About us
Welcome to Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee's premier buyers and sellers of vintage and newer, high-quality musical instruments and equipment.
Gabriel Hernandez is the owner and president of Nashville’s Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc. He was born in New York City but moved to West Palm Beach, Florida at the age of six – the same time his grandmother gave him his very first guitar. He's been obsessed with the instrument ever since, though he realized early on he wasn't going to be a rock star. That, however, never stopped him from playing music simply for the love of it, and forming what eventually became one of south Florida's most successful cover bands. Along the way he managed to earn a B.S. degree in Journalism from the University of Florida (1988), and forged an impressive and successful career as first a journalist and then marketing and advertising executive for several Florida companies. He eventually moved his family to middle Tennessee in 2006 after accepting a job as the web editor for Gibson Guitars at the company’s world headquarters near downtown Nashville. His time at Gibson, however, was cut short when the country’s struggling economy forced the company to lay off 200-plus employees in December 2009.
Not able to find a full-time job and needing to make ends meet – but fortunate enough to know a thing or two about marketing, business and A LOT about guitars – Hernandez began buying and selling guitars and other musical instruments via the Internet. Within a few short months, and with a few lucky breaks and a lot of hard work, Hernandez successfully turned his “part-time” endeavor – and passion – into a full-blown business, now known as Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc., and located in the burgeoning Nashville suburb of Donelson – just 10 short minutes from downtown Nashville.
At first, Hernandez jumped right into the retail arena with a small shop near Nashville’s famed Music Row. But realizing that the bulk of his early... show more
business was generated thru online sales, Hernandez decided after one year to move into a more “office”-oriented environment closer to his Donelson home. It was a more intimate space where he concentrated on online sales while continuing to build both his global and loyal local following. Armed with just a small showroom and one employee, Hernandez welcomed his local clientele as well as customers from around the world, and over the next three years Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc. continued to grow … seemingly parallel with Nashville’s own growth and emergence as one of the country’s best places for new businesses and careers.
In early 2016, Hernandez finally decided to reenter Nashville’s renowned vintage guitar market with a beautiful stand-alone retail hub located at 212-A McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37214, which is situated just a few minutes from Nashville’s International Airport and less than two miles from Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry, the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, and the Opry Mills Mall.
The results have been nothing short of magnificent. Today, in a city known for its historic musical heritage and internationally acclaimed musical instrument dealers, Hernandez and Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc. have quickly become one of Nashville’s – and the world’s – premier destinations for the buying, selling and consignment of vintage guitars and newer, high-quality used musical instruments and equipment. In fact, American Songwriter magazine recently named Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc. as “…one of the top three destinations in Nashville for vintage guitars…” in its July/August 2014 “Nashville Music Special” issue.
Hernandez has also had the pleasure of buying and selling instruments to and from some of music's biggest names, including The Who's Pete Townshend, Vince Gill, Kacey Musgraves, David Haywood of Lady Antebellum, Chris Young, Sam Palladio of ABC's Nashville show, Mike Wolfe of American Pickers, Jimmy Nalls of Sea Level, Brad Smith of Blind Melon, John Prine, among many, many others. Hernandez also found and purchased an old Martin Sigma acoustic guitar once owned by the legendary Keith Whitley – a guitar he eventually sold to Chris Young, who used it for the first time to sing Whitley's classic No.1 hit "Don't Close Your Eyes" at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 26, 2011. You can watch a video of his performance here.
So whether you’re shopping for guitars online or simply visiting Music City U.S.A. to enjoy its rich music heritage and many diverse musical attractions, please make it a point to put Blues Vintage Guitars, Inc. on your itinerary and radar. We’ve got one of the country’s largest selections of vintage guitars and newer, high-quality used musical instruments, and our inventory changes daily. And – of course – if you’re selling your guitar or some other musical instrument, please take advantage of our willingness to pay more than anyone else in Nashville, or in the United States of America. Bottom line is you're selling yourself short if you don't call us BEFORE your sell your guitars or other musical instruments!
You won’t be disappointed. We promise!
And – as always – please remember:
“Life is too short to play a lousy guitar! show more