musical instruments founded 1959 ; 57 years ago 1959 as the organ center hollywood los angeles california u.s. founder wayne mitchell headquarters westlake village california u.s. key people ron japinga ceo products musical instruments recording equipment and accessories revenue 2.14 billion owner ares management number of employees 10 000 website guitarcenter.com guitar center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world 1 with 269 locations 2 throughout the united states . its headquarters is in westlake village california . guitar center s sister companies subsidiaries incorporate music & arts musician s friend guitarcenter.com lmi giardinelli musician.com private reserve guitars woodwind and brasswind music 123 and harmony central . there has also been a television series known as guitar center sessions which featured artists such as 311 bad religion and smashing pumpkins . contents 1 history 2 guitar center sessions 3 at guitar center web series 4 connections made by guitar center 5 guitar center legends collection 6 guitar center s drum off 7 hollywood s rockwalk 8 acquisitions 9 albums recorded at guitar center 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history edit founded in hollywood by wayne mitchell in 1959 as the organ center a retailer of electronic organs for home and church use it became a major seller of vox electric guitars and guitar amplifiers changing its name to the vox center in 1964 . toward the end of the 1960s vox whose sales derived largely from its association with the beatles who made extensive use of its amplifiers fell in popularity as marshall amplifier users eric clapton and others captured musicians imaginations . accordingly mitchell once again changed the name this time to guitar center . 1 3 guitar center west la pico & westwood los angeles the popularity of rock and roll in the 1970s allowed mitchell to open stores in san francisco and san diego as well as several suburbs of los angeles . ray scherr previously the general manager of the san francisco store purchased the company from mitchell in the late 1970s . scherr owned and operated it until 1996 from its westlake village headquarters . although synthesizer driven disco and new wave pop sapped rock s audience in the late 1970s the 1980s guitar rock revival led by van halen and a concurrent influx of japanese produced instruments brought guitar sales to unprecedented levels . 4 guitar center took full advantage of this sales bonanza and by the end of the decade began an ambitious program of expansion across the entire united states . 5 using its size as leverage over the musical instrument business it developed into the largest musical instrument retailer in the country and made an initial public offering of stock in 1997 . 6 in 2005 guitar center inc. started the fender music foundation a nonprofit organization that supports music education . 7 activision partnered with guitar center in 2006 ; all purchases made during game play of guitar hero beginning with the second installment are made in a virtual guitar center store . on june 27 2007 guitar center agreed to a 1.9 billion buyout from bain capital totaling 2.1 billion including debt . the deal was led by goldman sachs and amounted to a per share price of 63 or a 26 % premium on the june 26 closing price . the deal was approved by shareholders on september 18 2007 and closed october 9 2007 . 8 in mid 2009 guitar center opened the first of its rehearsal and lessons studio facility in woodland hills california . the eight studios with full backline range in size from 350 550 square feet . guitar center also hosts annual events such as the drum off king of the blues contests and artist appearances throughout the nation . 9 in 2011 guitar center added equipment rentals to the store in san diego california . since guitar center has opened rental departments in ten other existing locations and plans to offer rental services in various other stores across the country . in may 2013 standard & poor s cut its debt rating on bain capital owned guitar center holdings inc to junk bond status citing struggles with weak operating trends . the corporate credit rating on the company dropped from b to ccc . 10 in april 2014 ares management took a controlling stake in guitar center . bain capital guitar center s former owner retained partial ownership of the company along with representation on the board . according to mike pratt the retailer s previous chief executive the deal will reduce guitar center s total debt and provide it with the resources to expand its footprint and invest in its business . 11 in august 2014 guitar center opened a new 28 000 square foot flagship location in the heart of times square in new york city . 12 the grand opening included a celebratory concert featuring the band the roots . 13 the guitar center times square location is now the permanent home of eric clapton s blackie fender stratocaster 14 which guitar center purchased at a christie s crossroads centre auction in 2004 for 959 000 . 15 guitar center sessions edit first debuting in 2010 each episode of guitar center sessions showcases exclusive live performances by noteworthy artists captured in hi definition at guitar center s iconic hollywood ca location . some past guests have included linkin park saint motel wiz khalifa billy idol the 1975 sum 41 weezer smashing pumpkins peter gabriel alanis morissette 311 megadeth snoop dogg soundgarden seether the cult cake jakob dylan blondie rodrigo y gabriela bush ben folds five korn joan jett cheap trick skylar grey peter frampton frank turner coheed and cambria and jane s addiction . guitar center sessions is hosted by nic harcourt and was created developed and produced by guitar center exclusively on directv . 