Walked into Guitar Center looking for a pack of guitar strings. James slowly emerged from behind a wall of amps like he'd just been summoned by the opening riff of Sweet Child O' Mine. He looked at my guitar, closed his eyes for a few seconds, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Yeah... she's got potential, man." Then he scratched his beard, stared at the ceiling like he was downloading a firmware update directly from the Rock Gods, and quietly said, "Follow me." What followed was less of a shopping trip and more of a spiritual pilgrimage. We wandered Guitar Center for what felt like three business days. Along the way he high-fived a drummer, had a philosophical debate with a bass player about whether tone is a mindset or a lifestyle, explained signal chains using a slice of pizza, a lava lamp, and what I'm pretty sure was quantum physics, then disappeared into the acoustic room. He eventually reappeared riding an office chair, tuned three guitars without looking, handed me the exact strings I needed, recommended an obscure pedal from 1987, and an album I'd never heard of that has since changed my life. Before I could thank him, he simply nodded, muttered, "Rock on, dude," and vanished back behind the amp wall like a cryptid protecting the sacred tones. I still don't know if James actually works at Guitar Center or if he only materializes whenever someone's tone is in danger. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

Absolute F'ing garbage every single worker in this store has no type of respect or even common decency. I place an order online for pickup and after waiting over 2 hours for a product that they already had in stock, i asked the guy in the front for some help and he then looks at me like i said the most dumbest thing in the world and tells me that it can take up to 5 hours for a pickup order to process and then tells me I should've came in and bought it in person instead. How is it that you guys have the products on hand and your telling me it takes 5 hours to be able to come pick it up, absolute ignorance and NO work ethic at all who is actually hiring these people something genuinely needs to be done and a new team of workers is what this place really needs read more

We come here to get all the things that we need to make a good music. They have everything that I need and i'm very grateful for the people that help me. read more

I stopped by this Guitar Center today to try out some of their Schecter guitar while my wife was getting a massage at another place in the same plaza. They had some nice guitar in the store for you to test out. The staff are very nice if you need any help or have any questions. They had some nice used guitar here but the price will vary so you can always look at other places before purchasing here. I walked around the store to look at what else they had in the store as well and they have tons of equipment here. There plenty of parking here. read more

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The crew here is always cool, helpful, and friendly. Every time. From the guy at the door to the dude helping you try every single combination of guitar and amp! lol. And still not buying anything more than a pick. But when you do buy something, you can be sure they will be honest with you and give you a great deal. Every time. Thanks!! read more

The representative in the Pro Audio section was very helpful and kind. But the representative at the front who checked me out did not print out my receipt and forgot to hand it to me. He had me waiting for over 10 minutes while he engaged in multiple conversations while doing so. The representative was a white male, dark blonde/brown hair at medium length, medium body build and the shift was during closing time on 8/22/26 (8:00-8:45pm). The representative did not take accountability for not taking responsibility of providing purchase documentation of sale. He brushed off the mistake and lied and said he did print out the receipt but when the other agent (Pro Audio) asked him where it was located he answered, " He didn't know" and reprinted a "Duplicate" copy of the receipt (The receipt handed to me stated it was a "Duplicate" copy). I was there to witness the interaction. The Pro Audio representative was a younger white male who was very friendly and knowledgeable. read more

