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Matt Umanov Guitars

Matt Umanov Guitars Instrument repair & restoration in the heart of Greenwich Village NYC Repairing and restoring top-grade fretted instruments is where I started out in the early 1960s in Greenwich Village, several years before opening my store here.

It began with fixing everything I could find as a little kid, gaining tool skills and woodworking and machine skills along the way, and knowledge of processing all kinds of natural materials (wood, metal, plastics, glass and more) for manufacturing processes. Having also grown up in the music world since infancy, building and rebuilding musical instruments came naturally in my teenage years and by

It began with fixing everything I could find as a little kid, gaining tool skills and woodworking and machine skills along the way, and knowledge of processing all kinds of natural materials (wood, metal, plastics, glass and more) for manufacturing processes. Having also grown up in the music world since infancy, building and rebuilding musical instruments came naturally in my teenage years and by

Operating as usual

Happy Wednesday! We are out here seizing the Hump Day, courtesy of the classic
03/30/2022

Happy Wednesday!

We are out here seizing the Hump Day, courtesy of the classic

John Sebastian & Matt on the second floor deck behind Matt Umanov Guitars earlier this week. John said “Actual Villagers...
03/10/2022

John Sebastian & Matt on the second floor deck behind Matt Umanov Guitars earlier this week. John said “Actual Villagers!” about the scene, which includes the 1830s building behind them.

📸 by Jim Della Croce

JUST IN- Twelve instruments just added. - https://mailchi.mp/umanovguitars/2021-05-187311We’ve got another batch of grea...
01/08/2022

JUST IN- Twelve instruments just added. - https://mailchi.mp/umanovguitars/2021-05-187311

We’ve got another batch of great instruments, some of the nicest stuff seen in a while and some of the wildest too. There’s a lovely Martin, a very special Collings, a terrific Gurian (!), a coupla basses (one of them possibly the most unusual-looking bass ever), and more.

From a lightning bolt of inspiration one afternoon to immediately running around town to find components to digging thro...
12/01/2021

From a lightning bolt of inspiration one afternoon to immediately running around town to find components to digging through my ancient tube collection to putting it all together in the shop for the next few hours and it was done.

The world’s first and only all-tube menorah.

Happy Hanukkah!

Would you like a heads-up about our latest arrivals?Message us or visit our contact page to be added to our mailing list...
08/26/2021

Would you like a heads-up about our latest arrivals?

Message us or visit our contact page to be added to our mailing list and get notified about the latest arrivals!

https://www.umanovguitars.com/contact-us/

Our guy enjoying a quiet Saturday morning at the office!📸 by S Falkow
08/07/2021

Our guy enjoying a quiet Saturday morning at the office!

📸 by S Falkow

This week from the Village Preservation Blog, two interviews with me from those wonderful people at the Greenwich Villag...
05/20/2021
Matt Umanov: Guitar Hero, Sharing Musical Musings and Memories - Village Preservation

This week from the Village Preservation Blog, two interviews with me from those wonderful people at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, guardians and saviors of so many wonderful things about our neighborhood.

Matt Umanov may have closed his shop at 273 Bleecker Street back in 2017, but he didn’t stop working. Umanov is still selling guitars online and providing essential guitar repair services by…

HMS Dreadnought All-Star Guitar Band by Dick BoakI am honored to have my picture included in this fabulous re-creation o...
03/28/2021

HMS Dreadnought All-Star Guitar Band by Dick Boak

I am honored to have my picture included in this fabulous re-creation of the Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album cover by my very dear friend Dick Boak, featuring the people most important to him in his career at Martin. Dick, more than anyone else, put the Martin Guitar Co. on the global map during his forty-two-year tenure as head of Artist Relations (and more). I’m thrilled to be there with so many of the folks who had been customers in my store over the years, many of whom also became good friends, such as Jorma Kaukonen, John Sebastian, George Harrison, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Steven Stills, so many more.

Find the key to names at www.dickboak.com.

