No wonder Guitar Center is failing miserably. I've been a drummer for almost a good amount of years...the Drum Section is an absolute joke. Every single drum inside the drum section it tuned like a garbage can. No wonder they've had the same show drum set for the last 8 months. Great Drum Set but set up by someone who has no clue what they are doing. I laugh at the sight, coming into a guitar center that is so unorganized and so horribly maintained. I asked the guy working the drum section to use a drum key...he said "for what" I said to take the double pedal off because it's ruining the whole set up / all around play of the kit. He said "absolutely not, DW and Tama would not be happy about that" hahahaha are you kidding me?!?! These drums look like a 3 year old set them up and all sound horrible. I think every single drum company that you have in the department would be embarrassed about how disgusting of a job you are doing of representing their product. Complete Tragedy. Good Luck. read more

We have been coming to this location for years and have always marveled at the selection, friendly service and vibe here. Although we have purchased a bass guitar at the Orange store and accessories at the Fountain Valley location, this is our favorite one in Orange County. Ordered a synth online for delivery to this location and pickup was fast and easy. In the past, we've purchased drums and keyboards. The service department is staffed by experts who know what they're doing and the space is large enough to allow various musicians (and non-musicians) to come in and try out the equipment. Thank you for being such an integral part of OC's music scene. read more

Bought a bass here and on my way out I asked the tech if he could set it up real quick and RALPH HIGGS hooked it up!!!! He was so cool and helpful I couldn't believe it. He said since I just bought it he would love to help me out, then he took my bass and set it up and made it feel fantastic! Highly recommend this guitar center and if you need a guitar fixed go see Ralph!!! read more

I had the most wonderful experience at this location last night. I came in late last night and was feeling bad about coming less than an hour before closing, but I was immediately met with great hospitality by Blake. I was looking at the straps and explained to Blake that I had a pink and black bass so I thought that strap would go great with it. Blake went out of his way to show me a product that they do not even carry in store, because he thought it would look amazing with my bass (I went home and immediately ordered it on Amazon!). Blake was extremely helpful showing me where I could find everything that I needed, one of those things being a cable to plug my bass into my amp. When I came back to the register to check out, I came up with my strap, along with some picks and a blue cable. He asked if I had seen all of the colors of the cables, and I said I only saw blue and green in that brand. He walked me back over because he thought I would like the purple cable better (and he was right!). Blake was so sweet but I had forgotten to get his name yesterday, he had left such a good impact on my night that I asked my mom to text her friend Scott that works at the location for Blake's name just so I could leave a review. The staff here is truly amazing, a big thank you to Scott and Blake! read more

This place and Ralph Higgs are awesome! I've been coming to this guitar center off and on over the last couple years. Everyone is really nice and knowledgeable. I love how they don't try to upsell you on stuff that you don't really need. Today, I came in to get my guitar worked on. The tuning pegs had come out. Ralph quickly took me in and fixed my guitar in less than 10 minutes. I thought this was going to be a multi day event, but I'm so glad I was able to finish it so fast. He was very friendly and made the experience so painless. Thanks Ralph! read more

I recently had my guitar fixed by Ralph. He completely solved all of the issues that I had with my guitar, and I have fallen in love with playing my guitar again! Thank you Ralph! read more

So I'm back, my kids have been having the time of their lives jamming with their old man. I picked up two Fender mini squiers. However, we returned one squier for a Fender bronco bass. I'm at the store writing this review while Larry Jones is getting my order ready. Larry, just like Chris, just like Anthony, just like Mike are super helpful. This is my fifth time back at this location this month just because of the customer service. Larry and Chris prompted me to write this review because they have been nothing but helpful. I won't be surprised if I come back again in the very near future. I know this will sound like a corny cliche, but these guys rock. All of them. Chris, Anthony, Mike and Larry. Cheers fellas! It's because of you, I'll shop locally rather than online. read more

Just got my Taylor 500 Series 514ce Grand Auditorium Acoustic and I can't be happier with my purchase. The moment you walk into the store, there are employees all over to greet you and specialists in every area, whether you're interested in guitars, drums, ukes, DJ, etc. I felt very welcomed and I was so glad that I didn't feel pressured to make a purchase, but rather I felt like I got some free lessons as I was trying out the different instruments. I highly recommend this place if you're looking for a new instrument and I promise you that they will help you find a great instrument for your budget!! read more

This is a good store but my review is specifically for Ralph, my man for all things guitar. Nicest guy and extremely insightful. Thank you for always going above and beyond. read more

Purchase gears with the guitar center for the past 20 years both locations in fountain Valley and Lake Forest CA. Most of the time now purchase online no problem picking it up. Great customer service never had any problem. read more

