Photo courtesy of R. Friedman, We Buy Guitars, LLC
I wanted to be anywhere but my hometown
of Bloomfield, New Jersey, in the mid to late
’60s. Los Angeles would have been nice.
London would have been better. Most of the
bands I liked hailed from those cities.
A vintage shot of the original location of Manny’s Music. Credit: David Deranian/Digital Arts & Sciences |
One saving grace was that Bloomfield was only
a short ride from Manhattan, and from age 15
on, I regularly made trips into the city alone
when I had a few bucks in my pocket—usually
the day after Christmas. The bus ride was
$1.30 each way, and I managed to figure out
the subway system pretty easily. One of my
favorite hangouts—after eating at the Horn &
Hardart Automat and cruising 42nd Street to
gawk at the hookers, lowlifes, porno palaces,
and drug dealers—was West Greenwich Village.
Specifically, the area around Avenue of the
Americas, including Bleecker, MacDougal, and
4th streets. The Music Inn, importer of cool
English rock LPs and world music instruments,
was a definite stop every time, along with
Village Oldies and Matt Umanov’s repair shop. I
never went into Umanov’s, but I always enjoyed
pressing my nose against the window. I also
recall seeing Dan Armstrong’s repair facility.
After college, my new hangout in the Apple
was 48th Street—“Music Row,” the nerve
center of the musical instrument business in
Manhattan. I can’t imagine how many hours
I spent ogling the used and vintage guitars
in the windows of Stuyvesant Music (aka
“We Buy Guitars”), Alex Music, 48th Street
Custom Guitars, Rudy’s Music Stop, Terminal
Music, and, of course, the venerable Manny’s
Music. It was your classic “kid in a candy
store” scene. Like most young people, I had
very little money to spend on guitars, so my
time was mostly spent—you guessed it—pressing my nose against the glass.
Stan Jay of the famous Mandolin Brothers
music shop in Staten Island remembers the
scene very well.
“Silver & Horland had a very nice store near
city hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, but they later
moved to 48th Street and, within a few years,
were gone. There was a guitar store named
for and run by Noah Wolfe. Harry West—a
private detective with an office on Park Place
where J&R Music is now—had, in his apartment
in the Bronx, one of the finest collections
of acoustic instruments in the northeast. And
Marc Silber, who later moved to California, had
a shop in the Village. There were also buyers/sellers to whom musicians knew they could go
to find special instruments. One of them was
George Mell (née Melaga), who lived here in
Staten Island. There was a fellow known as
‘Frank the Barber,’ who had his tonsorial parlor
on 9th Avenue in Manhattan. Andy Statman
purchased his famous blackface A2
snakehead
Gibson mandolin from Frank.”
Debbie Harry of Blondie looks on as bassist Jimmy Destri (left) and guitarist Chris Stein (right) check out guitars at Stuyvesant
Music in May of 1977. Credit: Bob Gruen
Flash forward to 2010, and things certainly
have changed. We Buy Guitars on 48th closed
years ago and then reopened a few years ago
on Long Island. Terminal Music is gone. Alex
Music is gone. 48th Street Custom Guitars
is gone, and Manny’s, incredibly and unfortunately,
closed last May after 75 years in
business. Manny’s had been bought out by
Sam Ash Music in 1999. Sam Ash told Premier
Guitar in 2008 that the company purchased
the store because it was having troubles, and
they believed it was an institution that should
be maintained. That closing was a real loss for
New York’s musical community—not to mention
the touring pros who frequented Manny’s regularly.
I met jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton,
blues legend John Mayall, famed producer and
musician Todd Rundgren, and Barry Tashian,
guitarist from’60s garage-rock
band the
Remains, at Manny’s.
Jay puts it rather succinctly: “The world-famous
block known as ‘Music Row,’ is being
gradually disassembled and dispersed so that
more skyscrapers can be erected.”
This brings us to the subject of “big box” music
stores. Those who know me—friends, acquaintances,
and fellow musicians—know of my
disdain for big-box
music stores and my vociferous
defense of independent music retailers
everywhere. BBs certainly maintain a presence
in New York City’s retail music establishment,
and they have their place for the segment of
the population to which they cater. But, I am
pleased, even elated, to say that independent
guitar shops, with their heightened selection
and personalized customer service, are making
a serious comeback in New York City—proving
once and for all that big boxes are not taking
over. Most NYC indie dealers are holding their
own, and some are thriving and expanding,
even in the present economic downturn.
