— GC Pro’s Manhattan office is the go-to portal for music coordinators on hit Broadway shows such as Beautiful, Waitress, American Psycho, Hamilton, School of Rock and Finding Neverland
for anything from computers to guitar strings —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, May 2, 2016 — It takes a lot to keep Broadway running. America’s theatrical capital, in and around Midtown New York, has 40 official venues, most of them hosting incredibly successful shows with nationally renowned actors. Keeping those shows going requires the right equipment, large and small, and customized service and support. Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, has become the go-to resource for Broadway’s league of music coordinators, assuring them that they’ll have exactly the gear they need, when they need it, and within budget. Guitar Center’s East Coast Artist Relations Account Manager Judd Goldrich, based at the flagship 14th Street Manhattan store, serves as the primary contact for many of these shows, serving their needs with expertise and enthusiasm. John Miller, Music Coordinator for over 100 Broadway and touring shows, including Waitress, American Psycho and Beautiful, each of which need a wide range of items for the orchestra pit, as well as “tons” of cabling, notes, “The goal is always to find the one-stop vendor for everything — the place that can get what you need, deliver it on time when you need it, and do it at the right price. All of the decisions I have to make about equipment have to be based around finding what the conductor and the composer, as well as the sound designer and synthesizer programmer, feel the most comfortable with. You’re looking for the perfect fit for each group of people for each particular show. GC Pro has been that one-stop for me. They’re able to make appropriate suggestions and give me options that let me better suit each person’s and each show’s needs. They also give me the confidence that the gear will be delivered on time and for the right price. And with people like Judd there, I know I’ll always have someone I can work with if there’s a problem. Broadway works on an intense schedule, and if one thing goes wrong it starts a kind of domino effect. I want to know that when there’s a problem that I can count on GC Pro to take care of it, and they do.” Michael Aarons, the Associate Music Coordinator on the huge hit shows Hamilton, The Color Purple and School of Rock, and who partners with Michael Keller in theatrical music coordination company M2, says that GC Pro has been instrumental in securing the exact right mix of products and instruments for his shows. “School of Rock is a complicated show — they needed three types of drum kits, all very specific, all very different,” says Aarons, enumerating a conventional trap kit for the pit, an electronic kit for a classroom scene and a kit with triggers for another scene on stage. Judd at GC Pro was great at finding exactly what we needed, right down to the colors they wanted,” he says. “GC Pro was amazing — I was throwing new stuff at them every day, and they came back with personal service. You can’t get what Broadway needs from a conventional store — there are returns and custom orders. GC Pro always went above and beyond for us, every time.” And when Hamilton makes its way to Chicago and the West Coast later this year, Aaron’s not concerned — there’ll be a GC support everywhere the show goes. “They’re just a great local and national resource,” he says. “When you need them, they’re there.” “Guitar Center and GC Pro are glad to be a primary resource for the professional audio and M.I. needs of these high-profile theatrical productions,” stated Goldrich. “With two locations in the Big Apple, including our Times Square store, right at the doorstep of the theater district, we are able to customize our service on time and on spec for these complicated shows.” For more information, please visit http://www.guitarcenter.com/GC-Pro/.