RIP Sam Ash

[noledog]

Really liked the Sam Ash stores I shopped in Florida. He has been battling cancer awhile… the biz lost a good one, may he rest peacefully.

[Steve DeRosa]

https://www.samash.com/sammy-ash

[Jim Owen]

My buddy ordered a hard-tail strat from Sam back in the 70s and I still get a chance to play it. He brought a lot of folks joy—sold gear at decent prices.

[Talk2Me]

I got to meet the man a few times in the 1970s/80s. Super nice, friendly and funny. The grandson of the founder of the chain he was also the guy that named the Tube Screamer.

RIP Sammy

[Bridgepin]

Sad news for sure. I wish they had one closer to where I live today. I enjoyed going to the one in White Plains NY.

[Jeff Scott]

Whoa! I've bought lots of stuff from my local SA over the decades; sorry to read this.

R.I.P., Sammy.

[TBman]

Rest in peace.

There used to be a Sam Ash on Rt 4 in Paramus near me. I enjoyed going there and bought and sold a few things there. They always took good care of their stock and they had a huge selection of sheet music. I miss going there.

[Mbroady]

Sam Ash Was the in-place for all the gear you could need back in the hay days of 48th street in NYC. That's were i got my first Adat, Kurzweil keyboard, Martin guitar, ect.....and the sales staff were top notch. Sammy left behind a nice lagacy

Rest In peace

[Bob Womack]

Shopped in the Manhattan store in the '70s and enjoyed it. It was right next to Manny's. Think I bought an Electro-Harmonix Doctor Q at Manny's, if I remember right. RIP.

Bob

[egordon99]

The Sam Ash in Edison was my go-to store when I first started playing guitar in the late 80s/90s.

And now the one in King of Prussia is my go-to store.

I had the pleasure of seeing Sam Ash and Chris Martin give a talk there a few years back. Talk about two legends together!

RIP Sam!

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[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by egordon99

The Sam Ash in Edison was my go-to store when I first started playing guitar in the late 80s/90s.

And now the one in King of Prussia is my go-to store.

At one time or another I worked near each of those stores. The Martin wall in KOP was a dream when they first put it up. Not so much anymore.

[egordon99]

Originally Posted by Bob from Brooklyn

At one time or another I worked near each of those stores. The Martin wall in KOP was a dream when they first put it up. Not so much anymore.

Didn't we bump into each other there in February 2021 (when I bought my 000-28MD)?

It's been a while (maybe a year?) since I've been there but they certainly had a decent Martin selection last time I was there. Obviously, they struggled in 2020 but when I bought the 000-28MD, I remember playing a bunch.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by egordon99

Didn't we bump into each other there in February 2021 (when I bought my 000-28MD)?

It's been a while (maybe a year?) since I've been there but they certainly had a decent Martin selection last time I was there. Obviously, they struggled in 2020 but when I bought the 000-28MD, I remember playing a bunch.

Oh yes, I remember! I don't work out that way anymore but I was out there a few months ago it was pretty bare. Obviously when they first put that wall up they had 'everything' (45s, 35s, 28s, 21s, 18s...). I spent many an elongated lunch hour there.

[Glennwillow]

That's a shame to read about his loss. May he RIP.

- Glenn

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by egordon99

The Sam Ash in Edison was my go-to store when I first started playing guitar in the late 80s/90s...

My last band used to make a monthly road trip to the Edison store for incidentals; since we were all retired we'd go on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning and have the place to ourselves; used to hold impromptu practice sessions in the acoustic room, and nobody bothered us (unlike that "other" big-name store on Route 18 ) - they knew we were always good for a sale of some kind, whether a couple sets of strings or some new gear with a hefty price tag...

That said, my own roots with the Sam Ash brand go wide and deep - as a 50-year Brooklyn boy I frequented the Kings Highway store from the time it opened in late 1966 (when "Mama Rose" - Sam Sr.'s wife and Sammy's bubbe - still worked the register), through its moves (first a couple blocks away, then to Queens, and finally to Kings Plaza when the Brooklyn musicians put up a stink) and expansion (during the '70s the 48th Street store was a regular stop, and I'd catch the LIRR to the Hempstead store - at that time the best-stocked of the bunch - at least once a month). Although I haven't made it back to the Kings Plaza store in over a decade, I still hit the Edison store every time we hop over the Outerbridge - and they're still my first hands-on line when I'm in the market for new gear...