About

Melody Music Shop was founded in October 2009 by Paul “Wilbur” Price and Michelle Giansante (who had worked for years at Smith-Holden Music store – a downtown Bloomington landmark). During the closing of SHM, there was an outpouring of support from the community and they decided to continue serving music lovers by opening a new store just a few blocks away!

After years of continued growth and success, the store had overwhelmingly out-grown its space! In Sept of 2013, Melody Music Shop made the exciting move to it’s 1355 W Bloomfield Rd Ste 1 Bloomington, IN 47403 location. Meticulously planned and designed for the Bloomington music community, the store itself stood out with its awe-inspiring visual displays, quality selection of product, organization, and clean family-friendly environment.

In November of 2017, they moved to their exquisite and final “Super-Store” location at the completely new Boulevard addition of Bloomington’s College Mall – and the rest is, shall we say, history in the making!

Melody Music Shop strives to stand out with friendly, personal, caring, and knowledgeable customer service! If you ever have any questions, please ask! We love to help people of all ages and backgrounds find happiness and satisfaction in playing music. We also take great pride in our “Guaranteed Best Price” policy. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, please ask and we’ll be happy to help you!

 

 

 

RECIPIENT OF THE HERALD-TIMES READER’S CHOICE AWARD
FOR #1 MUSIC STORE AND #1 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

RECIPIENT OF THE HERALD-TIMES READER’S CHOICE AWARD
FOR #1 MUSIC STORE AND #1 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

 

 

 

ABOUT PAUL “WILBUR” PRICE

Paul “Wilbur” Price “Wilbur” (as many have come to know) attended Paoli Jr./Sr. High School in Paoli, Indiana. There, he was a member of the Pride of Paoli State Champion marching band where he marched snare drum from junior high through his senior year of high school. Wilbur also participated in the concert and pep bands where he received the player of the year award in his sophomore, junior and senior year.

A rock and roller at heart, Wilbur has played in numerous bands and many genres of music throughout the years, gaining vast live and recording experience. His quest for drumsticks in 1996 brought him to Smith-Holden Music where he applied for a part-time cashier position which had just become available. His passion for helping others and practical knowledge base of multiple musical instruments and electronic equipment quickly became apparent to many musicians and families in the Bloomington community. Wilbur’s philosophy was simple; try to help people find what they need; don’t be a “salesman”. This energy abounds in Melody Music Shop LLC.

Wilbur’s favorite hobbies include spending time with his family and loved ones, playing & recording music (of course!), learning about history, stone skipping, airsoft simulations, competitive duck hearding, and operating Radio Control vehicles. He is also a licensed Registered Nurse with the State of Indiana.

 

 

 

A note from the owner:

Hello all! This is Wilbur, the owner of Melody Music Shop, LLC 🙂

I’ve met and gotten to know many of you throughout the years. As many of you know, my staff and I try our best to service everyone to the best of our abilities.

We, unfortunately, had to adjust our in-store playing policy recently to no longer allow random customers to -freely- grab anything they want and play to their heart’s content. This is the unfortunate result of a “thousand paper cuts” I want to make crystal clear here so hopefully there will be some reasoning, logic, and understanding. We are sincerely looking out for our true, buying customers who expect nothing but a quality, pristine example of the instrument they’ve worked hard to purchase. Our ultimate goal is to offer the best instrument, price, and service to our customers in hopes that they will want to be our customers for life.

Some things that have led to this decision include the following:

– The average guitar price we stock is $1000. In the past year, we have had more than 20, 30, 40 (I started to lose count after the first 20) instruments damaged by customers who didn’t respect (or mishandled) the instruments. Some considered us a rehearsal space as they pick-scratched, scratched and gashed away on multiple instruments devaluing them ALL. One $2500 Les Paul in particular here became a $1500 Les Paul in a matter of seconds for example.

– When we attempt to qualify customers on more expensive instruments, some have been dishonest and told us they’re serious about buying so they can “jam” on them for hours.

– Our customer base prefers their instruments “untouched”, no play wear, no defects. We are here to service those customers.

