Guitar center in Northridge is about the best GC we've ever been to. And being a bassist Ive been to many. I didn't know that they bought gear. They bout my rig and my custom bass, and let me just say, they were extremely fair! Steiger and all the staff are really, really cool! Will definitely go back when I purchase some new stuff. read more

Had a free lesson trial this morning. My teacher was amazing. I've been playing for a while but seem to plateau and needed direction. Needless to say, I was able to learn so much within the hour and ending up signing up for more lessons. No complaints here. My GC experience didn't end there. I decided to upgrade my guitar gear and get a line 6 helix and speaker monitors. Unfortunately, the sales associate wasn't the best experience... He kept offering me open box items and alternative products to the ones I specifically asked for. I had to encourage him to look for an unopened items which eventually he was able to find one in the back. Didn't seem very motivated to provide customer service even when I was spending $2,400 on equipment. When I got home, I realized there was a mistake with my receipt and had to call back to clarify. I spoke to several people that didn't really know how to handle my unique situation and eventually spoke to the lead manager. He was SUPER understanding and displayed GREAT customer service. Overall, despite the mediocre sales associate experience, the manager and the guitar lesson alone brings my rating to a 5/5. read more

I have been coming here since it opened. They always have what I need and many things I don't need, but buy anyway. Staff is friendly.

Brought my 9 year old boy with his new acoustic guitar to get it repair. Anthony the repair technician made my son feel welcomed and was able to setup my son's guitar with new strings. Appreciate it. Service was fast and with great precision. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

Oh man, what a nightmare of a place, I am not even sure on where to start. We came in the evening looking for a case for a guitar. It was about 8:30pm, and I could already tell that the person helping us was a manager due to him carrying so many keys (later confirmed this by asking an associate). From the second we asked for assistance, he seemed extremely annoyed and rushed. It was to the point where he was giving us the wrong information, just for us to leave, but we NEEDED the case. He was telling us something was a guitar case when they weren't and were really bass cases. Also were given the wrong prices, and then he refused to honor it. Also, he did not want to go look in the back for any of the inventory. He was obviously frustrated and went to go get one of his other associates to help us instead. We ended picking a case. When the associate walked it to the register, the manager, hovered over him, starring at us, RATLING HIS KEYS. It was STILL before 9:00 pm. If it's an issue for people to come in the evening, please change your hours. We are credit card holders and (were) returning customers. I understand we are all human and want to go home, but we were also making a purchase, and trying to avoid making a return later (and not trying to make the wrong purchase to begin with). At the very least if you don't want to properly help your customers, at least be professional and not rattle your keys as if we didn't get the point that you were trying to close ASAP (even though it was before closing time.) But thank you, I will take my business to another music store. read more

Matthew is the only Guitar Center employee I've ever met that has treated me like a person and shown kindness when I had questions. The first person I approached about drum heads just told me there was no one that could help me (per usual - no one EVER in the drum dept or willing to help) When I approached Matthew at the register about some clear drum heads I wanted to make sure were the right ones in the box, he even opened them for me to check! At the west LA location, I was sold the wrong heads after I showed them a photo and they said it was the same as what I asked for. I told the employee it was his inventory and he should have known, and they told me I couldn't do an exchange. Said they would have to process it has a return and the money would show up in 3-5 business days, which was obviously just the employee being lazy/not wanting to help. Eventually after lots of arguing and calling of a manager, he let me exchange it. Never EVER going back there if I can help it. Oh and don't even get me started on ordering something online for store pickup! (This goes for every location) Don't order it, because they probably don't have it and guess what they already charged you for it! :) just go and look yourself, the website is not to be trusted in that way. Thank you Matthew for your kindness! I'll be calling ahead and only going if he's there from now on! read more

I brought my daughter here on a Saturday to pick out a new guitar. She learned how to play during the pandemic. She's only 14, but a store employee named Ken gave her his undivided attention. He set up a number of guitars for her to try out and helped her find the best one for her particular style. He treated her with complete respect. Never once did he talk to her as though she were a kid or a beginner. And never once did he try to talk her into an expensive guitar or extra stuff just for the sale. You don't find employees like Ken very often. He truly cared about helping my daughter find the right guitar. I just wanted to say thank you and give him credit for being such a class act. read more

