Shitty service apparently standing in line doesn't matter when other people get helped before you do so many employees and no one came to help or aid me. Also doesn't help when I am trying to leave the store with my purchase and the employees are blocking the way. And to top it off the lady who I said kindly to too excuse me she mocked me and said excuse me.. f u you white racist b read more

I'm done with the guitar center Modesto location I was looking to buy a new guitar couldn't hardly get anyone to wait on me found the guitar I wanted, asked if they could do a little better on the price due to demo scratches and a missing knob his answer is no, no let me talk to the manager no we'll replace the missing knob or we'll wax it for you! Just no I guess they thing I should pay fully price for a roughly demoed guitar I've never been treated that way there before I even said you polish it out and put a new knob on it id take it but noooooo I won't spend another hard earn penny there again read more

The store was clean, the service was fine but, after I bought a few picks and some strings and left the store, one of the employees chased me out and insisted on seeing my receipt. I was a good ten feet from the door and he acted like he was sure he was gonna find a problem. It wouldn't have bothered me that much (even being a minority) but it was my day with my kids. Kind of embarrassing. It's all good. I'll still go back. read more

I did a curbside pickup and no one went outside. I waited for awhile and went in twice to let them know. Terrible service. Guitar center has always been bad but it's one of the only few stores with music instruments. They also make you feel stupid if you are just starting to learn and buy new gear. read more

I need a few single strings and went in on a Tuesday about 11ish. A guy at the accessory counter was helping a lady. After about 10 minutes he looked up and told me he would be with me in a few. After 10 more minutes I noticed 2 employees bullshittin' at the guitar counter. I asked them if either of them could help me, they replied "yes, we can". Why the hell did I have to ask for help when they were looking right at me standing there for 20 minutes. I asked the guy for a few .008 gauge strings and they had none. Guitar Center use to be the place to go. They use to have everything you ever wanted. No .008 single strings, not one??? Pathetic! read more

A DEN OF THIEVES!! Stay away from here at all costs. They ripped me off with shit merchandise a while ago and I stopped buying from them. Unfortunately, they were the only ones whom had the wire I needed so reluctantly I bought it from them. As is usual, the crap merchandise I bought stopped working so I went to return it. They refused to pay me back because they had the wrong wire listed on the receipt, and they say they don't carry it. STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!!!! They will rip you off!!! read more

Amazing experience at Guitar Center. Mike restrung my Guitar, this is a quality guy. Answered any question that I had with detail. The high caliber staff here are absolutely passionate about what they do and love their jobs. Guitar looked incredible and I walked out with a ton of new tips and knowledge. -Cheers guys read more

Does anyone actually work here? After spending 35 minutes standing around the drum section waiting for an employee to come help me, I decided that no one must actually work here. If you've got an hour to kill to ask never actually get to ask 1 question, then this is the store for you. If you're serious about musical equipment, go somewhere else. It bums me out that Skip's went under, but this place is still open... yikes. read more

Guitar center used to be good, from 1980 to 2000, back when you built a relationship with a salesman in a particular department (and I spent a buttload of money in EVERY department), now? Fuck those guys, I musta spent $35-40K in GC over 40 years, and now they wanna charge me more than Amazon prices. Lame as fuck. read more

Came here to buy a piano keyboard. Pablo was very helpful and gave me a lot of insight as I'm a beginner. The keyboard that I went with had an add-on (keyboard survival pack - $35) which included a cheap pedal, cheap headphones, learning software I won't use and power adapter. I told Pablo I would just buy a power adapter online because I didn't want to pay $35 for one at the store. As I'm about to pay at the register, a gentleman named Jake interrupted me and Pablo and told Pablo that I HAD to buy the survival pack. Pablo told him I wasn't going to and Jake insisted "he HAS to buy the survival pack." At this point I stepped in and told Jake I was going to buy a power adapter on my own since he wouldn't get off Pablo's back. Jake completely ruined my experience and vibe that I had with Pablo, an elderly man. I got the feeling that Jake wasn't treating Pablo kindly because of his age. I hope the manager/owner sees and addresses this issue. I wish Pablo the very best as he genuinely cares about your experience at the store and has nothing but good feedback for you. He's not trying to rip you off as the rest of the sales staff might be. read more

I did not appreciate it when I came in the next day to exchange my defective ukulele, to have someone try to convince me that the $130 I spent just the day before is the price you pay for a defective instrument. Mind you, I bought TWO and one of them was a bit wonky and had two different kinds of strings on it. All I wanted to do was just exchange it for a brand new one because this was obviously used. The one helping me spent a good 10 minutes trying to convince me that this is just how they make ukuleles with this particular company. Please. I bought two and the one they have on display doesn't look or sound like the piece of crap I was sold. Don't get me wrong, he still helped me out by bringing out two never been opened ukuleles and let me try them out. Lo and behold, they weren't pieces of crap so I was able to exchange it. We could have saved each other a whole lot of time if they just focused on customer satisfaction. 1. If I'm not happy with my purchase, let me exchange it. 2. This is a smaller Guitar Center compared to Sacramento's so they do not have as much to choose from I'm going to try harder to shop at small businesses because at least I can count on good customer service. I'll pay extra dollars for that. read more

