Rumble Seat Music

Great selection of vintage guitars and amplifiers. A must visit Nashville guitar shop if you're a serious player.

A word of warning for first time vintage guitar buyers: The online guitar buying experience can be stressful and hard to navigate. As a first time vintage guitar buyer I decided to purchase from Rumble Seat as the inventory is as legendary as their status. I assumed that a shop of this caliber would be the best of the best and trusted them with an expensive purchase.

First issue is communication: I did not receive an email receipt until two days after purchase and I never received any tracking information at all (which resulted in me having to pay to pick the guitar up at a UPS center). When I tried to get in contact with them after receiving the guitar, I got no answer for four days. They have a (purposefully) full voicemail so no messages can be left, their email form on their website is broken (probably also intentional), and there is no other way to get in contact.

Main issue here is that I was sent a guitar that was unplayable due to multiple totally dead frets. This is totally different than what was told to me at the point of purchase. I was told explicitly when ordering the guitar that it was in great playing condition and the frets had plenty of life. They lied. When I finally got in contact with them they had no solution for me.

Only option they gave me was for ME to pay to ship it back and also pay for the shipping to me resulting in $300 in shipping costs being eaten. They told me "that's not how I remember the guitar playing when it left" and virtually shrugged their shoulders. They made me feel like I was crazy telling me "there's no way there are that many dead frets" when I was on the phone holding the guitar in my hands literally playing them.

I was also told "even with a total refret you still got a good deal." Even funnier (sadder) the guy said "just raise the action." My god. Therein lies the main disconnect with Rumble Seat to the average guitar lover, player and enthusiast: they have no time for you and don't NEED your business. They sell $20k+ guitars to the plastic surgeons, orthodontists and celebrity players of the world and don't NEED to be respectful or build customer loyalty, so they don't.

They don't even understand that "even with a total refret you still got a good deal" is so far from the point. The point is to have integrity in your business and to treat customers with care and respect. They made me feel like my $7000 purchase was chump change. I was not shown any respect from Rumble Seat and will never purchase from them again.

They have, in a way, turned me off from purchasing a guitar online ever again and the vintage guitar world in general. If one of the most famous guitar stores in world and "An American Tradition" treats customers like this, how could anywhere else be better? Turns out most shops are better. Shop local, shop in-person, don't shop here.

I bought a Fender 1966 Telecaster that the salesperson told me was "all original". When I got home I noticed a 3-way switch in the guitar case pocket. I called the salesperson and was told a new switch had been installed, which means that the instrument is NOT all original. I asked my salesperson to talk with the owner and got no response. I wrote a letter to the owner expressing my concern about misrepresentation and asked to discuss.

No one ever responded. Very disappointing and surprising. I would expect a store like Rumble Seat to be more accurate about what they are selling and more responsive to their customers' concerns.

Awesome store with vintage guitars and amps. The staff is pretty awesome, too. Only place during the trip so far where we bought souvenir tshirts.

Such a cool guitar store! We didn't buy anything, but one of the guys working (maybe the owner) showed us all of the guitars played by different famous guitarists!

My husband and I were visiting Nashville to see Eric Clapton in concert. While in town we stopped by Rumble Seat and Keith Gregory was so amazing to talk to. He really knew his stuff and had some great stories to tell about many of the guitars on display. It was a really great experience, especially after having stopped in at Carter Guitar earlier and receiving terrible customer service. Thank you Keith for all your help!

Great place! It's a smaller store for sure, but it's got al the stuff you WANT to see in a store. Lots of historic pieces by all the big players - Gibson, Fender Marshall, etc - and they all RIP! I played the BEST tele I've ever played in my life there - a '66 in candy apple red. If I had the coin, I would have tossed my money at them and made off post-haste with that beauty! The staff was amazing too! Very friendly and happy to help me find the gear of my dreams! This place is a staple and you'd really be cheating yourself if you passed them by!

For my trip to Nashville with my dad, I went to the newly opened Gibson Garage. In addition to planning to go to that store, I was looking for another local guitar shop to go to and I found this one. The main reason I picked this shop over other guitar stores was because it has a real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, which is my dream guitar. Walking inside the store, I only expected to just look at it in a display case.

To my surprise, one of the employees there took it out of the display case and let me hold on to it, and even play it! I never thought that I would play such a valuable guitar, even for a little bit. The employees there are very nice and didn't mind at all that my original intention was to go to their store just to look at one guitar. They have more vintage guitars and amps as well.

If you want to look at some truly amazing and very special guitars that you cannot find anywhere else and even get the chance to play some, then I highly recommend visiting this store.

Absolutely one of the coolest guitar shops in Nashville. Do yourself a favor and stop in if you're in the area.

Walking around this place made me want to take some money out of savings. What a cool store. Very nice vintage gear as well as high end Custom Shop Fenders and Gibsons. The owner and employees were super nice and chatted and build a rapport with me, knowing I wasn't going to spend thousands of dollars in there. For that, I'd go back with cash to burn. Great store, great atmosphere, nice people.

