Guitar Center can be hit or miss. This experience was a hit. I brought in a guitar ordered online (risky) as a Christmas gift because the action was off and I was concerned about the integrity of the neck. The store was pretty busy the night before Christmas Eve, and the two dudes working were clearly outnumbered by customers. After not too bad of a wait, Kai took a look, agreed the action wasn't right, and even though the regular guitar tech wasn't there, said he might be able to fix it. And he did--he fixed it well, in a way that felt knowledgeable and trustworthy. Suddenly, the guitar played great. I was impressed by these two guys juggling various things and making it all seem easy. read more

I like the store. Nationwide coverage, great selection of gear. Yet, the experience ranges from decent to downright bizarre. Some employees are genuinely helpful; others couldn't care less about customers. On a few occasions, I couldn't even purchase peripherals because the sales staff couldn't be bothered to assist. Twice, I was treated with suspicion and closely watched as a potential shoplifter. On one occasion, an employee even subjected me to a subtle interrogation. Ridiculous. read more

Some people might think that if someone's walk around the store looking for something, maybe an employee would help them. I literally want from the right side of the building to the left side of the building looking for a guitar tuner, and it was my first time being at the store. There's about 10 employees walking around talk to each other at the register and the security guy doesn't even look up for his computer at the front door. Not to say Amazon is green and everything, but I was looking for something simple so I might as well go to Amazon. They were talking so much at the register didn't even look up to see who was around. They were letting a customer eat at the cash register if I can't expect good customer service I just put down the item and left. read more

I love this place. This place has all your needs for djing and other stuff. I was looking to update my dj equipment. Jessie was cool and helped me with my choices. I love how this places allows you to play on their equipment. Although some customers should be banned from playing the piano cuz my ears were burning from the non sense. They price match, they well buy back equipment if it's in demand. Definitely coming back. read more

Guitar Center - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

Brought in a guitar for repair. The technician was very knowledgeable. It was completed when they said it would be. Price was reasonable.

As a drummer, I love going to places like this just to play all the drums and stuff and there's a big drum room.

My music store of choice, awesome. GC Rockville has a great staff from store manager on down and they are always willing to cater to your needs $$$ or $ and even if you are casually looking. They are attentive and well informed and they back that up with a great selection of gear to choose from. I just bought a new EVH 5150 100s Stealth head there on Saturday and I was very pleased at the level of service I got (and always get). You can't go wrong here. Pricing on used gear is VERY competitive AND a great selection. I am not sure where the negative reviews can come from. Crap gear??? Really??? Go look at the selection of guitars in the back Gibson room or the right side High End Room. read more

I bought this Les Paul when I stopped in to grab some cords so I could daisy chain a few pedals together. I was given ample time to play the guitar along with the other one that I was looking at. The biggest selling point for me, were the upgrade pickups. The lower Les Paul models have a humming sound to them when connected to the amp but this pro-III model sounded great and on top of that the price was reduced for their annual October sale. The guitar was only a hundred out of my range but I decided to go ahead and buy it anyway because of the pickups. The sales staff answered all of my questions and explained exactly what I was buying in the upgraded pickups. He even gave me a walkthrough of each setting. Overall the sales staff was attentive and awesome because it was pretty when I was in there. read more

Guitar Center - Les Paul - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

If there was a 0 star option Id choose it. I wasted over 3 hours trying to get a guitar that was mishandled and damaged. They say we can cover shipping, they dont. its always free. They never ship packages to where they say they will. Go to victor litz Go to Chuck Levins This place is a sh*thole. read more

Came in on an ad for their free group guitar lessons, and met Jake, who was a patient and friendly instructor that showed me his cool guitar note chart that he made. Solid stuff. read more

Love this guitar center great selection of new guitars and. Used guitars and amps and fair prices

A pack of thieves who write bad checks for gear you sell them and then are noncommittal about finding a solution. Avoid.

Needed a can of Deoxit on a day's notice. I checked the website, it said it was in stock. Just to make sure, I gave them a call. They said it was in stock. I drive an hour to get there. There is no Deoxit. Mistakes happen, but then the guy behind the counter was a dick about it. And then he said I oughta call to make sure next time. I hope this place burns down. EDIT: I brought this issue to a manager and we resolved it. read more

I came in wanting to buy a drum set and no one is there to help with the sale. I figured I'd just buy a drum stick bag and some picks, the employee there tells me he's not sales and wants me to wait for a sales person to ring up my items. 35mins later, that same employee rings up someone's items... Completely unprofessional. No attention to customer service. read more

