I went to a music store and wanted to try some of their basses/guitars (I've been thinking of getting one) and I asked for a pick to play with and the owner said they don't allow people to play with picks as it damages the instrument. I was going to buy some strings but I just left because I was a little upset. Maybe a little dramatic, but every music store I've ever been to would immediately give you pick even if you didn't ask. What do you guys think?
I think I found the guy damaging the instruments
Yes but I only damage the ones that don’t have the plastic wrap on the pickguard
Your pick better NOT touch my Fender sticker
Don’t even look at it
Pretty high on the "we really don't want your business" scale. I guess they don't let you use a bow to test a violin, either.
Why should they, you might damage the bow
I bet they also don't let you use drumsticks to test drums
If you walk into the keyboard room, they confiscate your fingers.
Now that is a lie! They just make you wear mittens.
Well, yeah, they did. And in frustration I yelled, "Oh, fine! Why don't ya just cut off my fingers, then??"
And, well...
Have you seen the damage that a stick can do to a set of drums?
User deleted comment
16d
Probably don’t let you use drumsticks to test a ukulele either! Fascists
Don’t spit on my ukulele
I suspect they knew he wasn’t going to buy a bass.
So what? I've been going into music stores to try out instruments since I was a kid. No store I've ever set foot in has had any kind of policy of only let you play instruments if you're planning to buy one.
You've never been to where I live. We have a local music store that it notorious for that.
Seeing all the posts here from people complaining about minor scratches and other signs of wear on instruments from GC, is it really?
If I ran a guitar store and I had perfectionists constantly trying to haggle down the prices of instruments because of scuffs from picks, or trying to return instruments over similar examples of very minor wear, exactly the kind of thing that comes from being played by customers, I might very well do the same thing.
Like, you can't have it both ways. If you want a pristine museum piece, especially from a smaller retailer, then you have to expect that they're going to take measures to ensure that their stock is pristine.
If you want to be able to go into a place and play instruments, maybe relax your expectations a little.
I have no clue as to the reality, but my hunch is that the margins on these things are paper-thin.
Margins are actually pretty good on a guitar. In average a retailer will pay 50% of MSRP pricing for a guitar. They’ll then list it for sale at or around MAP pricing which usually gets them about a 25-35% margin depending the brand. That’s why Sweetwater can be cool sometimes giving you a 5-15% discount on a lot of stuff.
This is not the case on most big name brands, Fender, Gibson, PRS sales make maybe 15% margin, some cheaper brands have a better margin but the household names are extremely slim.
Are you in the US? It’s extremely common for retailers like Sweetwater and higher end mom and pop shops to offer 5-15% off guitars if you speak with them directly. They’re not doing that for 0% margin, they do it because they have another 10-15% reserved. Granted it’s been a good few years since I ordered through FMIC but back working in a music shop that was about the average for Fender guitars unless they were running a special or there was a weird model.
I'm not but I do run a music store in the UK and know the trade prices here. You're right that the end sale price and RRP are often a good 10% different though. Large retailers like Sweetwater make money by shifting quantity and so can make a slim margin on each sale.
margin on gibson for GC is 40%
They are. I know a music store owner. The margins on instruments are pretty small considering the overhead costs and inventory requirements.
Isn’t there a reason display/demo pieces are usually discounted? They’re expected to have scruffs and stuff. The instruments you buy should be brand new from box.
That might work at some big box stores, but smaller independent retailers aren't going to have a stockroom full of brand new models. Their stock is on the wall.
It’s fairly typical in the UK to have some 16 year old lerking over you the whole time, in case you do anything, I briefly worked at a store that used to even cable tie all the instruments in, in case anyone tried to play without asking.
I once got told I was ‘sweating too much’, it was a hot day and not like I was pouring, I’m a thin guy who was just hot.
It’s pretty hard to damage modern guitars, I want more wear on them, but I’ve got ones I’ve played for 15 years that don’t look much different to the day I bought them.
