Most weekends, I feel like an addict. I can’t think of a single reason why I need my fix, but I can’t stop myself. I know it’s wrong, or maybe it isn’t, because it’s harmless, right? I’m not hurting anyone else, right?
I wake up on Saturday morning, make some coffee, eat some breakfast, and say “I don’t need to go to the music store today.” Sure. By about 11 AM the pull is strong. By noon I’m in the bathroom getting ready, and by 1 PM I’m on my way. And because I’m a musician, and a guitar player at that, I’m weird and a creature of strong habit.
I am NOT going to buy another guitar any time soon. I’m not interested in buying another amp at this point. I’m not in the market for a new pedal. I don’t even need strings or picks. There’s literally nothing I need, and nothing inexpensive that I WANT. Well, not true. I want a black Gibson t-shirt. I have a black Fender t-shirt that I love, and now I want a Gibson. I don’t feel like I can wear a PRS t shirt because the only PRS I own is an SE model from South Korea. Some would say it’s not a “real” PRS.
But I’m being a hypocrite, aren’t I? I own two Fender Strats and a Fender Tele, and all three were made outside the USA, in Mexico. And my Fender amp was made heaven knows where. Still, I don’t consider myself a PRS guy. These days when I reach for a guitar, it’s most likely a Les Paul or a Strat. Actually, my main Strat is a partscaster, and the neck and pickups are American. But whatever.
So a new t-shirt might be a good excuse for today. Because it’ll make me feel better about my addiction to going to music stores. It’s not just the store – it’s the entire experience. I get in the car, and I put on either a podcast or more likely some music by Phil X and the Drills, and I just relax. My drive to the Guitar Center on Hillsborough Ave in Tampa is maybe about 38 minutes.
About halfway there I stop for a slice of pizza at the Shell gas station near the Veterans Expressway. Yes, a Shell gas station. This particular Shell has a real pizza place inside, you know, big ovens, Italian guys, and what might be the best pizza in Pasco County. I’m annoyed that I can’t remember the name now. They know me on sight. I walk in and they automatically get my order ready.
So I’m alone, in my car, I’m cranking “Air Hockey Champion of the World” and eating a slice of Pasco’s best pizza, and drinking a Coke. That’s a really important part of my routine. And then I arrive at Guitar Center. GC gets a lot of shit online, but your experience is really all about the manager and the people who work at the store. And of course, the store’s inventory. I want to look for two different things when I go in – the used gear, and any brand new gear. When the new inexpensive PRS guitars came out, I wanted to play one. When the budget guitar version of Steve Vai’s Gem was released, I wanted to check it out.
And as for the used gear? That’s all I buy, when it comes to guitars. New guitars are NOT for the budget-minded. The nice thing about used guitars is that you can find absolute steals sometimes. The problem is that sometimes it’s hard to walk away from a really great deal. But on the other hand, if you have no money, that helps.
So why the attraction of the music store? It’s mostly the same inventory every time I go, with a few changes. I can’t really explain it. Being around all of that gear makes me feel comfortable. I have an appreciation for the electric guitar as art. I like to look at guitars – I think they’re beautiful. Even a cheap guitar has its own unsophisticated appeal.
Music stores smell like electronics and tubes and wood. Walking in the door, you’re likely to hear several inexpert musicians playing inexpertly, and one or two good ones. On everything from drums to keyboards to electric guitars. The acoustic guitar players are often blocked off from the rest of the noise, in their own room. Really they ought to seclude the drummers. But regardless of talent level, you’re among similar people. Your tribe. Musicians. Sometimes you talk to them or they to you, sometimes not.
SIDE NOTE – If guitar players were as obnoxious as a group in person as they are online, I’d never go to a single music store. Online you’re likely to be insulted with homophobic slurs and misspelled obscenities if you like something others don’t, or the other way around. In person, the 15 year olds who normally trade insults and spelling errors online aren’t quite as vocal.
And I feel obligated to point out that I’m obviously not talking about readers of this site. Regardless of age, sex, and race, you are all great players who are smart and good looking. If you wanted to troll, you wouldn’t be here, where no one can directly comment on web pages.
I’d like to have extended conversations with the guys who sell guitars, because they’re like me, but they are putting food on the table by selling so I don’t want to take up their time. Not unless the store is dead. And on Saturday afternoons, it never is.
I think that for me, the biggest draw is being able to play other guitars. I own eleven currently, so it’s not like I don’t already own a wide variety. But I’m trying to continue to learn as much about guitars as I can, and the best way to do that is to play them. Lots of them. In my area (near Tampa FL) it’s easy to walk into a Guitar Center, grab a guitar, plug into an amp, and play. At the local Sam Ash stores, it’s impossible to do it without asking for help from a sales person. That’s why I don’t go to Sam Ash first. Sometimes I don’t bother stopping there at all.
