Not easy to give 5 stars for big corporate stores like GC, but I know this is the right thing to do for this store in particular. I have to say that my experience here was very satisfying and walked out with the guitar of my dreams with a great discount as well! I came in a while back to look for a new high end accoustic guitar since I finally have the money to have one. I sat down in "The Barn" area and the manager, Eddie got me the one I was interested in to try out. his calm attitude and friendliness really made the difference here and I'll expound on that later. After playing the guitar for several minutes I decided that I wanted to purchase it. Eddie came back in and I told him that I'd like to buy the $2199 Taylor that I'd been salivating all over. His response is why I'm giving this review. Eddie said, "Well if you really like this guitar I'll tell you what. Come back in 2 weeks, ask for Eddie and I can give you 20% off!" So if you do the math that is a $440 discount from the sale price! I could not resist although the waiting was a killer. So I came back but unfortently the guitar had been sold so I had him order me another. It came in on time and got the discount and walked away a very happy customer. Plus this one sounded a little better to me than then the first one. Ask for Eddie. You will not be dissapointed. Hope this review was helpful! read more

I had an issue with a open box item and the staff was more than willing to help me sort the situation out. Genuinely friendly and patient. Testiment to that was when I walked in on an irate customer nearly verbally abusing multiple members of their staff for being short-handed today. The transaction she was trying to do was one that only a member of management could take care of and she did not understand that. Nonetheless, every employee who encountered her and felt her wrath was very respectful and did their best to explain the situation in the calmest of manner. If you can deal with an attitude like that then deal with my headache of a problem you deserve 5 stars and a beer...but since no beers are available on Yelp's rating system, 5 stars will have to do. read more

Came to Covina Guitar Center after having a bad experience at Pasadena. I felt very unhappy with my purchase and admittedly a bit of buyers remorse. Daniel in the drum department took good care of me and was very honest about what I really needed that could fit my budget. I returned all my items from the trip prior and told him I wanted to start fresh. He was so patient and HONEST. He really cared about making me feel comfortable with my purchase and I appreciated that. Go to Daniel for all your drumming needs and you'll be in good hands! read more

UPDATE (03/05/13): I got a call from the store manager, Shane. He read my review here and wanted to apologize for my experience in his store. He seemed nice and sincere, and he wanted to try to make up for my negative experiences and said that he and his team will take it as a learning experience. I sincerely hope that will be the case. I appreciate the fact that that he reached out to me. I was somewhat taken aback that he searched me up and called me on my cell phone. ---------------------------- I cannot comment about other branch stores but the Covina branch resembles something like a preschool playroom, and the maturity of many of the employees is not much higher. My experiences are as follows: Took a couple of my youth group kids with me to pick up some strings. I was greeted by a skinny Asian guy who looked about 13 years old and spoke with a squeaky girlish voice who kept referring to me as "bro" and "dude". I'm probably three times your age, I am not your "bro" dude. Don't worry, I only spoke the words in my head--I think! Also, I went in there for strings, but this kid kept trying to sell me other stuff I didn't need or want. Finally, I got the strings and was glad to get out of there. Next time, I took the Epiphone electric in for repairs. As soon as I walked in the doors, I looked at the repair counter and wanted to avoid the squeaky Asian. No such luck! There he was behind the counter and as soon as I noticed he made eye contact with ME--DOOOHH!! Oh well, let's get it over with. ME: Hi squeaky Asian boy, I have an electric here that doesn't play. Can I talk to the service guy? SQUEAKY BOY: "Sure bro! So-and-so is the tech but he's out to lunch, but so-and-so number two there can write you up." ME: Great, thank you very much! ME: Hi so-and-so number two, my electric guitar doesn't work and I'd like to get it serviced. HIM: "Oh sure, it's probably just a bad connector but our tech needs to look at it so if you'll leave it here with me he'll call you back in an hour." One hour later no call. Three hours later, no call. ME CALLING: Hi I left a guitar there earlier today and someone was supposed to call me three hours ago. THEM: The tech's gone home, but I'll have him call you tomorrow as soon as he gets in. Tomorrow, no call. Two days later, no call. Me calling them: Hi I dropped a guitar off three days ago. What's the status? THEM: The tech looked at it and said the connector needs to be replaced, it'll cost you $35. ME: OK, that sounds good. When will it be ready? THEM: It should be ready by tomorrow afternoon. We'll call you when it's done. ME: OK, that's great. Thank you. Next day, no call. The day after, me calling: Hi I'm calling about the guitar I left for repairs. What's the status? THE TECH: Yea, man. I replaced the connector and it's playing sweet now. Final experience: yesterday I went in to buy some strings. The guy behind the counter was talking on the phone to a friend, I waited... He kept talking... I waited... He kept talking... I waited... This lasted about ten minutes. Then finally, in my frustration, I said loudly, "Whenever you feel ready!" He looked at me like he was irritated and kept talking. Two minutes later he hangs up and says, "Whaddaya need?" I say, "Nothing from you!" and walk out of the store. read more