I had a broken tuner peg on my Rogue beginner guitar, I explained to the guitar tech Mike, that I did not want to spend alot on getting tie repaired, much to my surprise he was able to replace the part from there bone yard and only charged me $25 labor read more

I usually love going to Guitar Center. I could spend hours and hours, just looking at and buying everything they have. I don't go very often, or I'd be really broke. The last time I came was probably a year ago, and the guys who helped me last time were very nice. But after today, I will no longer be going to this guitar center. I went to go and buy some guitar strings today, and BOTH guys that helped me were absolute assholes. They were very VERY rude, and did not want to help. This was my first time buying coated strings, and I wanted specific colors -they did not want to help, they were very unfriendly, and I just flat out had a horrible time/experience. Next time, I will either; buy online, travel to some other Guitar Center, or just find another place to buy stuff. I will never set a foot in that place again, or give them any of my money. read more

Would not refund money or give store credit on purchases that were still in a box and with a receipt. Always have a bad experience at Guitar Center but this is the last straw. Utterly incompetent amateur musicians with zero costumer service selling overpriced store-brand-garbage. Support your local music shops and forget this clown-house. read more

Terrible customer service. If you don't know what your buying before you get there don't expect help from the staff to help inform you, one word answers if your lucky enough to have a salesperson acknowledge you. read more

Brought a guitar in for set up, the tech Ralph took his time with me to do a great setup but also show me his methods and even let me video tape it so I could remember exactly what he was doing. Great service, I bought a guitar with them that's on back order and as soon as it gets in Ralph will be the first guy I go to. He saved me money by showing me his process instead of replacing parts to try to fix tuning issues. read more

Walked in on a Saturday just to buy 5 sets of drumsticks. Patiently waiting in the drum area to pay for 10 mins at register not one person working there showed up to make the sale. Then i walked up to the front and asked the guy if i could pay for this up here he said yes and pointed to a female already working with a customer who politely said she would be with me in a minute as she paged all avaliable associates to assist.......although there were several of employees walking around aimlessly and a manager right in front of the main register too busy writing on a white board to open a register and make a sale. As a drummer for 30 yrs i have been to ALOT of guitar centers and this has been bar far the worst experience and disorganized one. Better wake up because Amazon will put your out of business. Just placed my order online with them. read more

Tina is amazing she was so patient with us showing us and explaining the differences between different amps and guitars.

I went in today to get my guitar re-strung (I'm new to playing and don't yet know much about the instrument) and Ralph Riggs was the man! He was very nice, helpful and informative. He restrung my guitar in no time and was a pleasure to talk with while I waited. read more

I bought a nice pedal board and a few pedals here and had some issues troubleshooting getting sound once I activated my tube screamer. It didn't make much sense to me why it wasn't working to me and the associate Oscar, but we broke the whole board down and and tried different cables and tried different power supplies. Oscar was incredibly helpful and patient and his knowledge was incredibly helpful. If you need help with anything gear related, come see him and he will help you out. Thanks so much Oscar,. I'm on my way to my gig tonight and I'll be able to utilize everything I've bought. read more

I don't come here nearly as often as I used to. I don't want to be another guy shredding away on the floor while staff members listen on in horror, judging my every stroke of the pick. Plus, I already own two guitars and, for now, that's enough for me. I mostly just come here on occasion to admire new floor models and buy strings, which is what I was doing last night. But maybe I should stick to buying them online because the process of making such a simple transaction left me irritated. Me: "Can I get a set of Ernie Ball hybrid slinky strings?" Obnoxious salesguy: "Sure you don't want the nickel? You'll get a better tone." Me: "Uh, sure, ok. That's fine." Obnoxious salesguy: "You'll want to grab a second set in case you break a string while you restring it." Me: "No, I won't. Just the one set is fine." Obnoxious salesguy: "Ok, cool... So, can I get your first name?" Me: "Anthony." Obnoxious salesguy: "Can I get your email address so we can send you promo stuff and freebies?" Me: "Nope." Obnoxious salesguy: "Are you sure?" Me: "Can I just get my receipt?" After my excessively lengthy and wordy exchange, I have to present my receipt to some chick standing by the door who looks like she's either stoned or too tired to be working. Honey, the strings are kept behind the counter. How do you think I could have stolen a pair? I get that they're trying to be thorough, and maybe they have issues with shrink here, but I don't like playing the lightning round on 20 Questions when I stopped in to make what should have been a 20 second purchase. It might not stop me from coming back, but I really wish they'd keep things simple. Of course, having said all of that I still think this place is the best one stop shop for musicians in Orange Co. read more

