Hating to do this during hard times like these but someone has to say it. My husband had mentioned that he'd like an acoustic guitar to learn to play, being the season and holiday sales I thought it would be right timing and head in. Right off the bat, not an associate in sight because they scattered. I walk in with my kids so they can help pick out a guitar for dad. I had researched Fenders so I was leaning towards that. I will say that I gravitated to where the commotion was and I found myself in a room where "Dan" was...he was helping someone. I understood. The customer even mentioned me....said something about my stroller and my 8 year old whom I had tightly close to me because all the guitars in there looked pricey. So it's not that I wasn't noticeable, I stood in the middle of the room for a good while. Well Dan would be the last-associate of the month in my book or of the year at that. I don't even know if he was being prejudice or sexist. I know I don't display dollar signs on my forehead for the sale but at least be courteous to people. What's wrong with being kind? He walked by me about 4 times and never once offered an "I/someone will be right with you". He made me feel like my money was no good there, I hope that someone treats his loved one the same way so he could understand....long story short; I grabbed a guitar, paid and walked out. Buyers remorse kicked in especially because the experience was unpleasant. I returned the guitar the next day....this time. Dustin was equally as unprofessional or courteous as Dan (they must have trained together). He was bothered by the return, tried to pawn me off to a different counter, snatched my receipt and never once looked me in the eye. I'm never going back, I'll make sure my purchase is a second hand guitar and get what I need through Amazon. Guitar center needs to hire women and give the arrogant men some training on customer care. EVERY COUNTER, tried to direct me to another counter. The front counter to the guitar, the guitar counter to the drum counter and where did I make the purchase AND return? The front counter. They are all pissy. Customers will always remember how someone made them feel. (The second star is for those who tried but were obviously new employees-because of how people like Dustin spoke down to them in front of me). I wish I knew the guys name how brought me the guitar the first time I was there, he wore a black vest....nicest guy there. Bye bye GC, I'm not going back! read more

Went in Sunday to buy my 3rd high end Guitar . One of my Family members was playing a Eric Clapton Strat. I was sitting on an amp and some guy comes over and tells me to get off the amp and find a stool to sit on. Less than a minute later another employee comes with a metal dollie and pushes into the face of a Nice Fender amp and rools it back on the face. Scratching the amp... The guy that sold us the Guitar was great, the other guy needs some people skills! He could have been nice about it and not been a complete jerk Doubt if I'd go back read more

Oh, Guitar Center. I can say that I haven't had many occasions to shop here - in the past, I would either be shadowing my husband during one of his excursions, or coming in for something specific and beating a hasty retreat. This time, we didn't come looking for any guitar-related gear. We needed specific audio gear for our home-theater set-up, and were hoping to find everything we needed locally, mostly because we weren't entirely sure of what we needed. So, we head into the store, passing by the "security" at the front, and crossing over to the Audio section. My immediate impression of the store, other than LOUD, was grungy. There was black tape all over the light-colored carpet, and while some of that tape was there to keep cords locked down, most of the tape was there to cover over tears and rips. Very unsightly, but maybe that's not high on their list of concerns. Once we made our way to the Audio department, we wandered a bit, but my husband - never afraid of asking for help when it's needed - had to actually approach one of the un-busy guys at the counter to ask for help. Not once did they come to us, mind - it was us having to get to them. Now, the guy that responded was friendly enough, though he seemed a bit new. Hubs asked a specific question, and the sales guy had to turn to look to another guy for confirmation of his answer. So, we basically had two people helping us at that point, though the first guy took credit for the sale. Then, the hubby moves on to another specific question about a different component, which the first guy jumps at (I guess it was in his wheelhouse). He took us to a wall in the back of the Audio section, and proceeded to point out the cords and cables that he swore would work with the M Audio piece we were also going to buy. I could tell that my husband wasn't entirely sold, but decided to trust the sales guy, and took the proffered cable, and we were on our way. Four hours later, we're back at the store, returning the cable that did not end up working as promised. Had we gone with my husband's gut, we wouldn't have had to make the return trip, but nothing can be done about that. At least they had what we were looking for, and the sales guy (who was still working at that time) was humble enough about his bad advice. read more

Great experience today! So happy to see this location practicing social distancing. They are only letting about 10 people in at a time from what I noticed I was also surprised but happy we were able to test the guitars and they sanitized afterwards. Another customer wasn't wearing their mask correctly and I heard an employee ask them to make sure they have it on probably at all times. It was refreshing to say the least! Keep it up staff! Thank you for being available during these hard times read more

