Rick Plushner Appointed VP

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 18, 2011 — Coinciding with its 10th anniversary and a record-breaking sales year reflecting ongoing growth and expansion, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, announces the appointment of Rick Plushner to the position of Vice President, effective immediately.

Plushner joined the Guitar Center organization in September 2005 as General Manager of GC Pro. At that time, the GC Pro division employed 18 staff members. His directive was to grow GC Pro’s sales force and develop the infrastructure to enable GC Pro to work in tandem with Guitar Center stores. Rick was promoted to Director of Sales in 2006 and then Director of the division in 2008. Over the past six years, GC Pro has grown into a profitable division with four times the sales that it had in 2005, as well as a team of 75 employees.

Prior to joining GC Pro, Rick held executive positions with several elite pro audio manufacturers, including Solid State Logic (President), where he diversified the company’s operations and set up a dealer channel; Euphonix (VP of Sales), where he facilitated sales growth to support a successful NASDAQ IPO; AMS/Neve (General Manager), where he released a wide range of recording and broadcast consoles; and Sony Digital Audio division (National Sales Manager), where he launched a line of equipment to make professional compact disc recordings. He has worked closely with a wide range of artists and producers, including Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa, The Bee Gees and Stevie Wonder.

Gene Joly, Guitar Center Executive VP, Stores, stated, “Rick brings an enormous amount of experience with him that will greatly benefit GC Pro and its clients.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

===

About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.