Elderly Instruments
| File:Elderly logo.gif | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical instruments Record distribution |
| Founded | East Lansing, Michigan |
| Founder | Stan Werbin Sharon McInturff |
| Headquarters | Lansing, Michigan |
| Services | Musical instrument repair |
| Owner | Stan Werbin |
Number of employees | 85 (2008)[1] |
| Website | Elderly.com |
Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument retailer in Lansing, Michigan, with a national reputation as a seller, repair shop, and locus for folk music. It specializes in fretted instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles, and maintains a selection of odd or rare instruments of many types. Elderly is best known as a premier repair shop for fretted instruments, as one of the larger vintage instrument dealers in the United States, and as a large dealer of Martin guitars in particular.
Industry publications, particularly music retail trade and bluegrass music journals, frequently feature articles about the Elderly repair staff. The company also provides consignment services for rare and vintage instruments. Elderly has undergone two major expansions: into mail order 1975 and then into Internet sales in the 1990s. Today it is recognized internationally for its services and products;[2] its mail order and Internet business account for 65–70 percent of its total revenue. Elderly grossed $12 million in 1999.[3]
In addition to retail and repair services, Elderly Instruments is frequently noted as a center of local music culture, particularly for bluegrass and "twang" music. Elderly Instruments operates a wholesale record distribution business, Sidestreet Distributing, in the lower level of its complex, servicing more than 300 small retail businesses.
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 many collaborations and "open mike nights" at local venues. It was through those experiences that Werbin developed his appreciation for the wide variety of instruments the musicians were playing, as well as the various types of music that fall under the folk music genre.[4]
When Werbin finished graduate school, he looked for business opportunities and decided to utilize 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.[1] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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".[7]
Elderly Instruments expanded during the following years. Shortly after the 1972 United States Presidential election, the Michigan Youth Politics Institute moved out of the space across the hall, and Elderly took over the entire basement of the building.[1] In 1975, it expanded into the mail order business.[8] By 1982, Elderly Instruments had about 25 employees but little available space, and so in the following year the owners bought an Independent Order of Odd Fellows building in Lansing, Michigan. After it was renovated for retail use, the company moved into it in January 1984, and in 1986 Werbin bought out McInturff to become the sole owner. In 1994, Elderly expanded again by buying adjacent building space that had once been a post office and a National Cash Register Company building.[1] Around the same time, it began taking merchandise orders over its new web site.[9] The company does not, however, sell merchandise through online auction sites such as eBay, unlike many other independent musical instrument retailers.[2] Werbin notes that entering the Internet business was not much of a challenge for Elderly, as the staff was already experienced at taking and shipping orders for customers throughout the world.[8] He also notes that, with its mail order and Internet business accounting for 65–70 percent of its total revenue,[1] Elderly would have experienced limited growth in Lansing had it not expanded into those markets.[1] The company operates in around 35,000 ft² (3,300 m²) of space, and is one of the largest vintage instruments dealers in the United States.[9]
Elderly Instruments has become popular and internationally known due to its attention to folk music niche markets,[3] its reputation as a repair shop,[8] its selection of vintage instruments,[7] and its position as a large Martin guitar dealer.[2]
Instrument sales
Elderly Instruments sells new and used instruments from its inventory and on consignment. In 2007 alone, Elderly sold more than 16,000 instruments.[10] The company is a large dealer of Martin guitars,[2] as well as other mainstream brands such as Guild, Ovation, and Fender. It sells many used Gibson instruments, but not new models. Although the bulk of its business comes from guitar sales, the company carries a wide range of other instruments, such as banjos, ukuleles, mandolins, accordions, concertinas, bouzoukis, sitars, musical saws, and African thumb pianos.[7] Some of the rarer instruments are purchased as collectibles; for example, Elderly is an exclusive retailer of "LunchBox-A-LeLes", ukuleles made from various tin lunch box designs.[11] The journal Bluegrass Unlimited has noted Elderly Instruments for carrying "elite" brands of instruments, such as Paul Duff mandolins, Huss & Dalton acoustic guitars, Stelling banjos, and Nash electric guitars. Elderly was once one of only two American retailers for Apitius Mandolins, now only sold direct.[12] As part of its consignment business, Elderly sells "collections" of instruments that sometimes have rich histories. In September 2006, it placed the Dopyera family's personal collection of resonator instruments up for sale, including some of the Dobro and National brands. The Dopyera family was responsible for founding those companies and innovating the resonator instrument trade.[13]
Elderly Instruments carries a large number of Martin guitars, including new, used, and 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.[14]
Prominent 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.[4][14] 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.[14] Elderly Instruments staff members have set up organizations such as the "Friends of Bluegrass" to support local bluegrass musicians.[4]
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.[10]
Repair and appraisals
Elderly is known nationally for the quality and expertise of its repair technicians, many of whom carry out major restoration projects.[2][8] The repair shop occupies about 3,000 ft² (280 m²) of space in the Elderly building.[15] Guitarists routinely send valuable instruments to Elderly for complete restoration or other major work such as refinishing and refretting. Many notable guitarists are patrons of Elderly.[8] Elderly's repair department services other fretted instruments such as banjos, ukuleles, and balalaikas.[6] The company also performs an "inspection and setup" service for new and used instruments, which ensures good workmanship, neck angle, fret integrity, properly working hardware and electronics, and other adjustments. Setup of new instruments ensures proper intonation.[16]
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.[17]
Elderly provides a nationally known 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 national 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.[2]
Other enterprises
After opening its first retail space, Elderly began selling hand-picked records supplied by Rounder Records, a small distributor that later grew into a successful 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.[18] In 1997, the operation was renamed Sidestreet Distributing.
