As my Guitar Center gently weeps, I find myself writing a negative review for this place. Located in Rochester, despite the prices and issues, at least this location has never screwed me over to the extremely aggressive and unfriendly degree that the one in Amherst NY did. I'll never forget the way they treated me up there. There are some creepy similarities here, and I worry that if I bought the same volume of equipment I'd end up with the same awful experience. Some of the associates (at most locations) would say anything to sell you this stuff and then once you get it, everything changes. Oh we never said that. Oh you misunderstood. Oh no it's not meant to do that. Oh we're not responsible for that breaking. Some shady and really bad people. On the other hand the people down here are better than the Buffalo staff, not saying much though. My experiences here have been more positive, but I'd still rather go to a local music shop. read more

Guitar Center - As my guitar center gently weeps - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Rochester, New York

Well, stopped into the Rochester store today to get a gig bag for the Ibanez bass I just got from Guitar Center online. Although the reps were not rude, they certainly were not attentive. I showed them the bass. One guy needed to show it to the mgr. He came back and said they didn't have anything that would fit. Then he thought we could look and I remarked that was a good idea. They only had three and none would fit. I said Ibanez had a part number of one that went with the instrument on their website. We returned to the front counter and I thought he was maybe going to look it up. I also started some research on my phone. Next thing I knew he was checking customers out. I guess I was done. No acknowlegement, no "Sorry, we can't find anything", nothing. So I left. Won't be returning to this location. And they wonder why folks shop Amazon! read more

Whatever you guys pay Jerry one of the sales managers is not enough. Everytime I come in he's the friendliest and most helpful guy when it comes to buying guitars. Jerry is always offering advice and recommendations to help people get their money's worth on purchases. Also no one in the store is ever pressuring anyone to buy anything. I always have a great time visiting this store. read more

The Las Vegas store is so large, it's hard to walk out without finding what you want and/or need. If they don't have it you can find it online! The best value, in my opinion is the wide array of used instruments and equipment! For example, I picked up a Fender Mustang GT100 for about 2/3 the cost of a new one! This amp is beautiful! The perfect jam amp and practically brand new! I grabbed a lower end used Schecter! Perfect beater guitar and some accessories to go with the amp and guitar; All used of course! Truthfully, the only other way to grab these kind of deals is Craig's List, but beware. You won't get the option to return the instrument if it doesn't meet your needs or expectations. Regardless, just going there and playing everything is super fun! Unfortunately, for my bank account anyway, I'll be back! Just a quick FYI! I was told that the guitar center in Hollywood is the very first, is huge and was Charlie Chaplin's movie theater. Can't wait to see it! read more

I came in pretty late, roughly 7:45 P.M. Was greeted at the door. Originally I came because I was looking to fully purchase an item I had on hold (Schecter 7-string) but thought I would try out another 7 string they had just in case. Over the course of 30 mins I had multiple members of staff checking in on me and helping me with any questions I had. I also was looking to trade in a couple guitars as well. JERRY really helped me out even though it was really close to closing time and he really helped through the entire process of my purchase. Big shoutout to Jerry!!!! read more

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Guitar center was an amazing place to buy my first guitar. We worked with two associates Trevor and Lincoln. Both were vastly knowledgeable and provided an unbiased pros and cons of each guitar. Trevor offered his personal advice on maintaining my new guitar and even offered to restring it for me prior to leaving!! He made sure I was familiar with the method of restringing to save me money in the future. Definitely will be coming here from now on. The store was clean and easy to navigate! They answered all my questions with clear and informative answers. I brought along my friend who is an avid guitar player for his suggestions. He is pictured below, then there's a few photos of my wife holding the guitar I purchased. Overall it was a great experience! read more

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Ordinarily, I like to shop local *but* Guitar Center gets some interesting stuff now and then... so if you don't check them out you might miss a good deal. Case in point, I stopped by there to buy a cheap sub-mixer & got a smoking' deal on an open box Moog Theremini. It's rare to find something like that stocked *anywhere* let alone Henrietta, yet there it was and a third off retail. Couldn't pass up the deal! If you shop here, it pays to check out the competition... (House of Guitars, Sound Source e.g.) especially if you're looking to spend $$. Do some comparison shopping before buying... However, this was a cool deal. Special tip of the hat to salesman Rob Bartels. Super service! read more

Guitar Center - Presidents' Day sale... Tempting! - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Had a great experience shopping in the drums department. Lincoln is a fantastic associate who was courteous and informative about both electronic and acoustic drums. Thank you for letting me try out some drums and helping me make an important decision about my purchase! read more

I bought microphone and try to return(store credit)next day not even 24 hours but they denied to return .

