Guitar Center — Local services in Monterey Park

They get 2 stars for bass guitar and bass amp section, knowledge, etc. I will not speak to the rest of the chain or the different areas of the store. I have visited this place many times and a while back around 6 months ago i was flirting with the idea of selling my German made Warwick. I assumed that most musicians had heard of the brand either good or bad, but it's not that rare of a brand and in the world of bass guitar they are quite well known. (I'll let you decide as to what that means). To start it was a 26 year old bass at the time, so it wouldn't be unheard of for a well loved instrument to have moderate wear. Nothing that should have barred it from getting a reasonable offer. I am aware of the 60% off what they expect to sell it for went out a while back too, but I highly doubt they would have sold it for 75% over the most insulting $20 offering that I never thought id actually hear from a professional establishment. And the 20% of what they will likely sell for will likely only attract thieves, addicts, and people in dire situations. The one i considered selling was in far better condition than the one overpaid for from the Cerritos store, that one had a faulty jack and broken & glued tuner. So when they offered $20 because it was a brand that not many people would know, i was thinking it was just the one employee. Sadly the ignorance on that day and the next was store wide it seemed. Since they would've offered $40, because they "already offered $20. How would it look if we offered substantially more on a second offer?" If you have a Fender or something, we'd buy that for a lot more." Huh? Seriously. Fast forward about 6 months. They still have a rock bass in there (they bought within a week of not knowing what a warwick was). Priced way above market. Old style hardware. Maple neck, not Ovangkl and Wenge like the one in had taken in there, maybe I'm assuming an Alder or an ash ǰbass with the Chinese guts. So I inquired about how they had that priced for so much when they didn't know what warwick was? "Well a lot more people know what a rock bass is than that other brand." They were serious, too So I would give 1☆ but given the cleanliness of the store and the attitude of some of the employees, I get why the 4☆ reviews exist. Im unsure as to who in their right mind would rate 5☆ without doing a full scale...

My daughter has been taking lessons for over a year now. When we first started, the lessons department was good. Of course, there were some flaws. The teachers were nice but not very engaging. The lessons lead at that time had great customer service skills but left the store. That is when the lessons department took a downturn without a person to lead the instructors, set the schedule, and to find and retain new students. The department was unorganized and did not have any direction.

My daughter's instructor at the time was not connecting with her and felt like leaving the store. Her instructor ended up leaving due to the lack of leadership. That's when the store came to their senses and hired Jay Escobar to be the lessons lead.

Jay Escobar has single-handedly turned the ship around. He is organized, professional, and understands the needs of the customer. He has the business acumen to lead Guitar center lessons department and their goals and initiatives as well. Jay will go the extra mile for the customer and make things go smooth. He paired up the BEST guitar instructor Noah Castillo and I have to say my daughter is playing like a pro now. I was so impressed with Jay's work that I signed up my other 2 daughters for lessons! One plays the bass and the other plays piano. I have to say both of their instructors. Nick Chandler and Deon Lee are both very patient and knowledgeable instructors. All the instructors will give you a quick debrief at the end of the lessons so the parent is connected. I can't sing their praises enough. I haven't had the chance to experience the other instructors there but they are always very friendly to me and greet me. I can see that other students are enjoying their lessons.

I would highly recommend guitar center lessons. Whether you play the guitar or drums, this is the place to go! Thank you Jay for making it a wonderful experience for my...

Previous I had giving this place 5 stars. However, several times I have called and no one answers and when I left messages for Nadine the Lessons Lead/Manager no one gave them to her. I enrolled my daughter in drums class and she was super nice at the time of enrollment and even said that she would contact me with plenty of time before her class ended to see how she liked it, how she was doing and if I wanted to continue her enrollment - lied, she was never around and never called and on the contrary I called several times and even the other drum/piano insteuctor (Robert I believe is his name) left a written note to contact me, he said or at least someone would contact me. I was contacted the Saturday evening by Nadine in a not so nice tone about the instructor not being back and being his last day and I HAD ALREADY BEEN CHARGED!! That was very inconsistent with what she said originally!. I heard from her, several times before enrolling my daughter BUT NOT ONCE during or before I WAS CHARGED AGAIN. We missed the first class because I had a tooth extracted and if you ever know about that you feel awful, and I left a message and they said they would give to her and ALL SHE SAID WAS WELL I'M SORRY, OUR POLICY IS 24 HRS IN ADVANCE AND I NEVER GOT THE MESSAGE! SERIOUSLY! That is terrible customer service if you ask me! Just terrible AND FROM A LEAD/MANAGER! I always used to go there, never again. Why be so friendly at the beginning to get customers to then so rude and not get...