United States

Over-reacting? If you don't mind being robbed, by all means...(Pick any 1 piece of significant equipment, check price on internet, now check GC's pricing.. If you don't understand that, there's nothing for you to learn in this thread.)

If you don't need honesty out of the entity you utilize when you are purchasing musical equipment, you're either a novice, a dullard or loaded.

I know that my VOX Mini 3 did not get the greatest reviews by some posters here, but it does elsewhere on the web, it sounded so good that I could have sold it yesterday when playing it for more than what it books out at.. tha't how good it sounded when setup at a grocery store parking lot peddling all sorts of stuff.. it was 99 when I purchased it at sweetwater, but it books at 139 ..go figure..

Is this the one? Or a longer one, with just the girl rockin'out on electric guitar and the guy on acoustic guitar? I didn't think it was that bad. Dumb? Yes. Evil incarnate? No.
http://youtu.be/OV9XXmK0qAU
I used to go there (before the horrible economy found it's way into my wallet) and spend lots of $$$ on music gear. Now I have a kid, almost no music goin' on and no disposable income for that stuff. I prefer Sam Ash, though. I always feel less like I'm the dinner in the shark tank, when I take my biz there.

I wasn't aware of it, but I guess some new holding company bought out the majority of GC/MF from Bain Capitol. The employees seem happy as it means less pressure on the stores.

If I have a choice, I'll buy form Sweetwater, but frankly, I don't have a choice if I want to go try a piece of equipment out in person, there are very few places in the area that have what I want in stock.
yesterday the GC in Nashua price-matched a set of JBL monitors for me. Had them in stock, no sales tax. And if I decide not to keep them, I've got 30 days to return them.

Mike

Have you heard of or tried out the Bose PA systems? Sort of pricy but my brother says they are awesome and yet very small profile. I hope they are - lightweight gear is best for me these days, sadly.

Talbot

Mike

Have you heard of or tried out the Bose PA systems? Sort of pricy but my brother says they are awesome and yet very small profile. I hope they are - lightweight gear is best for me these days, sadly.

Talbot

I assume you mean the L1 and L2? Depending on your needs, they can be ok, but I don't really like the sound of an acoustic guitar through them. Possibly if you use their special mixer which has all sorts of DSP in it. Limited inputs, so you need some kind of external mixer unless you are just 1 guitar and one mic.
At $1000 for the L1, I'm not interested - for that I could get a QSC powered speaker that would blow the Bose out of the water.
Mackie has just come out with a new line of Thump powered speakers, so the old ones have been drastically reduced in price ($200 for the 12", new). I've heard the Alto T series 10" and 12" are perfect for acoustic, too, and the 10" is very lightweight and usually sells for $200 used. I don't really need PA speakers at this point, but it would be good to have some.

I shop for gear at lots of different places and look for good value for my hard earned $$. I try not to let silly ads get under my skin, but then I rarely watch TV these days.

My latest find at GC: EV ZLX-12P powered speakers. They offer top shelf QSC sound quality at $399 ea. They simply sound fantastic as Main PA or floor monitors and only weigh 34lbs. A lotta bang for the buck. I recommend you give them a listen if you are in the market for quality sound gear. Compare side by side with Mackie Thump, Mackie SRM, and QSC to see if you agree.

I'm doing business with a face, usually someone specific. I prefer it that way. I shake their hand when I arrive and before I leave. I say thank you when it's over and I mean it.

When I come in, I am not f**k around. I need the part or the piece I need, often YESTERDAY.
I go to my face. If that face does not know what it's doing, it has no use to me. NEXT SHOP.

"Know the product", "price competitively", "do not rip off the consumer"; any derivation of these 3 minor clauses results in NO SALE and quite possibly excommunication, as their are tons of music stores in the tri-state area.

There is no reason to deal with people that don't know what they are doing or entities that think it's funny to price gouge you, but you can do whatever suits you...I always do, so should you.

I don't let people get under my skin, especially those that waste money by being foolish. The 1950's are over..let the buyer beware, just like all the would be mouthpieces that throw money away because they can. Although I think a lot of that is merely a foray to try and regain some long lost youth or vigor they do not currently possess.

The people that made that commercial are marketing genuises and they achieved their goal. They got milage out of that commercial from people "whining" about it. Whether you Like the commercial or not,it kept the name Guitar Center on peoples minds.
With such a simple little commercial,they manipulated a mass of people to talk about them through the power of "Word Of Mouth". Those people actually helped GC and they dont even realize it...HA HA!