Your favorite drumshop.

criz p. critter said:
Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood, CA. Been there since 1959, and as far as I know, it’s the last shop standing around here.

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You beat me to it...but I second Pro Drum Shop. Been going there for 35 years since I was 10 years old. Stan and Jerry are hilarious.
I feel guilty when I buy drum stuff online, but it's too damn convenient.
I never ever had enough money to scrape together to buy a whole drum set there, but I always wanted to. I usually bought in pieces.
My little dream is to "make it big" so I can drop 15K on a custom 8 piece Gretsch USA at Pro Drum Shop one day.

They did buy my first kit off me (and my dad who's not a musician) when I was too young to negotiate prices and didn't know what stuff was worth though. Let's just say those guys made out pretty well that day. 😢
 
Totigerus said:
I feel guilty when I buy drum stuff online, but it's too damn convenient.
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I'm even worse! Back in 2008 or so, I checked out a Renown Purewood Mahogany kit at Pro, decided I had to have it, but then I went and bought the kit at a shop in the SF Valley. They were small, and local, and kind of struggling. That's my excuse. They since went out of business. ☹️
 
criz p. critter said:
I'm even worse! Back in 2008 or so, I checked out a Renown Purewood Mahogany kit at Pro, decided I had to have it, but then I went and bought the kit at a shop in the SF Valley. They were small, and local, and kind of struggling. That's my excuse. They since went out of business. ☹️
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I actually tried to buy a kit there too, back in 2001, but they didnt have what I wanted, so I got a kit at Drum Doctors instead. 😬
 
My favourite drum shop is long gone. Used to be a little upstairs shop in Wolverhampton called Drum Attic. Ran by pro drummers so they knew what gigging drummers needed. Saturdays were always full of working drummers buying sticks and skins etc.

Brum Drum also shut down and that place was huge. Think it was the biggest in Europe. The only one I really like that's still in business is Rattle and Drum in Derby. My mate went to uni there and I spent a lot off time in that neck of the woods.

I miss real drum shops, nowadays big music stores just have staff going for the aggressive sales pitch, trying to sell you crap you don't need and talking down to you like you don't know anything.
 
Columbus Pro Percussion for me. I was one of their first "regulars" back in the early 80's as a teen- ager. Very lucky to have this place a few blocks from home and school
 
Sticks-n-Strings here in Tucson. Been a small shop since the early 90's and they have/can get pretty much anything. I love them mainly because they have a lot of used gear that I can use for drum build projects. Shells, parts of stands & the like.
Plus the same guy has been there for 15 years and knows mew on sight.
That's always a good thing.
 
For new stuff I go to GC. For used stuff I go to pawn shops. That's just how it works in my world. We dont really have drum shops, or even new musical instrument stores anymore.

Honestly I dont care at this point. Going to civilization where instruments are sold is a 30 minute drive. I no longer look forward to going to instrument stores. It's now out of necessity and nothing more.
 
Memphis Drum Shop is pretty much a temple for worshippers of drums and, especially, cymbals. Plus, it's not far from Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken.

Still, my favorite is 2112 (90 minutes away) in Raleigh, through I haven't been to the new location yet. I got a really good deal on Paiste 2002s there a couple years ago.
 
Drum Center of Portsmouth: Jayme Tardiff

Sweetwater: Aaron Andersen ex3466

From drums, sticks, practice pads, brushes and more, these are the stores I purchase from the most because of pricing and customer support.
 
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For Canadian drummers, I highly recommend Timpano Percussion (Montreal, QC). I have not visited their store. They are 2200km/1400mi east of my location. I have bought a number of items - snares, cymbals, heads, sticks, etc. - from them over the last few years.

They have become my go-to when local stores do not have something I need, and delivery times are lengthy/uncertain. Timpano usually have the items I want in stock, and orders are shipped very quickly. Great people to deal with.
 
Mine is Drum Attic, in Frome, Somerset (UK).

Small, one man opperation, mainly vintage stuff. It's very well named. I've spent hours browsing the online inventory - you never know what you'll find.
 
Raleigh's 2112 Percussion for this Durhamite. I am going to Denver tomorrow and plan to check out Rupp's if I can work it in the schedule.
 