I had a very disappointing experience at Guitar Center Northridge, and after two separate visits with the same employee, I feel like I need to share it. During my first visit, a worker with gray hair approached us and told us that if a manager came by, we should act like we were buying something. I thought it was a strange and unprofessional comment, but I brushed it off and didn't think too much of it at the time. About a week later, I returned, and the exact same employee approached us again and made the same comment, telling us that if a manager came in, we should pretend we were going to buy something. At that point, it no longer felt like a joke and came across as completely inappropriate. While we were trying out guitars in one of the practice rooms, he repeatedly walked by, stopped, and stared at us through the glass. This happened multiple times and made us feel extremely uncomfortable. At one point, he commented on one of the guitars we were looking at and said, "You're not going to buy that guitar, that's an $1,800 guitar, right?" I found that comment extremely disrespectful and dismissive. After continuing to watch us, he eventually came into the room and asked, "Are you guys going to buy something or what? What's the plan?" By that point, I told him that the constant staring was making us uncomfortable. Instead of listening to what I was saying, he continued talking and insisted that I listen to him. I've been to many music stores and have never been treated this way. Being repeatedly watched, questioned about whether you're actually going to buy something, and being told that you're probably not going to buy a guitar because of its price is not acceptable customer service. This experience felt disrespectful, unprofessional, and made us feel unwelcome. read more

I love it here, the staff is great and thank you, Jay!! They answered questions, they were eager to help, and even gave me a great discount. I will most definitely be coming back. read more

Signed up for lessons. Had to pick an instructor with no reviews on how their service is ahead of paying. Showed up on time Waited almost 10 minutes Instructor insulted me by saying he's no use to seeing adults for lessons Instruction room was small and no AC and felt like a sauna A couple of days before my second lesson I received a voicemail from store manager saying they moved my lesson up an hour and a half because the instructor was double booked.? Tried calling to say I booked for a specific time because other time slots didn't work but no one would answer the phone. Overall waste of time. This service is garbage. read more

I came to look for a guitar for my son and found the one that he might like. As soon as I was ready to buy it, Chuck recommended to check out more since the one I picked out is not very durable that's why it's cheaper. He recommended to get the yamaha fx335c which costs a little more but it's a better quality and looks and sounded great. Unfortunate, it was the last one in stock on the display so he gave me some discount and provided a box since I wanted to wrap it as a Christmas present. I'm so glad Chuck was there to assist me. Otherwise I may have picked out the wrong guitar for my son. Chuck was very personable, helpful and knowledgeable. Come check this place out of you're looking for guitars and drums etc. read more

My friends and I arrived to buy some speakers here. We had to wait for our third friend to show up and decided to play some of the acoustic guitars. I was playing one of the twelve strings inside and a worker named "Mark" noticed me playing it roughly and told me to stop, remarking "you don't want to beat the shit out of it" due to low gage strings, fair enough. We put the guitars away and walk over to the audio section to buy the speakers. As we waited for the kind worker in the audio section to grab the other speaker we came for, Mark shows up and starts to stare at us for a few minutes, making us feel pretty uncomfortable. He then walks away and the other worker comes back with the speaker we wanted. After the people ahead of us finished getting taken care of and we started our transaction, Mark returned to watch OUR entire transaction as if he expected something to be wrong. He didn't leave until we finished buying our speakers. There's been another case in the past where my friend was playing a guitar on an amp and one of the workers at the door shut off all the amps instead of politely asking him to turn off the amp. If you want to get profiled here after getting one warning, or want to demo a guitar for 5-10 seconds before getting abruptly stopped, please go to this guitar center. read more

Awesome customer service and James helped me he a great guy shout out too him he needs a raise

I hear a lot of complaints about Guitar Center, but they always take care of me. Most of the reps are helpful and I can usually find the gear I'm looking for. read more

My man Tony took great care of me! Easiest speaker purchase I've ever made! My neighbors are gonna be PISSED ;)

Steven the guitar tech is wonderful! Have been coming to this store and he is the reason. Hire ten more like him!!

