Guitar Center
Reviews and Complaints

Greetings, I just found out you stopped stocking amplifier tubes due to the mess in Ukraine. Personally I think that its one of the worst decisions you could have ever made! As a matter of fact I categorize it under sales prevention! I'm not sure if you realize how many tubes a active musician goes through annually.

I love Guitar Center. I hate to say it but from now on I will now shop at the mom and pop stores for all my tubes and accessories. I hope you change your minds. We shouldn't have to suffer for this.

Thank you,

Richard Morales

[protected]@reagan.com

To Whom it may concern,

On 11/12/21 I purchase a 2017 Gibson HP 635 from one of your stores for $1349.00 and had it shipped to your Plymouth Meeting Store. I am collector of guitars and hadn’t really played this much. Once or twice. I picked it up recently and brought to my Luthier as it appeared the neck was bowed. When he tried to adjust it a 1 ½ inch piece of the truss rod broke off, most likely broken when guitar center bought it. I called customer service and was told I’m SOL and nothing can be done. I have spent about 6000.00 at your store with intentions to buy more, as I trusted your company. I need a resolution to this , as it is worthless and I’m out 1349.00. I’m disappointed in how you let this get by and resold.

Don Grant

I purchased several home recording studio equipment, along with the extended service warranties, over 2021. Well, a dynamic mic quit working properly after a few months. Giving mysterious latency and scratching during playback. Which wasn't the interface, nor the XLR cords. As we'd unplugged that mic, and then retested with a condenser, without hitch. Called GC to do a return/exchange with the dynamic, and they told me to 'come on in'. Well... the return didn't happen. They sent me back to Audio, instead of just refunding my money. And the Audio guy was rude as heck. Excuse after excuse that it 'wasn't their problem' and to contact the manufacturer. Then walked away.

Lesson learned: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM

If you want a less than great experience, order something online from guitar center! We ordered a Christmas gift for our son back on 12/19/21 with a 12/22 expected deliver date, which never arrived. Guitar Center is taking no responsibility and are now passing the buck to UPS after it has been under investigation for 10 days. Still no resolution 20 days after the initial order. At this point, I just want my order, but calling customer service, talking to them through messenger and email has got us nothing but lip service. I will never buy anything from this company again. We'll likely need to do charge back with the credit card company and reorder through Amazon, which we should have done in the first place!
Update 1/14 - Well for those who have seen my previous posts we are still fighting with Guitar Center on an order we placed before Christmas! After 10 days of not receiving it they told us was an a UPS issue and would need to investigate, but would it take up to 10 business day. 10 business days came and went and I PM'd them to which they gave me an 800 number and said to call and they would resend the order. My wife then called and spoke to someone who said they would need to investigate further but would have it resolved by today 1/14. Well, as you can imagine, she called today and surprisingly they still haven't figured it out and can't send a replacement until a "supervisor" looks at it. If you've read my previous post you'll noticed that I asked to speak to a supervisor nearly 3 weeks ago and was denied. These people are playing games! Don't spend your money at this place! They are completely incompetent. Spend the extra $20 and buy from Amazon or Sweetwater where you'll be taken care of. This is the last time I ever do business with Guitar Center.

Here's the email Ive sent last monday to Guitar center Customer service. No reply til today. Tried to make the complain on the chat, been disconnected 3 times. They said they can't do nothing that I'm the one to have to deal with this at the store. In other words it seems they look the other way when a store scam customer selling used products as new. I just want to have what I paid for: A brand new product, Is that asking much?
Here the email that they never replied.

(Sent to guitar center Customer service monday 01/03/22)

I bought one mixer pioneer DJM s7 (Fountain Valley store) on 12/24. (under the name of my GF Deborah Baccini)
Long story short the product is an used (or open box) product not a brand new the way it should be.
Lots of finger marks all over the product, some pads showing a discoloration due use, missing all papers from Pioneer (manual, warranty, stickers) and also missing a Serato pitch n' time voucher that goes with this product as you can check here - https://www.pioneerdj.com/en-us/product/mixer/djm-s7/black/overview/
I'm extremely upset coz this is an expensive product and I want to believe that it was a mistake and selling used products without let customers know isn't the company policy. Anyway Is there any way to send a brand new product to the store (cerritos store is the nearest from my home) and I can go and trade for the used one that's been giving to me and pickup the product I paid for: A brand new sealed box mixer s7?

Pls contact me by email [protected]@yahoo.com

I am 100% UNHAPPY WITH GUITAR CENTER! NO WHERE ON THE WEBSITE IS IT EASY TO FIND OUT, THAT IF YOU ORDER FROM THE WEST COAST AFTER 5PM OUR TIME HERE, (PST)THAT YOU do not GET THE 2 day shipping that I paid for!

I have been a buyer of my musical equipment from ZZounds for many years and just this month I decided to give Guitar Center a "try"...