MANHATTAN MAINSTAYS
Rudy’s Music Stop (rudysmusic.com) has
occupied 169 West 48th Street since 1978.
Owner/guitarist Rudy Pensa left his native
Argentina with a dream to operate a music
store in New York City. With a passion not
only for electric instruments, but also for
archtops and acoustics, Pensa is not only
a player and businessman, but a builder as
well. In 1982, he began making guitars that
were sold in the shop, and in 1985 he began
collaborating with luthier John Suhr to produce
the PensaSuhr
line of electrics.
Rudy’s specializes mostly in high-end
instruments,
as well boutique effects and amps. He
also stocks numerous vintage and used guitars,
amps, and basses. Rudy’s Amp Room and Repair
Shop is located right around the corner at 723
7th Avenue, and his new SoHo store is at 461
Broome Street. Rudy’s prices are certainly not
“bargain basement,” but there’s no denying the
astounding selection of high-quality
gear he sells.
Matt Umanov Guitars (umanovguitars.com)
has been in Greenwich Village since 1969, but
Umanov himself was doing repairs and restorations
as early as 1965 before becoming a retailer.
He stocks Fender, Gretsch, PRS, James Trussart,
and Collings electrics, but his true love is acoustic
guitars. “The need to pick up and play acoustic
instruments will never go away,” he says, “it’s
built into the human genome.” Umanov carries
new Taylor, Martin, Guild, Collings, National, and
Seagull flattops, plus used and vintage pieces.
Umanov even recently collaborated with singer/songwriter Steve Earle on a signature Martin. Umanov claims it’s not hard maintaining a
store in New York City, and as for the big box
retailers, he commented, “Fortunately, our
longevity, reputation, and location have made
this not as big a problem as it is for some.
We figured out how to deal with the economy
last year and are doing nicely.”
30th Street Guitars (30thstreetguitars.com)
has been serving the city since 1997. Owner
Matt Brewster grew up working in a music store
in Ossining, New York. A visit to his shop is like
walking into electric guitar heaven. Used and vintage
Gibsons and Fenders are everywhere, and
there are lots of oddball electrics, too: Supros,
Danelectros, Silvertones, Harmonys, sparkle-covered
Italian kitsch, and ’60s Japanese “cheese,”
such as Teiscos and Kingstons. But Brewster also
builds his own Rust brand of relic’d, Fender-style
solidbodies that are extremely playable and
priced within reach of most guitarists. The bodies
and necks are custom made for him, and he
does all the relic work himself.
Flying in the face of convention, Brewster
doesn’t advertise—and that includes in phone
books. When questioned why he decided to
start a guitar shop, he replies, “I started off
playing guitar and fixing guitars, but I realized I
wasn’t going to be a rock star. So after working
at Ossining Music Center for over 10 years and
spending about a year working for Brian Moore,
one of the employees there approached me
with the idea of opening a store. It’s tough to
maintain a store like this with the high rent. The
economy has impacted me, sales-wise, but it’s
actually been good for repairs. We get a lot of
international walk-in business. Brazil is a hot spot
for guitar sales. Those customers tell other people
and they’ll buy from us. And because we’re
close to Madison Square Garden, we deal with
guitar techs that come in. We work with a lot
of big-name artists and I wouldn’t want to drop
names, but I will say that Eric Clapton came in
one day to try out guitars, because he knew he
could try things out and be left alone. This is a
place where everyone can be comfortable trying
out guitars, amps and pedals. It should be fun!”
Cramped Quarters: The vibey entrance to Dan’s Chelsea Guitars and its eclectic collection of six-strings and memorabilia.
Photo by Carianne Cianci
Dan’s Chelsea Guitars (chelseaguitars.com)
is located on the ground floor of the world
famous Chelsea Hotel at 220 West 23rd Street
in a store not much bigger than the average
Park Avenue walk-in closet. Packed into this
tiny space is an extremely interesting collection
of used and vintage guitars and amps of all
types, as well as oddball memorabilia, vintage
microphones, and other ephemera. The atmosphere
is strictly “hole-in the-wall-dusty-chic,” but the staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and
ready to satisfy customers with good equipment
and prices to match.
First Flight Music (firstflightmusic.com) is
a downtown shop that has been in operation
since 1995. Owner Dan Wollock commented,
“I’ve always been a part of the NYC
music community, and I’ve always loved cool
vintage guitars, so I put the two together.”
