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White Collar Criminals

THIS SHOULD MAKE EYAL HAPPY

 Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 3:45pm by

guitarcenter

Our boy Bram Teitelman at Metal Insider reports that Guitar Center – a.k.a. “the bane of Eyal Levi’s existence” – is now the defendant in a class action lawsuit, along with the National Association of Music Merchants (you know them as NAMM). See, as it turns out, those fuckers (I guess I should say “allegedly”) conspired to fix the prices of fretted instruments, even go so far as to as to attempt “to quash competition from online retailers by threatening to boycott manufacturers selling through online competitors.” Very nice.

I own two guitars, both of which are pretty much collecting dust as I attempt to spare the other inhabitants of the MetalSucks Mansion from my so-good-it-sounds-like-my-fingers-are-broken playing, so I rarely need to buy guitar equipment anymore. But when I do need strings or whatever, I always steer clear of Guitar Center because, well, it reminds me of fucking K-Mart. What a truly heinous place. (Stick to your local mom n’ pop retailers, kiddies. I shop here. It’s awesome. Check it out if you’re ever in the area.)

Read more of the story at Metal Insider. And if you bought a fretted instrument from these douche-tards between 2005 and 2007, you can become part of the class action suit here.

-AR

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mathew-James-Saunders/1153389571 Mathew James Saunders

    Cock sucking corporations…

  • http://www.smnnews.com big_metal_al

    Walmart.

  • SeanN

    Are you saying that all of those “blue light specials” are nothing but a sham??? SHOCKING!

  • The_Kak

    I work at Music and arts center, which is a division of guitar center that sells classical instruments like violins, clarinets and whatnot. I cannot believe we have gone until today without people realizing how much we rip them off

  • Wyzt

    I think I bought one in 2005 when I was dumb. I wish I still had my reciept.

  • cougar party

    Fuck guitar center. every time i (used to) go in there to buy strings, they try to upsell me on everything from a tuner to some stupid effects pedal that I don’t give a fuck about. I think they are so used to dealing with old farts who are buying guitars for their shithead kids who will stop playing it after two weeks. They think they can sell you anything in the store. Find a cool local shop and buy your shit there. Support local music shops!

  • SourDeez

    I hate Guitar Center. Does anyone who lives in NY remember that fat lesbian who hates everything at the one on 14th st? I used to go there to check out equipment and she would always kick me out just for trying shit out before I plunked down a ridiculous amount of money for it. You’re actually encouraged to do that at Guitar Center, she’s just a terrible bitch. They don’t have anything good anyway. Fuck them.

    • MightierBlue

      Oh god yes! I hate her…she’s STILL there. I was shopping for a new axe two months back, looking to spend a grand. Was trying one of them skinny s-series Ibanez ones, which I really wanted…and she’s all “You’re too loud! Turn it down buddy!” And I said “So I can’t try out this $1000 guitar that I want to buy in a reasonable facsimile of half the volume I’d be using it at?” She smart mouthed me, so I put the guitar down on the seat told her to “fuck off” and went elsewhere to buy a new axe. Ended up getting a good deal on a used Wolfgang…They lost a grand that day because of that loudmouth bitch. Fuck guitar center.

      • SourDeez

        She hasn’t gotten fired yet? She scares customers away on a regular basis, I don’t know what they’re paying her for.

  • Malacoda

    Wow, I stopped by Umanov when I was in the area. That’s an awesome store, though not very metal oriented. Still, they’ve got an amazing selection of PRS’s and Fenders as well as loads of other sweet acoustic instruments.

    • SourDeez

      Matt Umanov is the shit. Expensive, but the shit nonetheless.

  • robocop420

    GC sucks. All the clerks I’ve dealt with there are pricks that just want their commission on totally over priced equipment. Eat it, turds.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dan-Wolfson/557092638 Dan Wolfson

    DADDYS JUNKY FUCKIN MUSIC!

    • jaahn

      +1. LOVE that fucking site!

