Well, like another reviewer stated, this place is good in a pinch. They have crappy, limited options for products and some of the worst customer service I've ever witnessed/experienced in my life. The "sales" men won't give you eye contact and it takes at least 10 mins of appearing annoyed before someone decides to mosey on over to help you. Go to the Gilbert store or order online if you want to buy from GC. read more

Crappy customer service! No greeting, no help. Passed 4-5 employees, nothing. Way to make people feel welcome, and it was dead in the store. Come guys a simple hello would suffice, left the store without "thanks for stopping in". Been shopping GC for years. Thinking of buying elsewhere, online, spend my money some where else. read more

Bought a $800 Taylor acoustic on New Years Eve. They had two in stock. I picked my favorite of the two and asked the salesman to have the luthier adjust the neck. The luthier didn't use the proper tools and twisted a nut driver with a ratchet wrench, ultimately denting the headstock faceplate. I then settled for the second guitar, and was given a gig bag with paperwork for another model, and was much too tight on the guitar. The guitar was stuffed into the gig bag to the point I was concerned for damage. I questioned the salesman but he mention they're all tight. I opted not to have the luthier not touch the second one even though the neck needed tightening. All in all, not the expert help I was expecting. read more

We bought a couple guitars and amps from here. They're pretty knowledgeable about their products and the prices are okay. I dont like that if you return something they won't give cash back when you paid with cash. They either will give you a gift card or put it back on a debit card which takes a week to see it come back to you. I'm sure we'll be back. read more

I've been saying it for years but guitar center has a serious issue with customer service and their stores... I went to guitar center today looking for a 18 inch crash cymbal for my drum kit... It was a good 10 minutes plus before someone even ask me if I needed help which has been a constant complaint of mine regarding guitar center and their lack of sales people on the floor, and asking if you need help with anything. So the girl that help me in the drum room was somewhat friendly I know unhooking the cymbals from the wall and putting them on the kit for me to test it's probably not the most fun chore but it's part of the sales effort. Overall she was OK it was another girl who work at the store it looks like in the lessons area , She had a red shirt on it was sitting at the lessons desk when I came out, and while I was talking to this lady about the different cymbals, She saw me playing a drum kit, was just playing and started disassembling it even though I was trying out different symbols. It was super rude I had to be like "excuse me can you not do that I'm trying to sample different cymbals to buy?". I just don't get why the sales people at guitar center have a serious attitude and it hasn't just been this one location I reviewed three or four guitar centers and they all have the same issue the only reason I'm giving 2 stars because the girl was kind of helpful in the drum room, it was the other lady that ruined it. I mean seriously who does that? You see someone trying out symbols on the drum kit and while they get up to go talk to somebody for a second she started disassembling the drum kit I was just playing!!! read more

My background: Professional musician. Keyboardist. Play in a band and solo gigs. Pros: 1. GC is a 'hands-on' environment. You can play the gear without asking permission or getting dirty looks from the staff as in many music stores. (This fact also has a downside--see below) 2. Comprehensive--not exhaustive--selection. I'm a keyboardist, and the selection of boards is quite good. Audio/PA gear selection is decent but not great. I can't speak for drums, guitars, etc. The well-heeled, extremely discriminating buyers probably won't find all of the high-end gear they're looking for but that obviously isn't the target demographic for this mostly mid-level establishment. 3. Friendly, helpful staff. As many times as I've been in the Tempe store, I don't recall ever encountering a staffer with a bad attitude or even that was pushy. Knowledge level varies, but many of these folks are musicians and try their best to be helpful. 4. Price matching. First of all, for those reviewers who have complained about the high prices, please be aware that GC will price match pretty much any other seller, including those on the Net. When I've decided on a piece of gear, I do a web search on the make and model and get the lowest price. Then I go to GC (or, as the case may be, I might already be there, having done my web search on my smartphone), tell the salesperson that if they match the web price I will make a purchase, and then walk out with the item. Not once have they failed to price match. I pay no attention to the price tags or promotional sales--the real price is the lowest price on the Net, period. GC makes most of their money on moving a high quantity of merchandise, not on high profit margins. 5. Convenience. The Tempe store is just a mile from the freeway and is open til 9pm. I don't mind buying gear off the web but it's nice to just drive to the store and take it home. I've also been bailed out by GC in emergency situations where I realize that a piece of equipment is malfunctioning or missing and I need to replace it just before going on stage. Cons: 1. As mentioned above, GC is a hands-on store, and that unfortunately means--as other reviewers have pointed out--that you're subject to a lot of noise while shopping. Especially, it seems, terrible metal wannabe guitarists and, in the keyboard section, would-be composers playing with sequencers. When demoing a keyboard, I always either ask a salesman to borrow a set of headphones (they always accommodate me), or I bring my earbuds so I can tune out the tinkerers. 2. Items on the showroom floor are not always in stock. If you already know what you want, it's a good idea to call ahead to verify that it's actually in the store. GC is not a high-end, mom-and-pop store. And, yes, it unfortunately has likely put some independent stores out of business. The flip side is that it has a far greater inventory and selection than most independents (this includes Milano's, mentioned by one other reviewer. Don't get me wrong--I love Milano's and the folks there. It's a great store, especially for sheet music, band equipment, and PA rentals. But the selection of professional gear is nowhere near that of GC, understandably.) If you approach GC understanding what it is, you'll find that the concept is fairly well executed and the staff is friendly and helpful. read more

