A typical instrument store experience is a total headache... Kids practicing guitars at loud volumes ('Enter Sandman', 'Come As You Are', etc), staff running amok, difficulty finding items, waiting 15 minutes to be rung up, music videos of Rush, Queensryche or SRV playing in the background.... Wait, I think I just summed up Guitar Center perfectly! It's actually not THAT bad though. The good news is that this store is stocked just as well as any other store in town, with a few vintage pieces of gear here and there too. And if they don't have something, they'll offer to order it. I've been in that boat before, and it was a good experience. Also, they are pretty fair about prices. I've made some good deals in there without much effort or haggling, even on brand new items. On the whole, they'll discount things anywhere from 5-10% of the listed price (not the MSRP). Just ask for a deal! I mean it. Also, these sales guys aren't too pushy like other places. Of course, you might find that one salesguy who feels his ego is on the line if you don't commit to buying that $900 guitar, but don't let it turn you off. You can feel free to f*ck with these people just as much as they do it to you. Most of the time, they just let you run free trying out anything you want without bothering you (which can be good or bad, depending on if you need help.) This goes for the guitar, amp and electronics/keyboard dept. The pro audio dept is better with customer service and product knowledge in my experience. No idea about the drum room. :) The general staff could be more in tune with what the latest products are and what the existing products actually do. I've outsmarted many a clerk, without even trying. They were just clueless about their merch. They do guitar repairs, but not amp repairs. If you need a specialty item, you might be better off hunting it down online. They do have a few replacement parts for guitars, basses and amps... but nothing too esoteric. read more

First visit to guitar center....was excited at the potential for some good deals due to the store size, but ended up practically running from the store after a laundry list of disappointments. NUMBER ONE OFFENSE....ABSOLUTELY HORRID CUSTOMER SERVICE... I inquired about negotiating on several used pieces of gear, only to be cut off mid sentence with immediate shaking of the sales associates head and informing me that under no circumstances do they negotiate!?!?! Huh. Preposterous at best, considering their inventory looked worst than even the most average of pawn shops. OFFENSE NUMBER TWO....HOLY PRICE GOUGING BATMAN!! After a basic google search on 5 decent priced items ranging from $500-$1200 each, they were higher on every item. Keep in mind, this only pertains to new items...in addition to these, I also checked 4-5 used items that were the highest used prices I found too! (And this was mot due to the gear being in pristine condition...quite on the contrary in fact, hence desiring to negotiate.) OFFENSE NUMBER THREE...considering their strict corporate policy of non-negotiation, one would expect their gear selection to be of pristine condition...one new higher end guitar had two pieces of the head stock broken off and glued back on and was still at suggested retail pricing. Half a dozen other guitars were very scratched, rusted strings, even missing parts like knobs and such, total lack of daily inventory management and maintenance, and again, all still priced at suggested retail. Overall a huge disappointment, I went in to purchase an electronic drum set, amp and acoustic guitar for my kids. Found it along with a used Marshall amp head, another acoustic guitar and and electric guitar and wanted to negotiate only to be rudely told under no circumstances do they negotiate. Nice job at missing a $3000 sale. Sam Ash here I come. read more

I was told one price for a guitar and when I went to pay it was much more expensive . Lack of communication, and very sub par customer service ! Instead of driving to winter park we should have simply bought online . They didn't receive my business and will not in the future . read more

My boyfriend and I have been going in here for years, but today was a different story. My boyfriend asked the girl behind the corner for a guitar pick up, and the girl walks him over to the glass case of pedals and proceeds to tell him that's all they have, he nicely explains that that isn't what he was asking about and says "pick ups" and she continued to point out the pedals saying "yeah these are the only pick ups we have" he had to explain where they go on the guar before she goes on the computer and most likely googled it and said "oh! Those" I don't get why they would hire somebody that has no idea of the product they are selling. read more

