Saturday in Toronto
MissYouAllDay
Posts: 939
Well yesterday I went to Toronto. I went there with intentions of picking up a Wizard wah. $235 Canadian. Not a bad, seems just a tad pricey but when you consider shipping and duty its a good price for a Canadian store. I went down town to Songbirdmusic. I can't say I was impressed. For a store with so much high end mechandise they had shit service and a weak layout.
Some of the more interesting things I saw there were a $15 000 gibson acoustic hanging up. A few Bogner amps. Some nice Les pauls. They are THE pedal store. They have like 1st edition big muff pedals. Fulltone everything. Teese everything etc. Nothing from keeley I noticed. Anyway the store was pretty small (expected in downtown toronto) but they seemed to take shit care of their stuff. Like I am against that store someone posted about that wouldn't allow playing of the bogners, but in this store you were free to walk up to anything and pluger in and go wild. It deters you from buying things (like a $235 wah pedal) when you see dumbass teenagers walking around the store with free range of everything. I was looking at the wah in the glass case and noticed it had dirt all on the rubber. Like how are you selling this pedal for so much money, as a NEW boutique type wah pedal, and there is dirt all over it? So I came all the way to Toronto I am gonna try my friggin wah anyway. I had to wait a long time to talk to a store rep and finally I got one and said "hey I was wondering if I can try out that real mccoy wizard wah?" He didn't know which one that was. I said "the red one".
He takes it and puts it on the desk with a cord. Like there you go. SO I kinda look at him like "uh.....ok" then before he walked away I said "can I get a guitar" i asked for atele. He gives me a 90$ beat to shit squire tele. sweet.
Then he goes away. I am standing there holding a guitar, a pedal, and a chord in a big winter coat. Like thanks buddy. So now what? DO I go and pick an amp? out of like 50 amps in store ranging from vintage fender to bogner to solid state shit. I just start walking back through the store pondering my situation. I wanted something close to my hiwatt, so I was looking for an orange. Something bright and classic sounding like mine. I wasn't willing to plug into a bogner or anything because I don't want to be one of those assholes allowed to wander the store like doing whatever they want (un monitored) to this wicked expensive equipment. So i was like fuck it. I am gonna plug into the most accessible cheap amp. It was this near by orange crush 15 watt thing. Then the predicamend escalates. I am standing there on a snow and mud soaked carpet, guitar in one hand, wah in the other with cord, no sales man to help me. What can I put down where? How am I gonna plug this all in. No guitar stands in the vecinity, can't put a 235$ pedal on muddy carpet. See the problem? I eventually tried the pedal for a very short time after a juggling act modern science can't explain for. I was not gonna buy this pedal after trying it on a 15 watt SS amp with a 90$ tele with 2 single coils. Not to mention I could have walked out of the store with it unmolested. I had to get a guys attention and say "see I put the pedal on the counter there see?" Then he was like "ok sure thanks". Would have served them right.
So it's not that I expect pristine service, like I get at my hometown guitar shop, everywhere I go. But how about decent service? I have been to many guitar stores and most are pretty clean organized and well monitored. If I ask to play a git or an effect or amp the guy will ask me what I wanna try it with, and come over and get me set up (which is common sense, security and service) and see if everythings going ok. Is that to much to ask? I hope not.
If I had decided to get the pedal I was gonna ask for it at 200, cause it was dirty and apparent that it was not taken care of very well.
So I would recommend going to this store maybe on a nice summer afternoon, when it was dead in there. A employee might talk to you then. It does have a pretty spectacular effects inventory I will give it that.
At the end of the day I did get to go skating with my girlfriend in downtown toronto outdoors in front of a good live funk band.
Hope you found my story interesting.