Had my bass set up, cleaned, and restrung. Very impressed with the quality of service and the final outcome. It looks and plays like a brand new instrument. read more

I love this place! They sell way more than guitars. The pro audio section is very good, and the thing I like the most is that the workers actually know what they are talking about. read more

Yeah, I love going in to look at the equipment and see what's new. The salespeople are okay but can be oblivious at times. The prices are a bit high and you can often find the same thing on Amazon for less. But if you need something in a crunch or just want to check things out, this is a good music store to do it. read more

I have angrily said this before, but this time I have made a conscious decision not to shop at Guitar Center. Why you may ask? Well let me tell you why! At the Tempe location I tried a used Guild Starfire III guitar without case for $1500. It was nice, played well, a little scuffed, but okay. But $1500? That seemed extremely high. I checked Zzounds and Sweetwater to see if they sold a brand new Starfire and to my delight they did. Not only did they sell the guitar, but it came with a hard shell case and was $1100. Also, easy payments available as well. I checked Ebay for used Starfire III guitars. There were dozens, all in the $850 price range. These also included cases. I went back to Guitar Center in Tempe and asked about at least making somewhat of a price attempt. The salesman stated they already paid $1000 for the guitar and couldn't lose money. At this point I know that this man and Guitar Center itself is an outright liar! Guitar Center, who makes it a practice to rip off musicians on their trade in value on a daily basis, would not buy a guitar at the brand new price. Now now, not ever. As all of us here can attest, they usually pay 35 cents on the dollar for used gear. They offer very unfair values for used equipment. To say that the manager didn't do the due diligence to fund out the price of a used guitar in the market is absolute ludicrous! It is their business to rip off musicians and then jack the price at near brand new prices. Every used guitar there is at best $50 cheaper than the new model. Because of Guitar Center's lack of integrity in their business dealings, I will no longer be making any purchases with them. They are shady, crooked, and out to rip people off of their hard earned money, for which every day we are having less and less money to splurge with. I'll wait and get a mail order guitar. Or I will go to the local little shops in the area. There are plenty! Good bye Guitar Center. 15 years of theft is long enough! read more

This place has treated me like crap for 20 years' even though I spent maybe 20 grand their. They sell used stuff for as close to knew prices as possible, and they really don't have cool amp heads knew anymore. The help doesn't seem to care that much. Its just not a cool place anymore, and the knew stuff is poorly made and overpriced. They were great once but now.....................:( read more

