I bought a Telecaster model made by Rick years ago. It is a completely unique guitar and a piece of art. Because the wood is so old, the sound resonates seemingly forever. The neck is thicker than those on my other guitars, and it took some time to get used to, but it supports the tonality and over time I stopped noticing. I strongly recommend. read more

Visited onna recent trip to NYC - had seen the video on YouTube and it was a must see- unique guitars- cool history!

Got a setup for my beater acoustic guitar for $50 including strings, substantially less than other shops I called, big and small. I dropped it off Monday and it was ready Wednesday. The guitar was barely playable before, but now it feels and sounds great. Will definitely return next time I have a repair issue. read more

Fantastic guitar shop nothing like this in New York and the people are amazing all hand made real artists

One of the iconic NYC guitar stores that is a "must visit" shop for guitar geeks. Rick Kelly is best known for building his custom line of "Kelly" guitars from the timbers of old NYC buildings. His guitars have Rick's characteristic chunky necks which he explained reduce the tension and strain on a player's fingers compared to most guitars which have slimmer necks. If you'd like a guitar made from the historic Trinity Church (circa 1790) or the historic Hotel Chelsea (circa 1850), Rick can build it for you with a pine neck that is so stable that no truss rod would be needed! Cindy H does the amazing artwork that make each custom Kelly guitar unique. Her artwork is best experienced in person by visiting the store. Rick was such a down to earth guy and graciously gave me a tour of his workshop which is located in the back of his store. It's a visit I'll never forget. read more

See all

Great , rare store. Very few personal knowledgeable reasonable stores like this exist!

I went in because my internal tuner was broken. It was no longer attached to the guitar and I assumed it would require a part to be ordered etc. When I told the older gentlemen what the problem was he looked at my guitar and said "ya no this is gonna be impossible to fix". He said the best I could do was use some Velcro to attach it to my guitar... I was confused and dissapointed and low key wondered if it was because I was a woman, or because I was black. I stepped outside with my guitar took a breath and called Guitar Center. They fixed it for $54... I don't know what was keeping this man from fixing my guitar. It was either because he didn't want to, or because he didn't know how...either reason is disappointing. I wanted to support the smaller shops and be a fan of this one but now here I am having to write a negative review because of laziness, indifference, or lack of skill.... read more

i found a neat little hand tambourine while there. i found it to be slightly overpriced. but i was able to get it without any trouble, with little notice and they had a large variety. so there's not much for me to complain about. their record selection seemed pretty solid too. read more

Monumentally disappointed. Came here mid-week for a setup, They told me it would be ready Friday afternoon. I said no problem, as long as I can definitely get it then because I have a gig Friday night. Showed up Friday afternoon, they totally forgot to set my guitar up. Rick offered to do it right then and there, which I was okay with. Got lunch, came back, waited another half hour, I hear people talking and laughing in the back. Okay, no problem, as long as they're working on my guitar. Finally I get my guitar, pay my cheap bill (which was actually really nice), hear the employees talking about which whiskey they're out of in the back, and walk out. I try my guitar out, and the setup is GREAT! Nice action, great sustain, neck feels really good. I take the subway home... and the high e string's already popped out. Now I'm forced to take my backup guitar to my gig because of (presumably) everyone in the shop drinking and joking around instead of paying attention to my guitar. I reeeeally hate being "that guy." I don't want to make them look bad. I don't want anyone there to get in trouble or lose business. I just had really high hopes, I've only heard great things about the work that's done here, and maybe (hopefully) they just had an off day, or week, or something, but I'm struggling to find a reason to go back and find out for sure. read more

A Must Visit Guitar Shop Everything about this shop screams quality. If you've been pondering a new piece for your collection then ponder no more. Surely you will be able to fall in love with something here. One of the guys who worked here walked me through their beautiful collection. Have my eye on something a little different :) looking forward to making a purchase soon. Date Rating: 7 Pick up Scale: 2 (though everyone here is friendly, they're mostly interested in finding an instrument) Strong Suggestion: come when you have time to take it all in an savor the moment. read more

To say that I was new to playing guitar when I first walked into this place would be an understament. I'd had one lesson and was far fom confident. "Umm, my teacher told me you could set this up and make it less painful to play" I said as I looked down at my red throbbing fingers. A gentle nod," No problem. Tomorrow ok?" I was given lighter strings, my action lowered slightly, mysteriously my guitar just sounded *better* All of this for 32$ without the staring down the nose holier than thou bs I've encountered at other shops. A season later I'd earned my callouses and with the change in humidity it was time to drop my girl off for another setup. Second time around was just as pleasant. I can't imagine going anywhere else and reccomend them to everyone. It's also neat that he builds instruments and has a number of vintage models hanging in the shop. read more

My friend recommends this store to me before I did some search on Yelp. After reading all the reviews here, I decide to leave my guitar here for a set up. You know what? It lives up to the hype ! You cannot beat the price for a guitar set up anywhere in NYC, but with great craftsmanship and personality. The owner makes guitar himself and you can tell he loves guitar ! I would say this store is the ring and let's treasure it like Gollum... Keep it up~~ read more