You really need to know what you're looking for and know that they have it in stock. Not much in the way of drums or drum accessories (I suppose that's why they're called "guitar center") Back in the day they were THE place to go to for instruments and equipment regardless of what you played. Not so much anymore. Too bad. read more

Every time I go into this location there are either not enough people working or they're all chatting to each other. I don't think I've visited this location in the past 3 years and had someone offer to help me. I always have to track someone down for Pro Audio and the people who do work in pro audio don't know the gear and can't answer basic questions about the products. They have more than once tried to sell me a piece of gear that would not have worked for the purpose I described. They've lost several thousand dollars of my business to https://www.sweetwater.com/ and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I don't know if it's understaffed, poorly managed or both, but I'm done shopping at this location. read more

I rarely ever do reviews on yelp and I have been shopping at Guitar Center for a very long time and I've gotten some great gear from them. In the past one of my first guitars was purchased at the Northridge location. But I must say that this Guitar Center has really really dropped the ball lately. I just left from there to try to get a repair done and I was told that the one person that is able to do it is on vacation or is not in even though there's a sign that clearly states that, the technician works from Wednesday through Saturday. First time I found this out to try to get a repair done I didn't think to Collins so I'll give them that for the first time but when I tried calling to see if someone was there, nobody answered the phone and then when I got there I was then told that the person that supposed to be there from Wednesday through Saturday is out on vacation even though there is no indication Whatsoever upfront read more

Went in for an amp stand and remembered I needed something to cancel the excess noise from a place the has problems with there electrical system. SKYLER one of the personal helped me with good advice and the right power strip to take care of the issue! Thanks guys you're always willing to give good advice and offer good products at a decent price. Blessings to you all! read more

Guitar Center - Amp stand and power strip with noise cancellation. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

Guitar center Northridge First and by far most I'd like to thank one of there managers there Jhonny who has been great helping me with my guitar with all my questions I may from getting my guitar serviced to my guitar strings to a pic ... The entire stay has also been helpful as well ,there guitar tech cris is amazing and works fast and very helpful I will definitely buy all I need there in northrige ..5star for sure read more

Been shopping at Guitar Centers off and on for years now. Sometimes I feel like they don't pay attention to you if you're not spending a fortune. Sometimes I'll get new expensive gear and sometimes I'll just get some guitar picks or drum sticks. Sometimes getting nothing at all! Either way one should be treated the same no matter how much they spend. This location is usually very clean and organized. The parking here is easy peasy! There it is... I'll give all of my dozens and dozens of visits here 4 out 5 stars. Now... LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MITCHELLE... MY LATEST GUITAR BUYING EXPERIENCE LAST MONTH WITH HIM WAS 5 STARS ALL THE WAY!!! He was polite, helpful and a good listener. I walked out buying a new acoustic guitar ( a beautiful GUILD ) that was completely opposite of what I thought I wanted. All employees should be so nice! Even at almost closing he got the ladder and went up to get me a few cases to look at. Of course I bought one to protect my new baby. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have spent money on this occasion. Ahhh now it's time to ghost write some more country lyrics. Thanks MITCHELLE! You are appreciated! read more

What a disappointing experience at Guitar Center Northridge. We came in with our 3 kids (ages 11, 8 and 6) they were SO excited because we were ready to purchase a keyboard package and ukulele. After standing around for 15 min looking at keyboards without seeing one sales person....I decided to go look for one, I found an employee who told me to go to the front register to ask one of the 2 employees there. One was chatting with a customer and the other was "helping" another gentleman. After another 5 min it was FINALLY my turn. The sales guy who's name started with an "M" couldn't really see his name scribbled on his tag we walked over to the keyboard area and we let him know that we were looking for a package... keyboard, stand, bench etc. to which he stated they didn't have any. My husband had plenty of time to look at the website and stated, what about this one that says we could pick up at this location today. He told us that wasn't accurate they it meant it was in stock in their warehouse In Kansas. After seeing our faces, he said...let me go look. I decided to look at the ukelele while waited. After 10 min in ukelele the original guy I asked - said have you been helped? To which I replied not with ukelele, okay, hold on. While I am holding on I see "M" back at the counter- not looking for this keyboard package, just looking "busy." At this point my husband comes out of the keyboard area irritated letting me know he was ready to go because no one bothered to come back. I can't help but feel like we were not helped not because they were just busy but maybe we didn't look like people that would make a purchase? Or because we had kids? Or because we weren't white??? Great lesson for our kids though...as a consumer you don't have to put up with sh*# Take your money elsewhere!!!! read more

