8th Avenue Guitar Works Lets You Build Your Own Instrument

Wall of Mighty Mike, an MIRC brand, guitar components. (Zach Watkins)

A new guitar shop has opened on 8th Avenue, promising to be a home for guitar modders looking to fine-tune their one-of-a-kind instruments.

Filling the vacant building on the corner of 8th Avenue and Douglas Street, 8th Avenue Guitar Works offers a wide variety of refurbished name-brand guitars, individual components, and custom instruments built by its technical team.

With its close proximity to campus and its location near the heart of Music City, the storefront is the first brick and mortar shop from the well known brand Musical Instrument Reclamation Company, which has been selling parts and instruments for more than 30 years.

“When people mod their guitar, it’s a whole thing where you have to search online and on Marketplace for one specific part, and that doesn’t include the YouTube videos you have to watch and the installation you have to learn,” said Izaac Garcia, Belmont senior and guitar player.

That’s where 8th Avenue Guitar Works comes in. 

By offering workshops and a wide selection of necks, bodies and pickups, among many other components, the staff hopes to guide musicians as they craft their dream guitars, explained manager Matt Heinly.

“Our goal is for people to see these tables [with guitar parts on the shelves below] and really play that game and mix and match and put something together, and see what works, or see what doesn’t,” said Heinly.

In the back of the shop sits a demonstration stage where techs from MIRC refurbish and modify instruments in real time. Cameras zoom in on the process, which is displayed on TVs up front so any shopper can see exactly how the installation is done.

A guitar tech working on a bass refurbishment on the demonstration stage. (Zach Watkins)

The perk most shoppers may notice, though, is the price.

The store, which buys its products from backstock and returns from name-brand companies, has the rare opportunity to sell pieces and parts at “a lot more affordable” rates than major retailers, since the items are refurbished, said employee and longtime guitar player Alyssa Adario.d

And with a long list of vendors, including Fender, Cort, Gretsch and Epiphone, the quality of the pieces is among the best in the industry.

Refurbished guitars lining the shelves of 8th Avenue Guitar Works. (Zach Watkins)

“Having a place that has all the parts in person and will teach you and help you put them together is great… I’ve been to other guitar shops and they are all the same, just antiques you can pick up and play. I don’t really know of any other place that helps you create something built for your playing,” said Garcia.

This article was written by Zach Watkins