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Guitar Center
4.2 ★★★★☆ 873 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in Rochester, New York
Chain store that carries a wide array of stringed instruments, keyboards and drums.
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 (585) 424-2188
- 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
“Great selection of acoustics but instead of having 12 high end Gibsons maybe have 6 and a few other brands.”
“I did a progressive loan for a guitar and effects pedal, and i got to the store at 8:57.”
“The best part of my experience was when Tom realized it might be a relatively minor repair: replace the stripped knob and add some oil.”
“Must visit place for any music instruments, lessons or related accessories.”
“Exactly the right place for anyone wanting to change your life or change your guitar or pick up and excellent keyboard etc.”
Brands they deal
What players say again and again
“Mitchell is knowledgeable and answered all my questions and the whole process to sign up for lessons was easy.”
“Great and friendly staff, very knowledgeable, they do not take advantage of clueless idiots like me.”
From the reviews
I bought an Alvarez nylon string in the store last year including the pro coverage. Recently, a knob on one of the tuning pegs got stripped. (The Alvarez is awesome, but their plastic tuning hardware sucks - not GC's fault.
Amazing staff and teachers at store. Always ready to help and answer queries. Must visit place for any music instruments, lessons or related accessories. Mitchell is knowledgeable and answered all my questions and the whole process to sign up for lessons was easy. Chris & Charlie are amazing teachers. Highly recommend!
Awesome staff. Really reliable and knowledgeable. Will definitely go back again for anything with my new guitar. You guys rock
I did a progressive loan for a guitar and effects pedal, and i got to the store at 8:57. They close at 9. The 2 associates Jack and Gabe were absolutely awesome.
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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