Back in Michigan, Guitar Center was about 5 minutes away from my house. I used it as a safe-haven from the world; a place to relax my mind. Straight to the keyboard room I would go...and I'd remain there for hours. Getting to play around on the cutting edge boards and gadgets was grade-A stress relief for me, and it sort of erased any kind of bad day at work or home. I wasn't aware that there was a Guitar Center in AZ until a guy at a music store told me. I've been there frequently since. At any store, customer service is the number one thing for me. This location has great staff who are willing and actually look forward to helping. I've found that some sales associates in various stores lose interest in you once they find out you're not really going to buy anything. Regardless of commission. But the people at this Guitar Center are friendly, conversational (yeah, its a word), helpful, and knowledgeable. I recently asked about some discounted studio monitors and ended up in a good 10 minute conversation that yielded some awesome information and stuff that I didn't know. Also just yesterday I sat down trying to compare some drum machines, and an associate (Bob) came over and went through each of them with me, and actually seemed to be enjoying himself. That is the kind of customer service that makes you want to come back again and again. Another point I'd like to make about the staff is that they don't mind you coming in and just farting around with the gear. They don't have that 'buy something or get out' attitude, which is an attitude that makes me want to cause physical harm. So yeah, staff gets an A+. The set-up of the store is a bit cluttered. But this isn't their fault, the building is tiny. There is, however, enough room to do whatever it is you want to do, whether it be mess around with stuff or actually shop. You might bump into a few folks, but so what. I have only briefly ventured into the drum section and I will say that it is set up nicely. My place of choice is the keyboard room, though. It is a bit more cluttered than the rest of the place, but its not going to hender your experience. They also have a small assortment of used equipment which the budget-minded musician (aka- the broke musician) can really clean up with. Not to mention a no-hassle lay-away (15% down), and really cool associates who will 'put stuff aside' for you. Prices? Same as any other place. Haven't done any haggling so I don't if you can make deals. I love this store, and more particularly, this location. I've had a bad experience with the one on Gratiot back in Michigan....but that was a long time ago and far, far away. Oh, and if all music terminology sounds like jibberish to you, these guys WILL be patient, helpful and understanding. You can't ask for anything more. read more

Went in to exchange a china cymbal I purchased some months back. Couldn't find my receipt, but I know all my transactions are on file. Lucy helped me out, well not really, but she assisted in the process briefly. I gave her my information and informed her my purchase was within the past year. It could have been longer but I know she didn't look past that because she searched for a whole 2-3 min and said she couldn't find anything, sorry and that was that. Really? So I'm SOL? My big toe gives better customer service and I was dealing the customer service manager. So I left with my cracked cymbal having no idea where my money that went into a warranty went, no idea of anything really, left confused and agitated. Will NEVER buy from this company again. If they can't figure out the transaction history I'll track my own with online purchases. Because there are one of two options I can gather from this: Lucy hates her job and didn't care to really find a solution to how my warranty was nowhere to be found. Or when I purchased my warranty someone dropped the ball on something and I didn't find out until now. Either way it's crap. And please don't reply to me telling me to forward my own complaint to someone in your own company. Your lazy practices bleed down to your customer service managers. Take some initiative and figure out the problem as if you cared. read more

First time at the Elliot GC. Went to get a quote on my guitar. I was helped immediately. Employees asked if I needed any help while I was waiting for them to look over the guitar and seemed eager to help or answer any questions while I waited. Didn't end up taking the quote I received but my experience in the store was anything but disappointing and I really appreciated the time and effort they took to help me. read more

I was looking for a book. It said they had it online but not how many. I was hoping for 2. Well they had one. You ask an employee and with dead eyes they just shrug. Like sorry you wasted your trip but I am not going to lift a finger to see if other locations have them. I am officially just going to buy it all on Amazon and let the local business die in flames. If you won't even try why should I? read more

I have bought 4 guitars here in the past 6 years and 1 acoustic bass. They all sound excellent aside from the Ibanez acoustic dreadnought. There were a lot of muted notes up higher on the fretboard. I can't complain too much because it was originally a $400 guitar that was price at $100 for their Labor Day special that they throw every year. That's where I got my Fender acoustic for $200, which was originally $800. Plus they have an extensive line of strings and parts if you are in need of repairing something. Personally I have never checked out anything other than their guitar section, but they also have other rooms with drum equipment and tons of stuff for DJ's and music production. read more

Have purchased numerous items from this location. Staff has always been very helpful in assisting in selecting the right components to meet my requirements. Have purchased musical instruments sound equipment and stage lighting. Have obtained very good pricing on all of my purchases. read more

This place has been really good to me! The Tempe location is spot on! I'm against huge corporate places like the majority of people posting on here but here's the thing -- I went to a mom and pop shop and I was nearly scammed! They had no problem taking my money and sending me on my way with a piece of crap guitar. Tempe GC hooked me up, no pressure to buy, no hassle refunds or exchanges. Nice guys, great used gear! read more

When Pro-Coverage gave me the run around for a couple of weeks, I finally came into the store and Kyle came through! Thanks again for the help! Highly recommend this location for all your audio needs! read more

Willie, I went to the pro audio department here and KYLE was excellent...he always answers all my questions, and when I have a problem he gets to the bottom of it!!!!! Honesty wouldn't go to any other store again!!!! - thanks 100% KYLE read more

