I decided after years of people telling me, "you need a hobby" to finally try learning the guitar. I spent days and days researching on the computer. I finally just walked into guitar center and it was like an AHA! moment. It was huge! Really clean inside and a very nice layout. I walked towards the guitars and was immediately helped by Josh (I think that was his name, that's what it says on the receipt. He was a tall drink of water). That guy was able to grab the stuff I wanted and needed. He gave me helpful suggestions while remaining professional and friendly. I can't wait to get good enough on the guitar to justify buying another one from this place! read more

Nick taught my 10 year son how to play guitar very quickly! My child had zero experience with playing guitar and Nick explained and demonstrated everything he needed to know. He makes learning outside of the Guitar Center exciting because now my son wants to show his instructor that he's been practicing and getting better. When I get more money saved up were going back to keep up our lessons. I recommend Nick hands down! read more

Sheesh...Horrible customer service. I brought in my used guitar because they were advertising that they were buying back all used gear. The very unfriendly sales guy didn't even make me an offer. They should at least train their employees on how to properly communicate to customers. This guy should be unboxing boxes not talking to customers. Although I was quite upset and how they treated me in front of my kids, I still decided to look for the two acoustic guitars I had researched that were supposed to be in stock. (the inventory was very sparse and walls looked half empty) I met Paul in the back acoustic room who was much nicer but wanted me to order and buy the two guitars I was looking for and explained I could just use the return policy. I explained that I wanted to play both guitars side by side to make an informed decision before any paperwork. That's why I drove 20 miles to the store! I've read other reviews about the bad customer service and I never write reviews but I felt compelled to pass along my experience. I too am trying to support our local Brick and Mortar stores but will definitely NOT be returning here. read more

They always have what I need and they are close. Ernie is the bomb digity!

Not too unfriendly, but I don't think you'll be taken seriously unless you're a white male (as though white males need any more privileges...). Again, not too unfriendly staff, but simply didn't seem to want to serve me, the customer. They playingly argued about who would help me out, and then I waited an unreasonably long time for a very simple service. If you can find your stuff elsewhere, then get it there. I had to get something quick (wasn't gonna wait for online shipping) so I drove out 20 miles to GC. Now I know I won't be coming back, unless I absolutely need to "save time". read more

I talked to Ian in the digital-piano dept by phone and he was really helpful. So I decided to drive down to the La Mesa Guitar Center and check out some of the equipment. I asked a couple of the other guys if they could give me the weight of some of the portable keyboards and the response from one of them was- "I could but it'd take us like two hours..." This guy was so lazy! Ian helped me over the phone with my q's in 15 minutes- I spent 10 minutes with this guy and he just complained about the work involved with looking it up and how he just didn't know anything... I finally talked to the main dude with dreads and luckily he was a lot more helpful. My point is- lazy people at guitar center suck! Not worth the drive at all! read more

I've gone to Guitar Center in the past to re-string a classical guitar I have. An E string snapped on it a few years ago, but I had my back up Yamaha acoustic to use. On a whim, I picked up my first electric guitar. It was a cheaper guitar/amp combo, and the frets were very sharp on the edges, so I took it in to have them filed down, and put better strings on it. Then I had them re-string my Yamaha, and adjust the neck, which turned out fantastic, so I figured while I was at it, I had the classical re-strung just so I could sell it. The guys at Guitar Center treated me great, and the prices on all the work I had done was extremely reasonable. read more

The customer service here is friendly, but the store is grossly understaffed and understocked. It's always an ordeal of long holds and long waits for callbacks to get inventory checks, and they are usually lacking inventory of commonly demanded items. Stock your store properly. That's the whole point of going brick-and-mortar. I can do the whole 'order it and wait a week' thing with anybody these days. read more

I go to the Guitar Center in La Mesa a lot and I always work with Angel Llanos. He is amazing. He finds me the best products for all my needs and always gets the best price. Angle is very knowledgeable with all types of equipment and never pushes to get the most expensive. He does recommend what is best for my situation and often getting the best product is the right choice. Aa a professional musician I want the best and want to work with the best. That is Angel Llanos. read more

