Back in 06 I was traveling in the United States and I had my Ibanez so I was like, I want to get some new pickups! I take it to a local place and ask the dude to put a Michael Romeo set in (x2n bridge, tone zone neck). I even tell him the tone zone has to go in the reverse direction in the neck position, and I left a pack of strings (.10s) that I specifically told him to put on to the guitar after he was done putting the pickups in. 2 days later he calls me and says he can't wire it up for a 5 way switch. I had to take a diagram to him. 2 days after that I come and hes adjusted stuff on the guitar... so I'm like.. okay... And guess what? He put the neck pickup in the wrong direction, even though I specifically told him it which direction in went. Now he told me the cost was going to be $50, $25 for each pickups. When he rings it up it comes to $75. I ask why, he says because he adjusted the truss rod and action.... Now.. I was 17 at the time and didn't have too much confidence, but I swear if that were today I would've gone off on him. I said, whatever, and paid it. Oh yeah, he put a set of .09s on the guitar, AND it was some nameless ass brand of strings that felt like shit.
Horrible experience, absolute horrible experience.
So, what I did when I moved over here to the US when I was 18, I bought a used guitar, looked up
www.ibanezrules.com and just read for days and played with the guitar. Now I know how to do everything, pickups, truss rod, intonation, action.. everything! It took so long but now I can completely unassemble a guitar, reassemble it, and give it the best setup of its life. You can see the guitar on the Ibanez wikipedia page, I put it up on there (along with that S the guy messed up I used to own).
You know, a lot of local music shops complain about how internet music stores are killing their business, but you want to know something? Its not because of that. Its because of assholes at music shops. They have their noses in the air, they don't give 2 shits about their customers, and they're all in it for the money. Not quality, just quantity.
I found a cool music store around here, and I befriended a very very nice guy who works there. He is always helpful when I have questions and hes just a real cool guy that I hang out with sometimes. All the other emplyees are jackasses. When I first went to the store, and the next couple of months after that, everything was really cool. Service was cool, they had the gear I wanted and let me test it, and they even had most of their guitars in tune. But now its completely different 2 years from when I first went there. They have a low supply of guitars that are mostly low end, most of then untuned for says. The owners won't buy any new guitars until the ones sitting there are sold. I ask for stuff for them to get and I'd buy from them (like picks and other smaller stuff) and they never order them. All the gear that they've had 2 years ago is still there and it doesn't look like its changing. The place went from a cool music store to just like any other music store. My friend there is still cool, but hes the only guitar guy and gets vastly over-worked so he never has any time to talk or assist anyone. I continously tell the people to hire me but they won't do it because of 'the economy.' Now in the store the prices have increased. $7.00 for a pack of ernie ball slinky strings?
Check this out, I went to that douchebag place where the guy who fucked up my guitar and pickups again a couple months ago because I needed ernie ball slinky .10s and they were the only store who had them. I go in there, and theres a bunch of signs up that say: "WE MATCH INTERNET PRICES, SHOW US THE PRICE AND WE'LL MATCH IT." So I'm like, awesome. I go up to the counter, tell the dude I want blah blah, he says $7.00, I'm like, I want it for the interet price. He gets preturbed.. I can see it in his face man. He goes onto musicians friend, looks on it for a bit, then tells me, they don't sell individual packs on musiciansfriend. I look at him like hes absolutley retarded. Does he think I'm stupid? I'm like... yeah they do man I just checked it yesterday. He looks again, he says, I can't find it anywhere.. so I ask for the manager. The manager comes up and I tell him the situation and he apoligizes to me and gives it to me for the internet price. Doucheasses man I swear.
