Elderly Instruments - A Hectic Day

It's a hectic day at Elderly Instruments. Staff members are preparing for a week-long trip to Louisville, Kentucky for the annual International Bluegrass Music Association's "World of Bluegrass" trade show and festival. The daunting task at hand — to choose one van-load of the coolest instruments for bluegrass players, to be displayed at the annual bluegrass homecoming. For most music stores, pulling 30 of their finest banjos, guitars, mandolins, fiddles and resophonic guitars would seriously deplete the inventory, here it's a drop in the bucket. "We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 instruments in stock at any given time," says founder and president Stan Werbin.

It hasn't always been like this. When Werbin and his partner founded the store in 1972, the entire inventory could have fit in a van. The store itself was a 10 by 12 foot basement space in an East Lansing, Michigan store, just across the street from Michigan State University. The original plan was to buy and sell used instruments only. But, right from the beginning, people asked for new instruments. So the fledgling entrepreneurs started carrying new instruments and accessories. When people started asking for books and recordings, these were added as well. Instructors began giving lessons on a variety of instruments and styles in the store. To accommodate the growing inventory and clientele, Elderly rented additional spaces in the building, knocked out dividing walls and eventually filled the entire basement. By 1982, this space could no longer hold the music store. Elderly purchased a three story brick building in nearby Lansing. By 1994 even that was outgrown, so they purchased the building next door and built yet another building to connect the two.

In 1975 Elderly started printing mail-order catalogs and building a mailing list. Response was slow at first, but as word spread, orders started pouring in from all over the U.S. & Canada. Currently they publish four free annual catalogs: Instruments and Accessories, Recordings, Books and Videos, and a Best Of catalog. Additionally, a monthly Used & Vintage Instruments List is published and mailed on a subscription basis. The mail-order business is now worldwide. A Martin OM-28 was recently sent to Saudi Arabia, bluegrass CDs to Croatia, a Dobro to Kuwait. In October of this year orders were also shipped to: Germany, Japan, Australia, Russia, Argentina, Chile, Sweden, Thailand and, of course, Canada. It seems there isn't a country on earth without some loyal Elderly Instruments customers. Reports have come back from all over the globe about how, when U.S. travelers might tell a new acquaintance that they are from Lansing, Michigan, the first response back might be "Isn't that where Elderly Instruments is?"

Many of Elderly's customers feel an uncommon bond with the store and its staff. International Customer Service Representative Dawn Nash has her office decorated with mementos sent to her by loyal customers. Autographed posters from a German bluegrass band, Christmas cards from Japan, drawings from a Winnipeg artist/musician and prints from an English photographer all adorn the walls of her homey office.

Although well established by the 1990s, the Internet has further enhanced their mail-order business. Elderly Instruments launched its web site www.elderly.com in 1995. Cyber visitors can now peruse the constantly changing selection of merchandise from the comfort of their homes or offices. Detailed photographs of the vintage instruments are posted on the site, often several shots for a given instrument. An ever-increasing number of new instruments are pictured as well. The entire recordings selection is there to browse too, by genre, artist, or by what's new in the past two weeks. You can now put a face to the friendly voice who may have helped you on the phone by clicking the "Elderly People" link. There is even a photographic tour of the store on the site, from the front door all the way to the back offices. The latest addition is the "Elderly Cam" which gives a picture of what is happening in the store at a given moment. So many inquiries come via e-mail now that Elderly has a full-time staff member dedicated to reading and responding to the electronic correspondence.

As handy as the web site is, there are still plenty of reasons to make the "pilgrimage" to the mid- Michigan landmark. As good as digital photos of instruments are, you still can't beat the feeling of picking up, say a pre-war Martin, and running it through its paces. And, unlike many music stores, the folks at Elderly don't mind if you pull a valuable instrument off the wall and start picking on it, (just watch that state-of-Texas belt buckle). Certain highly valuable and collectable items are not kept out for general consumption, but are always available upon request. The salespeople aren't on commission so don't expect a hard sell. If you need assistance, you'll get it; if you just want to sit and pick, you'll be left alone. The emphasis on customer service is very apparent in the retail store, as it is with the mail order department. Werbin, with characteristic modesty, states: "We always had as a goal to make this the kind of store we wished to visit, and although we constantly look for improvements, in general we are quite satisfied with the result." Whether it is the homey atmosphere (which can be interrupted to some degree on a busy Saturday, when the store is usually packed with out-of-towners), the large selection of instruments and CDs, or the friendly honest service, customers seem to agree.

Elderly Instruments also features a top-notch repair department. Nine full-time repair technicians do everything from basic set-up to complete vintage instrument restoration. All new and used instruments are set up for optimum playability before they are offered for sale.

