Long-Term Debt (Details) (USD $)							9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Guitar Center	Dec. 31, 2012 Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Holdings	Dec. 31, 2012 Holdings	Sep. 30, 2013 Asset-based revolving credit facility Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan Guitar Center	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior secured term loan Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan April 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013 Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan October 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014 Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan January 1, 2015 through September 30, 2015 Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan July 1, 2015 through maturity Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan LIBOR Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior secured term loan Prime rate Guitar Center	Jun. 30, 2013 Term loan prior to modification Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Term loan prior to modification LIBOR Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Term loan prior to modification Prime rate Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Obligations under capital leases, payable in monthly installments through 2014 and 2013, respectively Guitar Center	Dec. 31, 2012 Obligations under capital leases, payable in monthly installments through 2014 and 2013, respectively Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior unsecured notes Guitar Center	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior unsecured notes Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior unsecured PIK notes Holdings	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior unsecured PIK notes Holdings	Sep. 30, 2013 Term Loan, Asset-Based Facility and Senior Notes Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Asset-based facility due in October 2013 Guitar Center	Sep. 30, 2013 Asset-based facility due in February 2016 Guitar Center
Debt instruments
Long-term debt including current maturities	$ 1,612,612,000		$ 1,177,723,000	$ 1,016,706,000			$ 165,000,000	$ 617,500,000	$ 621,762,000										$ 333,000	$ 54,000	$ 394,890,000	$ 394,890,000	$ 434,889,000	$ 564,673,000		$ 21,000,000	$ 144,000,000
Less current portion	6,764,000	135,725,000	6,764,000	5,941,000		129,784,000
Long-term debt	1,605,848,000	1,445,654,000	1,170,959,000	1,010,765,000	434,889,000	434,889,000
Maximum available amount							373,000,000																			50,000,000	323,000,000
Debt outstanding							165,000,000
Current borrowing base							322,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding							9,000,000
Undrawn borrowing available							148,000,000
Average daily borrowing							84,100,000
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)							3.20%
Outstanding principal amount								617,500,000								611,200,000					394,900,000		434,900,000
Variable rate basis														LIBOR	Prime rate
Interest rate margin (as a percent)														6.00%	5.00%		5.25%	4.25%
Prepayment premium (as a percent)								1.00%
Period within which prepayment premium will be applied								1 year
Secured net leverage ratio										4.35	4.0	3.75	3.0
Arrangement, consent and extension fees								2,900,000
Amount paid to third parties, expensed								200,000
Percentage of ownership interest in guarantor subsidiaries																									100.00%
Future maturities of long-term debt
Remainder of 2013	23,138,000		23,138,000
2014	14,582,000		14,582,000
2015	6,500,000		6,500,000
2016	150,052,000		150,052,000
2017	983,451,000		983,451,000
2018	$ 434,889,000				$ 434,889,000