It seems like every time I try to do business, there are issues. Nothing is ever in stock, and has to be backordered. People buy stuff, use it for 45 days, return it and GC sells it off as new. Better off buying off Sweetwater or Amazon. read more

Guitar Center in Ocean has a pretty good inventory and odds are you'll find what you're looking for. The sales people are friendly and if you're in the market for a musical instrument they probably have it. Check it out. read more

I had never been to a Guitar Center before. I went yesterday to the Guitar Center in Ocean, NJ. Never again. I went in yesterday to purchase a keyboard for my daughter. Three staffers were chatting among themselves at the counter. There was no one else in the store. Twenty minutes in the keyboard room and we finally went to the desk to ask for help. Trey(?) asked "What do you want to know?" I couldn't believe we actually had to ask him to come with us because we had questions about the different keyboards. Moreover, getting information from him was like pulling teeth. He was arrogant and condescending, and he kept cutting us off mid-question. It was obvious that helping us was beneath him. We should have turned and left the store. We eventually decided to purchase a keyboard bundle that was on sale. Even checkout was a fiasco. All we wanted was the bundle with an upgraded bench. The register order was consistently wrong and Trey(?) kept huffing and puffing at us like some little kid who didn't want to do his homework. I was so upset that my daughter and I turned and left the store. I had cash, in hand, ready to purchase. It was a loss of nearly $1,000 for the store. Sorry about that, Guitar Center. I won't be back. Please get staff who are interested in helping customers who are not professional musicians. read more

This place is a joke. The techs do NOT know how to set up a guitar. Do not let them touch it!

Awesome service from the manager and everyone else. They offer military and veteran discounts as well and cant beat their warranty or prices. Definitely will be buying another guitar again here soon read more

I came here to purchased an electric piano for my son. I have very little knowledge about this instrument and I had a lot of questions I needed answered before my purchase. Our sales person Anthony was helpful, knowledgeable and patient. He patiently answered all of my questions, and explained which pianos would be good for our situation. I almost didn't come to this store because other reviews commented on bad customer service and I knew I had a lot of questions and would need some guidance. I did not experience poor customer service, I had a great experience. I asked to speak to a manager (to tell him that Anthony was great, although he did not know that was why I wanted to speak with him) and he (the manager John) came right over and was also very kind and polite. read more

Somebody immediately welcomed us helped us and was really nice amazing customer service

I don't understand all the horrible reviews for here. Went today to get a case for my daughter's guitar. We were greeted immediately upon entering the store. We told the salesman what we needed and he directed us to Corey who would help us. He took us right over to where the soft cases were and explained the different prices and features of all the bags. Very courteous and helpful. We will be back. Thanks! read more

I'm such a fan of this store! Armin helped me navigate the crazy Black Friday sale yesterday and totally hooked me up with incredible deals! He was patient and informative in a sea of insanity. While I have also shopped at smaller boutique music stores in area, I find the personalized service at this store is always excellent, and the choices are more numerous. Most of all, thank you to the incredible staff who worked through a crazy Black Friday yesterday!! read more

I spent $1,000 on a vintage fender amp that started breaking down soon after purchasing it from this store. The return period is very short for used or vintage items so I couldn't return it and it's still not fixed after spending $150 to fix it. I've spent thousands at guitar center, but I'm never spending another dollar after getting completely ripped off. read more

I rarely post online reviews. This may be my 3rd in 20 years. I was shocked during my recent visit to TGC's acoustics room. I had stopped in to shop for a new Martin Guitar. The first guitar I played was a beautiful D 41 priced around 5K. Imagine my dismay when I realized the guitar was not only completely out of tune, but the strings had obviously not been changed in months as they were all rusted. The action was so high that the guitar was literally unplayable beyond around the 5th fret. Ok, so maybe that was an aberration right? No such luck! The same was true of every guitar I was handed. Out of tune, improper set up, rusty strings, obvious neglect. A 3K D28...another 1800$ D...all disgracefully neglected and improperly set up. Unplayable. When I asked the salesman why the guitars were in this condition he stated that that was the way they came from the factory out of the box. Ok that may be true, but they're UNPLAYABLE. I can go down the road to any music store and play the same guitars and they're set up properly w new strings. Why not here? If I owned that store and saw that I would be livid. If I was a brand rep and saw my guitars presented in that light I'd never do business with that dealer again. As it is I'm done with them. My experience was an insult to players, brands and anyone who takes the time to shop in a brick and mortar store instead of online. read more

Maybe it's me but I'm just not a fan of an establishment where the employees aren't enthusiastic about their jobs.

