Guitar Center

Can you believe this place was open on New Years Day?! We’ve stopped in a few times while in town and the staff has always been super friendly. Also, they don’t mind when I’m looking up coupons on my phone to save a few bucks. It’s Guitar Center, you know what to expect & they deliver!

went to guitar center today intending to purchase a acoustic/​electric ukulele and acoustic amp. all sales reps were busy, but i hoped i might get someones attention eventually. so for nearly 35 minutes i played on the ukulele, then walked around the store, again played on the ukulele then walked around the store… but no luck for me. unable to make eye contact with anyone working. so i kept the $ 600+ i planned to spend & disappointedly left the store. maybe better experience somewhere else.

Way way way too much charge for a guitar setup. I have a nice little Martin and the tech recommended lower action. I said yes and now buzzzzzzz. Hey thanks for that. Now I’m out $ 40+ and a buzz. I’ll go to a locally recommended tech from now on.

Let’s start by saying I. Am. Pissed.
I’ve been shopping here for half of my life, and today they’ve lost my business for good.
1: I ordered a specific guitar case over the phone with this store. I stressed how important it was I get this case by a certain date or know with enough time to order elsewhere. He gives me confirmation number for the order. Never get an email. Card doesn’t get charged. I call to find out what’s going on, it’s already the day before I need it and they tell me the order never went through and it won’t be there before I leave town, so I no longer have time to get the case and can no longer safely transport my priceless custom guitar a family member gave me.
2: I would forgive this if I could have understood the employee on the phone. She sounded like she had mashed potatoes in her mouth. AND she had an attitude.
When you’re on the phone with a customer, don’t give them an attitude like it’s such a chore to check on their order.

Poor service, staff is not knowledgeable about the products, the place just looks and feels dirty. Over priced inventory.
Musicians Friend has much better deals for all musical equipment and free shipping.

Guitar Center is a bit like Walmart… you kinda hate going there because of the way they operate as a business, but they’re generally a good place to do some «everything in one place» window shopping.
My real problem with them is the way the staff is always trying to get a sale. And I understand, it’s how the staff makes a living. But sometimes you just wanna try something out without someone breathing down your neck. They can also be tough to deal with when buying and selling used instruments, and they tend to charge a lot when trying to buy stuff from another GC in another state.
For guitars I much prefer Chicago Music Exchange. Larger, better selection but without the salesmen pressuring you. The only advantage GC has is the larger selection of cheap/​beginner instruments for those who are interested in such.
For drums, you got Vic’s over in Fulton Market in the Music Garage building, or Music Exchange’s (relatively) new drum shop next door.
For DJ equipment, check out Midwest DJ Supply on Belmont and Paulina/​Ashland, and Gramophone for music.

Waste of time. I haven’t been to a guitar center in many years, but I got a gift card so went to check it out. Wow what a terrible experience and a total ripoff. This place is not for people who buy a lot of gear. It’s more like shopping at a big box store, they want you to just go find your item on the shelf and pay the cashier the price on the tag. The «salesman» I spoke to today could not possibly care less about selling me anything and would not even talk about going below advertised price for what I wanted to buy (a set of microphones). I made an offer, he said simply «no» — one word, with bad attitude — and let me walk out.
Don’t waste your time, find a real store with good salespeople (or at least actual salespeople) who are interested in what/​why you’re buying, want to build a relationship with you and earn your business for years. Have these people ever thought about «repeat customers»? Sorry I annoyed you by trying to buy something at your store.

The staff here in the pro audio section is either hit or miss. Some know what they are talking about, others can’t pronounce Cubase (Audio Program). It’s convenient to have a store like this available, I’d recommend doing your research before heading over.

This place is an absolute joke. I always find it funny how bad they treat you but still want your hard earned money. Every time I have to set foot in there I never get speedy courteous service. The management team is pretty awful. I’ve had to have managers approve my purchases every single time and every single time they come to punch in some nonsense into the register with lack luster «I hate my life and you» energy. Would it hurt you so much to smile and say hey thanks for the business? I’d rather spend my money on Amazon or CME.

lame, lazy staff. when you call for a price they sigh as if finding and quoting a price is some kind of hardship. no problem, happy to spend my money elsewhere.

A big shout out to the staff at Guitar Center. They rock! I recently started lessons and they cleaned up and tuned up my old guitar
— plays like new! They also helped me pick out a new acoustic guitar: a Mitchell guitar pack, which I love. And, lastly, I bought a mini Strat for my 9 year old daughter. We’ve had a consistent series of positive experiences. The prices, special deals are great too!

It’s been quite a few years since I plugged in my electric 6-​string in my parent’s garage, turned the volume and distortion all the way to 11 and dreamed of Rock & Roll glory, but it’s always fun to come back to a music store like this and browse the sweet, shiny axes that, once in my hands, surely, would immediately unleash that sweaty, long-​haired Rock-​God inside of me, as the lights in the store go down, the fog machine starts pouring out around me, and I lay down some of the sickest licks the world has ever heard…
That, and I like to bang on the bongo drums…

I was in a pinch for violin rosin. Knowledgeable staff, great prices, good selection. Most importantly they checked my i.d. When I used credit card. Thank goodness someone is watching out for credit fraud. Bravo. I will definitely be back to check out electric violin if they have one.

