I went to Guitar Center yesterday to try out a white Special. They had two white ones, a red one, and a sunburst. EVERY one of them was un-playable due to the necks having too much relief. The two white ones had sharp frets protruding from the sides, due to the dry heat maybe?

I so want to go back in there with my tool kit and give the guitars a much needed set up! How they sell anything is beyond me!

I do need them though, since the Olympic White is an FSR exclusive to GC. Hopefully, I can find a nice light weight model with a straight neck and frets that are not cutting my fingers!?

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

I've had better luck ordering blindly from their relative MF....

I bought a nice MIM Thursday. No issues and it plays micely.

The GC'S I've Been To Were Staffed By Stoner Kids. It's The Last Place I Ever Look.

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Vintage Hotrod '57 Strat, 81 G&L L2000 Series E Bass, Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp.

The sales guys at my GC are nice enough, but the guitars on display are never cared for, and if the Strats I tried were around for months, that would explain the shape they were in.

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

In Canada, the big retailer is Long & McQuade and it sounds like they're pretty much our version of Guitar Center. I would like to ask those guys if they've every heard of a humidifier because in the winter 4 out of 5 guitars you pick up on their salesfloor has fret sprout. Some so bad they're absolutely unplayable. Applies to both the Fenders and Gibsons I've picked up there.

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The ultimate Rolling Stones experience!
https://www.facebook.com/TheMainStreetExiles

my 010 american deluxe i bought at GC, i made dude go over it in front of me, and he still had it set up like $@!& when i left, lol..didnt take long to fix but CMON, thats your job...its my hobby/passion.. i need a job like that...im done at my local GC, brought my 88 strat am..standard in with a bass i wanted to have appraised..dude looks at my strat and say its a 84.. i said...no, ive had the neck off, and bought it in 88, its an 88. dude says" E stands for 80's 4..... 4 means 84...its and 84. " " I DO THIS FOR A LIVING, SEE THEM ALL THE TIME" my strat is a 88....lmao...pots are 88s...s# is an 88....i bought it new in 88???? lol

It's an 84 man, you must have forgot you went back in time before you bought it!

I think we look at guitars and guitar set up/repair as a hobby, a passion, or, for the gigging musician, an important part of making a living to pay the bills. The sales staff at big stores look at it as work, and a dead end kind of job. Different level of dedication I think!

So, it comes down to the store manager. As busy as they are, they need to make sure the humidifier is working, and that the guitar necks aren't bowed like a pretzel before customers pick them up. And, like in my case, if a customer wants to see a guitar, make sure the damned neck is OK - have the right allen wrench to fix it so the guitar is playable.

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

I wouldn't buy anything off the wall at GC anymore. Too much abuse and you never know who has been pawing at it. If I buy from them, it's online. You get a fresh guitar that way. That's been my experience at least.

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American Standard Strat, Sienna Sunburst
Gibson Les Paul, Desert Burst
Gibson SG '61 Reissue, Heritage Cherry

True, but since I never buy NEW guitars, I would want to try one out in the store first to make sure I got a lighter one (I tried American Specials that were much heavier yesterday), etc. Worth it over the benefits of ordering a new one, IMHO.

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod

AndyK,

Sorry for your experience. It seems GC's are kinda hit or miss when it comes to maintaining their floor stock. I personally do not use the one that is close to me for this reason. Hopefully you can find some better examples of the American Special. I abosolutely love mine. I have a CAR SSS that's great.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Ditto to all of this. I bought my American Standard brand new in January 1989. It has a E4 serial number, it was definitely made in late 1988 before being shipped to the UK.

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'88 USA Standard Strat
'85 Squier MIJ Tele
'10 Schecter Omen Extreme 6

Thanks, hopefully not all Specials have protruding fret ends and warped necks! I should go to a different GC and try one, maybe like you said, it's hit or miss. I'm set on a white one, so I am stuck going to a GC that has one.

I had to think for a minute, CAR = candy apple red! Got it!

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'10 American Special Strat
'02 Les Paul R8
'08 Charvel US San Dimas
'85 Jackson Soloist

Splawn Quick Rod