As a musician, using the same equipment and methods over and over again can really become tiring at times, and trying to find the perfect place to receive high-quality equipment, as well as the knowledge to perfect your creative flow, just may seem impossible.
Luckily we now have businesses run by musicians who have spent years mastering their craft and are willing to offer you that same information. Today, we will be discussing a store known as Music123 and how they can help you improve most aspects of your music career.
What is Music123 and How Did it Come About?
Music123 is an online music retailer that provides a broad selection of equipment that is suitable for the musicians who are just starting out, all the way up to top professionals. This website was created by a family-owned business after 75 years of local success. Before all of this, the family had gone through 3 generations of the business.
In 1918 a store by the name of Musikhaus L. Zapf was founded in Beyreuth, Germany by Leornard Zapf. At the time, they were selling fretted instruments until they were forced to move to the U.S. due to World War I taking place.
Then in 1928 came the 2nd generation of the business where he was joined by his son, who was well educated in violin repairs, to continue on their business within Philadelphia. During this time they began to provide instrument repairs and music lessons along with selling instruments from their previous store.
Over time they had grown their catalog of products up until 1964 when the 3rd generation of the family-owned business began. At this point, they had transitioned to the rock-and-roll niche in which they were selling guitars, amps, and drums.
They had also expanded the business across multiple locations based in Pennsylvania and New Jersey where they began to provide music lessons to hundreds of students. Finally, in 1999 Leonard and his family had grown their catalog to over 10,000 products in which they had made the decision to create a website named Music123 to further expand their business.
What Do They Offer?
Guitars
Music 123 offers a large catalog of over 3,500 guitars. The guitars that they currently offer are acoustic guitars, classical guitars, nylon guitars, electric guitars, kits, and value packages. The prices of these may range from $60 up to $35,000.
Bass
You will also find that they offer a decent-sized selection of bass guitars. The variants that they currently provide are acoustic bass, electric bass, and electric upright bass. The prices of these items may range from $160 up to $12,000.
Drums & Percussion
Another large portion of their catalog consists of drums and percussion. Products that you will be able to find here are acoustic drums, cymbals, electronic drums, and world percussion instruments. The prices of these currently range from $2 up to $8,000.
Keyboards & MIDI
When searching for your next keyboard, you will be able to choose from a decent list of 700 items. Some of the items you will find are keyboard and MIDI packages, keyboard workstations, organs, pianos, synthesizers, and more. The prices of these range from $19 up to $11,000.
Accessories
You may quickly find that this is the largest section of their catalog containing over 13,000 accessories. Some of the many products that they provide here are amplifier parts, cables and snakes, cleaning tools, cases, drum and percussion accessories, and much more. The prices of these items range from $0.15 up to $7,000.
Band & Orchestra
Music123 also offers you a large selection of over 6,000 band and orchestral instruments. The instruments that they provide are woodwinds, brass, orchestral strings, marching band, concert percussion, and marching percussion. The prices of these items range from $3 up to $35,000.
Books, Videos, & Music
You will also find that this is their second-largest category containing 13,000 books, videos, and music guides. Some of the guides they offer are CDs, vinyl, music education for children, music industry guides and special interests, history, music theory guides, and much more. The prices of these range from $2 up to $3,000.
How Can I Get Started?
To begin shopping with Music123 you can just start adding the products of your choice your cart and proceed to check out, but creating an account will make your future visits fast and easy. To create an account, you will need to click on “log in” in the top-right section of the homepage.
From there, click on the bubble next to “New Customer” and you will be prompted to fill out the required information. Once completed you will need to provide a payment method. This will allow you to begin shopping right away.
Why Should I Pick Music123?
Deal Central
When shopping with Music123 you may come across their “Deal Central” section. Here they have over 2,000 ongoing sales to help you save more on instruments and accessories. This category may be helpful to you especially when shopping on a budget.
Open Box Instruments
Music123 also provides an open box section in which all of the products listed come with a 45-day return policy. Here you will be able to shop through over 3,500 used items that will come with a full manufacturer warranty for any blemished that they may have.
Find-a-Cable
Finding the cable you need will be a lot easier with their Find-a-Cable page. This page provides images with labels describing each style of cable for you to choose the right one each time.
Pro Audio Deals
You will also be able to find some good deals on some of the software and interfaces that they have to offer. In this section, you will find over 6,000 deals to choose from which can help enhance the production of your music.
Pros
- Ongoing Deals – They will always have sales available for you to save more.
- Gift Certificates – You can deliver gift certificates to loved ones through Music123.
- Educational guides – They hold a massive selection of educational resources for you to expand your musical knowledge.
Cons
- Outdated Site Layout – The website hasn’t been updated recently and some features may not work properly.
- Paid Shipping – Orders from Music123 cannot qualify for free shipping.
- Limited Customer Support – Customer support is only active during the weekdays from 9am to 11pm.
Should I Shop With Music123?
Music123 can be a great place for musicians of all kinds to enhance their music-making capabilities. Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience behind you, Music123 will provide plenty of high-quality products and knowledge that you may need to bring your creativity to the next level.
With their large amount of deals and resources, you may find it hard not to be satisfied when shopping with them. If you would like to get started with Music123, click here.