Great place and even greater service. I'm a musician and vocalist and whenever I come in the service at this store in Rockville is thorough and great. Everyone here is so friendly and takes the time to explain all the things you need to know. Really grateful for *Brian C.* He's the person I usually go to for help and is really professional, pleasant and patient. I appreciate that so much. He also plays piano excellently and sings amazingly. Thanks to all the employees and a special shoutout to the "Pro Audio" department! read more

We rented a broken flute from this joke of a company in the fall. Because the flute was broken, our daughter struggled to learn it in class. The teachers and students were wearing masks, so the teacher had no way of knowing the flute was defective. After 4 months, because my daughter was struggling so much, we were forced to pay for lessons to try and catch up. The instructor easily identified that the flute was unplayable. When we switched flutes, she was able to get caught up after 2 month. So we had to pay for 2 months of lessons with Guitar Center to pay to get her caught up because Guitar Center didn't inspect the flute before renting it. Most companies would try and make up for it. Guitar Center's solution? IT took almsot 3 months before the manager decided to get back to us. They said the customer hadn't make an attempt to contact them about the issue (I guess the 9 year old that had never played an instrument should be able to find the issue). They offered to give us credits for FUTURE lessons (which we were not interested in). Do NOT use these people. They will use their screw ups to try and squeeze even more money out of you. The owner commented below, but did nothing outside of posting their reply. Don't be conned into thinking they did anything read more

I ordered a used pearl free floating snare drum. When it arrived it had no snares and a missing lug. The rep said he would mail me a snare but the lug was not available. One word folks, Sweetwater. This is the second time this type of thing has happened with Guitar Center. The last time. PS when I called about the return the first agent said I had to take it back to a Guitar Center and then hung up on me. The second agent sent me a UPS return label. Thank you good agent. Please get a job at Sheetz Order a Ludwig 14 by 8 snare. Waited almost 2 weeks. They sent a used 14 by 6 1/2. Guitar center sucks!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I have never had good customer service experience in this store but today was a big surprise. I had issues with guitar electronics and action with one of the frets. A guy named John took care of it all. Full disclosure, this is the first time I've been treated well, my problem heard with patience, and issue resolved in this center. This is not a busy location for Guitar Center but all other times sales folks always seem rushed in an empty store. They're not helpful and do not try to solve the problem or explain you the available options.. rather they go straight ahead and throw in that take it or leave it attitude. Store manager needs to add some customer service training. But kudos to John. I'll be sure to buy accessories for my guitar and recording needs here if staff are like John. read more

I went there to get my guitar strings fix they didn't do a good job when I went to go tune my guitar my low e was saying like b or something like that I don't remember what it exactly said but it sounds bad read more

Guitar Center services the budding musician, young and old. They have a variety of instruments and aren't limited to just guitar service. There are drum sets, electronic keyboards galore, midi controllers, DJ equipment and much more. They also provide music lessons as well. You get the opportunity to test out the instrument before you buy which is awesome. I stopped by Guitar Center to get a classic guitar restrung. The guy at the counter was very friendly and did an excellent job in fixing the guitar. I got a non standard setup which was $60 I believe. I don't live too close to Rockville but Guitar Center is still my go to for any music needs. read more

I often don't take time to ever write reviews for companies or for any individuals unfortunately unless the service(s) stands out exceptionally and let me tell you I wish I could go into exact detail but I don't have too much time so I'll just say this.. One person that specifically deserves a major major shout is LEON!!! I have worked in customer service for 10+ years (management roles included) and very rarely do I come across the caliber of amazing service that Leon provided me with today! Not only was he patient over the phone to answer all my questions in full - he went above and beyond to help me in person at the store for about an hour!! At no point did he show frustration regarding my inquiries - rather he created an memory I will never forget with the amazing service and I walked out with the products I needed and all questions answered :) Hands down one of the kindest employees I have ever encountered at a retail establishment - top 5 experience of my life as a customer based on customer service (ALL AROUND) NOT ONLY IS HIS CUSTOMER SERVICE AMAZING BUT HE KNOWS HIS STUFF!!! Product information - troubleshooting issues - etc... to the Teee! On point with everything He even was able to help a few other customers efficiently/professionally and effectively during the time he was assisting me (since some of my requests took longer than expected) Honestly I write this review hoping someone in management will see this and recognize the amazing service that is being provided by Leon!! Super hard worker, diligent, EXTREMELY KIND!! Love this rockville location and generally everyone at any guitar center is amazing and super helpful but Leon specifically deserves a shout out since like I said... ONE OF IF NOT THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCES I HAVE HAD AT A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT I'm a customer at this specific guitar center in Rockville for the past few years and I have dealt with a wide range of employees, only 1 or 2 have been extremely rude and unprofessional but mostly everyone is super kind, welcoming, and willing to help :) I know I said I wouldn't go into detail so forgive me for the lengthy post but I really didn't even get into specifics I just wanted to emphasize my point of appreciation for the exemplary customer service provided by Leon. THE ONLY CON: the manager on shift at the time of my experience could learn a thing or two when it comes to professionalism and customer service - I say this based on my encounters with him on this occasion and occasions in the past BUT don't let this take away from the point that THIS GUITAR CENTER AND ALL GUITAR CENTERS I HAVE BEEN TO ARE AMAZING PLACES WITH AMAZING EMPLOYEES 99.9% of the time SO LETS FOCUS ON THE GOOD :) read more

