# Your Most Guitar Snobbish moment???



## 777 (Jan 4, 2007)

please share with us all


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## Naren (Jan 4, 2007)

?????


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## JPMDan (Jan 4, 2007)

shouldnt this be in the general music thread? This isn't exactly about 7 string guitars.


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## Regor (Jan 4, 2007)

Every time I walk into a GC, and start talking to someone that works there.

Them: "What kinda guitar do you have now?"
Me: "Which one? I have 7. 5 7-strings and 2 6ers. 3 Ibanez 7's, one that I had to order directly from Japan because it was only available in a Vintage Violin color, which isn't metal, and has a piezo in the floyd. One Jackson 7-string flying V, made up like Randy Rhoads' guitar. An ESP LTD MF-207 with the skull and x-bone inlays, which I'm going to Rhino Liner the body. My main guitar is an '89 Jackson USA Custom which I had refretted with stainless steel frets, which now plays like butter. And an Epi ZW Les Paul that I replaced all the hardware with black, and put the real EMG-ZW set into."

I usually get this response


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## The Dark Wolf (Jan 4, 2007)

Here's mine right now.

The VV finish is PLENTY metal. You just have to know what to do with it.


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## skinhead (Jan 4, 2007)

?????? Sorry ??????


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## Rick (Jan 4, 2007)

Can't say I've ever had one.


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## Carrion (Jan 4, 2007)

Me: *walk in guitar store*, Talk to counter-monkey.
CM: What do you need sir?
Me: I just need a cable about 6ft.
CM: Well you are going to want a 20ft, YJM sig cable.
Me: FUCK YOU!!!! 
Me:*leave guitar store*


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## jakeskylyr (Jan 4, 2007)

I'm normally not that type of guy, but it happens so often anymore...pretty much anytime that I go into GC or Sam Ash it seems. Ever since I got my Mesa and my UV, it's kinda hard not to 

Usually it's just instances of "Let me go get my guitar, everything here is crap." or when trying out a guitar, it'll be something like this:

Clerk: "Well what kind of amp would you want to hear it through?"
Me: "Whatever, it doesn't matter"
Clerk: "What's the closest to what you have now?"
Me: "Nothing here."

These situations are pretty typical for me. But the worst happened just a few weeks ago when I went to GC with my singer buddy who has a regular salesguy at GC (he drops MONDO bucks there, so he gets special treatment ). The salesman is kind of a wiseass guy, but he knows his shit. He was trying to get me to try out the new top of the line Mogami switched guitar cable that's like 150 bucks. I told him that I had no question at all that it would be a superior instrument cable to pretty much anything else, probably even justifying the price, but I didn't need to try it out. He said "Go out there and grab a guitar, plug it into an amp, dial in your tone, and I guarantee that you'll hear a difference with this cable compared to any other cable in the store." I told him "I KNOW the cable is going to be superior, but there isn't a possible configuration of amps in effects in this entire store that's going to get my tone." He kind of gave me the yeah right look and said "What do you have that's so spectacular?" I told him that I'm running a dual preamp setup using an 80s Mesa MkIII stacked with a Rocktron Chameleon with an Ibanez Universe and a T.C. processor. This whittled the smartass remarks to "Oh. Wow. Nice. So you know your shit then."

Don't get me wrong, he's a cool dude. It was just one of those, "I have to rub my gear snobbiness in his face to get him to stop hounding me" moments


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## Metal Ken (Jan 4, 2007)

The Dark Wolf said:


> Here's mine right now.
> 
> The VV finish is PLENTY metal. You just have to know what to do with it.



Deemed true \m/


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## Leon (Jan 5, 2007)

jakeskylyr said:


> Usually it's just instances of "Let me go get my guitar, everything here is crap." or when trying out a guitar, it'll be something like this:
> 
> Clerk: "Well what kind of amp would you want to hear it through?"
> Me: "Whatever, it doesn't matter"
> ...



isn't that kinda sad? i find myself in the same position. i'm at a music store, and only about 2% of the instruments there are any cool, and usually there isn't any other amp there that comes close to my Nomad. i'll grab a guitar, and a salesmen will ask me that same question, "what kind of amp do you have at home? we'll find a close match..." all i have to say is, "it has tubes, nothing here does. i'll just play unplugged."

...or, i'll say, "it's a Mesa." and i'll get back, "ohh, ok. hey, here's a nice Vox! it's got a tube!"


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## Shawn (Jan 5, 2007)

I don't think i've ever had a snobbish moment with my sevens either....maybe rubbing it in to one of my friends who was at once competing with me on how many sevens we will own. So far I have him beat by a few.


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## Ryan (Jan 5, 2007)

^ Well PWH's and UV7BK's count for 2 a piece also Shawn..


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## Shawn (Jan 5, 2007)

He has me beat with sixers though. I only have 2.


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## Carrion (Jan 5, 2007)

Leon said:


> isn't that kinda sad? i find myself in the same position. i'm at a music store, and only about 2% of the instruments there are any cool, and usually there isn't any other amp there that comes close to my Nomad. i'll grab a guitar, and a salesmen will ask me that same question, "what kind of amp do you have at home? we'll find a close match..." all i have to say is, "it has tubes, nothing here does. i'll just play unplugged."
> 
> ...or, i'll say, "it's a Mesa." and i'll get back, "ohh, ok. hey, here's a nice Vox! it's got a tube!"



At my local store it's horrible. Their biggest selection is Squiers and LTDs.

Oh, and a JCM 2000 head costs $3,600.


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## Alpo (Jan 5, 2007)

The Dark Wolf said:


> The VV finish is PLENTY metal. You just have to know what to do with it.



Yep. Pink guitars are fucking metal too, just look at Paul Gilbert.


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## omentremor (Jan 5, 2007)

Tasmania in Australia. Its seperated from australia by water. Seperated from Earth by culture. They arent all shit music stores. But with the exception of mine (Which i had shipped over from the mainland) Ive only seen one sevenstring. Which was a shit kramer in a secondhand store. If anyone owns anything decent they can be a snob. My main snobbery was kid sees guitar case. "what guitar is that' open case. RG 1527 unleashed. "whats that, i have a squire" "its got too many strings". The look I gave him was the snobbery part.


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## skinhead (Jan 5, 2007)

^ True as hell!



Alpo said:


> Yep. Pink guitars are fucking metal too, just look at Paul Gilbert.



True as hell!


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## metalfiend666 (Jan 5, 2007)

Probably the fact I own one of the original 1990 UV7PWH's with the Edge 7, not the Lo-Pro.


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## noodles (Jan 5, 2007)

Mike and I at GC last night before practice, trying out a Mesa Roadster 2x12 combo they just got in.

Sales Droid: So how do you like it.
Mike: It has a bad V1 tube.
Me: Yep, noisy as hell. You need to replace it.
SD: Uh, did you try a different chord.
Mike: Chord, guitar, every channel on the amp...it's a bad tube.
Dave: The tube is microphonic. It needs to be replaced.
SD: Umm...OK.

I think he left us to go ask someone what V1 means.


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## Drew (Jan 5, 2007)

Hahaha, that rules, Dave. 

This isn't a true "snob" moment, but I remember when I bought a cheapo Ibanez acoustic before I left for college because, well, it was cheap and it was fun. I was in the accoustic room of a guitar store somewhere, and I was just messing around on the thing. A sales guy came up to me.

Sales Guy: "You know, we also have some nice starter sets over here, that give you a..."
Me: *plays a fast Em descending run*
Sales Guy: ...um, but I guess you don't need that. *walks off*

I bought the guitar anyway.


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## Leon (Jan 5, 2007)

we should get badges that say, "Stop talking, I already know more than you."


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## Drew (Jan 5, 2007)

Leon said:


> we should get badges that say, "Stop talking, I already know more than you."



 

It's sad, really - I ended up buying my first Mesa at that place, since they were the nearest Mesa dealership to me at the time. I was split between a Nomad-45 and a Rocket-44 at the time, and ended up going with the Rocket because it did the smooth, Mark-like lead thing a little better than the Nomad. 

Had the dude bothered to, you know, show me the backpanel controls (particularly the "Normal/Extreme" switch) and show me how to tweak it a little, he could have sold me on the Nomad in a heartbeat. As it was, I had to go through a Marshall phase when I was looking for more flexibility before I went back to Mesa.


