Hey everybody,

We are back for another In the Shop blog. Sorry it took a minute to get this one together, but it has been extremely hectic over here. June has been wide open so far. Usually summertime has a chance to mellow out a little bit around the shop, but that has definitely not been the case. Between online orders, customers coming through, gear arriving, Father’s Day, repairs, and everything else that seems to happen at the same time, it has been a very busy month already.

One thing we’ve been asked about a lot lately is the whole Fender lawsuit situation. If you’ve been online at all, you’ve probably seen something about Fender sending cease and desist notifications to builders making S-style guitars. A lot of people have asked what we think about it, and honestly, we’re still trying to figure it out with everybody else. I reached out to our Fender rep and told him to give me the “Kool-Aid version” because I figured there had to be more to the story than what was bouncing around on YouTube and social media. His feeling was that it may be getting blown up a little bit online, which is usually what happens when something like this hits. YouTubers are going to YouTube, and the headlines are always going to be a little louder than the actual details.

That being said, it is definitely interesting. Personally, I understand trying to stop blatant copies, especially the super cheap imported stuff that is just directly ripping off designs. But when it comes to high-end builders like Suhr, Tom Anderson, or PRS with the Silver Sky, I think it gets a lot more complicated. My feeling has always been that if somebody sees a great player on stage with a really high-end S-style guitar, there’s a good chance that it actually helps Fender in the long run. Not everybody is going to spend that kind of money on a boutique guitar, but it may inspire them to go buy a Player Strat, an American Pro, or something else from Fender that fits their budget. The more that shape is out there being played, the more it keeps that style of guitar in people’s minds.

So for now, we’re just watching and waiting like everyone else. Fender still makes incredible guitars, and obviously we’ll continue to carry them and support the line. I’m sure there’s more to the story than what any of us are seeing from the outside. But we did have a little fun with it the other day and posted Mia holding an Ibanez S-style, a PRS Silver Sky, a used Zion, a Kramer Baretta, and a fake “cease and desist” sign. Sometimes you’ve got to have a sense of humor about it. If we hear anything useful from Fender, we’ll pass it along, but for now we’re just seeing how it all shakes out.

Over in the drum department, we’ve been putting a big spotlight on our DW Exotic snare drums. If you go to the homepage of our website right now, you’ll see them featured right when you open the site. We’ve been slowly building up a collection of custom DW snares, and because they take months to arrive, I honestly forget what I even have on order sometimes. Then they start trickling in, and it feels like Christmas when you open the boxes. Right now we probably have the best-looking DW snare selection we’ve ever had in the store. These drums are absolute works of art. The veneers, fades, lacquer finishes, hardware choices — all of it is just next level. And obviously they look incredible, but they sound even better. DW doesn’t mess around with that stuff. If you click the feature on the site, it’ll take you to the blog where each snare is highlighted. Definitely take a look, or better yet, come see them in person.

Also in Drumland, we officially had our first consignment drum set sale. It was a Ludwig Classic Oak kit that our buddy Brett left with us, and it sold pretty quickly. I’ll admit, we were a little nervous about taking in full drum sets at first, especially knowing we might eventually have to ship one. But this was a great experience. The kit was beautiful, the customer found us online from up north, and everything came together really well. The customer did want a tom mount installed on the kick drum, so I ordered a Ludwig Atlas mount and Robbie helped me get that installed. Drilling into a kick drum always makes you take a deep breath for a second, but it turned out great. The customer didn’t want to have to use a snare stand for the rack tom, so this made the kit a lot more practical for him. It shipped out today, and he’s anxiously waiting for it to arrive. Just a reminder — if you ever need drum customization like that, we can help. Mount installs, repairs, heads, tuning, hardware swaps — don’t hesitate to ask.

We also got a limited-edition Ludwig Supraphonic this week. It’s a 6.5x14 model with the satin-style silver hardware and matching look, and it’s a really sharp drum. We were able to get one, and for now it’s up on the new snare rack in the drum department. On top of that, we finally have enough used and consignment cymbals in stock that we can honestly say we have a used cymbal section for the first time ever. That is something I’ve wanted to see happen for a while. We’ve got about a dozen or so used cymbals right now, and they’ve been selling really well. If you’ve got cymbals you’re not using, bring them in and let us help. We’d love to keep that section growing.

We also had a very special surprise visitor in the drum department this week — the one and only Les Cleveland. If you’ve been around the Columbia music scene for a while, you know exactly who I’m talking about. Les is an incredible drummer, incredible musician, and just one of those people who is deeply connected to the history of this store and the Columbia drum community. He grew up around Sims and was extremely close with our late friend John Blackwell. Those two were kind of the kings of the drumming world around here for a long time.

