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Guitar Center

4.3 ★★★★☆ 889 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in East Brunswick, New Jersey

Buys used gear Lessons Vintage specialist Repairs & setups

Chain retailer for guitars, drums, keyboards, and other musical instruments, plus amps, and recording equipment.

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 (732) 257-8500
  • Website stores.guitarcenter.com

Hours

Monday 11 AM–9 PM
Tuesday 11 AM–9 PM
Wednesday 11 AM–9 PM
Thursday 11 AM–9 PM
Friday 11 AM–9 PM
Saturday 10 AM–9 PM
Sunday 11 AM–7 PM

Hours can shift for holidays, clinics, and lesson schedules — worth a quick check before a special trip.

What's on the wall

Instrument and gear categories at Guitar Center, confirmed in players' own reviews and the store's own info — not guessed from the sign out front.

🎸 Electric Guitars 3 mentions

“She has an electric drum set at home and has been applying what she’s been learning during her lessons at home.”

All stores with electric guitars →

♻️ Used Gear 6 mentions

“Guitar center it reminds me of my local music store the people remember your name there into gear great place bought new and used gear I couldn't count how much gear the purchase.”

All stores with used gear →

🔧 Repairs & Setups 5 mentions

“Justin was extremely helpful in getting my questions answered and Anthony in guitar repairs amazed me with his ability to service my son's guitars.”

All stores with repairs & setups →

🎓 Lessons 4 mentions

“My 5 year old daughter has been taking drum lessons with Collin for the past month.”

All stores with lessons →

🥁 Drums & Percussion 3 mentions

“I was not as impressed with drum selections, and guitar strap selection was poor compared with the Ocean location I’m more familiar with.”

All stores with drums & percussion →

Brands they deal

Brands players name in their reviews of Guitar Center — the fastest way to tell what's actually hanging on the wall before you drive over.

🏷️ Fender

Who else deals Fender →

🏷️ Gibson

Who else deals Gibson →

🏷️ Martin

Who else deals Martin →

🏷️ Ibanez

“Recently bought an Ibanez and the electronics failed.”

Who else deals Ibanez →

🏷️ Gretsch

Who else deals Gretsch →

🏷️ Epiphone

Who else deals Epiphone →

🏷️ Rickenbacker

Who else deals Rickenbacker →

🏷️ Squier

Who else deals Squier →

Brand mentions are mined from reviews and the store's own info — they tell you what's on the wall, not formal authorized-dealer status. If warranty coverage matters, confirm dealer status with the store or the brand's own dealer locator.

What players say again and again

The things reviewers bring up again and again across 889 Google reviews — with their own words as proof.

🔧 expert setups & repairs 2 mentions
🤝 fair trade-in offers 2 mentions

“Be aware that on trade ins you will always loose money.”

🧠 knowledgeable staff 7 mentions

“Really the dozens of times I have gone in there, the staff is just always so knowledgeable and eager to help.”

🎓 great lesson program 2 mentions

“My 5 year old daughter has been taking drum lessons with Collin for the past month. She absolutely loves it!”

From the reviews

The Store is like heaven on earth. My son is a musician and I am blown away with the variety choices for every aspect of musical instrument needs. It's just always the best experience. The staff is so helpful.

★★★★★ — Joanna, Nov 2024

My five star review goes to Anthony, the guitar tech. He is knowledgeable, friendly, and honest. The turn around time is very reasonable. I highly recommend him.

★★★★★ — Annie, Jan 2026

As a drummer and guitar enthusiast this place is overwhelming, very large. If you know exactly what you need and are looking to make major purchase I highly recommend seeking out help to purchase. The store policy is to not harass customers to buy. They will not ask you for help if you do not ask them first.

★★★★☆ — Michael, Dec 2025

If you ever go to this, GUITAR CENTER, make sure you always ask for Johnny the guitar technician he is absolutely the best!!! He is extremely friendly professional, well-versed, and experienced in all things guitar. He basically turned my Austin Les Paul copy into a mean beautiful screaming rock N Roll machine !!

★★★★★ — Luis, Nov 2024

Excerpts from public Google reviews. Read all 889 reviews →

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.

Check trade-in info on their site

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.

Where to find Guitar Center

666 NJ-18, East Brunswick, NJ08816

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Guitar stores near Guitar Center

Music Notes Academy

5 ★★★★★ 22 reviews

505 NJ-18, East Brunswick, NJ

Lessons great lesson programplays well with beginners

under a mile away

Revilla Grooves & Gear

4.8 ★★★★★ 353 reviews

126 N Main St, Milltown, NJ

Buys used gear Vintage specialist spotless & cleanfair trade-in offersknowledgeable staff

Record store with a large selection of used vinyl and hi-fi gear plus listening stations for trying before buying.

3.3 miles away

Music & Arts

4 ★★★★☆ 67 reviews

1908 NJ-27 Ste B, Edison, NJ

Lessons Repairs & setups Vintage specialist

Retail chain offering musical instruments, audio gear & accessories, plus rental & repair services.

5.9 miles away

All guitar stores in East Brunswick, NJ →

Listing verified July 2026 from public business records and player reviews. Something out of date? Report a correction. Own this store? Claim your listing — it's free.