Sweet Philly Soul

As the fifth most populous city in America and the second largest on the East Coast, Philadelphia is an economic and cultural force. Additionally the city’s rich musical history – ranging from classical to R&B to soul to hip hop and more – coupled with a large college-level student concentration makes for an active MI scene, both for retail and supply.

The city struggled just a few decades ago (nearly approaching bankruptcy in the 1980s), but since the late 1990s has been experiencing an economic resurgence. “Gentrification” is the word of the day in many once-blighted neighborhoods, as the city and surrounding area is seeing new businesses flourish and new construction redefine the skyline. Metro Philly is way more than just Rocky and cheesesteaks (although those are both great!). Read on to hear what some area dealers and suppliers have to say about the area.

Hoshino USA

1726 Winchester Rd Bensalem, PA

Ed O’Donnell

Can you describe some of the advantages specific to operating within Philly?

The Philadelphia area is considered the second largest college market in the U.S. With over fifteen colleges and universities within the city limits, combined with another thirty plus in the surrounding counties, the area attracts a young and enthusiastic culturally oriented population. We have a highly educated workforce with several employees possessing music degrees.

Strategically located between New York and Washington, D.C., Philadelphia is within a one-day drive to 40 percent of the U.S. population. This gives us quicker shipping to a large segment of our customers. Another big plus is the Philadelphia airport. This is a major hub for several airlines, which enables us greater flexibility to connect with our dealers easily and more often.

Metro Philadelphia – particularly the city, itself – is undergoing something of a Renaissance. How has the changing economic climate in the area affected Hoshino USA?

With more opportunities for college graduates, the workforce has stayed vibrant, with many students choosing to stay in the area after completing their studies. The public transportation infrastructure is considered excellent in Philadelphia; always ranking in the top 10 nationally. This has been a benefit to our younger employees who prefer to commute by public transport. The economic turnaround has not been victim to the traffic congestion that other major metros are experiencing. Another big plus for businesses located in the region is the housing affordability, especially when compared to other east coast cities like Boston, New York and Washington.

Sam Ash Music

Multiple Area Locations

Sammy Ash

Can you discuss some of the challenges that go along with operating as an MI retailer in the Philadelphia area?

Our first location was our Cherry Hill, New Jersey store which opened in 1992. As soon as the people of Philly found out there was a major retailer in town we had a huge hit on your hands. It was the first retailer worth leaving Philly proper for. Cherry Hill is technically in New Jersey (about two miles from

 the Ben Franklin Bridge), but it is considered a suburb of Philly. Great store and great staff and, guess what, about two years later GC opened about 150 feet away – go figure. The market was dominated with a few retailers that were battling it out and several of them have since closed.

King of Prussia, I had never even heard of the place, our VP Barry Horowitz said it was the place in Philly to look, so we all hopped into two cars and went. We felt it was advantageous to be as close to the KoP Mall (one of top Malls in the U.S. at that time) as possible. The location we picked is about a half mile from the Mall’s entrance with amazing store frontage and visibility . Everything was and still is great. It was a 25,000 sq. ft. location. and Not too long afterwards, GC opened up nearby, which they usually do after we break new ground.

Our last store to open was in the Franklin Mills Mall which was hot. The mall went on hard times with a lot of closures. They have put a lot of money towards improvements and to attract new anchors. It has since bounced back and we are once again doing well. And, as history proved, GC opened a location very close to this one, too.

What are some of the key advantages specific to operating within Philly?

Though Philly is smaller than NYC it has a lot of attributes that NYC has: diverse population, upscale neighborhoods, great musical community, and a lot of domestic tourism. We don’t see much of the tourist traffic like we do in Manhattan or Hollywood, but it is there and has grown every year we have been doing business.

How has the changing economic climate in the Philadelphia area affected Sam Ash?

It has a residual effect and then a positive one in a backlash. Like any major city going through an improvement (like Boston did), construction going on and it is a pain to navigate. That is keeping a lot of our local patrons shopping local. Why go in town, fight the traffic, parking, and attitudes that come from construction when you can get great service, selection and pricing where you live? We have been seeing a lot of new customers come in through our doors according to my staff. We feel that the effects in the long run will be quite positive for the city and Sam Ash Music.

DiPinto Guitars

407 E. Girard Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Chris and Sophy DiPinto

What are some of the upsides to operating an MI retail store in Philly?

Philly is a happening city with lots of live entertainment going on. There are many venues, of all sizes, within a mile radius of our store. Touring musicians are constantly coming through the city to play at places such as The Electric Factory, The Troc, The Union Transfer, Johnny Brenda’s (which was featured in the latest “Rocky” movie) and the new Fillmore, just to name a few. The city is also a very affordable place to live, and musicians and bands move here for the cheap rent and vibrant music scene.

