Guitar Center

This place has water damaged guitars! The roof sprung a leak and damaged about fifty guitars. The sales person said no discount because the «leaky water made the guitars clean» what!
This place continues to have the top street musicians in Boston practicing their songs. Le Roy Browne was in the store signing autographs and singing his unique version of Suzie Q.
The new Costigan acoustic guitar will be arriving next week say the salesman. Believe it when seen.
They never heard of the pee pee drumsticks. The salesperson with the face piercings and tattoos said the pee pee is located in the men’s room.
Keep up the good work GC Fenway, your store is off the wall.

Service, attention and equipment in this store is always great. I can’t complain! Every time I’ve been there they treat me as their best friend.

I have been here a lot and have bought quite a bit of gear.
Really good vibe! All the staff are professionally and know what they are talking about.
Pro audio department is awesome. Make sure to speak with Chad. He runs the show in pro audio and is extremely knowledgable about it all.
Never felt pressured to buy any gear.
Great insight on equipment.
Fun place to try instruments.

Needed a laptop stand ASAP. Jason was very helpful in checking the stock — including a newly arrived shipment — to confirm they had one. Very grateful —

While looking around in the guitar center I was approached by Matt Pennington who assisted me in finding the right equipment for my needs. He was not only a salesman but it extremely informative musician. Because of him I would gladly spend more money knowing that I’m getting right equipment for my musical needs.

There are Guitar Centers and there is this store. I love this store. These guys are patient, helpful and patient. I am the type who likes to look at and try all kinds of things. They are helpful when I ask them and are happy to let me take my time when I am just looking. Pretty decent selection and nice atmosphere.
Highly recommended!

I needed an SG Standard fully setup along with a complete tuning key replacement. The Berklee kids were away on break, so as a walk in, I was able to get it all done in a day. (Most quotes elsewhere were 2 weeks out).
The tech, Domenic, was awesome. Got it done quick. He was very knowledgable. My guitar came out sounding and playing fantastic. Intonation and action were perfect. Great customer service. Domenic confirmed everything with me before performing the work. No surprises.
Yes, Guitar Center is a big box retail beast with a spotty rep, however the tech I had that day gave me confidence in the knowledge and service available at this location.

I’m a collector and amateur guitar player and have purchased over 20 guitars (average price about $ 2000) in the last 3 years, many of them at this Guitar Center location in spite of the fact that I can buy online and usually get a cheaper price to start with plus save the MA sales tax.
About 2 months ago, I talked to a sales associate about a Telecaster relic with a Bigsby that had been in the high end case for at least 2 years. Its generally been marked $ 3200 but I have seen it sale priced anywhere between $ 1800 and $$ 2800 at different times.
I was interested was given a price of $ 2800 as the best they could do. I told the sales person I needed to think about it as I had seen it on sale for as much as $ 400 less. I went home, did some looking on the internet and decided to go back and purchase it, even with the sales tax difference.
I got there and was told that I could no longer buy it for $ 2200 and that it would now be $ 2800. I said no because I had previously seen it for as much as $ 1000 less. No luck, I left.
I did follow up with an email to the associate, from whom I had previously purchased several guitars telling him that as loyal customer who had spent 10s of thousands of dollers of guitars and other merchandise at that location I felt that the whole thing was a slap in the face. He, to his credit followed up with a reply saying he was going to speak to the GM and show him my email. Nothing ever happened, no call, email nothing.
It’s clear that the store culture is such that being a good, loyal customer means nothing here. I’m insulted to have been treated so callously after having spent so much money here.
And BTW — I bought a Tele Bigsby online for $ 2000 and have puchased 2 other guitars online since.
Guitar Center Boston doesn’t deserve my business and won’t ever get it again. I wouldn’t even buy picks there.
Nice job dick heads.

Marc and Glenn were very helpful in getting me, a public school music teacher, the right equipment for my students.

Went back today, traded in a Dobro, got a great deal on my credit, and came home with the most beautiful Washburn F-​frame mandolin in the Universe.
I worked with Rusty again, who is the most amazing person to work with at ANY music store I have ever been to. He knows music, he plays music, he can relate to customers, and he makes your shopping and buying experience feel like you are a valued customer.
Highly Recommended!

