# Testing Guitars At Your Local Shop



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

When you are looking to test a guitar and there is already someone in the room playing, what do you do?

Do you go ahead and play too or wait for the other person to finish?


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)




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## Guest (Sep 5, 2017)

Go in, cut a big fart, leave, then wait.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

I wait. But last week a kid was playing with no apparent purpose, and he just wouldn't stop. I gave up and left the store. Gotta love the places now with closed rooms. They've got them at Cosmo Music, and The Guitar Shop.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Bring headphones? Lol


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I go in when the kids are all at school. Adults will usually move on reasonably quickly when someone else enter the room.


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## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

I find a spot as far away as I can and play.


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

I just noodle to whatever the other person is playing.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

At the old Long & McQuade they had a couple of rooms off to one side. That was great!

I didn't notice any at the new location. I guess you would have to ask. There are lots of guitars but few people handling them.

I don't want to see or be seen. I usually play the guitar to find how it feels, then if I ask to plug it in, it's just a minute or so.

The acoustic rooms at both locations are pretty bad. A guy can't play forever, so you just wait for a lull. I won't even attempt it if there are three people in the room.

If I had the ear I would play a countermelody or accompaniment.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I too avoid the peak times, evenings and weekends. Nothing I like better than being alone in an acoustic room.

I remember about a year ago I was trying to shop and in the acoustic room there had to be at least 12 people. This teenage girl was picking out her first guitar and she brought along her whole family, aunts & uncles, friends, postman, you name it. Bad timing on my part. I left the store.


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## Guyfrets (Aug 20, 2012)

bw66 said:


> I go in when the kids are all at school. Adults will usually move on reasonably quickly when someone else enter the room.





knight_yyz said:


> Bring headphones? Lol


There are several good suggestions on this thread already but I'm still going to outline my approach. Whenever I'm looking seriously (thinking about buying) I tell the sales staff that I'm serious and need a quiet, private space to try out the instruments. The staff have almost always obliged me and on the rare occasions they didn't that store lost the sale.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

It depends--am I just browsing--or actually going to buy?
Do they just seem to be noodling or do they seem serious.
If they're good I'll listen...

So some give & take can help.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

zontar said:


> It depends--am I just browsing--or actually going to buy?
> Do they just seem to be noodling or do they seem serious.
> If they're good I'll listen...
> 
> So some give & take can help.


I worked in a store for a couple of years (decades ago). It was a joy to hear a few of the really good players come in and play (Randy Rink comes to mind - he would bl0w our mind). But they were few and far between compared to the average wankers who just seemed to be looking for an audience. 

I don't spend tons of time testing in a store. Basically a functional check - does everything work? I rely on the return policy to really test the instrument with my own rig. And often in a gigging/jamming environment. The guitar has to be an excellent deal if there is no return policy.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2017)

High/Deaf said:


> I worked in a store for a couple of years (decades ago). It was a joy to hear a few of the really good players come in and play *(Randy Rink comes to mind - he would bl0w our mind)*. But they were few and far between compared to the average wankers who just seemed to be looking for an audience.
> 
> I don't spend tons of time testing in a store. Basically a functional check - does everything work? I rely on the return policy to really test the instrument with my own rig. And often in a gigging/jamming environment. The guitar has to be an excellent deal if there is no return policy.


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## Guyfrets (Aug 20, 2012)

High/Deaf said:


> I worked in a store for a couple of years (decades ago). It was a joy to hear a few of the really good players come in and play. But they were few and far between compared to the average wankers who just seemed to be looking for an audience.


When I'm test driving a guitar, whether in a music store or a builder's shop, the last thing I want is the distraction of "an audience". But that's just me.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2017)

When the current occupier sees me in my spandex and big hair, they know to let the professional have the room.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> I worked in a store for a couple of years (decades ago). It was a joy to hear a few of the really good players come in and play (Randy Rink comes to mind - he would bl0w our mind). But they were few and far between compared to the average wankers who just seemed to be looking for an audience.
> 
> I don't spend tons of time testing in a store. Basically a functional check - does everything work? I rely on the return policy to really test the instrument with my own rig. And often in a gigging/jamming environment. The guitar has to be an excellent deal if there is no return policy.


I try not to make it like a performance--I want to see how the guitar feels, how it plays & condition--that kind of thing--I ten to play more quietly.

But I have heard some people who really do know what they're doing, which is cool--and some that have talent--but they just go & play the same lick over & over--and it can get annoying.

So I guess one of my goals is not to be too annoying...


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## JethroTech (Dec 8, 2015)

Lincoln said:


> I remember about a year ago I was trying to shop and in the acoustic room there had to be at least 12 people. This teenage girl was picking out her first guitar and she brought along her whole family, aunts & uncles, friends, postman, you name it. Bad timing on my part. I left the store.


Haha. I had a similar experience just the other day. I was in the acoustic room at a local L&M and there was a family in there picking out a guitar. It's cool when you see families embracing music, but they were Face-Timing the process with someone else. It was too much. I left without buying that $6,800 Martin I was _TOTALLY_ going to buy


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

JethroTech said:


> Haha. I had a similar experience just the other day. I was in the acoustic room at a local L&M and there was a family in there picking out a guitar. It's cool when you see families embracing music, but they were Face-Timing the process with someone else. It was too much. I left without buying that $6,800 Martin I was _TOTALLY_ going to buy


Deja vu. Was it by any chance L&M Southside? That's where it happened to me.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

zontar said:


> I try not to make it like a performance--I want to see how the guitar feels, how it plays & condition--that kind of thing--I ten to play more quietly. ...


I have a couple of tunes that I like to play to test various aspects of the guitar. Particularly, I play tunes that have notes up the neck played against open strings to check intonation. One of the things I look for is dynamic range, so I play both quietly and loudly.

If I'm comparing two guitars, I'll play the same tune on both. (Also to correct mistakes from the first "performance". ;-) )


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## JethroTech (Dec 8, 2015)

Lincoln said:


> Deja vu. Was it by any chance L&M Southside? That's where it happened to me.


Haha. Yup


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## Duffman (Oct 29, 2014)

Player99 said:


> When the current occupier sees me in my spandex and big hair, they know to let the professional have the room.


If I showed up in Spandex....everyone would leave the store.......


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I ask if they have an anechoic chamber.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

greco said:


> I ask if they have an anechoic chamber.


And then storm out shaking your head and muttering? ;-)


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2017)

Duffman said:


> If I showed up in Spandex....everyone would leave the store.......


Depends on if you had beer or not ....


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

bw66 said:


> I have a couple of tunes that I like to play to test various aspects of the guitar. Particularly, I play tunes that have notes up the neck played against open strings to check intonation. One of the things I look for is dynamic range, so I play both quietly and loudly.
> 
> If I'm comparing two guitars, I'll play the same tune on both. (Also to correct mistakes from the first "performance". ;-) )


I also do things that won' be interesting to listen to--like play notes at different places up & down the neck & harmonics...


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## RedFenderBender (Oct 7, 2016)

I concur

Sent from my LGMS550 using Tapatalk


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