There is always something going on in the store. Beginning in the early days, it has been a social center for area musicians to swap licks and stories. For years now, national and international touring musicians have gone out of their way to visit the store. So a couple years ago Werbin got the idea of hosting in-store performances, workshops and clinics. In two years the store has hosted over 100 free performances, including the John Hartford String Band, Chesapeake, Robin and Linda Williams, The Freight Hoppers, The Austin Lounge Lizards, The Lost and Found, Leftover Salmon, Jay Ungar and Mollie Mason, Missy Raines and Jim Hurst, and Druha Trava, to name some of the bluegrass related artists. There has also been country, rockabilly, Irish, singer-songwriter, classical guitar, blues, and more to reflect the types of music Elderly sells. During the performances, the Elderly Cam is pointed at the performers.

Workshops have been taught by Richard Greene, Tony Trischka, Butch Baldassari, The Freight Hoppers, Bill Evans, and others.

As the dust settles on another day at Elderly Instruments, the van is nearly full. "We could fit either that D-28 or two F-5s," says Cutler, "what do you think, Stan?" Werbin can't reply at the moment though, since he's on the phone discussing a trade-in of a Gibson Les Paul for a Deering Banjo. Just a typical day at the world's most trusted source for vintage and new fretted instruments.

An Interview with Stan Werbin

Photo by Dave Matchette

BCM: "What kind of musical background did you have before you started Elderly Instruments?"

SW: "I grew up in New York City and was very influenced by the folk music of the sixties, including all the related music. I used to listen to Pete Wernick and Bill Vernon broadcast their bluegrass shows, along with people like Bob Fass, Skip Weshner and Oscar Brand, who all did rather eclectic folk shows. Attendance at concerts put on by Izzy Young's Folklore Center and others inspired me to get a banjo in 1963 and a guitar the next year. I attended Queens College and mostly worked on learning the instruments in my spare time. Graduate school brought me to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1969 where there was a very vibrant music scene centered around the Ark Coffeehouse, which really solidified my lifelong interest in a wide variety of acoustic music. I seem to have always played in bands with goofy names: The Flushing Basin Boys (in Flushing Queens), The Lost World String Band in the 1970s (which did a bit of touring around the upper Midwest), and most recently Strangers in the Night, a once-or-twice-a-year-gig band that is great fun and can be whatever it wants to be. My main instruments are rhythm guitar, clawhammer banjo, and ukulele, and I have a love for, among other things, oddball songs."

BCM: "And what kind of business background?"

SW: "None really. My father is a retired postal worker and my mother, once we kids were sufficiently grown, became a real estate broker, always working from a home office. My college degrees are in biology and biochemistry. I think I learned a lot about organizing things and thoughts somewhere along the way. I had a very good mind for numbers, and a good sense of how I liked (or didn't like) to be treated when I went into a store. And, growing up in the Big Apple gives you a pretty good instinct for survival. Should something need to be done then I just find out how it can be done and, if necessary, do it. My ex-partner (who I bought out in 1986) was also unencumbered by any formal training. We just went and did it. No business plan. No plans at all beyond what was right in front of our faces. Nowadays, with 90 or so people working at Elderly Instruments, I don't even try to do it all anymore. Rather, my job is to insure that it is done right, and to look for better ways. For instance, fully computerizing the store in 1988 was a big leap of faith (and cash). When it didn't work as we hoped, I learned to program the system, eventually fixing it well enough so we liked it. Some years later I hired a full-time systems administrator so I don't need to do that anymore. Probably the greatest challenge was to build a good management staff in a business that grew from almost nothing. It has been quite difficult to learn how to do this in an effective way without falling into a corporate mentality. But over the years, with a lot of effort, we are getting better at it. The growth of the business in general is an ongoing issue, with which we need to keep up. Whether it is people or equipment, I feel we need to grow with the business or perish in the process. Being aware of this is the necessary component of doing it, and we are constantly aware of it! So, no, I started with no business background, but now I have 27 years of it."

BCM: "When you started Elderly Instruments, in your wildest dreams, did you ever think it would grow to what it is today?"

SW: "No, we didn't have a clue. We just thought that if we worked hard and gave the people what they wanted, then we'd be able to maybe make a living at it. If someone had told me in 1972 that I'd own this big building, all these instruments and need to meet a pretty hefty payroll every two weeks, I certainly wouldn't have believed it, or it would have scared the h%#$ out of me. I might have been inspired to get that Ph.D. in biochem, or go work for some corporation, or who knows, maybe be a letter carrier!"

BCM: "To what do you attribute Elderly's amazing success?"

SW: "Hard work, perseverance, knowledge, a real interest in the subject matter, and an understanding that, when taken one step at a time, it's not really that amazing!"

BCM: "What sets Elderly apart from other music stores?"

