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Guitar Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 1,198 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Northridge, California
Chain music store featuring a large selection of instruments, amps, recording equipment, and DJ gear.
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 (818) 993-0286
- 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 wanted to leave a glowing review for Paul, the gentleman who helped me look at Les Paul's while I was in town.”
“It’s rare to find a company that truly cares about its customers like this.”
“Besides looking for great instruments to play they also have individual studios for lessons to play.”
“Not much of a selection of mandolins but I found the exact mandolin I was looking for on clearance price, and I am very pleased with the service.”
Brands they deal
What players say again and again
“Within about 10 minutes, they had evaluated the gear, confirmed everything was in working order, and made me a fair offer.”
“The staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about music.”
From the reviews
Enjoy my guitar so much I got one for everyone in my family that didn't have one. Eddie was helpful with starting my journey. James was informative on speaker purchases. Criss and steven cleaned and repaired all my guitars. Ramon reminded me to make this review. I haven't taken music lessons yet from Katie.
Excellent guitar store! I bought my Yamaha here, and the customer service was outstanding. They couldn’t find the original case that was supposed to come with the guitar, so they ordered a brand-new one for me and even gave me a 20% discount for the inconvenience.
I wanted to leave a glowing review for Paul, the gentleman who helped me look at Les Paul's while I was in town. He took me into the vault as I was looking for a 1968 Les Paul custom reissue. Of all the times I've gone to Guitar center, this was without a doubt the best time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars I had a great experience at this Guitar Center. While they don't provide exact buyback numbers over the phone, the employee I spoke with was helpful and gave me a general idea of what to expect before recommending that I come into the store. When I arrived, the process was quick and easy.
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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