– We are not “Guitar Sinner”. I think we all know how that works out for most …

– We do not want to become a “ground zero” for the spread of viruses via customer contact with multiple instruments. To truly clean and sterilize each instrument would be near impossible with the volume / staffing we have in place; continuous cleaning could also compromise the instrument’s finish.

– We have a very generous return / exchange policy here and encourage our customers to purchase the instruments and try them out at home in their own space on their own gear they’re familiar with.

Please keep in mind, we are doing these things to protect our customers. Would you want your new guitar scratched, dinged, with worn down frets, dented, cracked and with germs all over it for full asking price? We’re not that place and never will be. We’re also going to protect our / your investment every single day from here on out.

I hope that this makes sense and if you have any questions about it, I am always available via email here to address your needs!

With peace and love

Wilbur

ABOUT PAUL “WILBUR” PRICE

Paul “Wilbur” Price “Wilbur” (as many have come to know) attended Paoli Jr./Sr. High School in Paoli, Indiana. There, he was a member of the Pride of Paoli State Champion marching band where he marched snare drum from junior high through his senior year of high school. Wilbur also participated in the concert and pep bands where he received the player of the year award in his sophomore, junior and senior year.

A rock and roller at heart, Wilbur has played in numerous bands and many genres of music throughout the years, gaining vast live and recording experience. His quest for drumsticks in 1996 brought him to Smith-Holden Music where he applied for a part-time cashier position which had just become available. His passion for helping others and practical knowledge base of multiple musical instruments and electronic equipment quickly became apparent to many musicians and families in the Bloomington community. Wilbur’s philosophy was simple; try to help people find what they need; don’t be a “salesman”. This energy abounds in Melody Music Shop LLC.

Wilbur’s favorite hobbies include spending time with his family and loved ones, playing & recording music (of course!), learning about history, stone skipping, airsoft simulations, competitive duck hearding, and operating Radio Control vehicles. He is also a licensed Registered Nurse with the State of Indiana.

Hello all! This is Wilbur, the owner of Melody Music Shop, LLC 🙂

I’ve met and gotten to know many of you throughout the years. As many of you know, my staff and I try our best to service everyone to the best of our abilities.

We, unfortunately, had to adjust our in-store playing policy recently to no longer allow random customers to -freely- grab anything they want and play to their heart’s content. This is the unfortunate result of a “thousand paper cuts” I want to make crystal clear here so hopefully there will be some reasoning, logic, and understanding. We are sincerely looking out for our true, buying customers who expect nothing but a quality, pristine example of the instrument they’ve worked hard to purchase. Our ultimate goal is to offer the best instrument, price, and service to our customers in hopes that they will want to be our customers for life.

Some things that have led to this decision include the following:

– The average guitar price we stock is $1000. In the past year, we have had more than 20, 30, 40 (I started to lose count after the first 20) instruments damaged by customers who didn’t respect (or mishandled) the instruments. Some considered us a rehearsal space as they pick-scratched, scratched and gashed away on multiple instruments devaluing them ALL. One $2500 Les Paul in particular here became a $1500 Les Paul in a matter of seconds for example.

– When we attempt to qualify customers on more expensive instruments, some have been dishonest and told us they’re serious about buying so they can “jam” on them for hours.

– Our customer base prefers their instruments “untouched”, no play wear, no defects. We are here to service those customers.

– We are not “Guitar Sinner”. I think we all know how that works out for most …

– We do not want to become a “ground zero” for the spread of viruses via customer contact with multiple instruments. To truly clean and sterilize each instrument would be near impossible with the volume / staffing we have in place; continuous cleaning could also compromise the instrument’s finish.

– We have a very generous return / exchange policy here and encourage our customers to purchase the instruments and try them out at home in their own space on their own gear they’re familiar with.

Please keep in mind, we are doing these things to protect our customers. Would you want your new guitar scratched, dinged, with worn down frets, dented, cracked and with germs all over it for full asking price? We’re not that place and never will be. We’re also going to protect our / your investment every single day from here on out.

I hope that this makes sense and if you have any questions about it, I am always available via email here to address your needs!

With peace and love

Wilbur