Sam Ash Music closing all stores, 7 in Southern California

Sam Ash Music, the 100-year-old retailer that stoked the musical aspirations of countless guitar players and DJs, announced Thursday, May 2 “with a heavy heart” that it was closing all 42 stores nationwide.

The New York-based company said on its website and in social media posts that store sales would begin Friday. “This unfortunate news also presents a fantastic opportunity for great deals,” the company wrote.

It offered no other reason for the closures. A store employee in Westminster said the stores would likely close by August.

Sam Ash has seven stores in California, all of them in or south of Los Angeles in Puente Hills, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Westminster, Torrance, Ontario and San Diego.

Created in 1924 by immigrants Sam Ash, a violinist from Austria, and wife Rose Dinin of Russia, the company motto was “come in and play.”

The family-run company wallpapered its stores with images of famous musicians at work on their instruments. Myriad guitars, amplifiers, drum kits, DJ equipment and more tempted musicians to stop and play. “Music and musicianship is thrilling and exciting, and we’re just happy to a special part of that journey,” the company says in its storyline.

Hundreds of people took to the post to leave their memories and lament the closure. Matthew Friedman, a musician and performer, summed up the emotions.

“Over the years I have worked, played and shopped at Sam Ash,” Friedman wrote on Facebook at the Sam Ash announcement. “It’s been a vital part of my life for as long as I can remember… a great family business, with a century’s worth of history supporting music and creativity and the arts… irreplaceable.”

The company offered no timeline for the closures. All sales at the stores are final.

“Thank you for allowing us to serve musicians like you for 100 years,” it stated.

Myriad in-store retailers have struggled since the pandemic. In the music category, Guitar Center filed for bankruptcy in 2020 as brick-and-mortar sales plummeted and music trends pivoted to pop and hip hop. The company had been in precarious financial straits for years as shopping habits pivoted to online merchants.