Guitar Center

Worst Guitar Center on the planet! My fiancé is a professional drummer searching for a Drum Kit– unfortunately at THiS GC, an associate who looked cranky and unfulfilled in life, came and told us not to play the kit which was set out. That’s not what the first associate who handed us the drum sticks said. Needless to say, we won’t be buying his kit from this store.

Today I went into this guitar center to get a replacement piece for a pair of headphones that I bought last year from here. Monica was the one to help me in the sound/​recording section. She was very knowledgeable about all of the sound equipment and microphones. I was impressed how helpful she was! She literally went out of her way to help me as much as possible and I was very thankful for that. It can be very intimidating going in to places like this when you are not sure what to get for the best prices. Monica deserves a big raise!
Thanks for reading!

Managed to walk in each department without a single greeting. Too bad for them. I ordered my new minibrute se online from a different vendor.

I went in the first time on my late lunch hour thinking it would not be busy at all, boy was I wrong! Lines at the main counter, several sales staff walked by me, didn’t say hi or ask if I was looking for anything or someone will be right with you, everyone looked totally dis-​organized. I felt like I walked into a post office during the holiday season, so I left and thought I’d call my order in the next day. I called the next day and had the sales staff set aside what i needed behind the counter, I even tried to prepay for my order on the phone, but he wouldn’t let me do that, so I told him my name that I would be in on my LATE lunch hour so, I gave it another shot, same results, only when I finally got to the counter & asked for my order it was not anywhere to be found! He said quote, «It could be anywhere in here» so I told him what I needed, & he wanted a whole bunch of information about setting up an account, but told him I’m on my lunch hour & running short on time, can I just pay for my order? I will never go in there again, I guess I will just mail order stuff and or find a locally owned music store, if there’s any left in this town.

Little to no knowledge of products they sell! Your in Austin go to a local music shop, please!
Guitars: South Austin Music
Drums: Jeff Ryder’s Drum Shop
Violins & Classical Strings: Blackberry Violin Shop

Great customer service. Found exactly what I needed very quickly. Staff had no trouble discussing the pros and cons of different music stands for my daughter’s guitar lessons. Felt quite welcome in this music store, which is not always the case in ATX!

Very rude employees, don’t price match, used products seem to always be missing parts, and when you buy recording technology make sure the box comes with all it’s plug INS!

This place has potential. However, many of the current employees act like you’re bothering them if you want to buy something. Also, don’t fall for the «pro coverage» warranty… They do nothing for you in the store… Do yourself a favor… Shop Amazon…

Jen in the rental department is amazing! I had a chinese band in from out of town for SXSW. I called the rentals department and was ordering gear in a matter of minutes. Jen suggested some gear that was comparable to what the band had listed for me to rent, and she knows it’s comparable because she’s a bad ass with a lot of experience, and it was exactly what we needed. She knows her stuff — that is the gospel truth! We added some stuff later on, then the day of the rental they checked us out, helped us pack the gear into the van. We played the show, had a great time, next day brought the gear back and it was just sooooo easy and just plain nice. Dealing with so many egos in the music biz, it’s refreshing to meet folks that are just darn nice!

Over the past two months, I’ve spent many hours at this location. I’ve gotten to know many of the sales reps and one of the managers. They’ve allowed me to try guitar after guitar, amp after amp, for as long as I’ve wished. They chime in with helpful commentary and have answers to my questions. They are knowledgable, friendly, down to earth, and patient, and they understand their inventory is considered a major purchase for many people.
So far, they really have lived up to their tag line of helping people make music, and I intend to keep a relationship with this store. Their selection has improved over the past few months, too, and the new Platinum Room is a nice addition that provides a place to safely and carefully try high end stuff. If you are in the market for musical gear, definitely try this place out.

I’ve had lots of both good and bad experiences here. The drums/​percussion dept is usually really good, as is Guitars. Pro Audio/​Lighting, however, is definitely a gamble. You either get someone who both knows their stuff and is helpful, or you get someone who’s arrogant and pushy. The latter happened to me today when I picked up a simple, cheap light for my home studio. The chick with the dirty-​looking, badly-​dyed orange hair who checked me out totally gave me the «you’re a dumbass if you don’t get this amazing extended warranty» runaround. She wouldn’t stop the push, even to the point of asking me if I trusted the wiring in my studio. Ultimately, I got the very condescending «Well, ok…» from her. I very nearly walked out without buying anything at that point.
In addition to the telemarketing-​grade upselling techniques, I also frequently get home with my purchases from pro audio /​lighting to find that I was sold a re-​stocked, used item. I’ve learned by now to open anything I get from that dept before I leave the store. I recommend you do the same, unless of course you like your «new» items covered in the fingerprints of the person who previously bought and used the thing you just paid FULL PRICE for!
It’s probably also worth mentioning that, in order to get into the Pro Audio /​Lighting dept and be harrassed by this rude orange haired chick, I had to walk around the three other sales people who were crowded around the counter, just shooting the shit. It would have been nice if they’d moved their conversation over just an inch or two… enough to let me through. Hell, I would have been thrilled if they’d done anything to acknowledge my presence.

