About Us
Our Mission
To enrich the musicians' journey with unparalleled service and a personal touch that reflects our Ash family values, ensuring every artist feels supported, inspired, and celebrated
Music Is Our Passion, Not Just Our Business
At Sam Ash, we don't just serve musicians — we are musicians. Founded by an immigrant violinist, and now run by his guitar obsessed grandson, everyone, from our executive team to our warehouse personnel are just as music-obsessed as you are. It's the only way we can reach our goal of providing everything a musician needs.
Serving Musicians Since 1924
Supporting musicians is the Ash families lifes work. We want to help foster your passion by making great gear accessible and easy to understand. But it goes beyond the music. For us it's about community. Looking to change up your sound or need cash to cover unforseen circumstances? We buy and trade instruments and sound equipment. Have your eye on gear that will take your musical craft to the next level? From multiple financing options to industry best sales and flash deals, our family will go the extra mile to make your equipment dreams a reality.
Our motto is Come in And Play. Visit any Sam Ash Music Store at any time and you're guaranteed to see somebody making music.
Our motto is Come in And Play. Yes we'd love you to buy but more importantly, we want you to have an expierence. Music and musicianship is thrilling and exciting, and were just happy to a special part of that journey.
Visit any Sam Ash Music Store at any time and you're guaranteed to see somebody making music. Playing the incredible selection of instruments is not only allowed, it's encouraged. You'll find people of all ages, from novice to pros playing guitars, keyboards, drums or brass and woodwind instruments. Our incredible selection of Musical Instruments, Pro Audio, DJ, and Stage Lighting equipment is designed to cover every musician's needs regardless of playing style or expierence level.
Come In And Play
Our motto is Come in And Play. Becuase at Sam Ash, playing the incredible selection of instruments is not only allowed, it's encouraged. That is why you'll find people of all ages, from novice to pros playing guitars, keyboards, drums or brass and woodwind instruments. Our incredible selection of Musical Instruments, Pro Audio, DJ, and Stage Lighting equipment is designed to cover every musician's needs regardless of playing style or expierence level.
The Sam Ash Story
Sam Ash is known as "The World's Favorite Music Store," but they didn't arrive at that title overnight. The Sam Ash saga is a classic business story. It encompasses the American dream, retaining the basic concepts of a family-run business even today. From very simple beginnings the company has grown to national powerhouse. But the story begins in Brooklyn.
In 1924 Calvin Coolidge was president of the United States, George Gerswin premiered his "Rhapsody In Blue," Johnny Weissmuller brought home Olympic gold and in a small neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, Sam Ash opened his first music store.
Sam Ash (Ashkynase) was born in Austria and traveled to the United States in 1907 at the age of 10, the same year that his future bride, Rose Dinin, left her native Russia at the age of 3 to settle in Brooklyn. Sam, a violinist, set out to make a career in music. After playing with various groups Sam decided to strike out with a band of his own. The Sam Ash Orchestra would entertain at weddings and dances playing the popular music of the time. After Sam and Rose were married, the new Mrs. Ash decided that a musician's life was too precarious so the young couple decided to open their own business based upon what Sam knew best - music. Having very little savings the couple was forced to pawn Rose's engagement ring for $400 in order to make the down payment on what was to become the first Sam Ash Music store.
The Early Years
With no previous business experience, Rose and Sam utilized their family traits of perseverance and hard work. Totally dedicating themselves to the new enterprise, the couple worked around the clock, learning the trade as they went along. That first Sam Ash store featured mainly sheet music and violin repairs, as the fledgling concern could not yet afford to stock musical instruments. These first years were very hard on the young couple. The store was in a poor neighborhood and not easily accessible by public transportation. Sales were few and far between. In 1925, their first son Jerry was born. Another son, Paul, followed a few years later and then a daughter, Marcia. The family lived in a crowded three-room apartment behind the store. In order to make ends meet Sam continued performing weekends with the band while Rose minded the store Facing almost immeasurable odds, Sam and Rose managed to survive the Great Depression, keeping both their family and business intact.
During these tough times, musicians were affected as well. Gigs were scarce and the ones that did come along often paid well under the standard wage. There were very few day jobs available due to the depression, so it was a common to see many of the local musicians hanging out at the Sam Ash store, trading stories and telling jokes. Jerry Ash recalls seeing some faces so often that he "thought they were relatives." These local musicians appreciated Sam's honest business policies and fair prices and soon the word began to spread. As the 1930s grew to a close, Sam Ash Music developed a reputation as a quality music store.
The 1940s were a time of change for America and Sam Ash Music. The country entered the second World War and in 1943 Jerry left to serve in the army. Though business began to pick up, the Ash family faced the problem of a declining neighborhood. In 1944 they decided to move the store to a better area in Brooklyn. By now, the entire family was deeply involved in the business. Paul added a record department which was an immediate success. Still in high school, Paul would come directly to the store after school and work until 10:00 PM every night. Meanwhile, Sam began to deliver sheet music to area schools and music teachers and, as money permitted, started to bring a selection of band instruments into the store. Jerry returned from the army and was married in 1948 to Bernice Kibrick, who had already been working in the store for a year. In the early 1950s Paul entered the military. With Paul's absence and the advent of the LP, Sam Ash found it hard to compete with the giant record retailers such as Sam Goody and dissolved the record department. Jerry and Paul both attended college after their stints in the military, returning daily to help with the growing music store.