This guitar center used to be decent, but unfortunately I am just getting tired of poor service. Anthony, the guitar tech here is a scammer, he quoted me to fix my guitar $160 and told me that I needed a full overhaul plus work on all frets. Well, I took my guitar to a different tech, and they adjusted the neck in 2 minutes and they didn't even charged me. Also, lessons in this store sucks, there is one good teacher but they have no framework and they just go all over the place, every teacher has their own way to teach and I don't believe they want you to learn unless you just keep going and paying for lessons. Besides all this, good luck getting help at the store, they do not seem to care about customers, and good luck calling, phone rings for 1-3 minutes before someone picks up. One last thing, their technology sucks, all their systems are independent and it creates additional waiting. read more

Poor customer service. I came here for an acoustic guitar case but as soon as I walked in the security lady was gawking at my bag. I immediately thought I needed to check it in, but she said, she thought I was returning items. Very awkward. And there was no one to help me on the floor. I asked a guy in a red shirt, and he was rushing to his music lesson section, claimed he had a call, but I saw him shortly after. I was in the store less than two minutes, then I observed the sexist stares as if women don't play instruments. I felt like Alice in wonderland trying to find assistance, but I didn't get any not even a greeting. Now I see why people talk about musicians. Everyone was in their own world. I came here to support the company instead of giving my money to Amazon, but they gave me no choice. read more

Best experience ever! We came to buy a first guitar for our son. Michael not only helped us to choose a perfect instrument, but also inspired our young guitarist to study music!!! Thank you so much!!!! read more

It's Guitar Center. You already know what's up going in, and it's exactly as expected. The manager has worked with me and is very friendly and knowledgeable. I've bought, returned, sold, anything you can do at GC and it's been a pleasure coming in every time. Keep up the good work! read more

Very unhelpful. I drove 30 minutes to ask if I have the right cable to connect from midi keyboard to laptop. First guy said I am off but he was walking around the shop for 10 minutes. The other guy told me we have customers that need help, go search online. Am I not a customer? I told him I already searched online. I need someone to show me if I have the correct cable. Then he pulls his phone to search online. I just left the store and will never go back. read more

I hate to do this but come on corporate. Service was unbelievably bad on the night I went in to purchase a bass, amp and headphones with my daughter. In fact, the worst I've ever experienced. Brian in repair deserves a raise!! Great guy who seems to love what he does but you can tell that he's over worked and being pulled in many directions. One of the music instructors actually helped us select a few items, that's not even his job. The cashier was a total hot mess, he knew and acknowledged that I had been standing in line for nearly 20 min, yes you read that correctly. I was next when he had the nerve to take another customer on the other side of the counter. I Don't Think So!!! I had to intervene and stop him mid transaction to remind him that I was next and that he knew I was next, almost causing drama with the customer. He was apologetic and it seemed sincere, which is why I'm not going to 100% accuse him of poor service. This store is poorly managed and seriously understaffed with over worked employees. read more

I was ignored, chased down by the guard who was missing from her post when I walked in. I lost my place in the line where I was being ignored. I walked out. read more

I just want to say that the online/call center of Guitar Center is a joke. I placed an order for a basic acoustic guitar and a stand online to be picked up at this location. The next day got an email that the guitar was canceled and didn't tell me why. I called the call center and was basically told it's my fault that I ordered it because it's out of stock at this store.... as if I was suppose to magically know? Then got connected to the supervisor and was told that they would ship it to that store with expedited shipping for my trouble. Cut to me showing up and I was told they have no record at all and the guitar was just canceled. What am I gonna do with a guitar stand with no guitar? Jeffrey was absolutely amazing and helped me pick out an even better guitar than the one I ordered for a similar price for my boyfriend's birthday. He was so apologetic to my situation and understood my frustration. I had to come back a few days later as the guitar hadn't been released yet. Once I did he completely polished and re-did the strings and tuning on the guitar and it's beautiful. He then made sure to follow up with my situation and make sure I got my money back from my previous order. He really helped me out in my situation and especially since it's time sensitive due to the fact that it was a birthday present. I felt very attended to and definitely recommend coming to this guitar center!! read more

The manager reached out to me, refunded my money, and spent quite some time listening to my concerns. I am updating my review to reflect my 30+ years of shopping at Guitar Center. There are some good folks at this store, and I will check in again in a few weeks to see if they have fixed the customer service issues and are back where they used to be. read more