Just like all guitar centers, the employees and customers are all a huge jumble of morons. I cant stand this store. You walk in and there are dozens of underqualified numb skull employees walking in ever different direction, but rarely do they actually stop to ask you if you need some help or have any questions. However, if they see you with a product in your hands they will quickly swoop in and try and pretend that they have been helping you the whole time to make their commission.
This store in particular really pissed me off when I was just trying to buy some freaking bass strings. The associate told me to go to the front counter to purchase them, and the front counter goons told me I can purchase them there. It was all just a crappy experience as usual. It sucks that there arent any other decent music stores in Austin.

I will take this moment to applaud the customer service I received recently from an employee at this location from a young lady named Cheyenne. I am an music professional with over 30 years experience, including managing a successful violin shop for 13 of them, so I know a thing or two about music retail.
No matter what experience I may have had before, the personal attention and level of service I got from this particular employee deserves being singled out as stellar and a fine example for her fellow employees to follow. I will reward her service with return business and I hope her superiors take note. If I was still running a retail operation, I would have offered her a job on the spot because any business would succeed with staff like this.

Came here to price some electric drum kits. Decent selection, although the high school kid sat on the most expensive one for a full thirty minutes and didn’t let anybody else have a shot at it.
Then on the way out, we watched a GC employee walk right past a trash can and throw his cigarette on the ground. My boyfriend exclaimed, «There’s a trash can right there, man,» and his response: «You wanna pick it up for me, go ahead.»
If you’re going to let your employees take smoke breaks right outside your front door, Guitar Center, you should at least mention that littering your entrance with cigarette butts is a turnoff — as is the rude employee who doesn’t care who sees him do it. Won’t be back here anytime soon.

As a music producer, I am not reviewing GC as an instrument store, but rather how they relate to the pro-​audio industry.
I work with one of their sales specialists routinely and get very competitive prices. All the staff are very helpful. I recently purchased their highest-​end mic stands and the staff were ok with me unpacking and assembling numerous microphone stands. They even offered to go in the back to see if they had a couple of their high-​end stands. They proceeded to unpack and assemble these for me.
They gave me a good price as usual, cleaned up my mess for me and sent me on my way a very happy customer.

I went to Guitar Center because straight music was closed on Sunday.
I bought a mic and set up, the guy behind the counter had told me that there was a no return policy on open mics, it seemed reasonable so I bought it. Left the equipment in my trunk and a buddy of mine offered to give me his mic and set up. I went back to return my unopened Microphone to find out that the store has a no return policy period… I am out 100 dollars due to incompetency, I will go back to never shopping at this crappy store.

As with some kids, it took a while for a hobby to really sit right for our son. Is it Legos? No. Is it Bicycling? No. Is it Skateboarding? No. Is it collecting old baseball cards? No. Is it guitars? No. Is it girls? Yes. Oh. Okay. Not the one we were going for.
But on the way to girls, he did take guitar lessons and I purchased several great guitar stands here but nothing more. Recently, I stopped in to look at turntables. We acquired a box of vinyl (Hendrix, Eagles, The Cream and more) from a generous friend who got tired of looking at them stacked in his garage. Thus, a turntable was in order.
Me: Hey, I’m going to shop for a turntable, want to go?
Son: Not today. But you should not go alone.
Me: Why not?
Son: Because you don’t know anything. It would be dangerous.
Me: —–
Son: Just let me go with you when you go.
Me: I’m going today.
Son: I can’t go today. But you should not go alone.
Can you tell this conversation was going nowhere? Kind of like the hobbies.
I did go anyway, taking my life into my own hands, and a very nice young man, Devon, walked me through the myriad of options. My goodness, though, I’m not a DJ so I don’t think I’ll be buying anything here. The systems all seemed to be beyond what I would ever need but the customer service was great. But, hey, what’s up with the check-​in-​chick at the door? You are all but frisked when you enter. I’m only dangerous if I buy something.

What a selection! I went in for strings — again.
What do you need? From guitars to drums, to amps, and supplies this place has it all and unlike other places in the area they are open on Sunday!
I wasn’t sure if they would have an issue with my son playing all the guitars in the store and get confronted with «those aren’t toys» but to my surprise they not only welcomed him playing «Thunder Struck», «Happy Birthday»,“Yankee Doodle”, and Cory Morrow’s“Straight to Hell” they gave him a stool and a pick. Now he’s 9 and two of the songs are no where near perfect but they seemed to welcome his desire to play.
When it came time to stop playing and buy the strings the girl behind the counter was more knowledgeable than others I have met. She was so nice and I must add funny.

All three stars go to what I can only guess is an incredible selection. You can literally go here for ALL your guitar needs.
But the fact that I waited in line for 10 minutes just to ask for simple directional guidance with not so much as an acknowledgment from the guy behind the counter and then had to figure out their weird system if buy and then check to see if you bought was a turn off.
Oh and the fact that I called to ask about the part I wanted and actually sat in hold for almost 15 minutes before someone came on the line to answer my question didn’t help how I felt about this place. Paul, whoever you are, thanks for being the one responsible guy there who picks up the phone and goes and gets the guys in the guitar center who are entirely too busy to do the same.

VENUE: Typical Guitar center. You have your rooms with their own respective intsruments
SERVICE: OMG the guys who helped my friend and me were incredibly sweet. super nice and friendly and were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I ended up leaving with an ukulele that i didn’t need but so desperately wanted. they tuned that baby for me and helped me and my friend what we were originally looking for. Five stars for the service, definitely.