Elderly Instruments
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 1972, East Lansing, Michigan, United States |
Founders | Stan Werbin Sharon McInturff |
Services | Musical instrument repair |
Revenue | $17 million (2007)[1] |
Owner | Stan Werbin |
Number of employees | 85 (2008)[2] |
Website | Elderly.com |
Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument retailer in Lansing, Michigan, United States, with a reputation as a "megastore",[3] a repair shop and a locus for folk music[4] including bluegrass and "twang". Specializing in fretted instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles, Elderly maintains a selection of odd or rare instruments. Elderly is known as a premier repair shop for fretted instruments, as one of the larger vintage instrument dealers in the United States, and as a major dealer of Martin guitars in particular.
Industry publications, music retail trade, and
In addition to retail and repair services, Elderly Instruments is noted as a center of local music culture for bluegrass and "twang" music. Elderly Instruments operates a wholesale
History
In 1969, New York City native Stan Werbin moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend graduate school. He took his banjo and guitar with him and immediately developed his interest in folk music. Werbin participated in a lively local music scene that included collaborations and "open mic nights" at local venues. It was through those experiences that Werbin developed his appreciation for the variety of instruments the musicians were playing, as well as the various types of music that fall under the folk music genre.[7]
When Werbin finished graduate school, he looked for business opportunities and decided to use his knowledge of used guitars. He searched for vintage instruments to buy at low prices, particularly those made before World War II; Werbin then sold the instruments after repairing and restoring them.[2] Although he initially tried to open his business in Ann Arbor, Werbin eventually decided to avoid operating there due to the high number of other musical instrument dealers.[8] In 1972, Werbin and Sharon McInturff, his college friend and business partner, leased retail space in East Lansing, Michigan for $60 a month in a building that also housed the Michigan Youth Politics Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging young adults to vote. With $500 of capital, the two began advertising locally.[9] Werbin and McInturff took the "Elderly" name from a 1971 classified ad they saw, in which the seller marketed his Gibson Les Paul as a "nice, elderly instrument".[10]
Elderly Instruments expanded during the following years. Shortly after the
Elderly Instruments has become known due to its attention to folk music niche markets (Eddie Collins of Bluegrass Now remarked "The roots of what today has become perhaps the world's most well known music store for acoustic instruments can be traced directly to the folk music boom of the 1960s."),[7] its reputation as a repair shop,[11] its selection of vintage instruments,[10] and its position as a major Martin guitar dealer.[5]
In May 2010, an Elderly manager told the publication
Gibson Guitar Corporation lawsuit
In June 2005,
In the same year, Gibson severed its contract with Elderly as a retailer of Gibson products, citing a contract stipulation that retailers should not carry any competing brands of banjos and mandolins. Elderly had been one of nine retailers selling the specialized Gibson Bluegrass line of banjos and mandolins, although it also carried other brands. Werbin attempted to rectify the situation by offering a dedicated area of the store for Gibson products, but Gibson proceeded with the action. As a result, Elderly does not offer new Gibson products for sale. The incident was well-publicized in the media and discussed at length in consumer forums.[14]
Instrument sales
In 2007, Elderly sold more than 16,000 instruments.
Elderly Instruments carries a number of Martin guitars, including valuable vintage models. In interviews, Werbin frequently mentions Martins made before World War II as especially desirable and "memorable" pieces of the Elderly Instruments inventory. The guitars are sought after by musicians from the bluegrass and other genres. Werbin purchases some of the more valuable or interesting instruments for his personal collection, and has lent them to museums as temporary exhibits.[21]
Periodicals for the bluegrass genre such as Bluegrass Canada and Bluegrass Now have featured stories about Elderly and its selection of bluegrass instruments and repair services.[7][21] Elderly employees maintain connections with the bluegrass industry by attending trade shows such as the International Bluegrass Association Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky. At these shows, Elderly showcases typical bluegrass instruments, such as banjos, guitars, mandolins, fiddles and resophonic guitars, to musicians and businesspeople.[21] Elderly Instruments staff members have set up organizations such as the "Friends of Bluegrass" to support local bluegrass musicians.[7]
Michigan Living magazine noted Elderly's liberal policy regarding the handling of instruments, something Werbin attributes to his difficulty shopping for Martin guitars in New York City in the 1960s. The magazine also notes that customers are encouraged to pick up and play any instrument, an unusual policy for a high-end instrument retailer. Impromptu "jam sessions" are frequent in the store, as customers try out guitars.[16]
Repair and appraisals
The repair shop occupies about 3,000 ft2 (280 m2) of space in the Elderly building.[22] A number of notable guitarists have sent their instruments to Elderly for complete restoration or other major work such as refinishing and refretting.[11] Elderly's repair department services other fretted instruments such as banjos, ukuleles, and balalaikas.[9]
In February 1996, a feature article in Guitar Shop Magazine documented the company's restoration of a severely damaged Martin J40-M acoustic guitar. The Martin had been in the trunk of an automobile when a semi-trailer truck struck the automobile. Almost every part of the guitar was damaged: the top, back, sides, fingerboard, and neck block. The worst damage, and the most challenging to repair, was caused by the neck block having punched through the back of the guitar. The owner brought the Martin to Elderly after other repair shops had rejected it as being beyond repair. The technicians at Elderly successfully restored the Martin after a labor-intensive process that included a new Adirondack spruce top.[23]
Elderly provides an appraisal service for vintage instruments. It employs five full-time appraisers who use a detailed scale to rate the quality of instruments. Their appraisal services have been noted in media, such as The Music and Sound Retailer, as being among the best in the industry. Customers may either bring instruments directly into the store or send them by mail. Elderly owner Werbin attributes some of the company's success and reputation to the quality of the appraisals.[5]
Marketing and business model
In addition to a printed catalog, Elderly sends lists of available vintage instruments to subscribers in the U.S. and several other countries by mail and e-mail. Elderly purchases some of its used instruments from customers and then offers them for sale, while others are offered on consignment. Although larger retailers dominate the Internet
Werbin notes that while discounting products by 40 percent set his business apart from the local competition in the 1970s, outlets such as Guitar Center now also offer discounts. In response to questions about his strategy for competing with larger retailers such as Guitar Center and American Musical Supply, which also operate mail order and Internet businesses, Werbin states that he has learned to operate on small margins to stay competitive: "The mom-and-pop businesses that have survived have learned to operate on narrow margins."[6]
Other enterprises
After opening its first retail space, Elderly began selling records supplied by Rounder Records, a small distributor that later grew into an independent record label specializing in roots music. After trying other distributors, Werbin started his own distribution company in 1979, named Old Fogey Distributing. By 1987, Old Fogey was servicing about 300 small retail operations, operating from the basement of Elderly's Lansing showroom.[26] In 1997, the operation was renamed Sidestreet Distributing.
