Not 1 mandolin at guitar center Atlanta

[darrylicshon]

So i had to go to Atlanta today and while i was intown i got everything finished early so i stopped by guitar center my wife wanted some new guitar strings. When i got there a sales person, i forgot his name, he knows me from trying all thier mandolins more than once. Well he right away said sorry we don't have any mandolins , to be fair they are remodeling but they had room for some. I told him that's ok i do play guitar and my wife who was with me plays guitar also. He said it wouldn't be until December that they get any more in, Ofcourse they could order you one. So i played a bunch of guitars it was a shame none i picked up were in tune most of them the setup was fair , i tryed this used dobro , since i just got a resonator mandolin i wanted to hear how it compares, wow was it not setup at all the neck was ready for a skateboard and way out of tune. I don't see how they can sell some of them the way they are, i bet they sell the ones i was able to adjust mainly epiphone ones since it's easy to lower the action which was alot of the guitars problems. Ok i think I've said anougth about the store. I do like guitar center i have bought many instruments from them and i even turned down a job there in the 90's. I will go back, and i did get Christina some guitar strings. I think it's funny i always have people gather and watch me. I'm not the best guitar player most friends say i am good , but i know a lot of other musicians that are way better than i am , ones touring for a living and ones that just play for fun

[Br1ck]

The GC in Santa Clara, Ca. had two cheapies the last time I was there. I was looking for a mandolin strap. They had one, and since I was a mando newbie, I wanted to make sure it was really a mando strap. It didn't say. No one in the store knew. Even the sku in the computer just said Levy strap. It was, but not the place to go for mandolins.

[DHopkins]

There are two important words in the post: Guitar Center

[Petrus]

You might try online. GC has generous return terms if not satisfied.

And yeah it's called Guitar Center but (online search) ...

Drum 9461
Keyboard 1696
Cajon 216
Mandolin 170

[JeffD]

I know it was an anomaly, but I purchased my Stiver two point Charely Rappaport Signature mandolin from a Guitar Center. Yes I did. Someone had sold one to a guitar center in the mid west, it was advertised on Craigs list, and some how I found out about it and I called and negotiated and got what I thought was a pretty good deal for a fantastic mandolin.

But in general that quality of mandolin is not to be found at a Guitar Center. Its not the first place to look anyway.

[David Beavers]

The Guitar Center in Nashville only has a few mandolins, and nothing that I would consider interesting. I only go there when I need to get something for the church. I do, however, want to try out the new revoiced Taylor 500 series and I think they just got some in. But that's a guitar, not a mandolin.

[darrylicshon]

When I've been there before they have had a decent selection some the loars and Kentucky and even gibson we will see what they restock in 6 months and i really wasn't looking to buy just try out some

[Al Trujillo]

The one here in town had a Kentucky several months ago. I stopped in a couple weeks ago and they don't have any mandolins in stock. But, like the guy who I talked to said...'we can get one in for you'.

[JeffD]

The Guitar Center in Nashville only has a few mandolins...

But there are more than a few good music stores with a good selection of mandolins in Nashville. I am surprised GC has any. Or maybe the Nashville GC is better stocked than most. I dunno.

[Mandobart]

When I go to Atlanta I drive ~30 miles to Shawnee Mountain Music in Cumming. Far superior to Guitar Wal-Mart in every way. More great instruments, including mandos, then our favorite Dusty Strings in Seattle.

[Trav'linmando]

As a long haul truck driver I travel the country every day. I find GC has 2 advantages for me. #1 is parking. Finding room for a 75 foot vehicle is a challenge. Not very many so called quality shops have this feature. Or even the space for a 35 foot tractor. 2nd. GC has a terrific online search engine. That said the standard inventory at your average GC will be 10 ukulele for every 1 mando.
I prefer to shop at local business for all of my needs, but when I need strings well. .......
Next chance I get to Reno Nv I will be stopping by the Folk Musician store. A Cafe supporter btw.

