How to go
What: Music City Pickers buying vintage stringed instruments
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, May 20 through Sunday, May 22
Where: Comfort Suites, 5457 Kings Center Drive, Mason
More info: (888) 407-1019; www.musiccitypickers.com; info@musiccitypickers.com
MASON — Gabe Hernandez and Brady Seals can pull some strings.
“We’re going to make you a fair offer,” said Hernandez. “If you bring us a late 1800s Martin guitar and you want $100, but it’s worth a couple thousand, we’ll give you what it’s worth.”
Whether they’re buying and reselling vintage stringed instruments at market price, or playing one of their 30 or 60 guitars, respectively, these music fans are the best pick.
Music City Pickers, that is, named after their Nashville home, or Music City USA. The three-month old business makes its first tour stop 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday through Sunday at the Comfort Suites near Kings Island in Mason.
The objective? To buy locals’ vintage guitars, basses, banjos, mandolins, violins, and amplifiers from such companies as Gibson, Fender, Martin, and Epiphone.
“This is a one stop shop,” said Seals. “We’ve dealt with eBay and Craiglist where it can be dangerous to meet people you don’t know and there’s fees. You don’t have that with us.”
Seals and Hernandez use their music knowledge and passion to evaluate instruments. Seals’s 1994 “My Love” hit No. 1 on Billboard Country Songs with his former band, Little Texas. Hernandez has played guitar since age six and is a former Gibson Web editor.
Seals’s prized guitar is the 1968 Martin D-28 acoustic he used to write some Little Texas songs, while Hernandez loves Les Paul guitars.
“I’m the rock ‘n’ roller and Brady’s the country guy,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said some instruments, like a 1959 Les Paul Standard could be worth up to $500,000, while some instruments may hold only sentimental value.
Sellers receive cash the day of the sale and Nashville luthier, Ed Beaver, will help evaluate prices for broken instruments.
Seals, a 1987 graduate of Fairfield High School, is excited to bring his new business home.
“I know a lot of people around the area that have a love for music. I thought it’d be a cool place to start,” said Seals.
For those who miss the event, instruments can be sold, anytime, by contacting Music City Pickers via phone or email.
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