Main St Music

What Main St Music does

Main St Music, operating as Jakes Main Street Music, is a family-owned stringed instrument retail business founded in October 2013 by acoustic musicians Jacob Bernz and his father David Bernz, a Grammy Award winner. The company operates a brick-and-mortar store at 393 Main Street in Beacon, New York, in the Hudson Valley, complemented by a Shopify-powered e-commerce website and third-party marketplace listings on Reverb and eBay. The store positions itself as a relaxed, low-pressure destination shopping experience for acoustic and folk music enthusiasts and is geographically anchored by its adjacency to the Town Crier Cafe, a 40-year premier East Coast acoustic music venue located a few doors down.

The product portfolio centers on guitars (acoustic and electric), banjos, violins, mandolins, and ukuleles, sourced from premium authorized brands including Martin, Collings, Guild, Huss & Dalton, Larrivee, and Kala. Inventory spans new, used, vintage, and consigned instruments across price points ranging from roughly $65 (entry ukuleles) to over $8,000 (high-end acoustic guitars such as Collings models). Complementary categories include instrument cases, strings, tuners, cables, books, CDs, vintage vinyl, art, and gifts. The store is described as one of the premier banjo showrooms in the northeast.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time instrument sales, supplemented by service-based revenue from instrument repairs, music lessons, and rentals, plus consignment arrangements with customers reselling instruments through the store. Distribution combines walk-in and appointment-based retail, direct online sales through the Shopify storefront, and listings on third-party marketplaces (Reverb and eBay). The business is privately held, family-operated, with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, and no external investors identified; management is concentrated in the two Bernz proprietors.

Name

Main St Music

Legal name

Jakes Main Street Music

Website

https://jakesmainstreetmusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Main St Music is a family-owned stringed instrument retailer in Beacon, New York, founded in 2013 by Jacob and Grammy-winning David Bernz. It sells new, used, vintage, and consigned guitars, banjos, violins, mandolins, and ukuleles, plus repairs and lessons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Musical Instruments Retail

NAICS

Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140), Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (45914)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Musical Instrument Retail (Guitars, Keyboards, Drums, Band/Orchestra) (CRALAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Used & Vintage Musical Instruments Retail (CRALAEAH), Instrument Repair, Maintenance & Luthier Services (CRALAEAF), Instrument Accessories & Consumables Retail (Strings, Reeds, Sticks, Cables) (CRALAEAE), Online-Only Musical Instrument & Sheet Music Retail (CRALAEAI)

Keywords

• Stringed instruments retail
• Acoustic guitars sales
• Music instrument store
• Instrument repair services
• Music lessons instruction

Headquarters

HQ city

Beacon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Instrument Sales: Sales of new, used, vintage, and consigned stringed instruments including guitars, banjos, violins, mandolins, and ukuleles
2. Consignment: Consignment services for musicians looking to sell their instruments through the store
3. Music Lessons: Music lessons offered as an additional service
4. Instrument Repairs: Repair services for stringed instruments
5. Instrument Rentals: Rental services for instruments
6. Accessories: Sales of strings, cables, tuners, cases, books, media, art, gifts, and vintage vinyl

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Main St Music (Jakes Main Street Music) is a Beacon, NY-based brick-and-mortar music store and e-commerce shop that retails new, used, vintage, and consigned stringed instruments including guitars, banjos, violins, mandolins, ukuleles, dulcimers, autoharps, resonator guitars, and bass guitars from brands such as Martin, Collings, Guild, Huss & Dalton, Larrivée, and Kala. The store complements instrument sales with accessories, books, CDs, vintage vinyl, and cases, and offers professional services including instrument repairs, appraisals, music lessons, and instrument rentals.

Product overview

Main St Music is a physical music store and stringed instrument shop offering a curated selection of new, used, vintage, and consigned stringed instruments. The product portfolio centers on guitars (acoustic and electric from brands like Martin, Collings, Guild, Huss & Dalton, and Larrivee), banjos, violins, mandolins, and ukuleles (primarily Kala brand). The store complements its instrument sales with related accessories (strings, cases, tuners, cables), media (books, CDs, vintage vinyl), and services including repairs, appraisals, lessons, and instrument rentals. It operates as a traditional brick-and-mortar retail store with an e-commerce online presence, selling through its own website and third-party marketplaces (Reverb, eBay).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guitars Acoustic and electric guitars available in new, used, and vintage condition from premium brands including Martin, Collings, Guild, Huss & Dalton, and Larrivée; targeted at acoustic musicians and guitarists at all skill levels.
• Banjos Open Back, Resonator banjos and banjo parts, marketed as one of the premier banjo showrooms of the northeast; aimed at bluegrass and folk banjo players.
• Violins Violins ranging from new student packs to expertly restored century-old German and Italian makes; targeted at student players through to advanced string players and collectors.
• Mandolins Mandolins catering to folk and roots music traditions; intended for folk and bluegrass players.
• Ukuleles

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Town Crier CafecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdjacent venue partnership with one of the East Coast's premier acoustic music venues for the past 40 years. Located a few doors down from the store, creating a destination experience for music enthusiasts visiting both the venue and instrument shop.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sam Ash: Long-standing US multi-store music retail chain with broad instrument, gear, and accessory assortment. Overlaps in stringed instrument retail but operates at chain scale rather than specialty acoustic/folk niche.
• Sweetwater: Largest US online music instruments and pro audio retailer, offering broad catalog plus gear advice, rentals, and lessons. Comparable in product category and customer base but vastly larger scale, national reach, and digital-first operations.
• Guitar Center: Largest US brick-and-mortar music retail chain with hundreds of stores plus e-commerce. Overlaps with Main St on guitars, banjos, ukuleles, and accessories, but competes on breadth and price rather than acoustic specialty curation.

Direct peers

• Gruhn Guitars: Nashville-based iconic vintage and used guitar shop and repair service. Directly comparable product mix (vintage/premium acoustic guitars) and emphasis on expert repair and appraisal services for serious collectors and players.
• Carter Vintage Guitars: Nashville boutique specializing in vintage and rare stringed instruments. Comparable in serving collector/professional acoustic musicians with curated premium and vintage inventory and expert in-store expertise.
• The Music Emporium: Lexington, Massachusetts acoustic instrument shop specializing in new, used, and vintage flat-top guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles. Comparable as a specialty acoustic-focused retailer with online sales and an instrument-repair bench.
• Elderly Instruments: Long-established Lansing, Michigan-based family-owned acoustic and fretted instrument retailer offering new, used, vintage, and consigned stringed instruments plus repairs and lessons. Highly comparable in product mix, customer base (acoustic/folk musicians), and family-run curation model.
• Mandolin Brothers: Family-owned Staten Island, NY boutique renowned for vintage and high-end stringed instruments. Comparable as a destination instrument shop specializing in collector-grade guitars, mandolins, banjos, and ukuleles, serving acoustic music enthusiasts nationwide.
• Rudy's Music Shop: NYC-based family-owned guitar retailer long known for premium and vintage instruments, especially Collings, Martin, and Bourgeois. Directly comparable in product mix, premium-brand positioning, and musician-owned curation ethos.

Others

• Reverb: Global online marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments. Adjacent to Main St's business model - Main St actually lists on Reverb - and they share an overlapping long-tail inventory and customer base in collectible stringed instruments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/main-st-music

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Main St Music