This store is improving!! Idk if it's the new manager whipping things into shape, or what, but they have something to prove: they want our return business and overall satisfaction! I went into each department to browse before I bought a piano from Bryan in pro audio - that guy is HILARIOUS and super friendly! His passion for keyboards and guitars really shines out in his sales! He spent time with us while also balancing two other customers who were looking for pianos as well as microphones and such. He made everyone feel attended to and made a few great sales in the process. We bought a Casio CDP S100 and are absolutely loving it! We moved over to Jason in drums and he was equally as warm and welcoming. He knew so much about drums and had no problem letting me and my family know all we had to ask. His input on which drums to go with, different brands and their customer service, and even tips for tuning and traveling! What a patient and kind man! Truly a gem in the sales world. Wealth of knowledge, that man is. When I passed through guitars, Mike G (seen him there many times, terrific guy) was helping some folks out but didn't ignore me, still said hello and offered help if I needed it. I then had a nice conversation with Caleb in guitars, he is very efficient and knowledgeable! Overall, I'd say this store has a sordid past. Maybe it was the manager before. But I see Rodrigo (new manager of store) all the time and he really does a good job of being present for the customers and offering help. He's got me convinced he wants to bring this store to a higher place. Give this store a chance, they've earned it! Kudos to Bryan (pro audio) Jason (drums) Mike G and Caleb (guitars) you guys made my experience great. See you next time! read more

I would like to give Ron F a huge shout out for helping me with trading my gear today, he was outstanding to work with. We drive the extra mile to shop this store and will continue to do so. Thanks again Rob F and staff. read more

Bought a beautiful Taylor guitar at this store. The store is well stocked and the service was okay.

How can anyone not give this spot a 5 rating. I've always considered music to be one of the few things which is transcending, spiritual and can touch your soul. Immediately when we asked in we were greeted by the music teacher (Ken) and he was so welcoming and genuinely happy to see us. We loved looking at all the amazing and beautiful musical instruments. The staff were all very helpful and allowed us to try out a few guitars. It's good to know places like this still exists and offer everyone an opportunity to learn a little more about music and all the positive indulgences it offers. Rock on Guitar Center!!!! read more

Guitar Center - Wall of guitar - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - UniversityPark, Florida

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Got a Peterson guitar tuner 01/10/2025 was defected would not turn on my power button or menu will not work on top of that my friend return it on the same day 01/10/2025 went down talked to Barry was very kind about it good customer service change this too 5 stars 1/11/2025 read more

A+++ Gr8 service!! They are always busy so bring some patience. And I have bought several Guitars Online. Their descriptions are very accurate and with your Gear Card you can find deals for 0% 6-24 months. read more

This is a belated review, but need to do it due to the bad taste in my mouth that still lingers. My son took guitar lessons there. There was a couple of really good teachers that left, and started their own business. My son REALLY loved his teacher and did not want to switch. There was a prepaid balance due of approx. 150.00. When I went in to discuss with them, all they did tell me they would not do anything other that finish out my "contract" with one of the few teachers there was left with them. They were extremely rude and obnoxious on the issue. Tough luck was there attitude -- take lessons with us or lose your money. Maybe they were upset the teacher left and took students, but he was really good. I even offered a compromise ... I said "My son does not want to change teachers, so how about just give me a store credit for 100.00?" Well, a year later, and my son is a pretty accomplished guitar and keyboard player. He is REALLY good! A Thousand dollars or so in guitars, amps and accessories later .... all bought at other places even if I have to drive 50 miles to get there, all because of their attitude. They will upsell on every item their insurance policy, associates there have the attitude the customer is not important, was hard to find someone to help you. It seems they hire inexperienced help. Would NOT recommend buying or doing business with them. I know they are the only really viable alternative in the Sarasota area, but I refuse to give them any of our business, just from a simple attitude of one of their associates. Pretty sad. read more

This place has a great selection but it's hard to get help on a Saturday from staff members. They seemed preoccupied with checkout rather than customer service this location also has a room for lessons. read more

So many guitars to choose from! And I thought it was just guitars but they also have pianos and drums! Not a lot but it's great

20 minutes and no one available to help us to make a purchase.. Staff seems to busy yakking it up w other coworkers. Last week, same thing. Manager must be slacking. read more

