Guitar Center steel guitar strings story

[George Kimery]

I went to my local Guitar Center today to buy a set of C6 strings. I couldn't find them among the rack full of strings, so I got a salesman to help me. I told him I couldn't find the steel strings. He asked if I was looking for regular steel or acoustic bronze. OK, my fault, I wasn't specific enough. I said for a steel guitar. He said he had never seen a steel guitar before, only wood. I said, no the guitar is not made of steel. It's a pedal steel guitar. He said is it a lap steel. I said, no, pedal steel. He said he had never heard of that kind of guitar and wanted to know why I couldnt just use regular guitar strings. I said there are 10 strings in a set and the string gauges are different, and if they are not designed for pedal steel guitars the strings will break. He said they didn't have any strings like that. I told him the local Morrell's Music has them and a half dozen brands to choose from. I'll just go to Morrell's.

We are odd ducks and assume everybody knows what a pedal steel is. A salesman at Guitar Center didn't have a clue what a pedal steel guitar was.
There is something to be said about dealing with your local store instead of mega chain.

[Ian Rae]

There is something to be said about dealing with your local store instead of mega chain.

That applies to most things

[David Ball]

Morrell's isn't your average local guitar shop either. Joe Morrell, founder of the "Grand Guitar" (a guitar shaped guitar museum alongside I-81 in Bristol--recently razed) always catered to the local music scene, which includes everything from steel guitar to rock n roll. Great stores.

Ciderville Music, in Claxton, TN outside of Knoxville is another one of those relics of local music marketing/gathering places. There was a time when Ciderville was one of the biggest Martin guitar sales venues in the world.

The day is coming when those stores will be gone and it will truly be a sad day.

Dave

[Dennis Montgomery]

A salesman at Guitar Center didn't have a clue what a pedal steel guitar was.

This doesn't surprise me a bit

[Lee Baucum]

Yeah, I just love Guitar Center.

Click Here

[Kevin Fix]

Their was a time that I would go to my local Mom and Pop music store and buy my strings individual. Most of the stores in my area sold Ernie Ball, which was ok with me. I used the Nickel Wounds on both necks. I get my strings from b0b now. I use the NYXL's. I have been using them for two years now. I used Ernie Balls for around 35 years. I am a firm believer in NYXL's. OEM Sho Bud P/UP's, metal necks, Hilton volume pedal, Steel Guitar Black Box and a NV 112. Nothing else but good amp settings. The Shift knob is your best friend!!!!

[George Kimery]

I order Live Steel strings from Sid Hudson's daughter. I had two sets of Live Steel E9th strings. I sold my Zum D-10. I needed new strings on it for the buyer. No time to order strings. So I put a set of my Live Steel on the E9th
neck and GHS from Morrell's on the C6th neck.That was the best I could do locally with a tight time line.

[Duane Becker]

Same thing happened to me at Guitar Center several years ago now. Guy didn't know what I was asking when I asked for pedal steel string sets. I also told him I'd make a set with gauges from the Ernie Ball singles. He wouldn't sell the single gauges to me. Told me I didn't understand the workings of a guitar. That I needed steel strings and that the pedal reference dealt with the effect pedals.
Asked me to bring the guitar in so that the tech could restring it for me.
...This went on for several minutes all the while the guy was digging himself a hole.
Funny thing is the steel guitar is not that obscure. Its been around for years now, used in rock music too. I don't go to Guitar Center anymore. The loud punk music they play constantly over their in house music is enough to keep me out!

[Brooks Montgomery]

For all intents and purposes, Guitar Center is a “box store”. Box stores destroyed specialty shops. Now Amazon (and e-commerce) is destroying box stores. Soon you will see a major commercial real estate crisis equal to the home mortgage crisis. Empty malls and strip malls. Some think that the empty malls of America may get retrofitted as apartments and condos. It will be interesting to see if those dense-pack malls-turned-to-apartments creates a new retail scenario. Unfortunately, it will probably just be drones and robo-devices delivering more Amazon shipments.

Regardless, retail is tough, the margins are thin, and so it doesn’t pay well.
And when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

[scott murray]

I had a Guitar Center gift card and went in hoping to order some of the NYXL strings but they told me the only pedal steel strings they could order were Ernie Balls. no thanks

[Steve Spitz]

Not often , but on occasion they might get an obscure used item that has no appeal to six stringers, but attractive to steel players. Not often.

I hate the place with a passion, and for too many reasons.

Regardless, I found a smokin deal on a very lightly used amp in another store, bought it and had it shipped to my local store. I even had the right to try it and return it if I didn’t care for it. I’ve got to give them some credit for that.

They recently posted a “buy your gear “ day . Waited till players were unemployed and broke , so they could buy your gear for next to nothing, and profit off your misfortune on the used market. Not exactly endearing to their customer base.

Generally, a really annoying place . Either that or I’m getting old.

[Dennis Montgomery]

Generally, a really annoying place . Either that or I’m getting old.

I found it annoying when I was 20 and still annoying at 60

Honestly though I haven't set foot in a GC since around 2005.

Back in the early 2000's they greatly changed their overall customer contact approach to an overly laid back, don't contact a customer unless they contact you first. In the pre 2000 days, they were like sharks at a used car lot. I'd walk in and get pounced on by sales people. And if they didn't track me down, guitars/basses/keys didn't have price tags so I'd eventually have to get into a price haggle discussion. The biggest sales scam they'd use is to first ask you, "how much do you want to pay for this?" Since nothing had a price tag, they made you name the opening price. Then came the, "I have to go in the back and run the deal by my manager first" trick. Then I'd be standing there for 10 minutes waiting...I guess to play the game of making me think I was getting a great deal because my sales guy was fighting for it with a manager.

