News: Guitar Center

— North  Charlotte Guitar Center store is the latest location to open as part of GC’s  ongoing 2012 expansion —

Westlake  Village, CA (May 14, 2012) – Following an eventful Q1 that saw the retailer  expanding its operations in Tucson, Arizona, and Highland Park, Illinois, Guitar Center held the grand  opening of its new location in North Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 19,  2012. The store is located at 8813 JW Clay Blvd., STE A, Charlotte, NC  28262-5416. Guitar Center North Charlotte is Guitar Center’s 225th retail  location. Guitar Center  North Charlotte’s grand opening introduced customers to a vast selection of  products and a dedicated staff with unparalleled musical knowledge and  experience.  As with all new store openings, Guitar Center hosted a Grand  Opening Weekend celebration (April 19-22) featuring exclusive savings, gear  giveaways, free events and live performances catered to local  musicians. Guitar Center’s  newest North Carolina location features showrooms for customers equipped with  the latest products for musicians – from guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments and keyboards to live sound, DJ, lighting and recording equipment. The new store also features Guitar Center Studios, an in-house, state-of-the-art lesson facility, which will create unrivalled opportunities for North Charlotte musicians of all ages and skill levels. Guitar Center Studios is now the most modern and affordable lessons facility in the area. Guitar Center North Charlotte also features GC Garage, Guitar Center’s on site guitar repair service. Musicians could try out the GC Garage for free on  Grand Opening night, and with a guitar purchase, customers could also receive a free, 22-point personalized set-up. As part of  Guitar Center’s ongoing initiatives designed to educate and inspire artists nationwide, Guitar Center North Charlotte will offer unique opportunities for musicians to craft their skills, maintain their instruments and experience many other aspects of the music industry first-hand. Musicians interested in learning about the industry will be able to come to the store to interact with and pick the brains of several industry leaders. North Charlotte shoppers are also able to enjoy Guitar Center’s new multi-channel “endless aisle,” which includes  multiple combinations of product options to conveniently choose from. Not only does the “endless isle” include North Charlotte inventory, but it also provides easy access to $400 million in new and used inventory located in hundreds of stores and warehouses across the nation. Customers have the ability to combine a myriad of in-store, online and phone options to purchase music equipment from  anywhere they may be, allowing for a personalized and convenient shopping  experience. Free Recording Made Easy classes are also conducted every Saturday from 10:00 to 11:00 am for anyone who wants to make the exciting journey into recording their music. In addition to special programs at the new North Charlotte store, Guitar Center offers nationwide programs designed to spearhead creativity and highlight the nation’s most promising undiscovered talent. North Charlotte residents will now be able to participate in these ongoing national events from their hometown: • Guitar Center On-Stage is an annual competition that provides unsigned artists the chance to open for established artists such as Motley Crue, KISS and Jane’s Addiction. • Guitar Center  Singer-Songwriter is an artist discovery program which aims to find the nation’s best unsigned singer-songwriter. The winner receives a career-altering prize package including recording 3 songs with accomplished GRAMMY® Award-winning Producer John Shanks, recording time at Converse Rubber Tracks  studio and $10,000 cash. The grand finale takes place in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. • Guitar Center's Battle of the  Blues is a nationwide amateur guitar skills competition with the goal of finding the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. This year’s winner, Jonathon “Boogie” Long, performed alongside GRAMMY-winning guitarist Warren Haynes at the Grand Finals in LA, and won an incredible prize package valued at  over $50,000. • Guitar Center’s Drum-Off, entering its 24th year, is the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered  drummer. Drummers from across the nation compete in the world’s largest drum competition, vying for thousands of dollars in prizes and the coveted title of Guitar Center’s Drum-Off Champion. The grand prize package is valued at nearly $50,000. Guitar Center North Charlotte is open seven days a week. Store hours are 11:00 a.m. – 9:00  p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Friday; 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Saturday; and 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

— Company hits milestone with 225th location —

— New store offers on-site lessons and repair services —

• Guitar Center On-Stage is an annual competition that provides unsigned artists the chance to open for established artists such as Motley Crue, KISS and Jane’s Addiction.
  
