After really poor service at Best Buy, we went to Guitar Center looking for a turntable. First salesman said he didn't have much knowledge about turntables and would find someone who did (great customer service move!). He introduced me to Roberto who took the time to show me and my daughter everything they had, went over the differences, and took time to answer our questions. We did not feel rushed, or condescended to (as some salesmen are prone to do with "girls"). Then when we could not find exactly what we wanted he pulled up a website to show us some other options and said we could probably find it online. This was the 5 star moment! He knew he wasn't making a sale but still took time to show us other options from another vendor and make us feel welcome to come back anytime. Thank you Roberto, you just got a customer for life. read more

If you are looking for a piano you need to come to this Guitar Center and ask for Doug. He is not only kind and helpful but very knowledgeable. He explained very well each piano that we were interested in and he went above and beyond as far as customer service, making sure that we were happy with our purchase. We are very happy with our piano. Thanks Doug!! read more

It's nice to play around but when it comes to a major buy I would never think of buying anything here. This is the true decline of western civilization. I doubt any of the people who work there would know the reference. Long stories short... You don't need to know my name when I buy strings. Here is money there are strings I just wanna get out of there before I hear another east county bro play really bad Panara... Yes Panara. On an ESP he is not going to buy On an amp that he's not going to buy. In the end strings but no guitar. It's a waste of money and time. read more

Guitar center will suffice if you know exactly what you want and how much you want to pay for it. They do have a decent selection on guitars, pedals, accessories, keyboards, recording gear, etc. However, the service is mixed; some salespeople know what they're talking about, but most won't know much about anything that's not a popular selling item with a high commission. Try the guitars at GC, but also take some time to visit other, locally owned guitar shops around town. If you do decide to purchase an item at Guitar Center, make sure to look up the price on Musiciansfriend.com or other online retailers. They should always be able to match or beat the price (including sales tax). read more

PAWN SHOP, i went in to check out a guitar i was going to get (jackson dinky) and i asked if they had anymore besides the display ones which are used.. employee said no. so i checked out the display one it was cracked from the back and missing knobs.. hell no i wouldn't buy that, so i consider getting the ibanezRG2EX in white, which was hanged on the wall, where NEW guitars should be. but, it was the same crap, broken strings missing pieces.. employee offered me free strings and case i just left the store.. If you're going to buy a guitar, please buy it online where its actually NEW and not used by many other people.. read more

Say what you want about GC but Norm & Kevin in the drum dept are top notch guys. Not only are they always helpful, they play so they really DO KNOW about the gear. And they have no problem matching any price you find at a competitor. Thanks guys. Very appreciated. read more

The guys here are so darn helpful it's hard not to give it a five but I reserve five stars for mind-blowing experiences. I bought this Fender package here last Summer. I was going to a Lady Gaga concert that day and just felt musically inspired so I very impulsively came here to splurge! I can't remember the name of the kind guy who helped me but they all seemed very chillaxed. The guy who assisted me with my purchase also tuned my guitar for me, showed me how everything worked, played me a song and walked me out of the store. This store is pretty dope for the likes of music experts or not. read more

I really don't know why the customer service is so horrible here. I've been here multiple times and not once did I ever feel a sense of customer service but never thought anything of it. These guys just come off as to freakin cool so it was what it was. I don't know why I've chosen to still purchase things it's probably because of the financing they offer to be honest. Just returned something here and got the worst customer service the second the guy asked was there anything wrong with this product and I answered no just simply returning. Not one word was spoken to me after that and his body language you can clearly tell was annoyed and just handed the receipt back and that was it. Not a ok you're all set or have a nice day. People spend a lot of money here the management should really get their staff in check. read more

I give this Guitar Center one star. Why? Because they just purely suck. I've been going to Guitar Center for almost 7 years and each time I go in I meet another douchebag sales person who doesn't know anything about the products. I love Guitar Center, but this location just reeks of egotistical, wannabe musician sales reps who are anything but helpful. The don't pay attention to you, they're rude, and they always seem to be "too busy" for their customers. If you are a new customer, don't get tricked into thinking these sales reps know what they're talking about because they don't. Go to Guitar Center in San Marcos. These guys are so much kinder and willing to help. Even though it might not save you gas, it will save you a big headache. read more

