Writing this first bit while waiting in line outside, and I just have to compliment the gentleman who keeps coming out to keep us informed! The limited capacity is nothing new with this whole whole Covid situation, but I haven't been anywhere else where a staff member comes outside so frequently just to assure us they're doing their best to keep the wait at a minimum. Haven't even been inside yet but I'm very impressed with the customer service so far haha. Thank you, mystery employee! Got inside and it was very clean and organized. Even though they were rather short-staffed, an employee came to help me right away and directed me to what I needed. I was in and out in probably 5 minutes and got exactly what I came there for. The product is in perfect packaged condition so if any problems happen once I use it, that's not really their fault. So overall, great experience! read more

Rude customer service in the pro audio dept. Evan I'm not your bro, I bout that mackie mixer from your specifically and said nothing about an activation or lack there of. What I did do was purchase the extended warranty since supposedly there's nothing you can after 45 days. Now how I am supposed to use a product to which there is no activation you can help me out with. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. I have easily purchase 3000 dollars worthy of merchandise from guitar center. Something told me to purchase my Apollo twin x elsewhere and I glad I did. You guys need more professional in ur depts. gone are the days of service the Sunset location provided. Used to be a staple in the musician community. Now it's whack like a kiosk in a mall. read more

This goes out to their guitar tech, Ricardo. I was previously going to the Glendora location for all of my guitar repair and set up needs, and without saying any names, the outcomes haven't been satisfactory to say the least this past year... Don't get me wrong though, the employees are all very nice. I decided to look at other places to take my guitar that weren't going to cost me an arm and a leg and came across the reviews for Ricardo at the Pasadena location and I can honestly the dude is as professional as they come and completely solved ongoing issues i was having with one of my guitars his first shot at it! I cannot thank him enough for bringing out the best in my guitar and putting my resentment for it to an end. I definitely will be going to him from now on. Plus the selection of gears better, haha. read more

Terrible service and low inventory makes it a drag to go to. Phone ringing with no one answering it.

Good selection, and a staff that is trying their best to make things work during covid. I came here just to get guitar strings and an adaptor for my guitar cable and also ended up buying a capo and picks. Seems like they have a decent selection of guitars and other equipment. Masks are required and they are sanitizing between shifts. Whoever the manager was seemed like a nice person, and their staff was on top of trying to help if you look lost. Not as spacious as some guitar centers, but they make up for that with smart placement and judicious use of space. Definitely would come back. read more

We came in looking for a few small items. We wound up having an older guitar tuned while we were here! Great service & great advice! Thank you!! read more

Well, I wasted an hour of my life trying to get someone to help me buy a stand for my hang drum at this store. The store is woefully understaffed and low on stock. I used to come here all the time, and have spent lots of money here, but for the last five years this place has gone steadily downhill. No service, minimal gear and just an overall vibe of neglect. It's too bad, as I like to support brick and mortar stores... looks like I will continue buying my gear online from another company. Well, my new hand pan stand arrived from another company...and it was $70 dollars LESS than what Guitar Center Pasadena was asking for the stand on the sales floor...the one that NOBODY would help me buy. So...thanks for ignoring me Guitar Center! You saved me money by turning me towards another seller. read more

I came the other day with a friend, who is looking to buy a drum set. I have been to the Guitar Center in Hollywood, which is huge compared to this one. This place is smaller scale, however, the selections of keyboards, guitars, drum sets, amplifiers appeared to be well stock. Staff here are nice. I like that they are not hovering over you. They have great store hours and parking is free. I was happy to learn that they do equipment repairs, offer lessons and you can rent their equipment. How cool is this? I guess if you ever wanted to be in a band, you can start one by renting equipment and trying it out at home We end up leaving without purchasing anything. It appears we will have to go to the Hollywood site to look at the drum set he wants. Overall, an ok experience. read more

