Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:18 amI saw some older postings on this topic so I thought I'd update it.
One would think that being in or close Manhattan that the choices of stores and drums would be endless. Not necessarily so. I recently visited every music store (that I know of) in Manhattan and found the following. Sam Ash carries a lot of their own Ardiente and Caliente series congas which are made exclusively for them by LP. They also have some higher end Galaxy Gio's as well as some Pearl, Toca and Remo models. Not a bad selection or bad prices. Across the street at Manny's which by the way is now owned by Sam Ash, the selection was less. They also now carry Ardiente and Caliente which proves Sam Ash ownership as well as Galaxy Gio's and Toca's. Around the block on 46th St. is Drummers World. They have a large selection (and large prices!) of all kinds of ethnic instruments. They have Pearl Elites, Meinl, LP Galaxy Gio Palladiums and some other higher end stuff. This is the place to go if you can't find what you want in Sam Ash/Manny's, but be prepared to pay. I have issues with some of the corporate giants and sometimes don't mind spending a little more at an independent shop.
Catch the train to 14th St. and there's a fairly new Guitar Center. They had a large selection and average prices. LP 40th Anniversary, LP Armando Perazza, Galaxy Gio's, Gon Bops (which I haven't seen anywhere else yet), and Aspire.
People in other parts of the country and world are probably steaming with jealousy over what I described as not necessarily endless choices. To clarify, I would prefer if one store carried all the makes and models instead of having to trek all over town trying to find what you're looking for. In my case I was looking for Galaxy fiberglass but there were none to be found in Manhattan. If anyone else knows of a place I left out please enlighten me. I hope this information is useful to someone out there.
One would think that being in or close Manhattan that the choices of stores and drums would be endless. Not necessarily so. I recently visited every music store (that I know of) in Manhattan and found the following. Sam Ash carries a lot of their own Ardiente and Caliente series congas which are made exclusively for them by LP. They also have some higher end Galaxy Gio's as well as some Pearl, Toca and Remo models. Not a bad selection or bad prices. Across the street at Manny's which by the way is now owned by Sam Ash, the selection was less. They also now carry Ardiente and Caliente which proves Sam Ash ownership as well as Galaxy Gio's and Toca's. Around the block on 46th St. is Drummers World. They have a large selection (and large prices!) of all kinds of ethnic instruments. They have Pearl Elites, Meinl, LP Galaxy Gio Palladiums and some other higher end stuff. This is the place to go if you can't find what you want in Sam Ash/Manny's, but be prepared to pay. I have issues with some of the corporate giants and sometimes don't mind spending a little more at an independent shop.
Catch the train to 14th St. and there's a fairly new Guitar Center. They had a large selection and average prices. LP 40th Anniversary, LP Armando Perazza, Galaxy Gio's, Gon Bops (which I haven't seen anywhere else yet), and Aspire.
People in other parts of the country and world are probably steaming with jealousy over what I described as not necessarily endless choices. To clarify, I would prefer if one store carried all the makes and models instead of having to trek all over town trying to find what you're looking for. In my case I was looking for Galaxy fiberglass but there were none to be found in Manhattan. If anyone else knows of a place I left out please enlighten me. I hope this information is useful to someone out there.