Stood in live sound section for 30 minutes did not get help when was ready to purchase a power amp but due to no help just walked out. Will not come again only will go to pasadena location if I need to. read more

A couple months ago, I walked into this Guitar Center looking to trade some older DJ equipment for newer stuff. Please keep in mind, I know how the game works with used equipment. I understand I will get lowballed like crazy when trying to trade in old equipment, so I honestly don't expect to get much. Anyway, nice salesguy walks up to me and asks me what I'm interested in. I give him a list of wants and in typical sales fashion, he tries to sell me something else. Finally, I insist on the things I initially asked for and we start talking trade. My stuff is in excellent condition and I know how much I paid for the stuff not too long ago, but I expect a low trade in value. 20% of what I originally purchased it for is not bad of an expectation, IMO. The guy came back with a figure of 35% of what I originally bought it for. At that point, I was ecstatic! He walks off to attend to other customers even though I was ready to deal so that gave me time to think. I don't really need some of the items on my list so I drop a couple things. I tell this to the guy and he comes back with an offer of 10% of the value. I thanked the sales guy for wasting my time and took off at that point. Keep in mind, I did have enough money to buy the items that were left on my list considering all I wanted was enough trade value for those additional items I didn't really need. I'm so impulsive too that if he didn't walk away, he would've had the sale done by that time. In the end, I walked off with my gear and cash and went to Sam Ash (review of Sam Ash coming up). That's the last time I go to Guitar Center. read more

I visit the store twice a month hoping to get a good deal on a fender american or mexican made classic series basses. Sadly when there's nothing interesting in their bass section, i look around for a bit and slowly move my way to the exit! Lol. If you're a bassist, i suggest you skip this one and drive all the way to their Pasadena branch. Way better stuff there. read more

This was my first time visiting a Guitar center and it was nice for the most part. I personally bought some guitar picks to test out a Jackson and it was already in some sort dropped tunning. Then I asked "Sandy" who was very rude about it. After he tuned back standard E , so I plan to drop it to D and he was catty about it in almost made a fit about it... I was about to speak to the manager about his attitude problem. Despite I still plan on buying the Jackson Guitar... read more

Best guitar buying experience I've ever had! The Caucasian, glasses-wearing employee and the young pierced man were a pleasure to work with. They listened intently to my buying preferences and made constructive suggestions which steered me to my ideal guitar. They let me put my fingerprints on any guitar I wanted, even the ones behind glass in the high-end room. Even when I come in just to kick the tires, these guys are helpful, engaging and professional. I can't imagine going anywhere else. You've earned my business for life. read more

As much as I don't like guitar center it's hard to beat the ease sometimes. I've bought endless sets of strings, earplugs, picks and a pedal here and their customer service is on point and very helpful. My only complaint is the rather bland stocking of gear at times (though I think that is merely a guitar center thing in general). If you're looking for your next top-of-the-line axe this might not be the place but for anything else it's great! read more

The staff here are very rude, they are not willing to help you unless you buy something. An employee named Sandy was very rude to me and my friend. My friend just wanted to try out a guitar and tuned it to drop D, to accommodate his music style, and the guy came over being very disrespectful towards him and said he had to keep it in standard, all because he just wanted to try it and not buy it. We were ignored by some of the employees because at first we said, we weren't ready to purchase anything; and were told later on when we were ready, "you gotta find someone else to help you man". Very bad customer service, you're better off taking your business to Sam Ash or ma and pop music shops. read more

I recently decided to pick up a hobby and went with learning the ukulele. I came to the store hoping it wasn't as bad as some of these reviews. To my surprise it was the complete opposite!!! Sandy was so helpful, he not only help me pick out a great starter uk but also showed me how to tune it and showed me a few chords. read more

