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Post by jubbo on Dec 29, 2017 18:10:53 GMT
Hi there. New member here.
I have been playing acoustic for a while and just love acoustic guitars. I have been thinking about my next purchase for some time. There are a number of brands I have never tried, so I have researched the likes of Furch, Larrivee and Maton. As well as looking at what the usual suspects could offer....
I won't name the store, but I was hoping to be able to try a few and see what guitar felt like the (next) one.... I drove a considerable distance and arrived with anticipation. I was greeted with... Well I wasn't even greeted, I was ignored for 30 mins, asked for some help, was told someone would be with me in a minute.. 15 past. So I just left.
I know to them it is just Friday. But to me it was a day I had been looking forward to for a while. The whole experience left a bad taste in the mouth, also it is not the first time it has happened to me. It is depressing that I get better service when buying a fridge.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Jubbo
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Dec 29, 2017 19:46:15 GMT
Sounds like a depressing experience, jubbo. Not one that I have encountered, I must say - and I wouldn't be so reticent in not naming the store! £2k can get you a great deal of guitar...including a luthier-built model. You just need to decide what you want and, as you say, try a few out to see what suits you best. There's more than one guitar shop around - if it means travelling farther afield, make it a day trip
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Dec 29, 2017 21:07:32 GMT
Hi there jubbo and to the forum I have experienced similar before, but only rarely. Usually I can't move in a guitar store without someone asking if they can help, or watching me as I paw their expensive wall displays I would say that most guitar stores I've been to are accomodating and welcoming, so don't be disheartened - give someone else a chance at deserving your business
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007
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Post by 007 on Dec 29, 2017 22:19:49 GMT
Welcome Jubbo and sorry to hear of your bad experience. There are some great guitar shops around the country I am sure if you post the city you live in on near members of the forum will give you the go to and stay away shops. I'm with Leo on the reticence thing, name and shame you know it makes sense Rodney
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Post by vikingblues on Dec 29, 2017 22:35:31 GMT
Usually the opposite experience jubbo - when the sales staff won't leave you alone for more than a few minutes and keep on talking when you try and play. I prefer places where you are mostly left in peace. But there is a local store where you have to go and find a staff member if acoustic guitars are your thing as they all inhabit the electric guitar area - that's where their interest lies. You then have to go and find them again there later when you've finished, and the quality of information to be obtained is not too hot - useful utterances like "yeah, it's a good guitar innit"! At £2k your choice is pretty wide, though it can be a long search to find something that really justifies that sort of price tag! to the forum by the way. Mark
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Post by Cams on Dec 29, 2017 23:12:06 GMT
I haven't been in a guitar shop in a while, but my spectrum disorder generally makes me feel uncomfortable and I panic, so I'm not really an ideal customer anyway. There was one exception that, a fantastic little shop in Luxembourg called Guit-Art, run by a guy that I got to know as 'my guitar guy'. I bought a Lakewood from him, my first decent guitar, and a Gibson J200. I used to love visiting his shop on a Saturday afternoon. There's a nice shop in Ayr too, either cheesily or cleverly called Ayr Guitar. But I had the bonus of an introduction with the main man through a friend, so that allayed my fear somewhat. I still wasn't brave enough to try any guitars though. Daft, innit? I generally get to try stuff at gatherings and jams. I'm getting better at feeling comfortable at them.
Anyway, £2k is a sweet spot to be shopping and you should be able to find something that knocks your socks off for that money. My first Lakewood was about that - EUR1750 - I just checked.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Dec 29, 2017 23:13:10 GMT
Welcome to the Forum jubbo, and sorry to hear of your bad experience. Thank you for not naming and shaming in these circumstances where the "offender" cannot answer for themselves or even maybe have the chance to apologise. Perhaps you just caught them on a bad day (even though that's no excuse), perhaps not. Best plan here would be, if you are still feeling aggrieved, might be to ring/email them and politely recount your experience and express your disappointment. You'll certainly feel better for it, and they may even make some gesture of reconciliation. You never know until you try! But don't be put off - if you want attention, ask for it. Like Mark, I much prefer to be left alone to browse - though I always ask if it's OK to try out if there's anything that catches my eye. Enjoy your hunting - let us know how you get on - £2k is a healthy budget - what types of music do you play, and in what situations do you plan to use the guitar? Keith
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Post by fretter on Dec 30, 2017 10:39:39 GMT
It is a difficult balance between giving a customer the space and time to assess a guitar, and allowing someone you don't know loose on a few thousand pounds worth of guitars unsupervised!
