That's the way it should be. I think most stores take them out of the box and put them right on the wall. And if you get a lower end guitar it had minimal if any set up done at the factory.

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Stagemaster
Roadhouse Strat
Epi Traditional Pro Les Paul
Ovation Celeb
Esteban Celestial Night(nicely tweeked)
Blackheart tube amp

Right, but most genuine high-end techs are paid in piece work as subcontractors where the store surely doesn't pay them an hourly wage. See, anyone who is really worth their stuff as a tech is usually not on the store's payroll. So, the money would have to come directly out of the store's pocket to maintain these instruments and this is how stuff falls into disrepair because many owners are not going to pay a tech per guitar to do the entire shop's inventory even if it is once every two weeks. At best, if they know a customer is very serious about a purchase, they may have the tech tweak the subject of interest guitar. Lastly, and this wouldn't really fly to any extent either, the tech and/or shop owner would have to constantly be filling out paperwork after the fact per instrument in an attempt to back charge Fender for warranty work which of course, Fender may or may not approve. Now if the owner happens to be a competent tech or outright hires one, that's a different story but these situations are becoming more and more scarce these days. YMMV.

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You dig?

Martain they already make dealers jump through hoops to stock the stuff. Both Gibson and Fender specify that a seller must receive special training to sell and maintain their guitars. At the sellers cost. The least either party could do is make sure that they are showing good examples instead of dog eared near repulsive things. (Yes I know that description is too harsh)

the issue i have when at a guitar shop is the number of people in the store playing guitars off the rack who have absolutely NO INTENTION of buying the guitar. they use the store like kids at a playground. by the time somebody who's serious about buying a guitar comes in the store, everything on the rack is used, dog-eared, and repulsive.
when i bought my strat, it was at a second-hand shop, so i knew i was getting a used guitar. i saw the one i wanted, asked the store owner about it, told him i was interested in buying it, asked his permission to play it, then i bought it. i didn't hammer away at everything else in the store just for fun... (although he did let me play a vintage strat he just got in... his suggestion, not mine).

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Having someone set up your guitar is akin to " Drivin Miss Daisy. "
On your very first guitar, Yes... but if you want to reach your best, dialing in your own set up yourself is priceless. Thru adjustments you will find your own preferences.

When you set up your own guitars, you become aware of anything offline and can zero in to the problem quickly. Critical if you'r playing live. When someone sets up your guitars and something goes wrong, it isn't always easy to locate the remedy.

When I ski-raced, the only person who prepped my boards were me, I knew exactly how my skis would react before even sliding five feet.
I had my skis tuned a few times and every time, they were just slightly off .

A guitar is similar in that it should perform as an extension of your personality, not someone else's interpretation.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

All shops I no offer a free set up. That said I seldom buy anything on display unless vintage, get into the back room an open the boxes of new stuff and check them out. If they know you are a buying customer they have no problem with that. In fact the last three Fenders I have bought come from looking through a few boxes of new ones for each. Then I hit BUTTER!!!! Thats the one!!!!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Frankie

I know what you mean, but how would you differentiate between the buyers and the try'ers?
You have to have both. Of my guitars the best ones I've bought, I rolled up straight off a building site. Half covered in plaster, mud and blood. I certainly didn't look like I was going to splurge a wad on a bit of wood.

I really understand your point though. It must be a source of eternal frustration for the shop owners. But any good salesperson will tell you that on their part, presentation is everything.So really it's in their own interests to make sure the guitars are presentable. It would be better for everyone, the buyer, seller and manufacturer.

From a dealer's point of view, financially and practically, it is tough to keep up with perfectly tweaked guitars at all times. This is not to say that it can't be done but in today's economy, well, enough said.

As has also been asked, how to separate the buyers from the wankers? Well, when one opens a shop to the general public, one really can't refuse to let anyone play their guitars without good cause. This is a problem where as we all know, many a beautiful guitar gets slowly ruined or allowed to slowly slip into disrepair. This is why so many want to try an instrument 'straight out of the box from the factory'. I must admit, I prefer it this way myself.

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You dig?

