What was your favorite music store as a kid?

[Hemant]

Tie -- Venamen's Music in Rockville, MD and Chuck Levin's in Wheaton, MD - they were only a few miles apart. Loved them and the respective staff equally.
Chuck's is still around, but Guitar Center bought Venamen's.

 

[bbunks]

Fred Pierce’s Studio Drum Shop

 

[RBagg454]

Mine was The Music Nook in Milford Ma. It was run by a wonderful man named Ron Pagnini. When I was 12 (in 1966) and lusting for drums I would go in and just stare at all the shiney sparkley drums and guitars. Mr Pag never chased kids out of the store for lingering, he'd just let you wander around and look and always engaged you in a conversation about music and gear. The best part was that every year Mr Pag would give me the Ludwig, Rogers, Gretsch and Slingerland catalogs for my very own and I wore those books out. It would be many years before I actually owned a Big-4 kit (eventually all of them) but the memories of Mr Pag never left me. Decades later when Ron Jr. took over the store I made it a point to go in and buy a kit from him as a tribute to a very nice and nurturing man. Great memories!!

Mel Bay in St. Louis, and Drum Headquarters...both sadly gone

 

[Rich K.]

One of the most interesting things about this thread is the history of stores that grew into larger affiliated chains ..... for better or worse! In my case, Jack's was ...... Jack's - right up to the end, at least in Boston. But Boston in those days was also the home of two other businesses that started out as single locations: Dunkin' Donuts (this was the place on 2-lane Route 3 in Quincy that my dad and I used to stop at early in the morning on the way to the Cape ....... ); and, Radio Shack - one store on Washington Street in Boston that was literally the place you went to buy electronic components - you know, things like resistors, capacitors, and ...... vacuum tubes ........ if you were a "pre-nerd" sort back in the '50s. A Ham Radio guy, like my dad and I were?

Of course, we all know what happened to those two brands ........


M.

My original music store was Alto Music in Monsey. The original store was at the same location for decades, the moved up the road a few miles and closed a couple years ago. The folks that bought of from the original owners ended up opening other stores and now they're a pretty big online seller.

 

[plumbndrum]

Drome Sound in Schenectady, NY (They also had a store in Albany but the drum stock wasn't as big). This was the only music store in my area that always had a well stocked drum section. They would always have 15-20 shell packs stacked vertically on the floor and back in the late 70s they always had huge 7 or 8 piece double-bass kits on display. This was my first exposure to Yamaha, Pearl, and Tama. I still recall a black Ludwig Octaplus kit in the window, as well as the first Vistalite I ever saw in person.

I was also a Drome Sound regular. There was also The Only Guitar Shop in Clifton Park but as the name implies it was more guitars than drums. However once I got into vintage drums there was nothing more mind-blowing than a trip to Bob Chiasson’s Jollity Drum Farm. Not a retail store but an incredible experience.

 

[eddiej]

Initially my favorite music store as a kid was A-Z Music in Morrisville PA. As I got a bit older I really liked Medley Music in Bryn Mawr PA. It was a 45-50 minute drive from where I lived but well worth it. Sadly Medley Music is gone. A-Z is still around but they have moved & changed owners a few times.

 

[Matched Gripper]

Mine was The Music Nook in Milford Ma. It was run by a wonderful man named Ron Pagnini. When I was 12 (in 1966) and lusting for drums I would go in and just stare at all the shiney sparkley drums and guitars. Mr Pag never chased kids out of the store for lingering, he'd just let you wander around and look and always engaged you in a conversation about music and gear. The best part was that every year Mr Pag would give me the Ludwig, Rogers, Gretsch and Slingerland catalogs for my very own and I wore those books out. It would be many years before I actually owned a Big-4 kit (eventually all of them) but the memories of Mr Pag never left me. Decades later when Ron Jr. took over the store I made it a point to go in and buy a kit from him as a tribute to a very nice and nurturing man. Great memories!!

From the title, I thought you were referring to record stores. Mine was Specs Records & Tapes.

 

[Omega27]

Years ago, if you could get upstairs, there were tons of treasures. But they ripped off a lot of less experienced instrument buyers.

Went back a couple years ago. Upstairs was totally cleaned out except for drum room!!! Some interesting finds. Picked up a half dozen bass drum beaters and some hoops. It's seen better days for sure

 

[cworrick]

In the 70's 80's and early 90's if you were in the Michigan/Ohio/Indiana area and could get to Fort Wayne, it was unquestionably The Percussion Center.
Neal Graham ran a great shop!
"in the back" was the factory that became XL Specialty percussion that did A LOT of customizing (Bernie Stone started here) of drums (anyone remember Vibrafibing?) and a lot of Marching manufacturing - they made the first modern "flat" snare carrier. They expanded to creating the Protechtor drum cases and finally sold out everything to Gator.

