Guitar Center

So I decided I wanted to teach myself how to play the guitar. With so many youtube videos, it’s definitely possible to teach yourself nowadays. I’m also a musically inclined person; I grew up playing the piano, clarinet, drums, and xylophone.
I walk in knowing pretty much nada about guitars and was greeted by Chris. Chris is awesome… if you come here, you must ask for him if you’re looking to purchase a guitar!
I’ve got short arms, so I have trouble reaching around some guitars. Chris helped me find the perfect one for me. It was also on sale … $ 100 off. Score!
I purchase the guitar, get it home, and open the box. It did come new in box. And UHOH… there was a good sized crack on the lower bout. I called Chris and, unfortunately, they didn’t have another new one. Since the guitar I had was still playable, he told me to keep that one and a new one should be in within 2 weeks because the computer system automatically ordered them when they were out. He said he’d give me a call in a couple of weeks if one hadn’t showed up.
True to his word, two weeks later Chris gave me a call to let me know that one had yet to arrive, so he’d made a call to get one from another store here in FL shipped. Two to three days later the guitar arrived and he gave me a call to come pick it up.
Chris went about and beyond. He’s also super friendly and very easy to talk to. I can tell he absolutely loves what he does.
I also dealt with the manager, Taz. He’s also pretty great and really friendly.
So far, I’ve managed to teach myself one song on the guitar and I am loving playing.
I’ll definitely be using this shop in the future for all my musical needs!

The best experience I’ve had at a guitar center. I usually never have good experiences at guitar center. (From getting told to lower the amps, to getting annoyed looks when asked to check out the higher end guitars, at other locations of course)
I’ve been to this location a lot recently. The staff is knowledgable and very helpful. This is a true musicians shop, from having a good mix of intermediate and professional guitars in stock. Their amp selection is limited but that’s understandable. This is the best overall «guitar» shop I’ve been to in JAX.
From gear, techs, lessons, entertainment equipment, this place has it.

Chris and Tazz are absolutely awesome! They are super helpful and very knowledgeable…
They helped us pick out the best guitar for us… We are both super excited with our purchase and will definitely be back for our future needs…
The store is big and everything is easy to find. The store is kept clean and organized.

Love GC. Until my experience this evening. Went in to take advantage of a epiphone electric guitar on sale for Black Friday. Found it and took it to the cash register. This is where the experienced took a turn. There was a employee, female, body type on the larger side, w distinctive bangs. Sorry I didn’t catch her name. I don’t usually say this word but she was a b*%ch! Not just to me, but to my parents who were with me. She tried to charge me full price for the guitar and didn’t believe me when I said it was on sale. Then a manager confirmed it was on sale and gave us the discounted price. She was just nasty, non pleasant, and in a bad mood. Not very good customer service. Other than that, everyone else was extremely helpful. If u go to this store, avoid her. Other than that, Happy Holidays and aloha!

I have been a fan of Guitar Center since it came to New York nearly ten to twelve years ago as I had such a positive buying experience there. Later, I became a shareholder in the company and had the honor of having a meeting with the company CEO Larry Thomas because my father was the main stock analyst providing coverage of the company at the time (when it was a public company).
With my bias known, I make a point of visiting Guitar Centers for my constant changing music tastes ranging from Classical to Jazz/​Reggae to Metal. While every GC seems to have its own character and vibe to themselves, each one tries to make my arrival welcoming either directly or indirectly by having something exciting in their stock that I might want.
The new Orange Park location in JAX has a much different layout than I am used to, but it didn’t take me more than two crunching chords to find the guitar, bass, and acoustic sections I was looking for. I was really looking for strings for my old Fender Stratocaster, but my eyes wandered to the vibrant Dr Z amp head and the howling VHT Pitbull combo amp… then there were the Gibson 335’s…and the Martin acoustic guitars… the list could go on.
I had to pull myself away from all the good things I could see and eventually depart for points East, but I knew that I would be back.
In my passing evaluation, I suspect the store might be better than I rated it, but I will have to return with my guitar to plug in and find out…