Started off as a bad experience, but the staff turned it around for me. I normally don't trade my gear, but guitar center had a used guitar that I wanted, mint, for 440, half the list price. I was willing to accept the 60% trade in rate for this, because I was ready to pay 900 for it. Anyway, I called the warehouse and sorted it out, got a guy telling me they wanted the trade and to come into any location. (Bear in mind, this was a neck thru Jackson and Peavey 6505, so this is a very fair trade) Went into guitar center winter park at opening, and got the rudest associate of my entire life. This guy was making condescending remarks and speaking to me like a child. He was so ready to either fight me or boot me from the store, I knew he was having marital problems and trying to take it out on me. I asked for the manager, whose name is Jay. Now my experience turned around. He had an associate named Jesse take the trade and order the guitar. He was very helpful and gave me a run down on the whole order process. They did send the other, unprofessional psycho employee to the corner. I am very happy with my trade. So, three stars, five when they fire the first associate I had. Sorry you had a bad day, buddy, but you're not 6. Can't go throwing temper tantrums and shoving guitar cables in people's faces just cause you had to wake up. Grow up, dude. read more

I love this location because it offers lessons. Lessons from some really talented individuals. Don't believe the bad reviews, one experience doesn't paint the picture of all the great things this store is offering to the community. I recently started taking piano lessons from Steven, a newer instructor. I'm not great with reading music, or being patient, but this guy is incredibly patient, and has a huge breadth of knowledge and is already having me play some minor pieces. I believe he also teaches drums, which aren't my thing, but it's great to know the lesson instructors are so well rounded with their skill set. Steven is awesome, request him by name! Being an older, first time piano student, he's made me feel very at home with my level of knowledge and skill, while pushing me to be a better student. The store itself has worked with me seamlessly when I've had to change around my lesson times, the general staff is very knowledgable. I like the layout of the place, which is different from other Guitar Center's I've been to - especially the other location in Winter Park - but this warehouse layout makes things easier to navigate for someone like me. Everyone working there always seems super friendly, helps me finds things quickly, and doesn't treat my newbie questions with derision. read more

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. The selection is pretty good. The store is attractive and organized well. I'm withholding 2 stars because I went to buy a mic for public speaking, a $99 Sennheiser basic unidirectional one. The sales guy gave the requisite pitch for the protection plan, but at $20, the math wasn't in favor of me buying it. Sennheiser is a reliable brand. This isn't a high-end mic. When I refused the plan, the guy became really condescending and wouldn't let go. It continued all the way through him ringing up my purchase. He actually gave me the head-shaking eye roll with the very audible "you're a dumbass" sigh. I said,"Look at you shaking your head at me!" Everyone should call out cocky, dickhead salespeople, and don't let them intimidate you. Some of these guys think they're Jimmy Paige. read more

Went in to rent a couple of speakers and mics for my upcoming wedding. Terrible customer service. I understand they are understaffed - yet the one person who was supposed to help with rentals said she was busy. How are you busy when you're sitting on your phone in the corner....? Ok. So I was leaving and one of the employees stopped me and said if I could wait 20-30 min he would help. He seemed nice enough but his coworker sitting on her personal phone leaving everything on everyone else is ridiculous. I left and will be taking my business elsewhere. Who has time for that? Ridiculous. read more

I called to see I f I can pick up a paid item that I had ordered online. A female picked up the phone and did not have the courtesy to ask me what she can help me with and so I asked for a transfer to the bass dept and she cut me off before I can finish my sentence by saying hold on and never transferred the call. She hung up on me after I patiently waited 5 minutes on the phone. I called back they answered and hung up again. I never give reviews or bad reviews for that matter but this unacceptable at any level. This is why I NEVER shop at music stores anymore. Im a pro musician and are mistreated everytime I have walked in to one of their stores. Horrible customer service and more so than don't even know what they are talking about half of the time. Get it together its time already!!! read more

WORST Guitar Center experience I have had by far and have been a loyal customer for over 15 years. Went in to get a guitar for my daughter and to see if they could do a repair on my strat. After learning the repair tech would be unavailable for two weeks, I brought my guitar back to the car so I could walk around with my daughter who was beyond excited for her guitar. After going into the acoustic room, within 5 seconds of touching a guitar a staff member approached us and aggressively says "everything you touch we have to wipe down". Immediately feeling like I was not allowed to touch the guitars, I put the guitar back on the stand apologizing and the staff member said "No" and signaled for me to give him the guitar which he took and rudely walked away without saying anything. Suffice it to say I was so shocked and put off by the interaction of how incredibly rude he was to myself and my young daughter, I walked out of the location. A truly disgusting experience. Judging by the other posts it looks like this location is packed with a horribly inattentive staff and beyond horrible customer service. Won't be back. read more

