Music Go Round’s Matt Ables, owner Larry Goldberg and Jesse Scott

Those who have been looking for a decidedly less cold and ‘corporate’ experience when buying musical equipment - but with prices competitive to the big corporate chains - can look no further. Proprietor Larry Goldberg’s new Lewisville-based store, Music Go Round, borrows from a more traditional approach to musical instrument sales to create a new concept in customer relations.

The company does have a corporate base - franchised and branded under Winmark Corporation - a company that provides financial services and develops franchises for retail stores that buy, sell, and trade new and used merchandise. There are over 40 Music Go Round locations in the United States, each locally owned and operated. But with that local flair, the mentality behind it is seeded more in the neighborhood store sense.

“We didn’t open up as a competitor to Guitar Center,” notes Goldberg. “What we want to do is find a niche in the marketplace almost as a kind of a ‘throwback’ for people who have been around [the music retail industry] for any amount of time,” he explains. “We’re the kind of music store from the old days, where you can walk in and just feel comfortable. You don’t have to walk in with a pile of money to be treated well by the staff. You’re welcome to come in and try out guitars or amps [or any other gear],” he points out.

“Of course, our policy of aggressively buying used gear also makes us different than any other store in the Metroplex,” he continues. “When a customer walks in with an instrument to sell, we look at them just as excitedly as one who has a pocketful of money ready to buy something. Both those kinds of customers are critical to our business. Specializing in the used gear,” explains Goldberg, “also allows us to carry a variety of different lines at any given time - and always at very affordable prices.”

Goldberg’s own professional experience suits him perfectly to run such a store. He spent 20-odd years working in ‘the other end’ of the business, including several stints in sales for Gibson guitars. But his retail experience is what he treasures most, and what he uses as inspiration for his business model with Music Go Round.

“I have several years of retail sales in the Washington, D.C. area at a place called Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center,” says Goldberg. “They are now the single biggest volume music store in the country. When I worked there,” he remembers, “they were still in their growing stages. Chuck taught me so many things about honesty, customer service, professionalism and integrity - so many things that are not prominent in retail today.”

More recently, Goldberg attended a conference in San Antonio held by MGR’s corporate presence, geared toward helping local owners home in on the company’s vision. “This year’s conference was such an enlightening experience,” he recalls. “Not only did I learn about this amazing industry, but I was really able to delve into the company’s overall mission - which will, in effect, make my business very successful here in the local community. The musical instrument retail industry is a very competitive arena,” he notes, “but because of the company’s profound dedication to quality merchandise, we are definitely growing and solidifying our position in the marketplace.”

In addition to guitars, basses, drums and keyboards, the store also has a good variety of band and orchestra equipment, as well. They offer a ‘frequent purchase’ program on replaceable items like strings, reeds, pads and the like, in which the customer buys ten rounds and gets the next one free. Little perks like that are the kinds of things Goldberg hopes will set Music Go Round apart as the place for local musicians, hobbyists and enthusiasts to call as home.

Come see Larry and his staff at Music Go Round’s Lewisville store, located at 2403 Stemmons, Suite 104 (Round Grove Rd. & I-35, next to Borders Books).