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## Nik (Jan 5, 2007)

Drew said:


> Sales Guy: "You know, we also have some nice starter sets over here, that give you a..."
> Me: *plays a fast Em descending run*
> Sales Guy: ...um, but I guess you don't need that. *walks off*
> 
> I bought the guitar anyway.



 Awesome.

I haven't done this yet, although one of these days I'll snap and walk up to one of those dudes that go to GC to play really loud and show-off. I'll walk right up to them, turn off their amp and unplug their guitar. Then walk away with a smug smile. I don't know if that can be classified as a 'Snobbish Moment'


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## eaeolian (Jan 5, 2007)

noodles said:


> Mike and I at GC last night before practice, trying out a Mesa Roadster 2x12 combo they just got in.
> 
> Sales Droid: So how do you like it.
> Mike: It has a bad V1 tube.
> ...



Oh, and you need to fix the volume pot on that SL-2, too. 

My fav was the door checkout guy at GC:

Me: I don't think you need to worry about me switching this for anything else in this store.
GC Dude: Why? It's just a Soloist...
Me: Uh, maybe you need to look at the headstock again...


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## Emperoff (Jan 5, 2007)

eaeolian said:


> Oh, and you need to fix the volume pot on that SL-2, too.
> 
> My fav was the door checkout guy at GC:
> 
> ...



That was pure pwnage


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## Digital Black (Jan 5, 2007)

Regor said:


> Every time I walk into a GC, and start talking to someone that works there.
> 
> Them: "What kinda guitar do you have now?"
> Me: "Which one? I have 7. 5 7-strings and 2 6ers. 3 Ibanez 7's, one that I had to order directly from Japan because it was only available in a Vintage Violin color, which isn't metal, and has a piezo in the floyd. One Jackson 7-string flying V, made up like Randy Rhoads' guitar. An ESP LTD MF-207 with the skull and x-bone inlays, which I'm going to Rhino Liner the body. My main guitar is an '89 Jackson USA Custom which I had refretted with stainless steel frets, which now plays like butter. And an Epi ZW Les Paul that I replaced all the hardware with black, and put the real EMG-ZW set into."
> ...


To some degree I say something similer to the swinging dicks at GC. Funny to watch thier lack of responce because they can't think of anything witty..


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## noodles (Jan 5, 2007)

eaeolian said:


> My fav was the door checkout guy at GC:
> 
> Me: I don't think you need to worry about me switching this for anything else in this store.
> GC Dude: Why? It's just a Soloist...
> Me: Uh, maybe you need to look at the headstock again...



I love how you didn't even bother to mention that even a USA Soloist is better than 95% of the guitars in the store.

I think we just overloaded that poor guy, since I checked in the KxK Strat before that.

GC Dude: Serial number?
Me: One
GC Dude: Hahahaha! Ok, seriously, what is it.
Me: One. Zero Zero One. Look if you don't believe me.
GC Drum Dude: *walks over, looks* Seriously, it really is one. That's awesome!


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## noodles (Jan 5, 2007)

Nik said:


> I haven't done this yet, although one of these days I'll snap and walk up to one of those dudes that go to GC to play really loud and show-off. I'll walk right up to them, turn off their amp and unplug their guitar. Then walk away with a smug smile. I don't know if that can be classified as a 'Snobbish Moment'



I prefer to sit down at an amp next to those guys and play 8th note gallops at over 200bpm, followed by some sweeps. They usually turn down after that.


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## D-EJ915 (Jan 5, 2007)

People usually flip out when I tell them my baritone is in A, lol.

I was in GC one time with my V-250 and the guys there thought it was a custom mustaine model  They were like "is that the mustaine? cool" ...I show them the floyd...WHOA IS THAT CUSTOM!?!! hahaha


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## Blexican (Jan 5, 2007)

One time, fairly recently, GC just got a Schecter C-7 Hellraiser in, so I tried it out on one of the Line 6's, and I was playing some Nevermore on it, and one of the sales guys goes, "Dude, that kicked ass! I just learned this sweet new Coal Chamber song, wanna hear it?" I agreed, like the idiot I am, and grabbed a tuner while he was playing Loco, horribly lol...I tuned it without the tuner anyway when he was done, and busted out some Dream Theater, and the guy just stared at me with his mouth open. 

The clincher was when I checked the tuner and all the strings were in tune, after I had tuned by ear. After that, the guy just slowly backed away from me 

Also, when I tell 'em I tune my Revenger to G#, they give me one of these


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## Unknown Doodl3.2 (Jan 5, 2007)

^I get that face when I tell them I use to tune my guitars to standard with 68 gauge... and that my sixxers were in Eb with 13-60... which is good finger strenght workout btw.


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## Drew (Jan 5, 2007)

The gist of this thread, near as I can telll, seems to be that relative to the GC crowd, we're all kind of a bunch of sick fucks...


Cool.


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## Metal Ken (Jan 5, 2007)

you know whats awesome? When some alt rock kid comes up and tries to play raining blood, fucks up real bad, then you sit down next to him and play it perfectly.


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## Nic (Jan 5, 2007)

This is one of te funniest threads ever. I am definately going to unplug one of those annoying loud guys next time I am at a GC. ( I'm definately not good enough to upstage them, which would be way cooler.)


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## Carrion (Jan 5, 2007)

I love watching some kid come in and sit down with the most expensive equipment in the store and crank the shit out of it and plays Lamb of God then you have some 60 year old guy come in with his tele and completely rape the kid with some bluegrass.


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## Mark. A (Jan 5, 2007)

I just like to walk in and play Serrana arps, then just leave.


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## DDDorian (Jan 5, 2007)

Haha, I only ever tried to rip in a guitar store once, afterwards, some kid came up and sai "Woah, dude! You're almost as good as that guy from Arch Enemy!" My ego still hasn't recovered


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## Shawn (Jan 5, 2007)

metalfiend666 said:


> Probably the fact I own one of the original 1990 UV7PWH's with the Edge 7, not the Lo-Pro.



 

I still like the Lo Pro though.


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## Carrion (Jan 5, 2007)

DDDorian said:


> Haha, I only ever tried to rip in a guitar store once, afterwards, some kid came up and sai "Woah, dude! You're almost as good as that guy from Arch Enemy!" My ego still hasn't recovered



What's wrong with Arch Enemy? Chriss Amott can play and Micheal has proved his playing through Carcass.


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## DDDorian (Jan 5, 2007)

Carrion said:


> What's wrong with Arch Enemy? Chriss Amott can play and Micheal has proved his playing through Carcass.



I'm a fan of Carcass, moreso the grind stuff, but _Necroticismescanting The Insalubrious_ and _Heartwork_ are two of only a few melodic death metal albums I actually enjoy. Arch Enemy, however, bore the hell out of me. I don't like their tones, they write boring songs with annoying "unite under the banner of metal" lyrics and Mike Amott always seems to be struggling to keep up with whoever he's playing alongside, be it Bill Steer, Chris Amott or whoever plays with them now.

So, my guitar snobbery may have been shot down, but my music snobbery is stronger than ever


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## skinhead (Jan 6, 2007)

DDDorian said:


> Haha, I only ever tried to rip in a guitar store once, afterwards, some kid came up and sai "Woah, dude! You're almost as good as that guy from Arch Enemy!" My ego still hasn't recovered



 Here some people say me Dino Cazares, i can't get in my body, my ego it's sometimes very high


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## msherman (Jan 6, 2007)

I did this to a Droid at GC a while back. I was playing a used guitar and the Droid came over and asked "can I help you?"
I said, yeah, call the police, this guitar was stolen from me about a year ago.

You should have seen the look on the kids face He stood there with a blank look for about 15 seconds, then I said, just kidding. LMFAO


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## Ryan (Jan 6, 2007)

"Do you accept... Cash???"


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## Popsyche (Jan 6, 2007)

msherman said:


> I did this to a Droid at GC a while back. I was playing a used guitar and the Droid came over and asked "can I help you?"
> I said, yeah, call the police, this guitar was stolen from me about a year ago.
> 
> You should have seen the look on the kids face He stood there with a blank look for about 15 seconds, then I said, just kidding. LMFAO



Wow! My local GC just opened, and one of the guitar guys, Ken, is keeping an eye out for me for all things Vai. He calls me the other day and says he has a white Vai guitar they just took in trade. I could have it for, maybe $800. I say, "Cool! What model?" It's a 7VWH. 
What kind of fret board?
Looks like rosewood.
Really? What's the serial number?
Um, 00 something. Here, let me look again... um... C00 etc. 
I say, "OK, I'll think about it."

