The CRAZIEST Guitar Store Stories Across the USA

Thanks to all of your support in helping me complete the #GuitarStoreTour! Check out your state's store in the playlist below to see where I went and what video I made!

Thanks to all the awesome guitar store owners and employees for making this project a huge success. I am so happy this content exists–remember to always support your local guitar store when you can!

[nimanaghinejad]

Mad respect to the Rusty guitar center donating everything they make to charity, really wholesome

[thrumyeyesphoto]

I owned a guitar store in the late 2000s. We sold James Hetfield a Zemaitis Flying V that was then on the cover of Guitar World the next month.. Pretty rad!

[ritwizrai]

The guy that came in to get his "TELE" repaired, probably the funniest story.

[danspanos]

The last guy is an amazing human being!

[chairmankaga]

My old guitarist used to hit up the pawn shops for deals he could fix up and resell at his own shop. One day he saw something suspiciously impossible, but took it down, played it, and handed over $180 cash to the pawn shop owner. When he got it back to his shop and tore it down his suspicion was confirmed. It was in fact a 1955 Strat. The pawn shop guy thought it was a partscaster since there were certain idiosyncrasies with the first couple of years, like the Fender decal being in top of the headstock lacquer, a different bridge, tuning machines, I forget what else. Long story short, word got around, the pawn shop guy showed up demanding my friend give it back, and one of the owners of the store my buddy worked at just said, “Man, I was there when this guitar came in and we both thought it was fake. This kid knew what it was and bought it fair and square. You coulda done what he just did and confirm it was it wasn’t a fake, but you didn’t, so I suggest you cut your losses and move on.” Anyway, my buddy kept it for about 25 years then auctioned it along with his ‘58 Plymouth Fury to buy a house (well, the down payment).

[andrewjonas]

This needs to be a series. Just you interviewing store employees and owners about life and such. Guitar players have the best stories....but dont tell the drummers...itll hurt their feelings

[SteveWallaceGuitar]

100% true story from my local guitar store in the U.K where I teach. One day, we had a guy come in asking if our in store guitar tech could repair his Gibson 335. We said 'sure, no problem', so he said 'great, I'll go fetch it from the car'. He came back with a bin bag and proceeded to empty a black 335 onto the counter that had been smashed into at least 20 pieces! The conversation went as follows:

US: Er, what happened to your guitar?
HIM: I smashed it.
US: Er, why?
HIM: The devil came out of my toaster and told me to do it.

Our tech glued his guitar back together. It took him 7 weeks.

[questfortruth]

I worked in a guitar shop in Marin County, CA in the 70's. One day this really scruffy "hippie" looking guy walks in and proceeds to ask to play several guitars, so I obliged him. He finishes playing the last one and walks up to me and says "I'll take all of them" and pulls out a wad of $100 bills and slaps a few grand on the counter. It was Jesse Collin Young. I learned the lesson, that day, to never judge a book by its cover!

[Merjia]

Those guys brokering that Telecaster for that old lady made me tear up a bit. That was so nice of them to do that for her.

[R-Cade]

1:34 South Dakota
1:47 North Dakota
1:57 Virginia
2:08 Maine
2:18 Louisiana
2:39 West Virginia
2:59 Alabama
3:13 Texas
3:33 Arizona
3:54 Arkansas
4:20 Georgia
4:34 Wisconsin
5:00 Nevada
5:26 Minnesota
6:11 Colorado
6:45 Oklahoma
7:12 Delaware
7:45 Iowa
8:16 Florida
9:12 New Mexico
9:40 New Hampshire
10:19 New York
10:44 Tennessee
11:05 Rhode Island
11:42 Hawaii
12:05 Alaska
12:32 Illinois
12:54 Nebraska
13:34 Vermont
14:17 Wyoming
14:37 Indiana
15:05 Massachusetts
15:55 Kentucky
16:57 Pennsylvania
18:02 Maryland
19:01 South Carolina

[juanchaves]

Heres my super crazy story... There has been the same homeless guy living in the woods a few miles from my house for years, I always see him at the WalMart down the street... One day I bought him some food and sat down next to him, just trying to help him out. I got to know him, super nice guy....He tells me he has a Master's degree in electrical engineering. I asked him what sort of work he used to do- "Oh, I built guitar pedals, and I worked on electric guitars. I used to work for Eddie Van Halen and the Jay Giles Band" He says. Then he explains in incredible detail how he helped EVH by building pre-amps for his guitars, and tells me all about the work he did with Eddie on the first Van Halen album. At the end, I shook his hand and he says "My name's Tommy. Look at the first Van Halen album, in the credits, it says right there "special thanks to Tommy." and I checked, he was right, his name is right there. He had a ton of stories about how he met Van Halen in Pasadena, what they were like, he offered a bunch of opinions on Valerie Berinelli, I could not believe it. And in the end he got back on his bicycle and went back to his tent in the woods. I see the dude all the time... Unbelievable but true!!!

[zeronyne]

I need to buy something from that last place.

In the late 80s, I worked for Guitar Center as a fresh college grad while looking for a career. It was the equivalent of a cut throat used car dealership. Hell, we smoked cigarettes on the sales floor. After about a month, I found out how the guitar guys made so much money (we were all commission sales)…when they would take in a used guitar, they put all the value in the case.

For example, I buy a used Ynwie Strat with case for $500. As I enter it into the system, I value the guitar for a penny and value the case for $499.99. When I sell the Strat for 1000.00, my profit becomes 999.99. The commission is double what it would be if I had 500 into the guitar. Of course, then you end up with a basement with $250, 000.00 worth of cases that might sell for $250.00 in bulk.

Two years into my time there, they introduced computers onto the sales floor…actually the same system as now. And that was that. A few heads rolled.

[samuelbeach]

Customer: "I need a magnetic latched secret compartment to hide a Derringer in, in case I need to shoot someone."

Scott from Roman Guitars: "Well Mr. Nugent, we'll see what we can do."

[ThePowerman]

That guy that didn’t hose that lady who had the 53 Fender deserves some recognition. Not a lot of folks would do what they did for her especially the guitar store I worked at in high school.

[timothyarmesy]

You saved the best for last! That is so cool to be able to help other people and animals like he does. Rock on Dude!!

[suedeface]

This is great. Makes me realize I'd love someone to do a series like this. It makes you realize how much of a community this really is, with real people all over. And I miss music stores too. So many shops are gone or are just big box retailers.

[TheEyrie]

The story about the lady having hospital bills is just touching.

[RCSmiths]

I am always excited to go to a music store because I tend to meet interesting people with stories and a passion for music just as big as mine!

[RossRossiter]

This is a true story, about 15 years ago, before vinyl became hipster crack I was in a charity shop in Wells Somerset UK and in their collection of old records, mantovani, military brass bands etc I found a mint original pressing of Rubber Soul and they'd priced it at £4. I checked the condition of the vinyl but decided I was gonna buy it even if it was scratched to hell....Luckily it wasn't scratched and I couldn't hand my money over quick enough. I remember giving the woman £5 and she was thrilled when I refused the change. I got the record home, turned on the stereo and pulled the record from the inner sleeve for the 2nd time that day, and something fell out of the outer sleeve and fluttered to the floor. Intrigued I look down and it's an old black and white postcard. I pick it up, turn it around and on the back there are four signatures, well I guess you'd call em autographs. I shit you not. Still got it. Paul; George John and Ringo

[robertesensee]

The gentleman you interviewed at the end is what it is all about. Giving to others. He was your best interview. Much respect to him and his business!