Carlton Music Center

My church dropped off an electric drum set to be refurbished, but now they said they can’t find it. Hmmmm… how do you lose a whole drum set? All that can be found is the pedal.

I have purchased from Carlton Music Center in Lakeland and Winter Haven for many years. I bought a used Roland keyboard from them. After playing it for about 2 months I found that the mechanics of several keys were broken. The keys stopped popping up. I had owned it for more than 30 days so I agreed to pay to have it fixed. After paying another $ 150 (on top of the $ 1,200 I had originally paid for the keyboard) it was returned to me over a month later. I went to use it and the same keys were still broken. After speaking with AD (the person who fixes electronics) he told me, the keyboard was old and had been misused. I asked him if he inspects the keyboards they sell since I had bought this keyboard from them only a few months before. They fixed the keyboard, but it was never quite right again and always had problems with the mechanics of the keys.
Eventually, the keys broke again and I asked them to fix it. They want me to spend almost $ 500 to fix it. They agree that the keyboard isn’t worth $ 500. I asked about patching the key, since I have purchased a new keyboard and only want this one as a backup, and was told that they could do it, but it would take a while. After not hearing from them, I called back 30 days later and they told me they couldn’t fix it.
If you are buying used instruments from Carlton Music or having them fix your electronics I would find someone else. AD obviously never looked at the keyboard before saying he could fix it and giving me a price. He also never inspected the stuff they are selling. Be cautious when buying from Carlton Music, they will knowingly sell bad equipment.

I’ve been a customer of Carlton Music Center since I started leaning the guitar 27 years ago. I remember walking into the old downtown store which is now James I Black investments and seeing Ken behind the counter, noodling away on a white Fender Stratocaster talking to customers. I bought my first Gibson Les Paul from them years ago. My father bought his guitars from them back in the 70s.
Not much has changed in the way of philosophy of this company in all those years. They just take care of the customer and will work real deals with you. What’s really awesome is that most of the guys working there have been there forever. They have a beautiful Lakeland store, with a very nice acoustic room, which is usually the private domain of Joe Gavin, the store’s manager. I’ve known Joe for many years, and he is a top notch man and a phenomenal acoustic finger style guitarist. I can’t think of enough kind words to convey to explain Joe. He has a great heart, really cares about his customers, and wants them to be happy with their purchase.
Carlton also excels in band instrument rentals, along with instrument repair at their Winter Haven store. I’ve used them to repair some vintage Martin acoustic guitars and the result has been as professional as it would have been had Martin themselves been fixing it. They offer lessons on site in their studios.
If you’re new to Lakeland or are new to an instrument, be sure to do yourself a favor and visit Carlton’s. Build a relationship with people who have provided Lakeland many years of quality musical instruments, great customer service, impeccable instrument repair, and great friendship.
In a day and age when the big box concept has moved into musical instruments, Carlton continues to plug away and succeed in a very tough small business.