So, I thought about it, and thought a little more, and called him back and said, "Dude, you have a Chinese ripoff illegal copy there. You've been ripped off!"

Huh! Really! (pause) Thanks! C-L-I-C-K!


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## Ryan (Jan 6, 2007)

Uh oh... Someone's getting in trouble haha


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jan 6, 2007)

You guys must have really bad music store employees in your area. I've never had any problems with the GC just down the street and most of the people are nice and don't pretend to know more than you (that I have seen anyway).


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## Sebastian (Jan 6, 2007)

Well my local Guitar shop is very expensive.. so somethimes i go there and laugh with 1 employee on the kids that overpay 2 times the real price of the guitar... on the second thought its sad, because they work hard to get a good guitar.. and they could buy a really great guitar, and they buy... something less awesome...


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## Loomer (Jan 6, 2007)

VEGETATHEPUPPET said:


> Well my local Guitar shop is very expensive.. so somethimes i go there and laugh with 1 employee on the kids that overpay 2 times the real price of the guitar... on the second thought its sad, because they work hard to get a good guitar.. and they could buy a really great guitar, and they buy... something less awesome...




I was under the impression that everything was pretty cheap in Poland 
High taxes?


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## Toshiro (Jan 6, 2007)

Salesman: So how does that <insert guitar brand/model here> play? Great huh?
Me: Well, the action is a bit high, and the neck could use a tweak, oh and it's pretty far out of tune, and the bridge is out of level....
Salesmen: Well, I could get you a tuner...
Me: Really? Got any tools to go with it?

Only happens when I'm out of town though, the shops here know me, and usually try to beg free work outta me.  Except this one dude, and that's because we hate each other. heh

I do like to scare the kiddies in pawn shops though. Was really fun during the Nirvana period, because any thrash riffage would make them turn their amp off.


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## Mr. S (Jan 6, 2007)

im not particually prone to snobby moments but it was pretty cool when we had a mini ss.org meetup in london and the sales dude seemed to get so excited when i pulled out my K7 that he really cranked the dual rec that i'd asked to play through completely drowning out everyone in the imediate area, whilst i was talking to him he told me that it was really odd to see someone playing a seven string then he said "yeah whats even weirder is theres a guy over there playing an original UV ive never seen people bring in such cool guitars" to which i said "yeah, he's with me"  it was metalfeind666 trying out one of those cool orange guitar/bass amps. not exactly a snobby moment but it was pretty cool... we need to do another london meetup sometime


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## JonezTownReunion (Jan 6, 2007)

Snobbery, smugness - well I demand a red capret gets rolled out before I enter a guitar center. I after all play a seven, while the rest of the pathetic meat puppets play 6's. For shame my feet touch the ground a six-stringer has just tread upon. After I enter, I then turn everyones amp off so I can contemplate upon which amp I shall use to rip everyone elses ego apart. 
Then, I pull out my amazing Prestige Rg1527 and play "about a girl." The other customers all tear at my soulful rendetion obviously. Those two chords my friend can melt heart strings, that I swear upon. As I walk out of the GC, I grab the nearest 6 string, a Telecaster or perhaps a SG, and I pick my teeth with it before throwing it to the ground and swiftly going to the bathroom to cleanse my hands of the filth. So am I snobby? nah not really. 
Just dont touch me. 

My band.. 

www.myspace.com/ryou4eighty6.

We recorded our album at guitar center, of course after putting all the 6 string guitars outside in order to insure the heaviness needed for this amazing endeavor into sonic fascism. Too bad it rained that night.


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## Sebastian (Jan 6, 2007)

Loomer said:


> I was under the impression that everything was pretty cheap in Poland
> High taxes?



It was cheap to you , beacuse you earn a lot ... you are a Rich man to a average Pole...
Everything is expensive for someone that earns not much..



Imagine that you pay 1600 USD for a Jackson JS30 Dinky... not so nice isnt it


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## Edroz (Jan 6, 2007)

funny, i've read alot of the GC related posts in this thread. i have nothing but great things to say about the GC closest to me, sales people are fairly knowledgeable and i've gotten some amazing deals on gear, for example, i scored a new Spector Eurobass (these usually run between $1,100 - 1,300) for $500! also picked up my Ibanez RG7420 (used, in near mint cond.) for $170.


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## CooleyJr (Nov 11, 2009)

I thought this thread needed to be brought back. I just stumbled upon it and read every post. Made me laugh considering I've had a similar experience with an OWNER of a guitar store in Myrtle Beach, SC.. 
I walk into this place, and as soon as I look up at the second floor.. I see an Ibanez RG7321. Not a high end guitar by any means. So I walk upstairs since it was the only 7 they had in stock. Snagged a cord from the shelf (wasn't opened yet.. brand new) Took the wrapper off, and plugged the 7321 into a Mesa Boogie Single Rect before turning it up to 4 and EQing the insanely scooped mid tone that looked like it was done by a noob.
I started tuning it up and realized the action was insanely high. Luckily I had the right size allen wrench in my pocket as I was expecting the guitar I'd be playing to have high action. The owner walked up to me while I was fixing the action and this was our 5 second conversation.

Andy : Hey kid! Don't mess with that!!
(just finished tuning it up after lowering the saddle for the high E)
Me : Why?
Andy : You're gonna mess it up!!
Me : *plays 15 note per second diminished run across all 7 strings and looks at him*
Andy : Sorry... *walks to tell his co-owner while a little punk lookin kid stared at me with his mouth open*

So the owner "Andy" comes back and says..
"If you wanna buy that guitar I'll sell it to you cheap! How does $450 with a gig bag sound??"
Me : For a guitar I can buy brand new for $375? This thing hasn't even been set up, intonated or anything. The truss rod hasn't even been touched. The pickups are muddy as hell. No thanks. I'm just trying a few things out.
Andy : Ok, sorry.

That moment of *HOLY SHIT* made me chuckle because being the OWNER of the place he should have took into consideration that people that actually.. play.. come in there.

After all that I just walked up to the counter, and threw the cord that I opened on the desk and threw him a 10 and told him it should cover it. 

*walks downstairs and out the door*

Snobbish? Probably.


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## Necrophagist777 (Nov 11, 2009)

DDDorian said:


> I'm a fan of Carcass, moreso the grind stuff, but _Necroticismescanting The Insalubrious_ and _Heartwork_ are two of only a few melodic death metal albums I actually enjoy. Arch Enemy, however, bore the hell out of me. I don't like their tones, they write boring songs with annoying "unite under the banner of metal" lyrics and Mike Amott always seems to be struggling to keep up with whoever he's playing alongside, be it Bill Steer, Chris Amott or whoever plays with them now.
> 
> So, my guitar snobbery may have been shot down, but my music snobbery is stronger than ever



To me Michael is the star of the band, no matter what goes down his solos are always extremely tasteful and memorable. He may not shred but his solos stick with you for a while. 

To stay on topic:

Tele + Deluxe Reverb + Fusion Shred = Pwn z nubz


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## Valserp (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, I just remembered of a double-snob story.
A couple of years back I decided I wanted to have a Floyd installed on my first guitar(which needed a bridge change anyway) so I went to a local store and asked for parts. The owner's wife was at the desk at the time, so she said I should try to look for some of the "guitar-repairmen" that are in town, and that they usually keep such parts around.

I said "Oh cool, so you can hook me up with a *luthier*?"
She replied "Well... uh... *luthier* is like for violins and such..." and gave me a bit of a snobbish look(I only translated it as "Luthiers do REAL INSTRUMENTS! Go to a handyman, metalboy!"
I knew what kind of look I was giving her then... So I just replied "Oh sorry, I forgot that guitars are *not* string instruments" and quickly walked out.


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## Default_M (Nov 11, 2009)

No offense to anyone but this thread actually makes me feel ill 
To me big headed/snobbishness isn't a trait that is attractive in a person, so I don't understand why people would boast about how snobbish they were like it should be applauded.


