Hey everybody,

I’m back for another In the Shop blog, and once again it’s been a minute. Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. We’ve had renovations going on, new products coming in, new staff getting settled, a lot of movement on the floor, and just the general chaos that seems to come with Sims Music these days. So there’s a lot to catch up on.

I’m going to start in the acoustic room because we recently got one of the coolest guitars we’ve had in a long time. You may have seen it on our social media, but we received two of the limited Martin HD-28 Semiquincentennial models with the Liberty Bell inlay on the headstock. Only 250 of these were made, and the guitar even got featured on the Today Show, so there has been a lot of attention around it. We were fortunate enough to get two. One of our customers had already expressed interest, so as soon as they came in, we gave him a call. He came by, fell in love with it, and took the first one home. The second one, at least for now, we’ve decided not to sell. We’re keeping it in the shop as a collector’s piece. We’ll probably have it out at times for people to see, and then tuck it away at others just to keep it protected. It’s one of those guitars that feels like a piece of history, and Martin absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one.If you haven’t seen it in person yet, definitely come by and take a look.

The Martin room in general has been buzzing lately. Christopher Bacon, our Martin rep, came through town recently and spent some time helping us organize things and go over some new ordering. We’ve really been working hard to keep that room laid out in a way that makes sense, with the Standard Series featured prominently, the Modern and Retro models organized on the side walls, and some really nice used and consignment pieces mixed in as well. The biggest challenge has honestly just been keeping the room full. Martin has been on fire lately. The quality has been fantastic, the guitars sound incredible, and people have been buying them. So as quickly as we get some of the popular models in, they seem to disappear again. That’s a good problem to have. We’re very proud of that room and grateful for the support Martin has given us. If you see a Martin you like, though, my advice is pretty simple — you probably shouldn’t wait too long.

The Taylor department has been getting a lot of attention too. Taylor has expanded their lineup so much lately that I’ll be honest, it has made my job a little more difficult trying to decide exactly what we need to keep in stock. You now have the Next Generation models, which are essentially the evolution of the Taylor guitars everybody already knows and loves, and then you have the Gold Label series, which is really its own thing. The Gold Labels have a completely new feel with different body shapes, different finishes and pickguards, different cases — really a completely different feel from the traditional Taylor lineup.

We’ve been bringing in more of those lately and are continuing to expand the selection. I believe we’ve got an 814 Gold Label coming, a 717 Gold Label, and several others either arriving or already here as you read this. The goal is to have a really strong mix of the Tecate-built models, the traditional USA guitars, the Next Generation models, and the Gold Labels so people can actually sit down and compare them instead of just reading about them online. We’re also getting everything ready for the fourth quarter because Taylor is always a huge part of the holiday season for us. I can’t give you all the details yet, but there will be some promotional opportunities coming on certain Taylor models later this year, along with some longer-term financing options through Synchrony on Taylor, Martin, and other participating acoustic brands. So keep an eye out for that.

Honestly, the acoustic room renovation we did was one of the best decisions we’ve made. We needed the space badly, and it has completely changed the shopping experience. It feels much more open, much more comfortable, and it gives us room to actually display the amount of acoustic inventory we’re carrying now.

Over in the electric guitar world, we finally saw the arrival — and very quick departure — of the limited-edition PRS Silver Sky in Wild Blue. We had waited around six months for that guitar. It was limited to around 1,000 pieces, featured a matching headstock, and had that really unique blue-green finish that you just don’t see every day. A good friend of ours locally ended up buying it, which I always think is really cool. Obviously, we’re happy to sell guitars anywhere. We ship guitars all over the country every day. But when something really limited and special stays local, it’s kind of fun because you may actually get to see it again when it comes back through the shop for a setup or some work.