Once again, Angel Llanos saved the day. I needed some gear fast and he had the info I needed, got me what I needed and I was done. This guy knows more about music gear than anyone I've ever talked with, and he's full of great advice without ever being pushy. Fast and efficient, too. Guitar Center--particularly this branch in La Mesa--is a great store at all times, but it's people like Angel that make it that way. read more

We've been customers with Guitar Center since forever ago! Today's purchase was a new amp for Dad and Chance had recommended the powered speakers as an awesome alternative. Let me tell you this guy was patient, understanding, and thoroughly explained any questions we had. Thumbs up for Chance, he deserves the kudos! Thanks Chance for your excellent customer service!!! read more

Bought a PA system here today for my summer camp. I went in very naive, but knowing a bit of what I was looking for. Kyle took care of all of my needs, answering the most ignorant of questions and giving me his personal opinions and input. When asked, they matched a lower price online without a hitch. Five stars for great service and a nice personal touch. Thank you Kyle and GC team! read more

Really helpful staff, once you get someone's attention. It seems like they are always working on a display or something when we come in so maybe it's just bad timing on my part. Otherwise, the staff is very knowledgeable and will try to make sure you get what you need. It is retail so of course they are going to try to upsell you on stuff, but overall it's not as bad as many other major chain music stores. read more

Best customer service we've had in a very very long time! The employees here are very nice, I highly recommend this place. A huge thanks to Dan for helping us out! read more

I was the only in the acoustic guitar section for 15 minutes. Got absolutely no customer service. There's one sale associate helping one customer. When he was done, he started playing guitar and bullshit with his co-worker. Wtf. Their pricing is very high compared to Amazon. I'll probably get my online. read more

I highly recommend guitar lessons at guitar center. Michael Reyes is a great instructor! He's been teaching my daughter for a few years now and she is still very entertained! read more

Visited this store last night. Had an issue with a piece of equipment that I purchased for a Christmas Gift for my daughter. This piece of equipment came with high recommendations from the sales person. Told the person that was helping me that my daughter is currently signing and recording herself on her iPhone, and I was looking for a system for beginners to have better sound quality. iDuo wasn't working out and wasn't as easy as the sales person said it would be. Knowing the return policy has expired and brought the system back in to try and return it for a store credit. Miles helped us out. He listened to our storey, and listened to what we were trying to accomplish. He told us that he would be right back. When he came back had a recorder and a mixer and a few cables. He showed us how to hook it up. He gave us a great deal on our return. He gave us amazing customer service, when above and beyond what he had to do to make us happy. Thank you Miles, when I got home i hooked everything up and it works like a charm.. Very happy with Miles, just not the Manager Raj. read more

There are a couple of nice and helpful staff here but my complaint is that they refused to honor a coupon for a discount recently when the items were not on the exclusion list. read more

First off, I have to start with the fact that this is my first yelp review ever! This is the only store that I choose to go to for all of my electronic needs because all of the guys in there rock! I just purchased a recording device to hook up to my electric piano with audio cables, etc. and, being the novice that I am, have no idea what I was doing. The guys set me up with exactly what I needed. Later I found out one of the cables didn't match my piano, returned it no problem and got the one that was correct for my instrument. Called again because I needed help setting it up, and they were sooo helpful. I am not a professional, not trying to be one, or wanting to be one, that is why I come to guitar center! I hate the places that talk down to you, or act as if you are wasting their time with ignorant questions and I have never felt this way about anyone in this store. In the past 3 days I have talked with Robert, Ian and Kyle and have had pleasant experiences with every single one of them. They are professional, very knowledgeable, and patient. Exactly what I am looking for in a store where I am purchasing large priced items. I'm sorry for the people that had bad experiences here, but in my opinion, if you need some equipment, this is the place to go! Thanks friendly guys at Guitar Center, I'll be back :) read more

Excellent service, lots of cools stuff. It's like Disneyland for musicians. I got all my gear from here.