Could you describe the typical DiPinto customer?

DiPinto Guitars is known for expert repairs for fretted instruments, amps and keyboards. We have a trusted reputation of being one of the best in the area. This brings in a lot of younger working musicians playing locally or on tour. We service many bands that make Philly their home, including Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs, Doctor Dog and many others.

What are some of the challenges of operation as an MI retailer in the metro Philadelphia area?

Because retail space is so expensive in the city, we don’t have a lot of space. Customers looking for a lot of accessories or print music or books are often frustrated that they have to go out to the suburbs for those things.

Ken Smith Basses, Ltd

420 Race Street Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Ken Smith

What are some of the upsides to operating as an MI manufacturer in Pennsylvania, both in the state, and particularly in Perkasie?

The cost of living and expenses are cheaper all around. When I was renting here and in New York at the same time, my rent in NYC for 2,000 square feet with no parking was 30 percent more than my 10,000 square foot building here with parking. Taxes are lower. For state and local, it was close to 10 percent in NY and here was less than half. And so on.

What are some of the challenges of operation as an MI manufacturer in the Philadelphia area?

Greater Perkasie is 2.6 square miles. Not related to the area at all, but being out of a big city and situated where we are, people can park! My lot, I own it, fits about 30 cars. I can drive from here to the GW bridge or other crossings in 1.5 hours and another 1.5 hours for the next five miles until I am in the city. Here, none of that. It’s like Mayberry in the ‘50s. You pick what you want to put here, but it’s like being in the country as compared to NYC.

What inspired you to develop your own bass?

My 18th century Italian double bass. As a player working in NYC playing both electric and upright basses, I wanted an equal quality and performance electric to match my old Italian. They say, “If you can’t get it done right, do it yourself!” The rest is history.

Breezy Ridge Instruments

PO Box 295 Center Valley, Pennsylvania

Mary Faith Rhoads-Lewis

What are some of the upsides to operating as an MI manufacturer and retailer in Pennsylvania, both in the state, and particularly in Center Valley?

There is a large percentage of musicians in the area’s population so it is a good place to be, both for innovation and expertise. For the most part, Breezy Ridge works with professional musicians who are looking for superior products and services.

Where are your products distributed and can you describe the current range of products do you offer?

Our John Pearse strings are sold and distributed throughout the world. We now have more than 120 composed sets PF strings and make sets to specification from our John Pearse Singles collection. We have wonderful, unique accessories that speak to musicians’ needs… everything from armrests, bridge pins and capos to String Wizards.

What inspired you to start the business?

John came to the U.S. from England in 1978, and we started doing concerts together shortly afterward. An accomplished player, producer and performer, he also had designed strings and accessories for players. Trying to prepare for a concert, we were unable to get strings to tune up, and I commented to him that he was the only musician I knew who shouldn’t complain because he knew how to make them better. He first designed the Breezy Ridge Hammer Dulcimer for me, hence the name of the company, and then we got into the rest of it: doing concerts at night, selling strings during the day!

 smallsound/bigsound

150 Cecil B Moore Ave. #3

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Brian Hamilton

Can you describe some of the advantages specific to operating within Philly?

Compared to some of the other cities I’ve lived in (New York and Boston), Philadelphia has a much lower cost of living which is a huge plus for a small business. Consequently, it feels like in the past few years there has been a tremendous amount of creative people moving to Philadelphia as they have possibly been priced out of more expensive cities. Not only has this has led to a robust music and arts community where smallsound/bigsound is one of only a few local MI manufacturers, but it offers more opportunities to collaborate with local artists or musicians and work with crafts-people.

How has the evolving economy in Metro Philadelphia affected your company?

While it hasn’t yet played a major role, there are some advantages as I stated above, as the influx of musicians and overall boom has created a larger network of young musicians to connect with. That being said, I have plans to open a brick and mortar location in the next year so I anticipate the continuing Renaissance will play a major role in the success of that venture.

The Classical Guitar Store

2038 Sansom Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bill Newman

What are some of the challenges of operation as an MI retailer in the Philadelphia area?

There are NO challenges as a retailer that I can think of related to being located in Philadelphia. We do, of course, suffer from the large encroachment of Internet sales on our brick-and-mortar business as well as the smothering effects of the big-box music retailers. Dealing with these two issues is an ever-present necessity, although we are, I think, insulated somewhat from the full impact of these due to our “niche market” situation. In our 50 years here we have witnessed the closing of almost all of the other music stores located in center-city Philadelphia.

Can you describe some of the cultural advantages?

