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New York City, the proverbial capital of the world, is
home to some of the coolest, and most diverse, music
around. It’s only fitting then that Tommy Colletti and the
Music Zoo, one of the most diverse and unique guitar
shops in business would call NYC home. We took a few
minutes to chat with Tommy about his shop, his brands
and his visions for the collectible guitar market.
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Musicians Hotline®:
Tommy, the Music Zoo has been a
respected retailer for over a decade
now. Tell us about your background
and how you got your start in this
business?
The Music Zoo:
I actually wanted to play the drums, but
my Mom said, “There is no way I am listening
to drums in this house all day long,”
so I took up playing the guitar at 12 years
old. I really got into it quickly and played all
the time, usually seven to eight hours a
day. When I wasn’t playing guitar, I was
often looking at pictures of guitars or
repairing my guitar and doing set-ups-disassembling
it like a science experiment
and reassembling it eventually. I had a love
affair with the guitar and still do. I remember
taking pictures of my first Gibson Les
Paul outside of my house, next to a tree,
then with my dog, then next to my Dad’s
car... I just love looking at guitars.
played constantly, took several guitar lessons
a week and went on to study music
at the Aaron Copeland music department
at Queens College. I played in a local hard
rock band that was pretty well-known in
the New York area; by that time my cousin,
Greg D’Angelo, had played drums in
Anthrax and White Lion, and I was sort of
expecting the natural progression of my
band to follow in those footsteps.
MH:
So where, when and how was the Music Zoo officially was conceived?
MZ:
My students often came to me for suggestions
on guitars or gear they wanted to
buy; I always sent them to friends that
worked at different music stores in the
area. They would show up with new Les
Pauls and Strats, or Charvels and Kramers,
which were hot back then. Every once in a
while a salesman would sell them a completely
different guitar than they set out to
get, and I would say, “What are you doing
with that?” I would get replies like, “They
didn’t have what I wanted so I got this
instead,” which bugged me, so I started
securing guitars for them. I’d say, “Let me
find you one, you want a Les Paul? I’ll find
you a good one … no excuses.” I guess
that’s how it started.
I opened the Music Zoo with about 8 of
my own guitars; I had a few of my friends
and students consign some of their gear,
and I bought a dozen sets of strings. My
guitar roadie at the time helped me in the
store while I gave guitar lessons. He’d sell
strings and sign students up for lessons. I
would get interrupted a lot during those
lessons, and eventually I stopped teaching
myself and hired teachers so I could really
begin to put my efforts into the retail store.
MH:
Tell us about the early vision of the
Music Zoo. How this vision has continued
to evolve over the past decade?
MZ:
The early vision of the Zoo was to be able to
bring guitars and other instruments to the
community, and to survive. Now, that has
morphed into a whole other thing and I’m
able to bring what I did locally to a larger
audience. I also try to find guitar builders and
manufacturers that I find exciting, love what
they do, and bring something different to the
table with their guitars.
I think it’s obvious that the big chains are
making an effort to catch up to some of the
higher-profile independent dealers, but it’s
still about the people. Customers trust and
revisit people like myself. Buying a guitar for
most is a big purchase, and I believe the
customer really needs to feel they’ve found
the right place.We constantly hear, “I’m so
glad I found you.” It’s a friendship and a
business relationship; it’s beyond the service.
It’s still having someone you can contact
for any reason. That to me is worth a lot.
I’ve talked many a customer and/or guitar
student off the proverbial ledge because
they weren’t getting the right tone, or the
guitar they had wasn’t doing the job. It’s not
just about a great price; it’s talking to someone
who gives a damn. So we give advice
and recommendations too, it’s all part of it. If
I had a nickel for every time I gave someone
guitar advice without selling something, I’d
be retired already [laughs]!
MH:
Music Zoo promotes a healthy “preowned”
and vintage portfolio. How
have your trade in and consignment
programs become so successful?
