What’s Your Location and Where Do You Shop?

[gaebrel]

Hey everyone! Just curious as to where everyone is from around here and where do you search online for used drum gear? It can be a site or an actual physical store. Curious because we might introduce a few new places to each other that we weren’t aware of. This could be interesting! Looking forward to everyone’s responses!

I’ll go first. I’m in Austin Texas and I occasionally check out my local Craigslist!

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

Hey everyone! Just curious as to where everyone is from around here and where do you search online for used drum gear? It can be a site or an actual physical store. Curious because we might introduce a few new places to each other that we weren’t aware of. This could be interesting! Looking forward to everyone’s responses!

I’ll go first. I’m in Austin Texas and I occasionally check out my local Craigslist!

I live not far from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

I mostly shop at Timpano wich is hands-down my area's best and most dedicated drums and percs shop
www.timpanopercussion.com

Sometimes also at Steve's music store wich is Montreal's biggest and oldest all-purpose music store, they have a decent and well stocked drums dept. I play other instruments as well so it is sometimes nice to have a "One stop shop" around.
www.stevesmusic.com

Dave's drum shop in Ottawa is only an hour and a half away, that's where I bought my Rogers Holiday kit. They have a good selection of new stuff but sometimes receive some pretty interesting vintage/used kits, cymbals and snares. The good vintage stuff usually get snatched pretty fast. Gotta check their site often.
www.davesdrumshop.com/

I go to Studio economik for most of my microphones and/or pro audio gear needs. They are a serious recording/audio shop.
www.economik.com

I wish I was closer to our member Murat's shop (drummer's hangout) but it's about 7 hours away. I still want to go sometimes when I'll be in the Greater Toronto area.

When on tour, I like to ask around if people know someone who owns or even just is into old/vintage music stuff. You never know: yesterday I came across an old electronics technician who used to repair amp heads as a hobby and he's got 3 pretty rare Echolette heads that he'd like to sell, but only to people he knows will love them, play them and take as good care of them as he did. He came to our show and saw that we already own and play on a bunch of Echolette gear!! We have already started negociating via email to buy his amps

 

[BennyK]

Ottawa Ontario Canada

Daves Drumshop have known Dave since he was a teenager , working at Songbird Music back in the mid -eighties

Long & McQuade ( infrequently ) I've had an account there for many years .

 

[pwc1141]

I live in an area just outside of Pattaya city in Thailand. There are only 2 drum shops and with limited stock so I tend to buy from Bangkok where there are multiple stores easily accessed via internet. Buying from overseas was problematic due Covid and shipping is exhorbitant anyway. All brands of all gear are available in the big city and some custom makers are there also.

 

[hsosdrum]

Southern California. The only place I spend my drum money is Professional Drum Shop on Vine St. in Hollywood. They are THE best.

 

[Skyrm]

I'm in Cleveland, OH. We have a great shop in Stebal's Drum Shop, which is where I bought the Pocket Kit for my grandbaby. Years ago I was frequent Sam Ash customer, but haven't been there lately. I occasionally hit up GC for things like heads.

Online, I bought my Stage Custom kit and hardware pack from Drum Center of Portsmouth. Great shop, and when I visited there last Fall I picked up my Paiste 602 flat at a great discount. I also have bought quite a bit of stuff from Steve Weiss Music. Actually bought a small gong from them at a PASIC event in the mid 80's. They had a great display at that show.

 

[Vistalite Black]

We have a great store 100 miles away in Raleigh, 2112 Percussion, but it's been over a year since I bought new Paiste 2002 hi-hats and a crash there (at unbelievable prices). Nearby, we have a Guitar Center, a Music-Go-Round and a small mom-and-pop shop.

We used to drive quite often to Memphis -- stopping in Nashville most times -- but making that trip is now a rarity. But, Memphis Drum Shop is like a temple and Fork's in Nashville is pretty cool, too.

 

[jptrickster]

I live in the USA and shop worldwide

 

[DanRH]

Northern California, East Bay, Dublin specifically. I’m lucky to have a local drum shop (I call it my LDS), Dubs Drum Basement, two miles from my house. When Darren doesn’t have it, it’s either Sweetwater or Amazon.

 

[varatrodder]

I live in Northern Virginia (Washington DC suburbs), so I shop online. All we have is Guitar Center.

 

[richardh253]

For years Philadelphia was bereft of a just-drums store, until Brandon Pfundt opened Philadelpia Drum and Percussion a few years ago. It is a small shop, specializing in high-end stuff, but from time to time some nice vintage stuff passes through (he did a good deal of consignments for me when I was downsizing). https://www.phillydrum.com/ Brandon is a good guy.