The Second Generation
In the early 1950's Jerry noticed the increasing popularity of the accordion and began to stock different models. Soon Sam Ash became known as the leading accordion dealer in the area. Another trend the Ashes noticed was the new found prominence of the electric guitar, first through jazz artists such as Les Paul and then with the newest sound in music - rock and roll. Sam Ash began to add guitars to the store, becoming the second dealer in New York to carry the Gibson line and also carrying guitars from a new company started by inventor and entrepeur Leo Fender.
Sadly, as the family began to enjoy it's first real success, founder and patriarch Sam Ash passed away in 1956. Leaving the company in the hands of his wife and two sons, Sam Ash had established a way of doing business that would become company policy. "Our father prided himself on treating everyone fairly and offering the best selection of musical instruments at low prices," says Paul Ash.
The family didn't sit still. The store was moved again to a larger location in Brooklyn, this time with Paul designing the store with specific departments in mind, a new concept for the Ashes and the beginning of a lifetime of designing music stores for Paul. This new location finally established Sam Ash as the only music store of merit in Brooklyn, their only real competition coming from Manhattan's music districts on Park Row and 48th Street.
As the 1950s came to an end, the Ash family took notice that a full third of their business came from Long Island and began to think about opening a store in the region to better accommodate these customers. In 1961 they opened their biggest store yet in Hempstead, NY. The venture paid immediate benefits and soon the store expanded to three times its original size. As the Ash family began to prosper, they continued their practices of working long hours and directing profits back into the stores. Jerry and Paul spent hours selecting new lines of merchandise, establishing business contacts and charting the direction of the company. Bernice Ash had taken time off to raise her and Jerry's three sons, David, Richard and Sam. When the youngest began school, Bernice returned to work, overseeing the sheet music department, turning it into a highly successful enterprise.
Early Expansion And 48th Street Music Row
There were now two successful Sam Ash Music Stores and the future looked bright. Always mindful of new products and trends, even the Ash family was taken by surprise by the events of the early 1960s. The British Invasion led by the Beatles turned the music world - and Sam Ash Music stores - upside down. The focus shifted from band instruments to electric guitars, amplifiers and drum kits. "Our customer base was totally turned around," said Jerry Ash. "It was a totally different scene. We went from parents dragging their kids into the stores to pick out band instruments to kids dragging their parents into the stores to pick out guitars." Sam Ash Music found an entire new audience. No longer would purchases be based on recommendations by the music teacher. Youngsters were being influenced by their newfound heroes and seeking out the latest models and wildest fads. One of these new rages was the portable electronic organ. Once again, Sam Ash saw this development and soon they were known as the largest portable organ dealer in the country.
In 1964 the family opened its third store, this one in Huntington, NY. "The first Huntington store was much too small" remembers Jerry Ash, "and a few years later we moved to a larger location down the block." Things were moving fast now, not only for the Ashes but for the music industry as well. Some of the changes left the retailers unprepared. One such change was the increasing size in performing venues. Sound systems for these bigger rooms simply did not exist. However the Ashes did not see this as a problem. Instead they saw it as an opportunity and designed and sold their own line of speaker cabinets and imported mixing boards from Europe to fill these new demands.
The turmoil that plagued the late Sixties took its toll on the Ash family. Riots and unrest in Brooklyn forced yet another move. The Ashes moved the store to Kings Highway at a considerable expense. Yet as Jerry Ash explains, such undertakings were necessary. "One thing we dared not do was stand still. If we don't improve, other people will catch up and surpass us." The Brooklyn store remained in the Kings Highway area until 1993 when it moved to a newer, larger building on Flatbush Avenue.
At the close of the 1960s, the Ashes made their most ambitous business decision yet. Knowing that they would need a Manhattan location in order to become a major player in the music industry, the Ash family opened a tiny store in the heart of the music district on the legendary 48th street adjacent to Times Square. In order to combat fierce competition from more established stores on the block, Jerry and Paul used an innovative strategy . They would continually buy up additional store fronts on the block, eventually expanding to seven storefronts on the block. Around this time, the 3rd generation of the Ash family started to make their impact on the family business. Jerry's son Richard became the top salesman on 48th street honoring the ambition and commitment to the customer initially laid out by patriarch Sam. Jerry's youngest son Sam soon took over the new location is White Plains and the business also launched their first out of state expansion, adding locations in nearby New Jersey.
The Third Generation & Onward
In 1990 the company relocated the corporate offices and central warehouse to a spacious new building in Hicksville, NY. Still family run, the business was bolstered by the additions of Jerry's three sons, David, Richard and Sam, to the executive team. Rose Ash continued to work in the stores until she was 80. Her dedication and support was a constant source of pride and inspiration for the Ash family. Paul Ash passed away in 2014 at the age of 84 and Bernice Ash passed in 2020 at the age of 90. While Jerry Ash passed in 2023 at the age of 98. But now the fourth generation of the Ash family joins in as their grand-children, Adam, Ben, Derek, Jonah and Max all actively work for the company.
All through the years, the Ashes have made consistent improvements to the stores. Stores have been redesigned to better display and stock merchandise. New computer systems have been put into place to control inventory. As new products and technologies develop, Sam Ash employees are given training to keep on top of the latest developments. Lately they have noticed that band instruments are increasing in popularity once again. And they are seeing customers who first came into Sam Ash as teenagers during the boom of the early sixties, returning now to buy the instrument of their dreams.
Even with all of its successes the Ash family keeps looking towards the future. The family continues to dream of bringing Sam Ash stores to other areas. It has been quite a journey for the Ash Music family since that fateful day that Rose and Sam pawned that ring (she did get it back). Though it has been a lifetime commitment, one that has left little time for anything else, the Ash family consider themselves lucky. As Jerry puts it: "I've never worked a day in my life. I'm in the music business."