While Greater VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 big dogs battle each other for music store supremacy, one independent merchant is quietly celebrating his 30th year in the music business.
Alloy MusicB次元官网网址檚 Tim Boorman, a former muffler shop mechanic whose passion for guitars and sound was developing during the days he was cleaning grease from under his fingernails, has fought to win and retain customers by spending time with people and going that extra mile in terms of service.
Guitars, basses, ukuleles and even a few fiddles line the front walls of his Station Avenue shop, in a nondescript building in Langford on Station Avenue across from the bus exchange.
While heB次元官网网址檒l happily sell you an instrument or an amplifier or any number of sound accessories, and give you a detailed lowdown on how to get the most out of all of them, Boorman has some definite specialties.
B次元官网网址淚 like to set up guitars so that they play like a more expensive instrument,B次元官网网址� he says, describing one technique known as B次元官网网址渇ret dressing.B次元官网网址� That involves filing down the frets on a guitar then reshaping them so they serve the same function but give the player a more comfortable feel.
ItB次元官网网址檚 one of the ways he gives a client what they need, without forcing them to spend a great deal of money. ItB次元官网网址檚 been like that for most of the 30 years heB次元官网网址檚 been in the business.
The music retail business has changed over that time, he says, and smaller operators like him have been forced to get more creative with their offerings.
An expert in sound design and wiring concerns for musicians, heB次元官网网址檚 taken to doing speciality work such as re-coning speakers.
B次元官网网址淲e fix things where nobody else does,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of things that are fixable rather than throwing them out.B次元官网网址�
Boorman ran Alloy Music out of a space in the Westbrook Plaza for 20 years on Goldstream Avenue, but he got to a point where he needed to cut costs and moved around the West Shore for five years until landing on Station Avenue about five years ago.
A personable guy and inquisitive musician B次元官网网址� a longtime guitar player, heB次元官网网址檚 trying his hand at violin these days and is not bad B次元官网网址� Boorman loves to chat and is full of stories. As anyone who has known him for a while can attest, even new customers who share an interest in any aspect of music, heB次元官网网址檚 got an encyclopedic knowledge of people, instruments and sound setups. He remembers past guitars heB次元官网网址檚 worked on and the customers who brought them in.
HeB次元官网网址檚 got several lesson spaces in the back of the shop, with teachers working with players of all ages. B次元官网网址淎nd unlike some places, you can pay as you go B次元官网网址� and you learn what you want, not what somebody else wants to teach you.B次元官网网址�
You can check out Alloy MusicB次元官网网址檚 offerings online at alloymusic.ca, by dropping by #4-865 Station Ave. or calling 250-478-6800.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
