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Guitar Center
4.4 ★★★★☆ 640 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Fairview Heights, Illinois
Guitar shop with lessons, repairs and services specializing in guitars, amps, drums and keyboards.
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 (618) 398-8150
- 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 |
What's on the wall
“) I went in looking for a good acoustic guitar for a beginner today and Isaac was so much fun & very knowledgeable.”
“I ended up going for the all black Yamaha acoustic electric guitar and I am stoked to learn more about how to play it this weekend.”
“Percussion instruments, specifically a bass kick pedal, a shaker, and some drum stick.”
“Percussion instruments, specifically a bass kick pedal, a shaker, and some drum stick.”
“They don’t do super delicate work, especially on vintage instruments, but they made sure so send me home with some good referrals.”
“I bought a used Seagull guitar which is awesome and traded in an electric.”
“I purchased my 10 year old grandson his first acoustic guitar with lessons.”
“My nephew and niece were seeing of they wanted to play an instrument because they were a bit younger, and they found that they like the drums.”
Brands they deal
What players say again and again
“I recently had a fantastic experience at Guitar Center in Fairview Heights, where the team expertly maintained my guitar.”
“I purchased my 10 year old grandson his first acoustic guitar with lessons. Great experience checking out all the guitars in the store and finding the one for him in stock.”
From the reviews
Super knowledgeable and welcoming. They don’t do super delicate work, especially on vintage instruments, but they made sure so send me home with some good referrals. For the location they have a good selection and fair pricing. Around here you either have to pay a little more out of pocket or learn to do it yourself.
This place just blew me away. I went in for a new amp, and left with an amp, 2 cords, and a strap for my bass. My nephew and niece were seeing of they wanted to play an instrument because they were a bit younger, and they found that they like the drums.
I really like this place. I bought a used Seagull guitar which is awesome and traded in an electric. Plenty of in-store inventory to dabble with too. Staff is friendly but not pushy which I appreciate. Solid joint 👌 💯
*This review is for Isaac (he’s amazing!) I went in looking for a good acoustic guitar for a beginner today and Isaac was so much fun & very knowledgeable. I ended up going for the all black Yamaha acoustic electric guitar and I am stoked to learn more about how to play it this weekend.
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.
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