Came in here ready to purchase a new electric guitar. Waited 30 minutes to be acknowledged by staff. Ended up leaving without spending a dime. Your loss, take your money over to Sam Ash. read more

Waited 15 minutes at the register for someone to help me purchase guitar strings. Many worker there, but no one even asked if I needed help. I walked out and will not return again. Bad customer service. read more

Low rating is completely related to the limited/small selection of different guitars and amps. Pretty generic stuff. Even the " high end" room is really light on the good stuff. The store seems to be aimed towards students and mid level players. I miss the shops in LA/Hollywood/SFV, just a lot more choices for the working musician. read more

This place is a great place to start when you are thinking of starting a hobby. Drums, guitars, etc. they have jam sessions and helped us out to the car read more

This is my new location for all my DJ needs! They got what I want, when I want. Much love to Dallas in Pro Audio for hooking it up. The place is always neat and orderly, which makes it easy to look around and browse all the equipment. The displays are clean and not dusty. The tags on every item are correct and explains them well. Thanks guys, keep up the good work! read more

Well I've been coming here since I was teenager and it's a hit or miss. Sometimes you get hooked up and others just not. I've bought wonderful guitars from this GC and all are still in wonderful condition and no issues. So maybe that is why I never wrote a review for this place. Which brings me to why I'm now reviewing this place. A few days ago I went to buy a practice amp so I could just jam by myself and I ended up getting an Orange Amp because I've always wanted one and it was a perfect price and was like sweet! So I bought it and brought it straight home. I was jamming on it for like 10 minutes and was going through the different effects and then it started bugging out. So I called the guy who I bought it from and he said to bring it in and he would check it out. So I brought it in and he played it with a cheap epiphone and some cheap cable and nothing it worked like a charm. So than he says maybe it's your guitar or cable and this enrages me. The amp was clearly messing up when I was playing it and it was not my guitar and or cable(American Tele and Mogami cables). So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and went home again and got my gear together and brought it to guitar center. So before I did that I tried to recreate the problem so I could conjure it up when I got back to GC. It was starting to feel like that frog that dances but only one person can see it and everybody else thinks he's crazy. So I recreate the issue and come to a conclusion that the amp was overheating and it was triggering a short in 4 different effects. Which rendered the amp useless in my book. I returned to the store and I set it up and play on it for like 15 minutes letting it warm up and wa la I triggered the problem and then the guy started fiddling with it and was like ok it's messed up. I'll give you the floor model which he had left on and was already warm. So I plug in and wa la same issue! All the Orange amps they had in stock were defective! HMMMMMM! Does this mean no quality checks? Nonetheless, the whole process took me about 5 hours to get a new amp and 25% discount because I had been patiently but that should have just been done right off the bat. HIT OR MISS GC read more

Today my son and I purchased his first electric guitar. Knowing nothing about guitars walking in we received a tremendous amount of help by all the staff members, Peter in particular, very knowledgeable and most importantly very friendly associate. It was a pleasure to shop at the Glendora location. read more

What's with the attitude here? Customer service lacks. When making specific requests the service is crap, instead of giving you what they offer online, they give you their so called expertise and are not able to locate what you just saw online. If you do order something online and have it shipped here they lose it and say they can't find it worth out an order number, even though they call you to tell you your items are in. Complaints to the manager are ignored so no help there. The only good service rep is Dylan. read more

be careful when taking in instruments to trade, they will not give you a fair price for your guitar and will lie to you about whats wrong with your instrument. Go to the Fret house for better treatment and better guitars D.J. read more

Very expensive , I'm not sure if the sales people the get communion on their sailed or what , cause all what they tried to do is to make me buy the most expensive stuff. Go on line buy for way way much cheaper if you are beginner read more

Walked in wasn't acknowledged at the register the demographic of workers in mostly Caucasian and there really isn't much diversity from what I saw. It felt uncomfortable the personalities were very salesman like with customers but arrogant and oppositional with me who was at the register. I asked blank if the this was the right line for returns and was met with a harsh tone of voice saying Sir I'll be with you in a second when I was asking if i was in the right line. She then ignored me for 7 minutes then I moved over to Sophie who I could hear was more polite. The manager Nick was very rude and came over and appeared mad that I was returning something within 3 days he gave the okay but still kept an angry look on his face and his voice had the kind of tone a manager gives when they think they own the work place. The rude girl had her name tag covered which was the one with the bow cut almost like hair cut and reddish tint she had the style of a punk rocker or metal head read more