Whenever I play a guitar, I know very quickly if I don't like it, but the decision as to whether you actually want to hand over the cash is much more subtle.
Presumably, if you have a shortlist, you have already done the homework on woods / construction etc, so it is more a matter of whether you like it enough to buy it. A good salesperson would have a good knowledge of alternatives to your shortlist, possibly things you may not have thought of.
For what it is worth, I recently visited a local guitar shop.I have been going there for a long while, and they know that I am a) careful and b) perfectly capable of making an impulse purchase! I had heard good things about Furch guitars and played an OM 24 SR back to back with much (much much) more expensive Collings / Taylor guitars. I thought it was the best guitar I played that day by a country mile, and would buy one in a heartbeat, if I were actively looking to buy at the moment.
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Post by jubbo on Dec 30, 2017 21:34:18 GMT
Thanks for all the comments. Yes, I felt naming and shaming was not called for as it could have just been an aberration and not representative of business as usual. I just had a bad taste in my mouth, having taken the 4hr round trip. I visited another couple of shops. The first was like a zoo. Extremely busy, I was shocked to see high end Martins, Taylor's, Gibson's etc all free to be removed from their hooks and played. I had a good try of a few, but winced as I saw many a winter coat zip scratch across the backs of these beauties. Finally, today I visited another store. I was asked what I was looking for, given some suggestions, given time to think, try a few more, go back to the first one etc... I walked out with a 00-28. Couldn't be happier. Great guitar and a great buying experience. Also, I bought a new vacuum cleaner today. So currently winning at life
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Post by ocarolan on Dec 30, 2017 22:58:53 GMT
Congrats on the new guitar jubbo! Hope you'll have a great time together. It's a bit of a tradition around here that owners of new instruments post some droolsome pics of it, and even do a little recording or two just to make us all jealous. No rush, whenever you can take a break from the hovering will be fine! Keith
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Post by Phil Taylor on Dec 31, 2017 0:00:03 GMT
I played a Martin 00-28 in Frailers the other week jubbo and was impressed with it. The nut is a tad too wide for me (as the majority of acoustics are these days) but that and a Lowden S32 were the best in the shop. The 00-28 was £2695 if I recall correctly so you did well if you stuck to your budget Enjoy the new guitar Phil
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Post by jubbo on Dec 31, 2017 8:50:00 GMT
I was fortunate. They had one which had been returned. Apparently they have an eccentric customer that buys something once it is released and then a few weeks later he part-ex's it having never really played it. I was told that I had probably played it more than he had while testing it in the shop.
The guitar was immaculate. I will post pictures as soon as I get the chance.
I tried a number of guitars, Taylor, Lowden, Larrivee, Martin 00-17, 00-18. But there was something amazing sounding about this 00-28.
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Post by robmc on Dec 31, 2017 9:35:46 GMT
Hi jubbo, congrats, sounds like a great outcome. Would be good to know which shop lived up to expectations, praise where praise is due... And eccentric customers that return nearly new guitars is always a bonus for everyone else
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Post by jubbo on Dec 31, 2017 10:32:41 GMT
Peach Guitars in Colchester. Can recommend Scott, this is the second (or maybe third) guitar I have bought from him. Great lad, patient and knowledgeable in everything (except Taylor model numbering ) Also, the owner John assisted greatly. I honestly wasn't expecting to buy my next guitar from there as I really was interested in a Furch or Maton (which they don't carry).
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Post by andyhowell on Dec 31, 2017 11:06:37 GMT
Constantly!
The big stores - and I presume we are talking about one of these - are staffed by electric guitar players. They (often) know little about acoustics and - even worse - are simply not interested in them.
A couple of years ago I was in a large store in Birmingham. On the wall was a rather expensive Lowden - a Pierre Bensusan model. I asked to play it The guy in the store responded by commenting on its price! It was a very expensive guitar.
The guitar was in standard tuning sounded rather dull. I retuned it to die God and the sound came alive. The guy in the shop was rather interested in this. He asked whether the music was playing was anything to do with the guy who signature model the guitar was. Kind off I replied. Before I knew it the guy was on his phone and googling Pierre. Which of these albums would you recommend I bought he said? I told him, and before I could Blinky downloaded the album.
He at least was a prone. He didn’t know anything about these guitars, but the next time somebody came into the store expressing an interest in it he would’ve been able to talk with at least some authority about Pierre :-)
That guitar had been sitting on the wall, in the long tuning and with the wrong strings, for a number of months. It cost well over five grand :-)
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