I’ve bought all my guitars since from the US or Canada. To find a guitar that fits you need to try lots and swap back and forth and it’s just exhausting to try do that in the UK. Most places I’ve gone in the US just let you play them, take them into a private room even.
Those retailer are loosing sales by being so pedantic, if you plan on actually playing the instrument it’s going to get some scratches on the pick guard, that’s what it’s there for.
FYI that store I worked for that cable tied the instruments went bust, that’s why I wasn’t there long.
You know what damages or scratches instruments? Belt buckles, rings, bracelets, etc - do they make you remove those too? You did good walking out of that crazy place.
Partly why i always try a new axe naked
Partly, hm?
Donald Duck style. As made famous by Mr. Dunn
Cool, always wondered how he got that nickname
I only get naked when I play bass so I can practice my slapping technique
That’s the real wand dang doodle
Gotta get that wood on wood action.
Only way to check the behind-the-nut action
I, for one, prefer to buy new gear untainted.
Oh, I always make sure there are several outlines of guys' junk on the back. Lets me know the ax has been loved.
PARTLY
No, fully naked
Touche
I only play slap guitar in the shop.
Getting RHCP, Woodstock 99 vibes. Rock out with your cock out.
You know how some guitars have exposed trem springs without a backplate? Watch out for those.
What if axe is too good and you get a boner and damage axe with it unintentionally
Come on, you where gona buy it annyhow
Me too. I can play Smoke on the Water with my dick.
Dick flopping around leaves smears on the lacquer
If you don’t see any splooge stains, you didn’t get a good guitar.
In all fairness, I do take my ring off if I’m playing a really nice guitar at a shop
Keys out, no zippers/buckles touching etc. It's just common courtesy, I'd be pretty upset if someone scratched my new guitar too.
"I'll give you a guitar pick, but we need them pants."
Last time I went to a guitar shop and tried out some guitars, they asked me to take off my wedding ring and hoody with a zip on the front. I was happy to oblige. It was nearly £1k of PRS. I didn’t want to damage it any more than they did! :)
When I bought my Cuntz, they made me do the same. Ring, watch, and belt. I knew I was going to buy it as soon as I looked at it so I was more than willing. Still let me use a pick, though.
Belt buckles are only an issue when you play standing up though. Not a lot of people bringing their strap to the guitar store.
I bring my strap on everywhere, thank you.
Yeah, but that's gonna leave a mark
Don’t forget zippers on clothes, and buttons! I’m all for a nudist guitar shop though. Not shaming anyone here.
Those leather stools would get pretty funky after a bit…
The best guitar shop in my town actually does make you remove buckles, keychains etc
It’s sensible. I don’t mind it. To me it’s shows an attention to detail that I appreciate
I don’t recall if they banned picks. I only test guitars with my fingers, as it is my primary way of playing
I had an opportunity to play an acoustic guitar once made be Wayne Henderson some are valued at $17,000 I had a thumb ring on at the time that wouldn’t come off, I declined
Maybe the guy was a bassist
Yeah but any good bassist knows that plenty of legendary bassists played with picks.
I got on for a long while playing everything with a pick and beating the hell out of my strings. But now as a teacher, it really surprises me how many people play for years but haven’t tried or don’t want to try other styles.
It certainly helps to start with one style and get good at it. But to me these are now tools in my tool box for different colors and situations. Sometimes I grow out my nails and go full finger style. But imo it’s worth it to learn to competently use picks, chicken-picking, even tapping and using your good old fashioned meat hooks.
I started as a wind player so I tend to look at it from that perspective—they’re different articulations.
I just punch the strings.
Found the drummer
Fellow wind-to-guitar here. I really wanted to get more than a melody out of an instrument, and while using a pick can get me there, there's still a lot of one-note-at-a-time stuff. So I started Travis picking right away, and it kicked me so far down the dunning Krueger curve realizing how much more there was to learn, and how much it opens up the instrument. Can't imagine sticking to one style!
Pick the wind
Yeah man
The anti-pick sentiment in the bass community is weirdly strong sometimes.