My fiancé (who holds a degree in music performance and now working on a masters degree in music performance) came to this location looking for a Dr. Beat power cord. The incompetent sales associate attempted to explain to her that the Boss PSA Adapter was only for a guitar pedal. Any educated musician should be cringing at this. She walked out of the store crying because of how rude he was to her. I hope they have since fired this fool but we'll never find out since we now boycott this location and actively encourage other musicians to place their business elsewhere. read more

Within the last 5 months I have purchased two new guitars, an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and an Epiphone Masterbuilt DR 500 MCE A/E. Both were in need of some basic neck adjustments that I probably should have done at the time of purchase but I didn't want to pay extra for or leave at the store for days waiting my turn. I decided to bite the bullet today and take them both into this location expecting to be guitarless for a week or so. The tech, Will, adjusted both guitars on the spot while I watched him so I know how to do it next time. Best part, he didn't even charge me. Two guitars on the spot for free. I will definitely be coming back to this location for service and future purchases. Thanks Will, you rock! read more

I only bought strings but the guy gave me a discount because of the quantity. Wasn't expecting that. But the checkout "line" is a complete cluster eff read more

The guys were great, super friendly and very helpful. Very upbeat attitude and chatty. Had a great experience!

Nick Conte, Store Manager Guitar Center - Tempe 1245 W. Elliot Road, Ste. 115 Tempe, AZ 85284 Re: Recent guitar purchase experience Well met, Nick. I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for the customer-driven culture you have developed at your location. My numerous visits to your store over the past few years have left me with this positive impression and my most recent experience with Mauricio Lombo prompted me to put it in writing. Background: After nearly a month of broken promises and excuses, Rich Beck (Beck's Guitar Specialty Services) ultimately fouled-up a bridge replacement job which rendered my Washburn acoustic/electric unplayable. Obviously, I was left with the wrong kind of "axe" to grind. After that kind of loss, I admit to being cautious about finding the right replacement within a budget I hadn't planned for. Fortunately, I seem to have found redemption in the Fender acoustic I purchased through Mauricio last week. I was messing around with one of the used Yamahas you had in stock when Mauricio recommended the new Fender acoustic. The tone is surprisingly bright, the pitch stays true even with hopping to and from unconventional tunings, and the overall sound is great for the acoustic rock chords and arpeggios I'm drawn to. Perhaps just as important, I appreciated the way in which Mauricio was attentive without being smothering while patiently waiting for me to draw my own conclusions. I will definitely keep you guys in mind when I once again have the skill and resources to "move up". For me, and I imagine many musicians, music is a huge outlet for embracing the joy and working through the struggles in life. I didn't want the opportunity to pass by without giving credit to the people you've hired who understand this. Thanks again, Victor read more

Another big monstrosity of a company where you stand around for ever looking for help until you have to break down and ask, them you get someone that's pre-occupied and has no time for you. Shouldn't be that way on a Wednesday morning when the store isn't that busy. read more

Went to the store to ask for a simple string replacement and strap buttons. Nobody could give a price quote for such a simple service, only the technician could. Two techs had recently left the company but another was hired and should be coming in at 3:00, (on a Saturday :-( :-( ). Left guitar, was told that tech would call with price quote...never heard back. Day later went to pu guitar and look elsewhere. I am happy that I did. The staff at Guitar Center aren't very knowledgeable and lack professionalism. The company is too corporate. The customer service rep took 15 minutes to locate my guitar which I saw around the corner. He kept coming out to ask me the same questions that he had already asked about the description which also had my name on it. UNREAL!! Never waste the customers time and learn about what you are selling!! Overpriced on most everything there after checking around. Look for locally owned like we did and you will get honest customer service with personal attention, better quality products, much better pricing and people who are passionate about and understand the business!! read more

This is my first Yelp and probably my last. Tempe Guitar Center on Elliot is pretty much worthless. Tried to buy a used amp, the front face came off while the store clerk was handling it, wanted to negotiate with price, they gave me a big bunch of bull about how it's policy to not negotiate even though that's all they do there. Do Not Buy from this store. The manager doesn't understand customer service. I asked to talk to him about the amp and he handed me off. Wow. But that's what I expect from 20 something's... Side note, there are good people here. I have been dealing with one gentleman that had been top notch. With that being said I will not be going to the Tempe Elliot location anymore and probably not any other guitar centers. Why should I buy a used amp for $350 when I can go online and buy it for $360 brand-new. I just wish these guys would use some common sense and realize brick-and-mortar is on its way out and they need to cater to the loyal customers that still come in. Well, they lost another today. Buy local, buy local, buy local!!!!! read more