I have not yet been to Pocket Percussion (opened on 2019) https://pocket-percussion.com/ a vintage drum shop just north of Philly in Willow Grove (not far from Steve Weiss Music).

Out of the area, I have done well with Maxwells, Wood & Weather, Revival Drum Shop, Nelson Drum Shop, and Drugans Drums. And SoulDrums in Toronto, Paul is also a good guy.

 

[K.O.]

I'm about 140 miles due west of Chicago. Most of my buying for consumables like heads is done online these days. I do like to make a run up to the Chicago suburbs every 2-3 months with Maxwell's being a usual stop, although it's rare that I buy much there. Occasionally I'll head down to Peoria (80 miles south) but I think the cool music store I went to there got killed off by covid.There is also a cool music store in Dubuque, Iowa (Uncle Ikes) that is worth the occasional jaunt. Closest Metro area is the Quad Cities (40 miles) but not much there since the Music Go Round closed up about 4-5years ago. Finally, Rockford is about 70 miles away but Randy Rainwater has that area pretty well covered as far as any cool drum stuff that pops up...although I do buy stuff from him on occasion.

 

[GiveMeYourSmallestSticks!]

For years Philadelphia was bereft of a just-drums store, until Brandon Pfundt opened Philadelpia Drum and Percussion a few years ago. It is a small shop, specializing in high-end stuff, but from time to time some nice vintage stuff passes through (he did a good deal of consignments for me when I was downsizing). https://www.phillydrum.com/ Brandon is a good guy.

I have not yet been to Pocket Percussion (opened on 2019) https://pocket-percussion.com/ a vintage drum shop just north of Philly in Willow Grove (not far from Steve Weiss Music).

Out of the area, I have done well with Maxwells, Wood & Weather, Revival Drum Shop, Nelson Drum Shop, and Drugans Drums. And SoulDrums in Toronto, Paul is also a good guy.

Canadian drum stores represent! Glad to see you mention Soul Drums and Paul in particular. They have a great shop and Paul is most certainly a great guy who's happy to talk shop as long as you are. They get a lot of interesting used and vintage stuff, and are very happy to work with you to get things done. They helped me get a set of drum bags in the right sizes when it was impossible to find a complete set elsewhere.

Murat's shop is great as well, and certainly closer to me. Maybe not quite as much used and vintage gear, but he does get stuff on consignment, and I got my used but like new Brooklyn kit from him (my biggest ever drum purchase!). He's also got a lot of tempting new gear available, and unbeatable prices on sundries like snare wires, sticks, heads and more.

Cosmo music also has a decent drum department and reasonable prices, but it definitely feels like a big box corporate store. I've also been told by the staff that I know more about drums than the store staff themselves, kind of a weird thing to say, especially in the process of trying to sell me stuff.

Those would be my go to, in-person shops. I've had mixed experiences at Just Drums, specifically with selling used gear. They'll try to low-ball you, and have even tried this after I already got a higher quote from a different employee. Their pricing is also higher than the aforementioned places. I also do like Steve's Music in downtown Toronto, but it's quite a shlep from where I live, and not a dedicated drum shop.

As for online, I try to keep it within Canada to avoid extra duties and taxes. Timpano Percussion in Montreal (mentioned above) has been a pleasure to deal with on multiple occasions. They have gear that others don't, prices are reasonable and shipping is very quick and reliable. Moreover, when shopping for cymbals, they've been willing to make videos comparing the same model at different weights, allowing for more informed decision making with an online purchase. It's probably a good thing I don't live in Montreal, or they'd be getting a lot more of my time and money. I've also seen cool gear posted by Dave's Drum shop in Ottawa, but have never done business with them personally.

 

[Heartbeat]

I'm about 140 miles due west of Chicago. Most of my buying for consumables like heads is done online these days. I do like to make a run up to the Chicago suburbs every 2-3 months with Maxwell's being a usual stop, although it's rare that I buy much there. Occasionally I'll head down to Peoria (80 miles south) but I think the cool music store I went to there got killed off by covid.There is also a cool music store in Dubuque, Iowa (Uncle Ikes) that is worth the occasional jaunt. Closest Metro area is the Quad Cities (40 miles) but not much there since the Music Go Round closed up about 4-5years ago. Finally, Rockford is about 70 miles away but Randy Rainwater has that area pretty well covered as far as any cool drum stuff that pops up...although I do buy stuff from him on occasion.

What was the store in Peoria? Growing up, I went to Don's a lot there. Bought my first "new" drum kit from Byerly Music in Northwoods mall. LOL! They have a GC now, but it's not very good. Used to be a place in Normal that was just off the ISU campus. I walked by it every day on my way to/from class. But I think they moved to College St.