16 guitar center sessions has won several awards including a lumiere award from the international 3d society for the episodes featuring jane s addiction and peter gabriel . to celebrate their 50th anniversary guitar center asked linkin park to play a show on october 24 2014 ; the performance first aired on directv on december 5 2014 . 17 at guitar center web series edit the at guitar center web series formerly at guitar center podcast features interviews and intimate performances with some of the biggest names in music . some past guests have included travis barker sevendust t pain joe bonamassa the crystal method buddy guy daughtry jimmy cliff meiko rza steve vai joe satriani brandi carlile and minus the bear the podcasts are available on the itunes zune and blackberry networks and on the guitar center website . 18 the show is hosted by nic harcourt . connections made by guitar center edit connections made by guitar center a collaboration between 88.5 kcsn los angeles and guitar center was a weekly one hour radio program featuring fresh new music from across the globe and musical spectrum . signed or unsigned the show offered an electric mix of progressive and innovative artists . the show was hosted by radio host and taste maker nic harcourt . 19 guitar center legends collection edit the guitar center legends collection 20 consists of four classic guitars made famous by music legends eric clapton stevie ray vaughan and u2 s the edge . guitar center purchased clapton s blackie fender stratocaster his vintage gibson es 335 and vaughan s lenny stratocaster for over 2.4 million from the clapton crossroads centre charity auction at christie s new york in 2004 . they added the edge s gibson les paul after purchasing it for 240 000 at the music rising charity auction in 2007 . 21 over the years the collection has been exhibited in one of a kind legends collection display cases which provide high level protection and climate control as the instruments tour prestigious musical events and key guitar center locations such as guitar center road to crossroads held at madison square garden in conjunction with clapton s crossroads guitar festival in april 2013 . 22 in august 2014 clapton s blackie and es 335 were moved to their new permanent location at guitar center s times square flagship location . clapton s blackie was purchased by guitar center for 959 500 . clapton s cherry red gibson 335 purchased for 847 500 was used to record cream s versions of badge and crossroads from their final live performance in november 1968 as well as many other historical performances during his 40 years of ownership . steve ray vaughan s lenny which was purchased for 623 500 was used to record his classic love songs including lenny and riviera paradise . all of the proceeds from these three guitars purchased by guitar center were for the benefit of clapton s crossroads centre charity . the cream colored 1975 les paul custom faded from its original white found fame with the edge as a go to guitar for stage and studio on many of u2 s most famous recordings and performances . in 2005 the edge partnered with producer bob ezrin gibson and the guitar center music foundation now known as the fender music foundation to establish music rising a charity founded to benefit musicians whose lives were torn apart by hurricane katrina . in 2007 he donated this prized guitar to be auctioned for the cause . the winning bid was 240 000 from guitar center 288 000 including buyers premium . 23 guitar center s drum off edit since 1988 guitar center has held an annual search for the next great undiscovered drummer . developed to spotlight the drumming community guitar center s drum off is the music retailer s longest running artist discovery program providing an outlet for drummers to be recognized for their skill and attain success in their field . for over a quarter of a century the program has unearthed some of the day s top undiscovered drummers and provided a platform for established drummers to be acknowledged . 24 guitar center s drum off 25 breaks down into three rounds of store preliminary competitions at 250 guitar center locations nationwide . every contestant is allowed five minutes of set up time and three minutes to perform . one winner from each store finals competition is chosen to move up to the quarterfinals hosted at 30 guitar center locations nationwide followed by semi finals at five store locations at which point performance time is increased to allow five minutes to each contestant . the winners from these five semifinal locations convene in los angeles ca to compete in guitar center s drum off finals in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges . each contestant is required to perform on a 5 piece acoustic drum kit complete with hardware cymbals cowbell throne and the option to incorporate the roland spd 30 octapad into the competition kit . as of 2016 however the spd 30 octapad will no longer be part of the competition kit . all contestants are evaluated by a panel of independent and credible judges on the following criteria skills & technique groove originality stage presence and overall performance . in years past some of the world s most renowned drummers have participated in and supported guitar center s drum off including terry bozzio aaron spears usher dennis chambers parliament funkadelic chad smith red hot chili peppers steve gadd questlove the roots travis barker blink 182 tommy lee motley cr e dave lombardo slayer carmine appice john tempesta the cult taylor hawkins foo fighters steve smith gavin harrison jojo mayer thomas lang josh freese nine inch nails a perfect circle jos pasillas incubus billy cobham nicko mcbrain iron maiden stephen perkins jane s addiction danny carey tool brann dailor mastodon john blackwell and more . hollywood s rockwalk edit rockwalk rockwalk detail the sunset boulevard location in los angeles