Anybody know if the player will be available at guitar center?

  • My GC is fine. Like Sweetwater, I go there to buy things I already know I want. The advantage I see to the local GC is returning stuff at zero cost and less hassle when doing so.

    Sweetwater has been annoying me by emailing me a few days after I visit their website saying "Did you find what were looking for?"

    It's not creepy....it's pushy.

    Did I find what I was looking for? Uhm....did I buy something?? No....so, what's the question again?

  • Sweetwater returns are Zero costs. You just drop off at a nearby UPS with prepaid label they email to you. Same as driving to return to a local store. GC does not offer a free replacement warranty for 2 years. And the staff don't have a clue about the products they sell. I use GC to pick up strings if I need them the same day but they push EB's and I like GHS which they have not been carrying lately.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Sweetwater returns are Zero costs. You just drop off at a nearby UPS with prepaid label they email to you. Same as driving to return to a local store. GC does not offer a free replacement warranty for 2 years. And the staff don't have a clue about the products they sell. I use GC to pick up strings if I need them the same day but they push EB's and I like GHS which they have not been carrying lately.

    That's not true. If the reason is for something that's not their fault you pay for return shipping.

    For example if you don't like how something sounds and you return it for just that reason you pay

  • Well, I guess if you purposely break or abuse something then I can see them charging you. I've returned a guitar and an amp with no problem. I've also had them send me new cables and not ask for the return on bad ones. I've received 15% discount on some larger purchases but I get most of my equipment thru them. I have nothing but high regards for SW.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Sweetwater returns are Zero costs. You just drop off at a nearby UPS with prepaid label they email to you. Same as driving to return to a local store. GC does not offer a free replacement warranty for 2 years. And the staff don't have a clue about the products they sell. I use GC to pick up strings if I need them the same day but they push EB's and I like GHS which they have not been carrying lately.

    You do you.

  • Sweetwater has been annoying me by emailing me a few days after I visit their website saying "Did you find what were looking for?"

    It's not creepy....it's pushy.

    Same here. I don't really like or need the whole "sales engineer" model. That's why most of my online purchases are at Musician's Friend / AMS / Zounds. I see it, I buy it, they send it. No phone calls. No emails. Sweetwater is a last resort if i can't find it elsewhere or their price is significantly cheaper (and it never is).

  • USA buyer here, I always buy from Sweetwater if possible. The fact I have had the same person as my sales rep for many years tells me they are paying these people well and it is a decent place to work. When you call other places, the person on the phone is like "Bro, I am making minimum wage. What do you want from me?". SW always goes the extra mile to make sure I am happy.

    That said, SW annoys me with the Google Ads following me around for weeks after I look at something. You looked at a Kemper, here are Kemper ads for the next 3 weeks. Hope it wasn't a Xmas present because now everyone in your house is getting these ads. Some days I want to move to Europe, you guys dont seem to put up with this crap as much.

    I wonder how much of a difference it is to buy from Kemper direct. Seems like most sales rep configs would have the german sales rep firm making money from the sale. Of course that would be closer to 5% then the higher numbers a seller would make. Interesting topic. For me, it would be dumb since they would have to mail across the globe. Someone will eat that cost.

    I purchased my Kemper from Guitar Center (in town) in case I wanted to return it. When I was unhappy, GC would not take it back. So that back fired. I then bought my Helix from Sweetwater, so you lost a sale GC nice job. I try to never buy from GC ever. Musicians Friend purchased them and are slowly making them better but they are still my last choice.

    I buy Sweetwater or MF Stupid Deal. MF has taken care of me in the past very well, but dont have the depth of help SW has.

    I have a local shop I try to buy from first, to help them. But they rarely have what I am looking for. So I end up buying like 2% of my stuff there :( I may make donations of old stuff there later :)

  • I've had my Sweetwater "sale's engineer" for years also and I wish they would change me. The guy chooses a headshot photo where he looks like Hitler, with the haircut and stache. Like WTF.

    I always call the mainline to avoid his ass but they always try connect me back to him, ugh

    I've got $10,000 worth of product in my cart, and he's like "the best I can do is 50 bucks off".

    Meanwhile, guitar center has ALWAYS treated me well

  • I think GC gets as seriously bad rap. For reasons they deserve and others they don't.

    I've been to Sweetwater and it is *very* impressive. Besides the music store, there are recording studio(s), auditorium(s), they have an on-site medical clinic, fitness facilities, cafeteria....and then you get to the warehouse. All of Sweetwater's reps are in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's a place to have a career and be proud of.

    Guitar Center's model and clientele is very different. New and inexperienced players aren't going to be all that comfortable spending money to buy gear they've never used or laid eyes on. They don't know what they don't know. No, GC's people aren't as well versed as Sweetwater's. How could they be?

    GC employs 10,000 people at over 300 locations. Sweetwater has 2,300, with nearly all in one place.

  • Same here. I don't really like or need the whole "sales engineer" model. That's why most of my online purchases are at Musician's Friend / AMS / Zounds. I see it, I buy it, they send it. No phone calls. No emails. Sweetwater is a last resort if i can't find it elsewhere or their price is significantly cheaper (and it never is).

    If you call your sales "engineer" ( how are you an engineer without an engineering degree?) he/she will NEVER be in. He's/She's the one that will be calling you asking if you want anything though. I don't know why they bother "assigning" you one.

  • GC used to be glorious in the 80s. All kinds of used deals. I loved the one in Chicago on Milwaukee. I always found something used I HAD to have. Most of the GCs now are rubber stamp box stores that all sell the same very limited selection of very common amps and tons of student level guitars. 6 people working none which can answer technical questions. I really don't need them , I usually know more about the gear I am looking for than they do and I'll be telling them the features.

    They will only give you like 40% 50% on used gear and sell it for twice as much. So if you have an item that they will sell for $1,000.00 they will only give you $500.00 for it. You'll never get $700.00 for it even though they would clear $300.00 cash, they will not budge even if you used the money to buy something else that they would also make a markup on, they have to make a set percentage coming and going. But at least you can walk in/ trade in (albeit at a loss) there.

    Generally if a store won't give me a good deal on my trade, I'll buy online and sell online. If they won't deal with me, I won't deal with them.