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## Heeboja (Nov 11, 2009)

My experience's with guitar shops have been totally of the opposite. When I was 12 or something and went and grabbed a guitar and plugged it into an amp and started playing one of the salesmen started walking towards me and then suddenly slowed down and watched as I played. He had this expression:" Wow that kid can play for his age!" I probably played better then than I play now 

well the local music store ( wich is about 60 km from here ) has a very nice owner and sales crew. I went there and first thing the owner said to me: "Hello, Artist! Grab a guitar and go try that new Mesa Boogie that just arrived. I'd like to hear your thoughts." 

And I've only visited that store couple of times and talked to man. 

And the other time I went in and tried an RGA and was about to leave the store (after one hour of playing few other guitars as well) I turned and said: "Oh there was something that I needed to buy." and the salesman said: "Nah. You don't need to buy anything. You can play all you want, mate!" 

Gotta love that shop.


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## Andrew_B (Nov 11, 2009)

Leon said:


> we should get badges that say, "Stop talking, I already know more than you."


 

^ that.....

that is why i hate going into any tool or guitar shop....

i dont have many guitar shop stories as i just ignore them now days 
i have lots of tool shop stories though...


kid with name tag: can i help you?

me : i doubt it.


or

kid with name tag: can i help you

me: sure, i need a 16mm forstner bit

kid with name tag: whats a forstner bit?

me: how did you get a job here?

maybe im a dick?
but it really is getting pathetic.... 
the least they could do is study the damn products their selling...


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## caughtinamosh (Nov 11, 2009)

Me said:


> How many strings does your guitar have?


 


Fellow guitarist said:


> Six...


 


Me said:


> Fuck off.


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## Koshchei (Nov 11, 2009)

I try not to be a dick to the counter jockeys - I used to work retail when I was in University, and know how miserable it is.

I just buy my picks, cheap-ass patch cords, or whatever and get out as fast as I can. There's nothing else in there for me.


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## mattofvengeance (Nov 11, 2009)

Yeah, I pretty much avoid GC at all cost because they never have anything I'm interested outside of used stock, and for the most part, I can use their online site for that. I've got a buddy working at the Arlington store now, so I'll see if I can get him to look out for shit for me.


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## Necrophagist777 (Nov 11, 2009)

I never try and act snobbish but I kind of feel bad when the employees are giving really bad advice to someone just to get a commission.


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## matty2fatty (Nov 11, 2009)

I have 2, but they were both unintentional snob moments:

1)I was at a big family reunion with lots of people I've never met, and an older guy pulls out this cool 12 string and sits down with his book of country songs and starts wailing away with his wife, and this is REALLY shitty country music. After 40 mins he stops, and I sneak over to try the guitar out. As I pick it up he gets his country book out and says 'here you go, just in case you want to play any of.......' as I start fooling around with chords/runs that go above the third fret, haha. He just trailed off and said 'never mind,', closed his book and walked away.

2)Last time I was in the local music store for strings, the guy was ringing me through and said 'oh, dude, you made a mistake and grabbed a 7 string set.' So I just told him that no, I in fact didn't make a mistake and that they were for my seven. He just sort of raised his eyebrows and gave me the strings....I've yet to see a seven in the store.


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## Empryrean (Nov 11, 2009)

I don't think they're very snobby, but it did me some good to be right for once:

I was showing an acquaintance of mine my new(to me) Rg7321, and he was really giving me that kinda "so what?" look. He said "So you basically wanna be like whitechapel and just play low-tuned shit? we can't even jam now dude", then I told him "I'm tuned to Bb F Bb Eb G# C F"


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## redlol (Nov 11, 2009)

i got charged 30 pounds for a pickup replacement ages ago... not good. i dont play in music stores cos im left handed- leading me to complain to the world about the lack of left handed guitars available to try before you buy. bought my hellraiser c7 and prayed id liek it. good thing i did


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## audibleE (Nov 11, 2009)

Opening for Avenge Sevenfold, after show, introducing myself to them, I get a limp wristed "hey" and a back turn. Also opening for Queensryche, Geoff Tate doing the reverse head nod and prancing by.

"best moments":
Meeting GWAR, Page Hamilton, Mike Patton, Jerry Cantrell, Alex Skolnick and Anthrax way back, when Among the Living first came out. Oh and getting let into a show by Warrel Dane when he was in Sanctuary. Awesome!


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## mattofvengeance (Nov 11, 2009)

The dudes from Avenged Sevenfold were some of the nicest I've ever met when we opened for them last year. I talked to Matt for a good half hour.


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## telecaster90 (Nov 11, 2009)

Wow, all these GC horror stories make me feel fortunate to be in a town with a good GC


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## CrushingAnvil (Nov 11, 2009)

I picked up a Les Paul Custom one time and plugged into a DSL100, noodled with the solo for 'Holy Diver' and some kid with a fringe wanders over and says "Adam actually plays it differently, brah"

I said, "What? Who is Adam?"

He's like, "Killswitch Engage?"

Me: "What do they have to do with Dio?"

Him: "Who's Dio?"

Me: "I don't think you're worthy of knowing who Dio is, man"


Has anyone ever met someone who was under the impression that Killswitch Engage wrote 'Holy Diver'? 



Good Experience:

I'm mates with this guy but when I first went in to a music store in town to try my future RM100 (almost two years ago) I jammed my Ibanez through it and he said "You're good man, cool arpeggios, are you in a band?"

I don't get that a lot since I don't play in public but when an employee at a musical instrument store has the decency to compliment a 17 year old kid's playing, It speaks a lot about the measures they take when hiring staff. Although the store in question did have a lot of dust gathering on some very nice guitars....$3999.99 Neck-through prestige RG...


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## BrainArt (Nov 11, 2009)

I don't really have any snob stories, because the employees at my local music shop are cool and know their shit, when I go in I sit and talk and joke around with them a lot. Though, I have been prone to being a show-off, but that's when an attractive female walks into the store.


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## techcoreriffman (Nov 11, 2009)

The local music shops around here are great. One of the guys that owns them is 96 and only does it for the music loving people around. The other is just a great, really helpful guy. No horror stories for me.


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## CrushingAnvil (Nov 11, 2009)

techcoreriffman said:


> The local music shops around here are great. One of the guys that owns them is 96 and only does it for the music loving people around. The other is just a great, really helpful guy. No horror stories for me.



Woah awesome!


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## Joelan (Nov 11, 2009)

CrushingAnvil said:


> Has anyone ever met someone who was under the impression that Killswitch Engage wrote 'Holy Diver'?



Yep 

That was after they performed it at a battle of the bands with the gain and mid knobs at 10 and 0 respectively.


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## caskettheclown (Nov 11, 2009)

i call guitar center to see if they have a bugera

guitar center-yes what can i do for you
me-do you have bugera 333xl combo amp? new or used?
Guitar center-no but we have a line 6 spider 3 combo that should have the tones you want
me-excuse me, did i come off as stupid to you!?
Guitarcenter-n (then i interrupted)
me-i'm not some punk tone deaf 12 year old so quit trying to sell me the cheapest shit you can just because you make more money off of it, see you people are whats wrong with america and are the reason the economy is bad, you push the cheap products on people who want to buy something nice and spend some hard earned money and actuallly have an amp they can be proud of , but no you push off these line 6 spider threes like they come with handy's or something and now every local band or musician only has a peice of shit line 6 spider 3 half stack and I'M SICK OF IT.

needless to say they put the manager on the phone and i think i got the guy in trouble.


This is why i support local music stores, they are real people and are actually interested in what they sell you. No i'm not usually a dick to people this just made me extremely mad for some odd reason.


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## Xiphos68 (Nov 11, 2009)

All_¥our_Bass;347602 said:


> You guys must have really bad music store employees in your area. I've never had any problems with the GC just down the street and most of the people are nice and don't pretend to know more than you (that I have seen anyway).


 
all the guys there are cool with me and my dad. Some people get annoyed when I want to play high guitars or rather expensive ones on the wall though.
That I need to get money for!


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## Daemoniac (Nov 11, 2009)

^  Over the top? Probably, but damn funny nonetheless  EDIT: this was at caskettheclown's comment.


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## Xiphos68 (Nov 11, 2009)

IbanezShredderB said:


> Though, I have been prone to being a show-off, but that's when an attractive female walks into the store.


So have I.


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## Cheesebuiscut (Nov 11, 2009)

I go to great lengths to be as humble as I possibly can, but every once in a while someone throws out a stupid and I have to argue it.

