Each newsletter, we feature a different Gbase dealer and a sneak peek their respective world. This month, we’re talking to Scott Freilich from Top Shelf Music from Buffalo, New York.

1.) What was your first job in the world of Music?
[Scott Freilich of Top Shelf Music] Besides playing in gigging bands from about 14, my fist music related job was repairing guitars for friends. I began building them at almost the same time I began playing. When I moved to Buffalo, NY from Long Island to go to the University Of Buffalo I briefly taught and repaired guitars for Ed Bentley Music. Ed’s a guitarist and member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

2.) Do you attend vintage guitar shows and the like?
[SF] I attend and display guitars at about a dozen or so shows every year.

3.) What’s your favorite show (NAMM, I Love Lucy, etc)?
[SF] I like the Arlington Tx. Show.

4.) What’s the most recent gem that you uncovered?
[SF] A custom made guitar and bass set made for a WV gospel band called “The Family” . They look like something Paul Bigsby made. Really unique. I have no idea who made them. A custom made guitar and bass set made for a WV gospel band called “The Family” . They look like something Paul Bigsby made. Really unique. I have no idea who made them.

5.) Do you have a favorite guitar?
[SF] I’ve got a Regal Made Orpheum Elite that’s the most amazing sounding acoustic I’ve ever owned. I also have a Wandre Roby that I really like. I’ve got a Regal Made Orpheum Elite that’s the most amazing sounding acoustic I’ve ever owned. I also have a Wandre Roby that I really like.

6.) Do you have a memorable story from your experience as a dealer that the Gbase community would enjoy? This could include anything from a dealing with someone famous to something that is just outrageously funny or bizarre.
[SF] Probably the best one was when I got this guy’s original 1941 D—45 back for him. It had been stolen years before and I discovered it in a farm house when I went there to buy this guy’s 70′s Precision Bass. There was an old Martin case in the room and when he opened it I couldn’t believe my eyes. He didn’t want to sell the guitar at the time, but he called me a few months later and needed some money. I asked him for the serial number and sure enough it turned out to be the one that was stolen from this guy I knew. I paid for it with a check and stopped the check on the way home. The guy whom I returned it to still has it.

7.) What is Top Shelf’s specialty? Amps, pedals, guitars (if so, Les Pauls, Strats, no specialty at all).
[SF] My shop specializes in the unusual. After spending years looking at normal stuff I got very jaded. There are so many good guitars that don’t say Gibson, Fender and Martin on the headstock. Not that those companies don’t make good guitars, but there are lots of other great instruments made by lesser known companies that are equally as good and a whole lot less common and expensive.

8.) What’s the farthest you’ve had to travel to get a guitar for your shop?
[SF] I’ve bought some things that had to be shipped from Europe, but I don’t think I’ve physically traveled much further than TX to actually buy an instrument. I had a client who was going to pay to have me travel to Europe to buy instruments for him, but there were a few subway bombings at the time so I contracted the assignment out to a European friend of mine.

9.) With the holidays coming up, you have any specials or featured gear that you would like to mention?
[SF] Everything I sell is featured. Probably the coolest things I have for sale right now are a Veleno prototype and a B&D Ne Plus Ultra Troubador archtop.

10.) Are you looking for a piece of gear, you just can’t seem to find?
[SF] As a matter of fact, I’ve been looking for a Wandre Oval Basso upright bass for years. Got one? Any final comments? You’ve got to really love this business to be in it. I’ve been playing music and working with guitars for over 40 years. There’s a saying that goes “Want to make a small fortune in the music business? Start with a large fortune”. I love the thrill of finding an instrument I’ve never seen before or standing on stage with an upright bass and entertaining an involved audience. I’ll probably do both until they put me in a box.

Contact Info:

TOP SHELF MUSIC
1232 Hertel Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14216
(716) 876-6544
Scott Freilich shelftop@aol.com

Or you can check out “Top Shelf Music’s” inventory on Gbase.