My trip to GC today was exceptionally awesome..... Nice place.

Awesome store! I am a beginner player and went in on a busy Saturday. I was immediately acknowledged by an employee and was told it would be just a moment before I could find some help. Didn't matter though you could look around in this place for hours. About 5 minutes in I was approached by John and told him my situation and playing skill. Within a matter of minutes he had set me up with a beautiful epiphone that really fit what I needed. Not only did he explain everything to me, but also John gave me the inspiration to stay at it! Was also picking up a bass package for my good friends birthday and he knew exactly what would fit his playing needs. Definitely recommend this store and am happy to say they are not all about up selling instruments. Will absolutely be back soon to pick out a new guitar! read more

I stopped by the Guitar Center in La Mesa last night because I needed to make a small purchase. I found exactly what I needed and I received excellent service. What impressed me most of all, though, were the nice things the employee who helped me had to say about his employer. read more

I've lived in San Diego for about 10 years and have been going to this Guitar Center for about 10 years. I've definitely noticed in that time that the employees seem happier and it feels like they've moved away from the hard sell which I feel like they used to do more. In short, the atmosphere has changed for the better and I enjoy going there a lot more than I used to. When I used to go there all those years ago, I didn't know nearly as much as I do now and back then I often felt that floor supervisors seemed burned out and grumpy and would talk down to me or passively try to make me feel stupid for some reason. That was then. I hadn't been in awhile and then the last couple months I found myself going there more often and enjoying the experience more. I had been using some different local, independently owned shops. In particular I wanted to mention one employee, Kenny in guitars. I've been playing guitar for awhile now, so I don't really need much help when I'm picking one out except for small differences from model to model or year to year. Every question I asked he had a valid answer for right away and would demonstrate with the guitar to make sure I understood what he was talking about without making me feel stupid or ignorant. I've sold and traded many times here and I've waited I think the longest was an hour and 45 minutes. Several other times took about an hour. The last few times I've been, even when the store was busy, I haven't had to wait that long. I went in tonight and it only took about a 1/2 hour and that includes time that they had to redo something on the register when processing the sale/trade. During the times Kenny would have to go get some paperwork or something, other employees who walked by stopped and asked if I had been helped. Kenny made the whole process super easy, which it has not been for me in the past. He seemed genuine and actually very interested in getting me the best deal on what I was looking for. It was easy to tell he was up on his guitar knowledge and he was also helping a couple other people equally as much as he was helping me at the same time. Real amicable guy and didn't get annoyed once while I obliviously talked at him when he was trying to do work, without a thought in my head that it might be good if I shut up so he could do his thing. That, or he is an exceptional actor and is in the wrong business. I've seen some negative reviews on here about the store and to be honest, back 10 years ago, I probably would have written one as well. Like I mentioned earlier, I think the store is being run much better now and I'm basing that from the helpfulness and the attitudes of the employees I interacted with, which was quite a few. I also never once felt like a salesperson was trying to push or manipulate me into buying anything. There were lots of staff members working, it didn't seem like anyone was waiting around annoyed because they hadn't been helped yet. Anyway if you've had a bad experience or heard bad things about this Guitar Center, I think it's worth giving it another chance. I promise you, I'm not getting any kinds of perks for writing this. It took awhile, but I really like going there now. I'll also probably be calling ahead from now on to make sure Kenny is working. read more

I spoke with a gentleman named courtney over the phone and he was extremely helpful. I'm travelling and was looking online for a guitar for my fiance and I don't know much about guitars so I called in to get some recommendations. You can tell that Courtney is passionate about music and guitars and very knowledgeable. He offered to email some recommendations in my price range abd with what I was looking for so I could reference it while doing my online shopping. Amazing customer service! :) read more