Elderly currently dedicates a section of its retail space to record sales. A full-time purchasing manager maintains a 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 by a musical instrument.[4] Elderly sells a large amount of instructional books and other material, much of which focuses on folk music and bluegrass genres.[19]
Local musicians give lessons at the Elderly Instruments School of Music, located on the premises. Some of the instructors, such as jazz guitarist Ray Kamalay, are nationally renowned musicians. The focus is on folk music and fretted instruments, but instruction on other instruments such as the accordion, harmonica, and tinwhistle is also available.[20]
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. The Elderly web site, which offers both new and used instruments, is also updated regularly by a full-time employee to reflect the current inventory. Elderly purchases some of its used instruments from customers and then offers them for sale, while others are offered on consignment. New instrument listings include detailed photographs and descriptions. The listing for each used instrument gives a detailed description of its condition, a quality rating, photographs, and a list of accessories (such as a hardshell case) that come with the instrument.[2] Although larger retailers dominate the Internet market share, Elderly attempts to serve vertical markets by offering specialized or rare items on its web site, such as left-handed guitars.[21]
In response to questions about his strategy for dealing with larger retailers such as Guitar Center and American Musical Supply, which also operate large mail order and Internet businesses, Werbin states that he has learned to operate on small margins and serve niche markets to stay competitive. While Elderly grossed $12 million in 1999, Guitar Center grossed $297 million. Werbin notes that while discounting products by 40 percent set his business apart from the competition in the 1970s, such discounts are now considered normal.[3]
Twang and other folk music
Noise, a periodical published by the newspaper Lansing State Journal, has written that Elderly Instruments is the "epicenter" of an emerging form of American folk music, named "twang". Twang music is sometimes referred to as "alternative country" and is gaining popularity in Lansing and other cities. Several twang bands perform and record in Lansing, many including at least one Elderly employee. 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.[9]
The New York Times and other works cite Elderly as important to the folk music industry due to its selection of instruments, community involvement, and industry knowledge.[22] Other news outlets cite Elderly as a "folk music mecca" due to its popularity with folk musicians and its organization or sponsorship of folk festivals, such as the annual National Folk Festival.[23]
Gibson Guitar Corporation actions
In June 2005, Gibson Guitar Corporation filed a cease and desist order and an accompanying lawsuit against Elderly Instruments. The complaint alleged that Elderly was selling a banjo on its web site marketed as a "Gibson copy" and that the phrase constituted a trademark infringement. Despite Elderly's claim of having addressed the issue by changing the phrase first to "Famous Maker Copy" and then to "Classic Bluegrass Banjo Copy", Gibson persisted with the complaint and asked for unspecified damages.[24] Gibson later issued a press release stating that the lawsuit had been settled.[25]
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.[24]
References
- ^ 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.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Remson, Adam (2002). "Elderly Instruments — The fountain of youth in a vintage guitar store". The Music and Sound Retailer.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c PG (1999). "Battle of the band suppliers". Catalog Age: 34.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Collins (1998). "Elderly Instruments—They Don't Make 'Em Like That Any More!". Bluegrass Now.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|First=ignored (|first=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Chapin, Bill (January 6, 2002). "Lansing's Backstage for Bands: Elderly Instruments celebrates 30 years as creative Mecca for mid-Michigan music scene". Noise.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Wieland, Barbara (2004-05-10). "Store owner strums his way to success in music business". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c Massey, David (2001). "Interview with Elderly Instruments President Stan Werbin". Musical Merchandise Review.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e Caswell, Cristine (2004). "King of String". Lansing Business Monthly.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c Miller, Matthew (2004). "Twang Town". Noise.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Branam (1996). "A Heaven for Pickers". Michigan Living.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|First=ignored (|first=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ 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 (2000). "The High Lonesome Craft". Bluegrass Unlimited. 35 (4): 54–57.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|First=ignored (|first=suggested) (help) - ^ Staff (2006-09-19). "Elderly Instruments to Sell Rare Dobro Collection". Absolute Michigan. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ a b c Buckly (1999). "Elderly Instruments—A Hectic Day". Bluegrass Canada.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|First=ignored (|first=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Staff. "Repair Shop". Elderly Instruments web site. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Staff. "Setups and Adjustment". Elderly Instruments web site. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ Chappell, Jon (1996). "Back From the Dead: Learn How to Bring Your Beloved Beater Back to Life". Guitar Shop.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ McCormick (April 18,1987). "Something Old, Plenty New At Elderly Instruments". Billboard Magazine.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|First=ignored (|first=suggested) (help) - ^ "Elderly Instruments". Michigan State University Museum. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Staff. "Elderly Instruments School of Music". Elderly Instruments web site. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- ^ Staff (2000-05-15). "What Makes Sense in the World of E-Commerce". Los Angeles Business Journal.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (2008-02-10). "Shared Song, Communal Memory". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
- ^ Staff (1999-08-13). "State's folk music mecca is in tune with times". The Detroit News.
- ^ a b Staff (2005). "Elderly music vs. Gibson: leading vintage dealer sued for advertising 'Gibson copy'". Music Trades: 46.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Staff (2007-01-03). "Gibson Guitar Resolves Lawsuit Against Elderly Instruments, Inc., of MI". Gibson Guitar Corporation. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
External links