Edit- wow, this is pretty long. maybe you guys can read when your bored at work or something
-
Some of the more interesting things I saw there were a $15 000 gibson acoustic hanging up. A few Bogner amps. Some nice Les pauls. They are THE pedal store. They have like 1st edition big muff pedals. Fulltone everything. Teese everything etc. Nothing from keeley I noticed. Anyway the store was pretty small (expected in downtown toronto) but they seemed to take shit care of their stuff. Like I am against that store someone posted about that wouldn't allow playing of the bogners, but in this store you were free to walk up to anything and pluger in and go wild. It deters you from buying things (like a $235 wah pedal) when you see dumbass teenagers walking around the store with free range of everything. I was looking at the wah in the glass case and noticed it had dirt all on the rubber. Like how are you selling this pedal for so much money, as a NEW boutique type wah pedal, and there is dirt all over it? So I came all the way to Toronto I am gonna try my friggin wah anyway. I had to wait a long time to talk to a store rep and finally I got one and said "hey I was wondering if I can try out that real mccoy wizard wah?" He didn't know which one that was. I said "the red one".
He takes it and puts it on the desk with a cord. Like there you go. SO I kinda look at him like "uh.....ok" then before he walked away I said "can I get a guitar" i asked for atele. He gives me a 90$ beat to shit squire tele. sweet.
Then he goes away. I am standing there holding a guitar, a pedal, and a chord in a big winter coat. Like thanks buddy. So now what? DO I go and pick an amp? out of like 50 amps in store ranging from vintage fender to bogner to solid state shit. I just start walking back through the store pondering my situation. I wanted something close to my hiwatt, so I was looking for an orange. Something bright and classic sounding like mine. I wasn't willing to plug into a bogner or anything because I don't want to be one of those assholes allowed to wander the store like doing whatever they want (un monitored) to this wicked expensive equipment. So i was like fuck it. I am gonna plug into the most accessible cheap amp. It was this near by orange crush 15 watt thing. Then the predicamend escalates. I am standing there on a snow and mud soaked carpet, guitar in one hand, wah in the other with cord, no sales man to help me. What can I put down where? How am I gonna plug this all in. No guitar stands in the vecinity, can't put a 235$ pedal on muddy carpet. See the problem? I eventually tried the pedal for a very short time after a juggling act modern science can't explain for. I was not gonna buy this pedal after trying it on a 15 watt SS amp with a 90$ tele with 2 single coils. Not to mention I could have walked out of the store with it unmolested. I had to get a guys attention and say "see I put the pedal on the counter there see?" Then he was like "ok sure thanks". Would have served them right.
So it's not that I expect pristine service, like I get at my hometown guitar shop, everywhere I go. But how about decent service? I have been to many guitar stores and most are pretty clean organized and well monitored. If I ask to play a git or an effect or amp the guy will ask me what I wanna try it with, and come over and get me set up (which is common sense, security and service) and see if everythings going ok. Is that to much to ask? I hope not.
If I had decided to get the pedal I was gonna ask for it at 200, cause it was dirty and apparent that it was not taken care of very well.
So I would recommend going to this store maybe on a nice summer afternoon, when it was dead in there. A employee might talk to you then. It does have a pretty spectacular effects inventory I will give it that.
At the end of the day I did get to go skating with my girlfriend in downtown toronto outdoors in front of a good live funk band.
Hope you found my story interesting.
Edit- wow, this is pretty long. maybe you guys can read when your bored at work or something
- I miss you already, I miss you always
I miss you already, I miss you all day
I miss you already, I miss you all day
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I wouldn't have bought it either. it's tough to hear the tonality on an amp and tele that sound nothing like yours.
The Wiz Wah is a kind of plays well with others type of wah, smoother at the top of the treadle than most, works well with humbuckers, that kind of thing. It's a great wah, but you'll have to play them all to know if it's the right tone for you.
And honestly the wizard wah was more of a fun purchase. I just mess around with lead guitar so it wouldn't have been essential to my song writing.
Now, that money is going towads an Mbox or E-MU soundcard so it will really help me develop my songs writing skills giving me access to recording and mxing equipment, as well as some cool effects.
I miss you already, I miss you all day
If you'd had your heart set on the wah, I would've gotten the pedal and set up with decent gear... not the best in the store, but something that would indicate quality and tonality. If they want to help you out and take care of you, that's an indication of a great store, but some places get attitudes like they're too important to deal with your $235 pedal purchase.
Hell, just find a Vox RI Clyde McCoy on eBay and use the money you save towards recording gear.
Did you see their amazing selection of pedals though? And some of those Les Pauls? Yah the whole store seems poorly managed.
I miss you already, I miss you all day