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NYC Guitar and bass stores?

Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez

Sep 14, 2005
3,158
1,356
#1
I will be in Manhattan in March and was wondering about any MUST SEE guitar stores with great bass offerings. I am thinking vintage and rare, no Guitar Centers, please! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and where to get the best pizza!
 
#3
Welcome in advance to my fine city!

I can't speak for Manhattan, but if you can make it to Brooklyn, I highly recommend Main Drag Music. It's just one stop into Brooklyn from Manhattan on the subway, so it's not far.

Great collection of nothing but vintage basses. Also, Southside Guitars is just as vintage and like a 10 min stroll from Main Drag.

And for pizza... again, I'm a Brooklynite, so I'll recommend Fornino for great oven-fired sit-down pizza.
 
#4
You're about 10 years late for the best music stores, unfortunately. 48th street isn't what it once was.
Apparently Larry Hartke runs the bass department in the Sam Ash over there, which is cool and all, but good luck trying a bass. They're bolted to the walls and the employees hide from you.

The guitar center in Times Square is huge, but ridiculously crowded. The one in Union square has a well maintained but small bass section. Really nothing special. The retail instrument stores in New York really aren't anything special nowadays.

As for good pizza, it's all over the place.

Never mind the pizza. If you're interested in the greatest sandwiches known to man, you go to Sal's in Astoria. Get there before 2ish or they'll run out of bread.
image.jpg
 
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#5
Guitar Center in Union Square has a decent vintage section, as big or bigger than any other shop.
Sam Ash on 34th has a decent bass section. It's ran by Larry Hartke.
30th Street Guitars can be hit and miss. When they're on they've got great stuff though.
Main Drag in Brooklyn
Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island
Umanov in Greenwich Village. Pricey...
Ludlow Guitars if you're into effects at all
Rudy's on 48th
Rivington Guitars. Very small and expensive, but they have old stuff

Obese Chess said:
Music Row. Rudy's in particular.
Click to expand...

Rudy's is the only store left on music row. Everything else has moved or closed
 
#6
Gorn said:
You're about 10 years late for the best music stores, unfortunately. 48th street isn't what it once was.
Apparently Larry Hartke runs the bass department in the Sam Ash over there, which is cool and all, but good luck trying a bass. They're bolted to the walls and the employees hide from you.

The guitar center in Times Square is huge, but ridiculously crowded. The one in Union square has a well maintained but small bass section. Really nothing special. The retail instrument stores in New York really aren't anything special nowadays.

As for good pizza, it's all over the place.

Never mind the pizza. If you're interested in the greatest sandwiches known to man, you go to Sal's in Astoria. Get there before 2ish or they'll run out of bread.
View attachment 535809
Click to expand...

Igrew up a block from sals! :)
 
#9
I'd stop by the Sadowsky showroom in Long Island City, just across the Queensboro Bridge from Manhattan. That's definitely on the agenda for my next NYC visit.
 
#11
Rob Martinez said:
I will be in Manhattan in March and was wondering about any MUST SEE guitar stores with great bass offerings. I am thinking vintage and rare, no Guitar Centers, please! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and where to get the best pizza!
Click to expand...
Rudy's Music.
Link Removed
Most pizzarias in Manhattan will serve NY style pizza. NY style pizza is the best. If you want gourmet/rustic/foodie-type pizza, I don't know.
 
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#13
The other guys have posted about most of the cool spots. I dug this up from an older post I made when someone else asked the same question, albeit with some updates.


MIDTOWN
Rudy's on 48th street. It's the last store left on what had been "Music Row". And one of the few locations where you're going to find some really high end instruments in stock.

Guitar Center (West 44th street & 7th Avenue) - This is reportedly the new Guitar Center flagship store in NYC. I've yet to go to this store yet myself, despite the fact that I work about 5 blocks from here.

CHELSEA
Sam Ash on 34th street & 9th Ave. The Hartke Bass lounge is effectively Sam Ash NYC's bass department. You can expect to see some Sadowsky's and Fender Custom Shop instruments here, along with a few other high end offerings that you won't see in a run of the mill Sam Ash store.

GTR Store Showroom (141 West 28th street) Invalid Link Removed - There's some great stuff here. Fender Custom Shop and some boutique builders, too.