MZ:
Locally, if you try to trade your gear at a big
chain store, they usually beat you up.We
always make an effort to get the customer a
figure for their instrument they’ll be happy
with. So for a fair trade or to sell an instrument,
we’ve become a frequent destination
for customers selling or trading their guitars.
Online we do the same thing. Most of our
customers don’t want to walk into a chain
store and deal with an 18 year old clerk,
someone who knows less about guitars
than they do; they want a person who
understands what their guitar is and offer
them good money for it. And most often
our customers don’t have the time for
eBay and find it overwhelming and risky.
So, they send their guitar to us and we
sell it for them.
As far as the vintage stuff, quite a bit of
cool stuff walks in here because we are in
New York City and have the benefit of
several million people at our doorstep. I’m
also friends with some well-known collectors
and dealers, so I have a steady
pipeline of vintage pieces coming through.
My criteria is, “Would I buy this for
myself?” In fact, some guitars I do purchase
for myself, they end up in my collection
and then my staff slowly works on
me to sell things. You know, “Hey Tommy,
how many Les Paul Juniors do you need?
Why don’t you sell one?” Mundane nuisances
like phone bills and rent keeps me
from keeping every guitar.
MH:
Music Zoo has developed some close
alliances with several manufacturers,
who are now providing Music Zoo with
one-of-a-kind products. Tell us about
these exclusive products and how your
relationship continues to evolve with
these manufacturers.
MZ:
We built several different guitars with
Gibson at first. I would fly to Nashville a
few times a year and pick pieces of
mahogany and maple tops for our Les
Pauls.We’ve also done some different finishes
on old favorites, like our Orange
Drop Les Pauls and Natural 356s.
I have recently put my efforts into our
mahogany Charvel “Naturals.” I’ve played
hundreds of the original Charvels as a guitar
teacher in the ‘80s and I remember the
specifics that Charvel sort of lost along their
journey as a guitar company, and that I am
trying to re-introduce. Some of the original
Charvels had no finish and were purely parts
guitars. They sounded so good and resonated
so well that I found many people dropping
their Gibsons or Fenders and playing
them instead. Edward Van Halen started all
the great paint work, but those original unfinished guitars really struck me, so I worked
with Charvel to reproduce them. They
sound amazing – we are in the works with
them on some different Charvels that are
going to flip people out … I can’t wait for
them to be released.
We also worked with Fender to build guitars
like our NoNeck Strats, which are ‘60
Reissues with a big, beefy ‘51 Nocaster
neck profile. They sing. They are like a
cross between a hot Strat and a Les Paul
Junior. It’s heaven.
MH:
The Music Zoo has been a strong ETailer
for many years. What percentage
of your business is internet-based and
how does this expand your worldwide
customer base?
MZ:
Our business continues to experience
high-percentage growth and the Internet is
certainly one of the contributing factors. I
think being in New York, we also experience
growth locally, due to being in one of
the largest cities in the world. The Internet
is both now and the future. I’ve always
been perplexed by manufacturers that set
limitations on themselves, like, “We are not
going to sell on the internet.” It’s small
thinking.We have developed this way of
communicating where knowledge, information
and business can be conducted in
nanoseconds. Eventually those companies
will conform and change, or be swallowed
up by companies that have a better grasp
of the future.
I do believe that there are web-based
retailers operating that sell out of a basement
and ruin markets, selling sub-par or
distressed inventory and factory seconds,
which is some of what large manufacturers
want to protect against. I’ve spoken to
customers who have purchased from discount
dealers, and they always come
back to us. Having no grief and peace of
mind is most important; we always seem
to beat their prices anyway. I also understand
most manufacturers dislike eBay, as
they feel it cheapens their product,
although I’ve never seen a Ferrari on eBay
that I thought was cheap.
MH:
Tell us about the physical store location
and the spirit you have created in
the retail environment.