Nice gear selection, but bad service. I've been here 10 times and it's always the same. I'm done with this place. There was no "I'm done" moment, but every time the overall employee vibe is the stereotypical loser "f*** off" musician exclusivity vibe. Like douchey dismissive "why are you here" reactions. DON'T go in after work with dress clothes on! You'll get an attitude from most employees. This is a complete generalization of employees, but I've been here enough to know it's the norm. You usually have to actively seek help from employees that seem to be avoiding people at all costs. Overall, Guitar Center management (nationwide in my experience) doesn't realize that you need to emphasize making customers feel wanted. Especially at a music store where non-experts are (stereotypically) looked down upon. Why the hell would they get repeat customers when they're dismissed and made to feel uncomfortable for not dedicating their life to being in music stores every week? Answer: lots of awesome gear. ....and that was enough for a while, but I'll now fully adopt Amazon and non-judgmental pawn shops instead. read more

Hey kid. I know you want to be a rock star. You've got that emo bitch hairstyle, black t-shirt and a posture of a 75 year old. Now please... STOP PLAYING STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN LIKE A CD PLAYER ON REPEAT. YOU SUCK AT IT ANYWAYS. Now go home and cry in your bed. No one likes you. Anyways, lemme get to the review now. Have you been to Guitar Center? Any of them? Weeeelll if you haven't then go! You'll be astonished by two things: 1. Sheer amount of instruments 2. Sheer amount of idiots putting amp volume settings at 10 with full distortion The place is packed with instruments and is LOUD. Be prepared. There's a lot of kids trying to play Dragonforce and Metallica with little experience. Asides from that, the place is a nice place to check out instruments to test out. You're probably gonna be forced to play loudly, because you can't hear yourself otherwise!!! The price is meh. You're better off getting second hands off Craigslist, but hey... at least you get to try it to see if a particular guitar is the right one for you. The staff is generally cool and helpful. They are forgetful though, so dog them if they keep forgetting to bring an item from storage or something. I swear all of them have the memory capacity like that guy from the Memento. read more

Never had a bad time here, so made sure to give an honest review after going in today. The store was FULL of people never seen so many before. I don't like that I am forced to carry my 1,000$ guitar around with no case but I understand it is necessary for theft prevention. I went in to have the guitar re strung and was told they have 1 person in this massive store for repairs and he was on lunch so we had to just sit at his desk and wait for him to come back. Only reason this isn't a 5 star review is because they seem very understaffed and not interested in doing any job that isn't directly their job, employees were very quick to send you to multiple stations for help rather than do it themself. read more

For my birthday I was gifted a launchpad from this GC. While picking mine out I noticed both mid level boxes of product were double taped as though returned. On the way home I speculated this was due to and got home only to confirm that: the box I'd purchased had been bought for the registration code of the Ableton soft ware then returned for a refund. I'd like to see a policy in place as well as effectively enforced penalty for customers who do this. Naturally I've contacted the the software company to try to rectify this. I feel like I am picking up others messes. I severally dislike this. The software company, Ableton, replied to me during Labor Day weekend and their solution was only user friendly. read more

I came in, nervous like the novice I am, about purchasing a guitar. I was politely greeted by the sales staff who let me know they were there to help but gave me my space. The acoustic guitar room was a bit overwhelming (in a good way) with everything from $99 options to guitars requiring a mortgage and their own entourage. Dan (aka the guitar whisperer) sat me down on a stool and brought me a few guitars across several price points. I fell in love with the guitar I ended up bringing home but, even though I was grinning ear to ear, he didn't employ any cheeseball high pressure sales tactics. He made the experience as awesome as the guitar. And, I swear, that guy can pick out the guitar you were meant to play. Best part? How obvious it was the employees there like their job and each other. Go here. read more

This is for the repair center -- brought in my 12-string with impossibly high action to be setup and restrung so that it might be played by humans. Not only was the guitar set up and restrung with expert skill, it was polished and ready to go within a few hours. Insofar as the store goes, a fairly keen selection of instruments and a few prized Rickenbackers under lock and key, singing to me like Sirens. Awesome stuff. Thank you so much! read more

So I made list of my needs from the GC website and headed to La Mesa to get the finishing touches for my drums. After talking to Jeff in the drum department and explaining what I needed, we started compiling everything from my list. He charged me $24 more than the website stated, and that's with 3 of the items not even in stock. How can you do that? GC use to be great for getting deals, but since this stupid set pricing took affect, the salespeople go out of their way to rip you off. I'll be going through another store from now on. read more

Guitar Center is good for one thing, and that's trying equipment before you buy it. They used to have a good used selection, and now they don't. In terms of used stuff they've got what I like to call "Ebay Syndrome" where everyone thinks they've got something super special so they sell it for way more than it's worth. I would recommend trying some different amps and guitars/basses here and then find a local shop and get it from them. If said local shop doesn't have it in stock I can guarantee you they'll order it for you. Guitar Center employees are snobs and their customer service is terrible. They'll either constantly bother you, or never help you at all. On top of that, they'll ALWAYS try to up sell and convince you to buy something you don't want or need. read more

