When it comes to brick-and-mortar stores, few feelings come to mind that compare to walking into a music store and being surrounded by beautiful instruments. Walking into McKenzie River Music, one is immersed in a haven of guitars that decorate both sides of the walls from top to bottom. Some of the instruments have been recently made, while some originate from before World War II. The store’s inventory ranges from Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor and vintage guitars, along with plenty of products for musicians to take care of their instruments.
Located on West 11th Avenue in Eugene, McKenzie River Music is a place for all levels of guitar players to find quality products to fit their musical needs. The store was originally opened at a different location in 1981 by Bob November and his lead salesman, Dick Gunn. November was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2012. His store has since been passed on to Artie Leider, who continues November’s legacy.
“Between the two of them, the depth of knowledge that they had is a dying breed of people because they experienced every era of classic guitar as it was happening,” Mike Scheidt, a salesman and musician at the store, said. “They just had next-level abilities, and they knew what they were talking about.”
Scheidt had been coming to the shop since high school and he was hired in 1994 to help speak the language of the “metalhead” player base. Scheidt left the store to become a touring musician in the band YOB, but he was still able to come back to the shop to help out. In his time working with November, Scheidt learned and fostered skills that showed him how to draw guitars of a certain caliber.
“I’m not a virtuoso, but truly the style that I developed was from working here,” Scheidt said. “It’s just stuff I would have never learned like you wouldn’t have found me on a porch trying to learn Merle Travis if I hadn’t seen it in front of my face, marveled.”
Since McKenzie River Music moved to its new location in 2000, the landscape of the business has drastically changed. Stores like Sam Ash, Mars, and Guitar Center were not as prominent of music stores as they are now, but Leider sets the store apart from the others with the level of expertise and education that they offer. Leider started buying and selling guitars when he was about 14 years old, and when he moved to Eugene in 2004 to start a family, he was immediately brought into November’s vintage guitar community.
“The philosophy of this store is that there are so many different types of people playing guitar and for me, there’s a place for everyone who walks through the door, whether it’s a touring professional or a kid finding their first guitar,” Leider said. “We try to find people the instrument that’s going to give them not only the most pleasure, but also fit their needs because with any tool, there’s a different tool for a different job.”
In recent years, modern instrument manufacturers have been steadily growing and developing new technologies. The global musical instrument market was valued at $14.20 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% from 2023 to 2030. McKenzie River Music’s vast selection of vintage and modern guitars is not the only factor that sets them apart from the rest.
“There’s another gentleman who works here who’s a fantastic professional bass player, one who is a spectacular slide guitar player and has won numerous awards for it, and Charlie Longstreth doing repairs and making fan-fret guitars that are world famous,” Leider said. “It is about the collective people here, each one of them bringing something to the table, that adds up to it being a special place in an immeasurable way.”
McKenzie River Music has strived for and hopes to continue to foster youth involvement in music in Eugene by getting involved in Girls Rock and aiding local music teachers with what they need. Before COVID, Leider and the crew would host live events in the store to promote local professional musicians, and he hopes to start that back up again in the near future.
In Eugene, there is no place like McKenzie River Music, where you can find something for all types of guitar players, new and experienced, and receive the level of expertise and transparency they offer.
