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In the business of refurbishing factory-returned guitars, Tennessee-based MIRC has built a business model around giving instruments second chances. Now, with its new storefront, 8th Avenue Guitar Works in Nashville, customers can see that work in person. — By Kimberly Kapela GIVING GUITARS A SECOND LIFE MIRC’s Jason Gano and Natalie Kyriakoudis. Photo by: Andrew Nelles, USA Today Network via Imagn Images.
M usical Instrument Reclamation Corpora- tion (MIRC) is in the business of second chances. Based in La Vergne, Tennessee, the company partners with guitar manu- facturers to take returns and instruments that didn’t meet quality standards. Those once-overlooked instruments are carefully refurbished and then wholesaled to mom- and-pop music stores, online retailers and pawn shops — ready to begin a new life in the hands of musicians. When co-owners Natalie Kyriakoudis and Jason Gano purchased MIRC in January 2020, they inherited a company with a 30- year legacy and immediately began writing
the next chapter. “We decided that we needed to do a direct-to-consumer side of our business, which is called Franklin Guitar Works, and that business has been very successful for us,” Gano explained. While MIRC remains dedicated to the mom-and-pop shops, that expansion led to the acquisition of Mighty Mite, the original guitar parts brand for the MI industry, and the recent opening of 8th Avenue Guitar Works, its first brick-and- mortar store located in the heart of Nashville. NO GUITAR LEFT BEHIND Saving guitars from the landfill is one way
MIRC has shown its commitment to sus- tainability. From eco-conscious packaging to upcycling materials beyond instruments, every decision is guided by an “anything to save our guitars from landfills” mindset according to Kyriakoudis. “We really extend being a sustainability solution in the industry, to our day-to-day and how we move products into and out of our warehouse,” Kyriakoudis said. “That 30-year legacy really started from just part- nering with manufacturers to solve their problems, and we’ve been fortunate enough to continue to add partners. What makes our formula work is that we can offer this
14 I MUSIC INC. I MAY 2026
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