Another good experience purchasing a fantastic Gibson acoustic guitar, from Carter Vintage ! Noah Pelty a great help in Sales Service. Guitar very safely packed and shipped quickly. Highly recommend Carter Vintage for guitars and amps ! read more

Carter Vintage was so easy to work with in consigning and selling my Gibson '57 Les Paul R7 Custom Reissue for the exact price we put on it. It took about 8 months to sell, which is a little longer than I thought it would take, but I am thrilled with the result. During that time they assured me that my guitar would be insured and taken good care of while it was in their showroom, and it was! To me it was well worth their reasonable commission to have my guitar professionally photographed and catalogued among the other fine instruments under their sales management. Carter Vintage is only getting bigger and more reputable. read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

I traded in a guitar that was damaged on delivery. My heart was sunk. But though the professional never say die...we got this attitude of the staff at carter vintage especially Patrick and Nick. They made it happen. Helped me to feel ok about the whole ordeal and made sure I got the guitar I wanted and that it was the right fit for me. They have my business for life. Can't wait to go there and shake their hands in person! read more

Stopped in to get some merch to bring home as a souvenir from a business trip to the area. Impressed by the friendly and helpful staff, bright and clean store, and great variety of merch to choose from. read more

I always stop in Carter Vintage when I'm in Nashville. But I don't get to Nashville much. So I didn't know it changed buildings! The new facility is comfortable, and there's tons of guitars. But it's not what it was. Carter Vintage used to be nothing but vintage, cool gear. Now it's mostly the high-end sibling to the Gibson Garage a couple blocks away. I'd say 70% of the inventory are fairly new Gibson Custom Shop guitars. Still kind of fun. But not the same. read more

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Nashville is a great city for guitar stores. For new guitar shopping, I go to Gruhn's. But for vintage and used guitars, Carter Vintage is the place to go. I've been to their old location and parking was always a pain. Their new location right across the street has very convenient parking. They validate your parking right in the store. The new location has separate rooms for the high end electric and acoustic guitars, and the main room still has an amazing selection of both. I was sorely tempted by one old acoustic but resisted the temptation since I already have more guitars than talent. I did buy a Carter's t-shirt and other goodies. And appreciate that they take contactless payments (Apple Pay in my case). Checkout was fast and friendly. read more

So many guitars! It was fun stopping by and playing some tunes while watching other guitarists play songs. They have some famous guitars played by celebrities too. Worth a visit for a serious guitar buyer or a casual window shopper. read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

Awesome experience and a must see! Allows you to see your wish list in person! A definite worthwhile visit when in the area for browsing or buying! read more

Stunning store with rows of gorgeous guitars. We walked around for about an hour, trying different strings and strumming instruments. We felt laid back and the salespeople did not hover or overwhelm us. We enjoyed our experience. read more

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When I bought a Martin J-40M I did not realize that Walter Carter really had sold the business. Carter Vintage Guitars has gone down hill and I will not shop here again. When Walter was there I bought a few vintage Fenders and Gibson's from him...he was great. Last time I quickly stopped by and picked up a Martin and had it shipped. When I got it I realized it needed new a neck reset and new frets ( half the price of the guitars cost) . The new ownership's response. Tough keep the guitar you are out of luck. When this happened at George Gruhn on a 1950 D-28 I bought form them several years ago they gave me a credit for a neck reset from my Luthier in San Francisco Gary Brawer. Need less to say I will not come back and will not shop here again. I recommend you go to Gruhn's as they respect the customer read more

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Very cool guitar shop. My boyfriend loved it. Lots to offer & good merchandise. Fun to check them all out.

Lied about Guitar's History! Asked for back story on the guitar before I bought it, two weeks after I received the guitar, still no history. Called, emailed, and left voice mail, still no response. Finally, the manager, Henry, said he would do it but that the request was unusual. Unusual? Henry said he would ask the consigner if he was willing to share any personal information. Personal? I just wanted to know whether he or she was the original purchaser of the guitar and/or how long they owned it. They came back and said the owner didn't want to share any "personal" information. Personal? Are they kidding me? I finally found the owner in a Facebook guitar group and was able to reach out to get the guitar's history. I don't like liars who try to deceive me because they are too lazy to ask the consigner a simple question that isn't "personal." Who wouldn't want to know the history of a 61-year-old guitar that costs several thousands of dollars? Once they get your money they drop you like a hot potato. read more

Excellent long-distance purchase experience at Carter Vintage. My sales person Kyle was super quick, helpful and enthusiastic with phone, email and video correspondence. We got a time sensitive deal done with no stress, and a great guitar into my hands. The guitar arrived perfectly set up with fresh strings on it and a humidipak in the case, even though I forgot to ask. Awesome shop and great sales and service team. read more