Great selection of guitars with the largest selection of high end Fender, Gibson guitars in the area. They now have a PRS room with the second best selection of high end PRS guitars in the DC area (#1 would have to be Chuck Levins where Paul Reed Smith used to work as a guitar tech!). They have a friendly staff who make you feel welcome, especially Treyvon who is aways joyful and enthusiastic. read more

Guitar Center has excellent customer service, a huge inventory, and really great prices. Don't let the name throw you off; they have plenty of other instruments, such as Keyboards and drums as well as several rooms full of guitars. The guitars are much less than they are at small businesses as one might expect. I guess the internet and catalogs like Musicians's Friend really put some competition on music stores, but I'm happy to find a place like this that has such great prices and a great staff. A while back, I bought a fixer-upper Fender that a previous owner had butchered. Guitar Center fixed the electronics and threw in a new pickup for $30. The neck is off a little bit, but it works and sounds great nonetheless. I appreciated the speed and politeness of the technician in getting it ready to play. I even bought a harmonica to try out and Andrew, who was on the floor for his first day, was very helpful in picking one out that sounds beautiful and fit my budget. Every time I've been there the staff are very helpful and nice. It can be a busy place, especially when they have events or bands playing there. All in all, it's a really cool place with a lot of things to consider purchasing, etc. It's very convenient as well, being close to Rockville Pike and the Twinbrook Metro with fairly late hours as far as music stores go. read more

Guitar Center - C Maj Harmonica I bought here. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Rockville, Maryland

One of the better big music retail shops on the area. They have a great selection at very fair prices. I was greeted promptly by multiple employees. The store is clean and well organized. I'm haven't been at this shop in a year due to not having a lot of gear needs. I am glad though that I came here first. I traded in some used gear and left with a great deal on a used Fender Stratocaster. I also left three guitars with Ryan to get set ups. They have the best set up prices in town!! If you like a bit more quiet when you shop Monday's close to opening is great. Andrei in guitars is awesome!! So is Brian and Rob in pro audio. read more

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Today, I came into guitar center with one mission in mind; to get my brother a new guitar since his first one cracked. Immediately upon entry I was warmly greeted by someone who asked me what I was looking for and directed me where to go. As soon as I walked towards the guitar area I was addressed promptly by Stephen. He led me into the acoustic guitar area. At first glance the amount of choice is overwhelming, but Stephen was so patient with answering my questions and pulled several different guitars for me to try. The best part about the whole sales team was, everyone I encountered was friendly, non intimidating, and knowledgable about the guitars. I did not feel pressured to buy the most expensive guitar and he definitely helped me to make the right choice within budget. I bought the guitar and was again politely offered the insurance, which I gladly accepted. I had such a good experience I actually came back the same day with my brother to buy MYSELF a guitar. The floor manager, I think his name was Alex? greeted us in the acoustic room and was also very friendly and non intimidating, he offered his services and even offered to see if they could fine any discounts possible to give us. Stephen helped us AGAIN and got us cases and gave us time to choose our straps. I was shocked to see that morning or afternoon staff, everyone we spoke to was knowledgeable, friendly and not just pushing for a sale. If you are interested in a new guitar or instrument I could not recommend them enough. We are both very satisfied with our guitars and the experience of shopping itself was a joy. Bottom line, I wish I had more money to spend here. Seriously. read more

Our experience in the guitar center in Rockville ,thanks to Valen Ponomaroff , was excellent. We got a Ovation Guitar with a roadrunner case . Valen showed us several alternatives and advised us exactly what we needed. The place is in incredible, so many options . read more