I play guitar , bass, tenor saxophone and flute . In am not a professional musician, but a very serious hobbyist. I recently started learning and playing blues harmonica. I tried to order several low priced harmonicas from online . Sadly I found you get what you pay for . I went to the Guitar Center in my area to support my local business and purchase my first professional quality harmonica. You need a good working instrument no matter what you play to help your learning process. I was excited and was looking forward to this Lee Oskar harmonica being great ! Well sadly the #2 draw reed was dead ? When I purchased this the salesman looked so unhappy even when I was buying something ? He actually had a fight with the keys for 5 minutes to get it off the rack , ha ha . I called the store and explained my situation with this harmonic. The salesman told me to bring it back to the store with my sales receipt. I returned the harmonica and to their credit was given a full refund. When I wanted to buy another brand harmonica, the same salesmen with the personality of stale toast . He assumed I was just lying about the broken harmonica and my musical experience ? After they soak the harmonica in hydrogen peroxide they will find out I was telling the truth , and the # 2 draw reed is truly dead . If someone tells you who they are , believe them . I guess if you don't have greasy long hair, and wear a black megadeath old tee shirt, you're not a musician ? Thank you for the refund, and don't worry , my shadow will never cross your threshold again . I would not be surprised if Guitar Center is out of business in a year or two . read more

I want to Thank Bryan the repair man who is very knowledgeable and skilled Full of information to fit my needs. Along with Ken an instructor who helped answer my questions on ukulele strings and just general information. I'm a senior citizen and a woman so we are overlooked and not taken seriously in our questions and music needs. Not here nor with these gentlemen. Thank you both ever so much and thank you guitar center for caring about all your customers read more

Was checking out instruments and a person was playing the drums for 30 minutes straight couldn't hear myself think. Let alone shop. That was ridiculous, I understand it's a instrument store, but it damn sure isn't a concert. Lost a large sale over that. read more

I was given a Telecaster, but it needed the neck adjusted. Kirby at the Sarasota store took care of it and while there I talked with him about guitars. I took the Tele home after the adjustment and thought about our conversation. I wasn't completely satisfied with the Tele, so I traded it for a Strat which I am very happy with. GC gave me a good price for the Tele in trade. I highly recommend the Sarasota Guitar Center. read more

They have excellent repair guys! Sat Sunday and Monday you have Kirby Dietz Kirby is damn good! He also worked for The Gibson Custom Shop for 22 years! He is truly outstanding and will take great care of your instrument! The staff at this store is also excellent! This is a great place to get your instrument of your dreams and with Kirby the best place for service! read more

I brought. a 60 year old banjo in to be evaluated and repaired. Their luthier -technician examined it for free and gave me a full characteriization of what needed to be done. He explained that the repairs were beyond their shop capability. I appreciated the clairiy of the diagnosis and the honesty of their self evaluation. He suggested a shop to contact. This began a bit of a phone trek through 3 more luthiers. Each explained they could not fix it and recommended me to another and in the end it was fixed by one of the subsequent recommendations, a luthier near Tampa. read more

One of the better music equipment chains around... There are plenty of instruments to choose from here. The drum room has an enormous selection of symbols, a wall of percussion accessories, electric and standard drum kits, as well as African hand drums and even Australian digeridoos. An acoustic guitar room has what looks to be almost 100 differing style and price point acoustics, both standard and electric/acoustic. DJ section loaded with speaker and live performance gear for the novice to professional. Home recording gear for the digital audio workstation, with Protools and Logic Studio setups. Keyboard section with the basic to advanced performance and workstation models. As a keyboardist, I personally prefer software synths for their versatility and price point over a manufactured synth. Lessons offered for almost any instrument, and helpful staff will get you learning and playing! read more

I didn't realize that when you purchase a guitar from Guitar Center that they only honor manufacturers warranties from instruments they sell if you purchase additional warranty coverage. Kind of defeats the purpose of the warranty and authorized dealer status. I'll buy from musiciansfriend.com from now on. They also beat GV's price on a new Fender amp by about15%, free shipping and points worth over $40 on a $400 amp purchase. GVs stupid warranty policy is why brick and mortar stores are dying. I've been buying guitars there since GC was Rythmn City. Not a one time buyer, but for sure a last time buyer. read more

Guitar Center - New Gretsch--a Fender product. No warranty service provided from GC. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - UniversityPark, Florida

This store and school division is way too corporate, all-round. Lessons are expensive, but teachers aren't adequately paid, and policies are definitely not in favor of its workers. If a student cancels at the last minute, the teacher is paid a fraction of the usual pay, while Guitar Center gets its usual fee. As a former employee, I speak from my experience, as well as others similarly employed. read more

