Northwest Arkansas acoustic/electric repairs, customs, and essentials.

What started as a simple interest to build instruments in 2014, has since grown into a much larger dream. Sights & Sounds NWA will not only be a space solely focused on creating or maintaining your prized instrument, but it is the beginning of a new experience for the artisan connoisseur.

Our Story

The original founder of the brand and business, Josh P Carnes comes from a background of Product development and Marketing within Walmart. During his time at Walmart, he developed the concept of bringing together small town communities of artists and non-artists alike. The dream was to build instruments out of the pure love of music and woodworking.

“I have this strong passion of connecting people for the benefit of fulfilling their needs and goals. I also love the practice of building and maintaining instruments to the best of my ability… As a musician, I understand the craving for artist exposure and the need for more venue space.”

So how do we make this happen? We put together the idea of a public shop that incorporates the following:

  • An interactive Luthier experience with a coffee shop appeal

  • After-hours social lounge

  • Listening Room Venue

  • Art Gallery

  • Music Therapy

So……

The future of the space. Set to open 2025.

We love developing community and supporting local art. Our space from the 9-5 will be a repair shop as well as a custom shop with all of your instrument essentials; strings, guitar picks, bow resin, etc. However, we solely focus on instrument maintenance and community development. Come grab a coffee and bagel, and relax. The space will serve as an after-hours lounge for people to grow their personal network of artists and non-artists alike as well as an “NPR Tiny Desk” type venue for local and traveling artists to have opportunities to perform. Like that of a bike shop or bar, you can approach our team at their workbench and see the build process in real time while having a conversation with the builder. Locally sourced art and furniture will be galleried in the shop to promote artists.

Reviews

Dan, 1980’s Gibson J-45

“I brought my J-45 Gibson to [S&S] for repairs… I was not disappointed. Josh fixed a crack on the front face of the guitar, lowered the action, and cleaned and polished the finish. What a difference! The action is like butter… Cosmetically, the guitar looks almost brand new. Pretty good for an 80’s guitar. I would highly recommend [S&S] to fix any guitar problem you are experiencing. If you take your guitar to Josh [at S&S], you know the job will be done the correct way!

Paul, 2000’s Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

“I just wanted to let you know that the guitar turned out great!… This guitar never sounded so good.  From the very first there had always been some string buzz around about the 10 - 12 frets or so.  It wasn't terrible, but was annoying.  That's completely gone now even at a pretty low string height.  A really nice job!  You can be sure that if I ever need more work done I'll be giving you a call.  And I will certainly be recommending you to anyone I run across that needs to have their guitars worked on.  Thanks again.”