The great equalizer was when catalog companies like Musicians Friend or American Musical Supply came on the scene in the late 80's. Then if I found a piece of gear I wanted at GC I'd bring in my Musicians Friend catalog and tell them to match the price or I'm out of here

[Justin Emmert]

Not surprising. They also do not carry Elixir bass strings for 5-string basses. Elixirs and 5 string basses are very common.

[Ron Pruter]

I assume they won't know what a PSG is. George, I'm. Just curious. May I ask how old you are and how long have you been playing PSG? Ron

[Bob Womack]

Morrell's isn't your average local guitar shop either. Joe Morrell, founder of the "Grand Guitar" (a guitar shaped guitar museum alongside I-81 in Bristol--recently razed) always catered to the local music scene, which includes everything from steel guitar to rock n roll. Great stores. Dave

I know that place. It sat just South of the Tennessee border. I'd see it every time I came back home to Tennessee.

Bob

[Larry Dering]

Gosh, I'll never get strings for my Zither, or Autoharp. What's a guy to do? I have pictures of pedal steels on my phone and links to videos galore. Can't we take the time to teach and educate our fellow man instead of criticism? If they don't know, then it's our opportunity to grab a soapbox and preach. How else will they learn. (Most Autoharps have 36-37 strings).

[Jack Stoner]

GC is not the place to go for Pedal Steel specific items. Most of the people there look at you with glassy eyes if you mention Pedal Steel. GC owns Musicians Friend and Music 123 and maybe others.

Most local music stores do not stock Pedal Steel items such as strings. An exception is a local music store, Bondz Music in Wildwood, FL. They stock pedal steel strings (SIT), Goodrich volume pedals and parts, a Peavey dealer and usually has a couple Peavey steel amps. They usually have a couple of used Pedal Steels for sale. The owner Johnny Bondz (actually "Bondzinski") is a steel player and was formerly a salesman for Gretsch/Sho-Bud. The store manager, Jr Reich, also plays steel and does some steel repair.

[Peter Leavenworth]

I almost never go to GC for anything but, as Steve Spitz pointed out, sometimes their ignorance of used gear can work in your favor. Some 40 years ago I brought my Sho-Bud Maverick into a branch of a large music franchise where they had a '60s Sho-Bud D-8. It hadn't been played, tuned or adjusted for some time and no one there had any idea how to sell it. I pointed out that the Maverick was all tuned up and walked out with the D-8 - sure wish I still had it!
Pete

[Bill C. Buntin]

Ive had similar experiences with GC. They are kind of "gypy" in my opinion

[Dave Mudgett]

GC owns Musicians Friend and Music 123 and maybe others.

Woodwinds and Brass, I think Music and Arts (not sure about that one though, although they do seem to be somehow related).

Some 40 years ago I brought my Sho-Bud Maverick into a branch of a large music franchise where they had a '60s Sho-Bud D-8. It hadn't been played, tuned or adjusted for some time and no one there had any idea how to sell it. I pointed out that the Maverick was all tuned up and walked out with the D-8 ...

Yeah, I've gotten some crazy deals at big-chain stores on stuff they didn't know what to do with.

Not exactly sure why anybody thinks stores for whom steel players make up 0.01% of their clientele ought to have a significant inventory of steel related stuff. If they did, most of it would just sit there for years and finally some shark would come in and buy it for practically nothing. I've seen it. Supply follows demand.

[Steve Knight]

Not a surprising GC story. I'm pretty sure they used to carry a Carter or GFI student model online at one point.

I didn't know that Joe Morrell founded the Grand Guitar store. I drove past it often, but never got the chance to go inside. I was in Bristol for the Rhythm & Roots Festival a bunch; but, they always had that store closed so the employees could attend/perform at the festival. I did buy a strap and strings at the Morrell Music store downtown, the older one, before the most recent one opened.

[David Ball]

I bought a very early fancy tricone National from Joe Morrell. It had been hanging in the Grand Guitar for years in museum section--one of the earliest ones with the wooden sound well, flat back and woven soldered strips in the soundholes. Nice guitar!

Dave

[Dennis Montgomery]

GC owns Musicians Friend and Music 123 and maybe others.

I believe they bought Musicians Friend in the early 2000's...didn't know they also bought 123. Oh well, the best way to eliminate a competitor that's better than you is to buy them out

At that time I moved my online buying to Sweetwater. Their prices are as low as MF/GC but their customer service is outstanding. I've had the same account rep out there for at least 10 years now. Every time I purchase something with an online transaction, he follows up with a phone call to see if I have any questions about the gear. He always asks if I'd like to follow up with him after I've used it for awhile and let him know what I think. Of course if the gear doesn't work out, returns are no problem. Excellent customer service.

If Sweetwater doesn't have what I need then I'll look at Musicians Friend or Sam Ash - though I've had poor experiences with both. MF with their inaccurate online inventory system showing something's in stock when it really isn't. Sam Ash with doing an absolutely horrible packing job of an Epiphone Tony Iommi signature model. It was so bad the guitar nearly fell out of the shipping box. If absolutely no one has it, then I'll look at GC online as a last resort

[Dennis Bailey]

Can't we take the time to teach and educate our fellow man instead of criticism? If they don't know, then it's our opportunity to grab a soapbox and preach. How else will they learn.

Larry, criticism is much more fun and takes way less energy than teaching......

just joking, if they showed interest, I would teach them about the Steel.

[Gene Tani]

I think everybody has had experiences w/GC associates that can be described as tragi-comic or something like that.

I was however, talking to one a few years back, he told me in high school he was practicing bassoon for at least a couple hours a day. I said so "you wanted to go to Julliard?" and he said "I did go to Julliard"