The online and in store staff are excellent. In my indecisiveness, I ordered a beginners Yamaha 88-key keyboard, but found that I preferred another model with additional features. The online staff was more than accommodating, allowing me return the unit online or return it to a local store. Chris was great to work with and extremely accommodating. I decided to take shipment and decide once it arrived. In the interim, I visited the Winter Park store and had a long talk with Winston with regard to what I should do. He checked and found that the unit had been shipped and was to be delivered on 12/23, which is still within the 2 day window. It arrived just like they said it would. I was then able to take that unit to the Winter Park store and upgrade to the model I wanted, even though it had to be ordered online. Jesse made sure that it will be be delivered to my home in 3 to 5 business days with no additional shipping costs. AWESOME!!! Kudos to Chris-online customer service, and Winston and Jesse at the Winter Park store. read more

I ordered some guitar strings and a capo on-line from the Guitar Center. I was happy with my order, which arrived within approximately 10 days. However, I am now being bombarded with advertising emails from the Guitar Center every day, and there does not seem to be a way to escape. I tried to unsubscribe from their email list, but there was no unsubscribe button on the advertisement. I have called the Customer Service line twice in the past 3 weeks, but I am still feeling like a victim of their advertisement department. read more

Absolutely amazing experience. Was treated with the upmost respect and was helped quickly and efficiently. Listen to what I had to say and was not over selling anything that I might have been interested in. Guided me to exactly the guitar that I wanted and made the process simple. Would recommend to anyone looking for a guitar. Made me feel like I was part of the family. read more

Waited a long time to buy a simple item while 4 employees gossiped amongst each other . Glad I didn't need any real help.

I've gotten several items from them and haven't had a single problem. This is a great place to get gear from. I'll be getting gear from hear quite a bit. read more

While this store is in much better shape than the Sam Ash stores as far as cleanliness and organization, I was disappointed to find that most of the sales people are stuck working in the wrong department when all they know about is guitars. When it comes to other products, they are not so sure of the correct information. I say this because I was given the wrong products when I broke down in specifics exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't a horrible experience or anything, but it was a huge inconvenience because I received the wrong product and spent time in the store trying to get help from someone who didn't have the proper information about the products that were being sold in his department. read more

This review is more on the staff. I understand how annoying it is when people come in right at closing time. I have been a bartender and resturant manager for years and completely understand the last minute table or patron... however, we were not the only customers in the store. As soon as we entered the staff was very ubrupt about closing hours. We have a friend visiting from Denmark, and all he wanted to do was buy an american gutiar. He was interested in the Zakk Wylde "Odin" which retails at $1000.00. Which Guitar Center has... But before we could ask for some quick help, the staff was pushing us out the door. Did i mention that there was still customers in the store, and we drove an hour from our house to get there. Traffic was bad, hence the reason we got there right at 8pm. I have left the resturant industry and own my own busisness now, and the biggest thing i learned is customer service. When you have a customer that is wanting to spend money (especially a big purchase like $1000.00) you can stay open for just a few minutes after closing to help with the sale. We agreed to come in the next day, so that we wouldn't take up their time...but after the experience we would rather go somewhere else. Unfortunally, our Denmark friend only has a short stay in the US and most likely will have to return for the purchase. The point of this review (winter park, fl store) is that you never know what someone is going to purchase. A few questions to help and assist is all we asked for. We are willing to come back the next day, to be considerate of closing hours... But with the sarcasitic attitude it really puts a bad taste in our mouth about your customer service. Just for the record, there was 2 gentleman that took the time to help to the best of their knowledge. I don't even think they were floor salesman, but worked in the back on repair. So thank you to those guys... Your front of the house staff should take notes. read more