I finally got what I needed here, thanks to a quality assist from Sean. I really dislike Guitar Center, but there’s literally no place else to shop.
I was in the market for a small, all-​in-​one PA. They have competitive pricing on a fershlunginer brand, Kustom. Thankfully, here, I was allowed to try their gear before buying.
Turns out Kustom gear simply *does not work*. 500 bucks would buy you a heavy piece of 150 watt crap that won’t mike your voice beyond conversational levels. We tried 5 different pieces of Kustom gear, all was shit. Screw you, GC for carrying this shite.
Ended up dropping 3 bills on a small Mackie amp that was smaller and more powerful than anything Kustom had, and it’s a quality name. We got there in the end, but woe betide the buyer who trusts the GC product line.

I just returned from my first and last trip to Guitar Center. I tried the ordering online option that allows you to pick up your order at the store. I arrived at 8pm (an hour before closing), and was one of two customers in the store. Although there were at least three employees to each customer, I still waited 15 minutes at the pick-​up counter before I was helped. When I initially asked for help, I was told by the employee working at the online pick-​up location that he «didn’t know how to do any of that,» so he decided to leave. About 10 minutes later, another employee showed up, and went to the packaging room to grab my order. With my wife and crying baby in the car, I waited for 45 more minutes without any sign of the employee. When he did return, he told me some generic excuse about having lots of orders and complained about how his shift had already ended.
My ordeal continued when checking out with my purchase. I waited at the door for another 10 minutes before my receipt could be signed. While I waited, one of the store employees snatched my ID and made rude comments about my appearance – using expletives and asking me what kinds of drugs I used. The whole experience was just bizarre. What should have been about a 10-​minute visit to the store ended up being an ordeal that wasted an hour and twenty minutes of my time with crappy service and way too much attitude. If you want to avoid the hassle of having to go to this store, pay the extra $ 20 and have your order delivered to your home.

Came in not looking for anything in particular. Really, I just wanted to noise-​shred on some of their sick synths and DPs. Immediately, guy in the keyboard section asks me if I need any help, etc. I told him I was just looking, and he left me alone with a little, «I’ll be over here, man, no worries if you need some help.» Cool dude. Earnest and not too pushy.
Headed up to the drum area to check stuff out. Guy there was real helpful. I saw a pair of used hi-​hats I was diggin’, so he grabbed them off the rack and set them up on a kit of my choosing. After rat-​a-​tattin’ for about 10 minutes, I decided to buy them, along with the cheapest stand they had (which still seemed pretty sturdy). Another employee there suggested the drum guy (who was a rookie at the time) hook me up with a discount, which he tried to do. Apparently, there’s some hurdle for discounting used gear, so they called up their manager TWO TIMES (from some far corner of that massive store), who did some magick computer twiddling to save me about fifty dollars. AWESOME!
They totally could have been like, «yo, we can’t hook you up, dawg, because your shit is used, and according to the mainframe, that is whack.» Instead the manager was like, «yo, I’m gonna hack Daedalus and get you your discount, bro.» And he did. And there was much rejoicing.
The hi-​hats (Sabian AAX X-​Celerators) sound great, and I got them for just under eBay-​ish prices (even before the discount!), which was really sweet. Top-​notch convenience.
*To top it all off, as I was messing around on the test kit, this employee drum guy was giving me all sorts of tips and hand exercises, which was so nice of him. I’m kind of a n00b drummer, so it was totally kind of him to give me some direction. He recommended some Jojo Mayer DVDs and basically just wanted to help a brotha out. Respect!

I’m doling out the precious 5-​star rating thanks to one man — Sean H. Say what you will about Guitar Center as an institution but something you can’t find online is the customer service that’s available at a brick and mortar store.
I bought and subsequently mangled a new Shure cartridge for my record player and was fretting because of their return policy on the item. Sean put me at ease when I brought it in (tail between my legs) and spent some serious blood, sweat and tears trying to fix the unrepairable cartridge. Not missing a beat, he replaced the cartridge for me, attached it to the appropriate hardware and BOOM — the record player is up and running.
To be completely honest, I made an amateur mistake in not better researching how to install it at home. Guitar Center can be an intimidating place sometimes, and I’ve run into my fair share of know-​it-​all employees. Sean was helpful, accommodating and patient and I feel like I actually LEARNED SOMETHING. That’s rare in most customer service.
Give this guy a hand (and a raise), everyone.