I play and listen to heavy music, and I don't like when bass players don't use a pick. Yes some of my favorite bass players are finger players, but I like them in spite of it, not because.
As a bassist, why wouldn’t you want to be good at everything, y’know? Like, I started with a pick, then wanted to learn slap, which transitioned to finger picking. But if I want to play metal or punk, a pick is the way to go. Not for the speed, because you can play faster with fingers, but for the sound you get from the pick.
Absolutely. Pick snobbery is a tell tale sign of a bassist who doesn't listen to much music outside their repertoire.
If it's good enough for Carol Kaye it's plenty good enough for me.
underrated comment
A rassist
There's plenty of other things that can cause more damage / dents onto a instrument
That's just them being crazy
Banging them together whilst trying to take one down/up off the wall comes to mind.
Sounds like they shoved all of the picks up their own asses. Hope this helps.
I always thought in store demo guitars were kind of a weird situation.
If you bought a "new" guitar from a shop online and it showed up with a bunch of pick marks, would you be ok with it? I'm sure people have thrown a huge stink over less.
would you consider it a used guitar?
it literally is used but I'm sure a ton of shops have the bulk of their inventory out on the shop floor to be played and it's not like they mark them down under MAP because they've been played by a dozen randos.
mostly devil's advocate but it's something I have thought about.
I agree with you however any guitar with a pickguard should have plastic on it so scratches shouldn’t be an issue with 80% of the most popular guitar models
That's a cost of doing business, they sell them as display models for their cost after they are done.
My first guitar was a epiphone SG display model that had been dinged.
They used it to sell end entire stack of guitars and I got a cheap ax with some cosmetic damage.
Demo guitars? So like you go into the store and play one you really like and then ask for one in a box?
How do you know it's going to play the same? Same brand doesn't mean jack.
Been there, done that. Test flew a model off the guitar wall, then asked if they had another. Actually unboxed the one they brought out and tested it. Mine were the only hands on it until the cash changed hands, then it went to my luthier for its setup...
Playing devils advocate to the devils advocate - pick scratches literally do not matter at all. If you buy a guitar and play it, it’s going to get pick scratches regardless. A guitar isn’t like a car where it has moving parts that get wear and tear. Build quality, neck feel, fret size, pickup configuration are the things that should matter and pick scratches don’t impact that stuff at all.
Pick scratches might lead to less up votes on your NGD post
this is a fair point but i cant imagine you could really do too much damage with a pick and personally i wouldn't care too much if there were some pick marks on an in store guitar
You might not, but there are posts here all the time asking if X or Y is a big enough deal that they should ask for a discount. Half the time, X or Y is so minor that it's virtually unnoticeable unless you use a magnifying glass, but then you get quite a few posters telling the OP that they should go return it, ask for a discount, etc.
My guess is that the shop owner got tired of that behavior. And frankly, I don't blame him. There seem to be quite a few people who think that guitars should be like a brand new Ipad and be completely free of anything that could suggest a human was involved in its manufacture.
I see all these posts now where someone gets a new guitar and they post a picture where it’s got a tiny scratch on it and they want to return it. Like, are they never gonna play the guitar? How does a tiny scratch on a new guitar even matter?
And probably the same people would be salty if they weren’t allowed to try a guitar in a store.
I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do.
I think it depends, I bought a cheap new short scale bass with scratches and couldn't care less because it was only $200. If I'm spending hundreds of dollars on a piece of wood though that shit better be perfect when I get it if it's being sold at "new" prices
Hence the "no picks" rule.
A lot of people would rather buy a guitar they can actually try out, feel and hear before buying it (even if others have tried it too) vs. buying a new in box guitar completely blind and hoping it’s not a lemon
Some stores will keep multiple models in stock and offer to let you buy a new in box one.
I'd leave too, but I'd do it while laughing at that statement.
