Mike Gug Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 WOW! I was in Riverside on business and it turns out that WWG is like 400 yards from my hotel! My shoes found their way to the front door of WWG and in I went. Three sound proof rooms loaded with BEAUTIFUL guits! Nothing under $1000. Room One was acoustic guits. I skipped over Room One, as all the rooms were sound proofed, and with beatiful amps to match, I was ready to ROCK. Room two had lower end stuff: Gibsons, Fender, Gretch, PRS. ALL of the models on hand were tricked out stock with all the cool options. Fender Relic models, Esquire, 1960 Strat (favorite axe of the day) and other year-specific models. No single cut PRS. HOWEVER, since my Reverend (with P-90's) is still on order, I had the guy pull out a PRS with P-90's. Oh BABY! I was in a '59 Bassman 4x10, I believe and a Soldano combo. HOLY CRAP! What a sound! (favorite sound of the day) Room three: Bakers, Suhr, CMP and others I've never heard of and could never convince my wife they belong in our house. Mojave amps. Totally rocked. Bad Cat. Nice sound. Trouble was that I had too much good stuff and less then three days to mess with it... What a great place. It's a must see, if you're in town. They're building a full stage, with light bars and a sound board in the middle of where a crowd would be. The rep said that a customer would have a bass player and a drummer at their disposal to try out gear in a real world situation. Don't ask how that will work. Also, customers will have two sound rooms to use. Costs? Don't know. Living 5 to 6 hours away, I wasn't interested. But, playing a Relic 1960 Strat through a 1959 Bassman wa really cool. A little time travel there. Gotta go. See ya! Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeMonkey Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 OMG REALLY!! I live in Riverside! I got to UCR, hmmmmmmmmm new place to go! Looks like im taking a field trip to that store. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Mike, look at my sig line. See where I live? The sad thing is, I have not been over there yet. I did call them once, oh, about two or three months ago. I forget how I heard about them. They didn't strike me as overly "friendly" on the phone - it almost seemed like I was annoying the guy with a couple of really basic questions (location, hours, etc.), so I never bothered going over there. The website was fairly interesting looking though, and it sounds like they carry top flight gear, so I may just have to take a drive over there one of these days and see if they're more pleasant in person. BTW, next time you're planning on coming down to Riverside, give me a call and maybe we can do lunch or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Originally posted by Satanic Monkey: OMG REALLY!! I live in Riverside! I got to UCR, hmmmmmmmmm new place to go! Looks like im taking a field trip to that store. hahaDo you really? It's just a couple of blocks from UCR - down University to Iowa, up Iowa to 7th... or maybe you'd have to go down to Chicago and then up to 7th. Either way, it is practically walking distance - except no one in CA walks if they can avoid it. Nice to see there are other IE people on these boards besides me, songrytr and toxic potatoe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Sounds like you had a great time! I love haunting guitar shops of all kinds! Haven't done much of that in waaay too long... long overdue! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarzan Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 if i went there i would die. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=193274 rock it, i will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Originally posted by WolfZan: if i went there i would die.Yes, music stores and electronic stores are a curse. Oh, what a person could spend if only the budget were unlimited! bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Originally posted by cwfno: Originally posted by WolfZan: if i went there i would die.Yes, music stores and electronic stores are a curse. Oh, what a person could spend if only the budget were unlimited!If you think guitars are an expensive passion, try getting into a full blown studio... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 I could be pursuaded to go again. I'll be down there in a few days, if I'm remembering my work schedule correctly. I'm home now. For my next trip, I've mapped out a Guitar Center close to Ontario Airport. I forget which one, but I could go to WWG again, for sure. REALLY nice guys. Shoot. I'm 99% sure I'll be in Riverside on the 11th, Columbus Day. I'll be at the California Institute for Men (California State Prison) until about 3:00 p.m. or so. I was at the California Rehab Center for the last trip. I have to travel to these places. No direct inmate contact, but I've got a couple stories. Anyway, I've been blocked from this site at work (DAMN ARNOLD!). I'll check my schedule and PM you guys as soon as I can. The 11th look good? Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 Sounds like you had a great time! I love haunting guitar shops of all kinds! I love doing that... That's how I found, get this, a psychologist in Blythe, CA (Ironwood State Prison) selling the Samick line out of his waiting room! Massively discounted, no overhead or employees. I was in that waiting room yelling, "HELLOOOO!" for 5 minutes until he showed up from the back room. Luckily he wasn't with a patient. Only then I found out he was a PhD. if i went there i would die. A distinct possibility. When I began to notice that every guitar I picked up was in tune, I actually asked myself, "Is this a dream?" How funny is that?! Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklava Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Man it must really suck to live in California, all those great music stores,movie and rock stars, recording studios,sexy blondes by the sun set. I hate you guys! The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Mike, got your email - I need to check my appointment book and see what is going on on the 11th... I will try to have an answer for you by tomorrow. But it sounds like fun, and I hopefully will be able to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanner Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Originally posted by Mike Gug: WOW! ... But, playing a Relic 1960 Strat through a 1959 Bassman wa really cool. A little time travel there. Gotta go. See ya!Relic 1960? time travel? yeah if yer talkin about 1999 or so... Not to rain on this Riverside Lovefest but:,since you brought it up... those Fender RELIC Strats are the biggest load o' crap ever foisted on the guitar buyin populace imho... hey i'm a Fender lover from way back-play my 1963 Strat thru my 1965 Fender Twin most days but i'm not tryin to be elitist i still bash on my 90s strats and amps... it seems the Fender R&D team ran outa ideas at some point-i wonder if this is what they pitched at that frustrating meeting: "hey-since we cant think of anything new and all out "vintage" stuff is so valuable why dont we make new guitars that LOOK like they are old-ya know scuffed up and faded w/ all the tell tale signs of them oldies that we cant compete against...put them out there at outrageous prices, kinda like the originals and who knows... " what was it P/T.Barnum said?...somethin about suckers? its a lame idea that somehow took off, for the 'worsement of everyone imho. s AMPSSOUNDBETTERLOUDER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 I'm not a fan of the Relics - I'd rather put my own marks and dings into my guitars the old fashoned way - via years of use.... and I try to avoid dinging my guitars up anyway. My Taylor 510 is over ten years old now, and there's hardly a mark on it. BUT, I do think the custom shop and reissue Fenders are nice guitars overall. As far as "coming up with something new", I don't think that's really the issue - Fender has tried that more than a few times over the years, and frankly, the customers have voted with their wallets and usually prefer the older designs - Fender is just giving their customers what they want, and I can't really fault them for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted October 7, 2004 Author Share Posted October 7, 2004 I wouldn't pay that kind of money for that guitar. HOWEVER, it did play GREAT! A Fender fluke, if you will. It's the same kind of fluke when you find a Mexi-Strat beautifully set up that plays better than all the US-made Strats in the store on that given day. It just fit my hand VERY nicely. I thought the look was cool. The aging of the neck was WAY too obvious, but the slight rusting of the tuning pegs was very interesting. I liked it. Worth the cash? Nah. I really liked the sound of the Bassman. Make no mistake, that very well MAY be worth the money. Spent too little time on it to be sure. Was the $5700 Baker worth the cash, no way. The PRS with P-90's for $1700?, well........ Not to rain on this Riverside Lovefest but:,since you brought it up... Don't worry, the Lovefest was about the WWG experience, not specifically the Relics. You can't rain on my WWG parade , it was too cool of a store. I'm absolutely certain you'd walk out that place with a smile on your face. Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myles_rose Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Great store! Myles S. Rose www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com www.la-economy.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/mylesr www.twitter.com/myles111us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Well, I was over that direction today, so I decided to stop in. What a cool store. One of my clients walked in while I was talking to some of the guys over there... he's interested in getting a Bogner head to replace his current triple rec Mesa. IMO, that would be an excellent move for him. I tried a Breedlove acoustic or three... incredibly nice sounding acoustics, but I didn't care for the necks - a bit too chunky for my relatively small hands. But they sure sound great. Saw the stage area they're building. My understanding is that they will use if to put on private, "by invitation only" shows, as well as having it available for jams if a customer wants to try out a rig in a live context... an excellent idea, since it certainly is different when you play something in a band context as opposed to trying it in a demo room - even a nice demo room, which the ones they have certainly are. Quality lines - Bad Cat, Bogner, Dr. Z's, Mojave, Suhr, PRS, G&L, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Fulltone, Maxon, Radial - there wasn't any "junk" in the store that I saw. The staff was quite nice. I spoke with Rob, Brian and Jim... nice guys, and they seemed a lot more knowledgeable than the typical chain store employees. And no pressure - they basically opened up the rooms and let me at it. Got the full tour (including the private use studio upstairs) and all questions answered, but it wasn't the typical high hype or high pressure environment. I was pretty impressed - if you're in the area, you should definitely check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gug Posted October 9, 2004 Author Share Posted October 9, 2004 Sorry for the bump... Phil, check your PM. Mikegug www.facebook.com/theresistancemusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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