Manny's Music in NYC

[wolfmoon]

I went to Manny's in NY to take a look around. I was there a year or so ago. If you don't know, this is a very famous store and many pros have been known to do their shoppinf there. Well, I was shocked to find out that they no longer carry drums or anything even related to them. They sent their drums accross the street to Sam Ash. Manny's is strictly a guitar store ..... now.

[ermghoti]

I think SA bought 'em, they're only a name now.

[bermuda]

Sam Ash bought them several years ago, and I recall 'Mannys' still had drums when I was there last year. Oh well, one less stop to make when I'm in town.

Bermuda

[wolfmoon]

Sam Ash bought them several years ago, and I recall 'Mannys' still had drums when I was there last year. Oh well, one less stop to make when I'm in town.

Bermuda

Yes, hey had a full drum room last year.

[aydee]

I havent been there in a while.. whats on the 1st floor , more guitars?

[harryconway]

Yes, long gone is the classic days when every English rocker hit Manny's New York (Jimmy, Jeff, Eric, etc.) on their first tour of the states. Just another Sam Ash now. They opened a Manny's in Hollywood, 'cross the street from Guitar Center. Just another GC, ah, Sam Ash.

[razorx]

I havent been there in a while.. whats on the 1st floor , more guitars?

All. guitars now... 1st and 2nd floor.

[aydee]

Too bad. It used to be a favorite hanging place of a real colorful character & terrific drum teacher, Sam Ulano.

[Muckster]

Too bad. It used to favorite hanging place of a real colorful character & terrific drum teacher, Sam Ulano.

Yep Sam is something else! He's still swinging.
http://www.samulano.com

[Byrneondrums]

I studied with Sam for about ten years, from 1985 - 1995. I met him at Alex Music when that store was still open on 48th street - that is where I also bought my first set of drums, that I still use 25 years later. Our lesson at one point was on Sunday's at 6 AM - that's right 6 in the morning. I loved it.

I don't remember him hanging out or working at Manny's but maybe he did?

Sam is not only a character but a great teacher as well - especially if you wanna get your reading together.

Cheers,
Byrne

[Deltadrummer]

There 's actually a new drum shop at 46th and 7th. I think it's a vintage shop. I remember reading about it but never took down the exact address. And Drummer's World is still there, and still gets visits by famous drummers. All those guys are taken care of by the companies now anyway. They don't have need to go to the store. :) It's only us paupers who lay down half our pay checks on drum gear.

[aydee]

Yep Sam is something else! He's still swinging.
http://www.samulano.com

Thanks for the link, Muckster. Good to know he's around, god bless him. He was a fixture at Manny's and was always half the reason to go to there.

Kenny, the GCs and the online stores will kill the NYC stores for sure. Sam Ash looks so much less impressive, even though they now have an independent drum store.

Nice to know Matt Umanov guitars is still around on Bleecker. I bought an acoustic guitar from him 20 years ago & the joint is still there. Whew!

[Deltadrummer]

There's a guy who owns a CD store near me who has been there since the early 70's. I used to bike up there as a kid. I remember when Korvette's went out of business, he told me he would outlast them all. Record World, Sam Goody's, Tower, Coconuts have all come and gone. His prices are high, he never has a sale and he has the personality of a toad. I don't know how he has done it. For years, he has specialized in rarities and hard to find material, which he has always sold at exorbitant prices. Downloading, he said, will ultimately put him out of business. But he is still there.

The drum shop at Manny's has not been doing well for over a decade, and I have seen guys come and go there. It's a revolving door. I applied for a job there in the 90's and the books did not look good then. Drum sales are pretty difficult. The drums take up more room than guitars on the sales floor, and although a guitarist may have 12 guitars, a drummer probably only has two maybe three drums kits. I have four guitars myself. The other problem is that kids are not taking to the drums as they are the guitar. Guitar Hero has helped the guitar a lot. I was hoping Rock Band would renew interest in the drums; but I have not seen that yet. For every ten guitarists that comes into the store where I work, I am lucky to see one drummer. Part of the problem is also that in a lot of areas, the culture of live music has all but dried up. There are a lot of posers today. Maybe we need to get back to the days of The Allmans, Dead and CDB when bands had two drummers. :)