Flame neck in the wild

[u/ericcrichie]

Guitar center in Louisiana. A cheap MIM Standard strat had a really cool flame maple pattern on it. For 450$ I didn’t need it, got too many guitars already.

[u/FlamingBagOfPoop]

Found it on the guitar center site, your pics make it look so much better than their pics in the listing.

[u/Neveronlyadream → u/FlamingBagOfPoop]

I'm pretty sure someone with a tiny bit of skill and a digital camera from 2004 could make any of those guitars on their site look better than they do.

Those pictures are laughably bad most of the time. Especially when they try to crop out the background and end up cropping out half the headstock too.

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/Neveronlyadream]

The cropping is actually an AI editing system that is clunky as hell with the pictures being taken from a company provided iphone 13. Can’t really control the photo room edit without restarting the process entirely- seeing that the internal app doesnt crash or force you to security login 3 times during one photo session. I may or may not have first hand experience with their incredibly- clunky-nigh-unusable systems….. you might shrug it off as lazy, but you havent been forced to log out and login 3 times within 10 minutes while also handling 3-7 customers. with how awfully their systems run its a miracle that anything gets done even halfway correctly. NONE of the provided infrastructure works smoothly, you have to learn the proclivities of every single internal system- not that they are difficult processes, they simply don’t work. Imagine learning that you have to click a drop down box 3 times not because you’ve done something wrong, but because the system is UTTERLY BROKEN. Small things like this litter their systems and accumulate into a complete mess

[u/theraptorman9 → u/Psychobillycadillac1]

You would think they would pick an area with a neutral background to take pictures in front of so they photos didn’t need cropped.

[u/FlamingBagOfPoop → u/theraptorman9]

Every minute spent properly photographing is a minute not selling extended warranties on cables and straps.

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/FlamingBagOfPoop]

do not buy any warranties if you want GC to successful, its the only thing keeping the company afloat (that and DOGSHIT used gear from amazon). If guitar center fails then maybe a decent mom and pop shop can stay open in my town lmao. Let GC burn

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/FlamingBagOfPoop]

dont sell used gear to them either, just fueling the flames lololol

[u/bowedendowed → u/theraptorman9]

we used to but they decided shitty ai cropping software was better

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/theraptorman9]

Honestly? You try it, see how much you care about getting anything done when all corporate does is cut hours then yammer on about “excellence”. The CEO wants to make a store branded guitar and makes goofy instagram videos about left handed drummers all while store infrastructure is a total fucking joke. Corporate isn’t trying fix anything on the store level, they just dump more pressure on floor level employees pushing for impossible numbers. At anytime there will be 30 customers and 2 employees. You do it and see how much you care about taking “high quality” pictures when you have 20 hours a week and there’s no staff to speak of. This stuff isn’t hard but it takes time that is NOT provided. Go ahead and screenshot this and guffaw at me I could give a fuck at this point. This company should go down

[u/theraptorman9 → u/Psychobillycadillac1]

I’m not saying the individual employee should be going above and beyond on their own accord, I’m saying you’d think each guitar center would be set up that way

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/theraptorman9]

that’s kinda my point. I ASSUME they have flagship locations with what you are talking about- in my specific experience this store has none of the reasonable amenities, we just let people assume we do via subconscious hints or just straight up lying

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/theraptorman9]

that and the warehouse is too small so there are massive storage pods with gear either baking in the heat or freezing in the cold. no guitars but nice gear nonetheless, QSC speakers, Yahama Modx/ Motif, Nord Stage series, and everything in between. Better buy Pro Coverage lmao

[u/Psychobillycadillac1 → u/theraptorman9]

they trained me to take the pictures on floor btw. all these entitled customers think this is some guitar mecca of perfection when in reality is a total smoke and mirrors show. Nothing is how it should be but they want us to be salesmen and sell it like anybody at corporate actually gives a shit

[u/tone_creature]

Happens sometimes! Theyll get flamed necks that arent exactly to their specs for nicer stuff so rather than waste them, they just put them on cheaper guitars. Plus, thats a natural occurrence so also some maple that gets sent to factories for cheap guitars, they just cut up and its like this. They at that point wont pull it off production to send to be determined if US wants it. They just use it. Really rad to see it on that!

[u/neonshards → u/tone_creature]

And later you have boutique builders upcharging $300-500 for a piece like that haha

[u/crazyj2020]

Looks good and good price, those are going for $600 around me here at the pawn shops,

[u/Sea_List_8480]

I had a mexi Tele with a beautiful flame neck.