Well, thank you Guitar Center for SCREWING me out of $17.44 for the 2 day shipping I didn't receive!

When I called Guitar Center on Sunday Oct. 24th to voice my concerns, the representative I spoke to was RUDE, UNHELPFUL, ARGUMENTATIVE, and he also REFUSED to allow me to speak to a supervisor to indicate my concerns, even after I politely asked to speak to a supervisor 3 different times...

If this is how a MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR corporation treats it's brand new customers, I am beyond shocked and appalled!

Zzounds would have easily just refunded me the $17.44 just based on the principle alone. Your "Customer Service Representative" literally acted like I wanted to take that $17.44 out of his own pocket.

I'll tell you what, I just applied for, and received a Guitar Center Credit Card... Why don't you take the card back and put it somewhere the sun don't shine, because if I do not receive a reimbursement of the shipping charges, if for no other reason that the vagueness of your "2 day shipping policy", that is hidden within the order page, only found after clicking on multiple links, I will never order from your store again.

This isn't a threat, but rather an awareness that the website used to place orders shouldn't require a buyer to "hunt" around by clicking on additional links, to determine whether or not a buyer will actually receive an item as indicated in the time frame paid for... In fact, the "free shipping" would have gotten here in the same amount of time!

Please respond to me as to Guitar Center's position concerning this complaint I have... for me it will determine as to if I remain a loyal NEW customer to Guitar Center or not... and maybe hire representative's that DO NOT conduct themselves as if they own the company...

Best Regards,

here is the email I received from Guitar Center

On Thursday, October 21, 2021, 06:14:58 PM PDT, Guitar Center wrote:

Guitar Center

Shop Lessons Rentals Repairs Daily Pick

Order #: GCW3608787430 | Order date: Oct 20, 2021
Running a little behind...
Hi Michael,
We apologize for the delay, but your delivery date has been changed.
Your package is now estimated to be delivered on:
Monday, October 25
SEE FULL ORDER DETAILS
In This Package

Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Electric Left-Handed Electric Travel Guitar Matte Black
Item: [protected]
Price: 349.99
Quantity: 1
TRACK YOUR ORDER
Guitar-A-Thon. Play on. Deals. New arrivals. Exclusives. Giveaways. Financing. Now thru Oct. 27. Shop now

WHY IS MY PACKAGE DELAYED?
Your order may have been held up for a range of reasons, from poor weather along the shipping route to an issue with the delivery address. Follow the tracking link if you'd like to contact the carrier to get more details.
Contact Us

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I order a Epiphone SG Special Satin E1 Electric Guitar Ebony, advertised as NEW and in stock Online, on 7/10/2021.
On 7/12/2021 I get a notice the it will be delayed because it is on back order, guess it was not in stock?
On 7/23/2021 I get email that my order was cancelled. I call customer service and the gentleman said one of the store associates cancels an order if they find an item damaged and can't ship it. He looks in his system and finds that the item is back ordered and schedule to arrive 8/2/2021, so I said fine and placed a new order with him.
On 7/23/2021 I received a call from a store lead saying received my order and could ship it out the next day, he assured me it was new and ready to go.
On 7/24/2021 I receive an email stating that the item was actually DEMO and was damaged, but if I still wanted it to call them. A short time later I received cancellation notice on the item.
As of 7/25/2021 the item was still online and advertised as new and in stock.
I will never buy or refer anyone to Guitar Center in the future. This guitar was certainly an expensive one, but have purchase more expensive guitars, Basses and amplifiers in the past, although never online.

I recently visited the Guitar Center near Oakview Mall at 144th & W Center Rd in Omaha NE. I brought in an old 12-string guitar that belonged to my little brother, who passed away. The guitar is in bad shape and I just wanted it cleaned and whatever else they could do to make it look presentable so I could display it. I didn't need it playable, but it has great sentimental value. The guy who "helped" me couldn't have cared less. He seemed to be put out even to deal with my request. He spent most of his time telling me all the things that were wrong with the guitar (warped frame, cracked, something coming loose, etc.), and how expensive it was going to be to fix it. He told me it wouldn't be worth his time and it would almost be better to buy a new one, which I'm sure is true. I explained that I didn't need it rebuilt, I just wanted it cleaned, but that replacing it was NOT the point. He continued with his diatribe, when I finally stopped him and said, "I'm confused. What CAN you do for me?" He replied that maybe he could clean it but even that would be hard, and probably not worth his time. He gave me the contact information of some guy he knew who worked with "wood." I left thoroughly disgusted. It was a complete waste of my time and the guy was a jerk.