  
• Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter is an artist discovery program that aims to find the nation’s best unsigned singer-songwriter. The winner receives a career-altering prize package including recording three songs with accomplished GRAMMY® Award-winning Producer John Shanks, recording time at the state-of-the-art Brooklyn-based Converse Rubber Tracks studio and $10,000 cash. The grand finale took place in Los Angeles on Feb. 18.
  
  
• Guitar Center's King of the Blues is a nationwide amateur guitar skills competition with the goal of finding the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. This year’s winner, Jonathon “Boogie” Long, performed alongside GRAMMY-winning guitarist Warren Haynes at the Grand Finals in LA, and won an incredible prize package valued at over $50,000.
  
  
• Guitar Center’s Drum-Off, entering its 24th year, is the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered drummer. Drummers from across the nation compete in the world’s largest drum competition, vying for thousands of dollars in prizes and the coveted title of Guitar Center’s Drum-Off Champion. The grand prize package is valued at nearly $50,000.

— Store features on-site lessons and guitar repair services —

Westlake Village, CA (October 13, 2011) –  On September 29, 2011, Guitar Center opened its newest retail location in Round Rock, Texas, located at 2200  South IH-35, Suite B4. The store’s opening delivered vast product selection, along with the unparalleled knowledge and experience of GC’s dedicated staff.  Guitar Center Round Rock also features Guitar Center  Studios, an embedded lesson and rehearsal facility, and is the only  Austin-area Guitar Center with a Guitar Center Studios. To celebrate the opening, Guitar Center hosted a Grand Opening Weekend featuring exclusive savings, gear giveaways and free events tailored to local musicians. GC Round Rock features well-equipped showrooms with the latest products for the musician, from guitars, amplifiers, percussion  instruments and keyboards to live sound, DJ, lighting and recording  equipment. In  addition to special Grand Opening Weekend programming,  early shoppers  also enjoyed exclusive savings throughout opening weekend  with deals  that included guitar and drum essentials. Gene Joly, Guitar Center Executive VP of Stores, stated, “The Austin area is one of the key music centers in the country, and adding another store helps us to better serve the musicians and  engineers in this  burgeoning market. As with our other new stores opened  in 2011, the  Round Rock location reflects a number of new design and  merchandising  principles. For instance, GC Round Rock features Guitar Center Studios  lessons/rehearsal spaces, GC Garage repairs facility and  an open layout  that yields a streamlined traffic flow and more room for  customers to  test drive products in a comfortable environment.” Guitar  Center’s plans for the Round Rock location go well beyond offering the biggest selection at the best prices. The store  includes Guitar Center Studios, an in-house, state-of-the-art lesson and rehearsal facility,  which will create unrivaled opportunities for Round Rock musicians of all ages and skill levels. Guitar Center Studios provides music lessons from beginner to advanced featuring certified instructors providing world-class curriculum, as well as one-on-one Pro Tools, Logic Pro and GarageBand courses. Rehearsal spaces are fully  equipped with the latest backline gear, and musicians will have access to a digital recording of their rehearsal sessions. Guitar Center Studios is by all accounts the most modern and affordable lessons and rehearsals facility in the city. The store also features GC Garage, offering on-site guitar repair services. Staffed with a certified repair technician, GC Garage can handle any repair from restring and basic instrument maintenance to headstock and structural repair. Building on their ongoing initiatives designed to educate and inspire artists nationwide, Guitar Center in Round Rock will offer unique opportunities for musicians to craft their skills, maintain their instruments and experience many aspects of the music industry first hand. Musicians interested in learning the many facets of home recording were invited to participate in a free workshop with Avid, the makers of popular recording software Pro Tools, held on Saturday, October 1, at 1 pm. They were also able to interact with and hear firsthand from accomplished drummer Jeff Friedl (A Perfect Circle /  Ashes Divide /  Puscifer / Devo) and respected heavy metal and Guitar Hero lead guitarist Marcus Henderson as they shared their experiences and insights during special Guitar Center Sessions events (Friedl on Friday, September 30, at 7 pm and Henderson on Sunday, October 2, at 5 pm). On grand opening night, hard rock band Lyman and Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald both performed. Round Rock shoppers are able to enjoy Guitar Center’s new multi-channel “endless aisle,” with multiple combinations of shopping options to conveniently choose from – not only the Round Rock inventory, but also the over $400 million in gear Guitar Center has to offer nationwide.  Consumers can combine a myriad number of in-store, online and phone options to purchase music equipment from anywhere, allowing for a  completely personalized and endlessly convenient shopping  experience  for every customer. In addition to special programs at the store, each year Guitar Center offers nationwide programs designed to spearhead creativity and  highlight the nation’s most promising undiscovered  talent. Round Rock area residents will now be able to participate in  these ongoing national events from their hometown:      •  Your Next Record gives artists a chance to record with some of the top recording artists in the country, including legendary guitarist Slash, country superstar Keith Urban, and rock icon Travis Barker. •  Guitar Center On-Stage gives undiscovered bands the opportunity to compete against their peers for a chance to share a stage with their idols. The most recent On-Stage competition features Jane’s Addiction. For more information, please visit http://gc.guitarcenter.com/onstage/. •  Guitar Center’s Drum-Off and King of the Blues are national competitions that highlight local talent from across  the country, giving them widespread exposure and the chance to win incredible prize packages. Guitar Center Round Rock is open seven days a week. Store hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

