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Guitar Center
4.3 ★★★★☆ 813 Google reviews · Guitar & music store in West Des Moines, Iowa
Large chain carrying acoustic and electric guitars plus 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 (515) 267-9501
- 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
“The Acoustic room was ,is and will always be my favorite area to shop.”
“Because of them, I left with a setup I trust and the feeling that I mattered as a customer and as a veteran.”
Brands they deal
“My daughter and I stopped in with her Fender to ask for help with an issue.”
What players say again and again
“Becca gave me a great deal on the new one, also giving me a pack of new strings and a hard case.”
From the reviews
My daughter and I stopped in with her Fender to ask for help with an issue. The staff greeted us with a friendly smile and helpful attitude. The repairman worked on her guitar right away, he was finished within a half hour or so and had it sounding perfect again.
Truly grateful for the way I was treated at Guitar Center. Christopher and Ryan went above and beyond in every way. I came in looking for DJ and speaker equipment for real, working gigs—not just something flashy—and they took the time to understand what I actually needed.
I had bought a used guitar that unfortunately ended up having some issues with one of the pickups. They did offer to have their tech look at it and fix it for free, but I opted to return it. I had been eying a more expensive guitar for a year and decided to purchase it.
Amazing place. Bought a bass, an electric guitar, an amp, microphones, speakers, and more here. Good deals when the times are right. Employees are always knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to get along with. Perfect experiences.
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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Relaxed music store for guitars (electric, acoustic, bass, vintage, and ukuleles), plus amps and pedals.
