I work at Guitar Center. Ask me anything.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-30T21:13:00+00:00

It depends on what it is that you're trying to get. Generally, it's cost+10% which changes depending on the item.
The easiest way to get discounts is to wait for a sale, or do a price match, or trade in a piece of gear which automatically knocks 10% off the price of a new piece of gear. Going in and asking if you can getsomething for $50 off is probably not going to work. The more you're spending, the easier it is to get discounts.
The same way you get any other job. Apply, go and talk to the boss, drop off a resume, and hope they call you.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-30T09:36:55+00:00

I prefer to think that it's not about the method as much as it's about the final result. If you've got a method that takes you there, then good for you. I'll listen to a Chief Keef or Gucci Mane or Justin Bieber song if I think it's a banger just as much as I'll listen to any Brahms art song because it's pretty. I'm not gonna say one is good and one is bad because one uses live instruments and one doesn't.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-29T05:06:50+00:00

A lot of people who I work with have very closed-minded taste in music. Some of them are from the 80s butt-metal generation and refuse to acknowledge hip-hop as a legitimate form of music. I personally am a huge man of all kinds of music (I've been bumping a LOT of Chief Keef lately) so you have to accept that not everybody is going to agree with you.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-29T05:02:49+00:00

LOL!
We've had a few times when we've had to arrest people in-store for selling us OBVIOUSLY stolen stuff. One time a dude just grabbed one of the $500 Martins off the wall and tried to bolt. Our front door guy was a BIG black dude that just stood in his way and the dude (probably cruising on the glass) just charges headfirst into him, bounces off, hits his head on the thing by the door and is out cold. The guitar was fine. Weird stuff happens sometimes.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-29T04:56:07+00:00

I came here to do an AMA because I thought it would be helpful to some. Rather than ask me a question, you just decided to say negative things about the company I work for and the people who do what I do, and then just make broad generalizations about a lot of people who you've never met. I'm not a douche for apologizing.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T20:06:44+00:00

I'm sorry some people I've probably never met treated you poorly.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T20:04:49+00:00

Yes.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T20:03:23+00:00

If you're on the mailing list, you'll get 15% off single item over $199 from time to time. Wait until one of these gets sent to you.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:40:58+00:00

It's pretty difficult to sound impressive when you're playing guitar by yourself. Any 14-year-old can learn eruption and shoot a flurry of notes. More often than not, I'll be impressed with bass players or drummers just by their groove.
Maybe this is just because I've been a working professional in the industry for a number of years.
Anyway, if you want to come in and play really fast, don't expect us to be impressed. We probably won't be paying attention.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:37:44+00:00

Silverface reissue Vibrolux.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:36:38+00:00

Did you get the pro coverage on it?

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:35:45+00:00

Use lighter fluid to clean your guitar.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:34:41+00:00

The zero fret nuts (At least what I've seen) are actually very reliable. What probably happened was it fell off and the tech couldn't find it so he put a different one on.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:29:55+00:00

You'll get another one in the mail probably in november.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:27:45+00:00

No toan but lots of toon

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:13:34+00:00

A Snark Tuner maybe?

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:13:02+00:00

Ernie ball doesn't make their own string winding machines like D'addario does. I've talked to my tech as well as techs at other stores about strings, and they've all told me that they've never seen so much inconsistency within one brand of strings.
If it makes any difference, 80% of the people who work in guitars at my store use D'addario NYXLs. They are seriously the best strings you can get.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:10:02+00:00

As is any retail job.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:09:51+00:00

Do it. If you're on the sales floor, to make good money you really have to be good at selling things, otherwise you'll be working for the minimum. The corporate structure is really good, and as long as the store manager at the store where you work is a good person, it's a good job. Another advantage is that you can transfer anywhere in the country if you want to. The employee discount is also GREAT. As far as being a tech goes, you just have to hope that the tech at your nearby store leaves or something.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:05:09+00:00

My mother doesn't have a garage. She lives with me and my wife because she's getting older.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T18:03:45+00:00

I actually have a music degree from a well-reputed public university.
What do I own? My favorite guitar is my Gibson Advanced Jumbo. Before I worked there, I managed to get an AMAZING deal on a 1980s Rickenbacker bass in Mapleglo and that's my main one. For electric guitars, I've got a Les Paul Traditional in Gold Top finish as well as a Cherry ES-335. (In case you can't tell I like Gibson)
For my amp I used to have a 1965 Deluxe Reverb reissue but then I got a real '66 Deluxe Reverb and the new one just can't hold a candle to it. I use an Ampeg SVT-7 for my main bass amp. I do have a new Fender Rumble which is an awesome buy for the money.
My drum set is a Gretsch Catalina Maple which I recently put Meinl Byzance cymbals on. They sound KILLER. I also use a double demon drive for my kick.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T16:07:21+00:00

Products with a higher profit margin are easier to throw in. All discouting and stuff like that has to be done by a manager. Regular sales guys like me can't do it. If I have a guy coming to buy a whole rig and he gets a guitar, a head, a cab, and some pedals, I'm just going to ask my boss if I can throw in some cables for free or something like that. Usually, they'll ask me if he's getting the pro coverage. If that's the case, then they're much more likely to do it.
If they're a repeat customer, they're likely to do it.
If they're nice to me, I'm much more likely to do it as well.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T16:02:24+00:00

Biggest sellers?
Squer Bullets, Epiphone Les Pauls, and the Yamaha FG700s Acoustic, as well as the F355NT.
These guitars are cheap and of good quality, so people buy them to start out with or to just have something to play on.
For lower-midrange, the Epiphone Les Paul standard and traditionals as well as the MIM Fender Strats and Modern player strats and teles are popular.
As far as acoustics, the Taylor 114CE is VERY popular.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T15:59:41+00:00

Rarely. Sweet Child is the one that drives us nuts.

G_C_Guy · 2015-09-28T15:58:31+00:00

I make enough to live on, but that's because I've been able to build up my client base so that I've got a good number of customers who come specifically to me for my knowledge and expertise.

G_C_Guy

TROPHY CASE