Guitar Center

Musicians Friend is better. Hell I would order from anywhere. Not a lot of knowledge on the floor from employees. They also didn’t have very much knowledge of their protection plans that they try to sell you. Maybe I caught them at a bad time, but dang.

The Good:
— You can satisfy a variety of musical tastes here if you play multiple instruments
— Location (closer to home than Big Dude’s or Explorer’s Percussion)
— Good selection of low end instruments for Christmas shopping
— Good selection of records (Christmas shopping again)
— Good sales deals
— Good selection of drum sticks and guitar strings
— The sales associate was friendly and not condescending with every simple question
— I wasn’t accosted on my way out so someone could see the receipt for my two arms load of stuff I just purchased
The Bad:
— Some guitars are unreachable and require a sales associate to help
— Spent 30 minutes in the acoustic guitar room without being helped
— Poor selection for high end cymbals
— Poor selection for high end drums
The Ugly:
— Sales associate (that I had to hunt down to ask a question) said if anyone asks we were being helped… but then stayed at the cash register when we went back to the acoustic guitar room
— Sales associate suggested a Big Baby Taylor can be grown into more than a full size acoustic
— Sales associate ran entire purchase without applying coupons… had to credit everything and re-​run transaction
— Sales associate said Jimi Hendrix was a lefty but played right handed
Overall this Guitar Center isn’t a terrible place (I prefer the Overland Park store for my GC purchases). We got a great deal on some gifts and while I may have disagreed with some of the things the sales guy said, he was friendly and felt bad for having to rerun the entire transaction. It’s not my favorite music store but never a horrible experience either.

I like guitar center. This location seems to have a larger staff so of you need assistance you are not standing around like the OP location.
The selection is great with both instruments and accessories. I do think the sheet music, instruction selection is kind of small though.
The employees are very patient, knowledgeable, and helpful, especially when dealing with younger aspiring musicians.
I generally order accessories online, but when in a pinch, or looking for equipment, guitar center is a great option.
The large staff can cause being asked no fewer than 6 times if you need assistance when you enter.

My first visit and I was impressed. I took an old guitar in for new strings and to my surprise the tech, named Paul, went right to work. He also notice a place on the neck needed to be rebuilt. So I was extremely pleased. He did a great job for a
reasonable price. Cannot say enough good about his work. And the old box sounds like new. Great place. Recommend it highly.

I first started coming here in high school, when I needed new mallets or sticks for drumline. I will be the first to admit I have no idea how to play drum set it’s a little intimidating trying to find a specific pair of sticks, but the staff always helped me find what I needed. So when my boyfriend wanted a guitar, we decided to come here. The staff was amazingly helpful. I don’t remember the name of the guy who helped us because this was a while ago, but he helped us choose a guitar that was good for beginners, showed my boyfriend a few pointers, and made us feel really good about making such a big purchase.

Guitar Center has a large selection of instruments that you can get your hands on immediately. They have fair market prices and a large selection of strings and other accessories. Purchase their Monster or Mogami instrument cables and they have a life time guarantee, just bring them back if they break no questions asked. I stop by regularly.
The truth is I have a love-​hate relationship with this place. First I will give you the good. In one word: Toys. If you are a musician this place is full of toys. Wall to wall guitars, drums, keyboards, recording equipment, and accessories. If I had the place to myself I would spend hours in there, maybe I’d just sleep in the corner and wake up and start playing again the next morning. BUT, I’m never alone in there which brings us to the bad.
The bad: The place is always full of weekend warrior Jimi Hendrix wannabes wailing on the guitars and Keith Moon back there on the drums. Jeez, it’s so bad you can’t even hear yourself think. The poor employees. The sad part is, even if you’re really good, no one cares because: a) we’re desensitized to the noise no matter what it sounds like, or b) if you’re talented, you’re a schmuck for showing off at your local Guitar center.
The staff is usually friendly and helpful. What I like about them is they leave you ALONE and let you play. There is no better way to sell an instrument. The last thing I want is some pedantic fellow musician trying to impress me with his skill and knowledge. That being said the staff are usually very helpful and understand this. So I’m a regular at this one and the one over in Overland Park.

How many times can I shop at Guitar Center, and not write about them on Unilocal?Alot of my income goes to this store. Drumsticks, guitars, guitar strings, picks, music books, drumsets… you get the idea.
Yes, Guitar Center is commercial. But, this is Independence, and I’m not near Big Dude’s. So, I value Guitar Center. I thrive on Guitar Center. When I am lazy, they can change my guitar strings. When I loose my pick, I can quickly go and get more.
They have a nice selection of music books, and manuscript paper. They have a drum area. They have stage lights, amps, keyboards, guitars across the wall. I love the classical guitar room. How cool is that? You go into an enclosed room, with a nice wooden interior, and all the classical guitars are lined up to the walls. There are benches in the middle of the room, to test the guitars. I think it’s fun to go in there and play the guitars.
The employees are super. They’ve given my son picks, when he didn’t have one, to play (or test play) the electric guitars. You can test the drums, as well. The staff is knowledgeable, cause they are musicians. They have clinics, there, as well. Sales all the time. I went in there, today, for a capo for my guitar. Next time I’m going in there, for a better guitar case. The store is there, and I intend to keep them in business.