HMT Virtual Tour
House of Musical Traditions is a music store like no other. Since our move in 2008 to our current location we're contained in an actual house, and as you wander from room to room you'll find all kinds of treasures!
If you're driving to us, you'll know you reached the right place when you see our "Stage Of Musical Traditions" facing Westmoreland Ave. This visual upgrade was completed in 2020, and you'll sometimes catch an outdoor performance here! Head up the driveway hill to the left of the building where you'll find our free parking lot.
Our main entrance faces the parking lot, in the back of the building. Our friendly staff is waiting to assist you! We do not work on commission and offer a laid-back, low-pressure atmosphere. Most of our staff are also professional performing musicians and/or teachers, and are knowledgeable in a wide range of specialties.
As you enter, look to the left and you'll see our famous Wall Of Banjos. We stock new banjos by Gold Tone, Deering and Recording King, as well as used and vintage banjos. 4-string, 5-string, 6-string, openback, resonator, hybrid banjo-family instruments and more!
You never know who you might run into at the shop. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana has been known to stop in and borrow an accordion when he's in town for FairVote board meetings!
Our staff is ready to assist you at the front counter. Store owner David Eisner may also offer you some treats depending on the season. You can step back behind the counter area to browse our large selection of strings and accessories of all kinds. We also carry a wide range of pro audio products you'll find here, such as mics from Audio Technica and other brands, DI boxes, effects pedals, pickups and more. If you need a repair or rental, our staff will help you here at the counter.
Off of the front room, you'll find our ukulele & book room. We have one of the largest selections of ukuleles in the area, from brands like Kala, Breedlove, Cordoba, Ohana, Luna and Flea/Fluke - as well as a selection of vintage ukes and banjo-ukes. You can also browse our book selection, which includes instruction books for a wide range of folk & acoustic instruments, tunebooks, DVDs, and school band/orchestra books. We often have deals on used books as well.
Head down the hall and you'll find our restroom where you can wash your hands (highly encouraged at all times before handling instruments!). Take a left and you'll find our Wind Instrument room - largely dominated by accordions! We are one of the only shops in the area that sells accordions. We stock a curated selection of vintage Italian and German-made accordions (most of which have been refurbished by our technician), as well as new accordions by SofiaMari and Hohner. Though most of our stock is piano accordions, we usually have a small selection of button accordions, as well as concertinas. In this room you'll also find used wind & brass instruments (ranging from affordable student instruments to higher-end vintage pieces), Native American flutes, Irish tinwhistles & flutes, didgeridoos and more.
Continue on to our percussion area. We have one of the largest selections anywhere of hand drums & percussion, including djembes from West Africa (as well as factory made drums by Toca and others), cajons, bongos, bodhrans and other frame drums, and all kinds of hand percussion: shakers, rattles, bones, spoons and other fun sounds, including an area especially for kids. You might find Ghanaian balafons or a Cambodian xylophone, a Chinese opera drum, a Triniadian steel pan...the list goes on and on! Two product lines we are especially proud to carry in our percussion department are Hardwood Music wooden tongue drums made in Arizona, and Hedwitschak bodhrans made in Germany.
Go to one side of this space and you'll find our downstairs guitar room, showcasing all kinds of guitars up to the $1,000 price range. We stock new acoustic guitars (both steel-string and nylon-string) from Alvarez, Breedlove, Cordoba, Eastman, Recording King and Kremona, as well as a selection of used guitars. You can find good-quality budget instruments around the $200 range, and intermediate-quality instruments that are a step up. You might also find Latin American stringed instruments such as a bajo sexto, requinto or cuatro, acoustic basses, travel guitars and more. Though we are best known for our acoustic selection, we also curate a varied selection of used electric guitars and basses - anything from a budget Squire to a vintage Les Paul. You'll also find our amplifier selection here (as well as a few upstairs). We are dealers for Fishman, Vox, Genzler and AER, and also generally have a selection of used amps.
In another corner you'll find our mandolin area. We carry new mandolins and mandolin-family instruments (mandola, octave mandolin/bouzouki, mandocello) from Eastman, Loar, Kentucky and Trinity College, as well as used and vintage mandolins.