I don't know if it is every GC or just this one in Northridge, but when ever I call NO one ever picks up. How can a big establishment like this run operations this way? So unprofessional and ghetto read more

Picked up some monitors at guitar center and Irie was super helpful and took the very heavy monitors to my car so I didn't have to. Appreciated the white glove service! read more

I went in to the repair center in the back of the store for a free pickup installation. After a couple of days I went to go pick up the guitar and the repair guy Steven went to put new strings on my guitar when I told him not to and I ended up spending money on putting new strings. I have seen other techs fix the electronics without taking out the strings but having to change strings without my consent is not cool. read more

Better selection of amps to test the guitars out with. It's frustrating because if you go to the Hollywood Guitar Center, they have a much better selection but you get ignored by the inept staff. Here in Northridge it's the opposite. Limited selection but great customer service. Unfortunately if you don't have the selection then it's time to order online unfortunately. read more

i don't usually rate chains but omg i drove up to this guitar center because it was the closest one with the gear i needed (50 miles away with la traffic). Jay and Mitch were SO kind and helpful, which especially helped because we were exhausted. just had to come here and compliment them! read more

Strictly review on booking for kids piano lesson at Guitar Center Northridge..It was a great seamless process once you speak with the right person. Had no clue they do piano lessons in store. My son is going to start piano lessons as a beginner. I went in to the location and someone advised me to email the lesson lead who books and registers you..I was in constant email with him and he told me to come back the next day as there was a special to waive the registration fee. I came in the next morning which was a Saturday at opening and as promised booked my son up for a discounted pricing for 4 lessons. We haven't started lessons yet but will review another after we have started a few lessons. Again, kudos to the guy signing us up and giving us all the new info, NIRAJ!!! He says he's there on Tues-Sat so go check him out for booking music lessons for the kiddos read more

Guitar Center - rooms for music lessons - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

My five year old daughter does piano lessons here with Lexi and she absolutely loves it. Lexi has her really excited to play. She comes home and all she wants to do is practice what she's learned. I highly recommend. It was also a LOT cheaper than other private lessons I was recommended. read more

Really the worst service ever. I try to shop locally and not on/through "Amazon" specifically, in hopes that I can contribute to keeping retail alive but I'm afraid at least this GC is going the way of the Dodo. I've been to better ones. Literally the jack asses they hire and put in charge could really not give a shit how long you have to wait for them to not help you and all the essentials seem to be out of stock. That must be what they want. The curly haired dude with the pad lock necklace.... literally showed displayed distain for the customers. Maybe he forgot his Slash derby and he was in a bad mood. Dude's!!!! Whom ever is in charge (corporate)? Either doesn't care, plans on going out of business or both. I guess the two go together. read more

The worst store/company ever I've ordered something from them over a year ago and still did not get it with no notifications . Today I put an order to a store that said it's available and in stock. I send someone to pick it up. He drives over 40 minutes to get sent away either the excuse that it will take 3-5 days to get it. Worst service read more

The worst place to take lessons they will charge you first thing every month and they don't call you to notify you if they cancel or change your lesson's time ..I have been showing up every Sunday as agreed per our contract and my son has not been on the schedule ... the scheduling people..don't know how to schedule and it's ran first come first serve at this point .... Very unprofessional..they fired the last girl and manager and they brought a new girl that works the same it ...no communication at all with the customer..be advised you will waste your money here ...the instructors aren't even the problem it's the scheduling employees... read more

The customer service was excellent. Went to return the wrong item I purchased. No bothered faces, and they helped me locate the right part. Saved me money and was refunded the difference. The two cashiers were very sociable and helpful. read more

This location is really as bad as all the 1 Star Reviews express. There are literally 5 customers waiting to be helped and there's 2 guys sitting in the office, door wide open and they're smoking. The guy in the drum section is eating a sandwich at the register and there's associates hiding in the back while everyone is waiting, including myself. When asked about a guitar, I got nothing but a condescending attitude that was off putting and unhelpful. If I didn't need strings right away, I would've just left. Mark and avoid this location, don't bother reaching out to corporate, they don't care either. read more

This place rocks when looking for drums Scott is your go to . The guy literally knows everything about drums and nice as can be .. jay who runs the whole place is a great guy to . Go here get great deal and thank me later read more