SW: "Well, especially nowadays there are a number of other really good stores out there. I think the key ingredients for these stores are that they treat the customer fairly, provide quality merchandise with a service department to back it up, have knowledgeable personnel, and are price competitive. When we started in business this was a very difficult combination of traits to find in a retail music store. Nowadays there is a good smattering of music stores throughout North America (and elsewhere I'm sure) which fit the bill nicely. It is also possible to find a lot of independent bluegrass and other acoustic music in many record stores. What makes us different from most music stores are the traits I just mentioned. What makes us different from those real good music stores, besides our size, is the combination of things that we carry — vintage instruments, new instruments, CDs, books, videos, accessories and more, all in great depth. And we have a dedication to ensuring that our customers get what they are hoping for, and more. Did I mention that I think we have a great web site?"

BCM: "The popularity of bluegrass has had many ebbs and flows in the past 27 years. From your perspective, as someone selling the instruments and recordings, where do you see it as being today?"

SW: "As far as I can tell, bluegrass music is enjoying an unparalleled degree of popularity today. There are more and greater musicians than ever, and festivals seem to be going strong. People like Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Del McCoury with Steve Earle, Tim O'Brien, and Dolly Parton, to name but a few, are bringing the music to an ever-widening audience. I have always felt that the key to somebody liking a non-mainstream kind of music is exposure to it. You don't hear it, you can't like it. Give it a try (or be lucky enough to stumble on it) and it may just speak to you. Most people in North America are force-fed popular music an the radio and television. The music is often just fine. But there's a lot more out there, and bluegrass is one kind of music which has achieved a much greater exposure and general popularity in recent years. I love it. I think it's great!"

BCM: "Being in Michigan, you must see a lot of old Gibsons."

SW: "Well, yes. I think we see lots of old Gibson instruments, which come to us from all over. We also see a lot of custom or oddball Gibsons. Because most of lower Michigan is within fairly easy driving distance from Kalamazoo (where Gibsons were made until 1984) we often see instruments which were bought directly from the factory or which had modifications done later."

BCM: "How much is an original Lloyd Loar F-5 mandolin fetching these days?"

SW: "It always depends on the individual instrument, but in general I would say, for a nice one, between $40,000 and $45,000 in U.S. funds."

BCM: "What is the most sought-after bluegrass guitar, and what are people actually playing?"

SW: "in general, of course, musicians would like to own a prewar Martin D-45, D-28, or D-18. But this is a financially impractical thing for most people to consider. Certainly many people play more recent and even new Martins as well. And in recent years there have been some inroads on Martin's lock on the bluegrass market. Guitars from smaller companies, like Collings and Santa Cruz, as well as from individual makers like Marty Lanham, Randy Lucas and others have made it into the hands of fine bluegrass players from Nashville to Tokyo!"

BCM: "Of all the instruments which have gone through your store, do any stand out as particularly memorable?"

SW: There have been so many! Great prewar Martins, a number of original Lloyd Loars and flathead Mastertone banjos have all been through and are always exciting. But there were a lot of great ukes, Fairbanks banjos, fretless banjos, Bacon & Day 4-string banjos, banjo-ukuleles — have I mentioned I like banjos? — Fiddles, Dobros, and oddball things like harp-guitars, mandocellos — I could go on — so I will! Sometimes a new Custom or Limited Edition guitar from Martin or Collings, or a mandolin from Nugget or Gilchrist, a super cool Deering or Stelling or Kevin Enoch banjo, or Scheerhorn resophonic. And that doesn't count all the great electric Instruments, which, although I don't play, I really like as well."

BCM: "Are you a collector yourself?"

SW: "How could you tell?"

BCM: "I was just guessing. You really like instruments and I figured you couldn't resist."

SW: "As my daughter would say: "well, duuh." I do like them especially for their functionality. But I'll admit that I have really gotten to appreciate both the fine lines and uniqueness of a wide range of instruments, and yes, they're hard to resist. I've certainly collected quite a few over the years. I have some very valuable instruments, and many more relatively mundane ones which I consider personally interesting. I'm happy to say that in 1998 some of my resophonic guitars were exhibited at the Erie Art Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania. For the year 2000 I am loaning a number of instruments to a guitar exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It's especially gratifying to share them in a setting like that, where people aren't concerned with monetary value so much as artistic satisfaction."

BCM: "It must be a challenge to not be your own best customer."

SW: "Well, I think any guitar dealer will tell you that when you have easy access it's very tempting. There was a time when I thought I might never see one of these again. So I'd better buy it for myself. Nowadays we see more than ever and most of it we've seen before. In recent years I haven't acquired very many, and over the years I've sold off quite a number of things. My theory is that there is a critical mass of instruments for each collector, beyond which it becomes impractical or impossible to deal with. The collector then weeds out the collection so it's at a manageable level, refining the quality of the collection as he goes."

BCM: "What is your favorite aspect of being in the music business?"

SW: "You know, the customers are great, my staff is great, and the stuff we're selling is stuff we love. It's always especially gratifying to educate somebody about instruments or music, or find the perfect instrument for somebody. Although there are headaches to running any business, it's always a challenge and I look forward to going to work every day!"

Published 12-1999

Photos by Dave Matchette
Only a few of the instruments on display for sale at Elderly.