We benefit greatly from being in Philadelphia due to the city’s great cultural institutions, orchestras, universities, conservatories, etc. It is a thriving economic and cultural center. Located in the center of the city, we benefit also from a good subway/rail/bus system, as well as a relatively sane traffic situation. There are many parking facilities (not free) around the store as well as on-street parking (not free).

How has the changing economic climate in the area affected your store?

The changing economic situation in Philadelphia – the building boom and relatively robust economy – have increased our business somewhat due to more people moving into the center city area who, living nearby, will take guitar lessons or buy strings. However, as mentioned earlier, we are a “destination” business that customers will seek out, wherever we are located.

How long have you been in your facility and can you describe it?

The Classical Guitar Store has been in Philadelphia for almost 50 years (1967). We have been at our current location for 25 years. We occupy a relatively small 3-story brick building with approximately 1500 square feet on 3 floors.

Our business has always been a “niche” business. We sell only nylon string classical guitars. We have flourished for so long due, we think, to our reputation, expertise and knowledge of our product – fine concert and student model (classical) guitars. The Guitar Store has also been a mainstay/pillar of the classical guitar community in our mid-Atlantic region.

Aviom, Inc.

1157 Phoenixville Pike, Suite 201West Chester, Pennsylvania 

Ray Legnini

What are some of the challenges of operation as an MI manufacturer in the metro Philadelphia area?

The biggest challenge is that we are a small privately owned business that designs and manufactures pro audio gear being made entirely in the United States. When it comes to cost and scale we can’t build hundreds of thousands of the same product, like some other companies who ship labor out to foreign countries.

When we do something it has to be done right the first time, with little room for error. The product design, circuit board layout, and acquisition of parts all takes time. Some of our products have thousands of parts and they all need attention.

How has the changing economic climate in the area affected your business?

We’re still feeling the results of the recession because our business is all over the country. Sometimes its project based and can be anywhere from six months to two years in the making. A design and build for a performing arts center or a school is a longer cycle time than a Broadway show which has a faster turnaround. There has been some carry over from the recession due to that timeline.

South Street Sounds

1531 South St Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jeff “Jason Jeffries” and Leona Woloszyn

What are some of the challenges of operation as an MI retailer in the metro Philadelphia area?

The main challenge is competing with the Internet. With phones and technology nowadays people can check your prices instantly and so we need to be constantly in touch with what things are selling for online. Parking can be a challenge in this area of Philly on South Street. A lot of studio clients come in about 15 minutes late because their suffering to find parking. For now, my place still has a decent amount of parking but the city recently took three parking spots away for bicycles and one for an outdoor “parklet” seating area. Also, the area is changing so much that we are expecting more possible issues with this in the next year; there’s a theater called Royal Theater that is slated to be changed into 30 or 40 apartments over the next year. Of course our tax laws make it difficult to run a business here there’s, so many ways that we are taxed it’s pretty complicated.

How has the changing economic climate in the area affected your store?

South Street Sounds used to be one of a few music stores in the area. Our initial focus was getting instruments into our customer’s hands for under $150. We’ve had a lot of success in seeding the market for our music lessons and recording studio. With all the new construction and influx of people our price point has upped from around $200 to $250. We’ve seen an increase in people able to purchase instruments.

We’ve noticed our clientele changing. We used to cater to a lot of college kids. The musicians that have less to spend, like The University of the Arts students or U Penn. students, are being pushed out of this general area about ten or 15 blocks away because the cost of rent is rising in the immediate area.

There may be a point in time where I have to move the store, although we have no plans of leaving

anytime in the near future. There is so much creativity coming into the area, but I’m not sure I would call it a Renaissance, maybe more of a “Rich-aissance”?

BridgeSet Sound

710 South Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Steve Harner

Metro Philadelphia is experiencing a building and economic boom. How has the changing climate in the area affected your store?

We regularly talk to newcomers that are moving to town and there is an influx of customers who tell us things like; they’ve just graduated from Berklee or they’re wanting to get plugged into the music scene.

We also experience a lot of tourism. We are located on a highly visible tourist street and we offer a welcoming space for musicians; we want tourists to remember their experience at BridgeSet Sound as part of their visit.

The economic climate is effecting us specifically with our pro audio initiative.

We have four models of business that we operate in; our retail store, our music lessons, our e- commerce online store, and our fourth branch of the business – our audio installation services. With all of the new restaurants and bars popping up around us and in the area in general, we are keeping very busy with that. I have a professional background since 2009 building music education labs in schools across the country. I designed and installed piano labs, recording studios, and music technology labs in schools. Some recent local audio installs I’ve completed are; Martha – a hoagies and sour beer bar, Ramen Bar 2, Banh Mì and Bottles, and Saint Benjamin’s Taproom. We also design and install home recording studios and home theaters for our customers.

Our mission statement is to connect you to music.