Our Friendly Neighborhood Music Store

[Tom Williams]

I have no affiliation with it except as a sometime customer, so I'll spill the beans: Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center in Wheaton. In the 80s and 90s I used to make a pilgrimage every summer to Levin's and to nearby Veneman's (Music Emporium catalog; absorbed by Guitar Center) in Rockville.

[MAJUSCULE]

Don"t need deals, but rather a nice rapport in case I need a demo rental during repair, or a fast shipment to a preferred customer.

 

Big agree here. I mean, I wouldn't mind a deal, but things like quick/free shipping, replacement/repair, advance dibs on presale units, all these things would be awesome.

[hardware]

Yepp.

My brothas" are those I do business with.

[Anderton]

I don't foresee a partiality issue.

 

Neither do I, because...

 

For the record, trying this was my idea, because I do think it could be cool to have a retail partner MPN members can contact if they wish and be recognized as a member of a valued community...[snip]...Their involvement with MPN is meant to be as a potential resource for those who like the idea.

 

It's an experiment. We'll see if it works. One of the reasons I do feel comfortable trying it though is that I have little doubt that if folks feel like it isn't working, y'all will let us know.

 

I have a phrase I use a lot..."can't hurt, could help." This might be applicable

 

Let's face it, the internet has been about three models: a semi-magazine model, stores trying to sell things, and social media. Let's explore this whole thing further. I think there are many more possibilities, and apparently, so does Dave

 

I'd really like to see us establish a trusted network within this overall weird swamp called the internet.

[Ben Kraft]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the introduction, Dave. I can't believe it's been 25 years since the days of the Alesis QS-series, which is when we first met. I had dark hair back then!

 

So now that you all have had a day or so to chat about this concept, let me give you all a bit of background on Kraft Music. First, of all, we do not have a relationship with the New England Patriots, nor are we a producer of cheese! Kraft Keyboards, as we were known as in the beginning, was started by my dad in the early 80's. He was an enthusiast and gigging musician who opened up a shop here in Milwaukee that specialized in all of the MIDI and digital gear that was coming to market at such a rapid pace during that time. I was a lucky kid who, at 10-15 years of age, was able to ride with Dad to work and skip out of chores by playing with every new keyboard that rolled into the shop. I grew up with this stuff, and it's been a blessing that we've been able to adapt from brick and mortar to the e-commerce world that we're in now while assembling a team to keep our business healthy (we're now in our 36th year).

 

Dave is right - keyboards are a big focus for us. But several years back I changed the name to Kraft Music with the thought that we would branch out to a few more categories. In addition to carrying most keyboard and synth brands, we're very comfortable on the electronic drum side of things, and we've been slowly expanding our guitar and audio departments as well.

 

I'd like to think Kraft Music is a "just right" kind of size. There are currently 34 of us, and we occupy a little more than 70,000 sq ft here in Wisconsin. We've got ample room for lots of inventory, as well as plenty of space for our Sales Advisors (although they are all working from home these days...), room for a nice video studio and training facilities, and plenty of office space for the marketing and admin side that keeps things rolling day to day. So while we're not so small that we're surviving on a daily basis, we're also not too big - I personally know everyone on the team, and they all have a direct line to me. I'm happy to report that we just celebrated two 19-year anniversaries, and there are plenty of 5, 10, and 15 year folks right behind them.

 

As for the mention of other shops and relationships that you might already have - If you've got a good contact somewhere else, I probably know the store and likely know the owner. There's a lot of good people in this business, and it's a small industry. Heck - funny story - my dad actually sold Chuck his Kurzweil K250 before he became a dealer for any of this stuff. As I said to my dad, you gotta be careful who you sell stuff to! Seriously, I have a lot of respect for what many stores and operators are doing out there.

 

But I do encourage you to give us a try when the time is right. We don't have hundreds of sales people like our friends in Indiana, but we do have a focused team of 10 friendly sales advisors who all have plenty of experience with music and people. I'm proud of them, and the range of knowledge and instruments played within that room is impressive.

 

With respect to bundles - yeah, we've been called the "bundle kings" and it's a huge part of what differentiates Kraft Music from others. Our goal with bundles is to truly provide a one-click, quality solution at the most fair price. It's a huge value and convenience to many folks, but we also get that every bundle is not right for everyone. I'll bet most of you in this community already have a studio full of keyboard stands, cables, pedals and other tools, so why would you want another one of any of those, especially if you can't choose your favorite brand? That's where our Sales Advisors come in. They've been given the green light to customize nearly anything and get you what's right for you.

 

I hope that helps you get to know us a bit. As Dave said, we have not been given permission to, nor do we intend to, be the guys standing at the front door of the forum trying to sell things (like the satellite company lurking just inside the doors at Costco...). We're here to support the community and be available for when you need us. No doubt we'd like to earn your business, but "earn" is the operative word.

 

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!

 

Thanks!