For instance at a previous band practice a friend sat in and said he couldn't hear anything we needed to kill the mids and max out the treble 

That back and forth went for a few minutes.


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## BrainArt (Nov 11, 2009)

Xiphos68 said:


> So have I.



I think it's safe to say that most of us here have done that.


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## Daemoniac (Nov 11, 2009)

I haven't... though that may be because I have a girlfriend of 5 years and little to no playing talent in general anyway...


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## Xiphos68 (Nov 11, 2009)

IbanezShredderB said:


> I think it's safe to say that most of us here have done that.


It's still hilarious.


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## Andrew_B (Nov 11, 2009)

Demoniac said:


> I haven't... though that may be because I have a girlfriend of 5 years and little to no playing talent in general anyway...


 

^


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## Daemoniac (Nov 12, 2009)

^ Hey now, don't be hatin'


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## chips400 (Nov 12, 2009)

Ok i walk into GC with my agile baritone to try out the rectoverb I was buying.
The dude their was litearly said to me "you shouldnt play a bass through a guitar amp". I picked the amp up and left instantly


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## Daemoniac (Nov 12, 2009)

Should have kicked him in the 'nads first. I fucking hate ignorant shit like that.


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## audibleE (Nov 12, 2009)

mattofvengeance said:


> The dudes from Avenged Sevenfold were some of the nicest I've ever met when we opened for them last year. I talked to Matt for a good half hour.



Really, they must have been pissed off for being in Cleveland. I'm glad you had a good experience. Maybe it was an off night for them.


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## MFB (Nov 12, 2009)

I haven't been to a GC since they first started carrying ESP/LTD's and even then they asked if I needed help finding anything to which I said _politely_, "No, I'm good."

Whenever I go to my nearest Daddy's Junky Music, _none _of the guys even ask me if I need help with shit cause they know my rig and my gear so they're just like "We got this in, give it a go..." aside from the one guy who went to high school with my brother and jokes with me about my expansion into 7 & 8 strings (not in a bad way). He'll remind me no one plays 7 & 8's and I'll remind him no one uses Spider Valves


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## MaxOfMetal (Nov 12, 2009)

I choose to not stoop to their level. You get what you give. Face it, the "average" guitarist knows little outside Gibson, Fender, and 6-strings. To be "snobby" to them is pointless. They're there to make a living, not be your "guitar buddies". It's great when shop guys are cool, but it's a job, plain and simple. 

It's like when you go buy a car. The salesman has no idea what you want, he doesn't know you, so he has to go by what you _look like_ you want. 

If you go into a guitar shop with a metal shirt, some camo shorts, and tats do you really expect them to show you the latest and greatest in tube amps and bizarre "niche" instruments? No, they'll show you the latest ultra affordable modeling amp with "brutal tones" and the newest incarnation of the Dean Dimebag signature. 

Musicians are musicians, they'll always shun what they view as unnecessary.


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## Origins (Nov 12, 2009)

Not a snobbish moment, but once I went to a guitar shop where I found an EBMM JP. I decided to try it out and played some Dream Theater. Once I finished, I heard someone clapping in the back shop


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## IconW (Nov 12, 2009)

Yep,

I walked to the local music store something like year ago.
Me: Excuse me, is here all the guitars?
SM: Nope, we have some more on the downstairs.
Me: Do you have any sevens?
SM: Sevens? Nobody plays sevens anymore? Do they? That was somewhere round nineteens...
Me: ...mmm, ok...I guess you don't have sevens then?
SM: No we don't, but we have Baritone sixers if you're interested?
Me: ...*thank you, come again*

...I felt like a little dirty snob. And it truly seem that salesmen today don't know nothing about the business they stand for. It's all Stratocaster, Les Pauls and Marshals. Of course those are all good, but they should know a bit more don't they? (not trying to generalise or anything).


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## Fred the Shred (Nov 12, 2009)

I've had a few moments already, although only a couple of which were intentional. One of them was when I got my UV7 green dot. I was a regular customer of that shop, and I was greeted by a new employee. This was somewhere around late '94 or early '95 and the green dot had been pulled to that store after not selling for ages - I was pretty ecstatic, going after my first 7 and all, and needless to say, 7's weren't exactly common or popular back then.

Fred - Hello there! I'd like to try out that UV7 you've got there, please.
Employee - Hi. Errr... the... what?
Fred - The seven-string with the green pickups.
Employee - Oh, that's an expensive guitar.
Fred - I'm fully aware of it.
Employee - Yeah, but it's around 300000$00 (roughly 1500 Euro these days).
Fred - Yes, I know. May I give it a proper test drive now, please?
Employee *giving the skinny metalhead the "yeah, right" look* - Ok. I'll plug it into this JCM900 and...
Fred - ...actually, you'll plug it into that Mark III, so I can play it through an amp like mine which doesn't trigger my gag reflex, please.
Employee - oh, that's an expensive amp.
Fred - Which won't explode magically from plugging a 7-string, and I don't intend to buy another one, so its price is hardly the question.

*Employee finally hands me the guitar and it gets the customary inspection and playing test, while the man never takes his eyes off me*

Fred - Ok, good to go!
Employee *almost yanks the guitar from me* - So, a guitar you'll save for for a while, huh?
Fred - Nope. I can save for others later on. This one's coming with me.
*Employee laughs nervously*
Fred - Please pack it in the case and check the accessories are in there. I'll be downstairs paying for it.

When the employee, still in denial, got down there, I was paying for the guitar in live cash, and saw the store owner talking to me. He still caught the "excuse the new guy he doesn't know you yet. How's the koa Reb Beach doing?" part, though.

So much for smartass remarks from that day on.


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## ralphy1976 (Nov 12, 2009)

man 94 / 95 and already rocking the 7s...awesome!!!! 94 / 95 i got into Rage Against the Machine...i remember it as if it was today!!!!


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## Samer (Nov 12, 2009)

Lucky for me i have one of the best guitar centers locally // they hook me up with some crazy deals (became friends with a few of the employees)

Most of the local music stores here are solid, only one i can think of that is of par is this one store called Blue Flame Music, i walked in there saw every guitar was some cheap $100 strat copy and left with out saying much. 

No snob moments for me, im down to earth for the most part (try to be at least)


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## hairychris (Nov 12, 2009)

Fred the Shred said:


> When the employee, still in denial, got down there, I was paying for the guitar in live cash, and saw the store owner talking to me. He still caught the "excuse the new guy he doesn't know you yet. How's the koa Reb Beach doing?" part, though.
> 
> So much for smartass remarks from that day on.





I don't go to music stores much. Some guys are dicks, some aren't.

I used to regularly wander in to Sound Control in London when they still existed. I'd chatted to a couple of the staff a few times, and one time I walked in one of them came up to me and said 'Oooh, you've got to try this' and stuck a PRS 513 (Brazilian rosewood neck, all the trimmings) in my hands. Didn't really get on with the thing but I think that they were running at about 4.5k GBP at the time. That was nice of him!

I did have a friend who used to work in one of the other London stores. Got a free amp repair off him because his boss had dicked me about. Sound of paperwork being torn out of order book & me saying "Thank you very much, squire!".


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## durangokid (Nov 12, 2009)

That thread Rules!

From the top of my mind,the only thing i can rember was a pick and strings incident.

Me: Hi, do you have a dunlop jazz 3 and d'addario strings?
Employee: Just a minute.

I walk around to look at some guitars.
1 minute later i come back.

Employee: sorry we don't have the strings and i can't find the other product.
Me: It's behind you the d'addario 0.10 set, and the picks are right over you..
Employee: Oh sorry,here are the strings,wich pick do you need?
Me: The red one ,Jazz 3.
Then the guy hand me a red fender pick.
Employee: If i was you, i would buy the fender one,the best one!
Me: Dude,i use jazz 3.
Employee: Sorry, we don't have it.
Me: It's right over there man!!! 
Employee: Can you explain me the difference between both?
Me: Just pack the pick and strings and let me pay it.

I kinda felt bad later,i mean,i have the worst stores right over here,but it's their jobs.