On a slow afternoon, I was stuck waiting in line for a good 5 minutes while the only person working a register waited on hold with another store. I just wanted to get some strings, should have been a real quick in and out, but nope. Ended up just leaving and going to Sam Ash, where I got fast and friendly service. Will not be back. If you can't take care of me when I just need something fast, I absolutely won't come back when I need something more substantial. read more

Thank you for the Gregg Bissonette presentation. The drum clinic was awesome! You folks at Guitar Center rock! Norman, glad we finally got to see you. I'm surprised Dave wasn't up there. Another awesome guy that has helped me up there many times. Thank you for your awesome staff Guitar Center! Say hello to Ian Woodward for me. Jerry read more

I've been here before and had decent service - bought a fender bass. Post pandemic - not coming here anymore- I ordered a Gibson les Paul special jr dc online ale while Waiting for it to arrive the la Mesa guitar center opened for online shopping, so I went to try to test out pa few guitars I'd had my eye on since the Gibson hadn't showed up and now carries a 180 day return policy. There is a line outside and they are only allowing a Certain number of people inside at a Given time which is understandable - there are enhanced Cleaning procedures as well including them wiping down both the guitar you want to play and the cable you want to plug into any amplifier on the floor you can get to work - luckily I was able to play the guitar I wanted to try the most first and ruled it out for many different reasons as it was just not right for me. When I returned and asked if I could try one of the Gibson sg's I was told no unless I was going to buy it. I had made it clear to the salesman ahead of time I have back issues and was trying to look at certain guitars that were lighter in weight, I may not have been looking to buy a guitar right at the very moment - but down the road and in the very near future it's a possibility. If the instrument plays specifically secular and fells spectacular and just has that magic I could potentially make it happen. I am in the hunt for an amplifier and also am planning to purchase a line 6 helix which is pricey as well but i will take my business elsewhere at this point. Imagine going to a car dealership and being told you can't go for a test drive unless you're planning to buy that car today. Good job guys!! So they keep all the low- mid level crap guitars within reach and anything semi worth while is either locked or placed so high up you have to ask for a sales associate to grab it for you and you basically get a one and done, buy or get out. Officially team sam ash from here on out - but they do have some cool funko pops and trinkets read more

Scotty is DA man! Hands down the best service I have had in a whileeee ... big yelp user not a big yelp leaver so that should say volumes about his service. He went out of his way to look up a limited edition products location. He searched through the whole system and let us know exactly who to contact to get what what we needed! He went above and beyond what any standard salesman would have done and he made me feel as though he genuinely cared about the purchase I was about to make. It truly felt like a group effort and I felt supported every step of the way. Unfortunately, I was SOL and the limited edition turntables were sold out everywhere however, I will absolutely be returning to guitar center with any future needs and asking for Scotty because he really knows what's up and will do whatever he can to help you out! Thanks for your customer service man we really appreciated the help! read more

Three stars only for the sound of my guitar. Went in to get some strings put on .. just a basic restring to put it plainly. Paul with the repair section encouraged me to go with the platinum tuneup which was $100. I made it known that I couldn't afford that at the moment and asked for a basic level of service which I instinctively assumed would be much less than $100. My fault for not asking the price however, a friendly conversation with a fellow guitar enthusiast sometimes transcends the necessity to ask.. i also feel slightly worked because Paul didn't give me the price of the basic beforehand.. a price he probably knew i wouldnt be comfortable with given the direction of our negotiations.. Ended up spending almost 90 bucks for something i could have done at home. Thanks guitar center! In any event, he got it done fast as hell... which, by the way, validates the ridiculousness of how much i paid at the end. read more

I recently bought my first guitar and since have been to this GC multiple times. Since the first day, I have received very professional customer service. Bar D. has taken a lot of time patiently answering all of my beginner questions and offering really good and honest advice. I have now purchased multiple items here, their return policy and customer satisfaction is outstanding. Any time a manager is called to apply any sort of code in the computer, they are fast and always friendly. I will keep coming back for my future musical equipment needs, this is a great store an outstanding team. Highly recommended. read more

Unfriendly... Unable to assist customer properly. Bought item online then returned to this store because defective but they didn't refund the whole amount of my payment. Really disappointed loyal customer here.... read more