I feel sorry for the few employees that still work there. They are the ones that have to deal with the upset customers who have to stand in long lines just to get some help or have a question answered. No one answers the phone anymore. You have a better chance of getting through the line when calling the DMV. Had to wait in line for 30 minutes just to have the one employee working the register open up the pedal cabinet so that I can try out a few pedals. Saw one that I liked, over $200 but then saw the line at the register and said never mind and left the store. Guitar Center Hollywood - all I can say is WOW! Totally night and day compared to Pasadena. Customer service the way I remembered. Awesome. Drove about an hour in traffic to Hollywood just to get a Strymon and didn't mind it one bit. GC Pasadena, get rid of your rude managers and hire more floor people. You can get two floor people by getting rid of one rude manager. Just sayin. read more

I don't know if it's just me or this Pasadena location, but they don't seem to acknowledge Black ppl...I could be overthinking it, but I've come to this location a good amount of times, and their service is horrible. I walked in to check out some new recording gear to potentially purchase, and out of the 6 employees I saw, including security, NO ONE greeted me. No one said anything to me. Or my wife. Not one person. I kept getting odd looks as if I wasn't wanted or my presence was an annoyance to them. Again, I could be overreacting, but I purposely talked shit about the service being terrible out loud to my wife, right next to an employee at the register, and nothing. No response, no concern, not even a look. Smh. Fuck this location and it's staff as a whole. I'll just continue giving Sweetwater my patronage. read more

I want to thank Ricardo for helping me to find a great and affordable guitar. He helped me to choose a Fender guitar and it works great for my worship team lessons. Very knowledgeable staff. Highly recommended! read more

You have to answer the phone during business hours, not doing so is totally unacceptable. I called 4 times from 11am to 12pm and let the phone ring for over 3 minutes each time!!!!! F#^k Guitar Center!!!! read more

Staff is slow, dont really seem to care. A lot of stuff out of stock. Wouldn't recommend going here and I will not be back.

I've been to guitar centers all over the country and this one is the worst. I've come here a few times since I moved about half way between this store and the Hollywood store, and it's been a bad experience every time. This time, I was returning a $100 snake, which I came here to buy because they told me it was $60. Once I came here, I didn't really have time to go to a different store to get a better price so I had to get it. I ultimately ended up using different cables, so I came here to return it, which took about 20 minutes because the dude in the recording section couldn't figure it out, and the "manager" ultimately said I could only get partially cash and partially the return would be in the form of a gift card because for some reason the receipt said I used a gift card (I didn't). He continued to insist I used a gift card. I said I didn't. He said I did (I didn't). Anyway I don't have time for this shit. Never coming back to this store. Their inventory is super weak anyway.. barely any synths or recording equipment of any use. I'd rather go to Hollywood. read more

So I bought a Gretch hollow body via internet sale. The salesman were so helpful. I don't understand the pricks with their low reviews. I have never gotten bad service or advice. Their lessons are kind of expensive but whatever! One star reviews and their no talent asses haters gonna hate. read more

I've recently started visiting the Pasadena store to check out used gear, and it's always been a positive experience. When trading in an amp, the staff was friendly and the process was easy. I also picked up a floor model Squier tele from the store earlier this year and the employee who rang it up offered to grab a new one still in the box from their warehouse. I'm glad we have a large guitar store like this in Pasadena. read more

The employees of this store have most definitely found a way to ignore phone calls entirely. I've been trying to get through for 2 weeks straight, and I called them almost 20 times today. You'd think they'd have time to answer on a Monday at noon, but I guess not. read more

Great customer service, they let you look at stuff before you buy, so you can make sure nothing is damaged or open box. Bring in items you don't want, they give you a fair trade in / cash offer. Otherwise post it online. Always got the Moogs setup to play. I have a blast waiting and looking around. Overall chill experience. read more