Once again Guitar Center proves to be an epic failure when it comes to customer service. The employees here are generally not friendly, unhelpful, and looking to make the sale even at the expense of selling you something that is not useful for your situation. When I went in there to look at a Taylor 314ce, all of a sudden I was treated very well. When I informed the salesman that I was just doing a/b comparisons, he was quick to leave even though I still had questions. Ya know what? I bought that guitar- but not from them. I bought that MOOG sub-37- but not from them. Same thing goes for a lot of other gear. They didn't want to let me hear the mother32 that someone returned- I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to do. I will continue to shop here for strings, cables, and picks(when they carry mine) though. You guys should invest more in your customers. Just because I don't buy something tight then and there, doesn't mean I'm not going to. read more

Wow what to say...horrible experience! Went in and to their credit they were a little busy, was there to purchase a pitch black guitar tuner they had...nothing incredible but definitely was purchasing not just looking. Was asked if I needed help by a female associate who dare I say is a not handling the pressure well. She was helping another gentlemen at the time with a pedal and said she'd help after assisting me and thanked me for being patient....that's as far as any professionalism went. She opened the case for the other gentlemen's pedal and could have just grabbed mine sitting right next to it and saved herself and me the rest of this experience...she then checked out the gentlemen then proceeded to help the next 3 cx who just walked through the door...she was talking so loud and acting so obnoxious due to the traffic I was embarrassed for guitar center. Needless to say she either forgot about me or didn't care. Needless to say I walked out after this. I once in my younger days helped manage a flagship store in Nashville after it opened. No way would I hire someone who would act like this...she was the main attraction of everyone's day, loud, overwhelmed and seriously just comical. Needless to say this store is poorly ran and managed. I cringe at the thought of going to guitar centers these days...the employees act like multi platinum selling artists and look shabby at best in their appearance. I hope they go the way of the dinosaur or replaced by a truly great competitor. Pathetic read more

If zero stars were a choice that is what I would give them. Bought a GC guitar cable there for $25. 1st time I used it found out the threads were stripped on the end and the cable was shorting out. Took it back expecting they would replace it - but no... They refused to replace it since I did not bring the reciept - and would not even look on the computer to see that I had bought it there - they just tried to sell me a high priced monster cable ripoff for $75. They would not even give me any credit at all for trade in so I could get a better cable. I asked the clerk to throw it in the trash for me and he said no he could not do that. I threw it in the trash in front of them and walked out - no words at all from the jerk manager. Wow, these guys know NOTHING about customer service (customer is always right - treat them right with total customer satisfaction and you have a loyal customer forever???) BTW, I had seen a new HSS strat in there that I was going to add to my collection for $1350 - but you can be damn sure I will not buy it from them. This is the 2nd time I have been belittled and disrespected in the elliot store. I bought a mackie p.a. from them and they would not work with me at all when I had electrical issues with it. I will go to MILANOS from now on - where you can always get personal service from a business that respects you. read more

Stopped in here to pick up some accessories. Waited at the counter for five minutes watching employees talking to each other, checking FaceBook, etc. In between, they had no problem seeing and helping male customers, but I apparently was invisible, STANDING RIGHT AT THE COUNTER WITH MY WALLET IN HAND. I thought about saying something, but I thought, I shouldn't have to remind employees to do their job. If this was my only experience being ignored at Guitar Center, and if countless female guitar-playing friends had not had the exact same experience, I would have been more inclined to say, "Hey, dude - I'd like to buy something." After all, why else would I be in a store? Even if I wasn't there to buy something, common sense should inform the employee to treat everyone who walks in the door as a potential buyer. But as always, my estrogen levels were too high to be recognized as a valid paying customer here. So I left. read more

