Musician's Friend

It's a shame to see what was once a top-notch reputable company take such a nose-dive! I started buying from MF in around 2000. Since then they have slowly gone downhill, especially in their honesty & customer service. It is my opinion that as they've grown (they're affiliated with Guitar Center, Music 123, Bain Capital & others!), they have come to care less & less about those of us who spent our hard earned dollars there. I am a pro musician & also co-own 2 recording/rehearsal studios, plus do music therapy. So, you can imagine how much gear I've purchased (tens of thousands of $ worth)!
Problems with MF started a couple of years ago when I began receiving "new" equipment that had obviously been used or open. That was not so bad since they were pretty good about standing behind their products. Things got really bad when they introduced the "Backstage Pass Program". They claim to offer 8% cash-back/credit for purchases (sometimes up to 16-24% during special offers). Unfortunately, in 2016 & early 2017 I've been deprived (robbed) of over $500 in BSP awards! When I initially filed a complaint last year, they sent a convoluted email with "math" that supposedly explained how they had over-credited me. Although I had gone over every single transaction with a calculator & explained that they were way off, they refused to credit me the points/money I'd earned! I gave them the benefit of the doubt & bought thousands of $ worth of gear from them again in early 2017... same thing! Their scheme is to claim that they over-credited you, then never make good on what they owe. One customer service rep had the audacity so say "... that's what happens when you want something for free"! (It's not "free" when you paid for the initial items & were seduced into buying from them based on the BSP discounts/rebates)!
Sorry for MF... I can & will buy elsewhere!

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!

I have purchased gear from this site since 2008. The level of service has gone down tremendously and I figured something out moments ago. If it is my understanding, the parent company of musiciansfriend.com is none other than Guitar Center. It all makes sense. First, Guitar Center sucks! Each time I have visited the Rockville, Md. Store there is this level of snobbery I cannot stand. I have to go and search of help. On simple matters like instructional DVD's, staff has often pointed fingers in the direction away from them so that they leave the customer to his lonesome just not to be bothered. I remember asking a so called 'guitar-tech' if he believed there is a great difference in string gauge. He said, "Not sure what you mean." Again, we're talking about the level of service. As I have dealt with musiciansfriend.com, seems to be the same crap. I have made comments in the past regarding service but no one seems to read the emails until it is too late and folks I'm here to tell you that if you're a budding musician or expert, gear can be purchased with other companies that are more than happy to have you as a customer because they want a life-long relationship with you and your band-mates.
I don't want people kissing my rump, just great service. Let me know you appreciate my business. Rewards points ain't crap if the service is sap!

"I ordered a bass and a case. I received 2 cases. My son opened his gift for Christmas and it was 2 cases. I called and tried to get them to send the bass right away and they refused until they received the extra case. Worst customer service. I assured a manager I would send the case back and she refused to send me the bass that I have already paid for. Never again will I order anything from Musicians Friend. Its bad enough that my son had to open a crapy gift, and then they refuse to correct it in a timely manner. Not once did they apologies for the mistake. "

The customer service at this company is awful, Ive attempted to order items online thru this company and their "highly trained" verifications team keeps canceling my orders. After speaking with Micheal Baker, hes made it clear that the items I was going to purchase were high fraud items, what defines a high fraud item I dont know, so after several attempts to order two items, they made it clear that they will keep canceling my orders unless I make a purchase via bank wire transfer, Ok so I go to my bank, do a wire transfer for certain items. And Micheal Baker who claims he is the final authority tells/scolds me, that I was wrong for doing a wire transfer for an amount different then the original orders, I asked if it made a difference and he said it did, but would not tell me why. He also said that I would need to keep doing wire transfers if I wanted to make purchases thru either Musicians Friend or Guitar Center.com, which are under the same ownership. I would normally walk away from any company that shows so little respect for its customers, and that insinuates to a customer that they think they are commiting fraud. But I am stuck with a Musicians Friend credit card, which is thru Synchrony Bank, who did identity after identity verification before they activated my account. So I cancel the credit card, it will have negative effects on my credit. Im stuck with a credit card I cant use, and a company that accused/suspected me of commiting fraud for wanting to purchase a 350.00 ipad mini, headphone, instrument interface combo. Why do they offer to sell these items if they are "high fraud" items? I attempted to contact Paul Christianson, who is the director of the Musicians friend/Guitar center call center. No luck there, and it seems that every person I spoke to in this company seems to feel this is a little extreme on the part of the verifications team, even after Ive done as they asked and did the wire transfer. If you plan on making any larger purchase stay away from this company, their verifications team seems intent of cancelling larger orders. Had plans to purchase a Gibson Explorer thru this company but after my dealings with them I ended up ended up giving my money to Sweetwater, awsome customer service. For a corporation like Musicians Friend/Guitar Center, that is struggling financially, it seems they would rather push customers away instead of bringing them in. Makes no sense.

