Music Shops of Note
When I was fourteen, my mom took me to Manny’s Guitars on 48th Street to pick out a bass guitar. It was a delightful store: cozy, with knowledgeable employees, an impressive selection of instruments and a sense of pride and love pervading the space. I walked out of Manny’s that day with a Fender Jazz Bass that is, to this day, my most prized possession – it was love at first pluck.
Today, Manny’s is no more. 48th Street is no longer the music-shop capital of New York (and the world!). A few of the old guard remain, but all over Manhattan music shops have dwindled in number over the years.
To characterize the music shops of Manhattan as nostalgia-pieces, however, would be to overlook their vital importance to the city’s music scene. Some of them provide places for musicians to buy and sell well-loved gear, and some are purveyors of the most high-end guitar masterpieces money can buy, but all are home to people who know the ins and outs of their craft, and help customers – new and old – to get the most out of their tools of the musical trade.
A musician’s instrument is like their child – they won’t entrust it to just anyone. The Bondy’s and their pianos – these people, their expert touch, and the relationships they have built are truly invaluable, in every sense of the word. May they and craftsmen like them be around for many years to come.