The company as a whole, awesome. This store, hit and miss. Since the remodel, I find it harder to get staff attention...especially when trying to figure it where to stand in line. My husband walks in and always gets immediately helped but I practically have to trip someone to get noticed. All in all, the prices are awesome. In that respect you just can't beat them. read more

What more can be said about Guitar Center that hasn't already been said? Their employees range from knowledgeable to borderline incoherent. Their prices range from fair to borderline theft. The other customers range from courteous to borderline insane. It all depends on the day. Welcome to the jungle, baby. In the end, you can't argue with the "no (or few) questions asked" return policy. read more

Dave in guitars was absolutely fantastic to work with. He was helpful in locating a particular acoustic they had just gotten in. Once I played that one and realized it wasn't what I needed, he took great care of me and now I've got a stunning Martin D-35 in my hands. Thank you Dave! read more

Okay... So, I recently started playing the guitar. I must say - the folks at Guitar Center ROCK! They helped me find exactly what I was looking for, and even gave me some tips on playing my acoustic guitar. I live in the College area, which as you may know, is inundated with Mom 'n' Pop guitar stores. I'm not usually one to shop a franchise when a perfectly good Mom 'n' Pop is available. I went there simply for the selection. And, as far as selection goes, nobody even comes close! Oh, wait, that's from the Men's Fashion Depot commercial. Well... you get the gist. They have numerous electric guitars for sale, as well as numerous acoustic guitars (which are housed in their own separate sound room, btw). Amps? -fugettaboutit! There are too many to choose from. There is a separate percussion section, and a separate keyboard section. It's a lot bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. PRO: It's like the Space Center at Balboa Park. You can play with almost anything! CON: We spent over an hour there playing with almost anything. NOTE: The staff check everything in and out as you come into and exit the store. I thought it was kind of odd, so I thought I'd mention it. read more

I've boughten several guitars from G.C. and most of the time the staff has always been friendly. G.C. always has a good selection of new and sometimes used equipment. In fact, last year I bought a 2016 Gibson Hummingbird, acoustic electric. It was still 2015 at the time, so it was cool to own it a year earlier. I also bought my first electric guitar and practice amp from G.C. before the moved the La Mesa/Grossmont area. In fact, most of my equipment came from Guitar Center, and I've never had a problem with them. read more

Used Guitar Center for the speaker rentals for our wedding.... Cant say I was very impressed. To be honest I was debating between 2-3 stars because not every interaction we had with their staff was all bad. I had my husband way in advance (what can I say I am a planner!) and they told him you can only book the stuff out 2 or 3 months in advance. So like the planner I am, we put that exact date on the books and called within those first few days we could set up the rentals. They did everything by phone and told us that we would need to come in and sign the contracts and then when we needed to pick up the items anyone could do it. So a few weeks later in we go to sign the contracts. Apparently only 1-2 people in the store know and can access this system and they had called out that day, so no one could actually help us. My husband went back another day and they informed him that the reservation had been cancelled and his money had been refunded. WHY??? I dont know, they didnt know. No real explanation. But he repurchased everything and signed the contract. Lets be real, those prices were reasonable, but if you are renting their stuff I would highly suggest staying really on top of this item, calling before you go in, and keeping track of your paperwork. Luckily on our pick up day everything went smoothly and we got everything we needed but upon dropping everything off they couldnt find the paperwork for us to sign so we just didnt sign everything (but got our money back). This place is disorganized, messy, no one seems to be really fully trained and on top of anything, and it was stressful dealing with them because I was fearful they would mess up when it counted. They didnt, but I didnt trust them, not one bit. But if I would go back and do it again, I would probably still rent from them because their prices are the cheapest, you just have to know that you need to manage this rental and they cant be relied on. read more

Ditto what others say about their customer service. I usually find myself talking shop with Raj in their pro-audio department about all things DJ related. It seems like anything you see you could pick up and play to your hearts desire. Like most Will Ferrell fans, you bet your ass I calm my fever with a prescription of more cowbell. read more

Well to start this place is a bit old and seems run down compared to the many other Guitar Centers I have been to. On the upside the customer service here is the best!!! I am very picky about customer service having worked it many years and I am in shock at how well they treat the customer. From the moment we walked in the door someone was asking if we needed help. They were not pushy and in your face but still very helpful. If we lived in California this would be the only Guitar Center I would go to. read more

People here are very helpful. Only complaint is that when I brought a guitar to have strings changed the tuner was missing when I picked the guitar up. Note to self. read more

Dan is amazing! He takes great pride in his job, polite, and super helpful! He helped my husband and I find a guitar for our 11 year old and the vibe there at Guitar Center is awesome! Keep up the good work Dan! read more