I never go in to a guitar shop without a pick in my pocket
Sokka-Haiku by Donkey_Ali:
I never go in
To a guitar shop without
A pick in my pocket
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
I always forget one and end up playing bass most of the time
I remember going in a guitar shop somewhere back in the 1980’s where a salesman would play the guitar you were interested in for you. They wouldn’t let customers play any guitar in the shop, which was very weird.
You couldn’t hold it or anything, the salesman would hold it and show it to you, he’d turn it over and let you look at it, then he played some country music on it. Needless to say I didn’t buy anything there and I never went back.
thats actually so crazy that its funny
It was just so fucking weird…
I did most of my guitar buying in the 80s. Seemed that every time the salesman (it was always a man) would take it after you’d tried it and play it. Usually shredding on it, I assume to show off their chops. Never did I find a store that wouldn’t let you try the guitars though. That’s just bizarre.
I went to the Carvin (Kiesel) shop on Hollywood Boulevard once and they were the complete opposite;
“You want to try a guitar? Pick one, any one you want.” “You want to plug into a stack? sure, go ahead!”
Dude ripped for a few minutes and handed me the guitar. 😳
Are you talking high end Gretsches and Rickenbackers? Or Custom Shop specials? If not, then that sales guy is definitely off plumb a tad or three...
I once played seven (7) Fender FJs over about 90 minutes before picking the one from the group that just "sang" a little better than the others.. It's just the way of it.
No, I’m talking about *every** guitar in the shop.*
They had those theatre style ropes and poles in front of all of the guitars, you would have had to step over or around the ropes to get to them.
The salesperson greeted you at the door and asked how they could help and I said I was interested in trying some guitars. He said “I will be happy to demonstrate any instrument you are interested in, sir, just point one out.”
They had a variety of guitars, electric, acoustic, basses amplifiers and keyboard instruments. That sort service was very strange to me and buying a guitar that I wasn’t able to try out first would just be weird.
Although, we think nothing of it nowadays buying guitars online. 🫤
Imagine that at a car dealership
Yeah, they’d go out of business pretty quickly.
You should have asked for a plectrum.
Don't blame the store, blame buyers that go over every inch of a guitar for the slightest imperfection. Or, use liberal return policies to "try out" guitars. Or, buyers that think floor models that have been played by customers are substandard and should be heavily discounted.
I can’t stand the “it’s got a cosmetic scratch so I want a 75% discount” idiots.
good point
I’m not them, I don’t know them, we’re not associated. I’m a customer with money in my pocket, and if you want to treat me a certain way because of a few jerks, I’ll walk myself out of your store and find a store that treats me like a valued customer.
No thanks, I’ll continue to blame the store
You walked into a guitar shop without a pick...
That's your own damn fault bud. Bring one next time.
Or, you could have said, I am shopping for picks and need a guitar to check them out on.
yea that is on me but im really curious what they would have done/said if i started playing with my own pick
There’s only one way to find out!
That is complete bullshit, I would have left too, and then I would tell everyone to not buy from there. Not going to let me try out a guitar the way I would play it? Cool no business for you
ill probably leave a bad review on google
This deserves it, for sure.
Do you not carry picks in your pocket? He would have had to tackle me lol.
I picture the guy at the shop thinking to himself:
"This chump doesn't even have a pick, he's just gonna waste my time"
So he blurts out the fake no picks rule.
We don't allow picks in here, son. Now mosey on outta here before I get angry!
Sounds like one of the local shops my area had when I was around 12. The owner/manager was a condescending prick, and the shop had several stupid policies like this. Thank fuck that place shut down.
I’m all for supporting local mom and pop shops, but not all are the grand places some make it out to be.
I’ve seen people who are playing super aggressively on a guitar being asked to take it easy on the flailing with a pick (you don’t need to do windmills to determine the tone and playability of a guitar).
And most high end shops will ask you remove bracelets, big rings, chain wallets, and big belt buckles before trying out a guitar. I’ve never seen anyone object to it when it’s asked and explained
Were the guitars made of delicate chocolate mousse?