Its very easy now to simply buy all of your gear online, especially if what you are getting is a bit more specialized or obscure. Skip's Music is right down the road, but they don't carry many new things, or have that large of a selection in the keyboard department at least. So you head into Guitar Center to check out some gear you have seen online, since you want to know how it really is. GC is usually good about having the newest machines on display. This GC however, is one of the worst I have ever been to. It's embarrassing. I keep thinking im going in there on a bad day, give them the benefit of the doubt, but no the next time I go in its just as bad. First off, the place is dirty. Sure its small, but it looks like the stock crew is just piling crap up as fast as they can. I dont think anyone that works there knows what a duster is. When I go into the keyboard department, they have much of the gear I want to see, but its rarely if ever plugged in. How are you supposed to see how the gear works if its not plugged in? This happens every time as well. I have never been to another GC that neglects the power of demoing the gear as much as this one does. A few times I just plugged in the gear myself, got on the floor to attach a speaker, basically went through the sales process with myself. I wonder if I get the commission if I choose to buy the gear I helped myself with? The worst part, is that I rarely see anyone greeted when they come in. Yes, I have worked for many retail stores so I know how it goes. They greet no one here, so effectively letting thief's know "we dont know your here, steal away". This last time, and I mean LAST time I went in, I had a clear goal and money to burn. I wasn't greeted, and after 20 MINUTES of walking around doing my best "i'm on a mission stance and expression", not one employee walked up to help me. A few employees were messing with their iPhones, and a couple were even standing there talking about Destiny's Child and the Super Bowl performance, and continued to do so even as I tried to push past them looking at gear. I get it now, this isn't a store to buy music gear, but just a place for people wearing Guitar Center shirts and name tags to "hang-out". It's a good thing for them this location isn't as busy as San Francisco, Sacramento, Emeryville, or even the late El Cerrito location. All of which are better, cleaner, and far more effective at helping me spend my money. The one thing the employees of this store ARE good at, is repeatedly asking if you "want to order that" or "are you ready to ring that up". No clue about actual sales tactics, they jump on you to buy as quick as a jackal pounces on roadkill. Hey, how about we talk a bit first, work through the sales process, maybe even act as if you care what I buy and build up a repor so that I come in again and ask for you by name. Nope. Come in, forget the place looks like crap, buy your gear and get out please. read more

Horrible experience. Went to pick myself up an Audio-Technica record player and when I got it the box was sealed but once I got home and opened it the power cord was not inside. I called and just got put on hold for so long I ended up just hanging up. I went to Best Buy to pick up the cord that went to the record player and once I got it all set up the record player wouldn't even produce any audio. Now after running around all day I have to go return it. Completely disappointed with the quality of the product. read more

Selection here is good but not if you are looking to buy high end pro gear. Most of what they sell is low to mid level. I get it, Modesto is not a mecca for recording professionals, but it would be nice to be able to see and buy the gear that I actually want to purchase. Most of the sales associates here have no clue what it is they are selling. With so many employees working at once time, you'd presume someone would be more apt to ask if you are looking for anything specific or if you need help. Here it seems they try and avoid dealing with customers. If you are a newbie just looking to buy your first instrument or something for your kid to play, you'll be fine here. If on the other hand you actually know what you want and want something professional, you would have to order it and wait as they don't stock high end pro music gear. At least not at this location. read more

I am not a musician but I have bought some things for my son. I have bought guitars from Barkers, Skips and GC. On the positive side, GC has a large selection. They especially seem to have a much bigger selection of electric guitars than either of the other two stores. On the negative side, their staff is often rude and unhelpful. I had trouble getting them to honor a price matching discount that they had advertised. When I tried to claim it, I was accused of trying to do something dishonest. A manager had to resolve it. When I put an item on lay away, They seemed to lose it then found it dirty and covered with dust after having been in storage for only a month. This has not been the case at Skip's or Barker's. Their staff are very friendly and do their best to find what you want. They don't have the selection but they will do special orders. read more

Ok so I am huge on customer service and we just left this place with huge smiles. Every single person in this store was so nice and helpful. Not one person wasn't helpful. I didn't feel pressured to buy anything and my kid who has severe social anxiety was so comfortable. read more

I bought my keyboard they were very helpful in answering all my questions. They a very busy. My keyboard was not the correct one for my class and they returned it with out a problem and changed for the keyboard I needed. Totally recommend this place. read more

