The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian, is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the company relocated to the United States in the 20th century. Today, it is the largest cymbal and drumstick maker in the world.
Guitar Center is an American musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 304 locations. Its headquarters are in Westlake Village, California.
Tom Lee Music is a musical retail company, Tom Lee Music Hong Kong was founded in 1953 by Thomas T.V. Lee. Tom Lee Music Canada was founded in 1969 and operate independently from the Asia operation. The Canadian head office is located in Vancouver. Tom Lee Music Hong Kong has 15 stores in Hong Kong and 1 in Macau. The thirty thousand square feet flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui is one of largest musical instruments and accessories retailers in South East Asia, offering the most extensive range of product including pianos, guitars, amplifiers, percussion, electronic keyboards, music publications, professional and personal audio products. Tom Lee Music also offers the Yamaha Music Program. In 1960, Tom Lee Music became the exclusive distributor of Yamaha musical instruments and audio equipment in Hong Kong. The Canadian operation operates 12 locations across Canada under the Tom Lee Music and Steinway Piano Gallery names.
The Allen Organ Company builds church organs, home organs, and theatre organs. Its factory is located in Macungie, Pennsylvania. The Allen International Sales Headquarters also includes the Jerome Markowitz Memorial Center, a museum. It displays many instruments that represent technological milestones in the development of the pipeless, electronicorgan.
Hamer Guitars was an American manufacturer of electric guitars founded in 1973, in Wilmette, Illinois, by vintage guitar shop owners Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company's early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Gibson Flying V (Vector), before adding more traditional Gibson-inspired designs such as the Sunburst. Hamer Guitars is generally considered the first "boutique" vintage-style electric guitar brand that specifically catered to professional musicians, and was the first guitar manufacturer to produce a 12 string bass guitar.
Hal Leonard LLC is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Currently headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it is the largest sheet music publisher in the world.
Leblanc, Inc. was a musical instruments manufacturing company based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The company was a woodwind instrument manufacturer known mainly for its clarinets. In 2004 the firm was sold to Conn-Selmer, a division of Steinway Musical Instruments. As a result, Leblanc ceased to exist as an independent operation, becoming a brand.
Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
Sweetwater is an American musical instrument retailer. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sweetwater is the largest online retailer of musical instruments and pro audio equipment in the United States.
Sam Ash Music was founded in 1924, and is the largest family-owned chain of musical instrument stores in the United States, with 44 locations in 16 states. With corporate headquarters in Hicksville, New York, Sam Ash sells musical instruments, recording equipment, DJ and lighting equipment, and professional sound.
The NAMM Oral History Program is an oral history project and archive of recordings of interviews with people from all aspects of the music products industry, including music instrument retailers, musical instrument and product creators, suppliers and sales representatives, music educators and advocates, publishers, live sound and recording pioneers, innovators, founders, and musicians.
Sherman, Clay & Co. was an American musical instruments retailer—mainly pianos—and a publisher and seller of sheet music, founded in San Francisco. Founded in 1853 as A. A. Rosenberg, it was sold to Leander Sherman and Clement Clay in 1870 and was incorporated as Sherman, Clay & Company in 1892. During the 20th century, it gradually expanded its retail operation into a nationwide chain of stores, and by the 1980s it had around 60 stores. It was based in San Francisco until at least the 1970s. In 2013, the company closed or sold its last retail stores.
W. H. Paige and Company is a music instrument retailer based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company was founded in 1871 in Terre Haute, Indiana, by William H. Paige, a vocal music teacher, and W. B. Warton, a real estate agent. The company sold a variety of musical instruments, books, and phonographs. William Paige died in 1901, and the company was then operated by his sons Warner and Frederick.
Manny's Music was an American music instrument store in New York City on Music Row, Midtown Manhattan, where musicians from beginner to professional could buy their instruments and meet each other. Many artists bought their first guitar from Manny's before they became famous. The store was in business from 1935 to 2009, seventy-four years.
Chicago Musical Instruments Co. (CMI), later known as Norlin Music, was a manufacturer and distributor of musical instruments, accessories, and equipment, which at times had controlling interests in Gibson Guitars, Standel, Lowrey, F. E. Olds & Son, William Lewis & Son Co., Krauth & Beninghoften, L.D. Heater Music Company, Epiphone Guitars, Selmer UK, Moog, and other musical instrument brands. In the mid-1970s, the company was the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the United States.
Menchey Music Service, Inc. is a family-owned chain of eight musical instrument stores in Pennsylvania and Maryland. From its store locations and through direct arrangements with schools, Menchey Music sells and rents musical instruments and accessories, offers music lessons, and provides musical instrument repair.
St. Louis Music (SLM) is a manufacturer and distributor of musical instruments, accessories, and equipment. SLM distributes products from over 260 music products industry brands, is the corporate owner of several string- and brass-instruments brands, and is the producer and exclusive worldwide distributor of Alvarez and Alvarez-Yairi guitars.
