What Happens When You Buy 3 Guitars from Guitar Center? | Trogly's Unboxing Guitars Vlog #87 

At the end of the day, with their return policy - I don't think you can go wrong. You might break your heart returning a guitar you were looking forward to though! 🔴Reverb: reverb.com/item/36851792?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 🍭Shop Sweetwater + Support the Show ➡️ imp.i114863.net/trogly 💰New to Reverb? Get $10 on Me ➡️ reverb.grsm.io/earn10 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211

Sweetwater knows how to package a guitar for shipping. Just saying.

3hrs on the phone?? Jesus, that seller had the patience of a saint

“Only 10lbs 6.6oz” I don’t think the word only is a good use there 🤣 🤣 🤣

I love the second Les Paul. It has a really pretty headstock and back

I bought one guitar from Guitar Center, had it shipped to the local store (cheaper shipping). When it arrived I went to pick it up and they opened the box and the headstock was broken. They processed my refund on the spot, no issues. If I ever bought another through them I'd do the store-to-store shipping again, just in case.

I worked at Guitar Center, "The Evil Empire" as I referred to them, for 2 years (aaaaarrgh), and they never, ever, perform the sort of detailed inspection for used guitars that they should. (this does not apply to the Vintage Guitar Vault at the Hollywood store, as they most often sold to the pro's and discerning collectors, and was managed by two guy's called "The Burst Brothers" who were VERY knowledgable). Doing an inspection of an instrument prior to buying it off the street is a job requirement as mandated by corporate. But in practice, never done, as most people working there, with a few exceptions, don't know what to look for as they don't have the technical knowledge or experience to do this. ESPECIALLY with any sort of vintage instrument. If you did a "Street Buy" and the guitar was found to be defective later on , you were screwed by management (although sometimes forgiven under certain circumstances). The way it worked was this: Somebody comes in with a guitar to sell. They look around for an employee to help them. ALL the floor sales people quickly rush away in order to avoid making contact with the seller if possible (not jokeing here). A manager will then intervene andr does the transaction, or they will assign it to a salesperson to do the "Street Buy" as it is called. Sales people HATE doing Street Buys, because the process takes up a great deal of their time to process and fill out the necessary legal paperwork, etc. This process also requires them to fully check out the instrument (they aren't required to disassemble it though). All of this process takes up thier time and takes them off the sales floor and away from making commission. Though Street Buys are a part of their job requirements, most hated having to do it andavoided it if at all possible due to this reason. More often than not a new amd less experienced employee would be assigned this responsability and thus, mistakes would be made. Management could be quite brutal if you didn't make your monthly numbers, and is quite compettitive and cutthroat with the sales people, Sales people took shortcuts, rushed the process, then hustled to get back on the sales floor. This is a generalization of the process and how employees dealt with it, and it should be taken in that context. It does however, provide you with a caveat when purchasing used equipment from them.

Dude. A lot of the older Gibson guitars Have longer threads sticking out. They are cut differently. You can also add a half moon washer under the nut. I’ve done it a million times with great success.

I really have a tough time believing you can't find a decent guitar tech near you! That natural custom was cherry and well worth saving!

American made guitar with finish checking = character. Import guitar with a spec of dust = terrible quality control. 🤣🤣🤣

Just started watching the video, but what a coincidence -- I also purchased three guitars from guitar center recently. Each one was either listed incorrectly or priced very well. Every guitar I bought came without a case and they did a GREAT job packing it. A couple of the guitar's they even put into boxes from the same brand 😂 i.e. a 2004 epiphone I bought came in a new epi box because they had it lying around. Cute lil touch for an inexpensive guitar

Say Austin, your videos have helped me out tremendously in shipping the guitars I sell online. I got compliments from the buyers for packaging them so well. You showed me how to go to it the proper way. Thanks man.