I came here with my girlfriend to get some help with a last minute task. Despite the pre-Christmas pandemonium, we were very happy with the help we received from the employees. Everyone was friendly and was sure to ask if we had any questions or if we needed help with anything. We were helped by Miguel who was fantastic in every possible way. We are definitely not your typical music students but Miguel was so helpful and patient in assisting us. He was nice, professional, incredibly knowledgeable and went above and beyond to assist us. I was truly impressed by his genuine willingness to be of help to us, despite our obvious novice nature. Anyway, Miguel and the team really made an amazing first impression so for that, they earned new loyal customers. read more

This is an overwhelming place to walk into. I was in the piano department looking at keyboards for about 20 min with no sales contact. I went to a cash register and found 4 sales people chatting with each-other. One man was an excellent salesman. Perhaps he was a manager. He was able to show me a good set up for what I was trying to do. He educated me on the features, and he showed me the place where we could take lessons. I noticed that the teacher we saw smoking marijuana outside was a key teacher on Saturdays. He was obviously very talented as I saw him playing on a high level synth/keyboard. I'm leery about to having my kids learning from someone buzzed. I won't be getting lessons there. Too loud of an environment for a kid on the spectrum and I might as well have all my kids learn from the same place. I might return and buy a keyboard. I'm not sure. read more

5 stars for Evan. Super helpful, patient, attentive, a real bummer to drag him into this. (Dillon is great too, nothing against these guys) 1 stars for not being able to use my Traktor S2 when I got home as the serial number has already been used. In fairness, this unit was open-box, which means someone else had purchased and then returned it. I checked the physical wear of the unit, seemed fine. Knowing full well how difficult it is to get ahold of NI, I took the chance that the previous owner had not used the serial, rookie mistake. Of course, the serial had been used. That being said, the customer should not have to deal with hunting down another serial, right? - infinity stars for NI. Nothing new here, but how long will it take for me to get my new serial, perhaps 3 weeks, which is longer than my return window at GC. You can tell I am in a weird, and totally unnecessary, pickle. - 1 star guitar center corporate. Called them to see if there was an extra traktor 3 software serial lying around(at corporate HQ). Believe it or not, they did not have one. Crazy lack of business to business relations here, almost embarrassing. - What I am likely going to do: Purchase a Traktor S4, take serial number, and return Traktor S4 (perhaps even all in store). Super lame of me to do for the next customer, but this shouldn't be my problem. I purchased a used unit (somewhat of a favor on my part), that I cannot use.... Or I might just return everything. Either way, will likely not give GC my business in the future ever again. Traktor is available for same price at Amazon, as well as the cables I purchased. - What GC could do to make this better. Call me, give me a serial number from the S4 box. Saves GC staff time, saves me time, no driving(eco friendly), etc... Do this and I will change my review to 5 stars, promise! I was in earlier today, spoke with both Evan and Dillon, my phone number starts with 530, I'm sure it's in your system. read more

As a lefty I don't get to purchase many guitars from here, but it's one of my favorite places to take my guitars to get work done. Both Ricardo and Jael are truly brilliant techs. Experienced and fast in both diagnosing and servicing your instrument. Can't recommend them enough. read more

Everyone here has been super helpful and friendly to my friend and I who are newbies to making music. Last time we were there Pedro helped us with tech and got us easily set up super fast. We are grateful to him it allowed us to start our journey! read more

To start off, I have never purchased anything from a guitar center. BUT now I know I will not shop here again. It all started when I was in need of a clarinet tip and I went to the store looking to see if the have it in stock. Turned out they didn't have it and they said we can order it. I agreed to order since I needed it by a certain date and asked for 1 day air shipping on BOTH (clarinet & a ligature)the products I was interested in purchasing. The guy who helped me was cool we talked and he said, "yeah man your all taken care of it will definitely be here by the the day you need it" (Thursday) ordered (Monday)@ 4:00. The guy who was helping told me that my order will be processed Tuesday and will be here by Wednesday latest, therefore I agreed to pay extra and get the products. Wednesday I received the ligature and the clarinet tip was still in process I called ups and was told that only 1 item was under 1 day shipping. THATS NOT ALL Main reason for this review is that Wednesday night@ 8:30 I was told that one store had it in San Dimas and the guy was holding the SAME product I was looking for. BUT they closed at 9pm (30min). I hauled all the way there and it was not the right product. I went back and told them about the situation and was refunded the shipping(16) + $10 off a $180 order and missed out on my performance Thursday due to carelessness. Store made me go throw a long process making me get out my way because of lack of communications! Not happy with what I went threw. DEFINITELY NOT A PLACE TO GO TO IF U REALLY NEED SOMETHING BY A CERTAIN DATE. read more

