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September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | I have about decided that, for me, trying out guitars in the store is a nearly useless effort. Does anyone else have this problem?
My son and I were in the GC in Ok. City yesterday and I tried out about a half dozen O'. There was a little room with a Trace Acoustic 50 watt. The only one that sounded anything nearly as good as my old 1617 legend was a used 94 collectors. My son brought in a Variax, I was not impressed with it either.
I realize that not being fimiliar with the amp, the Trace had lots of knobs, and the electronics on the guitar has a tremendous bearing on the output.
I will still continue to "try em out", but will still probably be disappointed. One good factor may be that I don't get all "gassed up" and still appreciate what I have at home.
noel |
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August 2003
Posts: 27
Location: Palm Desert, CA | The problem for me in a GC is the constantly loud music over the intercom along w/ morons maxing out amps because the amps aren't theirs. Also, everyone trys to out do the other like there's some cutting heads competition. In other words, you can't test out an instrument w/ all the rucas going on around you. There is more but that is what comes to mind immediately. |
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April 2003
Posts: 183
Location: Denver, PA USA | Well at least your stores have decent guitars to check out. There are a number of guitar stores around me, but NONE of them carry anything other then Celebraties. I drove 1 hour and 15 minutes today to Sam Ash. They had just one Legend LX, a used Legend Super shallow bowl, and a bunch of Celebs. I wanted to compair a Balladeer LX and a regular Balladeer, as well as the Legend LX and a simaler Legend. But nope. No can do. So whatever I decide to buy, will be untried unless it is a Legend LX. What a waaste of time and gas the past 2 days searching for guitars to try. Now just decide if I am going for a Legend LX, regular Legend, or a Balladeer LX. Decisions, decisions.
Bill
Denver, PA |
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Posts: 16
Location: uconn | you won't be disappointed with anything that has an LX in the model number!!!
The big stores don'
t give a rat's petut about the brands.. they only stock and sell what their computers tell them to |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Two suggestions.
For the noise level - Never go on a Saturday - total waste of time. Best time is to call in sick and go on a Tuesday. Or tell your Boss you have a toothache.
To really try out the guitars you have to go to the Factory Tour. You can even argue over which Colector series is the best. Ask Al Pep in about 9 months when the next one is scheduled.
Buy one. Any one. If you don't like it just sell it to an OFC Member and buy another one. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Nils - Is this how it feels to stay up too late posting?
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July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | It depends on the store. Guitar Center is usually a waste of time. In mine, the acoustic room is next to the drum room and you can hardly hear yourself think, let alone the guitar you're playing. Also, you get kids who think they're the next shred king torturing a cheap Fender acoustic(or WORSE, an expensive Martin).
Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI is much better, although the problem there tends to be getting some REALLY good pickers having an impromptu jam session in the main acoustic guitar room.
Part of your "problem" is that you have a fine sounding guitar now. I also have a 1617 and I can't imagine anything new sounding as good. The only new Ovation I've played that was even close was a FD-14 Folklore Deluxe.
Roger |
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May 2004
Posts: 26
Location: Canton, Ohio | I live in a part the country where there are a lot of music stores. I have been to several recently and am amazed at the limited selection. It must be the economy or something.
I haven't seen a LX in any store. Good thing the Internet is here to buy a guitar. |
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November 2003
Posts: 100
Location: Warren, OH | Rob, there is a Standard Elite LX at New York Music in Boardman (near Youngstown) and an Elite LX at Guitar Center in Mayfield (near Cleveland). There is also a Sam Ash right up the street from the GC, but I don't know what they have in stock (I stopped there in January and they were pretty much limited to Celebrities).
I'd like to get my hands on a Legend LX for comparison, but ....
- Bob |
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January 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | I live in an area where GC ans Sam Ash are located in the same shopping center,Cherry Hill, NJ. I usually hit both places on a weekday afternoon, avoid the kids, and check out the guitars. CG has one LX, Sam Ash has none. Both places had quite a few Celebs. I bought my LX 1777 via Muscians Friend. I don't like to buy a guitar sight unseen, but it's my third Ovation, so I trusted the purchase. I was not dissapointed. It sounds and plays better than most (if not all)of the Taylors and Martins at these stores. No offense, but I think if they replaced these Celebs, with the 3 LX models, sales would skyrocket.
Tommy |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Report from the field:
I was up at the 14th street GC in NYC. They had no CVT's or SMT's. I've been scrounging thru guitar stores trying to find a place that had both, at the same time, so I could compare. I asked the clerk how to get them. I had him see if any other stores in the east coast had them. He told me they had none, neither model on the east coast of the USA! Gee, I said, how would you get them? He said he'd have to order them. And that I'd have to pay for them first. OK, I said, what if I didn't like any of them? I just want to buy one anyway. He said I could return them after I paid them. I said, you mean I could order 10 different models, max out my cards and return them all? That day? He said yes. I said that makes about sense as you not having any in stock. He was polite and said essentially, that's how it is. I told him I'd have to stew on this. In the meantime, I got to try 1598MERB 12 string. Wow. It sounded great unplugged, and had an easy action. Really full. |
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Posts: 386
Location: nyc area | try jenkins music in midwest city... killer selection ,great guys... ask for mike, tell him i sent you... you will be treated as royalty! |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | This might be a dumb idea, but why couldn't you take your own set of headphones in with you? Showing them to 'Whoever' when you go in would probably be a good idea. If there's a lot of racket in the guitar room you could plug in the headphones to whatever amp you were using. I would think the headphones would block out most of the other noise in the room & let you hear what the electronics in the amp sound like. Not really like listening to the amp, but a lot better than any alternative I can come up with.