Came here itching to get an electric Drumset and start drumming again. I've got money, and I like quality, and I'm a little impulsive. Found out at the front door that masks are required. "But you can order online"--hello? You retail places are still in business because people like to buy things now. My budget is $2k. Super easy sales loss on their end. read more

The people giving 1 star reviews are crazy. This guitar center is an incredible one. The workers are passionate, the quality is great, and the array of instruments is superb. I love the location and above all they're always accepting of all types of customers. If you have music needs of any type, come to this place. PS, if you complain about a company policy instating masks, get some help. read more

Recently, our son expressed an interest in learning how to play a guitar and maybe take lessons - our friend told us that he takes lessons at Guitar Center. I looked up Guitar center and called. A nice person named Andrew answered the phone and answered all my questions about lessons. Andrew was great and is so inviting and helpful! It always gives me a bit of hope when a company actually goes above and beyond the call of duty and provides excellent customer support, Andrew invited my son in for a free lesson same day, hooked him up with the kindest guitar teacher, helped us purchase a guitar and a lesson package. Guitar Center is AWESOME!!!! read more

Went in today to buy my 1st acoustic guitar. On my bucket list to learn how to play so went in to look. Christian asked if he could help and was great. I told him I didn't know how to play yet but didn't want to spend a lot of money. He showed me some options and was very honest about what was a good guitar for me. I would pick one that I thought I liked and he would play it and point out the pros and cons of each one. Christian was very knowledgeable and I would definitely buy from him again. The whole experience was great. Thanks again Christian. read more

The guitar center experience is alive and well at this store. Good selection, friendly staff, and overall great atmosphere. However, A certain employee named Sergio really needs some help. I have visited the store on several occasions hoping each time the experience would improve with this specific sales associate; it has not. The cash register and listening to the client seem to be an enormous struggle for Sergio. His sales approach is also very off putting and not consistent with my normal experience at guitar center. After requesting a specific guitar by name, model number, and price, Sergio found said guitar... ...So frustrating to get through the tedious checkout process to only be told the actual guitar you requested is out of stock...not a huge deal normally, but I went out of my way to visit you store because of the experience and people in your store. I will go out of my way to avoid this sales associate moving forward. He just takes the fun out of visiting your store. read more

I think it's hilarious how these people are crying because they don't have a mask, it's not that hard, wear one, and you can do your usual browse around the store, no need to talk all this crap about how it's unfair and unreasonable to wear a mask. read more

Was looking to buy an electric drum set. Went into the drum section and tried out one of the sets that was not being used. I wanted to try out the larger set that an employee was playing. Another costumer needed assistant, because they wanted to buy something that was locked up. The employee simply told him he didn't have a key, and to ask someone else. I went with drum sticks in my hand to play the larger set. The employee walked in front of me and continued playing the drums. I decided to take my business else where. read more

The Sarasota store has been faltering for some time now. Can walk the store and not one person will ask if need assistance. Now the Mask policy has given some of the employees a chip on their shoulder. If Corp is requiring masks, offer someone a mask with courtesy and a little class. I'm a local musician who spends a good deal of money on certain brands. You've lost my bussiness. Hello local mom and pops, Sweetwater and Reverb. Hire and train better individuals if you plan to make it this time. read more

This is tucked away in a big plaza right off of the I-75 near Sarasota. They have a pretty nice collection of musical instruments, including electric guitars from Fender, Gretsch, Ibanez, PRS, Gibson, Epiphone, and more. They have Taylor and Martin acoustics, as well as classical guitars, banjos, ukeleles, and traveler guitars. A decent selection of amplifiers scattered throughout. Bass guitars are towards the corner. There is a percussion room, effects pedals, a synth/electric piano area, live audio, and more. Essentially, one could build almost any type of musical career from the selection they have here (except for orchestra/band obviously). I've been here a few times to check out the guitars and amps. They always have someone greeting you at the door and usually someone will come by to see if you need help with anything. Very friendly staff. Overall, this is a great place for musicians at any level. They have beginner instrument packages, solid mid-price instruments, and high end instruments. The prices tend to be on the higher side, but I think you're paying for the convenience of having a selection this extensive and the ability to try before you buy, and obviously the overhead cost of such an establishment. read more

Was contacted regarding my review and pleased to say I was heard. Look forward to my next visit.