Yeah you have to let people play guitars,but I have been in the Nashville GC and seen teen age kids who the employees say come in every other day and play for the fun of it...and never buy anything...at some point I've wondered if they ever tell them to either buy something or stay out...guess not.

Today's " Serial Sampler " may very well be tomorrow's buyer, as much as it is detrimental, if a shop shuts out certain people it would be negative on customer relations.
That being said, as any employee could always politely tell them that this is also a business and perhaps renting an instrument ( elsewhere if need be ) would be preferable.
You certainly would not be able to walk into a Porche, Audi or Mercedes dealership and take a car out for a drive everyday, once Yes but the 2nd or 3rd time the dealership would ask if you were intent on buying, please return when you are serious. Polite but the point is made.

However it seems that Guitar Center's allow quite a bit of leeway since their pricepoint is much lower than smaller shops due to their volume of merchandise they move out the door.
The downside is that I've played a nice $1,400 Strat Deluxe or a $2,500 Taylor only to return weeks later and see that both instruments are in deplorable condition.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

i do most of my shopping at "mom and pop" shops. the disadvantage they have is that there is usually not enough money to have a guitar on the shelf for display and 10 others in the box in the back room. usually what you see is what they have, and the majority of their stock is in great condition.
it's the "big guys" like GC, daddy's, and the like that have huge volume that seem to turn into playgrounds with staff that only cares how much time there is before break.
the smaller shops, the owner shows up an hour before the store opens and is available all day... and will probably do a really nice job setting the guitar up to spec before he sends you home with it. seems there's more respect in shops like that.

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Of the shops I frequently visit, Ray Mullins Music in Mass., Wakefield music in Wakefield R.I., Empire guitars in Providence R.I. as well as the G.C.'s in both CT and R.I.
Yes, I prefer the smaller shops and prefer to buy from the " Mom & Pops " but for selection viewing, it is difficult to beat a Guitar Center, however, it is often that I walk into a Guitar Center and leave, within a few minutes, as the cacophony of white noise is intolerable. Not a pleasant place to sample a guitar thus the Mom an Pop's are much more in line to actually sample a " MUSICAL" Instrument. ( I'm sure I'll get crucified by that viewpoint )
Contrarily to the marketing, Guitar Centers are about volume sales rather than personal and intimate experiences.
But I have had good experiences there, the key in those instances was to interact with a salesperson who not only is a musician but is also passionately knowledgeable about the instruments. ( A tall order when you consider the revolving door aspect of Big Box employee's.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

That's me

I research, visit and play the guitar's I have interest in whenever I feel fit to do so. One employee was starting to get b*tchy around me and I politely said , Listen I'm here to buy the best instrument I can find and YOU just lost your commission. because it happened to be the day i was dropping 6K on music equipment hahahahaha

So i went up to the new kid at the store and said hey want to make some money, come with me brand new full stack two guitars and some pedals and cables later, the first salesman looked a bit pale, as i winked at him and walked out with my stuff.

after that i have never had an issue at the music store i got to, they don't come over to me, cause they know that i am there fir something specific and if i need help i'll ask.

But ya I play everything if i do or do not have intent on buying, because after i play something i may not be wanting to buy, it may change my mind and then i go from "the dude thats in here playing everything everyday" to "the dude that actually buys it"

i go to daddy's in boston which is right across the street from berklee college of music. seems every kid who has an hour or two to kill between classes says "think i'll go to daddy's and play with their toys."
no intention of buying, just killin' time with someone else's stuff.
difference is... you were at the store to buy, you just weren't sure what it was going to be yet.

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haha yeah your right. I also hate when the 13-15 year old kids come strolling in 3 or 4 at a time so buddy can say "hey look at what i can play" as he rips out an absolutely vile version of the intro to thunderstruck or stairway to heaven. then hangs the freshly greased up let over smoke smelling 2K guitar back on the wall. then they point at the $249.00 strat pack and say " yup thats the one i'm going to get mom to buy me" Then what the hell where you doing with the 2K guitar in your grimmy mits then!!..??...


i feel your pain...