After doing a bunch of recording sessions the last six months, I realized I hadn’t properly serviced my 1939 Kay upright bass or my late-1950s Gretsch drum kit in more than 35 years (I’ve owned both since the 1980s!). There are so few old-school shops left in Hollywood, but I’m really happy to say that Stein on Vine and the Professional Drum Shop are still doing great business and staying busy on Vine Street in Hollywood. These are the old-school shops where the giants took their business, and you can still see tons of signed vintage photographs, historic bass drum heads, and other memorabilia on the walls of both shops, with the proper “THESE GUYS KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING” vibes.
Gary at Stein on Vine did a bunch of work on my bass, including a much-needed neck reset, fingerboard planing, new end pin, bridge shaping, silver soldering loose tuning keys, and a new set of strings. Stan at Professional Drum Shop resurfaced the bearing edges on my Gretsches, fixed the long-broken rack Tom mount, put a new snare throw-off (with no new holes) on the snare drum, fixed and painted the bass drum hoops, and put all new heads on the kit. I’m a bit embarrassed to say how terrible my bass and drums looked when I brought them in, but I did have the excuse of literally doing thousands of gigs and recording sessions with them over the last 35 years. It feels good to have them back up to top shape again! Thanks Gary, thanks Stan, and long live Stein on Vine and the Professional Drum Shop!! Just say no to condos!!!
