Guitar Shops in NYC?

[DavidLove26]

Hey guys. Newbie to the Forum here. I'm in the market for a new Archtop, and I'll have a free afternoon in New York City. Is there a specific shop in New York where I could play some decent archtops? I don't have a ton of time, so I want to be pretty focused. The shops here in Austin usually don't have a ton of Archtops for me to check out, so any advice would be welcome!

Oh, and my current leading contender is probably a Gibson Herb Ellis. Thoughts?

[Dad3353]

Hey guys. Newbie to the Forum here. I'm in the market for a new Archtop, and I'll have a free afternoon in New York City. Is there a specific shop in New York where I could play some decent archtops? I don't have a ton of time, so I want to be pretty focused. The shops here in Austin usually don't have a ton of Archtops for me to check out, so any advice would be welcome!

Oh, and my current leading contender is probably a Gibson Herb Ellis. Thoughts?

Good evening, David, and welcome to the forum...
Others will have addresses for you, I'm sure, but my advice would be: leave your cheque book at home..(at least if you're half like me..!)
Good hunting...

[JohnW400]

Where do I begin?

First, the stuff will cost you more because the sales tax is over 8%. Plus the prices are a bit steep to begin with

As far as places to go....Rudy's. He has two locations. One in Soho I think and one in the 40"s.

Matt Uminov guitars which I think is in the village. Then there's Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island. You'll need to take a ferry.

You could also take a bus to Cedar Lane in Teaneck, NJ and check out Lark Street Music (Closed Friday afternoons and Saturdays but open on Sunday till 5) It's just across the GWB.

He has some heavy duty stuff on the wall right now. I was just there last week. Here's a sample

1965 Super 400 owned by Vic Cenicola
1996 Gibson Citation
1938 D'angelico
1956 L5
1977 Guild Artist Award
1978 Howard Roberts

Plus some less expensive stuff as well

Here's his link

Lark Street Music: Vintage Guitars, Teaneck NJ

Nice people. No pressure, 7% sales tax

Going back to NYC, there are a couple of more shops but I can't remember their names. Theyre down around the village or Tribeca

Have a nice time

[spiral]

Take a train from Penn directly to Golden Age Guitars in New Jersey (Westfield stop, about 45 minutes). John is very nice and the place is very laid back. I played probably 20 different archtops which were all very different. I visited some other places but would go there again. You can see some of his inventory on GBase and also his website.

One important thing: if you like a guitar, buy it right then. I played a Campellone Deluxe and wanted it when i got home after mulling it over. I emailed twice and left a voicemail saying i would buy it, but he never called or emailed back. That was in June and the guitar is still listed on GBase for sale.

+1 on JohnW's recos as well. Mandolin Bros, and Lark Street are good. Maybe rent a car and spend the day in NJ instead.

[goshawk]

Isn't Sadowsky's shop in NYC?

[JohnW400]

Isn't Sadowsky's shop in NYC?

Brooklyn . I don't think he stocks any Archtops. I could be mistaken though

[DavidLove26]

Thanks for all the good replies! I probably have to stay in Manhattan, being that I'm actually on a 10 hour layover from JFK. Any thoughts on the guitar itself?

[spiral]

Any thoughts on the guitar itself?

That can be a whole other discussion. You should narrow it down a bit. Acoustic? Going through an amp? Types of pickups? How it should fit into your typical playing / practice?

[X-500]

Mandolin Brothers have been in business in Staten Island (yes, the other New York City) since 1971 and are known for their vintage archtops.

Mandolin Brothers, Ltd. - Archtop

Happy Hunting!

[DavidLove26]

Yes, a little background. I'm a professional musician, and my Jazz playing at the moment is in a Big Band. I do some occasional Combo gigs and recording. I have a bunch of electrics so I'm covered with any other kind of music. I'm currently playing a Epiphone Joe Pass, and have needed a upgrade for a while. Thoughts?

I've been looking at a Herb Ellis for a while, because I've always liked mini pickups. But I've also heard about the older version with a single Humbucker that looks really cool. My budget isn't too crazy, so the nice Sadowskys are a little out of my range.

Thoughts?

That can be a whole other discussion. You should narrow it down a bit. Acoustic? Going through an amp? Types of pickups? How it should fit into your typical playing / practice?

[JohnW400]

Yes, a little background. I'm a professional musician, and my Jazz playing at the moment is in a Big Band. I do some occasional Combo gigs and recording. I have a bunch of electrics so I'm covered with any other kind of music. I'm currently playing a Epiphone Joe Pass, and have needed a upgrade for a while. Thoughts?

I've been looking at a Herb Ellis for a while, because I've always liked mini pickups. But I've also heard about the older version with a single Humbucker that looks really cool. My budget isn't too crazy, so the nice Sadowskys are a little out of my range.

Thoughts?

Big Band? What about feedback? Those horn players are loud.

I just did a gig with my Super 400 and a Carvin Nomad 50w amp. The lineup was guitar, elecrtic bass, drums and trumpet. The drummer and bass player were so loud that I had to boost the volume up to 8 on the amp and 10 on the guitar to keep up and man o man it started to howl on the lower notes. (finally the drummer said "maybe I should use brushes")

But back to you. The Herb Eliis is a nice reasonably priced box. So is the ES137 and Howard Roberts Fusion. Also noteworthy are used Fender d'Aquitos. They're around $1800 or so.

BTW, a 10 hour layover at JFK is not a lot of time (Unless thats 10 hours to kill). When are you traveling?