[Willie Poole]

I made one visit to a GC store and was so disappointed that the only thing I bought was an electronic tuner that was on sale, that one was in Lakeland Fla., they did have a `60`s Gibson F-12 that was a real dog and beat up as well and out of tune, bridge on crooked, they just don`t know or care about mandolins it seems... I don`t visit them ever anymore...

Willie

[Al Trujillo]

Finding room for a 75 foot vehicle is a challenge. Not very many so called quality shops have this feature. Or even the space for a 35 foot tractor.

The parking lot at the local GC is usually empty too. Not sure if that is commentary on the popularity of the shop....or if they just have a big parking lot!

[Jim Garber]

I don't recall ever playing any mandolins, even cheapo ones at GC near me (CT). They have some decent guitars and ukes and that is about it.

[sblock]

They don't call it Guitar Center for nothing. Why waste your time going to some big box guitar chain if you're looking for a mandolin?

[LillianBelle]

I've seen new Rogue and Ibanez mandolins locally. Once a 20s or 30s Martin.

But sometimes on their used lists, you can find interesting things - I saw a 3-4 year old Weber Bitterroot on the list (I think it was up in Spokane, about 600 miles from me) at a nearly new price level. Sure, you can try to bargain, but you are dealing with an instrument for which you can't trust their "in hand" description, and once they have shipped it to your local store (which you pay for), you've sort of lost you bargaining position to get price adjustments.

If I'd been in my younger "600 miles? That's nothing!" driving days, it might have been worth a swing up that way, armed with some internet pricing info, to dicker with them for a bargain.

In my younger days, back when Guitar Center was pretty much an LA-only phenomenon, I knew someone in a band who had revenge fantasies about GC and how they treated "no name" young guitarists. His plan was to become a star musician, walk into GC with a briefcase full of cash and flash it and say "See this? Since you treated me so badly when I was young and trying to find the gear I needed, you aren't getting any of this."

Of course, since he didn't actually become a star, GC might have been right about their policy at that time of "Look but don't touch - unless you are famous."

[Gan Ainm]

As relative newcomer to Ga. I appreciate the Sawnee Mountain music tip. If you get up toward North Georgia, Dahlonegha has Vintage Music in main square tucked up a stairs. Old instruments come and go, never know what you might find but it's fun and town is nice. High density of Old Time musicians, a few of everything else.

[Austin Bob]

So...
How many guitars did the Mandolin Center have?

[darrylicshon]

I've gone in that same store and it had almost 20 mandolins before.

[Timbofood]

And this merits a thread?

[dhergert]

About 12 years ago I visited a local GC's acoustic room and found they had both a new Gibson F9 mando and a new Gibson RB-250 Mastertone banjo hanging on the wall -- in fact I specifically remember that they had the Mastertone hanging over the F9, which seemed at least interesting to me at the time.

Later that year I heard from the luthier who did repairs for this GC, who is also a close friend and jamming partner. Evidently something or someone hung the Mastertone poorly and it came down, also bringing the F9 to the floor under it. Both instruments exploded on impact, leaving only a few metal parts in any kind of recoverable shape. Basically both instruments were a total loss.

Since then I've never seen either Gibson mandos or Gibson banjos at that GC. And their valuable acoustic instruments are all on instrument stands, sitting behind glass now. I can imagine that it was an expensive lesson.

One good thing did happen -- I was lucky enough to buy the orphaned cases for both of those instruments at a significantly discounted price. And the banjo case still had the unsigned warranty card from Gibson in it.

-- Don

[soliver]

I wouldn't bother with Guitar center in Atlanta, and there's a better place even closer place than Shawnee Mountain* (which is long drive IMO)... Check out Maple Street Guitars http://www.maplestreetguitars.com. They have a great selection of Kentucky's, Eastmans and Collings, as well as an excellent selection of SWEET guitars also. I Bought my MD 305 there. They are located in Buckhead right in town.

There are also a bunch of great BG jams all over the city.

*just a note that I've never been to Shawnee Mountain Music and I do want to go, but Cumming is a long drive from Marietta and it would take a special reservation of time... Maple Street is likely a lot closer to where you are if you are going to GC in Atlanta.