You've explored the downstairs area...but there's more! Head back to the accordion/wind room and take the stairs in the back to explore our upper level.
Our Guitar Salon houses higher-end guitars and mandolins, in the $1000+ price range. We don't believe in putting these instruments behind glass, so they are available to play - but we'll ask you to wash your hands first, and remove jackets with zippers (we also prefer to have our staff take instruments on and off the wall for you). We are proud to be a Premier Dealer for Breedlove guitars, and in this room you'll find a large selection of their Made-In-Bend (Oregon) models, including limited editions not found elsewhere. We also stock guitars from Larrivee, and represent a selection of Fredericksburg, VA-based luthier Bob Gramann's instruments. In this room you'll also find an ever-rotating selection of higher-end used and vintage guitars and mandolins. If it's a nice day, you can even spend some time on our Pickin' Porch!
Next door, you'll find our violin & world string instruments room. Our violin selection ranges from affordable, good-quality student instruments to restored antique European and American-made violins (plus violas and cellos, and sometimes an upright bass or two). Most of our selection here is used, which means you will find unique violins not found anywhere else! We also carry new acoustic-electric violins by Realist, electric violins, cellos and upright basses by NS Design, and a range of wood, carbon fiber and synthetic bows. Both classical and folk/fiddle players will find violins here to their liking. This room is also where you'll find our wide selection of Indian instruments such as sitars, tanpuras, tablas and harmoniums. You may also find Turkish or Egyptian ouds, Chinese & Japanese zithers, Afghani rababs, African koras and much more!
The last room we have to explore is our harp and dulcimer room. We stock new hammered dulcimers by Dusty Strings, plus a selection of used hammered dulcimers by various makers. For lap/Appalachian dulcimers, we have one of the biggest selections anywhere (of course continuing the legacy of HMT starting in 1972 with just lap dulcimers)! We're always on the lookout for used and vintage lap dulcimers. We also stock new folk harps by Dusty Strings in a range of sizes, as well as small and affordable Harpsicle harps. You'll usually find used folk harps here too. This room also houses autoharps, bowed psalteries, zithers and other American folk stringed instruments.
If you're driving to us, you'll know you reached the right place when you see our "Stage Of Musical Traditions" facing Westmoreland Ave. This visual upgrade was completed in 2020, and you'll sometimes catch an outdoor performance here! Head up the driveway hill to the left of the building where you'll find our free parking lot.
Our main entrance faces the parking lot, in the back of the building. Our friendly staff is waiting to assist you! We do not work on commission and offer a laid-back, low-pressure atmosphere. Most of our staff are also professional performing musicians and/or teachers, and are knowledgeable in a wide range of specialties.
As you enter, look to the left and you'll see our famous Wall Of Banjos. We stock new banjos by Gold Tone, Deering and Recording King, as well as used and vintage banjos. 4-string, 5-string, 6-string, openback, resonator, hybrid banjo-family instruments and more!
You never know who you might run into at the shop. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana has been known to stop in and borrow an accordion when he's in town for FairVote board meetings!
Our staff is ready to assist you at the front counter. Store owner David Eisner may also offer you some treats depending on the season. You can step back behind the counter area to browse our large selection of strings and accessories of all kinds. We also carry a wide range of pro audio products you'll find here, such as mics from Audio Technica and other brands, DI boxes, effects pedals, pickups and more. If you need a repair or rental, our staff will help you here at the counter.
Off of the front room, you'll find our ukulele & book room. We have one of the largest selections of ukuleles in the area, from brands like Kala, Breedlove, Cordoba, Ohana, Luna and Flea/Fluke - as well as a selection of vintage ukes and banjo-ukes. You can also browse our book selection, which includes instruction books for a wide range of folk & acoustic instruments, tunebooks, DVDs, and school band/orchestra books. We often have deals on used books as well.