I recently retired and decided to take piano lessons and purchased an electric piano. Ken was great in helping me get exactly what I wanted. Ryan, my piano teacher is fabulous and I am really enjoying my piano. This is a great store and everyone I have had to deal with have been great. Would highly recommend this store and thank you so much. read more

I rented speakers for a company event from this Guitar Center and paid a deposit over the phone. When I arrived to pick it up, nobody had a clue what going on or how to process the order. It should have taken just a few minutes to check out the equipment but we were easily there for about 25 minutes. Later we discovered they had not given us any power cables for the speakers and we had to return to the store. Once we plugged in the speakers we discovered they gave us the incorrect aux cord which resulted in another trip to the store after the event was underway. They refunded almost half of what we paid but it was just a poor experience. read more

I was visiting Sarasota from another state and decided to pick up a ukulele for my friend. The uke was on sale for $49 which is great! The guy who rang me up said for an extra $5 I can get a 3 year warranty on my purchase. But when he rang it up it came out to be $13. I told him I didn't want it anymore because he said it was $5. Then he proceeds to tell me it is too late to cancel the purchase (I didn't even swipe my card yet). It was very disappointing experience and they were not honest nor did they even care. read more

Kirb helped me get back to playing ASAP and taught me fun music history like a boss. Thank you thank you thank you!

checkd out used pedals online. 1 of them i was defentaly going to purchase because i have used my friends. Other two wanted to play before i bought. Had a budget of $350 to spend. Stood at counter for 12 min. Was never helped. Looked like there was only only one person working. He evertualy came up to the counter, did not aknowlege me by the used pedals, started heling other customers, a line began to form. I then decided to leave. If you want to support a store instead of buying online. Dont support this one. Ive never had such a tuff time trying to give someone my money. read more

Excellent service. A guy named Rocky helped us pick out a guitar for my daughter today - very professional!

Unbelievably inconsiderate to customers. GC's policy of allowing no more than 3 customers in the store PLUS face mask is beyond asinine. Maybe that is appropriate for the Hollywood store in LA, I don't know. Guess what? The rest of the nation is not insane like Hollywood or wherever the corporate policies are being sent out from. Florida is moving forward, allowing businesses to reopen. There is absolutely zero reason to impose 3 customers at a time in store restriction AND face masks. There is absolutely zero reason to mandate either of those policies for customers. Normally I try to purchase merchandise in retail stores because I appreciate having the retail stores available and for the employment they provide. Guitar Center's policies that are beyond any compliance with state and local restrictions are a major inconvenience for customers. I will remember that. There are always online sources to procure equipment, usually for a lower price than GC. If GC is committed to irresponsible customer inconvenience, they clearly do not need my business. read more

Customer service is terrible. Staff almost avoids handling customers. In fact, while I was there waiting for someone to help, 3 other people were waiting and we joked about how long they were taking (honestly 20min before I was actually met by an employee) I Sent my guitar in to change strings and look at some other things. 2weeks go by no phone call. I go in and they haven't touched it. They offered to restring it immediately, I said no, then they made me pay for $6 strings. No concern or appreciation for customers. Never going back read more

Beware this Christmas season, parents might be better off getting a guitar from Sam Ash this season due to the fact that GC does not have a guitar tech to set up guitars. I have a warranty that they cannot honor. Any guitar shop needs to have a tech on hand to at least give basic care to their inventory and make sure kids have a playable instrument. read more

I ordered a banjo online that was specifically in stock at this location. The option for pick up today was available and that was what I went . I live about an hour away but I was shopping near the store so I figured I could get it within a reasonable amount of time. An hour after I ordered, I went into the store to see if they could grab the item after I explained I had a pick up and if I could get it now since I lived far. I was told unless I had the e-mail saying the item was ready for pick up they couldn't do anything. I called about 2.5 hours later and they said it wouldn't be ready for 2 more days. I told them it said in stock for pick up today and they said they were short staffed. I then call 2 days later and was told that they could have grabbed it for me the day of but the associate must have been confused but i go could pick it up. My wife went to get it for me and they brought it out to her, with no box, and they were not polite when she was trying to ask if the banjo was new or not. Unfortunately the whole situation was a nightmare, and staff were not helpful and made the situation much harder when all someone had to do was go in the back and grab it. I won't return. Go to Sam Ash. read more

I was down in Sarasota for a month and decided to upgrade My Taylor 200 series acoustic. The young lady who helped me out,Madison, was very nice, and happened to be originally from N.E. close to where I live. I got a fair trade up for my Taylor on new 414. The store is very nice, as was the customer service manager who assisted . I would recommend this Guitar center. read more