My first visit ever to Guitar Center Northwest did not go as well as I would have liked. I was at their door, Johnny on the spot at 10:00am when they opened. The door was still locked and I could see people inside a bustling to get the donuts from the counter. The woman at the counter motioned that the door was still locked and she did not have the key. So, I took up comfortable position on a concrete post, watching the donuts. The donuts. The donuts. Long story short, very disappointing visit.
I spent about an hour there with a sales person, to his credit was great. It's too bad they don't have more of a selection/stock as I was hot for guitar. I made my selection after careful deliberation, only to find out the only guitar of my choosing was the one on the rack (i.e. no backroom stock). He was all happy knowing that I picked out one, however I don't understand how he felt I could be excited about buying an abused guitar. The volume knob/pot was flopping around and the plug jack was falling out. Needless to say, I packed up my Squire and left. I did not even get a donut either.
So, I decided to visit House Of Guitars (local/small store) instead. It was a pretty laid back visit and they had more of the upper-end models of the Ibanez line that I was looking at. A very good experience both with the staff and the selection. Long story short, I pulled the trigger on an Ibanez RG370DXGP2. My reason? It just felt right in my hands and I was able to reach chords that I was not able to reach with the Fender. I almost went for a Jackson, but it came down to style. (edit) Looking at my receipt, they did not apply my 10% discount. Looks like another trip over tomorrow. Darn.More about my coffee adventures later.