The service is extremely slow, the workers aren't quick to help and when they do help its not useful. I had 4 people redirect me to 1 person who spent over half an hr helping one person when there was multiple people waiting. When I finally got someone to help me they were very condescending and appeared to be inebriated as they were sweating profusely and their pupils were dilated. It was rude and unprofessional. Paying is just as much of a hassle as their is no line structure (on the visit I went). Everyone was just standing around in no apparent order and when a worker finally appeared did not direct anyone to form a line. I will never come here again it was the worst experience ever. This is coming from a person whose shopped at music stores for over 12 years and never experienced this level of service. read more

Michael and Steiger had shown exceptional customer service during my visit to trade and purchase guitar. In no time, the speed of quality service and the trade in value with discount was offered in fairness. The care is absolutely outstanding and I recommend to visit this store to anyone reading this review You guys deserve my best commendation. read more

I don't think I have the pleasure to come back to this location again. I purchased an item that I realized later doesn't fit my needs and I just wanted to do an exchange. It's a standard retail procedure that happens in any retail environment however these guys are way to strict. I absolutely understand that my purchase has been made two months earlier however, I didn't get the right product for my needs and a $1700 purchase is not cheap. They offered to buy back the product for 50-60% of the resale value... and really didn't care much As a retail store you have to train your employees to ask questions and probe enough to make sure that your customer is leaving with the right solution. Trying to get an outcome, the store has been directing me to the online support and the online support would just send me back to the store so there's not much to do. Very disappointed GC read more

You can't find better music service anywhere today than GC Northridge, and I've been in the music business a long time. I went this week to get a mixer, mics and performance set up. Ross, Brian and Mathew helped me. They were all first class, knowledgeable, professional, and personable. Ross, the manager, told me what I needed, demonstrated and hooked up the system, even color-coded and strapped the cables. I later learned he had stayed an hour and a half past his shift. No where do you find quality service and dedication like that...really awesome! read more

Ken was a ton of help! Works his butt off and found me the perfect guitar and tuner! All five stars to Ken

Decent fed I want to learn to play the guitar. Was overwhelmed by the huge selection. The salesperson was very patient and helped explain everything so I could make a decision. read more

A really bad experience for keyboard players. The guitar sections seem well-lit, well maintained. However, when I went there last week fully intending to purchase a keyboard, their keyboard section was SO DARK I literally had to pull out my phone flashlight so that the sales associate and I could read the model number of the keyboard I was interested in. I had to read the model number so he could look up the price, because half of the items on display had no price placard. The store associate seemed frustrated by this fact too, because it meant every time I was curious about a keyboard he had to walk over to a computer to look up the price instead of it just having a simple price sign. Also, very few of the keyboards were plugged in, so I couldn't test them to see what they sounded like. It already felt like a lot to ask the sales associate to go over and look up all of those prices, and he seemed like more of a guitar guy anyway, so he had no real keyboard information, and he didn't offer to plug anything in, so I left empty handed. Are lights and price tags too much to ask? read more

Anthony and Brian were super helpful from the moment I walked in. They assisted me with fixing the pick up on my guitar right there on the spot. I really appreciate it, thank you. You guys rock!! Franck read more

Steiger was amazing in advise and ultra knowledgeable about guitars. Cleaned, re strung, reset and tuned my new guitar today. My new go to guy. Very, very happy! read more

Customer service here was horrible. I walked in with my daughter who had been taking guitar lessons all year long and found out that this was an instrument he enjoyed. so I decided to buy her a guitar so she could perfect. Her craft was greeted by security at the door and that was the last time anybody who worked for the store spoke to us she went and played in samples of her guitars, not one person offered to help us not one person asked if we found everything OK walked past several employees. Actually an employee almost bumped into us, and still didn't greet us, I was actually here to buy but I will not buy from guitar center. Really hope the lack of service didn't have to do with our complexion???? read more

This place is horrible. The night staff and manager are a complete waisted of space. They lie about things being out if stock. The manager should be working a car wash. I waited three hours, a total of two nights for them to get my product. They said it was not in stock. The next day? Low and behold, it was in stock..Jerking people around especially when your wearing a mask.. Mee thinks not.. read more