I purchased a G&L S-500 Deluxe. The guitar was and still is being advertised as having Shaller locking tuners. When I received the guitar the tuners were not the tuners advertised. I contacted MF and was told the tuners on my guitar are good. Yes... they are... but they are not the tuners that are advertised. They even admitted that their information was incorrect. I suppose I could send the guitar back but it is a great instrument and I don't think I want to risk any further involvement with these people. I wonder what Leo Fender might have to say about the misleading tactics being use by this company to sell his instruments.
BUYER BEWARE!

****** UPDATE ******
I just received a phone call from Musicians Friend. They apologized and gave me an in store credit. I was hoping to get enough credit to get the tuners that I paid for but the credit was a fraction of the cost that I will have to pay to bring the guitar in line with what was advertised.

Just checked their site again... go ahead and check for yourself. Why won't they correct the error?

I ordered a snare drum stand on 3/28/2016 and almost immediately after I got the order email I got a second email saying that it was on back order. Really? A snare drum stand? Its 4/6/2016 I hear nothing from these people so I called and CANCELED the order. I think its ridiculous that they care nothing about customer service. The stupid site should say it was on back order. Why are these people still in business? I could have ordered it from China and it would have been here by now. Than people wonder why ALL our jobs are going overseas. I will tell you why... because people and businesses like are LAZY!

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

I've always had good experiences with Musician's Friend. I've been ordering guitars and accessories from them for over ten years and I have never had a problem with returns, quality of products or any type of bad service. I year or two I had ordered two different guitars on the same day from musiciansfriend.com and decided that I was going to send one back. I contacted them through their 800 number and they were very courteous and understanding of my situation. They had already shipped both guitars already and when I called they told me that they would stop the shipment of the guitar that I didn't want at it's next checkpoint and would refund my money at no charge. I've always had great service with Musician's Friend and frequently order from them and recommend them to other people looking for musical instruments.

November 24,2015 I put in an order for a Sound Percussion Labs Marching Snare Drum with Carrier 13 x 11 in. Black Item #: J*******2002 $169.99 which was on back order. They were expected to receive more on Dec 4 from the manufacturer. On Dec 4, I received an email saying they had not received them yet but would send it out as soon as they received them. On Fri, Dec 11 at 4:24pm I received an email saying my order would not be here by Christmas and I had the option to find another similar item if I needed it by Christmas. I found another item. Sound Percussion Labs High-Tension Marching Snare Drum with Carrier Regular 14 x 12 Black $379.99 which is obviously a little more expensive. I called first thing Monday, Dec 14 to make the switch. The first person I spoke to (forgot to write her name down) said the original item was set to ship out that day but there was no tracking info in the system and at first I was going to go with it. Of course, I was confused because I just got the other email saying I wasn't going to get my original order by Christmas. Ultimately, I decided I wanted this other item that I found instead and called back just a few minutes later the same day to go ahead and make the switch. I spoke with Allen next, who put me on a long hold to straighten everything out. He got everything switched over for me and said there should be no problem getting my order by Christmas. I checked my order status this last Saturday, Dec 19 and saw my new order wasn't even showing up on my acct but my credit card had already been charged on Dec 15. So, I called and spoke with Kiera, who also put me on a long hold. She said my order was on hold pending the exchange return - this was Sat, Dec 19 mind you. They had let my canceled order get all the way to my home town sorting facility before it was returned and weren't going to release my new order until they received it! After telling me she would not guarantee my order could arrive by Christmas, she spoke to a supervisor and they were supposed to go ahead and release my order (since they knew they were going to receive the return soon) and bump up the shipping so I would get it by Wed, Dec 23. I checked my order online Sunday, Dec 20. They had the new order showing up but didn't bump up the shipping. They were shipping it out UPS Ground from Kansas City, MO to arrive here by Wed. Sorry but shipping ground from MO to FL on the same week as THE major holiday for shipping gifts does NOT guarantee my gift arrives by Christmas- THEY DID NOT BUMP UP THE SHIPPING. So, I called again today, Dec 21 and spoke with Crystal, who after putting me on a couple long holds, said, "Maybe it can be a late Christmas present." She said there was absolutely no way to get my order to me by Christmas. I asked her about returning the item if it doesn't arrive in time before I got off the phone. After stewing on it a bit, I called back and spoke with Leon, told him the whole story and that I wanted to speak to a supervisor. He put me on a long hold and came back to say I could definitely speak to a supervisor but he had a solution. He said they were going to do an exchange for the order going out ground and send my order out again today this time 2nd day air, which should get here by Wed, Dec 23 and added $20 in house credit on my acct. Before I got off the phone I made sure their system reflected the shipping change and I will be monitoring it closely. At this point, however, I have no confidence my order will arrive on time. Fingers crossed!

This business has all my guitar needs. They have many different brands of guitars. They carry high end guitars but also carry inexpensive guitars for the beginning student. They sell Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Seagul, Epiphone, Fender, Yamaha, and Alvarez.

The business also provides free shipping and many other products. They sell different types of guitar cases, hard or soft cases. I bought from them because I got the best price and free shipping. The have a wide variety of guitar strings. They have fast easy service and do a great job for their customers.The company has always been fair and treated me good. I would recommend to everyone.