Where do I begin. I had a bad experience with this location years ago and banned them on a personal level. Well after some time I mustered up the courage to go in there due to wanting to upgrade my instruments, it was a ok experience but the guitar salesman don't know customer service of sales skills. I wanted a low grade seven string and told them of that but they didn't care, I was not familiar with them being a six string fanatic. Well I had it for awhile and decided to go to a eight string, of course they knew it all and when I made my choice they weren't happy. I brought it back a few days later due to finding a different one online that I liked better. They couldn't refund my money and had to issue me a in store credit....wtf. That whole process took longer than expected but I got my guitar. Well a few days ago I went in and wanted to upgrade my distortion pedal. I wanted the metal core one and knew if I didn't like I could return. Well it was priced at one price and they sd due to it being a clearance item and vendor only they had to order. Well when it came time to ring it up it was higher priced, the salesman attempted to satisfy it but he called a supervisor over to adjust and he sd no only the vendor could do it and nothing else. Well I bought a cable and walked out pretty pissed off. I called the Mesa location to file a complaint and Tt the store manager. I told her what happened and how I was annoyed about it but nothing else. I wasn't asking for a discount or freebie, well she took it upon herself to order the pedal for me and do the price adjustment and had no issue doing it, all the while I wasn't intending to get it for that price but wanting to complain. To me that is going above and beyond for customer service and I will be doing my business at that location from low on. read more

I miss the Guitar Shop in Scottsdale. That was a real music store. I bought two Matchless amps back in the late 90's. They carried many different types of boutique amps and boutique pedals, the kind of gear that most serious musicians really buy. When was the last time you ever saw a Fulltone, Keeley, Klon, or Maxxon pedal at a Guitar Center? When was the last time you saw a Matchless or Victoria amp at Guitar Center, let alone 4 or them? Don't buy from Guitar Center, that would be like buying music from Walmart over Zia Records. They sell very low end crap and they treat their customers like they are idiots. Support the smaller music stores who actually care about what they sell and how they treat their customers. Support Milano's music and other local music shops. read more

For those of you who only read partial reviews--this review is about Guitar Center as a COMPANY and not this individual location. I admit that outright. I usually give 4s and 5s. I'm one of those people who has positive things to say about just about anywhere...but not here. Don't get me wrong--I have no problem with this individual location. I have been trying to order something site-to-store from the parent company website for three days. First, they advertised it as one price but as soon as it went into my cart it showed up as costing $100 more! Because of our timeline, I ordered the item. Well, Guitar Center must have a HUGE amount of fraud, because my credit card was instantly shut down (and I buy a lot of weird stuff, a lot of stuff online, spend money in different countries all the time, etc--this was NOT an expensive item, either).. WOW! So once I get that cleared up, I sent a screen shot of the original price--a price that I had confirmed via telephone with GC CS rep Preston. They "lost" my first screen shot. I re-sent it, and uploaded it to a server to provide them with a URL...so this time they couldn't lose it. All the while, EVERY agent asked me to call them on the phone to re-order. I went through a friend's affiliate link after they told me about GC, giving them appropriate credit for the sale--so this unscrupulous company was actually trying to get out of giving credit under the terms of their OWN affiliate program! So now they're claiming they have to cancel my order and I have to re-order via the phone, or they cannot honor their own coupon code. Well, the STORE might be just fine. I don't know. I didn't make it that far. But I can tell you that the parent operation is questionable. I'd rather give my business to a more ethical operation. Sorry, GC Tempe...4 kids and who knows how many more musical instruments, and GuitarCenter.com lost you my business. read more

I just now visited the store to inquire about a furniture stand for a discontinued digital piano. As much as I hate to say it, my experience with the sales associate was pathetic. He could not have seemed less interested in helping me find a fit for my piano, did not know answers to my questions, and despite my various approaches made no attempt to find out for me. "It could work, I guess" and "we don't accept returns on special orders" was about all I could get out of him. Not acceptable! The only reason why I'm giving this experience two stars instead of one is for the cheery young woman (with the bangs) at the entrance who at least tried to be helpful. I won't be back. read more

