Alright everybody — Week 9 of the “In the Shop” blog. Here we are.

This was kind of the last “normal” week before things get a little crazy around here getting ready for the big acoustic guitar event on April 14th. As I’m writing this, next week is going to be all about prep — organizing guitars, coordinating with reps, getting food and drinks dialed in, figuring out layout… all the fun stuff that comes with putting on an event like this.

We love doing these events, but they are a ton of work. Worth it every time — just takes a lot of planning. So this week was a nice, steady lead-in before things ramp up.

Drum Department

Over in Drumland, we finally got something we’ve been waiting on — the Tama Spartan boom stands. We talked about the new Spartan series in a previous blog, and now that the booms are here, they absolutely live up to the hype. They look like normal hardware, but you pick one up and it weighs next to nothing. It’s kind of wild. Our buddy Geoff Shackley came back in to check them out after grabbing some of the straight stands, and we put one to the test — actually mounted a tom on it. You can check out our Instagram to see a video of Gage hitting a tom that was hanging from the stand. No issues at all. Super stable. A couple of days later, our buddy Braden Cox hit me up asking about lightweight hardware options. I sent him a video we posted, and about 30 minutes later he was pulling into the parking lot. Grabbed some, played a gig that weekend, and came back for more. That tells you everything you need to know.

The boom arm is hollowed steel, so you’re getting the strength without the weight. It’s honestly one of the best lightweight hardware options we’ve seen if you don’t want to go with the ultra-minimal stuff.

Also on drumland, I got to spend some time with a longtime friend, Jay, helping him pick out a snare to go along with his new kit. We went through a bunch, including the new Sonor aluminum and Yamaha aluminum, which both sounded great. It was actually my first real hands-on time with the Sonor stuff, which was fun. As great as those 2 drums sounded, as soon as we hit a Ludwig Universal Black Nickel Over Brass, it was game over. One hit and we both looked at each other like… yeah, that’s it. For the money, those Universal snares are tough to beat. And it matched his Tama Starclassic kit perfectly with the black nickel hardware.

He also brought in an older Tama Artstar snare (mid-80s) that needs some love — lug issue, new wires, etc. So now we’re on the hunt for parts to get that one dialed back in. Always cool seeing those older Artstar drums come through.

Quick reminder — if you’ve got drum repairs, we’re here for it.

We also got a limited edition Tama Imperialstar kit — black oak wrap with black nickel hardware. This one is an AIMM dealer exclusive, and I actually got to be involved in helping shape this project through our Drum Circle group. If you aren’t familiar, AIMM is an organization made up of 50 or so amazing independent music shops around the country and we are honored to be a member. This group allows us to collaborate with other shops and our manufacturers and work to come out with proprietary products. Tama is a great partner of the group so it was very cool to see this kit come to life and in the shop! Great looking kit, tons of value, and it’s right up front when you walk into the shop.

And one more thing I’m really excited about in the drum department — my dad has been building out portable workbenches for the shop. We now have one in electric, acoustic, and now… finally… one in the drum department. We’re even adding a snare basket to the side so we can tune and test drums with ease. .

This is going to make drum repairs way smoother and keep us from driving the guitar guys crazy while we’re cracking snares all day. The next time you come in for a drum repair, it’ll be done on the new fancy workbench!

Guitar Department (Electric & Acoustic)

We had our buddy Lyndle in this week — he reps a handful of brands including Breedlove, Duesenberg, and GR amps.

We don’t currently carry Breedlove, but he brought in their redesigned lineup — Roots and Artisan series.. Luke and I spent some time with them and honestly, we really like what they’ve done with the new lineup. They have ended the production of their import models and redesigned the top end guitars, creating a complete refresh on the brand. These guitars looked, felt, and sounded great. We’re still deciding if it makes sense at this time for us to bring them in, so if you’ve got thoughts — let me know. Always trying to be thoughtful about what goes into the acoustic room, mainly because space is limited! Even with the big new acoustic room, it is always completely packed with guitars. 

He also had a Duesenberg lap steel with him, which was just ridiculously cool. Not cheap — but you can tell why.

And on the amp side, he brought in some GR bass amps — super lightweight (like under 10 lbs) but crazy powerful. Local bass player rock stars Donnie Sowell and Kell Donald happened to be in the shop and tried out these amps and they sounded great. 

In the acoustic room, we had a big Eastman shipment land — about 20 guitars.One standout was the E20M cedar top, which Sway immediately pointed out as his favorite. All solid wood, great look, great tone, and a killer price point. I keep making the joke that Eastman must be stealing the wood to build their guitars, as it doesn’t make sense how they can make such a great playing and sounding guitar at such an amazing price. If you haven’t played an Eastman yet, please come by and try some out! Even though Eastman isn’t one of the featured brands for next week’s guitar event, it’s great timing to have the wall full as we get more acoustic players coming through.

Also just in time for the event — we got in a Gibson SJ-200 in Heritage Cherry Sunburst. This one is stunning. It’s hanging right now next to the Hummingbirds and Dove, and it’s definitely a new highlight on that wall. Jeff from Gibson will be here for the event, so it’ll be a great chance to really dig into that lineup!

Bass Department

We had a nice little wave of Rickenbackers come in! Ric makes everything in runs so we may order some Jetglo basses, but may not see them for 6-9 months. A while back we put in an order of several natural and walnut models and they have finally arrived! We’ve currently got 2 each of the 4003S in Natural, 4003 in Natural, and the 4003 in Walnut. Six total on the wall, and they look incredible together. We’ve got several Jetglo and Fireglo basses on order so they will rotate back in the shop in a few months. If you’ve got your eyes on a Rickenbacker and we have it in stock…grab it while you can!

Used Gear Highlight

One of the standout pieces in the shop right now is a Lowden F-50 on consignment.This is easily one of the nicest (and most expensive) guitars in the building — around $13k — and it’s just next level in terms of craftsmanship. Built-in armrest, insane detail, incredible tone. Sway did a demo on Instagram if you’d like to take a listen and it’ll also be entered in next week’s contest to find the “Coolest Acoustic Guitar in Columbia”. This beauty is definitely worth coming in just to see.

Shop Life / Music Life

Outside the shop, we had a couple fun gigs this week with The Flat Out Strangers (myself, dad, and Katie). We played First Thursday on Main at Lula Drake and had a very special guest for the gig…Our Yamaha rep Brent was in town and actually sat in with us on trumpet for most of the gig, which was awesome. It’s pretty cool to have your rep come hang at the shop to do product training and then come out for the gig!

On Saturday, we played a wild Easter event at Church of the Apostles — probably one of the most energetic crowds we’ve ever had. Nonstop dancing for two hours straight. The young kids dancing made us old guys and girls tired! But it was a blast! And a quick selfish plug — we’re playing this Friday at Saluda Shoals for their jazz series if you want to come hang!

Looking Ahead – April 14 Event

We’re getting close! We’ve already had some incredible submissions for the Search for the Coolest Acoustic Guitar — everything from 1940s Martins to boutique builds to simple guitars with amazing stories. That’s the whole point — it doesn’t matter what it is. If it’s special to you, we want to see it.

We’ll be giving away a Taylor GS Mini and other prizes, and everyone at the event will be voting. So if you’ve got something cool — get it submitted. I’ll be reaching out to coordinate drop-offs next week.

Wrapping Up

All in all — a really solid week.

Nothing too crazy, but a lot of great gear coming in, a lot of momentum building, and now we’re heading into event week.

Appreciate all the support as always. If you’ve got questions — hit us up. And we’ll see you soon.

-Justin Sims