2/8/12 7:30pm I've been waiting for 20 mins a for the manager to come to the register so I can exchange an item.... The employees kept handling my item to each other then helping other customers bc they weren't able to do anything w.o the "manager." Not only that, but they keep leaving my item at randomly places unattended, so I grabbed my stuff and ended up leaving. Worst guitar center ever! General Manager was Ryan and another bald guy... no help. none. Never coming back there ever again. read more

Eh...I won't buy here. I've been desperate, but, I just can't do it. I don't like the BS atmosphere. The moment I walk in it hits me. This place is jinxed. I think everything I've bought from this store has been stolen...except... *checks on my baby*...ONE! I'll be damned if someone steals my last violin : \ read more

I go here if and only if I HAVE to for some odd reason. On the relative ladder of less douche-y - Fountain Valley GC is better, but of course you are far better off at Jim's in Tustin or Carvin in Santa Ana. Basically my issue is that even though I've been going in and out of this place since it opened, the guys working there seem to be super snobby, gotta be flashing major cash to get any attention - and I already know what I want!!! oh well... go here if you absolutely have to and only because they are opened until 9pm lol read more

This place is a wonderland for musicians. Come in, pick up a guitar, plug in to one of the many available amps/pedals/orgasmotronic kiosks and jam away. It's so easy to lose an afternoon here, just playing with all the different toys. Try before you buy? Um, yes please! The prices and selection are good, but basically industry standard. You might be able to get a better deal on a rare pedal online, if you look hard enough. But, there are GC sales often enough that you don't have to. Just today I bought a $600 looper pedal for ~$400. Score! Also, the staff is great! They are almost always genuinely interested in helping a brother out, offering advice and equipment recommendations. Many of them are musicians, too, so they really care about making you sound good! read more

This GC won't honor a sale item which still has it's sale sticker listed on the item on the shelf when the sale has passed. Bad management. If you aren't willing to honor the price, then make sure your employees get every sticker off of the items. The employee literally ripped off the sale sticker right in front of me and said "oh sorry that sale is over". read more

--- EDITED 4/27/13 --- I vowed I would never go back to this guitar center due to the horrible customer service, but since I wrote the review, the new store manager, Kent, reached out to me by e-mail after reading my Yelp review. It seems guitar center has noticed their sales/customer service was lacking at this location and moved Kent to fix things - and let me say, that was a VERY smart move. Kent e-mailed me asking to come back in and give them another shot. At first I was hesitant, but the fact that he personally contacted me and apologized for his previous employee's behavior, I figured, "what's the worst that could happen?" So I went in and the store was much busier than last time, many new employees I didn't recognize. Overall, I noticed the atmosphere of the store to be much more positive than my previous experiences. Kent greeted me and compensated me for my first visit by selling me headphones at cost - a gesture I did not expect. He told me if I had any other issues or questions in the future, to contact him (which I definitely will). Guitar Center made a very wise decision moving Kent to this store, and in my opinion, saved this store from most imminent disaster. Kent has refreshed his staff and overall customer experience. If you have any experience that shows otherwise, I would suggest you talk to Kent directly! ORIGINAL REVIEW: I rarely write reviews about retail stores, but my visit to this guitar center was beyond frustrating. I'm a novice at recording music from my digital piano, and I explained this to the first employee a month ago. He sold me some cables because he swore they would have a "night and day" difference between my live wires. I took them home, tried them, and didn't notice anything. So I took them in to return and a different employee gives me a shocked, unbelieving look; as if I was lying that they didn't sound great. Then he gave me a huge lecture how "guitar" cables are different than "instrument" cables. He went on to say the manufacturer's site shows different cables for guitars, bass, pianos etc. Well, I just checked, and the site shows it works for ALL the instruments listed - there isn't a special cable per instrument. In other words, he was lying to my face. Basically, his attitude was he knew way more than I did. Wasn't a very friendly conversation at all. The only positive is the other guys seemed very eager to talk to you and see what your issue is. Other staff is very knowledgeable. Don't think I'll be going back anytime soon...might just do all my purchasing online. read more

I took weeks to decide on what guitar to get - I was nervous, excited and anxious at the same time. I came here and was helped by Jeff. A friend of mine came here before me and he has been playing guitars for ages - he was the one who recommended I come see Jeff and only Jeff if I wanted guitars (with that strong of a recommendation, I had to find Jeff - lol) I must say that I asked a lot of questions and thankfully, Jeff was patient enough to take his time to answer all my questions and even provided useful information that I didn't think of before. He too, plays guitar so he knows what he's talking about. I will continue to come here as the service provided by Jeff is extraordinary and I would gladly recommend this Guitar Center over the others. read more

