Sam Taylor

Southside Guitars

What inspired you to open a vintage guitar shop in Brooklyn?

I opened it with my brother back in 2005. We had both been living in the area for a while and felt like it was a cool neighborhood. There was a lot of music, and we were into guitars. I played in a band, and I would go to pawn shops to find old guitars at the time. I was just doing it as a side hustle – buying old guitars and reselling them on my own. I was getting better and better at it, and eventually, we were sick of the jobs we were working, and we wanted to work for ourselves. So, we decided to go for it. We didn’t know a lot. We didn’t have a business plan. We just knew a lot about guitars. So, we rented a space nearby, put some guitars on the wall, and just started trying to sell them. Here we are, 20 years later.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in those 20 years? 

The first is to be adaptable. Be willing to take what’s happening in the moment and go with it. For example, during COVID, we thought it would be really bad. We had to close our shop, but then our online business took off. We didn’t expect that, but we worked with it.

The second thing is to find really great people. I definitely couldn’t have done this on my own.

You specialize in vintage guitars. What is special about vintage instruments? 

There is a finite number of them. They’re not making any more of them. I like that we’re not competing with new products. With new products, there can be a race to the bottom price-wise, where margins just get compressed. When you’re dealing with vintage items, the margins are much better.

And because there are so few of them, there are no two alike. Each one is unique in its own way, and there will never be another one. That makes it harder in some ways but, in some ways easier. Once you understand that and you’re willing to market each one as an individual item, it is good for business. There is no ‘set it and forget it’ approach with vintage guitars.

How do you go about finding and sourcing your vintage guitars?

One of the great things about having a store is that now people bring us guitars to sell.

We do go to vintage guitar shows a few times a year, and we occasionally buy on eBay or online. We’re always scouring from different places.

What’s your process for authenticating or restoring vintage instruments?

That takes many years of learning and years of experience. We’ve seen thousands and thousands of old guitars. We’ve accumulated 20 years’ worth of guitars in a database. It’s really personal expertise and reputation. Reputation really matters.

Do you have a favorite customer story or a memorable sale?

We’ve sold a lot of guitars to celebrities and famous people over the years. We once got to take a guitar to Merle Haggard before he died. He was playing in New Jersey, and he wanted a guitar, but he couldn’t come to the shop. So he said to just bring it to him, and that was pretty cool.

How do you create a welcoming or unique experience for people who visit your shop?

I think that goes back to having good people. A lot of times, people come in and just look around, and we’re happy with that. We don’t mind them just sort of checking out the guitars. We don’t expect everyone to be a customer, but we try to be polite and friendly to everyone who comes in.

What do you hope every customer takes away when they leave Southside Guitars?

Just that these great guitars are being preserved and appreciated.

What do you appreciate most about your neighborhood and the Brooklyn music scene?

The neighborhood has gone through a lot of changes. When we opened, the neighborhood was a little seedy and underground, but now it’s gentrified. I don’t think we could open today in the same neighborhood that we opened in 20 years ago. If we tried today, it would be impossible, so we got lucky being in the right place at the right time. It’s still a good neighborhood with a cool music scene.

November 2025