We thought we’d take some time to share what’s going on at First Quality these days. Over the years folks who’ve been to our showroom have always commented when coming through our front door about how the place has changed from visit to visit. That continues to be true as we find ourselves embracing even more changes both in the products we will be selling and the overall look of our physical location where we do our business.
As everyone knows the name Sullivan is synonymous with five string banjos. Our founder Bill Sullivan began this business in 1970 as a hobby in his home and some 40 years later we find ourselves in our current location where we still build banjos and do custom work.
The Sullivan Banjo Company shares our Trade Port Drive location and will be one of the areas where folks will be noticing some changes. We’ll be enhancing the current banjo room and adding some additional production space devoted to the banjos we build. Enhancements in our production capabilities with the addition of more CNC technology and a greatly improved and enlarged spray booth will increase our productivity while maintaining and improving quality.
On the retail side here at First Quality we have decided to return to our bluegrass roots. In an ever changing market, we tried to broaden the scope of our business to include a wider inventory and found after some time that the right thing to do would be to focus our resources on the foundation that the company had grown upon. The Sullivan Banjo will be the core along with going back to a broader selection of Martin guitars along with mandolins. Plans are to give the customer a wide selection of price points in the guitars and mandolins and have those instruments on hand in our showroom so the choices will be there for our customers. We are in progress on making the necessary changes in our showroom to make this a reality during the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2012.
We’ll be passing along updates over the upcoming weeks on the progress of these changes, if you find you are in the area stop in and see us.
Many times when you call in for ordering, with requests or questions the voice you hear answering the phone is that of our very own Murrell Thixton. Murrell is the banjo player for the group Storefront Congregation, a four piece band from Louisville, Ky that performs bluegrass and acoustic music. This weekend they will join Kyle Ramey, Kati Penn and Newtown, and 9 time IBMA fiddler of the year Michael Cleveland in a concert to benefit 3 local charities The Salvation Army, The Center for Women and Families, andThe Home of the Innocents. If you’d like details on how you can attend you can find more information about the concert here.
This video clip promoting the upcoming event is from a broadcast of Great Day Live a local morning show on our ABC affiliate WHAS television. We’re proud of Murrell and his group for their support of these most worthy charities.
We hope you enjoy the clip, Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Good Friend and creator of Fretmentor.com Dave Jakubiak is hosting it’s 3rd annual Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin & Fiddle workshop in Sunny Lake Worth, (Palm Beach County) Flordia. David had scheduled the workshop for January 28th and 29th 2012 to let all of us suffering from the winter blues to meet up in Flordia for some warm weather and some wonderful instruction. David is featuring Alan Munde, Byron Berline, and Jim Hurst… you can’t get much better than that. For more information on this event make sure and check out Fretmentor.com or you can email David directly at david@fretmentor.com
Thanks to an increase in demand for our manufactured goods including our Sullivan Banjo’s, we have decided to close our retail showroom and phone center on Saturday’s to concentrate on manufacturing. Effective July 1st, the showroom and phones will no longer be available on Saturday. We are aware that from time-to-time customers can only stop in on Saturday which is why we will still be open by appointment only. Whether you are local or passing through and would like to come by on a Saturday, please call ahead of time and set up an appointment so we can make sure that we have someone available to accommodate you during your visit. Otherwise, our showroom and phone hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST and we look forward to seeing you then.
www.fretmentor.com Presents the 2nd Annual Jens and Uwe Kruger Banjo and Guiatr Workshop on March 26-27, 2011.
Palm Beach County – Lake Worth, Flordia
Banjo and guitar students, from beginner through advanced, will welcome this second annual event in Southeast Florida. In addition to some wonderful class instruction from Jens and Uwe, these two professionals are sure to impress attendees with their diverse style of banjo and guitar. For registration details go to www.fretmentor.com (News & Events), via email at david (insert @ symbol) fretmentor.com
First Quality Music is a proud supporter of “Pick Inn”
Bluegrass Anonymous along with the Holiday Inn located at Hurstbourne and I-64 will be hosting a Bluegrass Show and Jam on November 28th beginning at 4pm. Cover charge for the show will be either a small donation or a new toy. Proceeds to benefit The Center for Women and Families, The Home of the Innocents and the Salvation Army. Performances and times are as follows…
4pm: James White and Deer Creek, featuring Kyle Ramey
5pm: Cast Iron Airplane
6pm: Fresh Cut Grass
7pm: Hog Operation
There will be raffles, vendors and food and drinks so bring your families and your instruments for some jammin’ and help out these most worthy charities.
Everyone knows banjos just sound better when they have a tone ring installed. The only drawback is the weight, right at three pounds. First Quality is proud to introduce a direct replacement flathead tone ring made entirely from wood. These tone rings are made on the same machines as the regular rings and they are have all the same features. You can get a ring with a long or short skirt and with or without 20 holes. The one pictured was custom ordered out of factory floor maple and a Brazilian rosewood top. Call for more information. 800.635.2021
The Gibson Montana Traveling Exhibit is a rolling music store of Gibson acoustic guitars. Everyone is invited to visit First Quality Music to try out a wide array of core, specialty and rare acoustics from this famous American manufacturer. A Gibson Guitar product specialist will be on hand to help answer your questions and guide you through an assortment of Jumbo, Dreadnaught, Small Body and Artist models. FQMS personnel can also arrange the purchase of any guitar from the exhibit that strikes your fancy, so come on down! – Hours on June 19 are from 12 Noon – 5 pm.
The Taylor Road show visited First Quality Music last Tuesday, May 25th. Taylor Representatives Barney Hill and Mark Seal brought several amazing Taylor instruments to showcase and let attendees try out. The day was littered with guitar demonstrations, question and answer sessions, and a Baby Taylor giveaway! We’d like to congratulate the winner of the giveaway, Joey and his daughter Emma, and thank Taylor for putting on another great show! We had around 85 people drop by for the event and had a great time – if you missed the Taylor Road Show, check out http://www.taylorguitars.com/roadshow/ to find the next appearance nearest to you.
Special Agent Jack Bauer used his Zoom Q3 Handy Video Recorder in the May 24 Series Finale of 24 to record all the evidence behind the massive conspiracy that consumed fans of the show for 8 seasons… All in a day’s work for the Q3!
See for yourself at the 34:39 mark. And there are numerous other appearances as well. For more information on the Q3, please visit soundmakesthemovie.com
The Q3 sells for $199, making it a great audio/video solution for everyone! Most of the videos found here at First Quality Music were taken with the Zoom Q3 – check out the amazing sound quality for yourself! You can get one at FirstQualityMusic.com by clicking here.