Its moments like this that im glad we have Yelp! As a musician, I love going to guitar center. I've gone to so many GC's here in CA and have sent thousands of $$ on new equipment. Good customer service is important for any business that tailors to customers, right? The problem with this location is they have a couple of scrub employees that work here. But Scott in the piano room takes the cake! He looks like he hates his job. Seriously. This guy is very unprofessional and rude and should be fired because of this review. I don't like giving negative reviews but when a business sucks or an employee of that business stinks up the place , then ya gotta put it on blast! That's why I love Yelp. :) read more

Ralph is the man! If you need anything repair/ fixed on your guitars, Ralph will take care of it! Thank you so much also Jackson the manager is awesome!! read more

Went in today looking at guitars. The guy working in the guitar section, Chris I think, went out of his way to help me. He pulled several options off the shelf for me to try without my having to ask. He also brought me a tuner while I was playing. He answered all of my questions and he seemed very knowledgeable about the guitars. It was the total opposite of what happens to me every time I go to the Fountain Valley Guitar Center and they crap all over me. The Lake Forest Guitar Center is definitely one of the better ones. read more

Okay, this is Guitar Center, so don't expect anyone to be too nice. Definitely know what you are looking for before you open the door of ANY Guitar Center because if you are a rookie, you will get eaten alive. My insider tip: head into ProAudio and ask for Chris Stewart, or Stewie, he is great and I've been buying from him for years. He's the most busy guy at the store because if you're in the know, you know that he won't rip you off and will tell you the truth about anything you're in the market for. Don't sweat the Guitar Center too much, it's rough for me even after all of these years. The most important thing is to get in and out of there as fast as possible so you can go home to have fun and play your new instrument or piece of gear! read more

Staff was inattentive and unknowledgeable. I went in tonight to get locking tuners, in which I was led to strap locks but only after I apparently interrupted one of the staff who was in the middle of shredding on a display guitar. He then said they were out of stock, then found some but no one in the store could tell me if the machine heads they had could be installed without re-drilling my guitar. 'Come back tomorrow' was his suggestion. No thanks. I've already wasted my time there. read more

I went there looking for DAC and headphones, one of the associates named Sophia was very helpful in placing an order to my house.

Amazing customer service and product knowledge. Many thanks to Tina and the entire team.

I would give zero stars if it was an option. I needed help regarding a cable issue that seemed simple. Everyone was rude, un educated, and dismissed what we needed. I went to the fountain valley location and they solved my problem in 5 seconds.you guys need to step it up and start acting like the real men that work at the fountain valley location read more

I live in San Diego but the Lake Forest location is pretty convenient from my girl's house so I called to see if they could give my 36 year old Ibanez roadstar some TLC and I spoke with Ralph Higgs who I immediately could tell knew his stuff. My old guitar now plays better than ever for a very reasonable price. I have a guitar center location 9 miles from my home but I just purchased a new electric from the Lake Forest location because they have top shelf people like Ralph Higgs working there. I highly recommend this location for your musical needs. A department store is a department store wherever you go but this location offers the support necessary for your peace of mind. read more

Well Damn!!! Really wanted to buy a guitar today but I didn't even get a hi from any employees, so after walking around uncomfortably I left, any recommendations? Lol read more

Nelson continues to provide not only tremendous customer service with a "can-do" attitude, but works very hard to be competitive and always produces the best price out there. He has suggested almost all of the drums/cymbals/parts/accessories I've bought since I met him 1.5 years ago at this Guitar Center. I won't shop anywhere else without speaking with him first... I have yet to come across another drummer-salesperson with Nelson's qualities in both technical and service aspects, and highly recommend him again for any assistance with drums, or with the entire store, since he's now the store Sales Manager. This guy is a real star. TGI Nelson! read more

Really miss West Coast Drums. But, as a substitute Guitar Center works. The staff is pretty nice about letting us try out the drum kits. Although when there get to be 4-5 drummers playing all at the same time it gets to be ridiculous. Plus, the prices are pretty high. Anywho, they are local and you can find most anything. Okay, here is the update! Guitar Center is the bomb!!!! The new manager there will hook you up with the best pricing and for some reason less people are camping in the place pounding on the drums. Not that pounding on the drums is bad, but come on people, buy the kit and take it home already! Will be shopping here for all my percussion accessories and sometime soon a new kit. read more

The customer service here is much improved. I keep coming back to play and it keeps getting better. Management really stepped it up! Love my new guitar ! read more