Though I go there for simple stuff, like strings and advice, these guys know their stuff and like what they do. Definitely good to support a small business like this on a street and in a neighborhood where everything's dying out or going corporate. read more

This narrow, gnarly shop offers guitars from reclaimed NYC wood, as I learned from Mike Colameco. Staff is friendly and the instruments are impressive. https://youtu.be/WnV4OOBZAEM read more

Like Foxwithmoxie, I'm a fledgling guitar player and was suffering some painful fingers due to my guitar action being rather high (probably due to the weird NYC weather). Unlike many places in the city that charge lots to do a setup (kind of like a tune up), I walked out from Carmine's with a happy heart (and greatly improved guitar) and only $37 lighter. Rick is quiet but professional and friendly! read more

Rick did an amazing job! I got a Shecter guitar restrung, reset, cleaned, he did a beautiful job. The electronics had been malfunctioning on this guitar. He discovered there was some 'sodering necessary' - now the electronics are working perfectly. He kindly shaved down a fret on which the high e kept getting stuck. All for a grand total of $41 !! You can't eat lunch at most places on Carmine street for $41. You can tell that Rick's passion and knowledge for guitars comes before trying to make a buck. Your guitar and your wallet are in good hands here. Highly recomend. read more

I brought a guitar and an amp to be repaired. Along 4 long months I was repeatedly told that it would be ready "next week". I wasted time on countless calls and visits. I even looked and purchased parts for the repair on behalf of the shop. I was forced to buy a replacement guitar for a tour. Well today I was told: I have no time get them back. Crazy waste of time & money, zero professional: STAY AWAY. read more

Rick kelly is the best luthier in town and always does a great job. My only complaint is he is a little too popular, probably cuz he knows his stuff so well. I took my guitars in for a setup and he told me he had a huge backlog and would take a while to get to them. I called a couple of times over the next few weeks and he had still not gotten to them, on the last time i expressed annoyance and said i had to come get them. When i showed up later that afternoon he had set up all three of them free of charge. Good dude. read more

Mr. Kelly is the best guitar builder in NYC! His telecaster style guitars that he builds himself sound better than any popular brand I've played! P.S: Thats his guitar in my profile pic ;-) read more

This is my telecaster. I've had it for ten years now and have played hundreds of gigs with it all over the world. Because the neck is so fat I've literally NEVER needed to get it set up. And it sounds ridiculous. So fat and big. Get the don Mare pickups. I have three Rick Kelly guitars now. Two teles and a strat. All three are great. read more

Probably just an off day or something, but I dropped my Rickenbacker off for a set-up, mostly because the action was more or less unplayably high on the upper frets. Having picked it up and taken it home, there's a new set of strings on the thing, so I know SOMETHING was done with the guitar, but the action's still unplayably high, so it beats me what that "something" was. read more

I recently brought a bass to be set up here, and I can't say I'm impressed. When dropping it off, I wasn't asked my preferences for the set up. When picking it up, I wasn't asked to examine it or play it before leaving. It plays worse than when I brought it in. There's major fret buzz which I should have checked before leaving the store. Just not a good set up, and overall, very disappointing. In all fairness, I did not raise any issues with the owner or bring the bass back to have any problems addressed. I'll be going back to my regular guitar tech as soon as I can. read more

I fell out of playing because the machines on my guitar were broken. One of em, anyway. Besides, they were crappy machines to begin with and the instrument is 14 years old. In any case, I finally got around to taking it in to the shop after it sat unplayed for ten months or so. Terrible. I really missed playing too, but that's just how drunk and lazy I am. So I take it in on the 26th of August, and of course I never bother to go back until a week ago or so. Rick put really nice new machines on there for me, and it tunes up like a dream now. He did some really nice work and didn't nail me on the cost. Plus he's a helluva nice guy when you get to talking to him, and he really knows his way around a guitar. Maybe someday I will have real money, and I can ask him to build me a custom instrument. I'm thinkin' dobro. read more

This shop is a New York institution for guitar lovers worldwide! Just visited there yesterday as I am waiting for a Kelly Guitar to be built. Rick is a very nice man and a world renown guitar builder. If you are interested in a custom "Fender" inspired guitar, Rick's Kelly Guitars should be part of the conversation. I am also kind of a bike lover, as in bicycles, and so is Rick, so we talk about that when I visit as well. Can't wait till I can visit again. read more

Great shop, Rick the owner/operator is a cool cat. He's quite talented, makes his own guitars. I bought a less expensive one, sounds great and had to take it back to be adjusted, and cleaned, did it at no charge. Great store, one of the few institutions left in the city. read more