And how long has this place been in business?
Apparently for 5+ years, my first time going in tho
Hopefully last time
Too long. Lol.
They probably figure that if you're not an experienced enough of a guitarist to have your own picks onhand, then you'll probably rake the crap out of the guitars they have on the walls.
There is stupid, and then there is driving customers out the door stupid. I would never go back there again. I've never, ever tried playing a guitar in a music store without using a pick. Of course, I keep spare picks in my wallet, but that's besides the point.
I don’t allow my money to be spent in stores like that.
I hope you gave them a nice, loud, over-enunciated, “Fuck you very much,” as you bounced. Dem shits is 3x cray.
A business that’s struggling to stay afloat is just adding lead weights to their shoes by acting like this.
Real for doin that. How can I know to buy the guitar if I can’t play it the way I play the fucking thing? Dumb ass rule that.
Don’t most stores have branded promotional picks?
At my local guitar center kids go in there and really mess up the guitars. It's sad. All the really nice guitars are out of reach and locked up now.
Never heard that. Ever
OK, but at the same time how can you call yourself a guitar player and not have at least 1 pick on you at any given moment, especially when going to a guitar store?
clearly im a fraud 😭
I let my bass player borrow a finger style acoustic without a pick guard… he totally fucked it up by playing it sloppily
my bass player
You just explained 90% of your problem
Probably had a bad experience with some jagoff.
I'd probably play without, or maybe just leave but I'd not get upset.
I reserve that for actual problems.
Picks are nothing compared to strings! Have you seen what those things do to frets?
Yeah some shops I visited have rules regarding picks. One shop would just put a tape on the guitar near where I would play and I thought that was pretty weird
I've been chewed on a little for scratching a pic guard as well. Next person wants a discount because it's a little scuffed
I just bought a valuable 12 year old acoustic that is flawless. It was one of the least expensive in the store that usually sells guitars $6,000 and over models. I took off all jewelry (I'm a woman, rings etc) and VERY carefully used my pick. They were not anal about at all it but they don't attract the kids that beat on the guitars at Guitar Center. They were appreciative you could tell. The tone of this high end shop just warranted you to be careful. I was happy to purchase my guitar there that had been very well inspected by them before taking it in, knowing it had been very well-cared for by the previous owner(s). I have seen absolute disasters at GC, kids bashing away on beautiful vintage guitars ugh
I think it's easy to tell how an instrument plays by using your fingers, even if you normally play with a pick. What did it prevent you from learning about the instrument? Be honest with yourself. I know it was annoying and not like some other stores, but still.
Sweetwater doesn't let you use a pick either.
As a guitarist, I have been had to play instrument that didn't have pickguards without a pick. Seemed a reasonable request to me.
Pick scratches are unsightly enough to make it impossible to sell without a substantial discount and I'm willing g to guess, there is a story behind why they came up with this rule.
Any instrument with pick marks on it can't be sold as new. Expand your world. Learn to fingerpick.
Bye, Felicia. That's ridiculous.
You know what really prevents damage to a guitar? Removing the strings. Nobody plays guitars without strings, so no damage.
Points to the sign, no picks
By that logic any number of things could damage the instruments and so why even let people touch them at all? Why even have a brick and mortar guitar store? Dumb as fuck
Fuck that place.
Do they pick with sharp blades?
Yeah, I went to a guitar store in El Paso once and the dude said the same thing. Like, how the fuck do you expect to sell guitars? Weirdo.
I’ve been to a shop where they required a prio appointment to test a guitar, reasoned it with so many tourists coming it the city and just coming in to play guitar and don’t buy anything. It was kinda small shop but they were very passionate about that rule.
To be fair I was playing with pick the other day and my guitar did burst into flames
What is that a mafia front?
A little frustrating, but not as bad as a bunch of idiots scratching up your guitars with picks. I imagine it happened there more than once.
