Ramblings From Justin Penney

Guitar Center!

I was a little excited at first because I assumed that they would have a lot of stuff that other stores wouldn't have so I could try things out before having my favortie local stores. Well, I was let down there. There wasn't really anything that I've been chomping at the bit to play with.

I also learned that guitar wanking is still in full effect in music stores. Wanky, pointy guitars into crap ass Line 6 amps were the norm. Absolutely inconsiderate. These people weren't trying anything serioulsy they were just wanking off on their guitar in public hoping someone would notice.

It wasn't any better in the bass room though. Everytime I've been near a bass section of a store there are people playing funky slap bass. In the last few years I have not heard a non-slapped bass in a music store.

As is usual when I go shopping, no one helped me. I finally went and asked for help. The guy that ended up helping me was minimally nice but not terribly knowlegable. He told me that solid state amps were louder than tube amps and that's why no one buys tube bass amps anymore. So I tried a couple amps (Ampeg B100 and a GK Backline 210 combo) and realised that with all the wanking going on that I couldn't tell what the amps were sounding like.

I told Lily she could get something if she was good. She was and picked out a woven shaker thing. We went to the registers at the front where we were told that we had to go back to the drum room to pay. So we walked back to the back and tried to pay. The kid asked us if that was all we wanted then went off to help another guy pick out sticks. After waiting I went to get Lily and just leave and the guy came over and got us. I bought the shaker, and Lily loves it, but I still feel icky for spending money there.

So we finally get to the door and they check your receipt (yes even for a $9 shaker) and I talk to the guy that helped me a little. Lily was going in and out of the door commenting on the difference in temperature (it was freezing in there) and a managerial type guy said something then asked if we were going to pay for that shaker she had.

Needless to say I'm defintiely not going back there.

# posted by Justin @ 8:35 PM