A few months ago, end of last year; I stopped in after having my car serviced to ask about a compensated saddle for my 35 year old Ovation. I was going to get back into playing to exercise my hands after a crippling medical condition. My knowledge of guitars was terribly limited and I was looking for help! The one individual that looked approachable was stringing a guitar. As I posed my first question, I pointed to the saddle of the guitar he was stringing...he abruptly asked me not to touch the guitar, which I had not. I would never buy anything, not even a set of strings from this establishment. I have since studied, asked more affable people and purchased more than $1,500.00 in products from other sources. Treat people well, or get in another business!!! read more

This place is great if you are looking for a deal. Since the sales reps make a commission and can determine the discount, I bought several DJ set ups and full lighting systems here. The part is they hire actual musicians for each department so they know what they are talking about. Most of the guys that work in the DJ/Audio production dept are student that attend FULL SAIL, the most respected school for audio/visual productions. read more

Used to come here and buy odds and ends and was looking for a footswitch for my amp. 3 trys and they still got it wrong. Went to another Discount place and they called they're Rep that was for my amp snd he told them what footswitch I needed. Come to find out they dont make the footswitch for my amp anymore but I could use one from a different model and it worked. Its not like it was Rocket Surgery or anything like that but c'mon guys read more

They had a btb-745 bass guitar in stock online and had one day delivery as an option as well to deliver to the closest store to me. Paid over $1000.00 for guitar even bought the case to go with it. Come 2 days later they only shipped my guitar case and said this guitar was on back order and no one ever reached out to call or email me about this. They sent me an email saying my order was ready for pick up went to the store it was only the guitar case no guitar. That's when I found out that the guitar I ordered was not there and on back order.... so mad I am leaving Saturday playing in a band no guitar.... they cant find it anywhere nor even offered my money back or anything. as well I went back online to look at the guitar and the guitar still says IN STOCK ONLINE and allows you to order just as I did. When i had to call customer service myself again no one called or emailed to say anything to me. I told them exactly what says online still in stock and they tell me they dont know why maybe a glitch no that's FALSE ADVERTISING read more

Recently, I had a repair question about the plastic tension rings on my ovation. Dean was extremely helpful in answering my questions. Not only did he repair my guitar in less than 5 minutes and at no cost, he explained what the part was and showed me how he repair it. Apparently I just needed a nylon bushing (from Ace Hardware) and to unscrew the tuning peg to replace it. Everyone in the store was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Excellent customer service! I would highly recommend! read more

Bought an amazing guitar for my son. Manager Thomas Campbell was so helpful. Great knowledge and customer service. Great prices + value too. Definitely worth the trip up. Will visit again. read more

I came here to pick up some nylon, and silk and steel strings for a couple of guitars I own. It's not a huge Guitar Center like other somewhat intimidating locations, and everything is well-organized and labeled (like the different sections of the store, as well as the instruments, brand, model, and pricing). Parking is easy, as this Guitar Center is in a large strip mall. The store itself is clean and they not only have clearance and regular-priced items, but also used gear for those looking for a bargain. They had some stunningly beautiful and pricey guitars, and as a customer, you get a chance to sample them. By the way, they sell all types of instruments, not just guitars, so don't let the name dissuade you. The staff here is friendly and helpful, as well as welcoming. Guitar Center is also open during holidays (like Labor Day) and weekends, so if you're in a bind and the local music shop is closed, you always have the option to come here (and you can also jam along with other musicians, if you'd like!). read more

If your knowledge of bull shit gear outweighs your ability to play an instrument come work here. Guy tried telling me changing one tube at a time RUINS your amp. The guy that does work on my stuff techs for the killers. This is Orlando at it's finest. Retards that do nothing with their lives that aspire to make everyone around them in Orlando miserable. Keep rockin' out to Nickelback guys, cause that's the only music that exists! read more

I saw an ad on TV for Vic Firth drumsticks 2 prs for $5. Ordinarily, I would have said this was too good to be true, but in the past Guitar Center has had some outragious deals. So I drove 25 miles in a special trip only to find out that the Vic Firth sticks on sale at this price were only the 5A models and not all of the models. So I was disappointed to say the least. In the past I have spent a couple of $thousand on stuff from GC, M Friend and Music123 combined. I was told that upon closer inspectiion that I should have noticed the 30 sec TV ad was showing only the 5A model. This is clearly a bait and switch that I don't appreciate. The drum guys were of no comfort. Needless to say, I will think closely about responding to any GC ad again anytime in the future. GC will be wasting their ad $$ on me in the future. read more

Just don't go to this store. Play on their shit and figure what you want and order it online. The reps are clueless.