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## caskettheclown (Nov 12, 2009)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I choose to not stoop to their level. You get what you give. Face it, the "average" guitarist knows little outside Gibson, Fender, and 6-strings. To be "snobby" to them is pointless. They're there to make a living, not be your "guitar buddies". It's great when shop guys are cool, but it's a job, plain and simple.
> 
> It's like when you go buy a car. The salesman has no idea what you want, he doesn't know you, so he has to go by what you _look like_ you want.
> 
> ...




i agree with you on that but there are decent modeling amps out there, Spider's do not count. BUT yes i do expect them to show me some tube amps and such.Tube amps sound good for every genre though,depending on which one you get. i get tired of being talked to like i just started playing.


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## Fred the Shred (Nov 12, 2009)

Regardless of fitting into the "guitar buddy" category, people are supposed to perform a good job in the end of the day. If we are talking about a music shop's guitar department, they need to know what they have around and its pros and cons, so that not only the customer trusts them but also comes back to buy more gear. If I recommend something to you and allow you to try it out, while clearing what doubts you may have, are you not more likely to feel you made an informed choice and happy regarding customer care?

I, for one, don't set foot in stores with poor customer support, unless I'm in supermarket shopping mode i.e. grab things, pay, leave.


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## rob_l (Nov 12, 2009)

The only "music store" I can stand going to is Bass Central, and that's only because "Beaver" and the rest of the guys that work there are truly cool. 

But GC, SamAsh, et al... My biggest snob moment I guess was when I swore off EVER going back to one. I have an agreement with myself that a) I wont buy ANYTHING from ANY MusiciansFriend/affiliate and b) will only buy from SamAsh.com - Not the stores. One of my friends (now) is a previous SamAsh store-manager. First time I met him I was trading out a Fender P-bass and he was such a smart-ass that I told him later he was damned lucky I didnt swing the bottom strap pin into his teeth and proceed to pound him into human-crisco... 

Personally, I hate going to the stores for a variety of other reasons too - People playing the same cliched song-parts or the same droning sweep-exercise for an hour on end or playing "rhythm parts" at full volume, on a Spider IIIs Insane channel - And no one riff is discernable from another...

Not so much "snobby" as "fucking ANNOYED".....


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## BurialWithin (Nov 12, 2009)

Ha ha this thread is awesome.

I'm usually a pretty down to earth but i do like to snob about my Vader cab. It usually goes like this....

"I have a vader cab.....thank you have a good day."


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## Necrophagist777 (Nov 12, 2009)

BurialWithin said:


> Ha ha this thread is awesome.
> 
> I'm usually a pretty down to earth but i do like to snob about my Vader cab. It usually goes like this....
> 
> "I have a vader cab.....thank you have a good day."



And then a guitar center employee will say, "hmmm never heard of it but have you tried our new Spider IV Combos?"


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## BurialWithin (Nov 12, 2009)

Necrophagist777 said:


> And then a guitar center employee will say, "hmmm never heard of it but have you tried our new Spider IV Combos?"


 
Ha ha  sadly enough


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## DevinShidaker (Nov 12, 2009)

I don't really have many "snob" moments, but I got them every once in a while when I worked at Sam Ash, and I usually made those people feel real dumb. When I worked there I had real long hair, bearded, pierced, and tattooed. If you didn't know me, you would assume I'm just some young metal head who doesn't know shit about instruments. I worked in the percussion section, but every day I was getting called over to guitars to cover for the guys that didn't know their shit (all of them). I wasn't selling as much as they were, but that's because I wasn't shoving line 6 and starter packs down peoples throats, and because of that, I never had a return besides some drumheads that were the wrong size, because I actually made sure people got what they wanted. My main problem was the people that would come in and instantly snob me when all I would say is "hey, how's it going?". That's me just letting you know that I know you're there, not me saying "can I help you?", you're perfectly able to search the store and find something you like without me holding your hand. The main problem though was rednecks coming in and always asking "what's your best price on this?" because they "deserve" a discount, since they spent "a lot" of money here. Usually they bought a guitar starter pack 3 years ago and haven't been back since (gotta love the computer system!). But anyways, I would just point to the price tag and say "well it says $199.99, so I can do $199.99". I know people don't care that those discounts come out of the employees pockets (because the first thing to get cut from a discount is commission), but I get annoyed when people feel that they DESERVE a discount just for walking into the store. Go to wal mart and ask the cashier for a discount, because you've shopped there before, they'll laugh at you.

My favorite thing to do though was to tell people to check out rondomusic.com when they were looking for something cheap and nice, and we didn't have it. I truly only had the players wants/needs in mind, which is probably why I didn't have out of this world sales, but I definitely had people that asked for me by name because I was honest.

Just remember, while most are, not EVERYBODY that works at a sam ash or guitar center is an idiot.


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## Scar Symmetry (Nov 12, 2009)

My most snobbish guitar moment? Every time I walk into a guitar store, knowing for a fact that I know more than 95% of their employees


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## canuck brian (Nov 12, 2009)

Looking at production guitars whenever I go into a store. 

Seriously, the money I see spent on some of the standard production guitars makes me laugh, especially with the shit workmanship on a lot of it.


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## McKay (Nov 12, 2009)

Going into a local store (we don't have GC or Sam Ash in the UK) and asking for a pack of 10's and a single of the largest gauge they have since they usually have at least a 60 in.

Idiot: You want a 7 string pack.
Me: No, I need a thicker 7th string than they come with since I'm in A and G.
Idiot: No, you want a 7 string pack, they're made for 7 strings.
Me: NO, I know what I want, give me the strings I asked for.

Nothing major, just an idiot kid thinking he knows what I want better than I do because I look like a metal player.


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## ARC7789 (Nov 12, 2009)

mine was when I bought my xiphos I had to convince 3 Sales droids (i like that term)
that i was looking at the original 7 model and not the '09 slowly explaining the differences and comparing it to one of the '09 sixers they had.... "but thats the six string one" & "I don't see the difference" were some of the quotes that nearly made me snap after a long day


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## CooleyJr (Nov 12, 2009)

McKay said:


> Going into a local store (we don't have GC or Sam Ash in the UK) and asking for a pack of 10's and a single of the largest gauge they have since they usually have at least a 60 in.
> 
> Idiot: You want a 7 string pack.
> Me: No, I need a thicker 7th string than they come with since I'm in A and G.
> ...



I've actually had that same problem with strings. The local store didn't have my normal Boomers set (9-58) so I wanted to get a set of 9-46 with a low 58 and they said..
"Why are you getting such a huge string? You already have a whole set in your hand."
I told the guy
"Well I play a 7 string. 6 strings aren't enough for me."
He asked if I was one of those metal/shred wankers...
Immediately I say..
"Your a bluesman aren't you?"
Sure as shit he was.
But saying something like that to a paying customer is a VERY good way to lose business.


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## Bevo (Nov 12, 2009)

Went to a local guitar shop to try out some amps with my JP7, after trying the amps in the sound room my girl decided she wanted a coffee. Asked the guys to watch my JP while I did that..They asked if they could play it so I let them.

When I got back a couple guys were drooling over it cause they were playing the brutals on it. I stood back and watched for a bit.
When I told them I needed my guitar back the guys were like wow thats yours! dude you rock..where did you get it, how much did you pay for it.. what band are you in..

I just wanted my guitar?
Never played a note in front of those guys yet they thought I was all of that plus the bag of chip just for owning it....whatever


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## TomParenteau (Nov 12, 2009)

Looks like this thread is mostly about being in a music store.

My most recent snob-at-the-music-store moment was at Portland Music, a pretty decent locally-owned store. I was on my way home from work, so I was wearing my nerd clothes.

I was looking at picks because of the raves about Jazz IIIs in this forum. I was going through the different boxes on the counter when I came up with a box with guitar knobs in it. So I started looking at some knobs, possibly for Tom P.'s eBay Project.

The salesman walked up and said, "That's just knobs in that box."

I said, "Ya think? These ones here are from Q-Parts."


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## Spratcho (Nov 12, 2009)

Well. I have not any specific snob moment either, Well here's my story anyway.