Well, there really is no drum shop to speak of here in north Alabama. I do know my least favorite store that has drums would be the local Guitar Center. (Name should be a huge hint.)
Once I went in to look at Questlove's portable drum kits as I needed a smaller kit for a few gigs at a small venue. Thought about buying a cocktail kit but then I heard about these kits designed by Questlove for that big city drummer who has to haul drums in a cab possibly. They had them at GC so I went to look. The drum area was not being tended to so I helped myself. Went over to the register and found sticks. Played awhile, loudly, no one ever came to help. Needed a drum key so I went behind the register and looked around. Found a key and went back and played some more. Still, no one came. I must have messed around on the drums for at least 20 minutes, moved the kit around, tuned heads, etc., no one ever came to help.
I was in the market to buy the set, had cash in my pocket, just could not get any service, so I left.
As I was walking out the front door I saw two GC employees by the front entrance, one smoking and talking on the phone, the other was playing with a yoyo! Seriously.
I use Musician's Friend for anything I need. Or drive to Fork's in Nashville.
 
Drummy74 said:
Well, there really is no drum shop to speak of here in north Alabama. I do know my least favorite store that has drums would be the local Guitar Center. (Name should be a huge hint.)
Once I went in to look at Questlove's portable drum kits as I needed a smaller kit for a few gigs at a small venue. Thought about buying a cocktail kit but then I heard about these kits designed by Questlove for that big city drummer who has to haul drums in a cab possibly. They had them at GC so I went to look. The drum area was not being tended to so I helped myself. Went over to the register and found sticks. Played awhile, loudly, no one ever came to help. Needed a drum key so I went behind the register and looked around. Found a key and went back and played some more. Still, no one came. I must have messed around on the drums for at least 20 minutes, moved the kit around, tuned heads, etc., no one ever came to help.
I was in the market to buy the set, had cash in my pocket, just could not get any service, so I left.
As I was walking out the front door I saw two GC employees by the front entrance, one smoking and talking on the phone, the other was playing with a yoyo! Seriously.
I use Musician's Friend for anything I need. Or drive to Fork's in Nashville.
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pretty much my same experience the few times I have ever been in a GC....
 
Drummy74 said:
Well, there really is no drum shop to speak of here in north Alabama. I do know my least favorite store that has drums would be the local Guitar Center. (Name should be a huge hint.)
Once I went in to look at Questlove's portable drum kits as I needed a smaller kit for a few gigs at a small venue. Thought about buying a cocktail kit but then I heard about these kits designed by Questlove for that big city drummer who has to haul drums in a cab possibly. They had them at GC so I went to look. The drum area was not being tended to so I helped myself. Went over to the register and found sticks. Played awhile, loudly, no one ever came to help. Needed a drum key so I went behind the register and looked around. Found a key and went back and played some more. Still, no one came. I must have messed around on the drums for at least 20 minutes, moved the kit around, tuned heads, etc., no one ever came to help.
I was in the market to buy the set, had cash in my pocket, just could not get any service, so I left.
As I was walking out the front door I saw two GC employees by the front entrance, one smoking and talking on the phone, the other was playing with a yoyo! Seriously.
I use Musician's Friend for anything I need. Or drive to Fork's in Nashville.
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What would have been truly classic ending to your trip to GC that day, would have been if you actually sold a kit to another customer. LOL!

Who knows, you might have been the top salesperson in that GC drum department for that week, possibly the month. 🥁🤣
 
My 3 favorites:

- From the past, Medley Music, outside of Philly. While not a "drums only" shop, the drum shop was great. Used to hang there, had friends and teachers that worked there at various times and they always offered a deal without anyone even asking. Just the true definition of mom and pop. Plus, it was 15 minutes from my house, which was both good and bad. My parents bought my first ever pro kit there- DW Short Stack kit in White Marine Pearl. I remember Chris (employee there), trying to convince me to get this kit by Ayotte with wood hoops. I really loved that DW, and when I arrived at North Texas, it seemed like everyone had that same Ayotte kit. Go figure. I bought an old Premier kit 18/12/14 and refinished it and used it as my jazz kit when in college at Temple. I also bought my first pro kit that I really miss to this day- Tama Starclassic Maple in Gold Sunburst. 20/10/13/15. I eventually added a 12 and 14. I regret selling that kit. And I miss that shop.

- Current: Dales Drum Shop in Harrisburg. Only about an hour west of me, and have not been there since pre-covid, but Rej and the crew there are simply fantastic to deal with. I really enjoy the drive up there and usually go with my father, so it is extra special. They show a genuine interest in who you are. Rej actually called me once to tell me about a kit that they got used and he was like "You need this kit, I'll hold it for you". He was right. I had told him I wanted a shallow bass drum due to tight stages I was having with my wedding band. This was a DW Frequent Flyer. I mentioned it to him 6-8 months prior and he remembered.

- Out of state, Nelson Drum Shop. Top class vintage stuff, friendly people and just a hang like no other. I actually scheduled a work trip a day earlier back in January just to make it over to the shop.

Shout out to Junk Rock Drums, owned by a friend of mine here in PA, West Chester specifically. He is about 10 minutes from me and a great drummer and wonderful little shop.
 
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