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2/24/18 While I did have problems when I went to this location, I was contacted by a guy named Ronald Eva. He told I was going to be contacted by the district manager and then later admitted that the request to be contacted by that manager was never even looked at. So be it What did happen though is that the store manager called me. We talked for a bit and I guess I misjudged him earlier. He indeed was sorry about my experience, he shared some stern words with his employees and even went out of his way to make me feel better about everything that happened. You can read my previous review and judge for yourself. But he earned back my business. I would have given all the stars but considering the run-around I got from Ronald Eva we're going to leave it at 4 stars. So, Ronald, if you tell someone that you are going to do something, follow through. read more

Hard to get attention of staff sometimes, but we love this location. We've bought guitars here (which of course they have) as well as ukeleles, tuners, and cases. It's always fun to browse, and often sit and listen to real musicians jam on instruments they're trying out. read more

Friendly folks for sure and good selection for the area. Bathrooms are disgusting so make sure you don't 'need to go' while there.

This review is for guitar repair service. I dropped off a broken guitar at Guitar Center today. It only required a minor repair. I was told it would be ready either today or tomorrow. Went home and received a call about two hours later that it was ready. Asked if I could pick it up, and was told to come right in. When I arrived back at the store, 90 minutes before closing time, the place was a ghost town; there were NO employees anywhere to be found. Wandered around for literally 10 minutes looking for anyone that might be able to help. Finally, someone appeared (in the keyboard section; the guitar section was still empty) and offered his assistance. When I presented my repair ticket, I was told the repair had not even been started yet. I told the employee that I had been called by the store to come pick it up. I asked how it could happen that I was called and told the guitar was ready if it wasn't actually ready. The response was barely a shrug. There was no sympathy, no apology for wasting my time, no attempted explanation of how such a thing could have happened, no offer for a discount on the repair. Somewhat shocked at the totality of the customer service failure, I asked for and received my guitar back. I will be taking it elsewhere for repair. The sad part is that Guitar Center might have kept my business with a slightly apologetic attitude. Also, a small discount would have been appropriate in this circumstance, since the fault was not mine. This is literally my first negative yelp review ever, and I'm sorry to have to write such a review. But I'm more sorry that Guitar Center stole 2 hours of my life today (including travel time), with nothing to show for it. read more

I was left on hold for a really long time on more than one occasion. I actually hung up after several minutes on hold and took my business elsewhere. -- And it seems like people at the store are not on the same page. You call asking whether something is available -its listed as "available" on their site, and one employee would say "yes its available" but then you speak to someone else and they would contradict what the first employee said... "Its available but only an open box," or "its only available but they're on lay away. I do not want to even imagine how furious I would have been if I had driven the half hour to the location only to find out the equipment I asked for, the one they said was available, wasn't even there. -- I used to ADORE Guitar Center. Its where I got my first piece of DJ equipment. But now.... What gives me hope is most of the people there are really cool; but you'd get better overall customer service ordering your equipment online or from a non-franchise store. read more

personally i won't be coming here ever again the staff was rude and unhelpful. I never got his name but there's this white man at the front desk who was rude and on us from the second i got there. never have i experienced anything like that. if i could rate it a zero i 100% would. read more

Ive been on a call for about an hour when I just asked if my guitar was ready to be picked up the service this store offers I unreliable and just unresponsive and it seem like they don't give a dam about there customers I went to the store asked if it was ready and said no that was a waste of 1 hour and 30 minutes read more

Needed to rent equipment, had two employees tell me in person everything should be there to rent, and that they could cover it. Made one phone call to Management to make sure as I had a fundraiser coming and had to have this stuff day of. Was completely assured I would have no problem. BUT, when i got there guess what? Nothing to be had Not only was there no Mixers that I had asked about around, but even opting for a different solution produced nothing. I was sold a bill of goods to get me in the store and spend about $2,500 on what I absolutely had to have. I walked out. Have never been super excited about Guitar Center any way, But I will never, ever go back. Not even for a pick. read more

Sadly, a once excellent place, is declining in quality and service. While the employees are friendly, the place is severely understaffed and staff is shuffled from one department to another, even for simple tasks like getting a display case key. Also appears that items were open and parts missing. I remember the days when each and every department had at least one, if not more, personnel on the floor and at the register. The only thing that kept this rating from a one is that the few employees were trying their best. read more