I sat and played on a cheap 7 string Schecter and a ENGL Fireball
in a local store in Gothenburg, suddenly someone was grabbing my shoulder
and said, Wow you really cranked that amp, and I was just looking at the guy
with a big  ..... and he's continue talking to me and says thats a really
warm and clean sound you've got there. And I'm still stunned.... 
Im putting away the guitar in the stand and just walks away out the store.
I'm standing outside and smoking and then I just could place who he was....
FUCK! It was Jeff Loomis, I went back in the store and apologized for my behavier,

*Jeff*: I'ts okey ,

_bla bla bla bla bla_

*Jeff*:I hope you'll be here in 3 hours. 
*Me*: Okey.... why (I had no clue)
*Jeff*: Couse I will play on my clinic tour here 
*Me*: Ofcourse I will 
*Jeff*: Well. Bye for now.
*Me*: Bye bye


_Sorry for my bad english_


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## BrainArt (Nov 12, 2009)

^ Lucky bastard. I want to have a conversation like that with Jeff Loomis. 



I've got a snobby story I guess, my cousin was over at my house and we were sitting in my room joking around and I plugged in my 7 and let him widdle around on it for a little bit (so he can get used to the neck for when he buys one .) And he starts tapping and messes up (again, he's not used to the neck yet), and he goes: "Dude, you must be a fucking beast to be able to tap on this like you do."

I just looked at him, and thought to myself: "Yeah, that's right bitch, I can shred on a 7 and you can't." 

 He and I have pissing contests all the time, but they're just for fun.


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## El Caco (Nov 12, 2009)

My snobbish moments aren't really about what gets said, mine occur every time I walk into a music shop and don't buy anything because they don't sell 7's and my gear is nicer then anything they will ever stock. I get along fine and talk shit with the guys that work in one of the local stores but apart from the occasional picks or other small items I usually walk out empty handed.

My conversations are usually

ME "Do you have xxxx?"

THEM "No you are the first person who has asked for it" or sometimes "No one wants to spend that much, everyone buys this"

We usually repeat that conversation until I run out of items and then I finish with "you don't have much here"

It has got to the point where I feel bad about walking into a store knowing I'm probably not going to buy anything.

The snobbiest i get is when I walk into a shop and they recommend something at which point I will remind them what I own.

There is this one moment I am proud of where a guy who was a much better player then me (everyone is) was playing a metal looking superstrat which he drop tuned through one of the better amps, he seemed to have some chops but he played a little and turned a knob and played a little and turned a knob all the time his tone was terrible, I listened on for a while since I was a little embarrassed to play because I suck and can't play practically anything. But there was this old Spider I wanted to try and I was sick of waiting for him to leave so I thought fuck it, I don't know him anyway what am I afraid of. So I walked over and picked up each guitar and the only one that was close to being in tune was this big old hollow Jazz box, I tune it up, I plug in and cycle through a few of the tones very quietly not really hearing anything I like. Then I find one that has potential, I can't remember if I threw a little delay or reverb on it but I tweaked it a little, turned the volume up and played a few easy phrases that I can usually play without fucking up. The other guy gave up after that, switched off and listened to me until I ran out of things to play, he then remarked about how good the guitar and amp sounded and left.

As I left the store one of the guys at the front who knows me by name turns and says "Is your real name Steve Vai?". If you ever meet me and have the unfortunate privilege to hear how much I suck at guitar you will understand how proud I felt in that moment.


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## Rick (Nov 12, 2009)

BurialWithin said:


> Ha ha this thread is awesome.
> 
> I'm usually a pretty down to earth but i do like to snob about my Vader cab. It usually goes like this....
> 
> "I have a vader cab.....thank you have a good day."



Kinda like me.

"Yes, I play 7 strings. Will this be a problem?"


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## Spratcho (Nov 13, 2009)

IbanezShredderB said:


> ^ Lucky bastard. I want to have a conversation like that with Jeff Loomis.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




In those moment you don't feel lucky... You just fell stupid actually


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## Samer (Nov 13, 2009)

Spratcho said:


> I went back in the store and apologized for my behavier,
> 
> 
> 
> ...




You didnt say anything though right? HAHA, good story. Wasn't like you said, dude wtf / you just looked at him?


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## mattofvengeance (Nov 13, 2009)

Rick said:


> Kinda like me.
> 
> "Yes, I play 7 strings. Will this be a problem?"



Yeah if I only had a nickel every time I had to defend my honor for playing a 7. 6 stringers just don't understand. What makes it even more lame is that I've never in my life said that 7 strings were better, just that they better suit what I like, but 6 string dudes are quick to point out how much better their guitars are, and to me, that's ridiculous. Its like boxing fans losing sleep at night over MMA (the UFC in particular) encroaching on their precious territory. What they fail to realize is that MMA fans were boxing fans to start with so they can appreciate both, just like 7 stringers at one time played 6s. Why can't we all just be happy with what we have and not having pissing contests about what's "better"? It's all subjective anyway.


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## bacid22 (Nov 13, 2009)

envenomedcky said:


> I don't really have many "snob" moments, but I got them every once in a while when I worked at Sam Ash, and I usually made those people feel real dumb. When I worked there I had real long hair, bearded, pierced, and tattooed. If you didn't know me, you would assume I'm just some young metal head who doesn't know shit about instruments. I worked in the percussion section, but every day I was getting called over to guitars to cover for the guys that didn't know their shit (all of them). I wasn't selling as much as they were, but that's because I wasn't shoving line 6 and starter packs down peoples throats, and because of that, I never had a return besides some drumheads that were the wrong size, because I actually made sure people got what they wanted. My main problem was the people that would come in and instantly snob me when all I would say is "hey, how's it going?". That's me just letting you know that I know you're there, not me saying "can I help you?", you're perfectly able to search the store and find something you like without me holding your hand. The main problem though was rednecks coming in and always asking "what's your best price on this?" because they "deserve" a discount, since they spent "a lot" of money here. Usually they bought a guitar starter pack 3 years ago and haven't been back since (gotta love the computer system!). But anyways, I would just point to the price tag and say "well it says $199.99, so I can do $199.99". I know people don't care that those discounts come out of the employees pockets (because the first thing to get cut from a discount is commission), but I get annoyed when people feel that they DESERVE a discount just for walking into the store. Go to wal mart and ask the cashier for a discount, because you've shopped there before, they'll laugh at you.
> 
> My favorite thing to do though was to tell people to check out rondomusic.com when they were looking for something cheap and nice, and we didn't have it. I truly only had the players wants/needs in mind, which is probably why I didn't have out of this world sales, but I definitely had people that asked for me by name because I was honest.
> 
> Just remember, while most are, not EVERYBODY that works at a sam ash or guitar center is an idiot.


 
I could not have said it better myself. I worked at GC for 2 years and dealt with the same stuff, everyday. Plus I had to hear people butcher the intro to sweet child of mine at least 12 times a day. You start to go insane after a while. I have had to pull out my gear snob card every once in a while when people thought they knew more than I did, but I didn't wave it in everyone's face all the time. Well, I might have, . I hated having to deal with people that weren't gear snobs all day. You have no idea how many people come in and ask us what guitar they should buy. It desensitizes us to all customers and makes us hate the world. Plus, they don't pay us enough to setup every guitar. I only set up the guitars that I play when I don't feel like working. That's why only 5 guitars in the whole store are playable, because the only guitars that are, were setup by employees for their own personal wankery. At the end of the day, all music retail sucks, they treat their employees like crap, and that is why their employees usually suck at life. Sorry. The few employees that don't suck, usually get fired for not sucking. That's what happened to everyone at my store. I got fired for having the most sales, the best customer service, and telling my boss that I was going to light his house on fire . Now for my gear snob story:

A week after I got fired I had to go in to pickup a check and wank on the only 7 in the whole store. When I walked into the boss' office there were some customers there that were very disappointed that their guitar didn't come with a case. So the boss has the idea to ask me how to call Schecter and order the proper case for there guitar. I told him the model number of the case and the name and number of the Schecter rep to call, and then looked at the customers and said "Good thing this asshole fired the only employee that knew how to help you folks." Then looked at the boss and said "Next time, ask someone that works here to fix your fuck ups." Sorry for the rant, I just hate Guitar Center.


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## DrewsifStalin (Nov 13, 2009)

Everytime I see someone play a gibson or a schecter... oooh man.


