Musician's Friend

I bought a guitar case that ended up not being a great fit for my guitar. I got free shipping and it costs them 10.99 to ship the large box with the guitar case inside it.
I bought another case from them that fits a little better, but shipping the original box back was $65.00. They did give me a $15 - $20 credit off of the new case. So I ended up with one guitar case, and paid $30-$40 terrible customer service tax. Their return policy sucks, so if you're unsure, don't buy from them.

Recently purchased a guitar thru musicians friend because now they're selling Guitar centers, used gear.
Called the store before my guitar purchase to make sure it came with a case, which they said it did.
Placed order thru musicians friend, order was shipped without case in a box with packaging peanuts and bubble wrap. Called customer service and the store and got a constant runaround. They said it would ship out by 5:30 the next day. NOT... Had to call 5 days in a row before the issue got resolved. They never emailed a tracking number. Waiting a week to finally send case out, received case and more than half the top of the case is cracked. Unbelievable experience. I can't wait until they go out of business, they deserve it...

Have spent $ with them before. Bought a guitar that was "scratch and dent". Yes, at a discount - 30%. Evidently there are levels of "scratch and dent" Levels 1,2 and 3. They will not disclose that. Level 3 is for parts, which also was not disclosed. The one I bought showed up with a busted up head stock, evidently Level 3. For a $1000 guitar that I paid $700 for... you have to be kidding me. I would return it, but there are no more of them. Crazy Glue it is. STAY AWAY.

I accidentally ordered the same volume pedal twice. They both arrived the same day. I called to tell them of my mistake and I needed a return shipping label. I understand that I had to pay return shipping. I had to open the package to retrieve the paperwork. They charged me a $10.00 handling fee and the return shipping was $14.50. So to return a $77.00 pedal cost me $24.50. My refund was $52.50 when it was all said and done. I've been buying musical gear from them and many other sites for many years. This was my first time returning an item to them. I will never use them again. Stick with Sweetwater.com. Best customer service. Too bad I can't give musician's friend 0 stars. They are not your "friend".

So, after ordering a new bass for my son, to be shipped to Maryland, we anxiously awaited the arrival excited to see it. Being it was a surprise it was tracked accordingly. Upon arrival and my sons return home, he found the brand new bass guitar sitting on the side walk soaked with water and the bass damaged due to the water. UPS had left it out in the rain.
Scared of the expected response from Guitar Friend "It's not our fault, file a claim with UPS." They instead addressed the issue, shipped a new one for return of the damaged one and we are all happy. Robert Jackson was amazing! He took that horror away and made it right. I HIGHLY recommend them as well will purchase from them again in the future. Thank you for doing the RIGHT thing to keep us all happy.

It's very simple…. I've purchased six items from musicians friend in the last year and five of them were damaged. That's not a coincidence…. They sell garbage products. Do not buy from musicians friend!

Paid for a new Martin CEO 7 and when it arrived it was in a used Dreadnaught case. Returned the used case as directed and now they don't respond to emails. What I saved on the sale I'll now have spend on the proper case. This is third guitar I bought from them in the last 12 months and every one has been in a pain. No more.

I've always shopped at Sweetwater- been happy with the customer service there. For some reason-don't ask why- thought I'd try musicians friend as they had a good price on and "open box" slate ML1. What a mistake. It was "no box" as in used I guess and no documentation including activation code for the software required to make the mic useful. Contacted Musicians "Friend" and got "shrug IdK maybe contact the manufacturer" anyway. Huge hassle to save a few bucks but lesson learned. Seriously-steer way clear of Musicians Friend. $#*! those guys.

Lied to about my order by 5 different employees. Ordered a guitar for my husband, an ER provider in Seattle. Trying to give him an escape during these very stressful days. Order was out for "verification" according to the first employee I contacted. Second employee said it was shipping out a week ago, third employee said it needed review, forth employee argued with me, fifth employee (supervisor named Tim) apologized and said he would ship it right away overnight. That was 4 days ago and the guitar shipped last night economy ground via UPS. Definitely a lot of mistakes made with no repercussions to the deceitful employees. I'll never buy another item from MF/GC. My husband has spent well over $30k with GC over the years. Will not get another penny from us! If we did our jobs so ineptly, people die.

Made a credit purchase of $3000 and it takes two plus days to verify my credit, I chat with customer service reps and they promise order shipping to no avail. I chat again the next day and this guy was a smart A**. Sweetwater is by far a better place to order over the web they actually call you and talk to you about your order and if there's a problem let you know. Musicians friend is incredibly slow, next time I will not bother, the only reason I didn't order Sweetwater is they didn't have the instrument I needed in stock. I'll see how soon my order arrives and the condition, I would not be surprised if some a** doesn't sabotage. I'll post another review after I receive my order that is if I ever do!

They are a poorly managed company. Ignore wrong doings and do not serve customers very well. Especially when they fouled up and owe you money. They seem to be running a "bait n switch" operation when it comes to big ticket items. I. e. Guitar sales. It appears they have business model based upon "for every customer we lose, we get 5 new ones, so why bother with customer complaints." They sold company to Guitar Center which is risky when buying used guitars as sellers on Guitar Center push defective prouducts at high prices which validates the business model suggested.

Promises shipping in 5-8 days, kept saying it would ship the next day cancelled after they couldnt ship an instock guitar within 8 days. I ordered another guitar. Came with a pickup that doesnt work so great, ok stuff happens, i order a strap, never shows, up, they take forever to reply to me, then when i ask a refund they never reply for weeks. Other places offer free 2 day shipping fed ex to your door, they respond to emails and phone calls. One time i emailed MF to ask a general question never got a response 6 months later. Thats why i spend my money elsewhere, horrible company

Abysmal customer service. Bought a new amp that smelled weird and did not give me new vibes. I already see numerous reviews where people got used, bad models for new ones (guitars, amps, basses etc). Amp also arrived without power cord. Spent over $1200. My "agent" Shelby Whittaker, sounded like some edgy, snarky college freshman who had no training in customer service. Half the time she goes on a tirade about being treated poorly, the other half is her feeling she did an excellent job by sending over the missing power cord that will take 5 more days to deliver. But wait! The (missing) cord being shipped is free so excellent job according to her! So, spent $1200 on an amp that can't be played for a week unless I use my neighbor's power cord, and my "agent" was a snarky, unprofessional freshman. Never will I order from this sleazy company again.

Ordered 20 of an item. About $400. Got email confirmation, followed by a canceled order notice. Checked online and they showed me ordering 124 items for $2,100, in various statuses or processing, backordered, and canceled. 5 hours of chatting with 5 people and nobody knows why the order shows 124 items, nor were they consistent with the numbers of backordered items, the number I'll actually receive, or how much I'll be billed.
Zero trust in this company and a specially in their customer service. I may still have to fight being over charged for what I receive, but I'm prepared for that battle. Unbelievable.

My complaint is as many. They list items that are in stock so you'll order just to notify you days later the item is back ordered. They list item as "new" but actually an open box or a retuned item. Will I buy anything from them again... OH HECK NO!

Ive always had a good experience with Musicians Friend, they have a great catalog and has been rising in the ranks over the years. The company is highly respected and a good place to start if you are looking for instruments