I'm extremely annoyed at this store and it's staff. It seems every time I go there and talk to someone I never get honest answers. Everyone talks with confidence like they know what they're doing or they know their policy, but they don't. They're looking for a quick sale and nothing more. My issue was two things: 1. I purchased a pair of E215 from them and lost the receipt. I was trying to get a copy in which they refused to help me print a new one. They said they were not able to access any of the other Guitar Center's purchase history; which I later found out was a lie. If they had brought out a manager it was possible according to the Sherman Oaks store. 2. I purchased a 2nd pair on 2/28/24 and was trying to EXCHANGE the pair since there was a manufacture default with the right in-ear. They told me they didn't do any RETURNS after 14 days, to which I explain I just wanted to EXCHANGE for the SAME ITEM and that their return policy does state 45 for most items which I understand has an exception for some. They literally looked me in the face and said can't be done. I called Sherman Oaks and to my surprise they were more than willing to do the exchange and help me out. I asked Sherman Oaks employees regarding my receipt issue as well to which they stated they could assist me with. Long story short go to Sherman Oaks, they are much more competent employees and way more helpful. It's worth the 25/30 minute drive read more

GM is on drugs for sure. Trying to get him to help was impossible. He was looking around like he was paranoid, whistling and flicking his fingers and tapping and could not stop for a minute to help. Ended up giving bad advise and tried to increase the price on stuff. Then when I tried to complain he said too bad bud I'm at high as it gets and walked away. read more

I placed an order for pick up in store online. They took my money and told me my order was completed. Then when I showed up in store, they said they didn't even have the guitar cable. I ordered in the store at all. Told me I should've received something saying that they didn't have it. When I talked to the manager, he said That it was going to be an extra day before they even sent the notification out telling me they didn't even have the cable. Why would you take an order to pick up a part for a six dollar guitar cable in store that you didn't even have? You sure took my money like you had it. Just another reason why guitar center has all of these one star reviews and filed for chapter 11 read more

Went in here today to get an instrumental cable for my amp (I am completely new to playing guitar, as most people ONCE were when beginning a hobby). I don't know what these employees problems are but just asking the simplest questions seems to tick them off. If you don't want to answer questions regarding to your job then why are you here at all. Either way they proceeded to sell us the wrong cable as expected ( we asked if they would double check the amp input since we noticed none of the cables looked they offered looked similar to the old one. Once we came back to return the item they said we were wrong and that it was a universal cable and that it should work. Thinking we were putting in it wrong (which makes no sense, but at this point they just mad us feel like idiots) we asked if they could help us with the problem and they told us to "google it" ok bruh. I've seen so many one star complaints at this point for this store, the gm or owner needs to put their employees in check and maybe start a round of rehiring of people who actually wanna be there and don't look miserable or high. read more

Brian is a great employee! I had a problem with something that I purchased, and he really had the right attitude and knowledge to fix the issue. He went above and beyond to make things right. This guy should be a manager! Thanks Brian! read more

Guitar Center - The seal that closes the box was taped to the inside and the box was all chewed up. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

I walked in on a Friday evening and immediately was greeted and helped by JB. I needed to find a good sturdy semi hard case for my keyboard and a double braced stand. In less than 5 minutes he helped me find the perfect ones and helped me build the keyboard stand since I was going straight to my gig and needing to use it right away. Thanks JB for your help, great attitude and patience!! read more

Very nice staff, nice employee named AMIN, he helped us out with great patience and care. I would give a 10 star review for his professionalism. read more

Went in to replace a string on my sons guitar and everyone there was sooooo helpful! It was also our first time there and my kiddo loved it! We will definitely be coming back. read more

Always pleased when popping into GC-Northridge. Anyone who follows my reviews knows I'm all about customer service. Well GC-Northridge didn't disappoint when I went in on Saturday night to pick up a mixing console. To my surprise it was busy and understaffed to keep up with the demand. Long story short: After waiting my turn, I got the attention of a sales associate who goes by the name of Stagger. With a sweaty forehead from working so hard, Stagger provided excellent service and took the time to educate me on all my options. I was looking for a specific one walking in, and left with a completely different AND BETTER one walking out for around the same price point. THANKS AGAIN "STAGGER"! ...and to the Manager: Give that man a reward read more