Les lives out in Los Angeles now, but he was back in town visiting family for a few days and decided to come see us — because apparently we count as family too, which I’ll absolutely take. It was awesome. Gage and I got to spend some time hanging with him, and it was really cool getting to introduce the two of them. Les has some exciting stuff coming up, but I’ll let him be the one to share that when it’s public. He’s a world-class player and a world-class person, and it meant a lot to see how excited he was about the new drum department and how the shop has grown.

It also made me think a lot about how lucky Columbia is to have such a deep drumming community. I really do think a lot of that foundation was built in the ’90s by players like John Blackwell, Les, and that whole crew. They inspired a generation, and now we get to watch younger players like Jacobi Gunter and others inspire the next one. It’s really cool to see that thread continue, and we’re honored to be a hub for that community.

Over in the guitar world, we got a batch of Danelectros in, including a double neck, which is always a fun one to have around the shop. Those guitars are just cool and different. Not something you see every day, and they always get attention when people walk by the rack. If you like slightly off-the-beaten-path guitars, definitely come check those out. We’ve also had a ton of Fender and Squier gear rolling in. One highlight was the American Ultra II Texas Tea Telecaster. If you haven’t seen that finish in person, it’s really cool. At first glance it almost looks black, but when you turn it in the light, it shifts with this greenish, oily, chameleon-like color. It’s one of those finishes that doesn’t fully translate in photos. You really need to see it in person.

We also had another surprise visitor this week. I was over in the drum department and heard a voice from across the store that I recognized immediately. I thought, “Wait a minute… that’s Jonathan from Casino Guitars.” Sure enough, Jonathan and his family were passing through town and stopped by the shop. If you follow Casino Guitars on YouTube, you already know Baxter and Jonathan do a great job with their videos. They talk about the industry, guitars, products, and all kinds of behind-the-scenes music retail stuff. They’re good buddies of ours, and it was great to give Jonathan and his family a tour of the newly renovated  shop. He’s a super dude and an amazing player. After I posted a picture of him, a couple customers even reached out asking if he was still there because they wanted to come meet him. YouTube celebrity status is real.

On the used guitar side, we had a really special piece come in — a 1936 Martin R-17. It’s an archtop acoustic with steel strings, and this one is in incredible condition. My dad and I actually bought one of these a few years back that was in good shape, but this one is exceptionally clean, especially considering it’s nearly 90 years old. It’s now hanging in the Martin room and is absolutely worth coming in to see. Just across from it with the new Martins, we got a Martin D-28 Ambertone back in stock. When most people think of a D-28, they picture the classic natural spruce top, but the Ambertone versions are always a nice change of pace. They look incredible and still have that D-28 sound we all know.

A random but fun shop note — if the World Cup is on and Team USA is playing, don’t worry, you won’t miss it if you’re here. We’ve had the games on the TV and piped through the store speakers. Normally we run music videos, but lately we’ve been putting on any of the Major PGA events, and now the World Cup has been rolling pretty much nonstop. We may not have a bunch of beer like an Irish pub, but you can still come shop and catch the game with us while you shop!

Also, shoutout to Amelia for a simple but brilliant idea. She asked why we don’t have shopping baskets. We see people walking around all the time holding drumsticks, strings, cables, picks, and whatever else, with nowhere to put it all. So she found us some cool little shopping baskets. If you see them by the door, they’re there for you to use. Load them up!

I also want to take a moment to mention a good customer and friend of ours. I won’t go into too much detail, but a very young drummer and great friend of the shop recently had a serious health episode and is recovering from a stroke. He’s one of those people who brings good energy into the store every time he walks through the door, and he means a lot to us. I was able to go visit him this morning and brought him the very first shirt from our new Sims Music merch batch — the one with the old vintage logo like the sign out front. It was really good to see him, and he’s in great spirits with his family around him. He has a long road ahead, but we’re all pulling for him and can’t wait to see him back in the shop and behind a drum set again. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Coming up, don’t forget that the next Ukulele Jam is right around the corner on June 29th at 6:45. Jessica will be leading it as always, and it’s always a fun time. Bring a friend, borrow one of our ukes if you need to, and just come hang out. We’re also working on a back-to-school event with Freeway Music coming up in August, so we’ll share more information on that as we get closer.

All in all, it’s been wide open around here — repair shop, last-minute Father’s Day gifts, drum gear, guitars, consignment, used gear, soccer on the TV, shopping baskets, surprise visitors, and a little bit of everything else. That’s pretty much life at Sims Music.

Come by and see us. Come watch some soccer, play some guitars, hit some cymbals, check out the used section, or just hang!

We’ll see you soon.

Justin Sims