What Happened to Guitar Center?

What happened to Guitar Center? We discuss the recent article with the CEO and 3 predictions are made for 2025 and beyond.

Music Inc Interview

Company Man - The Decline of Guitar Center

Barnett Music Exchange @barnettmusicexchange9924

Tulsa Guitar Co. @tulsaguitarco

Guitar Center

#guitarcenter #guitar #sapulpa #sapulpaguitaracademy #guitarbuyingguideforbeginners #sweetwater #amazon #bankruptcy #retail #tulsa #tulsaoklahoma

[joeurgod]

The problem that have with what the new CEO said in his interview is unless you play "premium" gear....you are not a serious or real musician. So am i supposed to prioritize a 1000$ guitar over rent? Over food for my wife and daughter? Over paying bills? His comments come off very elitist. I guess the working class that are on a budget are not real musicians to him. I didn’t realize that my skill level and validity as a musician was determined by the price tag attached to my guitar.

[jasonbannan]

My nephew and his wife worked and watched it through its decline. Worked in several stores around the country. Apathy on the floor is horrible, no instruments get set up, and damaged instruments get hung on the wall. Employees can't be found for assistance. None of this is the fault of the Pandemic. Its corporate and local store mismanagement.

[lionheartroar]

Locally my Guitar Center has the worst service, worst employees....and you cannot talk to a regional manager. Bought all my stuff from Sweetwater because of the awful experience.

[logicnotfeelings]

I stopped going to Guitar Center a couple years ago and vowed never to return, for the following reasons: 1) When I go during "off hours" to avoid the crowds, I walk in and usually discover apathetic employees who have cranked up some loud, thumping music over the store's speaker system, with zero consideration for customers who might want to play a few guitars and be able to hear what they sound like (what a concept!). 2) They let teenage customers plug in and crank the amps for at least 10 minutes at a time, or longer. Meanwhile, there I am as a 50-something year old ready to spend at least $1, 000 but, because I can't hear myself think, I simply turn around and leave. 3) I can't tell you how many guitars hanging on the wall are unplayable due to the plastic-wire used to attach the tags are wrapped in between the strings, near the head stock (unbelievable). I realize the tags might not start out this way, but end up working their way up from the headstock to getting tangled between the strings and the nut. It's clear they have been this way for a long time and no one bothers to untangle the tags to make the guitars playable. Apathy. Apathy. Apathy.

[MauriceOrtiz-utyi]

I think Guitar Center needs more cowbell.

[scottziegler]

Saturday evening I found a guitar online marked in stock at the Bellevue Wa Guitar Center. First thing Sunday I went to the store to buy the guitar. It was not in stock. I picked a similar guitar off the wall and decided I could settle for that one. At the front desk I noticed the Wall guitar was missing a part and pointed it out to the employee. The employee indicated they do not have nor could they get replacement parts but they have 3 new identical guitars in the back. Perfect! I'll take one of the new ones! After about 15 minutes the employee came back and said they don't have any in the back. Nice. So I left with cash in my pocket and no new guitar. Sweetwater delivered my new guitar in just a few days! Inspected, tuned, and not one fingerprint or hint of being touched on it!! Plus 1 for Sweetwater!

[rockerbob]

As an ex employee of Guitar Center, I can tell you that Guitar Center has done this to themselves… I worked in the guitar department and guitar sales people don’t even qualify to start making commission until they sell $10, 000 worth of guitars… And that was 20 years ago.

[mck]

I remember when the GC in my area had their Grand Opening back in 1998:
It was a really big deal: They had a line outside the door, and they even brought Yngwie Malmsteen to do a clinic.
So last fall I went to that same GC, and asked the staff if they planned to do anything for their 25th Anniversary.
I got blank stares.
Sad.

[ryank]

I’ve been to a guitar center a few months ago, went back to the drums and everything was a disorganized mess. Couldn’t even find anyone to talk to. I’ve been getting everything from sweet water, excellent customer service

[extrememike]

Last time I went to GC was also to buy a set of strings. After waiting in line the guy at the cash register wanted all my personal info including name and phone number. I refused and said I just wanted to buy and be done with it. He said it could not conduct the sale and I just walked away.

[TheDanification]

Sweetwater is destroying GC. At SW, you can actually see the guitar you are buying

[dougboal]

Guitar Center has essentially been squeezed out of the market by online and boutique shops/brands. Their biggest problems are they don't do anything exceptionally well compared to their competitors and failure to improve their online presence. 


<$500 guitars

* Guitar Center: only carries poor quality legacy brands (Squire, Epiphone, Jackson, etc.) that are banged around to the point where they become used.

* Competitors: way more options for higher quality guitars (Harley Benton, Firefly, Sire, Yamaha, etc.) DTC or through other online retailers.


~$500 - $1, 600 guitars

* Guitar Center: Limited options from legacy brands (Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc.). Placed up high to collect dust and you have to ask employees to bring them down. Inconsistent setups like action too high, pickups too low, etc. Priced as new.