DO NOT TRUST what you see online when ordering gear. I went into the scottsdale GC last july and spent well over 2500$ on gear. 99% of it was used and being shipped in from all over the country. The only thing I bought new was a fender bass (which I ended up taking back before 30 days to trade in on a lower priced bass and ost my c*ck on it. While the kid who was helping me was a really good kid and polite he did his best to order the things I asked for but GC has the WORSE online picture & descriptions of gear in the world. I had 3 items that arrived and were not what I ordered. I ordered a 8ohm cab and a 4 ohm came in. I ended up keeping the 4ohm and ordered another 4 ohm and ow and behold a 8 ohm came in unbeknownst to me since I put to much faith n trust that it would be correct. I didnt inspect the cab until 2 months later when I took it to the first band rehearsal and noticed while setting it up at the studio . It was too late to take it back AGAIN wld of been my 5th trip from mesa to straighten out the mess so i just sold it on CL. The the Ampeg SVT 4 I ordered was faulty - a 2006 model (transitional year for Ampeg) and it had a pcb that was garbage -cold solder joints etc . Ampeg since fixed the problem by redesigning the pcb altogether but dont honor sending a replacement to customers who have the 2006 yr model tht are pure sh*t. So overall my experience was a fuc*in nightmare . I chatted online w a GC csr to complain about the shi*ty pics n descriptions and she was rude and kept sending warnings to me to end the chat if I kept up my language . Hey I spent $2500 to get crap i didnt order it would of taken 5 trips up n back to str8n it out . so after her last warning I couldnt help but to ask her for a slow deep BJ in the restroom for all my trouble- she disconnected -- That GC sucks nutz hairy ones with pimples on em.. read more

I would say this place is like a playground for me, definitely a heaven for musicians. They carry all the instruments from guitars, drums, harmonicas, bass, tamborine, keyboards, even DJ equipment and most surprisingly they even have lightings and disco balls which I find hilarious cause I always wanna have one for my bedroom (well probably one day..). My first impression when I walk into the store is finding how noisy it is, probably because all the customers can try out the instrument with amplifier and just play it right on the spot, if we are lucky enough, we would hear a really good music coming out from all that amplifier, but most likely every time I go there, I always find people who try out their instruments like they are having a rock concert, banging and strumming it out loud (if you are having a headache, stomachache or toothache definitely not recommended to step into this place without ear plug). The minus is they don't carry all of the brands. It really hard for me to find Warwick bass and they have to order it from another store and they told me if I return it I must cover the shipping fee, which is totally surprising consider the store which they gonna take the bass from is not charging any shipping cost. The good side of Guitar Center that I really like is having a really good sales like Paul. He's always there to guide me whenever I need something and really patient in giving thoughts and ideas or even fixing my instruments. The other thing that I enjoy the most is they always have a really good sale (discounts) and they can match the price if you found cheaper price from other store (even online ones). The manager also offer to cover 50% of the insurance so you only paid half of the insurance price whether its 1 or 2 yrs warranty. Overall if you need instruments without any specific requirements and just need something ready and handy, this is the place to go. read more

I walked in and was immediately helped. I brought my son's guitar in to have a string repaired. The guy who helped us at the repair counter was great! He had it fixed and tuned in no time. We had a great experience here and will definitely be going here when ready to upgrade our guitar or keyboard. read more

Guitar Center is good for one thing and one thing only. Demoing equipment. Thats about all I can think of. I suppose if you are a new player and want to get a cheap instrument quick and easy then its ok. Just make sure you do your research before you go in. Looking back now after playing guitar for a few years I can say that some of those creep employees will take advantage of your lack of knowledge and try and stick you with a bad deal. Heres a story 1. Last week my friends brother went in there to get a guitar and I went along to help him find one. When we got there I pretended to not know anything about playing and wanted to see where he would lead us. After about a 5 minute story on how hes been playing for twenty years he lead us to a squier on the wall. I dont judge other musicians on there skill level but this guy was asking for it. He picked up the guitar and started playing some really generic awful solo that he probably thought was cool. In fact after my hearing came back he said to us "I dont want to make you guys quit before you start". He told us squiers were great for heavy metal... after wasting about 10 he said even though this thing is worth one hundred dollars ill give it to you for 95 since I like your AllShallPerish T-shirt. The thing is I saw that guitar there 2 years ago gathering dust, and even heard the employees openly betting on who could get rid of it. We ended up messing around with the equipment and leaving. As we were leaving that same guy came back to us and told us he was trying to do us a favor and that we should be reasonable and buy it. I told him he failed at life and is pathetic for even trying to intimidate a 14 year old(friends brother). I can suggest buying from a place like drumcityguitarland or another good buisness. Places like that actually try and help. Ultimatelly business is business but guitar center is a bunch of idiots. Im not basing this off of one story either. Of all the several times ive went there. They have never failed to disappoint me in there bad attitude. If you are new or unsure about starting an instrument and want to try it go for it. Guitar Center is average priced and they have good inventory in stores. I just recommend doing your research ahead of time and not letting them push you around. Make sure you know your stuff and don't settle for something you don't want just cause some greasy asshole is pressuring you. You are the customer. Period. End of story. Good Luck. read more