I'm guess I'm fortunate to be in a smaller area with a store 40 miles away that has new USA O's always in stock. I always get the guitar room to myself too. They don't have a big selection, but I tried out an LX not long after I first read in here that they were available in some stores. There isn't a CG within 100 miles of here. In fact, I've never seen a GC store. Apparently there's one over in the valley where MWoody lurks, but I've never seen one. When I'm in the valley it is usually only to fly model airplanes. My only other major objective it to make it to the motel, to the contest, to food, & back without getting lost.
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Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Beyond this point there be Dragons Nils!
Along the I5 corridor there are a kazillion GCs. I have only traversed to the one in Tacoma since it's about 2 minutes from the Ted Brown - a Big Little store.
One Day I intend to go to Portland and visit your biggest most giant Music Stores.
When I do go I try to summarize the visit in a post. Is that too sappy or does it make for interesting reading? |
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August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Ah, Portland...never the same after the Blitz Brewery shut down. Had more than several good parties there, some with guitars. |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | "One Day I intend to go to Portland and visit your biggest most giant Music Stores."
My biggest most giant Music Stores in Portland?? I'm 120 miles from Portland. (Which is just about right.) Great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. Waaay too many people. I've been a little uneasy ever since they put up the two traffic lights in Madras.
Btw, it's interesting to me.
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Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by Tony Calman:
Ah, Portland...never the same after the Blitz Brewery shut down. Had more than several good parties there, some with guitars.
Ah yes, I've had my share of the Blitz Shitz. I can understand why they closed. I think the Secret Ingredient was .05% Ex-Lax.
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Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Blitz - appropriate name...lot faster than ex-lax. |
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December 2003
Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Originally posted by MWoody:
One Day I intend to go to Portland and visit your biggest most giant Music Stores.
When I do go I try to summarize the visit in a post. Is that too sappy or does it make for interesting reading?
I think it will make for interesting reading.. as fiction! :) We have no "biggest most giant Music Stores", at least if you are looking for O's.
Portland Music doesn't carry them. I don't think I've ever seen anything fancier than a Legend at the GC on the west side (Hwy 217 @ Greenburg) although I haven't checked out the Clackamas location. Apple Music Row creeps me the hell out.. wouldn't set foot in there for money. No Ted Brown or Sam Ash. There's a place in Tigard that I haven't checked out yet. Otherwise, pretty slim pickin's as far as I know.
But let me know what kind of food/drink you're into and I can make some recommendations.
.. from the PDX 'burbs .. |
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May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | It is difficult putting up with the shred god wannabes in stores, but I guess they have as much right to try out equipment as anyone else. I would hope employees would try to exercise a little control, to ensure everyone gets a fair chance to hear the equipment they're trying.
I agree with the view that Saturday is probably a bad day to even hear yourself think in most music stores. Maybe the trick is to get there early, while the whammy-bar wankers are sleeping off their Friday night hangovers.
On a related note, a couple of weekends ago I visited two stores to price the Adamas CVT. The first, Steve's Music, said they'd get back to me about the possibility of bringing one in on spec. The other store (Long and McQuade), also an official Ovation dealer, couldn't even find a price list on their computer! I left my business card with the salesman, who promised he'd get back to me the following Monday.
After waiting several days I got fed up and e-mailed a couple of stores in Toronto and one in Montreal, asking for a price quote. (I told them I was willing to travel to pick the guitar up, rather than have it shipped). Didn't hear from any of them.
Steve's Music eventually did call back to advise they couldn't get one in on spec, so I put in an order. They asked for a down payment of only 10 per cent, which sounded reasonable to me. So, I'm now in waiting mode for my W597-BZ.
I find it more than a little strange that so many stores here have such a lackadaisical attitude about a customer interested in a big-ticket item (I'm not so fabulously rich that I see an Adamas as a small purchase). Next time I'm in Long and McQuade picking up strings/picks, if that salesman recognizes me and asks if I'm still interested in the Adamas, I think I'll enjoy telling him, "Sorry, pal, you snooze, you lose."
A number of you suggested ordering from Al, but figuring out the dollar exchange rate, paying shipping (and worrying about shipping damage)and then getting dinged with duty, plus still having to pay provincial sales tax and goods and services tax (they love taxes here in Kommunist Kanada) - well, it just seemed like too much of a headache. As well, the price quoted by the store was about what I expected. |
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Trying out guitars in stores.
