Delgado Guitars: A Family Guitar Shop in Nashville

If you're into guitars and find yourself in Nashville, Delgado Guitars is a family-owned instrument shop at 919 Gallatin Ave, suite 10, in the 37206 area. You can call (615) 227-4578 or check their website at www.delgadoguitars.com. The store is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and it isn't listed as open on weekends, so plan your visit for a weekday.

The shop builds and repairs stringed instruments by hand. They say they make more than 45 types, including classical concert guitars, flamenco guitars, steel-string acoustics, Resophonics, basses, requintos, jaranas, Cuban tres, guitarrones, vihuelas, mandolins, ukuleles, banjos, and electric guitars. Some of their named models are the Julie (steel-string), the Marta (classical), the Monica (flamenco), the Candelario (concert classical), the Rosario (steel string), the Healer (dreadnought), the Hutzel (square neck), and the "3764 Highway 51" electric guitar series. They also run a line called La Tradición, which makes affordable prototypes for schools and districts. Repair work is a big part of the business as well.

The family's guitar-making goes back to 1928, when Manuel's great-uncle Candelario Delgado Flores and his grandfather Porfirio Delgado Flores started building guitars in Torreón, Mexico. Manuel A. Delgado, the third generation of luthiers in the family, moved the business to Nashville in 2005. He started repairing guitars at age 7 and built his first one at 12. In 2002 he designed and built "The Unity Guitar" to raise money for undocumented victims of the September 11 attacks, and it raised over $40,000. His oldest daughter, Ava Canción Delgado, started helping in the shop at age 4 and finished her first instrument, a mandolin, at 10 in 2018. The shop's client list includes names like Arlo Guthrie, Jose Feliciano, Andrés Segovia, Los Lobos, and Buddy Guy, and the family has restored instruments for the Smithsonian and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Customers who leave reviews mostly talk about Manuel's care and skill. They describe him as friendly, professional, and respectful, and they like the relaxed, family-owned feel of the place. It's also worth knowing the shop's current situation. A 2026 Fox 17 report ran with the headline "writing on the wall," saying the 98-year-old shop won't last in Music City. The shop noted that the incentives Mayor Freddie O'Connell announced in September 2026, including the Legacy Business Program, the Workforce Advancement Incentive, and an expanded Property Investment Incentive, don't currently apply to a long-standing family business because of how its costs are structured. The legislation passed on October 6, 2026.