Asked about the prospect of being a musical
instrument merchant, he says, “It’s absolutely
tough to maintain a retail store here. Space is
expensive, and now there’s real competition.
However, New Yorkers are pretty savvy and recognize
something unique. Reputation is everything,
so we just try and offer folks great deals
and great service. Our amp repairs are fast
and reliable. People come here knowing they’ll
find something unique. Also, I’m fairly sure we
have the biggest new and used parts selection
around. Plus, we have a rock music school that
goes beyond the typical guitar and bass lessons
to include drums, keyboards, woodwind,
and vocal instruction too.” And when queried
about his specialty, Dan replies, “We change
with the times. Right now, it’s what I call ‘proto’
guitars—the 1950s solidbodies by US makers
like Kay, Harmony, Orpheum, and Airline, plus
some of the Japanese Guyatone and Teisco
models that play and sound amazing.”
Ludlow Guitars (ludlowguitars.com), at 164
Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, has been
in business since 1999. They specialize in new
Gibson and Fender instruments, but carry an
eclectic selection of new, used, and vintage
guitars. They also claim to offer the best selection
of pedals in NYC. According to co-owner
Kaan Howell, “We’re here because New York
is the greatest city in the world, although it
certainly has been tough in the recent economic
climate. But we have no reason to
believe that New York City is any more difficult
to do business in than any other region of the
United States. It’s been tough going, but if we
can survive this, and it seems that we will, then
we will be able to survive anything.”
Howell also stresses that Ludlow is all about
customer service. “We are a friendly local
store where you can try anything and everything
for as long as it takes to find what you
are looking for. We are staffed by gigging
musicians working on a non-commission
basis, and who know the product inside and
out and can provide solid advice so customers
get what they need as opposed to what
they might have thought they wanted.”
BROOKLYN BIG-HITTERS
In Brooklyn—“the garden spot of the world,”
according to Art Carney’s character of Ed Norton
on the old Honeymooners TV show—Rocky
Schiano claims his
Street Sounds shop (streetsoundsnyc.com) is the largest Gretsch guitar
dealer in the USA, if not the world. Schiano
started in the retail compact-disc business in
1988 and had three locations at one point, but
when CDs started to die out in favor of digital
downloading he made the switch to musical
instruments, and decided to focus on Gretsch.
“I started by bringing in a few guitars, and sales
started to rise as CD sales declined,” Schiano
explains. “In 2005, I went to guitars only. I was
open full-time, but as I no longer have a full-time
store manager, I’m only open two days a
week. I do about 90% of my business online.”
Street Sounds’ Rocky Schiano—New York City’s go-to Gretsch guy. Photo by Carianne Cianci
At any given time, Street Sounds has 200 to
300 Gretsches in stock. Scanning the store,
one sees Gretsch boxes literally everywhere.
Consequently, over the last couple of years
Schiano has developed a sterling reputation
as one of the go-to-guys for anything and
everything Gretsch. However, Street Sounds
also carries Guild acoustics and the entire
Fender Musical Instrument Corporation line.
When asked how he started with Gretsch,
Schiano says, “It was really by accident. I was
handling mostly low-end guitars and decided
to bring in the Jackson line, so the FMIC sales
rep came in with all her catalogs. I noticed the
Gretsch catalog and ordered two or three. I
had always liked Gretsch guitars. It was hard to
get up and running at first, but then Gretsch
sales began to take off. I sold a lot of guitars to
guys on gretschpages.com—people who are
extremely passionate about Gretsch. I’ve built
this business on word of mouth and reputation.”
Have the big boxes cut into Street Sounds’
business? Schiano smiles, “It’s so easy to kick
their asses! I use them as a model of what
not to do. We give customers great guitars at
great prices, with outstanding service. We can
always beat the prices the big boxes charge.
The average Gretsch player has three or four,
so we’ve been able to earn their repeat business
by taking care of them. Gretsch sales
comprise about 50% of my total business.”
“The people who run Gretsch are very passionate
about what they do. Fred Gretsch
personally took me down to where the old
factory used to be here in Brooklyn. It was an
amazing experience.”
Southside Guitars (southsideguitars.com)
is owned and operated by brothers Ben and
Sam Taylor, both lovers of what they call “wild
and weird” electric guitars. Here, guitarists
find oddball makes like Eko, Wandre, and
Guyatone, as well as used and vintage guitars
by Gibson, Fender, Martin, Epiphone,Rickenbacker, Danelectro, and others.
