree that it’s unreasonable to expect GC to have a full suite of higher end guitars in every store, and putting more of these guitars in stores will just open them up to more damaged goods. They are in a tough spot.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I think GC is a great place to shop online for used gear.

[Buddy1]

Not just stocking premium instruments, but hiring knowledgeable staff instead of the clueless and incompetent employees they currently have.

[fantex]

I bought a nice little Yamaha digital piano a few weeks ago but I don't usually shop there for guitars or accessories.

[BoneDigger]

Yes, they cater to entry level guitar buyers, but most GCs that I have been in do have nicer guitars available. In my local GC, the higher end guitars are on the top racks and locked. If you want to play one, you ask and they get it for you. Even the higher end used guitars are locked in place.

The mom and pop music store in town has their guitars out and unlocked, but they have sales people walking around constantly. If I am in the high end acoustic room, a sales person will "check on me" every 10 minutes or so to see if I need anything. But even the smaller mom and pop store sells more guitars in the sub $500 range than higher end guitars.

[LAPlayer]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Yes, they cater to entry level guitar buyers, but most GCs that I have been in do have nicer guitars available. In my local GC, the higher end guitars are on the top racks and locked. If you want to play one, you ask and they get it for you. Even the higher end used guitars are locked in place.

The mom and pop music store in town has their guitars out and unlocked, but they have sales people walking around constantly. If I am in the high end acoustic room, a sales person will "check on me" every 10 minutes or so to see if I need anything. But even the smaller mom and pop store sales more guitars in the sub $500 range than higher end guitars.

[joeld]

FWIW, I'm a bit sympathetic. I bought a $400 guitar from GC t for a friend the other week. They had a variety in stock for him to try out. They didn't mind that he brought down one after another for a couple of hours. And the sales guy gave us plenty of attention as needed. Meanwhile I got to try a couple of Martins, a Taylor, and a banjo. It wasn't Gryphon or some fancy Nashville store, but they delivered what we were hoping for that day.

[rollypolly]

I’ve purchased a few guitars in person from GC and they’ve been fine. But it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. They have one huge wall of electrics that’s like 75% Squiers. But they only have a couple decent acoustics at any given time. The rest are for beginners. I miss thé days of a small local shop with a decent stock of 500-2000 dollar guitars. Nothing mind blowing, but just decent guitars. Now I don’t even bother.