Guitar Center - These are the shipping details - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Pasadena, California

When I saw that this store has bad reviews, I was hesitant to come to it. Now after coming and speaking with the manager, SCOTT SMITH, I understand why. I had a horrible customer experience and the manager was not very respectful and not willing to help in any way. Manager didn't want to match a price for a guitar, when I left the store I called to Guitar Center online and they helped me in a blink of an eye! Buyers BEWARE of this store and this terrible manager with poor customer service skills!!! read more

This is my story, heed it well: I found something I was interested in this store that was a good deal, it was a used acoustic guitar preamp. This was on 5/15. I paid IN FULL and they told me I couldn't pick it up until 6/11 because of the "pawn shop law", where they hold used items for 30 days in case it's stolen. I drove to pick it up on 6/26 because I had been out of town since 6/12. And THEY HAD SOLD IT TO SOMEONE ELSE and they DID NOT EVEN CALL ME. If you have a 30 DAY pick-up policy, it should be 30 days from the date it's available to pick up. Manager offered me zero compensation for my wasted time. Will never be coming here again, except to squeeze maximum value from my String Club card, and even then I'll go to the Monterrey Park store. I read the GC will soon go out of business and THAT CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH. read more

Purchased a Nita Strauss guitar here. Paid the $1500+tax thinking I was getting a brand new guitar. Got the box home, opened it up and pieces were missing everywhere. Took it back to the store and they told me the guitar wasn't new, but a customer returned unit. So why sell it as new? Got my money back and went to Sam Ash and actually got a brand spanking new guitar from them. Not some customer return, with missing pieces. Go to Sam Ash or Sweetwater if you don't want to be ripped off by these cowboys. read more

I am writing this review a little bit late, but around holidays I received some incredible customer service from Patrick Dos Santos. As a novice shopping for a guitar was daunting, but Patrick's approachable and welcoming nature made me forget about that and remember the passion that brought me in. He was very knowledgeable, and generous with that knowledge. He helped me find the perfect guitar and I'm enjoying it more and more everyday! Thank you. read more

I don't know where to start. First I'll start with inventory. The shelves are usually pretty empty and very disorganized. I understand you try to put employees in their respective specialized field, but my honest opinion I feel like no one at this particular guitar center is an expert in anything. I compare it to surf shops. Back in the day you had shapers running the shop now it's all about an image and no depth in what you're trying to sell. It's difficult to find someone to help you unless you're buying a $10,000 guitar then you'll be bumped to front of the line. I miss the old days when guys would genuinely want to get you out the door with exactly what you needed with the right price. Not anymore! I will say the Guitar Centers in Sherman Oaks, Hollywood, and Monterey Park are all worth the drive compared to this one , unfortunately for me this one is only 2 miles away, but lately I've been going out of my way to Monterey Park just for the service and inventory. read more

They always have what i need. Im not very knowledgeable when it comes to music gear but these guys know it all and they're always helpful.