Guitar Center - YAMAHA AG 06 - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Northridge, California

It was an alright experience. But I do have to say that not all the employees like talking to their customers like the others. There was this one female employee that was very unhelpful as it was my first time here and all I wanted to do was look at the guitars and ask about the amps. Other than that the person that helped me out was very helpful. Overall it wasn't a bad experience but I expect better from these guitar shops. read more

I'm not a GC hater. I've been going to Guitar Centers for decades but though I've gotten some great deals on some very good instruments (now mostly a thing of the past), and always appreciate looking and trying out the variety of instruments on display, there's usually a kind of uncomfortable Walmart-ish vibe about it that somewhat turns me off. I've had some good experiences with GC salespeople, though (Riley currently at Fountain Valley is a good example), and Ross at the Northridge store seems very nice (he helped me over the phone with a Squire baritone tele, and a case and strap for it in person). So far, Northridge has been mostly good in terms of personal vibe, so I'd score them pretty high on that aspect. 4 stars for that. As everyone knows, prices and deals in the store and online aren't what they used to be. Call GC Pro to see if you can get a better deal on high-end gear (I've gotten a couple of descent discounts over the past three years from my guy there). An issue owing to high incidents of theft is they've been locking up their high end gear (of which there seems to be an ever decreasing stock). That shouldn't be a big deal I guess because they're pretty willing to make those instruments available to me, when they have something interesting, and unlike days of yore, salespeople now generally know not to stand over your shoulder with sales pitches while you're trying to demo an expensive guitar (thank you very much!) So far, this affirms my experience here. 5 bless-my-lucky-stars for that. I've only used this store about four times. Got one of those large rolling microphone stands, the Squire baritone (nice for the price), a Road Runner case which is perfect for it, and some guitar and mandolin strings. This being the closest GC to where I live, I'll undoubtedly be back, at least for an accessory or strings urgently needed. read more

So to start things off when I first got to the store, it wasn't very busy and I went back to Pro audio and asked the clerk at the cashier if he could help me and he said no he was helping someone else and didn't offer a solution. About 15 minutes later a guy walks in with no name, tag and regular clothes And rudely says did you need something? I tried to ask him for his advice on some recording equipment and what the inventory was at the store and he was very unhelpful and told me to just shop online instead. But I needed things that day so I asked him how much a product was that he had in stocked and he said it was $1200 so I told him to grab one and that I would take it. So I meet him at the cashier and tell him that I need wires to connect things to this product and he goes over and grabs the most expensive wires in the store without asking my preference of brand and then when I seen that, I told him that I wanted a different brand and he started laughing and told me I must be an amateur and not know how sound works. So then I just asked him which wires I should get and he told me the type of wires, so I grabbed them and came back to the cashier where I met him and decided to look at the product to make sure that these wires fit and when I looked at the back they didn't fit. They were actually wrong. And so I asked him again. Are you sure these are the right wires and he said yes, and then his associate came over and said no those are the wrong wires. So then I went to go get the right wires and by the time I came back, he had already rung up the main product I was getting and said it was $1500. I then told him I thought you said this was $1200 and then he said oh I never said that. So then I walked over to where the product was placed And sure enough it was $1500 and he had lied to me. On the walk back I heard him and his associate talking and laughing about how dumb I was. So I decided to cancel the entire sale and leave and on the way out I asked who the GM was and he said it was him and then I asked if there was anybody higher up that I could speak to and he said no and started laughing. He looked like he was on some kind of drugs. I love guitar centers, but I will never return to this location again and I will be reporting this to corporate. What a very unpleasant disheartening experience from a professional musician... read more