I ordered a numark ns6 used from a store april 2nd 2021. It was in california store. I order it on that friday with a guarantee it would be here in 3-5 business days. The 5th business day would be that friday. The store held on to the item until that wednesday and didnt even ship it out. I called the store to verify it and they pretty much told me, thats just the way it is and I had to deal with it. I dj at a local place where I live so I couldnt work that friday. I waited till the following monday and it did arrive but when i unpacked the item and hooked everything up it didnt work. It powered on but that was it. They intentionally sold me a defective item. I tried everything, i even called numark. If you look on my account I bought my first numark from guitar center so this was the exact same board from before. When i went to complain to guitar center their attitude was the same. Oh it happens.. NO It dont just happen! what happened to ordering safe from a company or trust? now I will miss out on this weeks gig. I dont know but 600.00 in total is alot of money to me i could have made if guitar center was honest . There is no way that store didnt know that item was broke.. no way possible. Probably why it took them so long to ship it. Now I have to wait for a refund, wait even longer to get this resolved. I have to go out of my way to print the label, and take it to a ups store. I dont even have a car to do this. No one is honest anymore

Verified customer
I have been debating about writing this or just letting it go but I can't.. What guitar center just did to me is probably one of the strangest shady things a company has ever done to me and I think I need to see what others might think so they can see how guitar center does business. So here goes trust me I cant make this up.. Today is dec. 22 2020 and yesterday I ordered a blackstar v2 40 watt stereo amp on clearance for $149 good deal I thought right? So I thought.. So anyway after ordering my new amp last night and paying $10 extra dollars 2 day shipping to get it by christmas. Here I am next day getting an email saying my order was cancelled, but I didn't cancel it and I need it by christmas so I call to see what is going on. And I find out my order was cancelled because guitar center cant give it to me at that clearance price or "they won't make money" I was told. So store clerk told me I have to pay $209 for the amp and he can give me 15% off. What ever happened to honoring your set clearance price and if it was a mistake they give it to that person for set price and change ad like they did in old days and how any business with integrity does these days? But I guess them days are gone.. So basically what I am saying is I bought an online clearance item and next day cutting it close to xmas was told I cant have that deal and I now have to pay $30 more for the exact same product because they won't make enough money off me. It's not like the product wasn't available and I had to choose something new no! They made me put up another $203 dollars when I still had first $173 pending that I wont get back on my bank account for up to a week. Thank god I happened to have an extra $203 to put up if I wanted the gift to get here for christmas.. And instead of giving me free overnight shipping he still made me pay $10 for the 2 day.. All I have to say is don't put an ad up and when someone buys your product tell them they have to now pay full price and put up extra money and pay shipping.. That is the very definition of false advertising! Now I see why guitar center is going out of business. It's only an extra $30-$40 I had to spend but that's a decent percentage when your dealing with a $200 product.. They probably won't make it up to me. All I know is now i'm hoping I get it by christmas and wishing I would have just got it through amazon like I do everything else it would have been cheaper the shipping would have been free and I wouldn't have an extra $173 tied up in my bank account. Good thing I don't need that money for xmas dinner of something.. Sheesh! Guitar center is a scam and a joke..

I ordered an ElectroHarmonix 45000 looping 4 track recorder and it took a month to get here. The unit was packed like an eBay seller, very poorly. It also came with an 8GB memory card when a new unit only comes with a 4GB card. Immediately I realized that this was a used recorder that they sold to me as new (almost $500.00). I returned it and ordered a new one. Well it finally came and it won't read the files on the drum tracks as it should with the foot pedal. The pedal is operating as it should but the main unit is not recognizing the memory card where the card reads just fine on the computer and on my phone. I'm getting angry at this point and I believe that Guitar Center might be selling some used items as new. But I'm not sure... in any case I will be returning the main unit to Guitar Center for a full refund and ordering it elsewhere.

Unpredictable boss addison who bullies his fellow employers and highly disrespectful of amount of hours or days given to a worker. Alongside his side kick ryan for being rude also to his employees he works with! Defiantly not a team leader at all! Above all for the other employees they are wonderful and helpful and work together as a team! Would like to see these two gone. They both make me and a few others i've been with feel uncomfortable and something needs to be done. I wish to come into guitar center and shop while not being hovered over or anything above that! Thank you!

I sent an email to Guitar Center previous to 10/4/18 requesting info on Behringer KX1200 Keyboard Amp. They never answered, so I called on 10/4/18 to find out more info. I talked to a salesman (don't remember his name) who specifically told me the amp had been tested and worked fine, all the knobs were there, no problems with speakers or power output.

I ordered it on 10/8/18 paying a total of $207.75

I receive the amp on 10/8/18 but without a power cord. I called, talked a salesman and they sent a power cord a few days later.

On 10/12/18 in the evening I tried to use the amp with a guitar and my Yamaha electric piano that I bought here at the Guitar Center, Evansville, IN, where I live.

I turned it on and TRIED to turn up the volume but all it did was SCREECH like giant feed back. I did research on line and found a BLOG that told me to check the speaker while the amp was on and screaming to see what the woofer was doing.