It's been twenty years since I picked up a guitar. No exaggeration. As an activity coordinator at a senior living facility, I thought it was time to dust off the old guitar and start accompanying all the impromptu sing-a-longs. And then I remembered why I stopped lessons: the neck on my guitar was so warped it required Herculean strength to hold down the strings, resulting in raw hamburg-like fingertips. Not a pretty sight, and an even more gruesome feel! After a little on-line research, the husband and I shot off to the Guitar Center one Tuesday evening. There were a handful of other customers, most perusing independently. Immediately, we were greeted by a young blonde-in-the bottle dude (no judgment, I myself do the dance of the dyes), with the ubiquitous eyebrow piercing and tattoos. After inquiring if we needed assistance, he directed us to Rob. Rob was fantastic. He showed us a variety of guitars and helped me deduced what guitar would be right for me. He treated us respectfully and did not show dismay at my clear lack of guitar awareness. He was teaching me things about a guitar I had never given any consideration to. There is a small "practice" room where customers could play around in without the stress of performing for an entire room. Very much appreciated when you are a novice. We would select a guitar, my husband and I would go in the room, and Rob would wait in the main lobby until we were satisfied. One particular guitar I knew nearly immediately would not work well with me, so we put it back. While we were getting another guitar another associate came by. He was not nearly as competent as Rob: sharing what seemed to be much more his personal preference than providing factual information and allowing us to make our own decisions. Shortly Rob intervened, thanked the young guy, and proceeded. Rob was was not pushy; he didn't hover and make us feel pressured. He was attentive and we felt extremely comfortable. We had not planned on purchasing that evening, but felt so confident with our decision, we went ahead. I do agree with another customer that this Guitar Center may need a little tidying-up. But, in this case, it worked to my advantage. The guitar I chose had a sale price, which expired six days previous. Without us even questioning, Rob said he would grant it at that price. If we had a different salesperson, let's say, the younger guy, my review might have been very different. As luck would have it, we had Rob, and it was a fantastic experience. In case you're curious, I went with a Mitchell MD-200SCE. So, if there's anyone out there who'd like to rock a little: "Oh, Susanna," drop me a line! "Rained all night, the day I left: the weather it was dry..." read more

I heard the general manager has relations with his employees! Yuck! Great service though

In general, I like Guitar Center; for a chain store, I think that the company as a whole does a great job offering instruments and products for musicians at competitive prices. However, for whatever reason this particular location isn't the best example of what a Guitar Center is like. Perhaps the most glaring fault of this location is how disorganized and unkempt the floor is. Most of the time, the sales floor is littered with empty boxes or gear that is not hooked up or displayed properly. The store just looks messy and it is difficult to shop and browse. The other Guitar Centers I go to are very clean, with well stocked displays and a proactive staff there ready to assist you with whatever product you are interested in. I usually end up spending money whenever I enter a Guitar Center, but the last few times I visited this location, the money stayed in my wallet. This location just doesn't live up to my expectation for these stores but I suppose that isn't a bad thing, for there are dozens of other great independent stores that deserve my business. read more

Friendly, knowledgable staff and large selection of guitars. I had an issue with a product and after some phone calls they sent out a complete replacement. read more