Looking for a gift for my brother ... Went to the guitar section the guy there was awesome extremely informative and friendly. Then I went to audio and there in there own world not as friendly and quick to help like the last department. Then hit the strings department that guy was super cool and helpful it made my experience easy considering I don't know a dam thing about music stuff. The guitar guy was the best he's very passionate about his section. Thumbs up to him and the guy in the string section. Audio department needs help. read more

Best experience ever with Daniel J. at Covina GC!! So kind, helpful and knowledgeable!! I wish everyone at Guitar Center was this awesome!!! Thanks man!!! We will come back again and again!!! read more

I've been going to Guitar Center for years and years, but this is one of the smallest locations I've been to. There wasn't much to choose from in the area of Basses or Bass Amps, I came in looking for a Fender Bass Guitar but I didn't find one appealing to me. I guess, I expected more though. However, when it comes to accessories and setups the prices were moderate and not very expensive. I'll probably come back for a Standard Setup for my bass guitar in the near future. read more

I love Guitar Center, so why only 2 stars you ask?? Well although I consider GC the "go to" place if you need high end equipment for your needs, the customer service isn't the greatest. It takes forever for someone to assist you or simply check out. I would say that this is a one center problem, but it isn't. I've experienced the same service at other centers as far down as San Diego. I think the sales persons are trying their hardest,,, but the man power just isn't there. Other than that I have NO complaints. Get yourself on their mailing list,, they have great sales on holiday weekends! read more

Just went in today to return my dxr8 they sounded beautiful but i just didnt want a club in my room i didnt know the studio monitors could work just as good and actually they are better for me because i have a small room just picked up the HS8 yamaha studio monitor pair the service was great they gave me a screaming deal regular price was 349$ and i got them out the door 303$ they even opened the door for me and the brea one doesn't even do that i love pro audio staff and the nice lady in the front .. Thanks guys will definitely come back to covina for sure read more

This place has really bad customer service. I bought a Guitar online and picked it up there, they found it after 1 hour of waiting with no updates. The person who helped me was new behind the register so I gave him a chance. All the other employees just watched him try to figure out how the register works nobody even bothered to help. 1.5 hrs to get a guitar I bought online only to open it at home and found it broken. No one cares there. read more

I can not complain about this place, to top it off they were even open on labor day when all other music stores were closed. Every time I've gone in, it has been a transaction with ease, the guys have always been helpful and give some good advice. I see other reviews with many complaints but I just think that peoples expectations are just to high. read more

Since this is pretty much the home base Guitar Center for me, I can't complain too much. I play guitar in a band, and we go through a normal wear and tear with our instruments. In a pinch for strings, picks, tubes, or cables, I'll traverse to this Guitar Center. With respect to guitars, they have an okay selection of mostly Gibsons and Fenders. Considering the location, I wouldn't really expect more. The workers there are pretty knowledgeable and friendly, and I've never had too much of a problem here. They're also not pushy, which is great. Perfectly accommodating, at least in my eyes! read more

I'm gonna give this 1 star to the drum department. Normally you have people in there that have some kind of knowledge of what they are selling. If your a drummer especially working at guitar center you should know your stuff. I asked for some opinions got no help and when I asked about the tom heads they wouldn't even look for it so I had to go behind the desk and find it for myself.... Hire some people who know what they are doing read more

Extremely helpful salesmen. Not the cheapest, but they have what you need. I also got a good deal on a used bass amp!

Updated review. I was contacted by Nick G. about another left handed '58 LP reissue! Asked for and received pictures detailing its condition. It arrived today and it is one awesome guitar. It is exactly what I have wanted for decades, sounds sweet through the Marshall stack and amazing with the Twin reverb. Thanks Nick, for this lefty player this was a bucket list item! read more

Thanks to Sandy for teaching me a thing or two about acoustic guitars and for helping me with my purchase! It's always a pleasure coming into the Guitar Center! read more

I've been coming to this Guitar Center since i was a kid and I love it. It's small but it's not overwhelming or crowded unless it's the holiday season. Associates are really helpful and I've learned a lot just through conversations with the employees alone. Their free beginner group lessons are great as well. My one complaint would be the cost of repairs but if I need one done I'll likely be going there, especially after my bad experience at a cheaper priced store. read more