They're like "heck, this ones going to that troglys guy" then they sound an alarm and they're in defcon two

True story. About 25-30 years ago i took a 63 strat that (unfortunately) the previous owner had taken to a local guitar shop to repaint. It looked pretty but it lessened the value. It was still a very cool guitar but times got hard and I had to sell it - sooner rather than later. So I took it to one of the Guitar Center stores in MI to see what they would give me for a start figuring I would check out other places and friends etc.. I always open up my Fender guitars and date the pots and controls and take plenty of pictures. I don't think I ever bought a vintage fender without doing that. So the guy at the counter wanted to take it into the back to have it checked out for authenticity etc. and I expected that. But I said I got pictures here of the date on the neck and the pots, initials and date on the pickups etc.. But he said the tech had to physically see it all. I understood that and I said 'cool lets go'. Then he said I couldn't go in the back because of insurance regulations being I might get hurt if something fell on me or something like that. Well he seemed pretty cool and like an idiot I figured the tech would pop the pick guard remove the neck to check everything out and that should take 20 - 30 minutes at the most. So long story short (as I can make it). After about 25 minutes I told the sales guy they should be about done and at the least know enough to give me a price as they're tuning it back up or whatever. He goes in the back then comes right back out of the back and says they're not done yet and have to check some things out - it will probably take a half hour or so. Well I may have been an idiot for letting my guitar go in the back in the first place however I wasn't stupid enough to leave it there for another minute and I walked right into the back to their shop area. you should have seen the shit start to to fly. Two guys of about four that were at the benches got right in my face trying to block from me going any further yelling about their insurance rules bull shit. But I could plainly see my strat and the tech soldering on the pots and another already removed and some new looking pots and pickups right on the same bench. Fucking thieves. They were trying to tell me they had to remove the pots and pickups to date them and test them AND told me I had to leave or they were going to call the police. well there was a lot of yelling and it was a pretty tense situation to say the least. Thatwere saying that I couldn't prove what part was whose and I would be arrested. So I insisted they do call the police. I demanded they call the police but of course they wouldn't because the stupid sales guy didn't tell them I had pictures of everything WITH ME and informed them of that - right after I did there on the spot. It was now a pin drop quiet situation. Then they started stuttering and using words like 'a misunderstanding' and said I could stay and watch them put it all back together. Fuck that I wasn't going to let them touch a thing. I put the four screws through the neck partially threaded into the body and got the stuff together enough to put in the case with paper wrapped around much of the parts - I couldn't close the case all the way. I told them I was taking EVERY part on the bench and they even got me a box. I had extra pickups, pots and a bridge much of it crap as far as I was concerned. I wasn't in the state of mind to assemble the the strat properly or do much of a comparison to my pictures. My adrenaline was still running. When I got home and calmed down I compared all the parts and put it all together. I sold it at the next guitar show for a lot more than I paid or even thought I would get. Of course after I left I thought to myself that I probably could have got even more. I doubt if it was GC policy to steel parts but they are stupid enough not to see this kind of thing going on. Either way I have never been into a GC since. AND I let every musician friend I have know about this. If they are doubtful I show them the pictures I had taken when I got my strat home in pieces.

Guitar Center Used has been my guilty pleasure since 2010. Now, you can find serious differences in prices between stores. I have made quite a few great purchases from the stores in the smaller markets. I am usually looking for the oddball 80's early 90's amps and guitars.

12:00 that is what heat does to varnish! I make custom walking sticks. Sometimes I need to remove the clear coat. I use a heat gun gun to remove it. The finish looks like this when it gets to hot and I don’t scrape it off. Sometimes I get interrupted mid process. When I get back to it, that’s what it looks like.

Your knowledge of these guitars is exceptional. Thank you!

I like these cross section looks into what you're getting packaging wise from different places. Although, they do remind me why I usually only buy on reverb

I totally understand not doing dedicated videos to each and every guitar you unbox. That said it would be very cool if you could black light document each guitar that has some age...