Elderly dedicates a section of its retail space to record sales. A full-time purchasing manager maintains a comprehensive selection of both mainstream and rare music, much of it in the folk and bluegrass genres; this is due to the belief that customers will become more interested in the music after making an audio purchase and then in turn buy a musical instrument.[7] Elderly also sells instructional books and other material, much of which focuses on folk music and bluegrass genres.[27]
The store also offers a music school focused on folk music and related instruments.[28]
Twang and other folk music
Noise, a periodical published by the local newspaper Lansing State Journal, has written that Elderly Instruments is the focus of an emerging form of American folk music, named "twang", sometimes referred to as "alternative country". Several twang bands perform and record in Lansing, many including at least one Elderly employee.[12] Current and former Elderly employees attribute the twang influence at the store to the proliferation of associated instruments, educational materials, and musicians. East Lansing radio station WDBM has been hosting a twang music show since 1995.[12]
Lawrence B. Johnson, music critic for
Recognition
- 2008 - Best Guitar Store - Player's Choice Awards, Acoustic Guitar magazine[29]
References
- ^ a b Ballard, Rick (April 9, 2008). "The E-Evolution of Elderly Instruments". Capital Gains. Capital Gains Media. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ a b c d e f Leebove, Laura (February 5, 2008). "Now in its 36th year, Elderly Instruments in Lansing still keeps the music going". The State News. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ^ a b Johnson, Lawrence B. (1999-08-13). "State's folk music mecca is in tune with times". The Detroit News.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (2008-02-10). "Shared Song, Communal Memory". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e Remson, Adam (June 2002). "Elderly Instruments — The fountain of youth in a vintage guitar store". The Music and Sound Retailer.
- ^ a b c Girard, Peter (November 1999). "Battle of the band suppliers". Catalog Age. 16 (12): 34.
- ^ a b c d e Collins, Eddie (June 1998). "Elderly Instruments—They Don't Make 'Em Like That Any More!". Bluegrass Now.
- Lansing Noise.
- ^ a b Wieland, Barbara (2004-05-10). "Store owner strums his way to success in music business". Lansing State Journal. Archived from the original on August 29, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c Massey, David (October 2001). "Interview with Elderly Instruments President Stan Werbin". Musical Merchandise Review.
- ^ a b c d Caswell, Cristine (2004-12-01). "King of String". Greater Lansing Business Monthly. Archived from the original on 2015-03-29. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ a b c d Miller, Matthew (June 2004). "Twang Town". Lansing Noise.
- ^ Johnston, Lisa (May 2010). "Musical instruments follow CE recovery". TWICE. 25 (11): 8, 126.
- ^ a b Staff (September 2005). "Elderly music vs. Gibson: leading vintage dealer sued for advertising 'Gibson copy'". Music Trades: 46.
- Gibson Guitar Corporation. Archived from the originalon 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ a b Branam, Jud (March 1996). "A Heaven for Pickers". Michigan Living.
- ^ Bogues, Maureen (2007-04-29). "One-Man Band: Eat your lunch and strum it too with Box-A-Lele". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Walker, John M (October 2000). "The High Lonesome Craft". Bluegrass Unlimited. 35 (4): 54–57.
- ^ Staff (2006-09-19). "Elderly Instruments to Sell Rare Dobro Collection". Absolute Michigan. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Menaker, Daniel (2002-01-27). "The Twang Thang". The New York Times Magazine. p. 26.
- ^ a b c Buckly, Michael (December 1999). "Elderly Instruments—A Hectic Day". Bluegrass Canada Magazine.
- ^ Staff. "Repair Shop". Elderly Instruments web site. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Chappell, Jon; Pete Prown; Lisa Sharken (February 1996). "Back From the Dead: Learn How to Bring Your Beloved Beater Back to Life". Guitar Shop.
- ^ Savin, Jerald (2000-05-15). "What Makes Sense in the World of E-Commerce". Los Angeles Business Journal.
- ^ Laurelei (May 1998). "Site reading: Web guide". Guitar Player. 32 (5): 23.
- Billboard Magazine.
- ^ "Elderly Instruments". Michigan State University Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Staff. "Elderly Instruments School of Music". Elderly Instruments web site. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ Gerken, Teja (February 2009). "Player's Choice Awards 2008". Acoustic Guitar. 19 (8): 64.
External links
- Elderly Instruments web site
- Stanley Werbin Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection, April 18, 2012.