Are You Experienced? Well... Steve's is. Let me Show You.
When you walk into Steve's Music Store, you feel the history etched into the multiple layers of paint covering the aged walls of this famous location, walls that have seen and heard it all. Your heart starts to pump faster, you get excited about all the cool stuff, and you hear people jamming in the background and others laughing and hanging out. Are you there for anything in particular? Maybe you are and maybe you aren't. People go to Steve's Music Store for answers and some, just want to see what's new and check it out first hand. But, sometimes people go to Steve's Music Store to find answers to a burning question.
If you have heard a cool reverb affect in some guitar solo that you just had to find out how they did that, you thought, I have to go to Steve's Music Store, right now. So, you call up your buddies and hop into your car, and go to Steve's Music Store. When you get to Steve's Music Store, you are in the middle of all the action on Queen Stree Westt in Toronto. There are hundreds of quality clubs and restaurants on Queen Street. There is a hyped feeling, something in the air that makes this place special. Right across the street from Steve's Music Store is the Horseshoe Tavern, just down a little on one side is Lee's Palace and City TV down the other way.
Once you get in the store, you can't get your eyes off all the new equipment that you just have to try out. New amplifiers, guitar pedals, the latest professional level instrumentation, all there for you to explore. Then, one of the Steve's Music Store staff come up to greet you and ask if you need help. You explain that unique sound you heard on that new CD or MP3. The salesperson at Steve's Music Store starts asking you questions like "Did it sound like there was a vibration in the sustained tone of the effect? Were there any changes in the pitch?" Before I knew it, the salesperson had nailed down the exact sound and was able to play the riff right there in the showroom! That's one of the beautiful aspects about Steve's Music Store. Not only are you going to a store that has all of the latest gear, but their staff know what they are talking about. They have been there and done that, because 90% of the 70 people that work at Steve's Music Store in Toronto are professionals or have degress from accredited schools like Fanshaw College. Either the staff at Steve's Music Store have toured on the road as musicians, or they teach professionally on their own time. That just further demonstrates to me, that Steve's Music Store invests in quality people and quality products for their customers. "If We Don't Have It......You Don't Need It" - Shelley Altman, Steves Music Store
 Steve's Music Store only carries the best gear on the market. If the gear doesn't meet "the standard," then you won't find it at Steve's Music Store. When you walk into Steve's Music Store, the first thing you notice is the shear abundance of gear available to look at. It doesn't stop there. Not only is there a great selection of the high quality equipment at a great price, but all of the little pereferal devices, software, training materials, cables and gadgets are right there at Steve's Music Store for you to check out.
The staff are extremely friendly and no one talks down to you and everyone is helpful and there is absolutely... no pressure. The professionals at Steve's Music Store are there to help you explore your musical interests. Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day, Steve's Music Store sells equipment, but the staff at Steve's Music Store does not push product onto you. As a store patron, you are free to try out anything in the store, even the high end stuff you know you cannot afford. What you will evidently see, is "the best equipment for the best price. That is the motto at Steve's Music Store," says Shelley Altman, Store Manager who has been at the Toronto location from the very beginning. Shelley was a professional musician for years. Originally from Montreal, Shelley knows the music industry from the grass routes. She has been on the road touring MOR (Middle of the Road) top 40 bands to dance clubs to weddings and concerts.
Steve's Music Store is about down to earth people and down to earth prices. It doesn't make any more sense to me. This store is crafted with the musician and the fan in mind.
Are You Buzzed?
When you hear the guitar solo climax of "Comfortably Numb" from Pink Floyd on the radio, do you get goose bumps? I do, every time, and especially on the live version from the Pulse CD where the solo is around 3 minutes of pure adrenaline. Do you get excited when you can smell burning dust and hear the buzz of that old VOX amplifier heating up?
 If you are an enthusiast, Steve's Music Store should be on top of your list to visit. Steve's Music Store isn't only about the equipment, it is about people. It's about the international fans that stop by for a Steve's Music Store T-Shirt or get their picture taken in front of the store on Queen Street West in Toronto because they were in town and just had to stop in. It is about the 13 year old kid who just heard "Voodoo Child" by Jimmi Hendrix for the first time and wants to learn the electric guitar... NOW. It is about the 17 year old teenager that aspires to be a classical violinist or play the chello. It is about that never come out of the house, looks like they arepainted with chalk, black t-shirt wearing, but extremely intelligent introverted budding musicianwho practices 8 hours a day and can play every Kirk Hammet solo with thier eyes closed and one arm tied behind thier back guitar genius!
And, to top it all off, it is about the salespersons and gals who have made it big. Another cool aspect about Steve's Music Store is at any time, celebrities drop by out of the blue. In fact, the very day I conducted this interview, Shelley Altman told me that someone from Oasis had dropped by earlier in the day because they were in Toronto. "They just wanted to check out some of the new gear at Steve's Music Store and hang out for a bit," Altman says.
So, the next time you want to get to Toronto to check out the action, or you are in town for a concert of sports event, visit Steve's Music Store. Come in and take advantage of their hands on policy allowing you to try any of the gear. Steve's has also just completed some major renovations, which include the expansion of their repair department. Come by, you will not be dissappointed.
Disclaimer: Steve's Music Store is not affiliated with NetCohesion, Inc. in any way.
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