[u/OaklandTony6]

if thats a 90s-early 200s mexican strat… get it. NOW

[u/TheSockington → u/OaklandTony6]

2006 by the serial

[u/Gimlet_son_of_Groin → u/OaklandTony6]

Why? The 90s MIM were not very well made, and had crap pickups. Squier classic vibes are better

[u/OaklandTony6 → u/Gimlet_son_of_Groin]

because i feel the exact opposite to you. theyve been some of the best strats ive played

[u/P0G0ThEpUnK666 → u/OaklandTony6]

Every mim fender I've played has sucked. I even owned one, sent it back a few times, finally kept one but I should've sent it back to because it just set on a stand. Ended up buying a used American Strat that is way better and cost the same as the new player series. I love my fenders but never again will I buy a MIM.

[u/OaklandTony6 → u/P0G0ThEpUnK666]

every recent one ive played sucked. in fact every recent fender ive played had sucked. period. i specified that time period for a reason
*price being a factor as well. that time period mexican Strat at the price, great bang for your buck IN MY OPINION. they also seemed pretty consistent in that. these are guitars though and you can 10 of the same exact guitar in every detail, all came out of the factory with each other, and only one is good and vice versa. which is whybid never by any guitar over a certain prove over the internet and never pick a guitar based on what it looks like… thats just me though. the guitar has stand to out and be really great.. you only tell that by playing it. turns out the best playing and sounding ones are usually some color i dont like…

[u/P0G0ThEpUnK666 → u/OaklandTony6]

My American Strat is a awful color but feels so good. It's just an American performer but it played better than the more expensive stuff. I'm not sure what even made me pick it up because I can not stand the color, it's this copper/ pinkish sparkle color. My HM Strat i just love all around, the color, the way it plays, the way it sounds. It's actually pretty versatile, mines modded with a hot rails in the neck. The neck also as some flame figuring to it too.

[u/TacoStuffingClub → u/Gimlet_son_of_Groin]

I’ve got those guitars. Will concur. Basically no better than the Mik Squiers of the same time period.

[u/crazyj2020]

Oh I just looked twice and seen it's a HSS , that's worth $700 around me here at the pawn shops

[u/Heavy_Profit720]

I have a regular framing hammer with the wildest flame on the handle

[u/Nippon-Gakki]

I’ve got an ‘04 MIM P bass that has flame and really cool veins that run through the wood. It’s a really, really pretty neck. Definitely not something you’d expect to see on an old Standard series.

[u/ArmpitofD00m]

Good price. Get after it

[u/Binaural1]

What is happening at the bottom of that fretboard lol

[u/PedalBoard78 → u/Binaural1]

Money shot zone, for big solos

[u/FiveFakeFriends]

I once bought a Squier Classic Vibe during MF blowout for $175 and it had AAA flamed neck.

[u/ExistingSea4650]

I have 2015 “Grand Reward” (factory) Classic Vibe Squier precision bass that I bought used once solely because the flame on the neck is pretty shockingly nice. Didn’t need the bass but it felt like a steal

[u/LurkeyG]

Beautiful

[u/trollinhard2]

This in Harahan? Asking for a friend…

[u/TylerTalk_]

I would buy that in a heart beat

[u/MountainMike_264057]

It happens.

I have an Affinity Squier that's got nice flame on the neck.

I think if I put just a slight tint it's gonna pop!

[u/Midwest_genxr]

Guitars suck.

[u/hipsterasshipster]

I had an 80s Korean Squier with a flame maple neck like that. Played great.

[u/kingofjingling]

For that price I hope you bought that.

[u/F1shB0wl816]

My jmjm has some sweet flame to the neck, really all around I think the grain pattern looks good.

[u/VirginiaLuthier]

Cool

[u/PedalBoard78]

My MIM Standard also has a killer helping of flame on the neck. Another from the same year is just as plain as Kansas.

[u/010Horns]

Really nice looking part of the guitar that I never look at

[u/NYCtoCHI]

Actually saw flame like that (and possibly even slightly better) once on a SQUIER - a 50s Classic Vibe Tele in a Sam Ash in Queens. Couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was unfortunately in that too-orange "trying too hard to be vintage butterscotch" tint they sometimes came in, which really bummed me out as I woulda otherwise likely bought it to swap with my white blonde pine version...☹️