Ina K. is right. Knowing a guy who works here or a friend who does definitely helps. For those that need music gear and don't know a guy who knows a guy, this review is for you. And no, Guitar Hero or Rock Band is not music gear, just like the old Power Pad wasn't a piece of track & field equipment. Merchandise - With guitars hanging on the walls all the way up to the ceilings, this is the Bed, Bath & Beyond of music stores. Don't be intimidated. Just like mattress stores and car dealerships, you can make a deal at music stores, if you know what you're doing. As Yelpers, I'm sure no one ever buys something without reading numerous reviews and starting a Talk topic here on Yelp, and the same goes for music gear. GC advertises heavily with Memorial Day sales, 4th of July sales, Labor Day sales...pretty much most government holidays, they'll have a sale. These sales are "accurate" -- you save 55% or whatever on the list price; but no one sells at list price. To get a good deal, you need to do your due diligence in comparison shopping. They have tons of gear and if you're looking for something specific, check out musiciansfriend.com, which I believe they either own or is their online distribution channel. If you don't know what you want to get, check out reviews on musiciansfriend or harmony central and try to narrow it down. From there, call around, especially to Chuck Levin's, and check the internets. Get something in writing and GC will generally match it. For large purchases, they'll give you a percentage off of your total but you can't combine price match and bulk deals. In general, Chuck's prices are almost always lower than GC's. So why not just buy directly from Chuck's? I find the service and lighting better at GC and I prefer the location. Service - Most of the guys here do know their stuff but there are definitely tiers when it comes to the salesmen. It may take much longer, but wait for the guy/gal who seems to constantly be helping people. He/she will most likely be the eBay equivalent of a power seller, whereas those guys sitting around looking for someone to help are like eBay sellers with (0) feedback. I've always found the sales people and managers here to be really friendly and helpful. Location - I prefer this location over the one in Towson and 7 (deadly) Corners. The layout is better and the store is larger (read: more gear). Be careful entering the parking lot! It's a really sharp incline and I've seen and heard many a driver jack up their cars. Last year, I would've given this store 5 stars but they've gotten a bit tighter with their price match policy, as you didn't need the price in writing last year. Plus the guy I knew who worked here got transferred to a GC in another state. Still, this is a great place to buy new music gear in the Rockville area. For used gear and trade-ins, stick with Atomic. read more

Piss-poor customer service at the desk, specifically from a clown named "Leon." Here's a heads-up, Leon: When a customer approaches the counter and stands there for several minutes before you return from whatever important conversation you are having on your cell phone, raising your eyebrows and nodding your head is not a proper greeting. Got it? Good. Also, don't argue with a customer who knows more about the products the store carries than you do. If I was your manager and saw your arrogant attitude with customers, I would can your sorry ass in a quick minute. read more

If you're a teenager, don't bother coming here. If you need assistance, you'll be ignored. If you try out any instruments/musical gear, you'll be given dirty looks. I guess customer service isn't a priority here. read more

Guitar Center has a lot of guitars and the prices are ok. The sales people are mostly jacka****. One of the first things I purchased there was a short scale guitar for my kids. The pickups had some rust on them. The guy told me to take the guitar home and he would call me when some new ones came in and I could exchange it. He never called. As far as I'm concerned that's just some guy who lied to me. Anyway, I took care of the rust and the guitar is fine. The point is most of those guys will just say whatever and let you buy the thing. If you know what you want and don't need help this is an ok place to go. read more

Almost every time that I have gone to GC for the past ten years, it has been a cringe inducing experience. This last time was no exception. The problem with GC is that they are using the same slimy-salesman shtick. The kind that I once thought was only being kept alive on the very worst used car-sales lots. It's 2012 and people are very comfortable with the anonymity of online browsing, and finding out details for themselves. So it's unnerving when you get some kid (who talks like he's from Waynes World) walking up to you diddling a guitar. Half aloof, half in crummy sales pitch mode. I came to GC to look around. I was maybe 1/2way genuine about buying a guitar, but the way that I was handled made me feel the need to get out. Quickly. But first I needed guitar strings. Which was another ordeal in itself. These staff members reek of dickish elitism. Is it so hard to get a straight look in the eye and a moment of lucidity from these folks? On that note, let me make two things clear: 1. I'm not your 'man'. As in "have a good weekend man". Don't friggin do that! 2. I don't want to give you my name when I buy picks or strings. Almost no other company does that, neither should you. Now, here are some suggestions for you: 1. You should have a sign that says "we respect your right to shop in peace, let us know if you have questions. 2. You don't even need to have a human sales interface. You can have a display that susinctly explain all the features of all the guitars that you have. 3. Take it a step further, you can order a vending machine that dispenses picks and strings and the like. They have those now for iPads even. I guess the point that I'm trying to get at is; your sales model is outdated, and your failure is further compacted by the crap staff that you hire. Of rather pay shipping to get my picks and strings than deal with the hassle. read more