A drumshop no longer....

Yessir. First pro-level set was purchased from Pete Jones Music in Bakersfield in 1987. Store has been gone for 25+ years. Took lessons there, too. It’s a tough drive-by now to see the old building, unoccupied and in disrepair.
 
Got my Gretsch kit in the mid to late 80s at the wonderful Creative Music in Wethersfield, Connecticut (and saw Bill Bruford put on a clinic there). I believe it's been gone since around the turn of the century, sadly.
 
I bought my first drums in the mid 80s from a little shop that I’m sure must be long gone. I’m not positive but I think it was in New Haven CT. A hole in the wall near downtown, no employees, just the owner. He had permed ringlets of rock star poodle hair, and a notoriously unpleasant attitude.
 
I bought both my Sonor and Tama kits here:

Skinsntins.com

www.skinsntins.com www.skinsntins.com

I didn’t realize their site is still up. They closed down Jan. 1, 2020, just before the pandemic.
 
Yes, I do remember buying my first 18" Zildjian Medium-thin crash from Zampino's in North Canton, OH in 1984 during a visit to the area. Mr. Zampino ran a first rate shop with awesome service. My in-person visit in '84 was a fun experience, and, like my mail order experiences...the service was tops. Sorely missed!
 
First drum kit-- MIJ 13/16/20 stencil kit used at Parke Frankenfield House of Music in Bethlehem, PA, now defunct. Second-- the Tama Swingstar kit I used for my first gigs at Dave Phillips Music and Sound's old location in Phillipsburg, NJ-- they're still in business. My first good cymbals were purchased at National Noise Shoppe on 7th St. in Allentown-- now defunct.
 
I started drum lessons in 1984 on a practice pad. About a year and a half later, I got my first kit. It was a Ludwig, not a Pearl. (I switched to Pearl in 1989.) H&H Music was the retailer. The shop in question has been closed for quite some time. That comes as no surprise. Brick-and-mortar sales are floundering. The reasons are manifold. To avoid hypocrisy, I won't get nostalgic. I've probably fueled the downfall by buying all my gear online in recent years.
 
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I ordered lots of stuff from Thoroughbred back in the 90s. Never a kit, but I'm sure that cymbals, hardware, and heads were.
 
Yup. My fist two kits were from different music stores on Modesto CA that are no longer there. ☹️
 
Ryan Culberson said:
Yessir. First pro-level set was purchased from Pete Jones Music in Bakersfield in 1987. Store has been gone for 25+ years. Took lessons there, too. It’s a tough drive-by now to see the old building, unoccupied and in disrepair.
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That's Bakersfield in general these days isn't it?
 
I can't remember the name, but the place where i bought my kit in 1999 (Pearl Export) went bankrupt in the financial crisis around 2008 i believe. Remember my dad telling about it. Went there a couple of times before finding a drumshop somewhere else with a larger selection. Went there for a couple of years before i discovered ordering online (didn't had a drivers license then and took me almost 2 hours to get there with public transportation). Just recently checked if they still exist and now it's a music school. Sad though, remember vividly the Ayotte kits they have and me drooling over them!
 
I always assumed a notoriously unpleasant attitude was a surefire winner in retail. I clearly need to rethink my business model.
bongoman said:
I bought my first drums in the mid 80s from a little shop that I’m sure must be long gone. I’m not positive but I think it was in New Haven CT. A hole in the wall near downtown, no employees, just the owner. He had permed ringlets of rock star poodle hair, and a notoriously unpleasant attitude.
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Almost everything for my first decade + of playing came from Drumwright, just outside Reading, UK. Great family business, always super helpful and wanted to make sure you got what you needed, not just the most expensive thing. Used to put on great drum clinics too
 
JonHWLondon said:
Almost everything for my first decade + of playing came from Drumwright, just outside Reading, UK. Great family business, always super helpful and wanted to make sure you got what you needed, not just the most expensive thing. Used to put on great drum clinics too
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It was a fine shame when Drumwright went out of business (also my pick for this thread)

Only a 30minute drive from us so when that closed the local options narrowed massively.
 
Physical musical instrument shops still exist? :oops:
 
Juniper said:
It was a fine shame when Drumwright went out of business (also my pick for this thread)

Only a 30minute drive from us so when that closed the local options narrowed massively.
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It was a real destination shop! I've found Graham Russell Drums down near Portsmouth to be a worthy successor, although a long way from where I live these days. My local shop now is Drumshack in Battersea, which is also great, albeit much smaller but with a massive range of 2nd hand goodies
 
The old Long Island Drum Center was a Paradise.

Dennis is still going in a smaller location and he still gets top players for clinics so it's not all gone.

But the glory days were something else, around 10 kits set up, full cymbal selections, and every wall covered with drum posters.

I'll never forget it.
 
I'd kill for my old drum shop to rise from the dead.

A little upstairs shop in Wolverhampton called Drum Attic. I miss the convenience and owners who knew what they were selling and wouldn't flog you any old shite.

They used to have some amazing 2nd hand stuff too.

Shout out to John the Drum in Brum too which became Birmingham Drum Centre. MX in Brum used to have some great stuff.
 
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