Southside also sells Victoria, Vox, Gibson, and
Fender amps, as well as Bill Nash guitars.
STILL KICKING IN QUEENS
The only dedicated guitar shop in Queens
is
The Music Zoo (themusiczoo.com), and
it’s been there since 1994. Owner and NYC
native Tommy Colletti taught guitar and
had an extensive network of students and
guitar-playing friends, so he naturally became
a “guitar finder” for them. Eventually, he
opened a shop that specializes in rarer guitars
from the Fender and Gibson Custom Shops,
Charvel, John Suhr, B.C. Rich (handmade US
models), Godin, and Taylor. Music Zoo’s clientele
ranges from rock stars to beginners.
According to manager Mark DiDonna, “The
last 18 months have been very challenging and
it has helped us to reassess how we do business.
We have adjusted our business model,
and our inventory reflects that. We only carry
the most desirable brands. From what I can
see, the worst of the economy is behind us,
and our website has seen a tremendous uptick
in recent months. We also get a lot of foot
traffic being in New York City.” He adds, “Like
other smaller shops, we are always available to
the customer to answer questions and spend
time finding them the right guitar.”
STATEN ISLAND STALWARTS
Mandolin Brothers (mandoweb.com) has
been in business since 1971, and its owner,
Stan Jay, is widely acknowledged as one of the
world’s leading authorities on vintage stringed
instruments—and their unassuming tan building
in the suburbs has an inventory to match
the reputation. It’s bursting with high-end
acoustic and electric instruments of all sorts.
Jay had come to appreciate older guitars in
1964 after buying a used sunburst Gibson
J-200. He and his original partner, “Hap”
Kuffner, started the business seven years later
when they bought the pieces of two rare
banjos, which they reassembled and sold. With
the profit, they bought and sold an old Martin,
then borrowed $3000 “in a bold, capitalistic
frenzy,” according to Jay. Then they rented a
second-story walkup above a loan company.
“I’m not sure the term ‘vintage’ even existed
in 1971. These were considered used or second-
hand pieces until, gradually, musicians
began realizing there was an unmistakable
difference in sound, appearance, and playability
between the old and new.” Jay
continues, “It was a hobby that turned into
an internationally known, niche-market business.
First, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash
came to visit, then Dave Van Ronk, then
Mike Seeger and Joni Mitchell. Judy Collins
bought a 1939 Martin D-28 herringbone from
us. The market was growing and we quickly
became one of its pioneers.”
But why Staten Island and not Manhattan?
“It sort of picked me. After graduating from
Penn State, I came to Wagner College on Staten
Island to complete a master’s degree and stayed
on to pursue a doctorate in college teaching of
English at Columbia University. Staten Island is a
great place to live. More suburban than urban,
it has the largest per-capita area of parkland in
New York City, and it is a borough of single-family
homes, many of which—at least on the North
Shore—are old Victorians. People ask me why
we aren’t located in Manhattan. Let me respond
by saying that the opening statement that greets visitors when they walk in is, ‘You can play
every instrument in the place and ask us up to
one million questions.’ The interaction with each
customer is harmonious and haimish—a Yiddish
term that translates as ‘a homelike atmosphere,
unpretentious, warm, cozy, and relaxed.’”
Like most music retailers, Jay has had to
adjust his business model to adapt to
economic realities.
“During this great economic meltdown we
realized there was a strong product passage
in the direction of lower-priced pieces, so we
started stocking Epiphone, more affordable
Martins, the truly astonishing Guild GAD series
guitars made in China, Gold Tone mandolins,
banjos and resonator guitars, and the new
Fender American Special series electrics with
their street price of $799. We shifted our product
mix to reflect the acquisition patterns of
a cautious customer base that’s less prone to
impulse purchasing. The economy has caused
us to rethink not only our product mix, but our
advertising and our use of the internet.”
“Throw in the towel? Fuggedaboutit!”
If there’s one thing that all of the Big Apple
entrepreneurs mentioned here have in common,
it’s that particularly infectious brand of
savvy New Yawk determination, mixed with
a bit of an attitude that makes one believe
they’re in the retail game for keeps. Here’s
hoping they succeed in their efforts to preserve
independent music stores in New York City.