Scully11 - Posted - 04/25/2016:  16:12:02

Hi all...I searched this topic on the forum and found some posts from 2009. Apparently there weren't many options for buying banjos in NYC back then and I'm wondering if anything has changed. I'm visiting there from Australia in May and was hoping to see some of the beautiful open backs that I've been reading about on this forum...am I going to be in the wrong city for banjos? Thanks in advance.

kmwaters - Posted - 04/25/2016:  16:58:08

David Gage deals in string instruments but not banjos. However he is in NY and I bet can help you.

212.274.1322.

n1wr - Posted - 04/25/2016:  17:03:25

Mandolin Bros. (Staten Island)

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/25/2016:  18:10:48

Mando Bros is closed I think.

Try Retrofret/Musurgia in Brooklyn. Also Lark Street Music across the Hudson in Teaneck NJ.

Matt Umanov in Manhattan may have something although the specialize more in guitars.

I don't think of NYC as a banjo shopping town anymore.

Old Hickory - Posted - 04/25/2016:  19:26:23

Mandolin Brothers still exists, but the family is in the process of shutting it down.  The store is open by appointment only and there are very few banjos remaining, according to the inventory listed online.

Retrofret (in Brooklyn) usually has several banjos. The times I've been there, they had more old-timey banjos than bluegrass.

I was in Matt Umanov within the past few months.They had several new Omes and Gold Tones. Don't remember what else. Not a lot. As Dick says, not really a banjo-oriented shop.

The big music retailers in NY -- Sam Ash and Guitar Center -- will likely have some Goodtimes and Gold Tones, probably an Epiphone MB100, and maybe a Washburn or an RK35.  Not a place to go if you want to try a lot of top quality banjos.  It will also be hit-or-miss as to the banjos being correctly set up so they're even playable.

drfordo - Posted - 04/25/2016:  20:01:01

If you can somehow make your way to Rochester, NY (maybe 6 hours by car)--Bernunzio Uptown Music has scores of 19th and earlier 20th century banjos and some newer ones, too.

Scully11 - Posted - 04/25/2016:  22:44:17

Thank you everyone for your help

BanjarBilly - Posted - 04/26/2016:  04:02:17

There's not much Buzzy Levine  at Lark Street Music just of the bridge in Teaneck New jersey ha a few jos 

raharris - Posted - 04/26/2016:  06:41:28

quote:

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Originally posted by n1wr

 

Mandolin Bros. (Staten Island)

---

Alas, Mandolin Brothers is closed and is up for sale due to the death of its owner, Stan Jay.  The note on their site says they will accept shoppers by appointment, but my understanding is thant their stock is depleted.   

Website:  mandoweb.com/

Recent hangout discussion on the subject: banjohangout.org/topic/314504

kmwaters - Posted - 04/26/2016:  07:11:20

Bernunzio probably knows about the Big Apple even though he is upstate.

cfheery - Posted - 04/26/2016:  10:58:33

Head down to Jalopy in Red Hook. They're more of a performance venue and music school, but they have instruments on the walls for sale. There's a pretty nice old time community based around that place.

Old Hickory - Posted - 04/26/2016:  15:51:16

Not a big selection at Jaopy right now. 

BANJO TONY - Posted - 04/27/2016:  05:13:15

NYC is a banjo desert, sad to say. too bad because we are ripe for the pick'en & we all ways had a big folk following in Brooklyn & down town Manhattan.

Scully11 - Posted - 04/29/2016:  21:14:25

It seems that way BANJO TONY ....I find this really surprising, being New York!!...I guess if I planned ahead I could ask to get a banjo of my
choice shipped from down south to a NYC music shop.

arnie fleischer - Posted - 04/30/2016:  12:31:59

quote:

---

Originally posted by Scully11

 

It seems that way BANJO TONY ....I find this really surprising, being New York!!...I guess if I planned ahead I could ask to get a banjo of my

choice shipped from down south to a NYC music shop.

---

In fact, probably not, unless the NYC shop happens to be a dealer for that particular maker.  

And the chances of that are almost certainly slim and none.

Otherwise, if you didn't buy it, the shop would either have to keep it (and as you've already seen most NYC music stores are not exactly looking to add to their inventory of banjos - assuming they have an inventory of banjos to begin with) or else absorb the cost of sending it back to the manufacturer.

As Old Hickory says, Retrofret in Brooklyn is a notable exception.  Their inventory consists almost exclusively of vintage open back banjos - not new ones.  It's a great place to visit (though somewhat out of the way) if they have something you might be interested in,  Check the Hangout link and see what they have.

El Dobro - Posted - 05/02/2016:  17:32:21

This reminds me how sorely missed the Mandolin Brothers is.

D Webster - Posted - 05/06/2016:  07:05:07

There's a guy over on 9th avenue who has a dozen or so (used) in his apartment for sale. Super nice guy, name of Carson. He's got a few listings on cragislist: newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg...8306.html

ceemonster - Posted - 05/07/2016:  00:52:06

It's a sign of the times, for sure. A sad sign. What the heck does this mean? NYC was once the culturally the world capital of . . . everything. Everything. Every cultural-niche-specialty your heart could fancy, there would be at least one emporium to sigh over. So many cultural gems of NY are disappearing.

Lansing, Michigan (BTW, there's an idea, OP---a junket to Lansing, Michigan) has a world-class banjo store, and NYC does not???!!???

bartmcneil - Posted - 05/08/2016:  07:14:45

There is really no mystery why there are few banjo oriented shops in NYC and a good one in Lansing, Michigan. To rent or buy  retail space in NYC is likely ten times what it would be in Lansing, Michigan. And banjos, in much of the United States, are not hot sellers.

Mandolin Brothers is/was in the low rent district of Staten island. Roughly an hour by subway, Staten Island ferry and bus from New York City.

This comment is from an escapee from the high cost of Manhattan living.

Edited by - bartmcneil on 05/08/2016 07:19:33

hweinberg - Posted - 05/08/2016:  08:30:41

Notwithstanding the banjo shopping desert (with a small oasis or two like Retrofret -- more exciting for guitars than banjos) that is NYC, there are a number of jams that you might enjoy depending on what music you play.

Old Hickory - Posted - 05/09/2016:  09:52:51

This is true. Great number of jams, with options for all levels of player.