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Guitar Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 432 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Retail chain selling guitars, keyboards, drum sets and amps, as well as gear for DJing and recording.
Plan your visit
- Repairs & setups a repair bench comes up in reviews and the store's own info — call ahead for turnaround, since good techs run a queue
- Buys & trades used gear they buy, trade, or consign used instruments — bring the case and any original parts, and expect trade credit to beat the cash offer
- Lessons lessons come up in reviews and the store's own info — call about openings, instruments taught, and rates before the first visit
- Instrument rentals rentals mentioned — the usual route for band & orchestra season; ask about rent-to-own credit
- Today see hours ·
- Phone (319) 378-1720
- Website stores.guitarcenter.com
Hours
| Monday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–7 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–8 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–7 PM |
What's on the wall
“Awesome friendly staff - so I bought an orange amp and a guitar from this location.”
“I took my guitar in for repairs, and Cole Ethington was fantastic—quick, knowledgeable, and friendly.”
“They treat us like family every time we go in, which is weekly for music lessons, and they even helped throw a birthday celebration for my daughter.”
“Just would be nice if they had somebody working full time in the piano recording area.”
Brands they deal
“Did some major trading with this store just to get another Gibson.”
“Awesome friendly staff - so I bought an orange amp and a guitar from this location.”
What players say again and again
“I took my guitar in for repairs, and Cole Ethington was fantastic—quick, knowledgeable, and friendly.”
“I was able purchase a unit that I've been wanting for a while with assistance from Layton, who was very knowledgeable and helpful.”
From the reviews
As usual, I walked into Guitar center and asked if someone could help me in the recording area to purchase a recording interface and the person said that there was only two people working and he would get to me as soon as he could It took about 20 minutes to get somebody in there to open up the case to give me the…
I have never been to a store that has a more welcome and inviting atmosphere than here. The staff are absolutely amazing with my kids and have formed a real bond with everyone.
Great and friendly please. Alexis was very patient and answered all my questions about a keyboard I purchased. She listened to what I was looking for and knew a lot about it. She gathered up all the accessories that I needed. She he even help me carry them out to my truck.
I went in for my first guitar purchase. They were very busy and I had 3 different people helping me. Lana stood out among the staff and made sure to explain everything, along with making sure I had everything I needed without pressuring me to purchase anything.
Selling or trading gear at Guitar Center
Guitar Center comes up for buying and trading used gear — confirmed on their own site. Two things make the trip go better. First, bring the whole package: the case or gig bag, the original tremolo arm or bridge parts, the paperwork if you have it — a complete rig is worth real money more than a bare instrument, and it saves the back-and-forth of "can you bring the case in?" Second, know that trade credit almost always beats the cash offer, usually by a healthy margin — if you're upgrading anyway, price your old gear as a trade against the new one before you take cash. Either way, expect the offer to be below what the gear sells for on the wall; the gap is the store's margin for setup, warranty, and sitting on it until the right buyer walks in.
Lessons at Guitar Center
Reviews and the store's own info mention lessons at Guitar Center. If you're signing up a beginner (or restarting yourself), a quick call ahead answers the three things that matter: which instruments they teach, whether the schedule has openings at the time you actually need, and what a first lesson costs. There's no wrong first guitar — a good teacher will happily work with whatever you walk in with, and a shop that teaches usually keeps affordable starter instruments and rentals on hand for exactly this reason.
Guitar stores near Guitar Center
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