Carter Vintage Guitars has officially opened on the top floor of the historic Antiques building at SomeraRoad’s Paseo South Gulch. The legendary guitar shop is located across the street from its original store and is ready to welcome music enthusiasts, artists, and collectors. The address of the new store is 606 8th Ave S, Suite 201. There is also a new pedestrian walk signal between the old location and the new development, making it easier to cross 8th Avenue S.
“After over a decade of success, Carter Vintage Guitars had outgrown our storied first home on Eighth Avenue, and it had to be fate that another historically significant building was revitalized across the street around the same time,” said Ben Montague, co-founder and CEO of The North American Guitar, which merged with Carter Vintage Guitars in 2022. “Our new home in the Antiques building will allow us to offer the same incomparable customer experience, while displaying more inventory, improving capacity for authentication and repairs and supporting our talented team. We also now have the space to provide a destination for music experiences and support for the creative community that complements our core passion of buying and selling guitars.”
The plan for relocation began in early 2022, as the company’s co-founders and Montague looked to solidify the physical representation of the brand’s growth and the future of the cherished music destination. The goal of Carter Vintage Guitars’ merger with The North American Guitar in March 2022 was to preserve the legacy built by the Carters and foster the company’s unique offerings for years to come.
Since its inception by industry veterans Walter and Christie Carter in 2012, Carter Vintage Guitars has become a Nashville institution where locals and visitors can admire, trade, consign, buy and sell vintage guitars and other fretted instruments. The company invested in relocating to a larger, custom-built space to continue providing an unmatched experience to its loyal and growing customer base in Nashville and worldwide.
Carter Vintage Guitars’ new location spans 12,500 square feet, housing over 2,000 guitars, a bigger authentication team and the highly anticipated and newly reopened Carter Vintage Repair shop, led by Greg Ellis. With more square footage than before, the company has added an exclusive space for creatives called Carter Studios, a Live from Carter’s stage, rooms for private appointments, more lifestyle merchandise and expanded office space. The new space blends the new with the old by relocating some of the furniture and decor, display cases, and signage from the original location; this decision has created an authentic yet fresh experience with the brand and culture.
Approaching the guitar-clad doors to the new location, customers will be greeted by a new mural painted by artist Brian Law, commissioned by Carter Vintage Guitars and its long-standing partner Gibson Guitars. Beyond the doors, a lobby housing beloved Carter Vintage Guitars merchandise and accessories precedes a long “Hall of Fame” with historic music photos and memorabilia, paying homage to the history of the store, its founders Christie and Walter, Cotten Music and the music legends who are friends of the brand. The hall ends at the familiar main retail floor.
“We’re proud to be able to keep a popular and celebrated destination for music lovers like Carter Vintage Guitars in the neighborhood and have it as a flagship destination within our project. They’ll join an exciting mix of carefully tailored tenants that will deliver exceptional and unique experiences to those who visit, live or work at Paseo South Gulch.”
Jon Resser, Principal and Co-Head of Acquisitions at SomeraRoad
In addition to Carter Vintage Guitars instruments, the new retail floor will house inventory from The North American Guitar, also led by Montague, and Cotten Music, led by Kim Sherman, providing a physical home for the three merged brands under one roof.
The Carter Vintage Guitars team will remain anchored by familiar faces at the new location and welcome some lauded instrument experts, including Gary Bohanan. The company currently employs 30 staff members. The new location was built by Carter Group, designed by Paul Boulifard and boasts 30 exclusive free parking spots.
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