If you want to hear some Berklee fuckwad wail on an Ibanez, then come here.
If you have a brain, go somewhere else. Prices are bullshit.

I’ve been back recently since my last handful of awful experiences at the Boylston GC, and I must say the overall attitude there is a lot nicer now. I don’t know if it’s because I went in dressed differently, or because of the time of day, or because it was a full moon or something, but something definitely changed for the better. I had gotten used to to being ignored (par for the course, thus far), but the last two times I stopped in, I was impressed by how helpful everyone was.
In particular, Chad and Sean from Pro Sound upstairs and Ernesto the guitar repair guy totally went above and beyond to help me with what I needed (or, in one instance, what I didn’t need and could handle with the stuff I already had). It’s like magic. They were all so kind, and so very very patient.
I cannot even express how happy I am about this.

So I see a lot of negative reviews on here, and when it comes to the sales staff I must say that I prefer to deal with them as little as possible, go in knowing exactly what I want, find it myself and get in and out with minimal interaction. Also, checking out is always a dreaded process at any GC. Too long and complicated, and always a line.
But I wanted to add my two cents and give a positive review for Ernesto, the guy that does the repairs and tune-​ups here. The four stars are all for him, frankly I would have liked to give five, but because the service in the other areas of the store can be so non-​existent at times I just couldn’t.
I take my Fender Jazz bass there whenever I need something done (usually my input gets messed up or the wiring to my 9v), he is extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and the process is always WAY faster and cheaper than I expect it to be. Sometimes I am expecting to have to drop it off and pick it up in a few days, but instead he will do it right on the spot while I wait! I also have several friends that take their guitars there for tune-​ups and once a truss rod adjustment, and they are all as equally satisfied. As long as I am still in the Boston area I will never go anywhere else to get work done on my instruments!

This Guitar Center location is a great place for musicians to be treated like garbage:
I came in to this Guitar Center today to sell some cheap unused guitars that I have accumulated over time. Two years ago when I brought in my 1994 Stratocaster Plus for a quote, I was treated fairly well. I had dropped off the Stratocaster to be examined. I walked around to look at other guitars, and some time later, was given two quotes: one for store credit, and one for cash. Although I didn’t go through with either offer, I did find a guitar that I loved, which I ended up purchasing at their store.
This time, the sales associate, who shall not be named, antagonized me. I wasn’t sure whether if I wanted to trade or sell these guitars, especially before determining what value was left. Uncertainty is a great way of guiding a customer into a sale. Instead of leading me on for a trade, or even simply clarifying that both trade and cash values would be the same, he accused me of being a liar for recalling my previous experience. He continued to suggest throughout our interaction that I was a thief. The language and attitude used was not that of a sales associate, but of an interrogator to a criminal.
The atrocious customer service that I received today was not only unpleasant, but just downright stupid.

This place makes me yearn for more free time and more professional musical training.
The beautiful guitars that I shame just by strumming, the EXPANSIVE percussion section, the overpriced recording station section, and an awesome assortment of keyboards/​synths/​drum pads.
I picked up a used Akai MPK49 here. I love it, and love the price ($ 150 under new).
As for the staff, I’ve heard people have issues (MUSICIANS. Uy, am i rite?), but I guess that’s if you act out of place or sketchy. Be nice to them, they’ll be nice to you.

I admit it, I often feel really uncomfortable stepping into Guitar Center – every time I’ve been here, I’ve been the only female in the entire place, and I get stared as if I’m hanging out in a men’s locker room.
Meanwhile, you’ve got the boys in their garage bands, Berklee music prodigies, the seasoned musicians, and then… there’s me. I’m the one sneaking over to the Taylor Swift guitar chords sheet music. Laugh, you may, but it’s not Justin Bieber, so I’m still safely not 100% teenybopper.
GC has a pretty good selection of instruments and accessories, and they occasionally send you coupons so you can get pretty hefty discounts on pricey items.
Most of the people who work here are pretty helpful, since they’re all musicians and know their stuff. I believe some of them even teach guitar and other instruments. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to get anyone to help you, though – they’re…well, half the time I don’t know where to find anyone who can help. Which is part of the problem. I really don’t think it should feel like a game of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego to get someone to help you get some new guitar picks.