Just a really neat place! Tons of Marshall stacks (not for sale), famous Fender Strat's, and Gibson Les Pauls'! Very cool piece of history.

Rumble Seat is like half music store, half museum. Super nice staff and drool-inducing guitars and equipment

Excellent Vintage Guitar Shop Staff was awesome and a pleasure to meet Awesome guitars and amps I'll be back!

Really bad experience here. They should market as a museum for stars not regular consumers. I've worked w Norm/Rudy's/Carters/Gruhn all very personable and create an atmosphere where they respect you as a person. As a result I've bought from all of them. These sits make you feel like you are t cool enough to be in their store and are very indifferent and won't let you try gear. Don't waste your time interacting with them. There are so many other excellent dealers in Nashville and the US who at least respect you.

I have read a bunch of reviews of this and other guitar stores in town. I first want to say - every vintage guitar retailer will get it wrong occasionally, even the big guys sometimes make a mistake. Having said that I don't know that there's anyone as ethically minded as Rumbleseat when it comes to stuff like that so take the less glowing reviews with a grain of salt.

As others have pointed out, this is a museum. And as someone who's bought a few guitars and amps from Elliot, I am given the courtesy of playing some of their more insane pieces occasionally (they let me play a 59' burst through a Dumble ODS once. It sounded good!) but I have *ALWAYS* been treated like someone valued - even before I laid out cash.

Go in - take the time to ask about the pieces, about the history of the guitar, whatever. These guys have encyclopedic knowledge of guitars *and* of rock and roll history. His prices are at the pointy end of the spectrum for a reason. He pays people fairly when he buys them. If your grandma walked in here with a 52' Butterscotch Tele she wouldn't walk out with a $1000 check.

I've been coming to rumble seat since I was in the 3ered grade, when they were in Ithaca (20+ years), and they have always been the best place to get a guitar. They have stuff for any budget, weather you have a million dollars or a thousand you can find something sick. I've gotten 6 basses from them through out the years and never had to do anything to them ( still have all of them).

Currently they are sending me my 7th, a 65' p bass, and I will never go anywhere else. Elliot has always been super nice to my mother and I, and now I've gotten to know Drexel, and they both been straight up with me in every aspect. Don't read some of these comments below that are negative and think that's rumble seat, because it's not. I'm telling you it's literally one of a kind place in the world, and there's no place like it. I'll always be coming here, it's my second home for buying any instruments, and I'll never leave!

A friend and I traveled to Nashville specifically to see some of the great guitar shops we have followed for years on social media. We were pretty let down with Rumble Seat. They had a great selection and the store was cool but the guys working there didn't even say hello when we walked in. We were the only two customers in there and throughout the 15 minute stay we were never spoken to.

While I don't expect to walk through the door and be handed a burst I would have loved to at least talk about the collection. It definitely felt like they could care less that we were there. Carter Vintage and Gruhn Guitars on the other hand were over the top polite and welcoming. If I was going to buy a vintage guitar it would be at one of those two shops.

They wouldn't let my kid, a very experienced player, plug in and play a guitar. (Guess that's our cue to leave). Never happened to us before. Very awkward, uncomfortable experience. This place is more like a museum. Caters to collectors rather than players. Oh well, Nashville has plenty of friendly, welcoming places that actually let you play the instruments. Bye.

My initial impressions of Rumble Seat were very similar to many of the reviews that you see online- amazing vintage guitars and knowledgeable staff in a unique setting. Over a period of four or five years, I purchased several high-end guitars ($25,000- $60,000 range) from both their Ithaca and Carmel stores. While I love and appreciate these vintage instruments, I'm a guitar player- not a collector in the truest sense- and the principal reason that I would shell out top dollar to any of the major vintage guitar dealers is because I rely on their expertise when it comes to specifics.

With that being said, I eventually learned that every single guitar that I purchased from Rumble Seat came with issues that their staff either blatantly misrepresented, ignored, or were simply unaware of. Vintage guitars are largely an inexact science so it certainly is possible to miss little issues here or there, but it's neither possible nor acceptable for an outfit marketing itself as among the best in the entire world to be wrong four or five times in a row.

Above all else, my biggest issue by far was with Rumble Seat's owner, Elliot. While he was available and present throughout every single one of my purchases, when I attempted to reach him regarding a very significant and costly issue on one of the guitars that I had learned about from my tech, he was completely nonexistent and multiple phone calls and emails were avoided.

When someone finally did get back to me, it was an unknowledgeable employee (Adric?) who was there only to play the role of Elliot's bodyguard. When Elliot refused to resolve the issue, he cited the length of time that had passed since the purchase and also the fact that I may have actually been responsible for altering the instrument myself, as though it was commonplace for customers repeatedly dealing in luxury vintage guitars to modify their extravagant purchases.