Address

273 Bleecker St
New York, NY
10014

Opening Hours

Monday 1pm - 4pm
Tuesday 1pm - 4pm
Wednesday 1pm - 4pm
Thursday 1pm - 4pm
Friday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(212) 675-2157

Website

http://www.umanovguitars.com/

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Comments

Happy Birthday, Mattie! Miss you!❤🎶
just got back from NYC ... picking up the finest guitar I have ever owned ... the Stahl (1930) ... I bought it a year ago ... and about a month ago, the bridge began to lift ... so I took it to Matt Umanov on Bleeker St. ... he and his luthier, Yuri, went over it, and it needed more than just a bridge re-glue ... 3 back braces (reglued) frets dressed, top cracks sealed (it IS 90 years old), and the piece of maple below the bridge where the pins go through the top replaced ... Matt and Yuri are the ONLY folks I trust with this guitar ... we should be good for another 90 years now
I met you through a mutual friend (no idea; maybe van ronk or barry cornfield or steve katz). It was 1964 and I had just purchased a 1951 or 1952 Martin D-28 that had water damage and was warped around the bout and had a couple of small pieces missing out of the bout. You repaired it plus changed the bracing to resemble that of a pre-war D-28. You were just starting out and did an excellent job! I still have that guitar today and it sounds better than ever.
Saw the post about your shop closing and just wanted to touch base.

Steve Newhouse
Many thanks to Matt Umanov of Matt Umanov Guitars for this very nice piece about the Izzy’s Impact: Remembering Izzy Young and the Folklore Center panel that we had at the Brooklyn Folk Festival this year.
Thank you Matt!

The panel was recorded, keep an eye out as we will be posting the audio a little ways down the road...
For all the times I’ve been to this is among the most memorable - an afternoon with Steve Earle in the village. Steve ate a cheese sandwich, tried out a 1954 Gibson SJ-200 at his favorite guitar shop, the recently closed Matt Umanov Guitars and told a funny story about getting pizza.
Happy Birthday, Mattie! Will be up there Sept 14-16 with Dick Boak & Susan Ellis. Let's get into some trouble.
From David Chevan on passing of Stacy Phillips on 6/5/18
I have sad news. My friend Stacy Phillips, a man who was many, many things, including a Grammy award winner, a Bluegrass legend and a founding member of the Afro-Semitic Experience, died yesterday evening, Tuesday, June 5 around 9:30. He was 74 years old. He experienced a massive heart attack on Sunday and from then on it was just a matter of time. He was surrounded by his family, his sister and his niece and nephew. Stacy was his own person and that was reflected in the life he led as a musician. If this news seems like a surprise or a blow, I agree. I have spent the past two days in a state of disbelief as the life of someone who was a colleague, a mentor, a friend, and a genuine world class grump slipped away. I would say more about Stacy, but others have already said it better. There is a great obituary about Stacy in today’s New Haven Independent.

This Sunday, June 10, beginning at 1:00 p.m. three different parts of Stacy Phillips’ complex musical life will come together as we give the first of several memorials. This one will be at Café 9 in New Haven. There was never anything typical about Stacy Phillips and it turns out that is going to be true about him even after life. You see, Stacy isn’t having a funeral. Why? Because he donated his body to Yale Medical School. So, no funeral, we will do some of what Stacy would have wanted and probably not wanted to memorialize him.

Stacy had scheduled a performance of his ever-changing cast of players known as Stacy Phillips and his Bluegrass Characters for this Sunday at Café 9. The Bluegrass Characters and Café 9 have graciously offered their performance time and space to all as a place where we can honor Stacy’s memory and remember him as musicians so often do: through words and music.

Doors will open at 12:00, noon.

Café 9 is located at 250 State Street in New Haven, Connecticut.

Since Stacy won’t be having a funeral, we are planning to begin the day at 1:00 p.m. with a short memorial service to comfort his family and other mourners.

And then, from 1:30 we are celebrating his life and music

If you are interested in sharing a personal story or a song at this memorial, please see the information near the end of this email.

1:00-1:30 memorial service and family reminisces about Stacy led by Cantor Malachi Kanfer

1:30 Nu Haven Kapelye

2:30 Afro-Semitic Experience

3:30 (Stacy Phillips and) his Bluegrass Characters

4:30-6:00 Open mic: people or groups who wish to share a musical piece in Stacy’s memory are invited to participate. If you wish to be guaranteed a slot please sign up in advance by getting in touch with David Chevan at [email protected].

Zikhrono l’vrakha May his memory be a blessing

Best,

David

GONE but not FORGOTTEN! Matt Umanov Guitars
Post: http://abc7ny.com/entertainment/backstage-with-sandy-kenyon-iconic-nyc-guitar-shop-closes/2756786/
Enjoy your retirement Matt Umanov.
I'm am so sad that Matt Umanov's is closing. I bought my Fender Music Master bass there. Here is a love letter to Matt Umanov's I made with my brother a couple of years ago.

https://youtu.be/FiynsznNESY
http://abc7ny.com/entertainment/legendary-greenwich-village-guitar-shop-closing-after-53-years/2701980/
Matt Umanov Guitars
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