How do you try out a guitar at The Guitar Center?

Question

If I go to the Guitar Center can I take a guitar off the wall and plug it into an amp and try it out? Or does a salesman have to do it? And if I want to try another one do I have to wait for a salesman to help me again? And then when I'm done do I put the guitar(s) back myself or do I leave it there and walk away or do I have to wait for a salesman again.

I see people trying out guitars, but I never see how they get the guitars and what they do after they're done trying them out.

Answer 1

The one and only time I've been to a Guitar Center, I was trying out "high end" acoustics. I asked a salesman for help and he showed me into a special room where they kept the good ones. He then left me alone to try any models I wanted. There were several other musicians in there and we felt free to pass the guitars around, try others, and hang them back up.



Music shops...and Guitar Center in particular are used to seeing young people come in and paw all over their merchandise. This must make store owners nervous. You can demonstrate your responsibility by approaching a salesperson and asking permission to try some guitars. Then take your cues from him or her. My experience in other shops is that if the guitar is easy to hang back up, you should do it. If it's too high on the wall to safely replace without a ladder, leave it for the salesman...but let them know you are done and the guitar is ready to hang back up.



I'm a middle aged adult, so it's probable that salespeople feel comfortable giving me more space than if I was a teen. As with all types of etiquette, err on the side of caution and be courteous. If you act like a teen showoff who just wants to come in and hammer out loud chords on their floor models, don't expect to get the same treatment as a responsible adult / potential buyer. Here's what you should do:



1. Ask permission. Tell the salesperson what you are interested in, and that you'd like to try several guitars out for comparison.



2. The salesperson will probably get the first guitar for you, and help you plug it in to an amp. Take your cues from there. If they hover over you, you'll know they're not comfortable with you self-serving. Handle the guitar better than you would your own. If you demonstrate that you aren't going to wreck any of the merchandise, the salespeople are more likely to give you some space.



3. When you're finished with the first guitar, if the salesperson has wandered off, hang the guitar back up if you can safely do so. If you can easily get the other guitar you want to try, get it yourself. If not, approach a salesperson.



4. When you are done, it's a matter of courtesy to thank the salesperson and let them know if you're interested in those guitars. After all, that's why you came in...to try and potentially buy a guitar right?



Just by asking the questions here, you've shown that you know how to be courteous and responsible...an increasingly rare quality. What you're asking really is whether it's ok to suspend that etiquette at a Guitar Center. I think in your heart, you know the answer.

Answer 2

I don't recommend doing this, but if I were to do it I'd do it like this: Bring an empty hard case into the store and just walk around with it, preferably on a busy day. Pick up some guitars, play them here and there, hang out for a while so that you don't look suspicious. In your guitar case, you should have brought with you a set of Alan wrenches and a Philips screwdriver. When no one is looking after you've been playing around with a guitar for a while, unscrew the pre-amp and battery pack ports on the back of the body to check for hidden security devices. If there's nothing there, put them back on, put it in your case, ask about a different guitar and get to the point to where you're haggling with the clerk, but at last minute decide not to buy it or put it on a payment plan, thinking you'll come back later after you've thought it over. Then calmly walk out with the stolen guitar in your empty case without them knowing. NOTE: Guitar Center carries major-expensive materials and they're a huge (and pretty much only) corporate branch for musicians. I'm sure they have someone watching a surveillant camera all the time, so keep your eyes open for those. Also if the security device looks electronic then just don't even try it. Guitar Center's are all different in terms of dress code, some require their employees to wear uniform, some don't. Also, their Loss Prevention employees I'm positive just dress casually like customers in order to blend in, so be extremely damn careful. If you get caught opening the guitar up, tell them you just wanted to see the specs and conditions of the preamp inside for yourself, and then tell them you didn't know that you weren't supposed to do that. If that happens, they'll usually just ask you to ask them for it next time and let you off with a stern warning. Likewise, if you get caught doing that, just give up entirely because they probably will blacklist you as someone who's suspicious. If they discover or question you about the empty case, tell them you were thinking about getting another case, and you wanted it to be about the same brand or quality and brought it for show and comparison to other products. Again, I advise you very strongly NOT to do this, but if you do then here's my disclaimer: I take no responsibility for your actions and/or incrimination. All I've done is provide you with an idea of thoughts and information, I AM NOT suggesting you actually do this, I am rather just telling you that if I were to do it, then that is how I would have planned it out.

Answer 3

You can ask the peeps who work there to strum all of the strings. If that makes the peeps mad, check to see if all of the strings are tightened.