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Guitar Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 575 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Raritan, New Jersey
Guitar and keyboard store, plus repair shop and school, featuring friendly employees.
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 (908) 575-0106
- 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
“Expansive selection of electric guitars, with plenty of acoustics and other instruments and gear.”
“I ordered a used guitar pedal from this store earlier this week.”
“I ordered a used guitar pedal from this store earlier this week.”
“Their tech, Justin, is a great guy and is excellent at setting up or fixing guitars.”
“I've also taken lessons there too and again, very friendly instructors.”
“I am a keyboard guy learning to play very slowly.”
Brands they deal
“I love Martin Guitars and their inventory is eclectic as well as superb.”
“Brought my PRS Mcarty 594 for new pickup install and switch, he had me shredding the same day!”
What players say again and again
“He was very knowledgeable and thorough in helping my daughter to pick her first guitar!”
From the reviews
Great experience at Guitar Center! The whole team was friendly, knowledgeable, and really went out of their way to help. The manager, Andy, was especially attentive and made sure everything went smoothly. You can tell they all care about their customers and know their gear well.
I recently moved home to this area. I purchased my acoustic Washburn 12 years ago at guitar center in Natick, MA. I recently brought it in for a “tune up” and new “softer” strings. The tech did a fantastic job. Understood my needs as a semi pro and needed a better playing experience.
All experts. Laid back. Great place for musicians to browse w no Sales pressure. Easy to test systems and musicians. The Guitar center staff are always good to solve any problems with equipment. I recommend highly.
I am a keyboard guy learning to play very slowly. It was a beautiful day and I wanted to get out and about. I stopped in and found something very surprising. Out of all of the Guitar Centers I have visited throughout the Northeast, this was the only one where the computer was set up with a working digital audio…
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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