Guitar Center

Guitar Center boasts the biggest variety of popular guitars, basses, amplifiers, keyboards, workstations, drums, percussion instruments, microphones, PA systems, DJ gear, stage lighting, recording software, studio equipment, and much more. With more than 260 locations nationwide, it is a go-to destination for music enthusiasts.

National

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#6523

United States

#1242

Computers Electronics and Technology/Consumer Electronics

#11

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

The Signature Gear of Kirk Hammett

2 weeks ago | guitarcenter.com | Drew Beaupré

Metallica fans know the moment Kirk Hammett sets foot on stage, he’s ready to unleash the sound that’s defined thrash leads and shaped modern metal—with his arsenal of well-curated gear on tap.
Best Gear for Punk Rock Guitarists

3 weeks ago | guitarcenter.com | Michael Molenda

Posted in Buying Guides onIt was a sound of unbridled rage, but simultaneously uplifting and joyful. In a mall record shop in the San Francisco suburbs, I was hearing Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols for the very first time. That guitar sound changed everything. It gave me the courage to play guitar for real, write original songs, start a band and buy my first Marshall half stack (Don Wehr’s Music City) and Gibson Les Paul (Guitar Center).
Fender Player II Modified Extends Player II Series

1 month ago | guitarcenter.com | Michael Molenda

Fender is a never-ending story. On the surface, the brand has celebrated the legendary instruments forged by Leo Fender and his team in the ’50s and ’60s for almost 80 years now. But Fender has also improved, refined, revitalized and/or reenergized those original designs with astonishing consistency. If Leo were still tinkering in his workshop today, he’d be doing the very same thing.
Spotlight on the Taylor Sunset Blvd Collection

1 month ago | guitarcenter.com | Drew Beaupré

Posted in Product Demos on7425 Sunset Blvd. It’s more than the address of a music shop on an iconic stretch of pavement slicing through Hollywood—it’s the musical hub of a city famous for turning dreams into reality. For 60 years, Guitar Center’s flagship Sunset Boulevard store has been an institution in the Los Angeles music scene, welcoming everyone from wide-eyed beginners and bedroom producers to legendary rock stars like Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Tom Petty and Heart’s Wilson sisters.
The Best Amps for Shoegaze

1 month ago | guitarcenter.com | Drew Beaupré

Posted in Buying Guides onWhen shoegaze first blossomed in late-’80s Britain, the amps behind its dreamy walls of sound were as integral as the pedals at players' feet. Bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, Swervedriver and Ride explored sonic textures that blurred melody, rhythm and pure noise into immersive soundscapes.
A Guide to the Akai Professional MPC

1 month ago | guitarcenter.com | Drew Beaupré

Posted in Buying Guides onAkai Professional released the MPC60 in 1988—an event that would forever reshape how music was made. Designed in collaboration with drum machine legend Roger Linn, the MPC, short for “Music Production Center,” fused a powerful sampler with a tactile 4x4 grid of velocity-sensitive pads, allowing artists to chop, trigger and sequence samples in real time.
3 Ways to Get Pro Sound in Your Home Studio

1 month ago | guitarcenter.com | Michael Molenda

It may be hard to believe in a world where practically every musician has a home studio that there was a time when gatekeepers—professional audio engineers working in commercial recording facilities—held dominion over the sounds artists put on their tracks. When working in pro studios in those days, I routinely had my hand slapped away if I dared reach for a fader or EQ knob.
The Best Dunlop Fuzz Face Pedals

2 months ago | guitarcenter.com | Michael Molenda

Posted in Buying Guides onConsidering his colossal influence on everything guitar, Jimi Hendrix was one of those beloved demigods that fate plopped into the music world as a reward—and benevolent challenge—to humanity. Hendrix had a mystical power to transform everything he touched—chord progressions, solos, riffs, guitars, guitar amps, tone and textures—into otherworldly genius. Like another late guitar virtuoso—Eddie Van Halen—Hendrix was one of those “before and after” artists.
Gibson Custom Eric Clapton 1958 Les Paul Custom | A History and Demo

2 months ago | guitarcenter.com | Michael Molenda

Posted in Product Demos onEric Clapton’s 1958 Les Paul Custom may be the guitar equivalent of a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. As Clapton has owned more than his share of iconic guitars—and played them throughout a career of scrupulous documentation, given his legendary status—historians can usually pinpoint which one he used when and where.
A Spotlight on the Roland TR-909

Feb 13, 2025 | guitarcenter.com | Drew Beaupré

The Roland TR-909 is more than just a drum machine—it’s a defining piece of electronic music history. Released in 1983, the TR-909 wasn’t an immediate commercial success, but it ultimately became a cornerstone of house, techno and electronic dance music. With its punchy analog kick drum, crisp hi-hats and cutting-edge (for the time) MIDI integration, the TR-909 took the foundation set by the TR-808 and became a drum machine icon in its own right.