Once again, Knowing what you want helps... My Bassist on my advice went to Guitar Center with an ad for another store with a deal on a PA board some mics and cables, not only did they beat the price by $8... they upgraded the cables, mics and he got a 12 channel "with effects", instead of the 8 channel on the ad my band mate brought in, did not have. I don't care who you are "THAT" is good service. If you are a beginner douche bag who doesn't know his craft, off course your gonna get bad service your gonna buy something that "YOU DONT KNOW" and it will suck for you, Knowledge is power - Know what you want before you buy and bitch about it. read more

My guitar was lacking to feeling it use to have and I needed it set up for the playing style I have adopted. Thankfully the guys in the work shop are very knowledgeable and willing to help you figure out exactly what your needs are. I would like to point out Paul as the associate who helped me through this process. He's an outstanding employee and gave me the advice I needed. I would also like the point out Paul's coworker whom I believe is named John. John's knowledge came into play when trying to figure out what strings I needed to play in C standard. Both of them are great guys and even if you are a novice player, they help you learn and make guitar setup's a great experience. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - La Mesa, California

I have purchased most of my Taylor guitars here. They have a great selection to choose from and the staff is always knowledgeable and really nice. This is a great retail store, I would have given 5 stars if the prices were lower or negotiable. But, that never stopped me from purchasing here and everything else is perfect. The selection is always very good, no matter what you need. read more

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Dan has excellent customer service. He was very informative. His energy is positive and great. He was very helpful and helped us pick the correct items quickly. I will be sure to ask for him next time I shop there. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - La Mesa, California

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I ordered a guitar for my son's birthday three weeks in advance. I have been checking the order and now it says "backordered". I get that this is a time of delayed deliveries but there was ample time to get something delivered or to have notified me. It is now too late to get another item delivered form another online retailer. My son will not get to open the one thing he asked for on his birthday. This is really frustrating and incredibly annoying. A professional company would be aware of the stock they have available and if the stock was not available, would not allow the item to be purchased...or notify the buyer that it will be backordered and delayed. If I could do negative stars, I would. Get bent Guitar Center. read more

I had the displeasure of going to guitar center last Saturday 10/28/22. I am a senior citizen and have been going to this guitar center for at least a decade. I dont drive often because of my disability. I was able to get a ride to guitar center to get one of my many guitars repaired (I had this trip planned for 3 months) Because of covid things have been tough and I want to be careful as a transplant patient with others. While I was waiting, I helped a young man with a fender amp. None of the sales people or associates would ask if they could assist. I ended up playing guitar and waiting for 3 hours. After some time, someone complained at the desk. My friend and I were messing with an amp and we didnt know how to adjust the volume well. I think this is where the main complaint stemmed from. I was approached by a salesperson, he let me know I had been in the store for 3 hours. He assumed I was on one amp for 3 hours. He then left me hanging, and went to the back. When he came back out, I approached him to clear the air. I tapped him on the back so I could get his attention, and he ignored me. He went to his fellows and said I had assaulted him. I was threatened by multiple people and one of the sales people said the words, "I am going to kick your ass." (this is insane that someone would talk to me that way) They then asked me to leave. By this time my guitar had been fixed up, but I wanted to pay for the work that the tech had done on my guitar. I asked them if I could please pay, and they just asked me to leave and that they would call the police. At this point I was extremely embarrassed and felt like because of my age or because they thought I was not a customer, they felt they could treat me this way. I hope corporate can take a look at the leadership at this guitar center. I hope older folks can be treated with more respect here. I want to go back to guitar center in the future, but I am nervous on how I might be treated. Go ahead and call my relative Spencer if you want to touch base on this matter. 702 606 9179 read more

I don't usually right reviews for places or items i buy online, But i had such a bad experience at guitar center that i have to tell my story. I took in an ibanez guitar that i had in storage for about two years to have a setup done and get new strings put on as well. I dropped the guitar off on Saturday morning around 11 a.m. I was told by the repair tech that it could be done on Sunday but most likely it would be Monday. I was ok with that. Monday comes around and i haven't gotten a call so i decided to call and was told that they were working on guitars that were dropped off over the weekend and that they were a little backed up but that my guitar would be done on Tuesday. Tuesday comes around and again i get no phone call so again i call and the tech says that they just started working on it and that it should be done later that day, well that did not happen. Wednesday comes around and again I have to call to seek the status of the guitar at first he tells me that its not done yet and at this point i am annoyed i tell him that he told me it was going to be done the day before he said he would personally make sure the guitar gets finished today. I get a phone call about 20 minutes later telling me that he had made a mistake and my guitar was done. I go pick up the guitar during my lunch break and later that night when i get home and plug it in the first thing i notice is that all the fine tuners on the bridge are all over the place, i plug it into my axe fx 3 and select the tuner to make sure and the guitar is not in tune some strings are flat one step but my A string was reading as a G string, I basically had to re tune the guitar all over again. The whole over promising and under delivering pissed me off a bit but at least have the guitar in tune that's what i payed for. I will never return to this store again not even to purchase any new strings, guitars let alone let them perform any repair work on any of my guitars. Lesson learned i guess. read more