If you've been in there before maybe you need to work on your technique... Speaking as someone who used to work in a guitar store 😜
I'm surprised they didn't try to rent you the pick. I'd have a whole fleet of rental plectrums whose rates by the minute would vary in accordance with the value of the guitar you'd requested to play.
😆😆🤘🤘
Moderator removed comment
16d
Time to find a new guitar store.
Weird. My local stores have picks scattered around, and will also give you cables and pedals if you ask them nicely. I get not wanting to damage the merchandise, but like ... you also need to try it before you buy it, right?
Shoulda played with your teeth and leave the strings all gooey for them...
If I wanted to buy a guitar without trying it in my hands first, I would just order it online. Being able to try the guitar out first is the whole point of a guitar store imo.
I rarely have good experiences in guitar stores. Either somebody is giving me tude or there's some clown doing noise pollution tryin to show the world they're a guitar god or else I'm being ignored.
Can you still play the guitar, and evaluate it? Are the prices good? That's what's important.
You should name drop those fools 😝
Shop elsewhere. Simple. Don’t support bad business.
Which store is this?
Don’t go to a music store without a pick.
In fact, don’t go anywhere without one. I keep them in my wallet, car, bag, etc.
Music stores always give you those shitty thin ones anyway. Useless.
thats so stupid..
I grow my fingernails out on one hand and use them to fingerpick. I guess they wouldn't let me touch the guitar.
I can kind of understandthat some people are ham fisted ..that is why they invented the pick guard And new guitar will have a plasticwrap over the pick guard..the clerk is a clown and does not want your business anid I would not buy anything there ,I would sit there and waste his time and ask a million stupid questions and ask to try every guitar/bass that is hanging high up on the wall and make him set up every amp in the store and take him away from potential sales ! on a side note you don’t need a pick to play the BASS ….
Are you sure you didn’t mishear him and he actually Said “no pick axes?”
I went stopped by a GC a week ago and they had bowls of GC picks out, even in the acoustic room.
You probably looked like you were just buying strings and they didn’t want you to gross up their guitars. Some one’s gonna buy them, it wasn’t gonna be you so why even touch them?
They’re trolling you. That’s why most guitars have ”pickguards.”
They have likely seen you destroy one of their guitars in the past or you come in and play all their top line instruments, waste time, make loud music no one wants to hear and then you leave and have no intentions of buying them. Yeah id say we don’t have picks either
Can't tune the guitar either, it wears out the strings
He was joking.
That's why I bring my metal claws with me and Take the initiative to grab the highest guitars with the largest numbers myself. I'm liable to give a good bang n' twang with a Lil chugga chugga before leaning them against an amp and chunkin deuce.
The pick damages an instrument? Is that some new age thinking?
I would not give that business a dime!
That's why I carry one in my wallet. And I'm particular about my picks. Jazz3 with the Hammett cut.
I've been to a store that didn't allow picks. He's out of business now.
Tommy Emmanuel ruined it for you. He tried out a few guitars there, trying to find a good one to play during the part of his show when he hits the guitar with drum brushes. Shop owner had to be hospitalized for shock and was on an IV fish tranquilizer drip for 12 hours. So, no, no picks. Have some respect for the guy's suffering ffs.
Sounds like the people who never let their guitars out of the case either 💀
I mean if you play with a pick how else are you supposed to try out a guitar? If I just want to go off looks I can just buy it from Sweetwater and have it be way more convenient. Good move getting out of there, that’s ridiculous.
That is a bit extreme. But I have had stores with nice guitars monitor me like a hawk. One even had people put an apron on so buckles and buttons would not scratch them and had plastic guards that could be stuck to the front to avoid pick damage. The were $3,000 - $5,000 guitars. My standard routine is to put my rings in my pockets, take off my watch and swing my belt buckle to the side. That usually sends the signal I am not going to damage anything.
...what kind of smelly BS is this?!?!? I have never, ever heard of this!
It's really dumb of that business owner to take that mentality. Plus, if someone has a pick in their pocket (I never leave home without one), they could just pick up the guitar and play the instrument with a pick anyway.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while