Even though I still buy the majority of my instruments and accessories here at Guitar Center, since their prices are the lowest and if not they price match, they have a huge selection of anything musical that you can think of and one of the most flexible return policies ever... You would think that your shopping experience here would be great, but to be honest... It has turned into a sort of "home depot" in the sense that very few... I I do mean very few, like one or two people per shift actually know what they are doing and give decent advice on gear... But the rest are some of the most clueless people In the music business. I know people that have applied for jobs there and didn't get them, and I know they are extremely qualified to do that job... Knowledgeable on various musical departments... But man, there are some very awful employees there... There is one dude that when I was in acoustic guitars he came in and told his co-worker "Hey, I'm supposed to work here in guitars but I don't know anything about them" the guy replied, "Well, there's not much too it just give advice on general stuff and tell them what too look for in a good guitar, like each part and what they do" the clueless employee was " I don't know anything , I don't know what the parts are called or what they do" I was like hello!!!? This place is called Guitar Center! The other guy trying to help him said, well... Maybe we can put you on drums and sure enough the employee said "I don't know anything about drums either" Hahahaa that is just one very simple example... It's embarrassing seeing 40 year olds that don't know the difference between a tube amp and a solid state, or what kind of effect a fuzz pedal makes... They don't even know how long of a loop their looper pedals are able to record... Every Time I'm there and I see older people or moms or whatever asking the reps questions that the reps respond incorrectly I found myself answering a lot of questions for them... Sometimes people think I work there since I can answer most questions that the actual employees don't have a clue about! I hate to give GC such a low rating since I shop there about twice a week... But they really beed to either train their employees properly or hire competent ones...There are, like I said a couple of employees that really know their stuff and you can tell they are passionate and they are musicians themselves, very familiar with all equipment.... But it is terribly embarrassing with most other guys and girls that you can tell they hate being there and sometimes they'll even make up stuff to sound knowledgeable when you know for sure they don't know what they are talking about.... My advice would be this.... If you know what you need buy here... If you are a beginner of r shopping for someone else avoid this place like the plague because more than likely they wont give you any good advice IF they even pay attention to you, because yeah, that's another thing... You can be there for a good 20 minutes without being acknowledged. You would be better off going somewhere else or shopping at a music website and reading the reviews.... Guitar Center, I love you... Please get your stuff together... I remember when every single employee there was an expert on their field... There are plenty of people like that l, that would love to work there.... The people doing the hiring Are doing a horrible job! But I appreciate the deals and the return policy. Prices and selection B+ Customer Service F! read more

I had a custom shop Gibson Les Paul guitar.that had been stolen.I checked all the avenue 's I could.then someone told me that guitar center buys used guitar(s).so I figured I would give them a call.well what would you know they purchased it and then sold it.I told them it was stolen .they didn't even care.then I found out that they purchased it against sold it again.I called the police 3x 's told them. They said they would get back to me. Heard nothing.I would not buy anything from the Guitar Center .watch out you might be buying something that was stolen. read more

I was just there with these people bout to jam out they have great deals here i am so happy with my guitar bag super awesome

I always get my strings changed and guitars spruced up by Paul and Matt. Friendly and know what they're doing! Highly recommend them both!

I have gone to Guitar Center for years and since I began to take my guitars to Matt at the repair and setup area he has provided exceptional service as well as results. Shout out to Matt for getting things done as soon as possible with great service to with it. read more

Some of the best customer service I've eve received. I am so happy with my uke and I really connected with the staff. Dan was really awesome making sure he could work with me m, with all the deals possible. I will definitely recommend others to this place read more

Went into guitar center to exchange something, I couldn't find my receipt but that was no problem. Pat was kind and helped me exchange the product with no fuss or drama. Great customer service. read more

I design and build guitars and still learning the trade. I use Guitar Centers repair shop team as often as I can to learn from and to work on things that I am unable to do. Recently I brought in one of my one of a kind guitars for a signature setup. Paul was fantastic and set up my guitar so it played fantastically. He also helped me correct things that I missed and didn't get quite right (as I said I am still learning) If you need a great foundational setup or help with one of your guitars, go set Paul and the team, they are great!!!! read more