Joey at the Pasadena location was very helpful. I came in before one of the biggest gigs of my career this week today; he was very helpful and patient in explaining how everything connected, signal flow, etc. I purchased the Harbinger m-100 PA system (2 speakers and a mixer). I appreciated it very much!! Hint- order your stuff online so you can just be in and out. read more

Got my guitar restrung here. The employee was professional, fast, and savvy. I'd definitely come here again for quick repairs. Thank you guitar center. read more

We absolutely love this place, if you're going to Guitar Center Pasadena, you have to see Brian M...What an awesome employee, he really made our experience memorable for our daughter. He took the time to make sure our daughter had the best experience possible. Thank you Brian and thank you guitar center. read more

This store has been a class act during Covid-19. I've bought quite a bit of stuff on the GC website, mostly used gear. Some of these items weren't quite what I expected, and this store handled the returns promptly and smoothly. Everyone that I have dealt with there has been professional and courteous. Social distancing is being taken seriously at this store too. I can't ask for more than that. Thanks, and keep it up! read more

Brian helped me with my online order pickup yesterday. It was a used 4x10 ultra light bass cab. I asked if we could plug it in to make sure all the speakers worked after it being shipped from store to store and Brian was all for it in making sure I was happy with my purchase. He plugged in the cab and it worked just fine then he helped wheel my cab to my vehicle. Great service. Thank you guitar center Pasadena and thank you, Brian! read more

Kysara at Guitar Center Pasadena was great helping me figure out which studio monitors and stand to purchase. I was all over the place changing my mind 10 times and she was so professional and patience while working and helping me. read more

I never make Yelp reviews, but I was so pleased with the service I received from Evan. He helped me with an online order and was very patient with me and all of my questions. He's very personable and gave great insight on the interfaces I was looking for. It was such a pleasure to be serviced by him. read more

This place has good service, nice people, and everything is always neat and put in order (I have never had a bad experience in a Guitar Center). The instructors all seem very nice and passionate about their profession...hmm, not sure what else to say. Honestly, it makes me feel like a kid in a candy store when I walk into a Guitar Center. read more

Not going to do business here again. They tried to send me out of there with a clearly used interface. No confidence in your store.

I've been a customer of guitar center for approx 18 years and I used to love coming here when they weren't so corporate and really cared about taking care of their customers. I would walk into a guitar center always to be greeted with a sweet person and then having a rep come and ask me if I need anything and always try working with you on pricing if you're on a budget, even to the point of lowering prices of the item. Over the past 4-5 years, it seems they've lost this. Guitar Center has become so corporate that they wont adjust pricing, they barely even have a rep come by and ask if there is anything you need. It seems like its all about a numbers game. Commission based sales reps that care about consistent returning customers or customers that are big spenders. Their service is not even close to what it used to be. Here is a funny story... So I used to spend thousands of dollars back in the day when I used to play shows consistently and they would ALWAYS give me a price break! 3 packs of strings - $10 out the door, $500 guitar for $400 out the door, etc... So as I stopped playing shows, I went through a phase where I didn't really need to go to GC. I went once in a blue moon, and this was during the phase that they became so 'corporate'. So we needed something for our church and I went to the Percussion department and wanted a good deal, just like I would always have. Well the sales rep says "sorry... sale is final. No one can touch prices..." WHAT?! lol You're crazy... I wanted to see a manager! They can practically do anything! So they call a manager and I explain to him that I always get deals AND its for a church, etc, and turns and says "do you walk into best buy and try to get them to lower pricing? NO. So just like best buy doesn't lower pricing... we don't lower pricing." What the heck?! Screw that! I went to the Hollywood location and got someone to lower the price for me and went my way. First off... a manager should be respectful, not an A-hole. Second... GC is NOT best buy. You are Guitar Center. Best Buy never worked with their customers the way guitar center did in the past. But its come to GC being corporate rather than customer focused and thats it. They think they are the musicians best buy, but not in my eyes. I understand they make money, but there should be some heart into working with their customers. Im not typically impressed by GC, and if I were, it would be the Hollywood one. They have nicer people and larger selection. Pasadena is getting a little better in service, but I don't even think they are close to where they should be. This is my come to place if I need anything only due to location and selection, but in all honesty, because of my past experiences, I don't really look forward to coming to GC anymore. As much as I love GC, the people have totally left a bad taste in my mouth... read more