Jesse in Pro Audio is a genius. Frustrated that I couldn't get my mic to work, Jesse told me to bring my whole computer set-up in, so he could troubleshoot. I did just that, and thanks to a computer room and Guitar Center's wifi hookup, Jesse was able to figure out the problem, and helped me download the solution. He spent almost an hour of his time helping me which I appreciated. And to those reviewers who say the service isn't great, I offer this: another employee's shift was ending, so they needed Jesse back on the floor. But the other employee could see that Jesse was close to resolving my issue, so he OFFERED to stay later so that Jesse could get me up and running again. Could the service be any better? How about THIS for an encore: As I packed up my gear and walked out of the store, I tried to do a poor-man's Tony Soprano and tip Jesse a twenty to thank him for all of his help. He politely refused it and told me, "We're good, man." Great job, Guitar Center! read more

A single star for the employee being well mannered. I went to buy a guitar case a a gift for guitar purchased for my son a couple years ago from this very store. The employee I wound up with had no clue. That's fine and all - maybe he was a new employee or something. So he got help - same failure. And then they got more help and more failure. ... for a guitar case. Left empty handed. Made a drive out to Sam Ash and am currently deleting Guitar Center from my brain. Never again. read more

It's hit or miss with the staff here. Mostly miss. I'm sure there are some superstar workers here but just based on my experience... if there is a knowledgeable guy working that can help, most of the time let's just say he's not going to win any customer service awards anytime soon. Then on a rare occasion there might actually be someone that is very willing to help and assist you with for example hooking up equipment to demo or checking on inventory and sales prices. However, he's not even that familiar with the equipment in the department you're shopping in! Anyway, I called about some pro audio equipment and asked if it was in stock and if I could use a GC coupon I received. It was the last day before it expired so I was highly motivated to use it if I could. The answers were Yes it's in stock and if the coupon is legit, also Yes. I asked if the coupon could be applied to the GC sales price and he went to confirm with his manager. The response was Yes. I even asked him to calculate what the new price would be just to confirm we were on the same page. Cool, I was ready to spend some cash money. So I came in after work and to make a longer story short, they could not honor the deal that was discussed over the phone. Even though the coupon didn't mention the name of the manufacturer anywhere under the list of excluded suppliers, they said the coupon did not qualify. I was even more interested at that point in a more expensive model, but the best price they could do wasn't that great and their claim that they'd lose money is reasonable, I just got disappointed with the expectation and then finding out that it was a no-go after all. Anyway, I found a much much better price at a competitor along with a massive manufacturer's rebate (which for some reason GC did not mention/offer, maybe because it's a contractual deal by the manufacturer to allow it with only certain distributors/sellers). read more

Been coming to this location frequently since I started building up my home studio a couple years back. I've been assisted by different employees each visit and all have been dope in terms of knowledge and recommendations. To all my other fellow musicians, depending on what you're looking for, they typically have a solid stock and a variety of selections. Even a bunch of solid used equipment are stocked up there that you can buy. Depending on condition and what you're trying to do, can't go wrong with this GC location. All in all, if you know what you're looking for, the staff is ready and willing to help. Make sure to do your research first of course, they're salespeople still and it's part of the business. If you're going in blindly of course they're gonna try to upsell, it's part of the gig. Just know your basics, ask the questions and get what you came for. Jam on. read more

Probably not the nicest Guitar Center I've ever been to but certainly one of the best when it comes to customer service Location This Guitar Center is located right across the street from the Northridge mall. The parking lot was surprisingly easy to navigate considering that it is right next to a ton of other small businesses. The inside seemed small to me in contrast to others. Due to their small store it seemed as if their stock was lacking. Service The staff was magnificent. The employee checking us in was awesome, the employee locating our item and placing our order was awesome (Kirsten), and the man letting us test out equipment was awesome. Overall Doesn't have the greatest amount of inventory and selection but they do help you place orders online and price match for the best deals, that is if you can wait that long. I'm without a doubt a fan. Tip Look for coupons they always have deals and specials running. They price match so take advantage of that. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

Today I wanted to buy a nice set of headphones, I know I am a very average costumer so I had high hopes someone would guide me to finding the right pair for my needs. What seems to be the issue is that there was only one person I was directed to and the man himself seemed very brief with his responses and I was about to buy a pair until I felt like I was talking to a wall. Highly disgcouraging as a customer to be needing help when the only guy who can help you seems jaded as hell, and isn't that engaged in helping the customer. read more