Carter Vintage Guitars

What a great store! They have a truly amazing selection of vintage acoustics and electrics. The quantity and quality of vintage instruments is one of the best I have seen in recent years. What makes this place truly great, however, is the very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Playing is encouraged and there are several amp rooms stocked with vintage and boutique amps. I played a 56 Les Paul, 65 Strat, 64 D28 among others for over an hour with only friendly occasional comments from staff. A must see on a visit to Nashville for guitar players.

Straight up awesome. Lots of cool vintage guitars and awesome staff. Highly recommend.

Carter Vintage Guitars is simply wonderful. If you like guitars, it’s heaven on earth. Even more so if you’re into vintage and rare gear.
I played a ton of beautiful electrics, acoustics, banjos and basses. Not saying I played them well, but I played them.
They have a cool baritone acoustic section (27″ scale). A lot of quirky electrics from brands I’d never heard of. Lots of autographed instruments. A relatively small selection of basses, including some acoustics.
There are a ton of amps and private rooms you could play in, which is super cool. I wish all music stores would do this.
I met Christy Carter, who was a lovely woman. She (and the other sales people) are super friendly and eager to help, but not pushy at all.
I’m starting to believe that Carter is the ideal guitar shop.

Das ist DER Laden in Nashville wo man definitiv die besten Akustik Gitarren bekommt. Außerdem gibt es dort hervorragende Mandolinen und Kontrabässe. Neben wirklich guten alten Stücken in der Preisklasse 3000 Dollar plus gibt es auch ein paar alte Martin Gitarren welche zwischen 1920 und 1930 gebaut wurden. Die exklusivsten Exemplare kosteten 135.000 Dollar. Ja die Zahl ist richtig und keine Null zuviel!
Das Personal ist auch verhältnismäßig locker und bat mir gleich an, auch diese Gitarren anzuspielen.
Da können sich unsere Musikalienhändler eine Scheibe abschneiden!
Auch wenn man hier keine Gitarre kaufen kann oder möchteist der Besuch auf alle Fälle ein Erlebnis und den einen oder anderen Star kann man hier auch antreffen.
Es gibt dort zwar E-​Gitarren und Amps aber die Auswahl ist relativ klein. Dafür gibt es andere Geheimtipps in Nashville. Aber ein paar halb akustische Schätze habe ich dort schon hängen sehen.

How did I repeatedly drive, walk by, and stare at this space and not ever walk in?
A true mystery, indeed.
It probably helped that I moseyed in with someone who actually knows a thing or two with strings and guitar picks on my initial visit though…
From the expansive selection of vintage and some new guitars, basses, pedal steels, and everything in between, this spot is a true testament that musicians come in with all shapes, skill levels, and budgets. There was also an area where you can take lessons and a smaller retail area up front for books, swag, and random items like pedals and amps.
Overall, if you play or appreciate, this is a worthy stop!
TIP: Many signed and special edition instruments line the walls here. Some are priced well into the 5 digits…

The hotness.
I’m not a guitar player but my fella is so he was dead set on visiting while we were in Nashville and we made it right before we left town. I wish I had brought a hanky to mop up his drool. Mine too. Again, not a player but I could appreciate some of those sexy sexy axes and stacks.
The layout is open with plenty of seating. He didn’t pull any guitars down for playing but I don’t think they discourage that since I did see a few people strumming.
Guitars vary in makes and models. The moniker «vintage guitars» means that most of the stuff here is rare, one of a kind models so be prepared for steep price tags (I think the priciest one I saw was in the $ 20,000s) but really amazing instruments.
Being Nashville they also had a few pedal steels, banjos and mandolins amongst the customary electric and acoustics. They also have a room up front with pedals, strings, and other accessories and gear. My fella picked up a new Neil Young peace bird guitar strap in particular.
Not in Nashville but still feel like ooh and ahhing over their collection? You can check them out here:
. Plenty of photos and prices for you to peruse!

Like a guitar museum, my husband was in heaven. I’m not a musician but I can appreciate the artistry of these pieces, and there was plenty to choose from. Highly recommended.

This is hands down the best stringed instrument store in Nashville, and there are some pretty good ones. Clearly on par with the greatest in the U.S., and yes, I have frequented those places for years.
Not just a store, it’s a destination, a community center for fans of stringed music. The building is beautifully decorated inside and out (see photos) and the staff welcoming. I took a chance and flew about 600 miles just for the experience, and it was worth every minute. In the evening I returned one night to catch a terrific concert with complimentary drinks and snacks.
Owned and operated by two of the most knowledgeable vintage stringed instrument experts in the country. The attention to customer service and experience makes a visit here a pure delight. Doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro or just thinking about buying your first ax, you’ll get treated the same here. And if you like gawk, that’s cool too. Just keep an eye out, Nashville’s best might walk through the door at any moment.

Last night, Mr. Carter hosted a «Dinner Lab» in his building on 8^th Ave South.
It’s a large open space with concrete floors and miles and miles of vintage guitars, mandolins, bass, violins.
I took a million photos and will post later.
Some very rare stringed instruments that he watches over like a hawk.
There were about 75 people in there last night and he has one special room where the rarest of rare stringed instruments are hung.
I saw one guitar for $ 175,000.
If you are in need of that very special stringed instrument and you have only one in mind, go see Mr. Carter and he should fix you right up!
He’s situated right next door to Arnold’s Country Kitchen restaurant.