On April 28, 2011, Guitar Center opened a new retail location at 24961 Pico Canyon Road in Stevenson Ranch, Calif., 91381. The Stevenson Ranch location marks the fourth Guitar Center store to open this year, and Guitar Centers 218th store in operation. The store features well-equipped showrooms with the latest products for the musician, from guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments and keyboards to pro-audio and recording equipment. The stores opening brought unprecedented product selection and opportunities to musicians in the area, along with the unparalleled knowledge and experience of its dedicated staff. The Stevenson Ranch location also features Guitar Center Studios, the retailers cutting-edge embedded lesson facility. The retailer kicked off its Grand Opening Thursday night and celebrated its newest location throughout the weekend, with deals that included guitar and drum essentials at up to 89% off list price, and by offering free events such as a workshop with Avid (the makers of popular recording software Pro Tools), all tailored to local musicians.

Guitar Centers plans for the Stevenson Ranch location go well beyond offering the biggest selection at the best prices. Furthering the retailers mission to support and foster local musical talent, the location features Guitar Center Studios, an in-house, state-of-the-art lessons facility, which will create unrivalled opportunities for musicians of all ages and skill levels. Guitar Center Studios will provide music lessons from beginner to advanced featuring certified instructors teaching world-class curriculum, and will be the most modern and affordable lessons facility in the area.

The store also features GC Garage, offering on-site guitar repair services. Throughout opening weekend, musicians were able to test drive the Garage for free, with any guitar purchased at Guitar Center Stevenson Ranch Grand Opening night getting a free, 22-point personalized set-up (strings and parts not included). Building on their ongoing initiatives designed to educate and inspire artists nationwide, Guitar Center in Stevenson Ranch will offer unique opportunities for musicians to craft their skills, maintain their instruments and experience many aspects of the music industry first hand.

In addition to special programs at the store, each year Guitar Center offers nationwide programs designed to spearhead creativity and highlight the nations most promising undiscovered talent. Stevenson Ranch residents will now be able to participate in these ongoing national events from their hometown:

Your Next Record gives artists a chance to record with some of the top recording artists in the country, including legendary guitarist Slash, country superstar Keith Urban, and rock icon Travis Barker.     Guitar Center On-Stage gives undiscovered bands the opportunity to compete against their peers for a chance to share a stage with their idols.     Guitar Centers Drum-Off and King of the Blues are national competitions that highlight local talent from across the country, giving them widespread exposure and the chance to win incredible prize packages.