 

[Polska]

Buffalo Drum Outlet closed over here so if I'm buying gear, new or used, it's most likely here or Amazon, with the occasional Musician's Friend purchase.

 

[richardh253]

Canadian drum stores represent! Glad to see you mention Soul Drums and Paul in particular. They have a great shop and Paul is most certainly a great guy who's happy to talk shop as long as you are. They get a lot of interesting used and vintage stuff, and are very happy to work with you to get things done. They helped me get a set of drum bags in the right sizes when it was impossible to find a complete set elsewhere.

Murat's shop is great as well, and certainly closer to me. Maybe not quite as much used and vintage gear, but he does get stuff on consignment, and I got my used but like new Brooklyn kit from him (my biggest ever drum purchase!). He's also got a lot of tempting new gear available, and unbeatable prices on sundries like snare wires, sticks, heads and more.

Cosmo music also has a decent drum department and reasonable prices, but it definitely feels like a big box corporate store. I've also been told by the staff that I know more about drums than the store staff themselves, kind of a weird thing to say, especially in the process of trying to sell me stuff.

Those would be my go to, in-person shops. I've had mixed experiences at Just Drums, specifically with selling used gear. They'll try to low-ball you, and have even tried this after I already got a higher quote from a different employee. Their pricing is also higher than the aforementioned places. I also do like Steve's Music in downtown Toronto, but it's quite a shlep from where I live, and not a dedicated drum shop.

As for online, I try to keep it within Canada to avoid extra duties and taxes. Timpano Percussion in Montreal (mentioned above) has been a pleasure to deal with on multiple occasions. They have gear that others don't, prices are reasonable and shipping is very quick and reliable. Moreover, when shopping for cymbals, they've been willing to make videos comparing the same model at different weights, allowing for more informed decision making with an online purchase. It's probably a good thing I don't live in Montreal, or they'd be getting a lot more of my time and money. I've also seen cool gear posted by Dave's Drum shop in Ottawa, but have never done business with them personally.

Paul is indeed happy to talk shop as long as you want. Pre-Covid, I visited Toronto at least two times a year, always went to SoulDrums, and we'd end up chatting for an hour or more each time. Paul was very kind to sit thru my scrolling photos of buy-and-sell since prior visit. And he had great stories about brokering vintage stuff to Charlie Watts.

I've also done well with some vintage buys thru him, including a WMP JazzFest c. 1966 that when it arrived was a perfect match for my '66 WMP Super Classic, and the serial numbers were close as well (which in Ludwig land sometimes means something or nothing), but even better were the date stamps inside. I remember the smaller shop on Yonge St before they moved to bigger quarters.

 

[mtarrani]

I'm in Cleveland, OH. We have a great shop in Stebal's Drum Shop, which is where I bought the Pocket Kit for my grandbaby. Years ago I was frequent Sam Ash customer, but haven't been there lately. I occasionally hit up GC for things like heads.

Online, I bought my Stage Custom kit and hardware pack from Drum Center of Portsmouth. Great shop, and when I visited there last Fall I picked up my Paiste 602 flat at a great discount. I also have bought quite a bit of stuff from Steve Weiss Music. Actually bought a small gong from them at a PASIC event in the mid 80's. They had a great display at that show.

Cleveland? I am leaning towards moving there if I don't move to the mountains in the TN/NC area. It's a best kept secret that I recently discovered via a friend who lives there.

 

[mtarrani]

I live in Deltona, FL about half way between Orlando and Daytona Beach (25 or so miles away from each.) My shopping is split between Sweetwater and Amazon. We have some local stores, including two independents, but they don't seem to carry the stuff that I use, and Amazon and Sweetwater are MUCH faster in fulfilling and delivering that the independents are when it comes to special orders.

 

[T-2]

I'm in NYC. I don't have a favorite place, but I really like "Drum Factory Direct", and even Amazon, sometimes, for sticks and heads.

 

[K.O.]

What was the store in Peoria? Growing up, I went to Don's a lot there. Bought my first "new" drum kit from Byerly Music in Northwoods mall. LOL! They have a GC now, but it's not very good. Used to be a place in Normal that was just off the ISU campus. I walked by it every day on my way to/from class. But I think they moved to College St.

I don't remember the name but it was on East War Memorial. Last time I went there (last fall) they were gone but there was a sign that said they had moved to a new location. Went to that address and there was nothing there and no sign pointing to a third location. So either they moved again or went under completely.

I went to ISU (briefly) but I guess I missed that music store.