Actually it has to do with the instruments on the walls. At Elderly Instruments they will send you downstairs to a practice room to try out new instruments. As it was explained to me by Frog (a legend at Elderly and a great blues player), most instruments tried out in the showroom sound much better than they will at home due to the sympathetic vibration of all the instruments that are around them. If you are in a shop with lots of stringed instruments around, ask to use a practice room.

All the best,

Mick