I buy an repair guitars for a hobby an when I finish a build I look for someone or kids that need a decent guitar an I give it to em I love the happiness it brings an im sure ya get many man of these stories but I'm the real deal if you ever have any guitars that you do not want I would gladly take em an fix em an send ya back vids of the happiness it brings when I go to there house for a guitar lessons a surprise them I just recently gave away a 2003 1960 Epiphone Les Paul with the 57 Gibson pickups the poor kid burst in bauling ha ha ha it was awesome I love all your videos enjoy your day an keep me in mind cheers

***Tbh, that scratched up silver burst, will probably be one of the best playing guitars. I've worked in a music store/pawn shop for the last 12 years. The ones that are brought in that look like they were in a car crash lol tend to be the "Runts" of the pack. Alittle TLC, and just enjoy it. The dings in dents are there. Can't be afraid of it lol

great video as always and that second Les Paul looks nice

You should've seen what they tried to sell me. Lol They said they had a PRS SE 245 still in the box... I get there and they couldn't find it for 30 minutes. Then they bring out this smashed up box that was clearly already opened, because it was barely holding together. They held onto it and rang it up. They wanted me to pay up front. I told them to let me look at the guitar first. I let the "box" lid fall open and the guitar is fucking smashed between the volumes and tone pots. They said, "oh shit, how'd that happen?" The box wasn't even labeled, they just tried to sell me a smashed up guitar. They had to look in the box to see what it was, and told me to drive out. They let me drive 2 hours to guitar center to buy a guitar that they knew was smashed up. They deserve to go bankrupt.

Very informative video. Love the talk about "big gaping holes", "musty smells", "scew holes" and "knobs"!

I literally just bought a used Gibson SG online from Guitar Center this morning. Going to call and hopefully catch them before it ships. Great information, wish me luck!

I've bough at least a half-dozen used guitars off GC's website over the past decade. All modern Gibsons though, no vintage stuff. All of them are great, no complaints here. They seem to price at a fair value and don't overcharge for shipping.

Rolling the dice with Guitar Center. I'm glad that their returns are so pain free. That Zac Wylde Buzzsaw is cool!

It's been a few years ago, but I ordered a used Dean ML from GC. Can't remember which one, but it came in an inner box of a 2 box set up and that was it. No packing of any kind. It was a miracle that there was no damage

Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!

3rd one looks like water damage. There is a pretty distinct dirt line running up and down, likely the guitar was standing up and only the area from the tal piece down actually was under water. The splitting further up the body is in line, and shows that the liquid was absorbed pretty high up. The pressure of the strings is likely what caused much of it to break.

Bought an 99 Dearmond Pilot on GC a couple weeks ago and it was packaged pretty well and was way underpriced. It's definitely hit or miss with what you get.

Austin... you beat me to the punch on the Silverburst! I saw it on GC and went to see if I had the financing. A half hour later when I went to get it, it was gone! I figured you were the one! Congratulations to you!

Trog, Trog, Trogmeister... Bummer, dude... I was excited FOR you, right along with you... I know how that disappointment must’ve felt. Ouch. Although you did seem to get over it better than I would’ve. Better luck next time! Love your vids.

I’m a professional luthier. I’d strip and respray that top, recreating the ambered clear. When finished properly, that guitar would be a killer piece.

You can save that truss rod. Look into the stew mac truss rod tool. Allows you to slightly bore into the truss rod cavity and then it also adds more threads to the truss rod. Well worth it to save that beautiful custom.

I'd love to see more of these used instruments on your channel, not just vintage used.

i just ordered an used acoustic from guitar center shipped from IA to AZ it was packed very well and like you said great packing materials!!!

Before I even watch this im just gonna say thanks man. Not having work along with the pandemic and all the shenanigans from the election...your videos are a nice escape and I appreciate them a lot. I bought an ec1000 that someone bought from the factory and then immediately sold it to GC. I found this out from a GC worker when I claimed it. He said they pleaded with him not to do it. Thid guitar was brand new and still had all the included case candy from the factory and it looked completely untouched...it was 600 with the esp hard case. I later traded it for a mint condish jim r. Tele. There are some good deals on GC website but its always a gamble cuz there pictures are horrible.