Raj is very helpful, and doesn't pressure you into a sale. Definately feel like he has your best interest in mind. I always know I can count on him to help me make good decisions read more

Absolutely zero customer service, I was shocked by house neglectful they are to their customers. I came in to buy recording equipment at around 6 pm and was stranded for more than 20 minutes in hopes that the employee would come back to help me buy their products but noone did, i asked one more employee and he did the same thing, just wonder off and not do your job. Its actually so ridiculous so youre better off ordering online cause these guys take more than 4 business days to help you out. read more

I've bought at this store several things. I DO NOT RECOMEND to buy a clearence instrument like I did; I bought a Martin D-41 (high end acoustic guitar) and the instrument looked good and sounded ok. I arrived to my house and inspect it, the neck had a little bit of separation and thats bad. So if you are going to get something that it is in clearence, check it good. Also it is unnuceptable that they sell instrument like this. read more

They have everything. Not only do they have a vast selection of guitars but they also have all other kinds of pro audio equipment you're looking for. Their price match guarantee is spectacular and they will match any price while including good service by people who seem to be respectable musicians themselves. read more

I bought a some used turntables here for my brothers birthday. I don't know anything about turntables and wanted it to be a suprise. All i knew is that he wanted technics. The staff at Guitar Center helped me out pick the right ones. There were about 3-4 different types and explanined each one in great detail. At the time my brother was just started off so they recommened the mk2 model. Ive learned so much about turntables in just 10-15 minutees. Kinda made me want to D.J :) Great customer service and knowledge. read more

Had a great experience today with Gretchen S. She was able to find exactly what I needed and even made a great recommendation for an amplifier. I ended up buying it! She went above and beyond to ensure that I had a great experience, highly recommended! read more

Although we live in North County and could go to San Marcos location, we come here to La Mesa simply because we've been coming here for years and are comfortable with the store and the staff. We come for the pro-audio department mainly. I can never get my 6 year old son out of here. He loves playing on the keyboards and the drums and the staff never say anything to him. Why would they? He's a musician in the making! ..... If you want to buy speakers and don't want to spend alot of money I suggest you buy the Guitar Center Brand HARBINGER...we own about 7 of them...You get a 2 year in-store warranty with the speakers...so that means if anything happens to them you can go to the store and exchange for brand new one! We have done so about 3 times already...and not because the speaker busted or anything...because our own neglect, like dropping one of them! Opps! read more

I have to admit I was very impressed with the service the last time I went in. Sales rep was very helpful and I was able to get in and out the door within 20 minutes. I wish the 12 string acoustic guitar selection was bigger, but that is my only complaint. read more

I was very impressed with the level of customer service at this Guitar Center. I was assisted by service associate Josh Damigo whom I recognized from around town as an accomplished singer/songwriting performer in his own right. Mr Damigo was extremely helpful and later, when I had a problem with the quality control of the manufacturer, this Josh went so far as to contact me personally to insure that I was taken care of to my satisfaction. I was very satisfied with the outcome. Later an associate named Rachel assisted me and she was helpful as well. Very quality location. The management here knows what they're doing! read more

In the past, I've felt somewhat sheepish walking in to this store. But the most recent time I was in there, I received great customer service while checking out. Behind the counter was Gretchen, happy to help me checkout. She was friendly and efficient, and even shot me a personal email a few days later asking if there was anything else I needed from the store. I'll be coming back for my next stick purchase. Rock on! read more

My musical priorities changed recently so I was a bit unsure of which way to go when buying the gear it would take for a new gig. I talked with Angel about it and he actually suggested a guitar I would never would have considered for myself. He took the time to help me test it out, showed all the features, and I ended up buying it. It is now my go to guitar and I love it. There are two guys down there I would highly suggest talking to; Angel and Dave. Both great guys! Thanks guys!! read more

I brought my son out to Guitar Center. He was looking for a particular speaker to play with his DJ board. I do admit that I read the poor reviews prior to coming out and was expecting a bad experience. The only issue that I had was how crowded this place was due to construction going on. I won't take a star away for this due to the business trying to better itself. We were met almost immediately by one employee, (sorry didn't get his name) who realized that we were better served by Jeff in speaker section. Jeff was awesome. Not only did he educate my 15 year old on equipment to DJ, he also gave my son alternate options for the future, if he was to keep DJing (verb?). We were later approached by staff while waiting to check out to see if we needed help. Thanks for the great experience. We will definitely be back. read more

First time I've been in one of these places in over 12 years, but it's still the same old guitar center I remember from my youth. Pat was helpful and tracked down a smaller black bass for my son's 8th birthday tomorrow, and gave it a quick polish before ringing me up. read more