My wife and I moved to Tennessee two years ago from Idaho. I'm 72 years old, and I had sold off a number of guitars & amps before we moved, mostly to old friends. A buddy of mine had consigned gear through Carter for a few years and recommended them. He put me in touch with Kim, and I brought several guitars and a couple of amps to Carter. Dealing with them was a great experience. My gear sold quickly, and of course I turned right around and bought others from them. read more

Crazy Great place for the guitar lover. 1000s on display at all price points. It seems always busy. The staff are professionals and it seems the customers are too. Carter's has an international following. Parking is mess in the area. Good luck on that. read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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It's easy to conduct business perfectly when everything is going well, but I believe an even better measure of a business is to see how professional everyone can be when things are not going so well. Carter Vintage's stellar civility and professionalism made everything right. This is going to be a good review [Note: this is a review of the consignment sales experience, not of the actual store]. Detailing a problem is boring, so I'll summarize: while offering my guitar for consignment, I had some difficulty staying apprised of the process, and I became concerned: was my guitar received, when will it be posted, was it shipped, did the buyer approve it, when does payment go out, etc.? Many texts were followed by a bunch of back-and-forth emails--with numerous people getting cc'd--and the upshot was that miscommunication took hold when the who-was-addressing-whom deluge caused lines to get crossed. Even though I can be quite personable (ask my friends!) when a process is smooth and understandable, uncertainty and confusion can cause me to act out of sorts, and I can overdo it with the messaging when I'm not sure what's going on. Can I blame the technology? Here's where Carter Vintage's A+ professionalism came in. Upon learning of the status/payment dilemma the CEO sent me an email with sincere thanks, apologies and concessions that were unrivaled in all my decades in the business world. No excuses! Then, the Director of Sales sacrificed some of her valuable weekend time to call me to recount all the communications and explain who knew what when, and what was done. Again, I was a component of the mix-ups. Ultimately, we figured out where everybody stood, and I believe respect was maintained all around. Everyone at Carter Vintage who needed to straighten out the situation (i.e., console me) by answering questions and clearing up the process stepped up to the plate and did just that. Today's corporate culture is one in which almost no businesses will "own" a problem and admit they need to take steps to fix it. Whether it's a monumental issue or a little glitch, blame is better to give than receive, and Carter Vintage didn't do that. Thanks Ben and Kim; I will look forward to working with you again sometime. read more

The new location is STUNNING. Definitely in the top 10 guitar stores in the US. It's so fantastic to have the opportunity to try so many guitars that many stores never have in stock. Staff is friendly and helpful. Definitely give yourself at least an hour. There's a lot of cool guitars to take in. read more

Very friendly staff. Relaxed environment. I don't play and had very relaxing place to sit. My son would live here if he could. Nice selection. Also they validate parking in the metro garage . read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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Big selection of guitars, amplifiers, and various equipment. Friendly, knowledgeable staff who are more than willing to help you make an informed purchase. read more

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I recently bought a used custom archtop, Elferink Excalibur from Carter Vintage. the guitar sas sold at a fair price and they reimbursed me for a professional set up locally. They have a great selection. This will be my first for a high quality archtop. I read a negative review and frankly I'm surprised. If there is a negative experience to be had, store ownership will rectify it. read more

This place was very cool. Lots of vintage guitars most are pretty pricey. You need an appt for Sat and Sundays but they were not busy so they let us in. If you appreciate guitars it is a place of history. Lots is old guitars, amps etc. read more

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For being a locally owned business, you would think you would be treated better by the staff there. I love guitars and was recommended by someone from CA to go check out Carter and bring one back as a Souvenir. When I walked in, no one greeted me and I even said hello to one staff inside and he just stared at me. I walked 2 miles to go to the shop. Although they had cool guitars, I'm not sure I wanna support such rude business read more

Awesome store, had only been to the old location, the new one is even nicer. Will get to see guitars that you aren't going to see anywhere else, and just makes you want even more, even if you dont need any more. read more

Carter's has a lot of unique, vintage guitars, banjos, ukuleles which are great to look at and play with, but out of the price range of most people. We spent about 15 minutes in the shop, bought some picks, and then left. read more

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One of the finest guitars I have ever seen, the are friendly and treated everybody the same. Beginners to experienced players are welcome. read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

My dad was a huge fan of Carters Guitars, every time he visited Nashville he would make a point to go. After he passed we inherited a large collection of guitars that we weren't sure what to do with, some of which he purchased from carters. We called ahead and gave them a brief description and they gave us the go ahead to bring them in for consignment. When we arrived we were greeted by a rude and disinterested women, who passed us on to someone else. The next individual was equally as disinterested and ultimately said they didn't want anything. Desperately, we asked if someone could at least help us identify what some of the guitars were to which she said, yeah for 150 dollars and you would have to leave them here. Overall, extremely disappointed with their customer service. read more