I found, when I turned up the volume with no instrument plugged in, the woofer pegged, which according to the BLOG indicates a blown power amp.

Today is 10/14/18 and I'm still mad as [protected]@#$ because the salesman LIED to me!
I'm out over $200 because of a lying, incompetent salesman!

The components I have bought from Guitar Center have worked fine until now. I paid $454 for a Korg Kross Work Station recently.

I want the Beringer KX1200 repaired if possible. I will NOT deal with Indianapolis Guitar Center, only Corporate resolution will suffice.

I Did A Rental With Them Tuesday .. And The Wife Picked Up The Rental Equipment That Was Loaded Up By There Employee The Next Day When I Went Got To The Gig Used The Equpiment And One Of The XLR Cable Was Missing A Sleeve I Made Note Of It So When I Went To Bring The The Equipment Back The Next Dat I Mentioned It Too Ronald A Slow (Individual) Already Said Hold On Im Going Have To Charge U For This Cable We Argued Back & Forth He Got His Mgr Jennifer Who Said It Are Company Policy I Still Must Charge You For It! I Been A Loyal Customer With GC For Over 20 Years!

I ordered a Drum Set and the order was cancelled without my knowledge or consent. Once we found out the order was canceled we called Guitar Center Customer Service.

FRI 12 JAN (TAYLOR): Spoke with Taylor on FRI 12 JAN and Taylor said that the first cancellation was a mistake and I reordered the drum set... He said that it was in store and would be shipped to my house. I specifically asked Taylor about the set being on backorder and he said NO that there was a set in store and that the store would ship directly to my house.

SAT 13 JAN (MARVIN): On SAT I got an e-mail that stated the Drum set was on "backorder" so I called customer service back again and Spoke with Marvin on SAT 13 JAN and he told me that "Taylor" was on leave and that he could not find any notes in the system to see what store Taylor was referring to. He asked that I call back on MON, 15 JAN.

MON 15 JAN (MARVIN): I called back again on MON, 15 JAN and spoke with Marvin again who stated that Taylor was still on leave and he had not heard back from him and still did not know what store (if any) was shipping the drum set. Marvin asked me to call back AGAIN?!?! on the next day, TUES 16 JAN.

TUES 16 JAN (JOHN): John stated that that THERE WAS a Drum Set that was at the store, but it was an OPEN box return and the store said that it was beat up pretty bad. SO I told them that we didn't want it and that we would wait for the back order so that we got a new set.
John told me that a shipment came in today (16 JAN) and they "thought" that it should ship by FRI, if we don't get the shipping e-mail by FRI they want me to call back on SAT.

MON 22 JAN (TAYLOR): Order still has not shipped, Credit Card was charged but the order has not shipped. Taylor stated that it would ship by COB 22 JAN.

TUE 23 JAN (BREANNA): Order still has not shipped, Spoke with Breanna on 23 JAN and the order is still in the warehouse and has not shipped. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was placed on hold. After several minutes Breanna came back on and stated that the supervisor has "guaranteed" that the order would ship today, but she would not let me actually speak with the supervisor. I am still waiting for the shipment and as stated I was "guaranteed" that it would finally ship today, 23 JAN.

At this point I still do not have the order and my Credit Card has been charged and I cant even get a supervisor on the line... I am in absolute disbelief that a company can actually stay in business with customer service like this. I for one will NEVER shop here again and I'm still waiting on my order...

First of all: regardless of the issue or how wrong, a "client is always right" is a sacred must know rule to any and all employees entrusted with Customer Service issues.

That a 20 something, ignorant and rude Rep is not versed on that rule reflects poorly on the company that employs such [censor] and is therefore enough of a reason to never conduct business with such enterprise.

Secondly: A certain amount of common sense should be taught, emphasized, and always employed when dealing with situations that could adversely affect the company's bottom line.

That a 20 something Clerk cannot make a reasonable judgement that no one would claim a $5 piece of merchandise erroneously makes doing business with such entity undesirable.

Now to the issue: A Rep that hangs up the phone on a customer because he doesn't like what the customer is saying is unprofessional and incompetent. That is what happened to me.

Furthermore, a store clerk such be capable of making a judgement before denying merchandise worth $5 to a customer he knows and recognizes, and require that person drives 40 miles again in order to get an ID just because company rules demand an ID. Use some common sense. That is what happened to me.

Dear Guitar Center customer service,
I am having a trouble dealing with your website.
One week ago I ordered a Rogue Starter Acoustic Guitar Blue Burst in the color of my dreams - blue color.
I was extremely disappointed when I found out that my order was canceled. I was explained no reason why, wasn't offered anything as an alternative. But the saddest part is that my money was immediately taken off and I can't reach anyone to figure out ho to refund. Please, I need your assistance. Stop making me cry...

Kirsty