And then right after that, PRS announced the new Defender collection. These are Silver Sky models inspired by Land Rover Defender colors, which makes sense considering John Mayer is a big Defender collector. PRS is doing the lineup in both SE and USA models. We jumped on the orders immediately. We’ve got eight of the SE Silver Skys on order, and we were able to get one of each of the USA Defender models. One of those was already claimed almost immediately, so as I write this, there are only a few USA models left unspoken for.If you’re interested in one, I would definitely reach out sooner rather than later. The USA versions are supposed to arrive around November, and the SE models are expected around December if everything stays on schedule. The timing of the whole thing is also pretty funny considering all the recent chatter about Fender and PRS over S-style guitars, and then here comes something literally called the Defender collection. I’m pretty sure that’s a coincidence, but it still made us laugh.

Speaking of Fender, there is some new stuff coming. That’s about all I can tell you. Mark your calendars for October 8th and 13th. We’ll be able to make some announcements then. You may even start seeing some things show up around the store before we’re officially allowed to talk about them, but once the embargo lifts, we’ll show everybody what’s going on. There’s some very cool stuff coming.

In the middle of all the chaos, I did sneak out of town for a very quick trip. My mother-in-law has obviously been through a very difficult couple of months after losing my father-in-law, and one of the plans before he passed was for the two of them to take a Disney trip once treatments were over. Unfortunately, that never got to happen. However, a really special opportunity popped up through a friend of ours who works at Disney, so we surprised my mother-in-law and took her down there for a quick two-day trip with Jessica and Piper. It was very last minute and very fast, but it was good for everybody. Then I came right back and jumped straight into everything going on at the shop…

And there is plenty going on in Drumland. I think we’re somewhere around 140 snare drums in stock right now, and my goal is to eventually get us to 250 by next summer. Where exactly I’m going to put 250 snare drums is a problem for future Justin. But we’ll figure it out. I've finally been talking with Bill Detamore at Pork Pie, so yes, we are officially going to be bringing Pork Pie snares into the shop. We’ll probably add some of their thrones as well. I’m excited about that one because there are already a lot of local players who use and love Pork Pie, and it feels like a very natural addition to what we’re building.

We’ve also been pushing the Tama selection harder. We’ve added more of their higher-end snare drums, including some signature models. We’ve got the new Peter Erskine model, the Anika Nilles Signature, and several other really nice drums from the Tama lineup. On the DW side, we’re still doing a lot of the Exotic Collector’s Series drums because those have been doing really well, but we’re also deliberately expanding into some more straightforward finishes and price points. Not everybody wants to spend $1,100 on an exotic veneer snare drum. Sometimes you just want a great DW maple snare in Broken Glass, Blue Sparkle, or another classic finish for about half that price. So we’re working on having both.

We’ve got several different sizes and configurations on order, and three more snare racks coming from Gator because apparently I need more places to put all of this. We’ve also added a bunch of Ludwig snares lately that we hadn’t previously stocked. I can pretty confidently say that this is the best snare drum selection we’ve ever had at Sims. And we’re nowhere close to finished. As long as everybody keeps supporting the drum department, I’m going to keep pushing it. So please keep enabling me.

We also had a fun little exclusive product arrive recently. Our friend at Gator and Levy’s knows I’m a huge Phish fan, and he reached out with an opportunity to do an exclusive run of guitar straps using the famous red-and-blue donut pattern. If you’re a Phish person, you immediately know what I’m talking about. So naturally I said yes.We now have an exclusive Sims Music run of Levy’s donut-pattern guitar straps available in the shop and online. We posted them on Instagram, and they started selling immediately. Even if you’re not a Phish fan, honestly, it’s just a great-looking strap. But if you are a Phish fan, you probably need one. We don’t get opportunities to do exclusive products with major brands all the time, so this was a really fun one to be part of.

Speaking of the drum community, we had a moment recently that honestly meant a lot to everyone here. A while back I mentioned our friend Adam, a young drummer and longtime customer who suffered a very serious stroke and spent around three months in the hospital. He’s got a long recovery ahead of him. The other day, I was working on something in the drum department when the front door opened, and I looked up and saw Adam coming in with his dad in his wheelchair. I honestly wasn’t expecting to see him back in the shop that quickly. It was incredible. He’s doing well, he’s working hard, and he told us he’s been practicing on a pad and keeping his right-hand chops going while he works on getting the left side of his body stronger. His goal is obvious — get back behind the kit. We’re all pulling for him. It was just really special seeing him back in his environment, talking drums and hanging out with everybody again. So keep Adam in your thoughts and prayers. He has a long road ahead, but he’s working incredibly hard and we’re excited to see him continue making progress.