This store lack customer service. My first time to visit the store on Oct 19, 2020 at 10130am. Store was not even busy, the staff were just talking and not doing anything. It took 15 mins before I was greeted by the only Filipino guy working in the store. If you need something from this store, make sure to call first before visiting. Most items that I was looking for they don't have it in stock. Poor management from owners. No wonder this store has bad reviews. I am not coming back. If you want excellent service and good deals, contact Ben Stowe at NLFX Professionals. read more

Worst staff ever, extremely rude. Felt like we were intuiting them for assistance. Never coming here again.

I need to update my review. I came in to get a new amp and trade some gear in. I got an associate named Dan, super laid back guy and very helpful. Never seen someone run around like that for customers. Really just going above the standard. Carried my amp to the car, too kind. Gave me plenty of time to test the Fender Reverb our before I decided as well. Can't say enough good things about this last visit. read more

Dan was extremely helpful, honest, and did not try to upsell. He stayed within my price range and when I purchased the guitar and brought it home, I realized I needed better quality I returned to the store myself and spent more on a better guitar, he did not pressure me at all but gave me great advice! Now I got the perfect classical acoustic guitar I needed. read more

Zippy and Dan rock! These guys went over and above during the busy 2021 holiday hours. I'm not sure where all the negative reviews are coming from. They gave their recommendations and were not pushy about any of their products. Service was most definitely zippy (ha!) In all seriousness, these guys were running around everywhere, and yet, they never forgot about me. As I waited confirmation of my final costs, I was able to observe the rest of the crew, who were just as awesome. Zippy even offered to help carry our gear to our car. Thanks guys! Happy holidays!! read more

Finally....yay...went to Guitar Center in La Mesa knowing I probably wouldn't get the help I needed as has been my experience in the past. I was wrong today. I went to the Drum dept and Tommy was the only one there. I had brought one of my DW cymbal stands and a new DW stacker that had provided no instructions and the you tube tutorial video was very difficult to follow. At any rate, Tommy spent a lot of time with me as we were both confused by it all...He, marvelous sales person that he is, figured it out despite the amount of time it took. I really appreciate good customer service and he provided it full on. Thanks Tommy. read more

This company is NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. Wasted 2 hours today driving a 40 mile round trip to the nearest Guitar Center for a bass guitar bag. Prior to heading out, I was assured by the the employee on the live website chat that they had one bag left at that location. I asked if they could ship it to my local store or home address and was told nope since it was "local inventory." Got to the store at opening and was told no more bags left even though the store employee checked their computer and saw one still in stock. Employee said I should have called the store to verify the product was available (which I thought I did via the live website chat) and that it might be gone due to "theft", "employee error", etc. Followed up with call to a corporate employee who said that they don't ship certain items to homes or stores (unlike Amazon which is where I'll be heading next) and that if I still wanted one it would need to be backordered and arrive 4 months from now. It's not like I was buying a 10K Rickenbacker---it's a $100 canvas bag and they messed it up. If they can't handle the small things, can't imagine how they jack up the big ones. Interested in how many others have had a similar experience. For me, lesson learned. read more

Great customer service! I was in last night to repair a broken tuning knob on my Sunlite Acoustic and the repair man was so kind! He rummaged around in his back room until he found a similar knob and hooked me up. Once I got the new knob, I picked up 3 packs of Ernie Ball Earthwood strings for $17. I was super impressed with their variety of strings offered for my acoustic and with their customer service. I'm definitely going back there again if something breaks on my guitar because I know they're going to take care of it with care. read more

Paul was great in the repair center. Informative, knowledgeable and friendly. Went out if his way to try to save me some money and fixed me up In 72 hours! read more

Huge selection of all kinds of instruments. We came in "just to look" and ended up leaving with a guitar and a keyboard. A man called David Z was really helpful and gave us good information about getting the best quality for our money. They were very busy but well staffed. Their credit card machine was down but they still managed to keep their cool and get our transaction processed. Overall good experience. Thanks ! read more