Golden Age in Westwood actually lists a Herb Ellis for $1700. Here's the link

Gbase - Gear List | Gbase.com > Guitars Amps & More

IF that's what you're looking for then I would plan my train trip and go there. He's across from the train station

[docbop]

Id go to Sadowsky and check out his archtops. I would call his shop and tell them when you'll be in town they will accommodate you.

The tax is high in New York you might want see if you can purchase the guitar once back home then you can avoid New York tax.

[peter coura]

Hi David,

if you're looking for archtops make sure to visit Rudy's Music, but not the one on 48th street, but the one in Soho, 461 Broome Street.
It is the most impressive Archtop-Collection I#ve ever seen and Rudy Pensa really knows about guitars. (And he has some you can afford, but checking the ones that make us sigh is worth it, anyway)
News: Rudy's Music SoHo opens its doors! | Rudy’s Music: New York City since 1978
Have fun!
Peter

[peter coura]

just an example:
http://www.rudysmusic.com/images/3595.jpg

[spiral]

Golden Age in Westwood actually lists a Herb Ellis for $1700. Here's the link

Gbase - Gear List | Gbase.com > Guitars Amps & More

IF that's what you're looking for then I would plan my train trip and go there. He's across from the train station

See my earlier post, most specifically about how to actually purchase

[sadowsky]

Id go to Sadowsky and check out his archtops. I would call his shop and tell them when you'll be in town they will accommodate you. The tax is high in New York you might want see if you can purchase the guitar once back home then you can avoid New York tax.

We have demos of all 5 models of our archtops. We are only 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan on the F train. If we ship out of state, there is no NYS sales tax.

You are welcome to visit if you have the time.

Roger

[Soco]

Rudy's is my favorite as well as Mandolin Brothers.

[DavidLove26]

Thanks everyone for the advice. And special thanks to Mr. Sadowsky for the invite. I would of loved to take him up on it, but time was sadly limited!

In the end, I went to Rudy's new SoHo store, and it was archtop heaven. I played a bunch of pretty cool Gibsons (including a Kenny Burrell model. Only $26,000!) But in the end they had a D'Aquisto New Yorker, used but in closet classic condition. I totally fell in love with it right away, and ended up buying it right there on the spot. I wasn't really planning on getting anything, but this was too good to pass up. I haven't gotten to play it since I bought it, because it's being shipped back to Austin, but I liked it better than any Archtop I've ever played! The salesman was great, and really knew what he was doing. After I bought it I spent some time talking to Rudy himself, who's a wonderfully friendly man. He told me lots of stories of guitarists he's hung out with, and the whole thing was a fantastic experience. I'm really itching to get home and play my new guitar! Thanks everyone for your advice and help. I'm really happy how the whole thing went.

P.S. Rudy told me that they've moved all their archtops from the 48th street store down to the SoHo store. I highly advise stopping in whenever you have a chance. I played through a whole lot of great guitars, including the Kenny Burrell, a Ibanez George Benson (not my favorite), a ES 175, both new and a beautiful 1968 version, and a few other great guitars. But the D'Aquisto just felt right from the very beginning! Thanks again everyone!

[spiral]

D'Aquisto New Yorker, used but in closet classic condition. I totally fell in love with it right away, and ended up buying it right there on the spot.

That's awesome! I hope you mean one of the Aria D'Aquistos ... otherwise that is a serious impulse purchase. Congrats either way. I want to check out Rudy's now. I didn't know they had such a big archtop collection.

[peter coura]

In the end, I went to Rudy's new SoHo store, and it was archtop heaven.

Glad to hear that you got happy!
Now play!
Peter Coura
Coura African Guitars

[mike_k]

We have demos of all 5 models of our archtops. We are only 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan on the F train. If we ship out of state, there is no NYS sales tax.

You are welcome to visit if you have the time.

Roger

+1 on Sadowsky. You take the York St. station on the F. I live the neighborhood, and the guys at Sadowsky are very accomodating. Beautiful instruments, too.

[JohnW400]

We have demos of all 5 models of our archtops. We are only 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan on the F train. If we ship out of state, there is no NYS sales tax.

You are welcome to visit if you have the time.

Roger

Hi Roger,

Welcome to the forum.


Any plans for a 17" oval hole? or a Jim Hall oval hole version?

[JohnW400]

Thanks everyone for the advice. And special thanks to Mr. Sadowsky for the invite. I would of loved to take him up on it, but time was sadly limited!

In the end, I went to Rudy's new SoHo store, and it was archtop heaven. I played a bunch of pretty cool Gibsons (including a Kenny Burrell model. Only $26,000!) But in the end they had a D'Aquisto New Yorker, used but in closet classic condition. I totally fell in love with it right away, and ended up buying it right there on the spot. I wasn't really planning on getting anything, but this was too good to pass up. I haven't gotten to play it since I bought it, because it's being shipped back to Austin, but I liked it better than any Archtop I've ever played! The salesman was great, and really knew what he was doing. After I bought it I spent some time talking to Rudy himself, who's a wonderfully friendly man. He told me lots of stories of guitarists he's hung out with, and the whole thing was a fantastic experience. I'm really itching to get home and play my new guitar! Thanks everyone for your advice and help. I'm really happy how the whole thing went.

P.S. Rudy told me that they've moved all their archtops from the 48th street store down to the SoHo store. I highly advise stopping in whenever you have a chance. I played through a whole lot of great guitars, including the Kenny Burrell, a Ibanez George Benson (not my favorite), a ES 175, both new and a beautiful 1968 version, and a few other great guitars. But the D'Aquisto just felt right from the very beginning! Thanks again everyone!

Do you mean one made by Jimmy or the Aria version? Big difference en $$