Nice selection of guitars to look at. Customer service is just terrible. Spent about 30 min in the store and saw about 5 different employees and not one of them offered any assistance. To me, the place just had an aura of arrogance. Don't go if you expect any sort of help or friendliness read more

This store is WOW! The customer service is top notch and the selection of vintage gear is amazing! We visited over the weekend for my husband's birthday and had a great time! I'd like to specifically give 10 stars to the amazing staff! While we were there a very self-entitled family were also there. There two sons were extremely disrespectful to the gear and the boundaries set in place a store like this. Going in places were signs were out stating "do not enter" or "don't touch". Basic rules for a place that has expensive items such as this. When one of the staff members said something to one of the kids (who looked to be about 12-13), the mom snapped! The staff member was very polite and matter of fact about the rules in place and was simply enforcing them. Props to him! We'll definitely be back when we come back to Nashville! read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

Gotta go with David G's review, down below. Carter has enjoyed a sterling reputation and, even after the sale of the company it looked to be very promising. And maybe it is, in person, but for online sales I would NEVER buy from Carter again. Now, they come & rebut all this but. believe me, I am being 100% truthful. I bought a 2005 OM-35 (a dream guitar I've been chasing for 20 years), described as set up per Martin's spec and at a very enticing price; it was a GOOD deal. Almost... Well, I got the guitar and right off the bat, the case was not in the best of shape but the guitar looked great and it sounded amazing BUT the setup was not even REASONABLY close to what they told me. Luckily, I'm handy with tools and after a few days of "a little here, a little there" it played like a dream. Unless I played above the 12th fret. Dead! Figured the frets might need some leveling (just had another 20 year old guitar "ramped" last week) so I brought it to SF Guitarworks to get PLEK'ed. Oops! Looks like it's been leveled before, frets above #12 were below the PLEK limit (Martin spec: .037", PLEK minimum: .036 (IIRC) and mine were at .032". They were obviously & visibly low). Turns out, the fretboard "tongue" had lifted away from the guitar top. Reason #2 that PLEK was not viable. So, now, it needs to have the tongue glued back down, then get refretted, THEN PLEK'ed. Oh, the nut needs to be reslotted, too. This will all increase the cost of the guitar by 50%. A fair chuck of change. Now, to be fair, after a whole string of denials, Carter offered to partially reimburse me for the work... UNTIL the saw what the cost was. Then more strong denials until they just offered to give me a discount if I shipped it back to them for the work. The shipping would add another couple hundred bucks and Carter got it wrong in the first place. Why should I trust them again??? They feel I am being ripped off. They don't believe I need new frets ( I DO need at least SOME replaced, might as well get them all done & start fresh). They think it's too much money. Well, it's not my first Martin refret done in the SF Bay Area and it's not cheap, no, but that's the price for living here (and I gladly pay it). Sorry, I don't live in Tennessee, folks. Or want to. In the end, I will have a phenomenal guitar. It just didn't come to me that way. Phooey! on Carter. All I ask is, don't lie to me. They promised to comp me a T Shirt & a hat... then I had to BEG them to send it to me. They're just not a friendly place to deal with. I'll stick with Gryphon. read more

Look no further than Carter Vintage Guitar. This is the best place for guitars and amplifiers. I have made 2 amplifier purchases, both great. Carter's has the absolute fastest, safest shipping. A special appreciation to Noah Pelty in Sales, and Zack Allen their amplifier man. Both are the best, and a credit to Carter's. I received communications, and service after the sale, attention. A rare thing these days. Highly recommend this fantastic store, and their staff team ! read more

Their new location is on the second floor tucked in the back of a long, narrow courtyard. Once I found the place (walked by it twice following iPhone directions before spotting a small sandwich board on the sidewalk), I had fun looking at the extensive collection of guitars, even tested one in one of their soundproof rooms. The general layout is similar to the old space and there is a "back room" with 5- and 6-figure instruments right there in plain view. Before leaving, I showed a staffer a picture of an old Gretsch my grandfather used to play and asked how I would go about appraising its value. He took one look at it, identified it, and gave me an estimate on the spot. When I asked if he needed to check a serial number and/or some kind of database, he said they don't have or need one because they have seen so many guitars they have a pretty good idea of what I could get for it if I wanted to sell it. I like this place better than Gruhn. read more

What a great store. Such a relaxed and laid back atmosphere. In town visiting from Los Angeles. With my granddaughters. We tried out a bunch of instruments and everyone was totally cool with young kids (2&6) handling instruments. Special thank you to Henry, the salesman, who took me in to eyeball the '51 Broadcaster. Just a 5star memorable visit. read more