* Competitors: I can go on Sweetwater, find the exact guitar (model, color, weight, etc) I want with high quality pictures of the exact guitar. Actually in new condition and is inspected before it is shipped.


$1600+ 

* Guitar Center: Extremely limited options from legacy brands (Fender, Gibson, PRS, etc.). If they do have what you want it's probably not in the color/finish you want. Placed up high, thick coat of dust, inconsistent setup, etc. Priced as new.

* Competitors: Limitless options online from any and all brands. Custom order options from small shops or online retailers. Attractive exclusive dealer run options. High quality pictures of the exact guitar you'll be purchasing. New in box.


Accessories

* Guitar Center: common picks, strings, straps, etc. Full retail price.

* Competitors: Small shops carry the same accessories at around the same price. Online retailers have anything and everything you can think of at more competitive prices.


This isn't even touching on Guitar Center's expensive storefront space, understaffing, and poor customer service issues. I really don't see any viable path forward for them. They need to downsize stores, have techs clean/setup floor models, improve their online presence (website with pics/specs of each exact guitar), and secure better exclusive dealer runs.

[barnettmusicexchange]

Thanks for the shoutout! We are super interested in having great gear, PERIOD. Suhr, TMG, Jennings, Iconic, Nash, Dingwall, Strandberg, Eastman and a FULL-Line PRS Dealer (not just SE models). And we are newly a Tom Anderson Dealer! We are super excited to start getting those in to Tulsa! Thanks again for mentioning us! We appreciate the love!

[thetexasbeachbum]

I still buy from Guitar Center. Really good policies. Decent prices. No, they all aren’t created equal.

[Gatopanzon_]

Last time i went to Guitar Center, Nobody with any knowledge on the gear, 20 years old kids payed minimum wage to stand around and do nothing. rather get guitars from Ebay or Reverb from Japan at 1/3 of the price.

[jerrycrafts]

My issue with guitar center is when I go to buy something I can’t get any help from the staff, and when I can get there attention it’s usually just a finger pointing to where the item is or might be in the store. Often times they don’t even have the item. So after an hours drive and frustrated with traffic and guitar center I will take my chances and buy it online. I really miss the guitar center of the good ol days. Oh and yes, I’ve stood in line waiting to pay for an item only to just set it down and leave.

[beatapt]

Old veteran retail music store guy here. Walked around the GC in Mobile last year for an hour, no one even spoke to us. And they weren't busy at all. Someone should tell them the old guys usually have money. Would have fired the lot of them.

[jamesfulmer]

I'm going to share two personal experiences that caused me to hate Guitar Center. 1st, about 5 years ago, I was looking for some Zildjian A custom hi-hat's. I looked online every day at my local GC. A set finally popped up. I called to make sure they were still there in store before I drove to buy them. When I arrived, I went to the drum department and there they were. Some 10 minutes later, an employee asked me if I needed anything. I said I wanted to buy these hi-hat's. He looked at them very puzzled. For an oddly long time. He then took them and walked away. I thought, that's weird. Where is he going? I walked up to the cashier, thinking he would bring them. After about 15 minutes, I asked the cashier if he would find out where the employee was at so I could buy them and be on my way. He went in the back and a few minutes later and asked me what he looked like. I told him. A few minutes later, he came back and said, "No one knows anything about it!" I was getting upset. I saw the employee walk out of the back, and I pointed him out. The cashier went over, and they had a long conversation. He came back and told me they were sold. Needles to say I was pissed! I think the employee saw that they looked like new and was priced fantastic and wanted them. I started driving home. I decided to call the store and ask to speak to the manager. He apologized and said he had another set that was just as nice, and he would let me have them for the same price. I went back and bought them. I told them that was a horrible way to run a business and to treat a customer, and I won't be back. 2nd, I look at drums online that Guitar Center is selling. Often, they have wrong information on the drums. Sometimes, they don't even get the brand right. The wrong model and sizes. It's ridiculous how awful they are. It's like they just grab someone walking on the sidewalk outside the store and hire them with no training. My guess is that it's at the top management all the way down to the newest employee.

[ToneD]

As a former GC employee, I must say that their major downfall
is how GC treats its workers. They appeared more interested in selling
the Pro coverage insurance. I recall days getting scolded because my pro coverage sales
were low, yet my sales high...
I've seen uneducated guitar rookies, trying to sell to the mom and pop croud,
because they couldn't sell to the pros who visited the store.
As a long time simi professional guitarist, they put me in the pro audio department
selling DJ mixers and pianos...I mean wtf?
Then being reprimanded for leaving my department to sell a 1k$ guitar...😠
Working for peanuts will never bring good employees!
And the POS system is still green screen 1970 s crap....
It use to be the place to go!
NOT ANY MORE 🎸 🎸🎸
And they wonder why sales are ROCK BOTTOM 😂

[bobfurman]

They sell demos as new.They resell returns as new, too.They give the 10 percent discount for New, but it should be a 20 percent for used and returns, in that case.