While I've only had the occasion to purchase anything at Long and McQuade one time (and it was a gift card for someone else). As someone with a passing (if somewhat lazy) hobby of playing guitar, I do stop in occasionally to peek around and see what they've got. One thing I love is that the staff is super helpful about answering questions, with a relatively low-pressure attitude, especially if you make it clear that you're just looking around. Now, I make no promises for when you get to the further stages of purchasing as I'm sure these guys work on commission and as such they could get a little heavier handed with the sales pressure. But hopefully they stay their own chill, chipper selves throughout the process.
The staff are also super knowledgeable about what they sell, and if they don't know an answer they will find a way to answer your question as quickly as possible, without bullshitting you about it. This may even extend to offering to call you back later or to give you a number and time to call when someone will be in who can let you know. They also seem to have a reasonable number of price points available on offer, and if you let them know what you're looking for I'm sure they can find something that works best for you, including payment arrangements/financing on larger priced items.
I've also heard from people who are in bands that this is the place to go for equipment rentals, although from what I understand they aren't giving the stuff away. But I guess you pay a price for quality?