When I brought this issue up with other vintage guitar dealers around the country that I had dealt with in the past, none of them were surprised and mentioned that while Rumble Seat are always well-stocked with guitar eye candy, there's inevitably an issue lurking somewhere. It is an accepted fact that when you pay these small fortunes to the established vintage guitar boutiques, included in your purchase is the security that you are actually getting what you pay for. That, however, is far from the case with Rumble Seat Music.

What a fantastic place, guitars are displayed well, cool vibe, and even cooler staff. They are very welcoming and helpful, not typical with a lot of Nashville music stores. They are a cut above in their selection, while they don't have as many instruments as some other close by stores, their inventory is much more consistent of high end vintage equipment. You'll be "wowed" by what they do have, and impressed by the helpful, friendly staff. I visited quite a few stores in the area, Rumble Seat was definitely my favorite!

Incredible selection. Really cool gear. Only place I've ever been told I couldn't play a guitar. They didn't want to "put too many miles" on the '57 Telecaster. Lol bro. Guess what. That guitar has been played some. Meh. I wouldn't go back. The guys at Carter let me play a Loar mandolin. These peeps should save the attitude. Y'all are missing out on some sales.

Very glad to see Rumbleseat set up shop in Nashville. While not as big as Carters or Gruhn, the section is all top tier. One of the few dealers in the country I'd trust to buy a high end (six figure) guitar from.

I was interested in a particular guitar that was in the shop and possibly trade a vintage Fender bass that I had. Discussed some details over the phone before making the 3 hour drive each way. Eliot and Adric were super accommodating, upfront and honest, and overall it was a great experience. One of the most friendly and least pretentious high end shops I've ever visited, and stoked I got to check it out before they moved to Nashville. Bummed these guys are moving, but wish them the best of luck in their new location.

Eliot and the staff at Rumbleseat are great to deal with. Always has great guitars and is enthusiastic and passionate about vintage guitars and amps. Never a problem; always a pleasure! Vast array of knowledge about vintage guitars. A++++

Amazing guitar store in Carmel-by-the-Sea! Rumble Seat has a fantastic selection of quality vintage and non-vintage guitars and amplifiers. The quality of instruments this place carries is tremendous. I've had nothing but impeccable service from Adric (who is a pro guitar tech if you require any work), Ricky and owner Eliot. These guys are uber knowledgeable and consummate professionals. Honestly, the Monterey Peninsula is very fortunate to have a guitar store of this caliber.

My boyfriend is a pretty amazing classical guitarist, and knows his shit when it comes to music and instruments. That did not matter to this stuffy shop which was beyond snooty, even by Carmel standards. We were given negative attention only, and for less than a minute. Judging by the what must be going rate for one of these guitars, the guys working here could not care any less about having potential buyers in the store. Clearly not up to their level of snobbery.

I met Eliott several years ago in the Ithaca store - very good guy. I had the sense of a musician who sells guitars. He spent time, was interesting, and fun to talk with. Excited about what he was doing and the guitars/amps he had for sale. Would most definitely be a five star experience. I later bought a bass from him and tried to buy two other guitars but they were sold by the time I called.

Fast forward to recent experience in Carmel - it seems here we have a salesman in the store - not a musician selling guitars. Very unpleasant to talk with - almost argumentative. I had the sense that he wanted to get back to his computer from which he can sit and survey the store. Does not have the vibe of a guitar/musician friendly store but another stuffy gallery in Carmel. Too bad - Eliot is the real deal but this store and salesman does not fit the Rumble Seat feel.

The reason for the three stars is that the on hand stock is pretty amazing for a small coastal regional music shop. The shop is full of string instrument history and for a lover of classic basses, it was like peering into a living history of beautifully made Rics and Fenders. However, as mentioned by a previous review the staff does a pretty good job of ignoring customers who they feel aren't quite in the bracket of their desired clientele.

We barely got a nod and a hello when we walked in the shop. It was the first time I've ever encountered this type of customer service, and like Jonas B, I've shopped in some higher end music stores in my day. However, they are worth a look if you are into classic instruments. Just ignore the attitude of the staff.

I stopped by while vacationing in Carmel. The staff ignored me and I was only addressed, rather tersely and rudely, after I touched one of their instruments. I wasn't dressed like a bum, but I didn't look like a J Crew store mannequin either. I was looking for a Martin 000-28. The only answer I received was "we don't have one". No worries.

I bought a Martin 000 and a Fender CS Tele from Wildwood a week later and was treated like gold. It's rare to be treated with such disdain at a high end guitar shop. I've done business with Norman's in LA, Cowtown in Vegas, and the aforementioned Wildwood of Louisville, and have always felt welcome, even if I was only browsing. The business must be doing really well to treat potential clients like this.

The only reason I'm not 1-starring is because of their vintage inventory, which is epic. It's unfortunate that the level of service here isn't commensurate with the quality of guitars hanging on the wall.