I had a great experience last time I was there. I had my kids with me and they had live music going. Became an event for the boys. The employees are generally helpful and the store is pretty well stocked read more

I wanted to upgrade my beginner Yamaha guitar and last week went to Guitar Center in La Mesa to check out their Taylor guitars. I played a few of their acoustic Taylor guitars and had my eye on a Taylor 224ce-K DLX. The following day I went back to Guitar Center to check out the Taylor again and brought my beginner Yamaha with me. They have a policy that states that if they buy your used guitar, you can apply that money towards another guitar and you will also get 10% off the purchase of the guitar. I was introduced to an employee in guitar sales named Dan and asked him to check out my guitar. Dan was polite, friendly and said it would take about 20 min. Dan suggested that I check out the guitars in the acoustic room while I waited if I wanted. A short time later, Dan came back with my guitar, said what amount they would give me for my used guitar and also 10% off another guitar. I told Dan that I wanted to purchase the Taylor 224ce-K DLX. Dan explained that there were 3 Taylor's on display and one unopened in the back. He suggested I check out those on display and he would bring out the unopened one from the back and I can then decide which one I wanted. I eventually decided on one on display and asked Dan if he would check out the electronics on this guitar since I had never played and acoustic-electric guitar before. Dan was happy to do so, plugged it into an amp and played away. Dan said it sounded great, which it did, and that was good enough for me. I also asked Dan about Guitar Center's no interest financing. He answered all my questions and processed my application. While waiting for my application approval, Dan polished the guitar, answered all my questions and even threw in a capo and extra strings for the wait since it was Friday evening and they had gotten very busy. After seeing some of the negative reviews, I decided to post this review, to show that I had a very good experience at Guitar Center and salesman Dan made it awesome. If your ever in Guitar Center in La Mesa and need help with guitars, definitely ask for Dan. read more

Although this corporate musicmart carries a wide variety of products, some of the salesmen are your typical pushy-conceited-fake excuses for salesmen. Pro Audio dept- Those dudes are always helpful and are usually not the over the top pushy car salesmen type. Drums-Every time I've been through there, the employees are laid back and usually socializing with each other, and they are helpful when you need them. Guitars-This is the dept. where all the wannabe rockstars work...I've dealt with one cool salesman the past 8 years I've been shopping there...all the rest have had inaccurate information about the guitars and know-it-all attitudes...but they obviously DON'T know it all, not even close. I usually go play the guitars and then hit up craigslist or smaller shops when it comes time to buy. So basically, it's similar to a car dealership for guitars...they work off of commission... read more

I've been going to this store for a little over a year now getting drum parts and accessories with a friend of mine. I usually cruise around while my buddy does his dealing with the drum pro's who have always been knowledgable about their products and very professional. I recently purchased my first bass guitar and the help I got was beyond helpful. The guitar I picked out and showed the guitar guy could have easily sold me for $650, but instead asked about my experience and after a brief 5 minute discussion he quickly showed me several other guitar options that were more suited to me. So here I was expecting to fork out more dough (totally worth it, I convinced myself) for some extra goodies like an amp and tuner, cords and some trippy paint on the guitar, but to my surprise I spent half that amount! Just goes to show not everyones out to make a dollar and these guys are true pro's at what they do Drum people: 5/5 Guitar Guys: 5/5 read more

The staff, the inventory, everything is amazing. So far I've gotten every one of my amps and accesories from there, one of my favorites being the spider foot 4 channel foor swtch pedal. As a musician, I also like the way that the staff helps you out, they seem to be very kowledgeble and really know what they're talking about read more

I have been to this Guitar Center about 4 or 5 times and whenever I buy my strings and accessories I run into Emily. She is awesome. She is very articulate and professional and knows how to find what I want. She processed and order for a t-shirt I bought for my sister for Christmas and I got it in time for Christmas without a hitch. She always provides service with a smile. Keep up the good work Emily. Give that girl a raise! read more

Awesome selection...great staff that cares...freedom to play wahtever you want; not sure what else anyone could want. Ryan S read more