Carmine Street Guitars is a staple of the new york guitar scene. Rick Kelly is a walking encyclopedia of guitars, a cult figure, and an incredibly nice guy. The custom guitars he builds (Kelly Guitars) are absolutely beautiful. This is a great place to get your instruments set up, modified and repaired (and the best deal in town). And if you're shopping for an instrument, Carmine Street Guitars is the place where you'll find the one of a kind flukes, strange vintage hand me downs, and straight up weird unidentifiable stringed instruments. read more

This is just a great, unpretentious guitar store. A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to have a humbucking pickup put in my 90's MIJ Fotoflame Telecaster. It was routed for a single coil pickup so I needed some routing work done, which my regular guitar tech doesn't do. I called around town and guys were telling me they'd need to keep my guitar for a month and it was going to cost an arm and a leg. I took it to Rick at Carmine Street guitars. He said he could have it done in a week. He routed the guitar for the humbucker, installed it and a new bridge pickup. He did a great job and all for less than those guys who wanted me to leave my guitar with them for a month. read more

Not a ton of selection, but it's got a few old vintage guitars and amps.

Good consultation with Rick, did a really nice job and in a matter of time. $40 setup, pretty unbeatable price vs the heaps of unreasonable quotes I got from all over the city when I was lookin. read more

Rick is a life saver. I've brought guitars in to get set up next day several times and he always sympathizes and works me in. His set ups are quick and precise and he couldn't be more friendly and caring. In NYC Guitar center charges about $90 for a setup, and at carmine for only $30 you can't go wrong. I wouldn't trust anyone else with my guitars. read more

An institution to the art of guitars. What the shop might lack on the surface in organization and glitz, it makes up in depth, soul, and character. Don't expect super fast service since it's a one-man shop. But expect to be treated very fairly and professionally. read more

I'm writing a review of this place because I was really impressed with the service I received today. A few months ago, I brought my resonator in to Rick, the luthier here, to get the action lowered. He did a great job at a fair price. A season later, the radiators are blasting and I got a "sitar buzz" going on with one of my strings. I called Rick, who told me what likely was causing the buzz and that he'd fix it for free. So I schlepped down there, and instead of selling this greenhorn a new nut for $$$, he just shimmed it for me for nothing. A good enough fix for me and I was very impressed with his care and honesty. The woman who helps run the shop is very chill and pleasant too. And, as others have noted, the guitars on the wall really inspire you to hone your craft. read more

I am so disappointed with Mr. Kelly and his staff. I dropped off my bass a week before I was about to go on tour in Africa with my band. All I asked was for to fix some intonation issues and to lower the action. I picked up my guitar the morning I was heading to the airport. Got to Africa and my bass was so out of tune. So flat that I had to keep bending the strings to make it in tune during the show. The day I got back I dropped it off again and told Mr. Kelly that the bass was horrible and it needs to be fixed. I also asked for the string spacing to be changed and to put light gauge strings. So 70 bucks later I get my bass back and still... It's playing so out of tune and the action is so high. Mr. Kelly keeps telling my that his machine is telling him my bass is in tune... Dude just use your ears... It's not in tune. So 3rd time back now, just picked up my bass and guess what? It still plays horrible and its out of tune. Don't go here. They don't care. read more

I just purchased a Blackbird ukulele from Carmine Street Guitars. They are nice and friendly, and I got a much better price for the uke than I would have online, or from another guitar store in NYC that I checked with. They also gave me a case. So I am a happy customer. read more

I've been playing guitar for 35 years, and have played professionally since the early 90's. And I have been into Carmine Street Guitars many times, but never had a repair done there. My regular repair guy was out of town for a few days so I took it here because I figured Rick has been in business for a long time so he must do good work. I needed the guitar back within a week for a session job, and he said no problem, call me in a week. I did and he said the guitar needed another 5 days for the glue to cure. This prevented me from using it on the session, which wasn't that big of a deal, but still, it was mildly annoying since I was told it would be ready. Anyway, when I went and got it a week later, the repair had been done, but the finish had been haphazardly sanded around the repair area, and there was still dried glue residue visible on the surface of the neck area above the repair, which should have been removed. Shoddy work. I asked Rick if he could at least apply a little wood stain to the area (a common and easy thing to do) so that the repair area didn't look so rough, and he said "...I don't do cosmetics". Then he said, and this is a direct quote: "The neck's probably going to break again anyway so why do any cosmetic work on it?" Now, perhaps the neck will break again, perhaps not (it should only break if the guitar is dropped or something, otherwise it means the repair was poorly done), but the uncaring attitude behind that statement was surprising. And ridiculous. I've had to take it to another repair person now to finish the job. I regret taking my guitar to Carmine Street. I've been to every guitar store in the NYC area many times, many of the owners know me by name. I've had work done by professional techs while on tour over the years, I've had Sadowsky and 30th Street guitars do extensive (and very good) work on some of my vintage guitars. The only remotely good thing about this less than mediocre repair job was that it was inexpensive. But, I would have gladly paid 3 times the price to have it done right and with care, and to not have to deal with an uncaring and dismissive attitude. read more