True leadership and customer service is measured by the ability to turn a bad experience into a good experience. In this case Dave the Sales Manager and Jeff did just that and more. I am a first time guitar buyer and purchased an acoustic package set. It took me 45 minutes each way and a total of two hours to get my guitar. When I got home the string was broken and I was very upset. I took a cab back to the shop with the intentions to get my money back and not get a guitar. Jeff took the return and understood I was unhappy and offered to get me a new guitar and also restring it with better strings and teach me at the same time since I admittedly had no clue how to do it. After teaching me the sales manager Dave came over and finished the job since he was really good at tuning. Dave tuned the guitar and made sure everything was set before I left. When I left i left happy and motivated to start playing. Fantastic service at Guitar Center. Best I have seen in quite a long time.

I had a great experience here. I was shopping for a portable grand piano and David helped me decide between a Yamaha DGx-​650 and Casio PX-​750. I was asked three times by three different folks if I needed help, but not in a pushy or aggressive way, and was even given a recommendation by a fellow shopper. When it came to loading up the massive box with my new goods into my car, Britton was super helpful and worked out a little bungee system since my trunk wouldn’t close. I then jokingly asked who was going to help me carry the thing up my stairs and Britton freaking got in my car and rode with me and I’ll be damned if he did not help move my piano up two flights of stairs into my apartment (I live super close, so it was a really short little excursion). Thanks to the dudes at Guitar Center for making this experience a non-​stressful one. Best part? I love my new piano!

The place is great for your audio needs, and guitars (electric and acoustic). Plus, there’s a HUGE room where you can play the instruments and check out the sound quality before purchasing, which is a plus. They have the Gibson’s, Fenders, Martin’s, etc. Love the smell of new acoustic’s. But I wouldn’t buy from here. Why?
Biggest negatives — prices and customer service. The store is way overpriced. Go to Sam Ash store instead. They’ll treat you better and there are better deals. You’ll be happy you did.

When you come, ask for Tom. He’s the coolest.

What a joke here. this guy in the pro audio area (wish i knew his name) is an complete idiot. he knew nothing, no specs, wattage, power handing, passive/powered.where do they find these goof balls. he was trying to help me with cords (trying) but i knew what i needed until another customer walked into the pro audio area, he threw the cord down and ran to them… so much for customer service. this place is already a headache to get to and they are idiots. wont be back here, rather go to sam ash all the way in the burbs.

With a few exceptions, the staff can’t be bothered to help. Jeff seems really nice, and the kids who work behind the counter where the pedals are, but the older people are really, really unhelpful.
Don’t bother asking someone to give you an estimate on what you think a piece of gear unless you bring it in. Which, is SUPER helpful for heavy 4×12 cabinets.
Their selection of left handed guitars doesn’t go beyond 300 $, and the staff says there is nothing they can do about that, since corporate does all their ordering, and they only do inventory.
If you want a guitar that has never seen a setup, or one second of tech work, come here. If you are interested in a good playing guitar, go anywhere else. I’ve worked in guitar stores before. Most places take pride in their product, they just put guitars on walls. Most guitars need a touch of tinkering with out of the box for them to play their best, forget that idea at Guitar Center. They aren’t even willing to do a 10 minute tuneup on a guitar that you want to buy. (All repairs are billed individually, even on their own inventory.)

The people here are a joke. The so called «in-​house vintage guitar expert» was nothing more than a complete clown. I showed up with a genuine, original condition 1969 Black Stratocaster trying to figure out what they’d offer (Stupid, but you gotta do that sometimes to find out where the market is at) — If you know anything about guitars… this is a highly collectible model made popular thanks to Hendrix.
I walk up to the guy (after making an appointment) and he confidently shakes my hand real hard like he’s trying to break it off. Immediately, he tries to act like this knowledgeable aficionado. Unbeknownst to him, I’m a vintage collector. He then throws «vintage speak» at me, «Does it have a 5-​way switch or a 3-​way switch?» I proceed to tell him it’s «all original» with the genuine 3 way. He then quickly barks at me «oh dude, I’m sure that’s an addition. Fender stopped using 3 way in the 50s. It should be a 5 way. I’m sure it’s not original». I couldn’t believe what he asked me and asked again to see if he was joking, «Are you sure…» and he replies «Yeah, man! I’ve seen like a ton of these old ones. They come in here quite often…»
ANYONE that collects vintage Strats knows that a 3 way switch continued until 1976. This all knowing clown was certainly smoking some magic grass.
The end.
PS: He told me they weren’t going to make me an offer on my guitar because he didn’t think we could agree to a price. Actually, he had to get off work at 7pm. Surely, he didn’t want the commission going to someone else…