Elderly Instruments
Elderly Instruments
Type
Private
Founded
East Lansing, Michigan,
United States
Founder(s)
Stan Werbin
Sharon McInturff
Headquarters 42°44′46″N 84°33′8″W /
42.74611°N 84.55222°W /
42.74611;
-84.55222Coordinates:
42°44′46″N 84°33′8″W /
42.74611°N 84.55222°W /
42.74611; -84.55222 Lansing,
Michigan
Industry
Musical instruments
Record distribution
Services
Musical instrument repair
Revenue
$17 million (2007) [1]
Owner(s)
Stan Werbin
Employees
85 (2008)[2]
Website
Elderly.com
Elderly Instruments
is a musical instru-
ment retailer in Lansing, Michigan, United
States, with a reputation as a "megastore",[3]
a repair shop and a locus for folk music[4] in-
cluding bluegrass and "twang". Specializing
in fretted instruments, including acoustic and
electric guitars, banjos, mandolins, and
ukuleles, Elderly maintains a selection of odd
or rare instruments. Elderly is known as the
premier repair shop for fretted instruments,
as one of the larger vintage instrument deal-
ers in the United States, and as a major deal-
er of Martin guitars in particular.
Industry publications, music retail trade,
and bluegrass music journals have featured
articles about the Elderly repair staff. The
company also provides consignment services
for rare and vintage instruments. Since its
founding in 1972, Elderly has undergone two
major expansions: into mail order in 1975
and then into Internet sales in the 1990s. In
2005 it was the subject of a lawsuit by Gibson
Guitar Corporation concerning trademark in-
fringement. Today it is recognized interna-
tionally for its services and products;[5] its
mail order and Internet business account for
65–70 percent of its total revenue. Elderly
grossed $12 million in 1999[6] and by 2007
was grossing $17 million annually.[1]
In addition to retail and repair services,
Elderly Instruments is noted as a center of
local music culture for bluegrass and "twang"
music. Elderly Instruments operates a whole-
sale record distribution business, Sidestreet
Distributing, in the lower level of its complex,
s