I hope you see this before you send back that Les Paul. I'm a tech and there is 2 things you can do to save that neck, 1st is the easiest by putting a washer under that lug you have a bit more truss rod to adjust. The 2nd you would need a tech to fix I wish I was close to you bud I would fix it for free just a thank you, keep those videos coming. If you have any questions about the washer please send me a message.

I think moisture came in via the kahler routing and made the wood expand locally, would also explain why the kahler looks less tarnished than the tuners and the strap buttons because it would be a replacement unit!

You can easily drop fill in the cracks with tinted lacquer, and do a fairly good finish repair. Especially where the lacquer is just checked. It will drip through the cracks and under the lifted finish and adhere to the body. with the proper rub out it should look good. Thus saving it from a respray!

I will say, as someone who works at a guitar center, the third guitar is likely someone who bought the guitar online and did an online return after they damaged it. Unfortunately, the online returns aren't vetted too well since there's no one taking a look at it until the return comes in. However, I cannot defend that they didn't disclose that the finish was not as pictured.

Hey @The Troglys’ Guitar Show I’ve worked for GC almost 5 years. I’ve noticed depending on where you buy it the quality of both pack jobs and condition accuracy of used/vintage gear is night and day. West Coast stores tend to be more accurate and better at packing than the Midwest and East Coast stores with the exception of the stores in Nashville, Times Square and Manhattan. I have my theories as to why that is, but it’s all above my pay grade for me to know the exact reason. 😂 If you ever need anything by the way, let me know and I can send you my info! 👍🏻

That les paul studio pinstriped axe is Troga-licious!! I love that jet black with the pinstripes. It looks nice!

Love the video! Guitar Center sometimes has great deals, I bought new a fender blues jr. in the used department for 100$ off of the retail price.

Haven't had any bad experiences buying from Guitar Center. Bought 3 guitars from different parts of the country and they did a good job packing them . 5 Stars for Guitar Center.

Austin, I am guessing chemical damage caused the issue on the last guitar. If you look at where the blistering occurs and the fact that it only affects the clear coat and a small portion of the original paint, take notice of how it seems to be "running" away from the nuts on the controls and even the trem system. It looks to me that someone sprayed something like a WD40 on the nuts and did not know that it would react with the nitro finish as it did. Exposure to a high heat is of course possible as well, but just by the fact that it is moving away from the controls it looks like whatever they used was sprayed on to the nuts then ran down the guitar. Now, heat exposure could also be the cause because those same areas would have heated up more than other areas of the guitar because of the metal that's there. But, if it was heat then it should be around the controls as well, not just moving away in one direction, which indicates more of a liquid running. I am not sure what lubricant would interact with Nitro the way it appears to have done on this guitar but that shouldn't be that hard to figure out. How in the world did you not see that kind of damage in photos?

I had a silver burst Les Paul.Early 80's. Turned green in about 5years.Sold it, mid 80's. Coupla decades later. Tool. Adam Jones . Collector's piece. Still kicking my self.

I had a solid laugh at the double trem bar man bit

The camera was picking up your heartbeat

Great vid. No need to discard guitar due to exposed threads on TR. Usually an added washer solves this smoothly. Recently did on a P bass. Some brands like Rickenbacker come w. a fair bit exposed threads original. Just a tip

Had a Martin X-Series Custom that came with a split in the top. Did not get any kind of support from Guitar Center, but Martin was helpful and referred me to a luthier that took care of it at a very reasonable price. Bottom line, I’m happy with the purchase, like you, learned a lesson on doing a deeper dive before I but used from Guitar Center.

Well that certainly was an interesting unboxing, sorry you had to send one back. It certainly was a trio of nice guitars.

