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March 2004
Posts: 120
Location: UK - Canterbury Kent | I'm flying over from the UK for five days holiday in New York in early August. I'm staying at a hotel in Times Square to celibrate one of my friends birthday.
Could anyone recomend some guitar shops to visit that are in walking distance or a short ride away from Times Square.
Thank you
Piers |
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Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Matt Uminov Guitars in Greeneich Village. Short subway ride. If they still have a 0-1 Sunburst Collings, BUY IT FOR ME. I'll pay you back.
Dave
Sam Ash and Manny's are walking distance from Times Sq. Take the subway to Union Sq. and you can hit Guitar Center and Matt Uminov. The Music Den on 4th St. is also quite an experience. |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Here's an interesting shop and a bit of a review I did:
David Gage's repairshop / showroom in Tribeca on walker street, nyc. If any of you are into the upright bass and / or need a repair or a new bass, you've got to check it out. First, floor is devoted to the repair shop. These guys are experts. They also do repairs on guitars, the guy is Manny Salvador from guitarcraft. He made Bootsy Collins bass. Watched him repair a bass, took it's neck off, melted the horse glue with a hair dryer, fascinatining, saw another guy planing a fingerboard, a big plank of ebony. All the luthier's were busy. This is really world class first quality work. Upstairs they have basses on consignment and some new. One of the new ones was the Czech Ease, a beautiful instrument with a nice broad tone. If I gigged with an upright this would be it! But up on the third floor I got to pluck something really special, a bass made in the early 1600's! This was before tempered instruments. You're not really the owner of something like that, you're a caretaker. I never played anything that old. I believe they were asking 120K, or maybe that was another one. The sturnel basses were the best looking. When I look at my new adamas, I look at as if it's a beautiful tool, but am I the caretaker for the next person ... I suppose I am.
Anyway, this is a real special place, and if your serious about the bass, you should check it out. You have to call for an appointment. I like checking out new places and this was a find and wanted to share it with you guys. The owners are really decent people. I can see why they're world famous.
http://www.davidgage.com/z_workshop.htm
I haven't been to a guitar store on 48th street in years and don't know if they even exist there, a web search will tell you, but if your into megastores then you'll want to skip 48th street and go to the guitar center on 14th street near union square.
There's mandolin brothers in staten island. But you'll have take the train to the ferry and then the bus. But they got good stuff.
There's Matt Umanov's in the village, he has some interesting things, and world famous expensive repairs.
I'll post more later. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | If they still have a 0-1 Sunburst Collings, BUY IT FOR ME. I'll pay you back.
:D :D |
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November 2004
Posts: 308
| It is Matt Umanov actually....here is the link:
http://www.umanovguitars.com/ |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Avoid 48th St. Same old same old, coupled with bad attitude and/or piss-poor product knowledge from the staff. There's a GC on 15th just off Union Square. If you have the time it's worth the effort to get get to Mandolin Bros.
I was in Umanovs last week. Lot's of vintage Martins and a ton of pre-60's Gibson Jumbos including a mid-30's Advanced that I thought had the owners phone number on the tag, until I realised it was the price. They also had a style 4 Kona in great shape. You don't see many of those. |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Here's a grab from a prior post in the vault, I edited out the ones already mentioned:
list of places I'd check out.
Carmine Street Guitar's, around the corner from Umanov's (Repairs on electrics just as good as Umanov's, and cheaper. The guy makes his own teles, no ovations)
East Village Music Store on E 3rd Street (Consignment store, maybe an ovation, pretty cool)
Guitar Bar on first street in Hoboken (take the ferry or path train) |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | If you're going to get to Brooklyn, I can give you the names of some other places, and or clubs, if you're interested. |
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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | In my years residing in and around the NYC area, I still have yet to check out a music store in Manhattan. I've seen the shops on 48th Street in Times Square many times, but SWMBO always threw a fit everytime I made the suggestion to check it out!
If you have the extra time to spare, it's well worth the effort to check out Mandolin Bros. in Staten Island. It can be accessed via ferry ride from Lower Manhattan. They have a large selection of guitars, mandolins, and anything in between. During my time there, they allowed me to play everything ... I mean everything ... even a couple of 1950s vintage Martins which Stan Jay personally took from the "vault" to let me play it. At the end of my visit there, I walked out a happy customer, with a herringbone D-28. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | 48th St. is a mere GHOST of what it USED t'be back in the GloryDays of the Early/Mid 70's . . . |
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March 2004
Posts: 120
Location: UK - Canterbury Kent | Thank you everyone for your advice. I will make a list and when the girls go shopping, I and my friend can go an have a look around.
Piers |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Piers;
How long are you gonna' be over here??
If y'want, you (and your friend(s) are welcome t'come visit on the "JerseySide".
An hour train ride from NY's PennStation will put you a block from my house.
Got guitars, beers, and our house is Certified Brit-Friendly . . .
LemmeKnow. |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Yeh, right..... |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Hey!! . .
YOU were invited t'come visit not so long ago AS WELL my "friend", but you declined so that you were free t'do things that you asked I not mention on this Board! . . . |
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Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Cliff, you're not gonna take to see my favorite llama, are you? |
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Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 120
Location: UK - Canterbury Kent | I had a great trip to New York. Thank you for all the advise, but as I went with 10 others, time was short.
I went to 48th Street on the last day of my stay and tried out many 12 sting guitars, including an Ovation that was the best of the bunch to my ears. That was until I tried the Rainsong WS 3000, which I bought. It has its first gig tomorrow. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Well bite your toungue. |
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I'm Visiting New York In August