The place is a zoo. Trying to get amp time in this place is a waste of time. Tried sitting down with a gtr and amp one evening, and some lunatic was walking around serenading everyone with an acoustic being totally obnoxious. The staff just let him run. I'll go here for strings. That's it. read more

Recently moved back into the area and decided to give this place another try... Still not the greatest selection, but it's a smaller shop than most GCs. However, the people were extremely helpful, friendly, funny, and guess what? Knowledgable. Still unable to fully endorse with 5 stars but what an improvement since my last visit. read more

Customer service is terrible. Staff is very unfriendly and not available to help unless you like spending time standing around to wait for hours. I would not recommend anyone to go to this store. They rip you off on any item you want to sell back to them no matter what the condition is. read more

Was a little skeptical about going into this store because of some of the reviews I've seen, but was surprised by how friendly the staff were. I was greeted when I walked in and Maliek did an amazing job at helping get the guitar I was looking for and also checking me out quickly. Really appreciated the service. (: read more

I have come here multiple times and the staff has always been very helpful. I came in to buy a tuner for my ukulele and they knew exactly what I needed, and sold me an amazing tuner for a reasonable price. The other day I was looking to buy a case for my bass. It's a 1975 Ibanez, so it isn't "standard size" by today's case definitions. I called up guitar center and told them my situation and they told me to stop by and get it fitted for a case. When i came in a few hours later, the employee who I spoke with was ready for me and found me a case within 5 minutes. Totally recommend this place! read more

horrible service. my kid is going to be 10 and wants a guitar for his birthday so I took him there and could not get any help. and if asked a question it was super rude and short. wont be going back read more

If I was going to write a review about this Guitar Center, say, 10 years ago, I wouldn't have given a 5 star rating. They have new staff in every so often, like a sports team, and I honestly feel like this current GC lineup, is the best. Jesse works in accessories/repairs department. There are only 2 people I trust to work on my gear; my brother, and Jesse. This kid is very knowledgeable when it comes to guitars. I used a 20% discount coupon, and phoned in an order of a set of Seymour Duncan Invader 7 string pickups. The GC website said they were compatible with 7 string guitars. When I showed up to pick them up, we found that the 6 string pickups had been shipped, not the 7. Jesse checked the computer, and they didn't carry the 7 string pickups in a set. (Even though the website said it was compatible with 7?) BUT he called directly to Seymour Duncan, and placed an order for the 7 string pickups. Now technically they didn't come in a set, so he had to order them individually. That cost $109.99, each pickup. Which, after tax, was almost $100 more than I paid for the first set, and I wouldn't be able to use my then expired coupon. Jesse talked to Scott Kline (Manager), and explained the situation. Scott helped me out. I was able to get the set of pickups I wanted for the original price I paid. Scott Kline is an amazing guy. He will do everything in his power to help you out and make sure you're happy. Jesse handled the phone calls to Seymour Duncan, and in a week my pickups were ready for me. These guys went above and beyond to help me out, and this GC gets album wrap on yelp. read more

If you need some equipment, its hard to go someplace else.. Good prices, just wish the staff would be more informed. read more

I just need some assistance today around 6pm. Yes they were busy I understand, I'm in customer service as well, but if I'm waiting alone in the sound room by counter, looking in direction of the 1/4 Inch adapters, Noah happens to walk by acknowledged me ,but he had the I have a sell going on type of walk,so I didn't bother him, but when I seen him again close towards the speaker area, I kindly was going to ask him if the adapter I had in hand ,was the correct one from a text my fellow band mate had sent me on my ph, Noah flat out said he was busy,which again, I understand, but if you can get answer my question in 5 seconds, I already had it, just wanted to double check, he apologized, and he continued on, I know he felt bad, and his fellow employee ,spoke on his behalf, that they were short handed, anyways that was my exp.. I told cashier ,I always here about poor service, but now got to experience it myself. .. ROB.. read more

Adrian in Pro Audio gave the best service I've had in a long time. Helped me find the cables and adapters I needed with honesty and professionalism. Didn't make me wait for 30 minutes. Just got me what I needed, checked me out, and I was on my way. Thank you Adrian for saving the day. read more

I love Guitar Center (GC) in Modesto. I'm not a big fan of Modesto, but will go there to hang out and chill at GC. The staff are excellent here and very helpful. Most GCs that I have been too, the employees are stuck up musicians or ppl who hate their job. Not here though, this GC is probably the best one I've been too. read more

I've been going to Guitar Center's for a long time and this one has not let me down in the least. They've got a ton of great guitars and basses (I'm a bass player), as well as enough recording equipment for me and the band to do our thing on the side. I know a lot of people love to bash the GC stores in favor of the smaller music places, but I just don't see it. Every time I visit one I get friendly service, the gear I need, and no shortage of people to talk to. I will say that over the years of visiting the Modesto store, it's gotten much better lately. I say visit GC and Skip's for yourself and form your own opinions. read more

