I went into my local Guitar center last night for a look around,
and tried many new guitars, mainly Strats, to only be disappointed in the playability of all.
i was thinking maybe if they had proper setups, that maybe they would sell more to beginners, not knowing about setups.
i was thinking that if this was my 1st guitar purchase, it would be very discouraging to pay so much for something that played so badly.
what are your thoughts on this.?
i know that it would take time to setup all the guitars, but if they spend a little effort, maybe the sales would improve.?
the salesman did tell me that they would setup the guitar for free if i bought the guitar.

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi

This is a sign of the times. The mindset of those who work in chain stores are the antithesis of SOME of the "Mom & Pop" establishments who will take that extra effort.

I have a feeling that "Mom & Pop" stores will all eventually die out and so, the chain store mentality shall ultimately be the norm. Even at this though, it is ultra rare to receive even a half way decent setup from most of these places. Unfortunately too, this includes many a setup from a "Mom & Pop" store with the best of intentions.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

I think that in too many cases the guitars on the rack are tuned (hopefully) and otherwise remain as they came from the factory. I have never bought a guitar that didn't get a bunch better after I went through the setup. It really doesn't take all that much to learn to do a basic setup but it can make a huge difference in how a guitar plays. The downside is that if you get one with a more seriious issue a good guitar tech is the only reasonable answer.

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Tom Hintz, owner
Geezerguitar.com
NewWoodworker.com
NewMetalworker.com

well said with the mom & pop stores,
I do remember when i 1st started playing, going into the local store,
picking up a gibson, or fender, and saying OMG, i'm in heaven.
that never happens these days, the 1st impression of a guitar to a beginner should be the same, not really these things play like this.?
if i owned a guitar store, i think the 1st impression should be very important,
you would want the player to not want to put it down, saying i got to have this.
instead of relying on your brand name to sell it. which in these days doesn't mean much.

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi

You walked into Guitar Center expecting to find guitars properly set up?

None of the local stores I go to does either. The only places that usually sets up guitars are usually small boutique stores that charge a premium for top-notch customer service.

Beginners rarely choose a guitar because of how it plays, so factory setup is generally sufficient. People who have been playing a while should be able to tell if a neck has potential regardless of a bad setup or not. No matter how well set up a guitar is, I always end up adjusting something to my liking... either flattening the relief up a little or adjusting bridge and pickup height, etc...

If you're going to GC and are serious about buying, bring in your own allen wrenches. As long as you know what you're doing I wouldn't expect a GC employee complaining about someone making a guitar more sell-able. lol

When it comes to buying guitars, Sweetwater is just great. They set up each guitar before they send it out. I got my Ibanez SR600 bass and my LP Studio from them and they were set up beautifully.

The Tele I got from Musicians friend was not in great shape. For amps and other things, get the best price. If you buy guitar online, go Sweetwater. They even have galleries of their guitars with the weight. I picked my bass and LP that way. Got exactly the one I wanted.

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I have some Fender gear.
(Telecaster, Jaguar, Villager 12 String. Mustang l, Bronco, SCX2, Rumble 350, HRDIII, Rumble 2x8 Neo Cab)
http://www.reverbnation.com/modwiz

The above statement is SO well worth repeating.

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You dig?

There´s exactly one guy doing setups on the guitars I purchase(if I do it online) - Guitarpoint in Germany. He´s doing a fantastic job (no xtra charge).
On the other hand my Antigua Stratocaster came with a perfect setup straight from the Fender factory (sealed and never opened box).
I don´t think any guitar center or store is doing setups on every guitar they get in (if any).

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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I love our local Mom & Pop store way better than GC. I do talk to the guitar tech at GC and he knows his craft. If you purchase a guitar there you can have him set it up before you leave which I think is an awesome policy. The guitars at our M&P store already do that and they try to keep their prices really close to GC. I always go there first because I think a great M&P needs to survive and so what if things cost a buck or two more, they are worth every penny!

I've said it before, in these pages, but I'll repeat it for the sake of the conversation. I consider a guitar on the wall as 'used' goods. A factory setup can hardly survive the abuse of the 'headbanger's weekend ball' which is why GC generally hangs the high end gear near the ceiling where, unfortunately, all the heat will rise to unless their HVAC is carefully balanced. They also have a Platinum Room for the same purpose. You'll never see the PRS and premium Les Pauls displayed where the proletarians can easily get their hands on them. I endeavor not to purchase guitars 'off the wall' unless I get a hefty discount. I prefer a guitar out of an unopened carton which I can have a tech set up for me.

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"Another day in paradise!"

+1

I concur with your "prognosis", Doc.



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

guitars have adjustments for a reason. But it and have them set it up how you like. I never expect a guitar off the rack to be just how I like it. But a quaility instrument will feel right if you like eevn with a semi decent set up. Have them make it perfect...they will

Right, every time that I test drive a car I have to adjust the seat and mirrors to my preference. Does anyone really believe that there is one setup for a guitar that will please everyone? Furthermore, what guitar can remain as it was at the factory after traveling through so many temperature/climate changes? It seems that some people just need to find a reason to complain.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

I have set up hundreds of Fenders over the years, mine as well as while I worked at a M&P store...and even with a great set up, over time and people banging away on them, they get knocked out sometimes, so I would not expect a guitar in GC to be set up well, while hanging on the wall. Most of the time, when we opened up new guitars we did a set up to factory specs and some were pretty close and some were just way out there...usually in the summer they were farther out of spec...must have been the heat and humidity!

When you bought the guitar, unless you refuesed it, we set everyone of them up if you had the time, if not, you could come back and drop it off and we'd do it then. We never had anyone complain about one of my set ups but I usually talked with the new owner and asked how they liked it...a few folks would request heavier gauge strings, etc., back then Fenders came with 9's from the factory.

FWIW

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Our local GC, which opened in time for Christmas in 2007, has just two of the original employees working there - I gave them both iTunes gift cards this year. One of the two is the manager of the guitar department and the other has drifted into the guitar tech position and has been handling that job for about a year and a half now.

Ian, the tech, does a very nice job of setting up guitars and when you go into the guitar area you will frequently see signs on empty hangers saying "This Guitar is Currently Being Set Up in the Tech Department." Ian usually has four or five guitars hanging by his bench, sometimes off the wall, sometimes trade-ins, sometimes new out of the box.

Any guitar that I have bought there in the last year and a half, be it new or used, has gone through Ian's hands before I hauled it out the door. Even if it comes off the Used Rack, Ian will usually remove the old strings, clean and polish the guitar and then put on new strings of my choice and give me a pretty darned good set up - all at No Charge!

Of course, I am a very, very good customer...

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963