 

[Rich K.]

Went back a couple years ago. Upstairs was totally cleaned out except for drum room!!! Some interesting finds. Picked up a half dozen bass drum beaters and some hoops. It's seen better days for sure

I used to think it was picked pretty clean 25 years ago.

 

[Skyrm]

70's - It was Music Manor in Maple Hts, OH (suburb of Cleveland). Took lessons there for about 5 years. Learned how to pick out cymbals. First cymbal stand was a Ludwig 1400. Next two were Ludwig Atlas. Ans then I discovered the almighty Tama Titan line.

My first kit was bought used out of the local music rag. Couldn't afford new at that time. When I could afford new I went Gretsch, and Sodja Music (also in a suburb of Cleveland) gave me a sweet deal on a 5-piece Gretsch kit - brand new 22, 12, 13, 16, matching snare and stand. $750. Played that kit for almost 30 years.

 

[Skyrm]

And once I hit college in River Forest, IL - Franks and Drums Ltd were a short EL ride away.

 

[mjohnson12]

AL&M in Norfolk VA. It was always like Christmas when I was a kid and got to go there. Bought my first new kit there. Tama Rockstar DX.
My friend bought his Japanese Fender Contemporary Strat there.

 

[dsop]

Favorite music store, or favorite music instrument store? Looks like everyone is listing their favorite instrument, or drum store.
In Toronto back in the seventies, it was Sparling Maurice on Wilson Ave. (eventually became another Long & McQuade location and then moved to Steeles Ave. W.), Hudson Music on St. Clair Ave. W. near Jane St., Toronto Percussion Centre on St. Nicholas St., Steve's Music on Queen St. W., and Long & McQuade on Bloor St. Also, The Drum Shoppe on Yonge St. in Thornhill, which eventually became Just Drums in Willowdale.

 

[BruceOrl]

We were a small town in Central Cal and Peterson's Music in downtown Hanford was the where everyone in the school bands got their instruments. I rented my clarinet there from the 5th to 8th grade before switching to drums. It was a large store and had a nice record section and a few Pearl kits on the floor. I seem to remember drooling over a Rodgers kit as well.

I bought my first drums there in 1969, a Pearl five piece set of tiger's eye twirl, swirl or something. They carried drums -- but not any cheap cymbals. Had to go to Visalia (about 30 mins away) where we could order some Zilco's.

 

[Wishoot]

This place...

I grew up in Detroit and I can't recall having a great drum shop. I think there was a place in Birmingham on Woodward Ave. but I could be mistaken.

We traveled to Chicago frequently for museums, shows and shopping. My parents would always take me into Frank's and I thought it was better than FAO Schwarz or any toy store.

By the time I moved to Chicago after graduating college, Frank's was long gone.

I lived in Palatine, IL for a while and frequented The Drum Pad. Even bought a couple kits from them (still have my Tama's I bought there back in the 90's).

 

[Erik]

Music World, Spokane WA

 

[Skidpuppy]

Back in the late 70's early 80's in Miami, Carrol's Music and Ace Music.

 

[EDL]

Mannys in NYC..along with a couple of the smaller drum shops in NYC..
Then Charlie Donnelly's in CT..
Then Creative Music in CT..
Then Dynamic Percussion in CT..the one I didnt think would last..
Now..there are no great ones left..

 

[Steech]

By the way, Columbus Percussion is hiring.

We're hiring!
Leadership Team Position Available at Columbus Percussion!
Ever thought it would be fun to work in a drum shop? We're looking for someone with a marketing and sales background that can help push the shop to new heights as a full time position!

Marketing Lead and E-commerce Sales
Marketing Lead - This pertains to all things marketing. Emails, Facebook, Instagram, flyers, banners, artwork, etc...
Leadership Team - Being the marketing lead will automatically put you on the leadership team. This will entail helping set the direction of the drum store as it relates to marking and much more. As a team we will be going over financials, metrics and strategizing all things related to the business. You will be involved in quick weekly meetings and quarterly planning sessions.
E-Commerce Sales - Processing of sales online including eBay, Reverb and our website. You will help with product pages, listing creation and much more.
Requirements: This position will require you to be very proficient on computers as well as the ability to work with people and help drummers get the gear they need. It will be a full time position Monday through Friday but will require some Saturdays to be covered every once in a while. It's a small business so the ability to be agile and help customers as needed is an absolute must.

If you think you may be a good fit, email your résumé to [email protected]