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## SerratedSkies (Nov 13, 2009)

Mine always involves the following;

Me: That Egnater combo sounds great, I'd just rather play my own guitar through it.
Dude: Well what do you play? We'll probably have something similar.
Me: I play an Ibanez 7 string
Dude: Oh awesome, we have an RG7321 right over there if you want to grab it.
Me: Eh, I have one of those as well, I'm not one for low end model guitars.
Dude: Oh come on, that thing is great.
Me: Have you ever played a high end Ibanez 7 string?
Dude: No, but these RG7321's play exactly like high end 7 strings
Me: Eh, not really man. Like I said, I have a 7321 at home and I'd definitely rather play my own personal RG1527M
Dude: So you're saying you'd play worse if you picked up our floor model 7?
Me: No. I would just sound worse. I'm not fighting for a sound I can't achieve on a guitar that collects dust.
Dude: So grab a 6 string. We have plenty of Prestiges.
Me: Man, what part of this do you not understand?
Dude: The part that doesn't involve you buying anything.


Honestly, salary + comission ruins the music industry.


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## 6o66er (Nov 13, 2009)

bacid22 said:


> Plus I had to hear people butcher the intro to sweet child of mine at least 12 times a day.



This...sucks. I hate when I'm honestly giving new gear a good run-through and I have to go to my Happy Place just to keep from walking over and smashing faces in for this crap.

On that note - I think the only time I was ever really a dick about anything was in a similar situation. I was trying out a new 6505+ back when they first came out in the "loud room" at a local GC. There was a kid in there about 16 or 17 years old trying his hardest to fuck up just about every post-Justice Metallica song you can think of at a _VERY_ unreasonable volume. I walked over, turned it down, hit the standby switch on the amp, and told him in very unkind words just how much he sucked at playing guitar.

I have never, EVER acted like that towards anyone before because I remember when I was still learning, and also because most times they don't _mean_ to be complete assholes on purpose. I generally have no problem wandering around or waiting until they've finished, or I just ignore it if I can hear over them. However, I think in this case it was because he was BLARING a horribly EQ'd JCM 2000 TSL (FULL FUCKING STACK) for almost 5 minutes straight and the resulting wall of horrifying noise and feedback that filled that very small room drove me into a fit of fucking insanity in very short order. I was also pissed because none of the employees had told this monstrously assholish kid to turn the damn thing down...not once, the entire time he was in there.


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## chips400 (Nov 13, 2009)

Demoniac said:


> Should have kicked him in the 'nads first. I fucking hate ignorant shit like that.


 ill keep that in mind im going to pick up a used 7 there this week.


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## walleye (Nov 14, 2009)

Default_M said:


> No offense to anyone but this thread actually makes me feel ill
> To me big headed/snobbishness isn't a trait that is attractive in a person, so I don't understand why people would boast about how snobbish they were like it should be applauded.



i agree
some of these back-and-forths are kind of funny but most of them are just pathetic.


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## JerkyChid (Nov 15, 2009)

I was in my local shop one day (whose people are fucking awesome!) and this kid goes "Hey, what amp do you have? I have one of the first thousand of the new Marshall MGs!"
"Oh really? Cool. I have the first Orange Dual Terror to be owned by a customer and the first one in Louisiana period"
"...wow"

He don't need to know I have no cab yet so I'm playing a Crate


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## widdlywhaa (Nov 15, 2009)

LOL i actually work at guitar center,notin sales though,in the ops department.

but i actually threw one of the salesmen a bone today when someone wanted to trade in their 5150II half stack on a Mesa triple rec, they obviously weren't gonna give him very much so he decided just to keep his 5150II and while I was checking his gear out at the door i made a remark to the effect of...

Me:"Honestly dude before you leave you should try your 5150II through one of those mesa 4x12's
Him:"really?"
Me: "yeah dude totally! I'm more than certain you'll be totally happy with the sound since you don't seem to wanna let go of the peavey so easily." 
Him:"Yeah, I like the gain and all on the peavey but it just doesn't have kinda crunch the mesa has."
Me:"Well, I feel ya on not bein able to afford stuff ya really want but i really think you'd like that cab man."

so he has the salesman pull the cab over to the front podium where his head and cab were and we hook it up and BAM! he loved it , so he thanked me and kept playing on it. Now he's dead set on the mesa cab

of course the salesman tried to take charge like the whole thing was his idea but whatevs he knows the truth.........


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## JerkyChid (Nov 15, 2009)

widdlywhaa said:


> LOL i actually work at guitar center,notin sales though,in the ops department.
> 
> but i actually threw one of the salesmen a bone today when someone wanted to trade in their 5150II half stack on a Mesa triple rec, they obviously weren't gonna give him very much so he decided just to keep his 5150II and while I was checking his gear out at the door i made a remark to the effect of...
> 
> ...


 I would constantly remind him by saying "need some help? ...again?"


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## widdlywhaa (Nov 15, 2009)

LOL that'd be WAY dickish.... he knows i know my gear better than him....

A lot of the GCguysi workwith are nice dudes they just don't bother to readupon gear outside of what little stuff their into.

likethe salesman I helped, he claims to be a "Peavey Believer" and says the first endorsement he's gonna try and get is through peavey, but when I brought up having his 6505 bias modded he idn't know what the hell I was talking about and his only response was "Won't that void the warranty?"

super nice guy....... but should not be selling gear ...... let alone be the Guitar Dept. Manager... ugh


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## JerkyChid (Nov 15, 2009)

Just thought up a not so snobbish more dickish moment.
I was at the shop and Tommy from NYC was doing a clinic. This one guy was talking about how he loved the tone of his Dime wah but hated having to turn it on and off. Tommy tried to sell him on the wonders of Morley and the guy said that the tone wasn't for him. Tommy goes "But its the best ever! You NEED to get it so you never have to worry about stomping on your wah again!"

I then said "Or you can keep your wah and get a G-Lab wah pad"

Tommy:


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## Empryrean (Nov 15, 2009)

s7eve said:


> As I left the store one of the guys at the front who knows me by name turns and says "Is your real name Steve Vai?". If you ever meet me and have the unfortunate privilege to hear how much I suck at guitar you will understand how proud I felt in that moment.



That doesn't change that youre ochoteco freakin awesome


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## Jzbass25 (Nov 15, 2009)

I can be pretty snobby if people continually act like I have zero knowledge of anything, especially when it comes to music theory or playing in general. But I can brush it off unless I don't like the person annoying me, then I might just rub knowledge in their face and tell them to be on their way. 

Also in guitar center I try and not mouth off any snobby remarks unless they are trying to be like TRY THIS AWESOME GUITAR CENTER BRAND OVER 9000 DOLLAR POS GUITAR ITZ DA SHIZNIT SON. 

Also I feel bad for all employees there at the same time since last time I went to guitar center I heard sweet child of mine a literal 15 times. I counted lol and I was there for about 30 minutes lol


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## Necrophagist777 (Nov 15, 2009)

Jzbass25 said:


> I can be pretty snobby if people continually act like I have zero knowledge of anything, especially when it comes to music theory or playing in general. But I can brush it off unless I don't like the person annoying me, then I might just rub knowledge in their face and tell them to be on their way.
> 
> Also in guitar center I try and not mouth off any snobby remarks unless they are trying to be like TRY THIS AWESOME GUITAR CENTER BRAND OVER 9000 DOLLAR POS GUITAR ITZ DA SHIZNIT SON.
> 
> Also I feel bad for all employees there at the same time since last time I went to guitar center I heard sweet child of mine a literal 15 times. I counted lol and I was there for about 30 minutes lol



At least it's not Paranoid + uncontrollable feedback played by a kid who can't figure out how the standby switch on a JCM 2000 works


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## TomParenteau (Nov 15, 2009)

Jzbass25 said:


> I can be pretty snobby if people continually act like I have zero knowledge of anything, especially when it comes to music theory or playing in general.


 
But they work there and you don't. That automatically means they know more than you, doesn't it?


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## vhmetalx (Nov 16, 2009)

When i went to mmeet alexi laiho, roope latvala, and henkaa blacksmith in SF i brought a crap guitar i have with EMG passives in them. Representatives from both ESP and EMG were there and saw my guitar and asked about it and whatelse i have. i responded with: 
a gibson explorer with the EMG 81x/85x set in it, a ESP LTD mh-400 with EMG 81/85 (had just sold it before hand), and about to buy a ESP 7 string (which i now own) 
This really surprised them, especially coming from a 16 year old kid. 

And to add to the Snobbiness factor, the EMG rep said when i get a band going i should contact him and he would get a deal set up with me through EMG.
Im sure he throws that line out everywhere but it still adds to the snob factor i think.


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