You can't go to Nashville without going to a music store! Carter's vintage guitars has any guitar or you can ever think of. They have vintage guitars, amplifiers, new guitars, basically anything you need to be an entertainer. We really enjoyed coming here once a year when we were driving through Nashville. read more

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Best Guitar Store in Nashville Great selection on Vintage Strats and Les Pauls , Martin's , etc Also great selection of more " affordable " guitars as well for beginners and those that are not looking to spend $10,000 - $25,000 on a vintage guitar Located close to downtown Nashville and Music Row , Close to to many Studios in the area My only gripe , I was in Nashville last week and thought I'd stop in I was bummed when I showed up and they were only letting people in by appointment . The last time I was here I walked right in Maybe it's because of the COVID thing I hope that changes Can't wait to come back read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

Great guitar shop. They actually let you look around and play the instruments without any hawking or hassles. Best place I've ever been.

Hit this place up on a whim while vacationing in Nashville. My son (age 11) has been playing guitar for a few years now and figured it wouldn't hurt just to take a look at a full size for him. Upon entering the store, you get the sense that this place really loves guitars. Racks upon racks of amazing guitars, old and new. You could try any of them out in a private room. Erik, one of their amazing employees, was just fantastic to work with. He struck up a conversation with my son, and kept bringing him different guitars to try out (all within the agreed upon price range). We wandered in for what we thought would be a 30 minute visit, and stayed there for 90 minutes just playing with guitars, hearing about Erik's extensive knowledge of each, and learning just what might be a great lifelong guitar for my son. After narrowing it all down, we selected just the most beautiful guitar, but had one major problem, getting it home. Erik took care of all of that, and got us set up with a quite reasonable shipping cost, and it arrived within 3 days of us heading home. Overall, this store is just amazing, you owe it to yourself if you play guitar to head on over here at least once in your life. read more

I recently traveled to Nashville to attend a concert. While in town I wanted to check out some of the music stores and friend of mine suggested Carter Vintage Guitars. I had not heard of or had known about this store because I have only shopped at Corner Music so this was new to me. First off, WOW!!!! There are actual sales people walking around the floor, answering questions and providing help. They are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Also, they have most of the instruments (many of which are $4k+) just sitting on the floor begging to be played. Secondly, the selection of instruments ranges from vintage to new acoustics and electrics, bases, resonators and mandolins. There are some incredibly beautiful instruments there that are cared for and in great condition. They also have everything from picks to pedals to slides and many other interesting items any musician could want. Lastly, when I informed them of my new Les Paul purchase and my dissatisfaction with the Burstbucker Pickups in the 2005 Les Paul they also came to the rescue. Beau Carter talked with me about the Oxford (OX4) pickups that are exclusively designed for Carter Vintage Guitars and talked about how clean, clear and resounding these pickups are. And, to top it off, when I asked about a specific guitar pedal I had been looking for Beau informed me that they didn't carry that brand but suggest a Wampler pedal instead. When I got back to LA I had the pickups installed and couldn't be happier. The Les Paul sounds so much brighter and interesting and the Wampler pedal is superb. Christie and team at Carter Vintage Guitars are wonderful people and I will be buying from them again (even sight unseen) because I trust them, their knowledge and their ability to make their customers happy. Thanks Carter Vintage. You now have a dedicated, loyal customer. read more

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Carter, Carter... Carter. What to say about you. If you were a girl in high school, I'd ask you to the prom. If you were the Titanic, I'd move an iceberg for you. If you were a guitar shop in Nashville in a sea of music stores, I'd pick you every time. All of the above is absolutely true. I take in my Yamaha FG-180 every 6 months for a proper setup. There is never a dumb question with these guys. They always make you feel like you are a top priority, and are super informative on the work they perform. Do keep in mind they are always about 7-10 days on a turnaround, but if you're cool with the wait then you're OK! A couple of months ago I also had the pleasure of purchasing a Fender Special P-Bass. Kickass setup with jazz pick-ups, on consignment. I made an offer, Carter graciously contacted the owner, and they accepted. Carter Vintage is our local vintage Nashville guitar shop that has quality, vibe, and stellar stock - without the pretentious vibes. It's also conveniently located on 8th avenue, sharing neighborhoods with Party Fowl and Third Man Records. Dig it! read more

Felt a lot smaller than George Gruhn, more crowded. Nice mural on the side of the building. Gruhn is more acoustic focused, Carter seemed to have more electrics, and LOTS of amps. Test rooms were fine, if a little noisy. Great to see these independent shops thriving yet. read more

Carter Vintage Guitars - Guitar Stores Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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Great place for guitar geeks. Staff is smart, gets you whst you need. My only gripe is you gotta be rich to shop there, so I can only dream read more