Ben Kraft

 

Kraft Music

www.kraftmusic.com

[Doerfler]

welcome, Ben. Excellent first post.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Welcome!

[Old No7]

welcome, Ben. Excellent first post.

+1 to that.

 

My Mojo 61 (as a bundle of course!) and (2) Mackie Thump 12As came from Kraft Music.

 

Not sure when, but "I'll be back" for more!

 

Old No7

[Markyboard]

nor are we a producer of cheese!

Ben Kraft

 

Kraft Music

www.kraftmusic.com

 

 

Oh really? Well you may not be a producer but you're certainly responsible and in violation of trafficking cheeze across state lines.

Have you heard some of those Roland patches?

 

 

 

Welcome to the forum.

[Tom Williams]

Welcome to the forum, Ben. I think you (and your minions) will really like the feeling of camaraderie / family that lurks beneath these screens. To quote Red Green, we're pulling for you -- we're all in this together.

[ShadowMan]

Yes, indeed - welcome!

 

Bought my Nord from Kraft a few years back. Terrific transaction all around.

[MAJUSCULE]

Bought my Nord from Kraft a few years back. Terrific transaction all around.

 

Bought mine from Cosmo... perhaps the fine folks over there who just might be reading this thread could take it as a nudge Unless Moog Audio or Tom Lee wanted to step in... I can't really see Long & McQuade being the right fit, much as I do find I get pretty good service there, particularly at locations where the employees have been around for a while.

[Morrissey]

With all of the gear talk that goes on around here, one of the things that I've always kind of wanted was to see if I could set up some sort of relationship with a curated music dealer - essentially our own local music store. It seems to me that it'd be cool to have a partner MPN members could contact if they wanted, identify themselves as MPN members and be treated as family....perhaps get a bit of a deal here and there...

 

 

How has this experiment going? And, down to brass tacks, is there a particular point of contact at Kraft or "secret password" us MPN members should use if we want to explore being a new Kraft customer?

[Dave Bryce]

Honestly, that program never really moved the way we had hoped for a few different reasons. Hopefully, we"ll figure out how to implement it at some point.

 

dB

[Tom Williams]

DB, as long as they are at least helping fund the site as an ongoing entity, it's a good thing.

[lsj]

for me, not one store beat sweetwater prices and their free 2-year warranty.

[Outkaster]

Welcome Ben I have bought a few things from you and your sales reps were great to talk with.

[allan_evett]

I'm joining others here to welcome you, Ben!

 

I've had a good, long-term relationship with a rep from that 'Candy store' two hours to the east, but there are times when a particular expertise, demo availability and other factors have made a different dealer the better choice. I've just referred a student to your store for a Yamaha P121 bundle.

In the meantime, I am thinking ahead to gigging, post-pandemic (hopefully beyond the small handful of outdoor jobs on my calendar, so far..) and reconsidering my stage applification rig. My Line-6 L2t blew unexpectedly last August, and is now confirmed dead-in-the-water. I'd covered the few remaining gigs alternating between a demo QSC CP-8 and an older Yamaha DXR-12, but am not convinced that either will be the long-term replacement for the L2t. So once my insurance claim check arrives it'll be time to start looking at options. Think I'll head over to kraftmusic.com and see what's happening in key rig monitoring.

[Delaware Dave]

I bought my Nord Wave from Nova Musik back in 2012 - Nova was a synth offshoot store of Kraft Keyboards, and then got brought back under the Kraft umbrella, right? Good people.

 

Now, full disclosure, I've been loyal to another online retailer for decades (in Fort Wayne, cough cough), and they've treated me really well since the '90s. So this will be interesting.

I purchased my PC3 through Nova Musik in '11. Hard to believe that was a decade ago.

[Doerfler]

Honestly, that program never really moved the way we had hoped for a few different reasons. Hopefully, we"ll figure out how to implement it at some point.

 

dB

 

well, I'm trying. My latest experience. I reached out to Ben last Sunday using the Kraft Music "contact us" email as I didn't have a direct line to him. The next day, I received an email from a customer service rep/salesman that had been assigned to me by Ben, who had given him instructions to "give me a deal I couldn't refuse". My words in quotes.I emailed him back and we spoke the following early afternoon, Tuesday, when I placed my order. My shipment went out the same day. Understand the entire time Kraft Music was under 2.5 feet of snow. My unit was out for delivery on Thursday, but never got to me as DC was in the middle of an ice storm that had the area paralized. Unit was delivered the next day, Friday, to the office building where I work. Went in Saturday to pick it up, and set it up late Saturday night. Now, the big reveal.

My order was for a "B" stock Kawai VPC-1. This box is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 75 pounds, and they still got it to me in 3 days (would have been 2, if not for the weather) in the worst of weather conditions. The communication was great, the price even better. I mean waay better.

I also had dealt with Nova Musik a few times years ago, still wear the t shirt sometimes, it's pretty cool. So, that's my story. Hope some of you will add yours as the year progresses.