On the renovation side of things, if you haven’t been into the store in the last few days, the keyboard department looks completely different. We’ve been planning this one for a while. Our good friend Robert, who has helped us with a lot of the renovations around the store, built us an entirely new set of keyboard displays. We brought them in on Sunday, tore down another wall — because apparently that’s just what we do now — and completely opened up the department. Now when you walk through the front door, you can immediately see the keyboards. The new displays also allow us to get a lot of product off the floor and organize everything much more cleanly. We’re still putting the finishing touches on it. I’ve been working on it all day as I’m writing this, and my dad has been on a ladder painting, putting up trim, and doing what he does. Give us another week or so and it should be completely dialed in. The timing is perfect because the holidays are right around the corner, and digital pianos and portable keyboards are always a huge category for us during fourth quarter. So we’re loading that department up and getting ready.

It’s kind of crazy when I step back and think about how much of the store we’ve renovated recently.We started with the acoustic room and bass department, expanded the drums, removed the stage and completely rebuilt the electric guitar section, renovated the bathroom, and now rebuilt the keyboard department. Once keyboards are finished, we’re headed right back into the drum room for another round. That next project should help us expand the snare drum display even more!

We’ve also had some staff changes lately. Our new photographer, Ashley, has officially gotten settled in, and she has been doing an incredible job. A lot of the new product photography you’re seeing on the website and social media has been hers, and she really hit the ground running. So welcome Ashley. And our longtime friend of the store, Adam Whitehead, has joined us on the sales floor. Adam is a great singer, guitar player, and musician, and he’s been around the store and around our family forever. He’s helping out with pretty much everything, but obviously guitars are right in his wheelhouse. He has been a great addition to the team and has fit right in! So if you see Adam in the shop, say hey and make him earn his paycheck.

Coming up next for me, I’m getting ready to head out to Los Angeles for one of my favorite industry trips of the year. Every October, I get the opportunity to attend DW’s Oxfest.DW’s factory is in Oxnard, California, and normally a lot of the event happens around the factory. This year, though, they’re doing everything at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, and we’ll be staying right there in LA Live. I’m really excited about this one. We’ll be getting sneak peeks at what’s coming from DW, Slingerland, PDP, and some Roland products, along with whatever else they decide to surprise us with. DW never disappoints when it comes to these events. I’ve also been told there’s going to be a performance featuring a bunch of pretty ridiculous drummers, so that alone should be worth the trip. It’s always great getting to see the DW crew, reconnect with other shop owners and managers, talk about what everybody is seeing in the industry, and get an early look at what’s coming next. We’ve already got some really cool DW product either on the way or already arriving for the holidays, so I’m curious to see what else they’ve got up their sleeve. I’ll share whatever photos and information I’m allowed to while I’m out there. Some of it will probably be confidential, so there may be some things I have to keep quiet about until later. But once I get back, I’ll definitely give everybody a recap of everything I’m allowed to talk about.

Overall, things are wide open around Sims right now. The staff has been working incredibly hard. Jon is buried in the repair shop as usual, photography has been buzzing, everybody on the floor has been hustling, and we’re finally coming out of the back-to-school rush and shifting our attention toward the holidays. So a huge thank you to the staff for keeping everything moving, and an even bigger thank you to all of you for continuing to support the store.

We’re getting ready for what should be a completely crazy fourth quarter. Come by and see the new keyboard department, check out the Martin 250th Anniversary guitar, try some of the new snares, grab a donut strap, or just come hang out for a while.

As always, if you need anything, you know where to find me.

Thanks everybody. We’ll see you soon.

-Justin Sims