Been frequenting this place for years now, probably over 10 years. Located in a busy location on Jefferson Road in a plaza that also contains Tops, Marketview Liquor, and some other shops/restaurants. So upon entering, you will see a vast array of amplifiers and a wall of guitars to the right. Straight ahead are the bass guitars/amps and a little sound room, then towards the back are the drums. Between the drums and the bass guitars are the live music/mixers/synth/DJ equipment and also some electric pianos. To the left are accessories and the cashier. If you look immediately to the right there is an acoustic room that has a decent selection of name brand acoustic stringed instruments. Anyway, Guitar Center is a chain associated with Musician's Friend, an online store. Each location is fairly similar in terms of the brands and types of things sold. However, the layout varies depending on the size and shape of the building in which it's located. You will see your standard Fender, Ibanez, Gretsch, Jackson, Gibson, Epiphone, Schecter, etc etc. Vox, Mesa, Crate, Marshall, Peavey, Orange amps. Honestly, they have everything you need to start playing. This particular location is my go-to for just hanging out and trying out instruments and to get accessories. The guys here have seen me multiple times in the past and they are always helpful. Prices are fairly standard for a big name instrument store. I like. read more

Signed up for Ukulele lessons with Chris. My first 2 lessons started with Chris pulling a Ukulele off the wall and tuning it. I never played my Uke for either lesson. Dissatisfied, I cancelled my lessons and requested a refund for the 2 remaining lessons that were not taken. After a month without a refund i called Guitar Center and was in the process of arranging for a refund when i was disconnected. No call back even after providing them my cell phone number. Tried to call back for an hour and nobody answered the phone. Very dissatisfied customer. Beware. read more

I went in to purchase my daughter a Ukulele and all supplies for Christmas. They were friendly and helpful as soon as I entered. Ian (I think) the acoustic guy, helped me with my selection because i have no knowledge in guitars or ukuleles. He did not try to over sell me. I left feeling very good about my purchases. I will shop there again. read more

The Guitar Center staff lack any type of customer service savvy and are extremely unprofessional. If they wait on you, you are lucky. However, if they do wait on you, they cannot answer your questions (lack of knowledge on products and services) then they will say they need to help another customer and get someone else to assist you...but NO ONE ever comes back unless you hunt them down and confront them about their lack of customer service. read more

This is a fun store to go in and see. Even if you don't play an instrument. Just being there makes you want to learn how to play something. I go here mainly for drum stuff but they have a wide variety of sound equipment, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars and bass. The staff does seem to change fairly regularly but I usually get good service and the prices are reasonable. There are a few other stores around town that are specifically for drums or guitars but this is a good everything in one place spot to go. And they're hours make it pretty convenient. read more

Just...don't bother. That's their attitude. Why shouldn't it be yours? I drove 100 miles to check out some bass guitars. They were hanging up high, hard to reach. Why? When I asked for help, I got the typical, "be with you in a minute". After 15 minutes of waiting, I went looking for staff. 1 guy was helping a kid with a guitar, fair enough. But, apparently, it takes 3 employees to figure out the trade-in value of a distortion pedal! I'm not giving my hard earned money to a store that thinks that little of their customers. Not only is this a bad music store, it's just a bad store. Period. read more

Ok if your buying something used but you will get NOTHING on Trade In. It's a hit and miss store, you might find something nice used but anything New you can buy online and pay less and not have to pay tax either read more

Always fun to go in and play some guitars, staff set up and restrung my guitar in hrs. Got me back playing same day.

It's an amazing store to go purchase instruments. The staff was very friendly and made sure to ask if I had any questions about anything and even offered to bring my keyboard to my car. It's very affordable and I enjoyed my visit there. It's nice to even walk into and just browse. I see myself coming a lot here in the future . read more

I went in this evening with a gift certificate that my brother sent me via email from Africa for he is in the Army. I got it for my birthday, so anyway As soon as I went in I went directly to the microphone section to look for a new mic for recording and I asked the clerk for assistance. This guy was an asshole, not only did he have an attitude but also spoke to me like I were mentally disabled or something and all I did was tell him what I was looking for and my price range. So then I told him nevermind and walked away. I then moved to the guitar string area, picked a few packs as well as some harmonicas and went to check out. Then the guy who cashed me out had an attitude and sighed deep as if I were bothering him with the printed out gift certificate. He ended up having to walk away from the register for something, never told me why and was gone for 13 minutes. I know because I watched the clock. I almost walked out but he had my gift cert. I was pissed when I left. This is not the first time I had a negative experience there either. From now on I am going to The House Of Guitars. The only reason I didn't go this time is because of the gift cert. Theyre customer service is way better and they know their stuff read more