30th Street Guitars (30th btwn 7th & 8th Ave). Great vintage/used gear, albeit a bit pricey

Dan's Chelsea Guitars (West 23rd street). More of a guitar spot, but also good for some cool vintage gear


THE VILLAGE
Guitar Center (14th street btwn 5th & 6th Ave). The best bass inventory I've ever seen at any Guitar Center, and they've got a vintage room.

Matt Umanov Guitars (Bleecker Street). Cool vintage & new stock, and awesome pizza right across the street at John's.

Carmine Street Guitars - Rick Kelly is the guy who runs this place. He's made some amazing instruments for some of NYC's rock royalty. And he's got a series of instruments (including basses) which are made from reclaimed timbers. Some of that wood has come from historic New York buildings, and some of it dates back to the mid 19th century.


LOWER EAST SIDE
Rivington Street Guitars (East 4th st, NOT RIVINGTON ST). I've been to this store once. It's a nice little spot with some cool, funky vintage gear.

Ludlow Street Guitars (Ludlow btwn Houston & Stanton St.) Effects pedal heaven. Some modern Fenders, but this store is geared a bit more towards guitar players. However, they are Aguilar dealers which is a nice plus if you're looking for amps. Plus they're right across the street from Katz's Deli. That's where you really want to get a sandwich.

First Flight Music (1st Ave) - I've never been to this place, but I've seen it because it was around the corner from one of my (past) favorite record shops.

SOHO
Rudy's Soho (461 Broome Street) Word is that this Rudy's location is much more guitar-centric than the 48th street location.


QUEENS
Sadowsky shop (Long Island City). I haven't actually paid the Sadowsky shop a visit since they were still in Midtown Manhattan in the late 90's. But Roger & crew are very accomodating, even if you're just there to get one of their awesome preamps.


BROOKLYN
Main Drag Music (Williamsburg). It's pretty much all vintage stock here, with some very, very cool offerings.

Southside Guitars (Williamsburg). Great vintage offerings. They also deal in some modern gear (Nash). Very cool guys to deal with.

Fodera Shop - While they're not an instrument store, any time I've run into Joey Lauricella of Fodera he has been kind enough to invite me to come check out the shop.


STATEN ISLAND
Mandolin Brothers - A little out of the way, but these guys know acoustic instruments & vintage, too
 
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#14
I always like Rudy's (the 48th street one, not the SoHo one), though their used stuff can be pricy. Worth looking at though, nice folks.
Sam Ash 34th Street is also always fun, especially when Larry is around.

My local stores are the only ones I frequent - Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and sometimes Sam Ash in Manhattan.

Haven't been to GC Times Square, but I don't I will anytime soon. I'm not keen on going back to the 14th street one anytime soon.

As stated before, we have a few builders in New York, so if you can, it's worth visiting one of them. Roger Sadowsky is in Queens, Vinnie Fodera is in Brooklyn, we've got another boutique builder who has a shop on 14th street Manhattan who's name escapes me. D'Angelico HQ is also in Manhattan, though I doubt they'll have anything for visitors. Also, if you want to leave the five boroughs, New York Bass Works is out in Massapequa Long Island, Stuart Spector is in Woodstock, Martin Keith is also upstate. D'Addario strings is out in Farmingdale Long Island, La Bella is upstate, and DR is just over the George Washington bridge in Northern NJ.
 
#17
Gorn said:
You're about 10 years late for the best music stores, unfortunately. 48th street isn't what it once was.
Apparently Larry Hartke runs the bass department in the Sam Ash over there, which is cool and all, but good luck trying a bass. They're bolted to the walls and the employees hide from you.

The guitar center in Times Square is huge, but ridiculously crowded. The one in Union square has a well maintained but small bass section. Really nothing special. The retail instrument stores in New York really aren't anything special nowadays.

As for good pizza, it's all over the place.

Never mind the pizza. If you're interested in the greatest sandwiches known to man, you go to Sal's in Astoria. Get there before 2ish or they'll run out of bread.
View attachment 535809
Click to expand...

SAL's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I second this. You could swing by here after you visit Sadowsky in Long Island City.
 
#20
ggvicviper said:
D'Angelico HQ is also in Manhattan, though I doubt they'll have anything for visitors.
Click to expand...

During my visit to the GTR Store showroom the guy there let me know that they had bought the rights to the D'Angelico name. They have some of those instruments in stock at the store, but from what I gather this generation of D'Angelico instruments is not the same as the original issue.
 

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