Can’t you shim the trussrod on that 80s model, Trogly? And could the trussrod have been the reason for it being a second?

The silverburst Les Paul is my favorite. Definitely the greatest guitar demoer on RU-vid

Oh man my heart sank when you opened up the 3rd case!

Hey is amazing watching this video. I am a beginner bass player. So i was looking to get a decent bass for practicing, something solid, good quality, and reliable. After 7 frustrating orders/return from Guitar Center i finally hit the jack pot! I got a Fender Player Jazz Bass from Guitar Center AGAIN, but this time brand new, and in pristine condition with no issues whatsoever! AFTER 7 ATTEMPTS!

#3 Looks like heat damage. Maybe not in a fire directly but close to some high temps drying it and humidity of water used in fighting it rehydrating the wood in rapid succession

I love the Les Paul with the Kahler. I'm even digging the scratches in the paint. That gives it character.

I love!!!! That beat up silver burst

Thanks for letting us know about the head stock code change. I've been outta the sales game for a long time

And some people wonder why guitar center is going the way of the dodo bird

Sweetwater folks. I bought a Fender Telecaster with two humbuckers and it had a flame maple top with a red and black burst. It was gorgeous. I opened it a week after it was delivered and the headstock had a big chip in it. I was given a return label and shipped it back. I got a MIM tele and got it a few days after. Absolutely perfect.

I have bought dozens of used guitars from guitar center via the internet. I was rarely disappointed and when i was i brought the guitar to my local GC store and returned it there. Also, i had an 85 les paul that had finish and splitting issues. I’m not a gibson guy and haven’t owned many but that 85 i had was a lemon.

Sometimes you can shim the truss rod bolt with washers ... you need to be careful that ya don't pull the rod up any more than it already izzz

last night i had a dream that my 1954 tribute strat had two trem arms and then this what

@ 22:05.. you show a one pickup model for a few seconds.. that particular example is amazing!! Wish I had one...

The tuners with the fold out arms came on the brand new LP Custom I bought in 1981.

Guitar center sold me a Martin that needed a neck reset. Was at the end of its truss rod too. I still liked the guitar but that definitely should’ve been disclosed before sale. All the details about these guitars are available because the techs do look at them and even set them up so they’ll sell on the floor but they don’t disclose anything. Pretty shady for such a huge guitar retailer.

I had a buddy buy a Tom Delonge epiphone a year ago and they were told it was in perfect condition. It was so damaged, it would've cost double what he paid to make it playable and it was not due to shipping. After a few issues myself, I vowed to never purchase used guitars online without seeing it, first hand, before buying it.

If truss rod nut is so far tightened, you could add washers, but if neck relief is fine, then no problem.

The short arm on the Kahler is a Palm Bar. It screws into the hole towards the bass side of the bridge. Sweet guitar.

I would love to see you do some heritage guitars.

I wouldn't be buying chit from GC right now - if they turn the lights off, you're screwed.

The despair in your voice upon discovering the truss rod issue with the '82 LP Custom was heartbreaking!! Sorry that happened. Very unfortunate. 😢

And I love the finish checking

Wow, never have been so early. Hard when you are from Europe. :D Now I will enjoy the video!

That truss rod situation may be why it was a second in the first place

You’re right about heat damage, my educated opinion is it’s from the passenger seat floor board heater, probably a leaky heater core as well, in whatever car the original owner carried it to and from rehearsal.

The small bar on the Kahler is called a palm bar and goes in the middle position on the bridge. As the name implies it's meant to be used with the palm of your hand.

Most of the used guitar that I have bought from Guitar Center were in person purchases, and I still have a bunch of them. The online purchases that I have made were backed up by phone calls to the stores that had the instrument I bought, and those have turned out good as well, but I am not into the more high end stuff. Your advice to call the store about the guitar you are thinking about purchasing is good advice regardless of the value of the guitar or the organization selling the guitar.

