What’s your favorite music store? I’d love to hear about places where you can go and see an inventory of fine instruments. But for traditional musicians, please – the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood CA, while a rockin spot, doesn’t quite qualify in my mind. What’s the best shop in Tokyo? Paris? Glasgow? Buenos Aires? Sydney? Don’t tell me there aren't a couple great stores in Nashville. Or New York. They don’t have to be giant megastores, either.
Custy's Traditional Music Shop
Francis Street, Ennis , Co Clare,
Ireland , 1
Tel: + 353 (0) 65 6821727 Fax: + 353 (0) 65 6821727
Email: custys.ennis@eircom.net http://www.custysmusic.com/
I vote this to be the mecca of ITM music stores. Never been there, but it’s on my list of places to visit before I die.
Elderly Instruments
1100 North Washington
Lansing, MI, 48906 USA
517-372-7880
Showroom hours (Eastern USA time zone) are:
Mon-Wed 11am-7pm,
Th 11am-9pm,
Fri-Sat 10am-6pm,
Closed Sunday http://www.elderly.com/
More bluegrass than Irish, but still a great place to get a decent old fiddle at a reasonable price. A favorite of mine and not only because it’s less than an hour away. The largest dealer of Martin guitars in the world. Great selection of Cds. A giant wall of mandolins. Another giant wall of banjos. Great place to spend an afternoon.
Hobgoblin London
24 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1JA
Open 10am - 6pm
Monday to Saturday
Tel: 020 7323 9040 http://www.hobgoblin.com/london/
Only in there once, and briefly. I need to go back. Great website, lots of really nice instruments.
Lark In The Morning Musique Shoppe - San Francisco
Open 7 Days a Week, with hours that vary by season.
in The Cannery at Del Monte Square
2801 Leavenworth and Beach at Fisherman's Wharf
(415) 922-4277.
www.larkinam.com/
For sheer variety of inventory this place is king.
McCabe’s Guitar Shop
3101 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
USA
Monday to Thursday 10 AM-10 PM
Friday and Saturday 10 AM-6 PM
Sunday NOON-5 PM
Phone: (310) 828-4497
Fax: (310) 453-4962 http://www.mccabes.com/#holidays
Much more than a guitars. Huge supporter of acoustic music and musicians.
The Button Box
P.O. Box 372
Sunderland, MA 01375
USA
(Street address: 42 Amherst Road, Sunderland MA 01375)
(413) 665-7793
squeeze@buttonbox.com
Monday - Friday, 9-5
Saturday, closed for the month of August and for Labor Day Weekend
Saturday, 9-5 starting September 8
www.buttonbox.com
Perhaps the biggest dealer of concertinas and button accordions in the U.S. Also does repair work. Owned by Rich Morse, the designer of the Morse concertina, available in both Anglo and English models. Wonderfully friendly people. Excellent selection of concertina and accordion CDs. Lots of instruments to browse and try.
The place I mainly use in Sydney, Australia is 'Music 101' at Annandale. It's only a small shop and you wouldn't call it a 'traditonal music shop' but the guys there aren't the sort that mock you for not playing rock music. I had my 6 string banjo serviced there and purchased my new tenor there, I'm very happy with both. They can order things in and won't rip you off - good blokes.
I was going to say that I had a really good experience with Derringer's Music in Adelaide. Got really great advice over the phone and terrific service fer someone 1,500 kms away with a long standing home recording problem that needed sorting. And they did. One very satisfied customer. Thanks.
I visited Lark in the Morning in Mendocino way back in 1995 to do an interview with the (then) owner Mickey Zieklie about starting to sell his instruments online. Many companies in the US got into distance-selling (Sears in the 1920s) and for a few years Mickey was using voicemail to allow people to hear sound samples - at the time I visited he was migrating it all onto the web. I recently edited together some of the recordings I made and you might enjoy this little audio piece about his business. We even got to visit their extraordinary storeroom in a huge wooden shed in the woods near Mendocino and it was a real Aladin's cave of interesting stuff (much later we went on to create a similar online business and I'm sure it influenced us). The file is at
K C Strings Violin Shop
5842 Merriam Drive
Merriam, KS 66203
913 677 0400
www.kcstrings.com
The only shop in America that makes professional quality violins, violas, cellos and basses. Entry level to professional players warmly invited, and that includes fiddlers of all stripes!
We don't have a bricks 'n' mortar version of Dance of Delight although we sometimes take our stock to festivals which is a great way of meeting everyone. I guess the 'net's not the same in that sense - there's something quite fun about visiting music shops - you never know what you might find!
Music shops around the world
Music shops around the world
What’s your favorite music store? I’d love to hear about places where you can go and see an inventory of fine instruments. But for traditional musicians, please – the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood CA, while a rockin spot, doesn’t quite qualify in my mind. What’s the best shop in Tokyo? Paris? Glasgow? Buenos Aires? Sydney? Don’t tell me there aren't a couple great stores in Nashville. Or New York. They don’t have to be giant megastores, either.
Custy's Traditional Music Shop
Francis Street, Ennis , Co Clare,
Ireland , 1
Tel: + 353 (0) 65 6821727 Fax: + 353 (0) 65 6821727
Email: custys.ennis@eircom.net
http://www.custysmusic.com/
I vote this to be the mecca of ITM music stores. Never been there, but it’s on my list of places to visit before I die.