I had an amazing experience dealing with this Guitar Center. I had issues with my order and the management team absolutely made things right. I know that GC Stores sometimes gets a bad wrap, but they have quality people at this store. I go out of my way to shop at the Winter Park location. read more

This store does not will not honor manufactures warranty. Not disclosed at purchase . Will tell you is has guarantee but when something goes wrong, the store will tell you to file a claim . Very nasty people. read more

First off I have been a die hard guitar center fan and would not purchase anything anywhere else when I was living in Portland, OR helpful people great deals, relaxing, enjoyable everything you could want in a store right? Well after my recent visit to the Guitar Center here in Winter Park FL I can say I probably will never visit a guitar center as long as I live unless its the location in Tigard, Oregon this location in winter park I sat around for 45 minutes staring at the same piece of equipment while the "staff" sat at the counter talking to each other of nothing of importance as I was listening to make sure they werent just busy, Then when someone finally did ask if I needed help they knew nothing about the equipment I was looking at which is a rackmount fan I wanted to know how quiet it was he said I have no idea ive never seen these, we can plug it in I guess. then in the middle of plugging it in "his buddy" walked in so he completely stopped helping me and started talking and helping him, not to judge his buddy or him but I am most certain by the way they were talking about his equipment I have spent 10 times the amount of money in there before, so to end this .....Hope your happy guitar center.... One employee that somehow got a job there probably from his mommy doing his resume cost you 10's of thousands of dollars dont believe me pull up my account there and see what ive spent........I actually almost want to stop the marketing of my album because it has their logo on it... read more

So a friend of mine wanted me to learn to play guitar with him, so here I am at Guitar Center to find me a guitar. I've been here multiple times now and the first time I walked in there was no one to help me... so I left, no purchase... The second time a young sales person came by to help me and I explained what I wanted, he helped me find it and when I asked about other guitars he really didn't have a lot to say... I mean please sell me a guitar but help me understand why I want this one versus others. Left no purchase. The next time I walked in another sales guy with sort of bobbed hair helped me, I told him what I thought I wanted but wanted his opinions. BINGO!!! This guy was great, he picked up several of the guitars and played them for me so I could "hear" the different tones of the guitars. Told me why what I had researched about the guitar I wanted was true and that it is probably what I would want for a beginner guitar. He then showed me things that I could grow into! I've been back several times since and he remembered me and we talked even more. I'm glad I went back... and I will go back for accessories and such. Morale of the story, if you don't find a sales person you gel with, find another one until you do gel with someone.... read more

Horrible service. The guy at the repair station is out of control. To the point it was actually quite entertaining so they earned one star

Worst customer service I have ever received in my life. I initially ordered a drum kit almost two years ago. Still do not have the correct hardware for all the pieces. E-mails, phone calls, etc produce zero explanation for what is taking so long. I can't believe they treat their customers so poorly. read more

I went in to try out a few high-end guitars with the intention of making a purchase. All of the nicer guitars were locked up and Ray, the manager, was apparently the only one with a key and he was MIA. After waiting far too long, he came up, asked me which guitar I wanted handed it to me, locked the case and left again without any attempt to assist me further. After a few minutes, I wanted to try a different guitar and having discovered that the case was locked, sought Ray again whose disappearing skills were on full display again, After waiting at least seven minutes for him to come back and having sought multiple other employees who were not with customers but whose collective service skills consisted of shrugging apologetically, I simply laid the guitar on the floor (there was no where else to put it and the case was locked) and left...I still don't know if the mysterious Ray is alive or dead. I will buy a nice guitar...just not here. read more