I've had enough with this store!! The customer service is the worst. They take for ever to help you and once they do they don't know anything about the product or say that they never heard of that product. I've been coming to this store for many years and it just gets worst every time. I call before I come to the store to make sure they can help me or to see if they have the item I need they say yes so I come down, of course once I'm here they say no and they don't know who answered but i always ask for name before I hang up and they still deny it. I WILL NOT be back to this store again. I don't know how people still come in with this customer service. read more

Time to play... As a musician I love to play but when it comes to getting what I need, I always come up short since a good friend left this store. It is no longer personal and staff does not care to make it that way. Products are always great but level of service, they pick and choose who to help. read more

I went into guitar center modesto interested in purchasing a simple keyboard. I spoke to a nice young man who said he was a piano player. He showed me the diferences in a few keyboards by actually play9ing them and i was shocked. he was a very talented pianist. I almost cried at the way he played. then he told me recomended a stage piano that included a free bench and wooden stand. He also ercomended a sustain pedal. At the end of the sale, he told me his name was Jay Garcia, and he told me that if i had any questions in the future, i could call him any time. That was the kind of experience that i wish i had everywhere i go. Thank you Jay! read more

Great store but some only care about the Commission when I Purchased an item one guy was Arguing that he wanted the commission Because We bought Expensive speakers. read more

Wow, man I wouldn't know the first thing about guitar, or keyboards or microphones. This is specifically for the Drum section, amazing service, seriously. I don't play guitar, so when I go here, I make a B line for the drum section, and the place is like home for me. Really awesome selection of new and used gear, plenty of awesome brands, Zildjians, Sabians, etc.... The Service is what really amazes me though, I can hang out in this place for hours and not even buy anything, just have a good time, chat it up with the clerks, and jam on their setups. Everyone who works in this section is a total bro (To use a laymans term) One of the guys who works their specifically, Gunner, I believe his name is. Can't miss the guy, he is enthusiastic about drumming, he helped me make an informed choice on my drum heads, and recommended an awesome pedal, I was there for hours talking about music with him, and the other guys there. Not to mention the other people who work there, very helpful, and it feels like you're really at home. 5/5 AWESOME drum shop. read more

I shopped here a LOT last year. I normally like to go to independent businesses, but I usually got bad service at both Skip's and Barker's Music, so I started going to guitar center. Not all the people at GC are helpful, which is why I haven't given the place 5 stars. One long-haired dude who specializes in bass guitars can be rather obnoxious - too much like a salesman and not enough like a human.. Too bad the previous dude who mostly sold basses stopped working there a couple years ago. Also, there's a guy there who's older than most of the others - might be a manager - he's semi-unpleasant at times. but the 5 other people I've talked with have been GREAT! All 3 women were helpful, and the 2 guys I've mostly talked with have also been very very good employees to talk shop with. They really work for their money and are not pushy or rude at all. The 2 guys I've talked with most and bought guitars from are Jeremy Brown and Ryan Redmond. They've been there awhile. I go where the service is best, and I'll continue to shop at Guitar Center. read more

Every week end I take my 15 year old special needs son to a Guitar Center in the greater Bay Area and Sacramento. Over the last four years, at various GC's we have purchased an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and a bass. Going to look at what different stores have and testing out different instruments, is one of our favorite things to do together. We have never had a sales person treat us rudely or nasty until today. Ant was rude and nasty and very unprofessional. (Every other person we came in contact at the store was pleasant ) But, Ant yelling and pointing at my son, caused him to start shaking. We have never been treated like that, at any of the GC's we have been too. I always stay close to where he is and supervise whatever it is he's playing, but it was apparent because he of my sons special needs, Ant didn't want him to touch or play anything in the store. Some customer service skills would go along way with him. read more

TERRIBLE!!! Paid cash they had to write a check for a return. The customer service was awful!!

Some tweeker came in to GC trying to sell my stolen equipment, GC guys checked the serial and called me to make sure it was not stolen from me, which it was about a week before. Thanks to GC guys I got my equipment back! The thief took off but that wasn't something they could help. I'm so thankful they got my shit back. read more

I can start by saying that Guitar Center is amazing. Since Skips left town, I've had to come here for my piano gear. I love their selection of weighted key keyboards, sustain pedals, sheet music, guitars, amps and all music gear. The staff is very friendly and they all treat you like royalty. I have been to some other music places still open in town, and its clear to see why Guitar Center is such a huge success. read more

Awesome guitar center. Nice employees.. Always had a good experience here. Other than them kicking me off the drums for playing too long haha. I I don't blame them though. read more