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Guitar Center
4.1 ★★★★☆ 550 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Portland, Maine
Chain store selling acoustic and electric guitars, drums, amps, keyboards, recording equipment, and other instruments.
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 (207) 822-9822
- 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
“Exceptional selection of new and used gear - VERY high quality new & used guitar selection, but the thing that really stands out are the employees.”
“I was trying to find some easy piano music with chords and they had a huge selection of all different genres, and I certainly like it for music selection.”
Brands they deal
“That was the longest 14 days of my life but I reunited with my Fender Jagstang.”
What players say again and again
“Came in with my heart set on a Roland FP-30X piano keyboard, but wanted to try it out before purchasing.”
“These ladies and gentlemen really know their stuff, and they are friendly, patient, and more than happy to share their knowledge with their customers.”
From the reviews
Hands down Nick and his crew rock! I recently made a stupid impulsive decision out of things being tight to sell my guitar. I ended up regretting it so much it was like a part of me was missing.
Best Guitar Center I've ever been to (and I've been to many!). Exceptional selection of new and used gear - VERY high quality new & used guitar selection, but the thing that really stands out are the employees.
Always super friendly and knowledgeable. My son bought his guitar there and takes lessons. He is autistic and his instructor is absolutely amazing with him
Guitar Center is a great place for musicians of all ages! They encourage you to use the instruments before you buy them in order to ensure that you're getting something that is a good fit for you.
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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Guitar Center Lessons
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Retail chain carrying music, movies & video games in a variety of formats, plus books & gifts.