As a previous customer that has made many purchases through the years at this store, yesterday's visit was just a poor experience. I have the GC credit card and was pitching to spend money on a new acoustic electric guitar and had my mind on a Taylor 224 ce KOA. I went into their acoustic room and saw one ok n the rack. It was locked up. That I can deal with. I would have asked for assistance from a salesperson( none were around and none came into the room for the 20 minutes I was there). The guitar was pretty much trashed. The action was higher than my resonator square neck. The strings were a good half inch away from the neck. That was all I needed to see. And retailers wonder why people buy used instruments. I will buy one on Reverb. read more

I been going to this guitar center for roughly 6-7 years now. And up until now I have never felt qualified to leave a review. My first guitar I purchase here was a Acoustic fender T-bucket 400CE for I think $349. Loved the ability to try every acoustic in the acoustic room. But I recently wanted to go electric and spend more since I have been playing more. So after I won some money gambling I bought a Gibson les Paul classic for $1,800. It was beautiful and played amazing but just didn't fit my style of music. I brought it back and returned it and received a check. The next day I cashed it went back and played every electric guitar I wanted. The salesman John seemed totally awesome even though I thought the would have been annoyed by me return a LP first of all as well as the fact I had him running around grabbing every guitar off the wall. He totally understanding in my hesitation to find the perfect one for me. He shared his war stories with his first electric and so on. Very cool dude. The salesman brought a guitar out from the back that someone had just returned. A Rickenbacker 330 (Mind you Tom petty And the heartbreakers inspired my music taste and the reason I started playing to begin with. It played like nothing I have ever thought a guitar could play. The price was steep but shit it's a rickenbacker. I went on and found and played a semi hollow gretsch and everything about it fit me. I bought it and left right before the last register was counted out. That night as I was setting up to play, guitar falls hard, headstock gets banged up and strings broke out. I gambled instead and won more money enough to to buy the rickenbacker m. That next morning I called john my salesman to tell him I'm coming in for the rickenbacker. The store manager only took off 50 bucks for the damaged gretsch when I returned it. I left with the rickenbacker and love it and I'm grateful for the employees at this place for dealing with my nonsense. I can't put My rickenbacker down whenever I am home know. read more

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Definitely avoid this place at all costs. None of the employees could really be bothered to help customers. I went there with the intention of just quickly buying a new bass. I would've been a pretty easy and effortless sale. I stood there trying to get employees attention for thirty minutes but no one could be bothered. There was only one other customer in the store so they weren't busy at all. I've gone for quick items like strings and such in the past which was never a problem but I definitely won't be back even for those simple items after this experience. read more

I really want to give 5 stars because i like their selection and the managers there are great, but ive had so many issues with this location and the east brunswick location. New guitars have scratches, chipped paint, super low or high action, rusted strings, etc. so many guitars i wanted to play and most likely buy ended up back on the wall because of quality issues. Most of the staff hasn't an idea about the guitars they carry and i was told that a mexican made guitar was american and that a laminate back guitar was all solid wood. The east brunswick location sold me a brand new martin with a humped neck and tried to pass it off as a humidity problem.....really? read more

Awful, I always give guitar center the benefit of the doubt and always somehow get let down. Spoke to "Brendan" or "Brandon" at pro audio who told me he does in fact carry RCA to Quarter inch Snakes. Drive the 30 minutes to guitar center only to find that he "misunderstood" me and did not have what he said they carried. Would not recommend to any artist, musician, producer, etc. EBay or craigslist can be your best friend, don't fall victim to this company's overpriced gear and bullshit. Terrible company and stupid employee's. read more

I went to the store in Neptune as soon as they opened this past Sunday, Aug 5 at 11am to check out wireless mic systems because my friend's Bday party was in 3 hours and their DJ fell through; I was the emergency non DJ guy who really isn't a DJ but was the only last minute option. As soon as I walked in, Antonio greeted me and I told him my situation; he was able to recommend a Sennheiser system that seemed to satisfy what I was looking for (not cheap, not super high end, but with good sound); he knew and addressed the technical questions I had and was upbeat, focused, and efficient in our conversation which I appreciated since there were a couple of other customers that also needed help. Not only did he help in expediting the purchase, Antonio demo'd the unit and got the mic and receiver synced up so it made my setup time much more efficient later. I ended up buying the unit as well as a long XLR cable and asked him to snip the packaging wires and get rid of the packaging, which he did. Great experience and I would seek Antonio out specifically to help me with future purchases. He became my go-to guy with this experience. read more