Rudy’s Music has moved to 461 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
According to his daughter, Stephanie Pensa, Rudy came to New York for 48th Street – for the musicians who, in various stages of their careers, congregated together on one block. After years of playing guitar in his native Argentina (including electric guitar, which he converted to after hearing the Beatles for the first time) Rudy moved to Manhattan in 1974 to personally check out the New York scene. After spending four years working for others on the block, Rudy opened his own guitar shop at the top of his current building, but was able to gradually expand Rudy's Music down to street-level.
Ariel Zino, a long-time employee of Rudy's, explained their success as a matter of finding a niche and being able to maintain it while others closed their doors. "The great thing about this street was its wide range of specialties," he said. "There wasn't too much competition because each store had its own role in the ecosystem. We'd recommend people to go check out instruments at Sam Ash and vice versa - it was a much less competitive time." While Rudy's has opened up a new shop devoted to vintage guitars in SoHo, they still maintain their original headquarters on 48th - one of the few remaining devotees to Music Row. "That culture may have gone," Stephanie chimed in, "but we're still here."
I was most impressed listening to Ariel and Stephanie rattle off a list of guitar icons that regularly visit their shop. Rudy has been a close friend of Mark Knopfler, the Dire Straits' guitarist, since 1980 and, in 1985, the two created the "Pensa MK," a small production custom-made guitar built in the store, which has become one of the best high-end models for professional guitarists. Peter Frampton, Lenny Kravitz, Victor Bailey, and the late Lou Reed are among the many who have played with the Pensa MK line of guitars and electric basses.
When asked about the future of Rudy's and the legacy of Music Row, Stephanie seemed optimistic. "We're doing what we can to try to recreate the atmosphere on the street; my father's hoping to work with hotels and other businesses on the block to be a sort of tribute to where so much music started. Hopefully, in time, we'll see music stores in some shape or form returning to Music Row."