This place isn't what it use to be. I walked in today and walked into the drum department and the audio department, not one person asked if I needed help with anything or had any questions. The drum department seems to have less things available and on display now. Mostly electric drums are set up now and there is no longer a large selection of acoustic drums to see. It seems like each time I go in they have a new drum department staff that keeps getting lazier and knows less about drums. I have spent thousands of dollars at this store in the past but will no longer spend a penny there, not even for groove juice! This place just earned Sam Ash a new customer read more

I love this place it's my candy store !!! Strings for my box , picks, amps guitars SUPPLIES!!!

Worst experience ever in my life at a Guitar Center!!!!!! You would think Guitar Center Glendora would get it right after closing down in Covina!!!! I was walking around the store for a good 30 minutes before anyone even acknowledged my presence!!!!! And to top it off no one even asked if I needed help or had questions the entire time I was there!!!! Normally I would have at least one pick on me, but the day I visit the NEW GUITAR CENTER I didn't have one. I already knew what Guitar I wanted to try and buy....So I ask the man at the Guitar repair department for a guitar pick and he said " you can find some in the silver pick bowls on top of the amps" so I go ahead and search every bowl on the sales floor to find absolutely zero picks!!!! So I go back over to the man at the guitar repair department and directs me to the front desk because they have picks! So then I ask one man at the front desk for picks... he checks his drawer fiddles around and says "nope but let me check and I will get back to you" so he walked to the back for about five or six minutes then comes back looks me in the eye and says "what's up" and walks past me without helping!!!!! So then I ask the young lady working at the front desk and she says "let me take a look" and doesn't get back to me...So I walk back over to the man in the Guitar repair department to ask him if he had just one guitar pick that I may borrow and he says "look man I'm sorry I don't have any picks what do you want me to do" then turns his attention to his phone !!!!!! At this point I'm just annoyed now all I want is one pick any pick!!!! I finally walk over to one more person and tell him dude I'm just looking for one pick I already asked three other people!! He said ......"have you checked the pick bowls on the amps"!!!!!!!!!! then I'm just super annoyed and told him I felt like ripping open a brand new pack of picks from the pick display in the store!!!!! Then he said "that would be a form of theft and you would have to pay for them"....... NO SH...T Sherlock!!!!! So get this......he walks over behind the counter where I asked the man in the guitar repair department and pulls a F....king pic from the drawer!!!!!!!!!! I really felt like punching that man in the face!!!! Holy smokes!!!!!!!!! After all this time searching for a simple pick I finally get to just play the guitar I wanted to buy......the young lady that I asked for a pic finally walks over near me and says "hey did you ever get that pic you were looking for............ Holy smokes!!!!! After that I had enough I left the store without buying the guitar! IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE GO TO THE GUITAR CENTER IN GLENDORA!!!!! I'm going to Sam Ash and online to buy my gear from now on!!!!!!!! Shoot buy local at the Fret House or Gards music !!!! read more

They are a standard GC, and found they had a fender roadworn 50's telecaster. I'd been looking at various GC's and my local GC had said this one had it. So checked it out, and Kimberly was pretty awesome and helpful. It was a good deal for 600, normally these things go for 900. Well its a roadworn, so new. But this one was well played but seemed that no one bought it. It was missing one knob and the switch hat, but I got replacements. Too bad I forgot that vintage 50's tele hardware is different than standard. I picked up standard modern tele knobs and a strat !? switch hat. But the roadworn is friggin awesome. I barely had to adjust the truss rod, the PU's distance from strings are fender spec, saddle was intoned for 9's (maybe 10's) no saddle tweakin. Yeah after all that playing by GC peeps. Great playing all around. When I picked up the tele at first I was turned off cuz it was dirty and smudged up, like it was used in between oil changes at an autoshop ( ; ) . But it played nicer than other MIM teles I've checked out in my GC runs. As soon as I changed the strings to GHS, that tele lit up. Word. So it found a home. There's a roadworn strat still there. If I was into strats . . . I'd hook it up but money must be spent elsewhere. Regarding relic argument, at least try them. I like the neck, the only neck that smooth to that feel is a 1970 classical guitar my CG teacher had. Anycase, thanks Kimberly (she even made a courtesy call afterwards). read more