Head down the hall and you'll find our restroom where you can wash your hands (highly encouraged at all times before handling instruments!). Take a left and you'll find our Wind Instrument room - largely dominated by accordions! We are one of the only shops in the area that sells accordions. We stock a curated selection of vintage Italian and German-made accordions (most of which have been refurbished by our technician), as well as new accordions by SofiaMari and Hohner. Though most of our stock is piano accordions, we usually have a small selection of button accordions, as well as concertinas. In this room you'll also find used wind & brass instruments (ranging from affordable student instruments to higher-end vintage pieces), Native American flutes, Irish tinwhistles & flutes, didgeridoos and more.
Continue on to our percussion area. We have one of the largest selections anywhere of hand drums & percussion, including djembes from West Africa (as well as factory made drums by Toca and others), cajons, bongos, bodhrans and other frame drums, and all kinds of hand percussion: shakers, rattles, bones, spoons and other fun sounds, including an area especially for kids. You might find Ghanaian balafons or a Cambodian xylophone, a Chinese opera drum, a Triniadian steel pan...the list goes on and on! Two product lines we are especially proud to carry in our percussion department are Hardwood Music wooden tongue drums made in Arizona, and Hedwitschak bodhrans made in Germany.
Go to one side of this space and you'll find our downstairs guitar room, showcasing all kinds of guitars up to the $1,000 price range. We stock new acoustic guitars (both steel-string and nylon-string) from Alvarez, Breedlove, Cordoba, Eastman, Recording King and Kremona, as well as a selection of used guitars. You can find good-quality budget instruments around the $200 range, and intermediate-quality instruments that are a step up. You might also find Latin American stringed instruments such as a bajo sexto, requinto or cuatro, acoustic basses, travel guitars and more. Though we are best known for our acoustic selection, we also curate a varied selection of used electric guitars and basses - anything from a budget Squire to a vintage Les Paul. You'll also find our amplifier selection here (as well as a few upstairs). We are dealers for Fishman, Vox, Genzler and AER, and also generally have a selection of used amps.
In another corner you'll find our mandolin area. We carry new mandolins and mandolin-family instruments (mandola, octave mandolin/bouzouki, mandocello) from Eastman, Loar, Kentucky and Trinity College, as well as used and vintage mandolins.
You've explored the downstairs area...but there's more! Head back to the accordion/wind room and take the stairs in the back to explore our upper level.
Our Guitar Salon houses higher-end guitars and mandolins, in the $1000+ price range. We don't believe in putting these instruments behind glass, so they are available to play - but we'll ask you to wash your hands first, and remove jackets with zippers (we also prefer to have our staff take instruments on and off the wall for you). We are proud to be a Premier Dealer for Breedlove guitars, and in this room you'll find a large selection of their Made-In-Bend (Oregon) models, including limited editions not found elsewhere. We also stock guitars from Larrivee, and represent a selection of Fredericksburg, VA-based luthier Bob Gramann's instruments. In this room you'll also find an ever-rotating selection of higher-end used and vintage guitars and mandolins. If it's a nice day, you can even spend some time on our Pickin' Porch!
Next door, you'll find our violin & world string instruments room. Our violin selection ranges from affordable, good-quality student instruments to restored antique European and American-made violins (plus violas and cellos, and sometimes an upright bass or two). Most of our selection here is used, which means you will find unique violins not found anywhere else! We also carry new acoustic-electric violins by Realist, electric violins, cellos and upright basses by NS Design, and a range of wood, carbon fiber and synthetic bows. Both classical and folk/fiddle players will find violins here to their liking. This room is also where you'll find our wide selection of Indian instruments such as sitars, tanpuras, tablas and harmoniums. You may also find Turkish or Egyptian ouds, Chinese & Japanese zithers, Afghani rababs, African koras and much more!
The last room we have to explore is our harp and dulcimer room. We stock new hammered dulcimers by Dusty Strings, plus a selection of used hammered dulcimers by various makers. For lap/Appalachian dulcimers, we have one of the biggest selections anywhere (of course continuing the legacy of HMT starting in 1972 with just lap dulcimers)! We're always on the lookout for used and vintage lap dulcimers. We also stock new folk harps by Dusty Strings in a range of sizes, as well as small and affordable Harpsicle harps. You'll usually find used folk harps here too. This room also houses autoharps, bowed psalteries, zithers and other American folk stringed instruments.