This is the best GC I have ever been to! I've bought a few guitars, some recording equipment, and some accessories from here and I've always had great help from the staff when I wanted it but they don't constantly bug you when they know you just want to look. They've got a great selection as well! read more

Steve one of employees kept taking about how sick he was with a sinus infection..?! To a fellow employee that said he's sick too. It was grossly unprofessional and given the post and present pandemic, is just beyond baffling. The cords, connectors, and items were in disarray and they honestly didn't know much about what they were doing. It was disgusting and VERY unprofessional. Not going back. Sanitize your store I would. read more

Haven't been there, but noticed a lot of people complaining about restringing service. Really? I have owned guitars for 40 years and it takes about 20 minutes to restring a guitar. If you play a guitar and need to take it in to a music store to get restringed ... you know nothing about your guitar. Just sayin' read more

I don't leave many reviews but I have to take this time to thank and acknowledge the store manager Ian for taking some time to find a receipt I needed from all the way in 2015! With all the purchases I've made and forgetting when I purchased that product made it a longer process than necessary and for that I thank you Ian! read more

Placed an order 9/7. Didn't ship yesterday. Didn't ship today. Called and was told it was in process and check back tomorrow, 9/10. Cancelled and ordered from zzounds.com. A half hour later status is "shipped". read more

The guitar tech, Paul, at your store was great help. Got my gear back to me the next day! Super friendly guy, he gave good recommendations also. Thanks! read more

terrible service, borderline rude. the store atmosphere is combative and unhelpful. seems like most of management and employees are bitter middle aged men who failed to make a music career with their Eagles cover band . get over yourselves. the 70s was 50 years ago. knowing how to play hotel california or stairway to heaven won't reverse your pending divorce or your alimony payments. with the way senior management treats customers, id be surprised if half of these cuckolds were able to marry in the first place. read more

They don't even deserve one star. I took my guitar to replace the bottom strap holder which it is also the AMP connection. The guy that took it in got the part told me it will take a couple of days. I said no problem and left. 3 days later I called and the guy was upset because they are supposed to call me, he said mine was at the bottom of the pile and they'll call me. 5 days later I called again the guy says they don't have the part and it will take longer since they have to wait for part and got mad for calling them. Finally 6th day I go pick it up I just said I know my guitar is not ready but I'm taking it now please, he went inside talked to the other technician if he was going to work on it, I kindly said can I just take my guitar please? The guy gave me the hand and said "I heard you the first time okay?" I bit my lip and waiting for him to give me my guitar and walked out. Took it to a different store it was done in 2 hours and they did more work and had the parts read more

My husband and I brought our 11 year old son in today to purchase a $700 amplifier. We have been loyal customers for years and have purchased many guitars and amplifiers among other things there throughout the year. We were very discouraged at first when we called on our way over to get their opinion on the one we wanted and when Michael ( the manager on duty) answered the phone and rudely told us no one was available to answer his questions, they were " too busy" for us, we ended up going anyways in the hopes that they would give us their time when we arrived. In the store my husband was treated even worse in person while working with Michael again. He refused to budge and offer us any kind of discount, rudely stating that he "just lost a $12.000 deal by not giving a discount " and was upset about it. (?? That would mean he should try to appease us and do what he could to keep our business ) Regardless, the disregard we were given and lack of care along with terrible customer service from Michael resulted in their " losing our business " for good. Well done Michael! I advise you not to visit there. We bought the amplifier from Marks Guitar exchange. They were awesome! read more

Came in with my boyfriend to purchase a baby Taylor today at this location and was pleasantly surprised with the amazing customer service, especially by one specific employee. This employee really helped us in choosing the right baby Taylor for us and even offered a discount since we had to purchase the display model as there were none in the back. He made sure it was tuned to perfection and assisted us in a timely manner with the most amazing service. Thank you Connor for all your hard work, it doesn't go unnoticed. read more

I have been working with Doug since Nov. 2021 up to now (March 2022) on guitar practice. Not only is he an amazing teacher who has quite the ear for the littlest adjustments, but he was a fantastic help through the process of purchasing my first electric guitar! He walked around the store and explained the various details on the guitar, helped narrow down the amps that would be best for me, and was a great support in helping me understand the spectrum of my choices! I landed on a Shell Pink Fender (Player Series), quality amp (forgot the brand) and overall fantastic purchasing experience!! read more

Great music stuff selection, especially for guitar and keyboard lovers! It's fun hanging out here and trying out their instruments. Beware though that their coupons don't work with sale items and most of their items are on sale even though their sales kinda resembles the real full price. Ugh. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - La Mesa, California