Elderly Instruments
1100 North Washington
Lansing, MI, 48906 USA
517-372-7880
Showroom hours (Eastern USA time zone) are:
Mon-Wed 11am-7pm,
Th 11am-9pm,
Fri-Sat 10am-6pm,
Closed Sunday
http://www.elderly.com/
More bluegrass than Irish, but still a great place to get a decent old fiddle at a reasonable price. A favorite of mine and not only because it’s less than an hour away. The largest dealer of Martin guitars in the world. Great selection of Cds. A giant wall of mandolins. Another giant wall of banjos. Great place to spend an afternoon.
Hobgoblin London
24 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1JA
Open 10am - 6pm
Monday to Saturday
Tel: 020 7323 9040
http://www.hobgoblin.com/london/
Only in there once, and briefly. I need to go back. Great website, lots of really nice instruments.
Lark In The Morning Musique Shoppe - San Francisco
Open 7 Days a Week, with hours that vary by season.
in The Cannery at Del Monte Square
2801 Leavenworth and Beach at Fisherman's Wharf
(415) 922-4277.
www.larkinam.com/
For sheer variety of inventory this place is king.
McCabe’s Guitar Shop
3101 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
USA
Monday to Thursday 10 AM-10 PM
Friday and Saturday 10 AM-6 PM
Sunday NOON-5 PM
Phone: (310) 828-4497
Fax: (310) 453-4962
http://www.mccabes.com/#holidays
Much more than a guitars. Huge supporter of acoustic music and musicians.
# Posted on August 25th 2007 by fidkid
Re: Music shops around the world
The Button Box
P.O. Box 372
Sunderland, MA 01375
USA
(Street address: 42 Amherst Road, Sunderland MA 01375)
(413) 665-7793
squeeze@buttonbox.com
Monday - Friday, 9-5
Saturday, closed for the month of August and for Labor Day Weekend
Saturday, 9-5 starting September 8
www.buttonbox.com
Perhaps the biggest dealer of concertinas and button accordions in the U.S. Also does repair work. Owned by Rich Morse, the designer of the Morse concertina, available in both Anglo and English models. Wonderfully friendly people. Excellent selection of concertina and accordion CDs. Lots of instruments to browse and try.
# Posted on August 25th 2007 by boxist
Re: Music shops around the world
Hobgoblin in Manchester, Oxford Road, is good.
# Posted on August 25th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Music shops around the world
Alex Musical Instruments Inc.
165 West 48th. Street
New York, New York. 10036
Tel. 212-819-0070
Fax.212-827-0908
www.alexmusical.com
# Posted on August 25th 2007 by Ceolagusrince
Re: Music shops around the world
The place I mainly use in Sydney, Australia is 'Music 101' at Annandale. It's only a small shop and you wouldn't call it a 'traditonal music shop' but the guys there aren't the sort that mock you for not playing rock music. I had my 6 string banjo serviced there and purchased my new tenor there, I'm very happy with both. They can order things in and won't rip you off - good blokes.
# Posted on August 26th 2007 by camwebby
Re: Music shops around the world
I was going to say that I had a really good experience with Derringer's Music in Adelaide. Got really great advice over the phone and terrific service fer someone 1,500 kms away with a long standing home recording problem that needed sorting. And they did. One very satisfied customer. Thanks.
# Posted on August 26th 2007 by Clear Drops
Re: Music shops around the world
OOooooo and String Out Australia. Had my strings, ordered online, to me in three days which is some kind of record I recon. Great stuff.
# Posted on August 26th 2007 by Clear Drops
Re: Music shops around the world
I visited Lark in the Morning in Mendocino way back in 1995 to do an interview with the (then) owner Mickey Zieklie about starting to sell his instruments online. Many companies in the US got into distance-selling (Sears in the 1920s) and for a few years Mickey was using voicemail to allow people to hear sound samples - at the time I visited he was migrating it all onto the web. I recently edited together some of the recordings I made and you might enjoy this little audio piece about his business. We even got to visit their extraordinary storeroom in a huge wooden shed in the woods near Mendocino and it was a real Aladin's cave of interesting stuff (much later we went on to create a similar online business and I'm sure it influenced us). The file is at
http://www.danceofdelight.com/Gallery/Audio/Lark_in_the_morning_1995.mp3
Enjoy - a bit of history
Mark
# Posted on August 26th 2007 by Mark Harmer
Re: Music shops around the world
Thanks Mark, I enjoyed the link. Is there a brick-and-mortar Dance of Delight? I think there are several members here who work in/own music shops.
# Posted on August 27th 2007 by fidkid
Re: Music shops around the world
K C Strings Violin Shop
5842 Merriam Drive
Merriam, KS 66203
913 677 0400
www.kcstrings.com
The only shop in America that makes professional quality violins, violas, cellos and basses. Entry level to professional players warmly invited, and that includes fiddlers of all stripes!
# Posted on August 28th 2007 by woodwiz
Re: Music shops around the world
Hi Fidkid,
We don't have a bricks 'n' mortar version of Dance of Delight although we sometimes take our stock to festivals which is a great way of meeting everyone. I guess the 'net's not the same in that sense - there's something quite fun about visiting music shops - you never know what you might find!
# Posted on August 28th 2007 by Mark Harmer