      • dan wolfson

        The people in Daddys are actually HELPFUL and will let you jam out for hours if you just want to play their shit

  • http://hookinmouth.net Scott

    I’ve had pretty good service there on a few occasions, but more bad than good. There is a local chain growing here in NC called Red Phish music and they are very competitive to GC prices and there is only 2 employees there at a time so you always know who you’re going to deal with. I like it that way.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Gavin/1396340262 Mark Gavin

    I’ve only been to the Guitar Center in Attleboro, Massachusetts but I’ve never had a bad experience there. The local music shops in my area don’t sell Ibanez equipment so I have to go to Guitar Center, which is an hour away.

  • troe

    Hate to sound stupid, but I had no idea that this was going on. Is it surprising? Not at all.

    The only real problem I had with Guitar Center(s) is that some of the workers don’t really know anything about anything, but most of my experiences there have been generally positive. I guess because the one near here is fairly small.

    I was very upset to find out that they bought an old mom n’ pop store that had been around since the 60s. It was really out of the way to even go there, but now I don’t even bother.

    Maybe I’ll have to reconsider my job application there. Do they even give employee discounts?

  • http://uponwingsofblack.blogspot.com/ \m/Eluveitie\m/

    My town has no small music shop, so a 45 minute trip to Guitar Center has always been a necessary evil (though my experiences there have been far from horrible). However just this week I discovered an independent music store in the next town over and brought my guitar in to have the neck fixed. It was finished the next day, came out like brand new with no hassle, no annoying sales pitch, and a half hour shaved off my driving time. They’ll be getting most of my guitar money from now on, though I’ll still use GC for online purchases when I have some coupons and can get a good deal. Free shipping is always nice, and Guitar Center’s online store is usually pretty good in that aspect.

  • JRTME

    As far as guitar stores go. Matt Umanov is terrible.

    If you are in NYC

    Rudy’s on 48th
    30th street guitars on 30th.

    But if any of you are looking for a great guitar store that is metal oriented.

    My friend has a great store in Louisana. (Yes Louisana) He ships all over the place.

    http://www.pineyhillsstudio.com

    • SourDeez

      Matt Umanov is terrible?? So you don’t like being helped by friendly, knowledgeable musicians? What kind of experience did you have there that was anything less than stellar?

      • JRTME

        I have been their several times. They were never Friendly. Even when I asked them stuff.

        I inquired about a guitar to purchase it once and they wouldn’t consider anything then this bottom line price for a particular guitar. I knew what it was worth and so did they. They inflated the price cause of the name on the headstock.

        Half of the stuff that I played there was not kept in the best condition.

        So as a result of the poor service, I have not and will not buy anything from that store and I tell other not to as well.

        Am I defending GC? Nope the other 2 stores I recommended aren’t GC.

        • SourDeez

          Damn, I’m shocked. I’ve never had a problem with inflation at Umanov. They let me try anything I want for as long as I want, and they’ve been extremely informative about their products. You can shoot the shit with those guys about anything guitar-related, and they never act like you’re wasting their time. Also, I can usually talk them down from list price on just about anything. They also have resident luthiers upstairs who make sure anything they lay their hands on is in excellent condition.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Acerra/508945856 Michael Acerra

    I have no choice but to stop at guitar center pretty regularly, although I’ll be driving the extra half hour to go to a local shop from now on because they stopped carrying 12 gauge electric strings (like they’re something fucking obscure that no one asks for or something) I honestly make it a point to fuck with the employees and challenge their knowledge of shit any time I go in there. If I’ve got time, I’ll act really interested in buying something expensive and then I’ll walk out right as they think I’m about to buy it. It’s the little things that make me happy, like fucking with those condescending idiots.

  • myspace.com/gregkleinlegion

    I ordered a gibson Sg bass from guitar centre and a prick employee split the neck in half and said i didnt deserve to have so many guitars….hail guitarfetish.com!