I ordered a used Gretsch last summer from Guitar Center and when I got it it was NOT the guitar that was pictured in the ad (different pickup configuration, different sound holes, different pick guard color). It was very frustrating but at least they were very apologetic when I returned it.

I worked at Guitar Center for 2 yrs. Very little is done to check the guitar over when buying used gear...at least at my store. We basically plug it in and check the electronics and make sure the neck is straight without any cracks. In the 2 yrs, I never once saw anyone take off the truss rod cover off and check that. We also never opened access cavities to check the cleanliness of the pots, etc.

Bought an Open Box Sterling Stingray 5 from Guitar Center. Came with a gig bag, but the box it shipped in only had two pieces of packing paper in it. The bass in the bag was essentially freely moving during shipping, and thus the D string tuning peg broke. GC was great about it though, I took it to my local one and the tech glued the peg in place so I could have the bass and play it. Even went as far as contacting sterling and having them ship a new tuner out for me.

Think you may be a little over sensitive on the truss rod adjustment nut. Had to put some washers under the nut on my '98 special, still has heaps of actual adjustment available. I put the washers in originally because the socket spanner I adjust with couldn't reach the hex on the nut because the truss rod protruded so far. You could make a plate spacer if you don't like the look of the washers.

I bought a bunch of guitars from MF , some just needed a tweek or 2 ! I didn't have to send any back. Saved a bunch of $.

On the body the Kahler doesn't seem stock. It should just have a small square hole. The truss rod cover should be in the regular location just shorter and the lock nut is usually right next to the regular nut. But they could have refined that from 85 to 89.

When you opened the last one I gasped. I had a silver burst with a factory kahler trem and it had faded to that greenish gold finish as well. It had finish checking but didn't have the blistering. The back on mine had some belt rash as well. And mine had the quick wind tuning keys.

i worked at guitar center for about two years and i can attest to the fact that the way they handle their used gear is insanely archaic, bordering on terrible. we had an "intake" room where we shot all the pictures with a shite digital camera from like 2008 and a gross white backdrop. it was RARE to get any of the ops people to take more than one photo and while ours were "good", we didn't get many used sales over the web. if a customer was genuinely interested in purchasing the guitar and you had to send them more photos, the internet sucked so bad there that you'd literally have to step outside of the store and pray they would send. you couldn't send them from a personal email either so you'd send them from your phone, to the GC email, THEN to the customer. it was terrible. needless to say, the guitar center used system is flawed and really only works when you actually go into the store and see it for yourself.

That natural probably was a victim of the extra heavy string fad.

Great Video enjoyed watching ..that beat up Les Paul looks great natural ageing that .. fabulous would not put me off

I recently bought an "excellent condition" used Jackson DK1 from GC. First off when I got it it was SO DIRTY. When I finally got it home I discovered that the neck was some how "twisted" basically. GC could not care less. I am now stuck with this near unplayable USA Jackson. Wow OP. GC LIT YOU UP with that 3rd Gibson!

Hey, how bout you send me a link to the second one with the truss rod maxed out? Not a deal breaker for me. I’d get that fixed.

I was going to say actually try to move all the truss rods. Then you didnt even have to on the second one haha.

Got my t shirt today! Great show!

I just bought a used Fernandes Monterey Elite with sustainer and Duncan pickups. Its fantastic!

LP with Kahler : Could it be previous owner's sweat that did that peeling ? playing with short sleeves..

Guitar Center proving what we all know.

I've had great luck buying used from GC .I've bought 6 guitars in the last 2 years and a couple of amps . Everything is in near mint condition. I just picked up a beautiful honeyburst Gibson l.p. classic for 1350. No weight relief, Grover tuners and a gloss finish. I had just bought a mint l.p. tribute for 700 bucks which is now for sale lol. The 45 day return period is great

Hey Trogly, how you doing? You should do a show explaining how you do all your guitar checking, as in the truss rod for instance. Letting all us less experienced people how to not get burned like yourself, lol. Thanks for the good shows.