MZ:
We are located in Little Neck, Queens in
New York City.We border Long Island’s
prestigious North Shore and northern
Queens. It’s a great community and I think
we are a focal point in the area. I know
when the other store owners or restaurants
in the area give directions they frequently
say,“We’re near the Music Zoo” [laughs].
Since we also give music lessons, we’ve
had a few of the kids who’ve studied here
go on to land record deals. Anthony
Ranieri from Bayside studied here, and
Dan Puglisi studied and worked here.
Dan’s band, Endwell, just finished recording
their first CD with producer Jay
Baumgardner; he’s worked with
Evanescence, Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit
and Jewel to name a few. I’m really excited
for Dan, he’s like a son to me … in fact
I think I’ve become like a big uncle to
many of the kids here. He’s worked here
since he was 13 or so, throwing out
garbage and vacuuming, and I feel that all
of us here filling him full of info on the
music business really helped push him in the right direction. So, needless to say, we
are a destination for the local kid that’s got
his or her eyes set on the stage.
MH:
We are truly in the era of the
“Investment Grade” and Custom Shop
guitar. Do you believe that some of the
very best instruments are being built
right here, right now?
MZ:
Although I’m not in a rush, it’ll be fun to hear a
John Cruz Strat or a Murphy Les Paul 30 years
from now. I’m sure they’ll sound fantastic –
they already do. I think the collector should
concentrate his or her efforts towards the
Masterbuilt stuff and the Custom Shop stuff.
It’s also a numbers game. I don’t have the
exact count of a guitar builder like John Cruz
at Fender, but I think the last guitar we got
from him had a serial number around 475 or
so. Let’s say over his life time he produces
1500-2000 guitars; that’s around the same
number of certain Gibson guitars from the
‘50s. I know the Stevie Ray replica is selling
for big dough. People want quality, and companies
like Fender get it. Let’s make it better,
let’s get someone to create, take their time,
and make a great guitar. All the
Masterbuilders are amazing. There are other
builders doing it as well. John Suhr makes
an amazing guitar, and so does Paul Reed
Smith. Those original sweet switch guitars
went up in value. It stands to reason those
will continue to go up.
MH:
What are your thoughts on the state of
the modern collectable guitar industry.
You’ve obviously witnessed some staggering
changes in the industry; how
has the Music Zoo continually adapted
to a changing marketplace?
MZ:
The vintage guitar market has shot up exponentially.
Guitars that people played and
gigged with have now become works of
art. Buying a vintage guitar for most has
become a far-reaching dream, which leaves
recreations as the realistic alternative. I have
conversations with my friend Gary
Blankenburg of Music Services about this.
Can you hear the difference on record or CD
between a reissue and a real ‘59 Les Paul or
‘50s Strat? Can you hear the difference
between a PAF and a Duncan on record?
That would be a fun Pepsi challenge. Yes, in
person, in front of the amp, with the guitar in
your hands there are differences; with PAFs
currently at around $4000 a pair, that’s a big
decision to make as a purchase.
So, with those guitars fueling the fire for us,
the guitar player/collector has alternatives:
the Reissue, the Custom Shop guitar.We
can more readily afford it at a fraction of the
original’s price and it’s really close, sometimes
as good as, and sometimes better,
than the original. There are some ‘50s clunkers
out there; it’s left the vintage guitar market
for rock stars and millionaires.
I also believe with the creation of the custom
shops it makes us all rock stars in a
way. I can have Fender make me a custom
guitar to specifications to suit my taste and
needs as a player and still afford it.
MH:
In closing Tommy, what challenges lie
ahead for the Music Zoo and what do
you attribute your incredible success to?
MZ:
I think business is challenging and circumstances
always change. Being in tune with
my customers’ wants, and also the
demands I make upon myself, keep me on
my toes. I think I’m successful because I
do something I love. I’m passionate about it
so it doesn’t really feel like work at all.
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