Guitar Heroes

BY ALEXANDRA CALAMARI | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANE LUITJENS

Shortly after saying their “I dos,” Rudy and Fran Pensa TURNED A PIPE DREAM INTO A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR MUSIC SHOP.

“YOU’RE CRAZY. YOU’RE NUTS. YOU’LL BE GONE IN A WEEK.” th at’s what everyone told Rudy and Fran Pensa when they sunk their savings into a small space on Manhattan’s West 48th Street to open a guitar shop. According to Rudy, the block was doing up to 15% of the country’s guitar sales at the time—but the Pensas had little experience, no merchandise and no money.

“We had nothing, so we had nothing to lose. I just loved the music and the guitar. People always ask me how I opened a place on 48th, and I would say, ‘Well it was just a little hole over there,’” Rudy says. Now, 30 years later, that little hole is Rudy’s Music Stop (www.rudysmusic.com), a world-famous store selling new, original and vintage guitars to anyone from the aspiring musician to rock stars like Bono, John Mayer and Carlos Santana.
RUDY PENSA grew up in Argentina, where he made his first guitar at 13. “I wanted to record, but I needed a 12-string guitar,” he says. “I had no idea where to get one, so I broke two guitars. My father almost killed me! I took the head stack of one, screwed it to the other one, and I made my guitar. I got in trouble, but aft erwards my father was happy that I was trying to make an instrument.”

thirteen years later, in 1974, Rudy moved to New York and went straight to the mecca of musical instruments, 48th Street (nicknamed “Music Row”). “I wanted to go to Manny’s, where the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, just everybody used to buy their instruments,” he says.

Rudy took a job working at Alex Music in the building across from Manny’s, where he eventually would open his own store on the second floor. “He hired me to clean the basement,” he says. “It was terrible. I remember it was filled with big rats, but I was so happy to be in New York I didn’t care; I would do anything.”

Meanwhile, Rudy wanted to expand his instrument collection and met his future wifeand business partner, Fran, while trying to purchase a drum set from two women in Queens. Since he spoke very little English, Fran (who had studied in Spain) was called in to translate. She helped Rudy negotiate the purchase and agreed to meet him the following day to show him around the city.

THE COUPLE MARRIED in March of 1978 and opened Rudy’s Music Stop two months later, armed with Rudy’s passion, Fran’s management experience and a $40,000 loan. Fortunately, they quickly learned their compatibility extended into the business arena. Rudy says, “I think it’s a perfect marriage for the business because she could do things that I couldn’t, and I don’t think that she could do what I was doing.” Fran couldn’t agree more: “He’s the artist and I’m the businesswoman.”

Still, starting a business in a tiny 400-square-foot space was no easy task. “Every single thing was a challenge. If Rudy and I didn’t eat at my mother’s house every night, we would have starved,” Fran says.

the Pensas, who now have more than 20 people on staff , were in every way a two-person show: “We paid ourselves only what was absolutely necessary to live, and each time we sold something, we immediately replaced that item and bought another item of merchandise as well,” Fran says. “In other words, we just kept investing in our store in order to build up our stock.”

Both agree that the largest trial was stocking the store. “Major suppliers wouldn’t give us merchandise because the other stores on the street threatened to cut them off if they [did]. So we’d get new companies that the big stores didn’t want to bother with, we’d make them famous, and then they’d drop us, too,” Fran says.

the Pensas turned to purchasing used guitars, driving all over the country to find pieces to refurbish and sell. And they treated their customers like family, off ering them coff ee and the opportunity to play the guitars, thereby establishing the welcoming atmosphere that still sets Rudy’s Music Shop apart.

Rudy says, “I remember [other store owners on the street] treated me so badly… I said, ‘Oh man, if they treat everybody like this then we’re going to do fine.’”

they did more than fine, eventually stocking major lines, including Gibson and Fender, which gave Rudy the opportunity to start designing his own guitars. the success of his first model, the R-Custom, would lead him to collaborate with close friend and Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler in 1985. they designed the Pensa MK on a napkin at a nearby coff ee shop, and it was a huge success. the Pensas continued to expand their line, which today includes four- and five-string basses, as well as several electric guitars.

“the Pensa line is purely a labor of love, and because of the high standard of craft smanship and quality of the instruments, we have gained worldwide recognition,” Fran says.

through the years, Rudy’s Music Stop has expanded from a small second-floor venture to the entire building, not to mention a repair shop, Pensa Guitar factory, more retail space and an amp room next door.

the secret to their success? “I always wait for high-quality products. I guess I was very picky,” Rudy says. “Because I was a musician, I always wanted a great sound and good product quality, and I started getting people working for me who really shared the same passion that I have for the musical instruments.”

FAMOUS FACES>>

Rudy Pensa rushed to the United States hoping to catch a glimpse of one of his guitar heroes. Now, tons of stars walk into his shop everyday to buy guitars he designed. >> BANDS: Green Day; Los Lobos; Maroon 5; Metallica; Dire Straits; Gypsy Kings; U2; Velvet Revolver MUSICIANS: The late Bob Marley; the late Chet Atkins;

Carlos Santana; George Benson; John Mayer; Joe Perry of Aerosmith; jazz guitarist Pat Matheny; jazz guitarist Pat Martino;

Paul Simon; Slash of Guns N’ Roses CELEBRITIES: John McEnroe; Richard Gere

PICK YOUR PASSION

Fran and Rudy Pensa reveal how to go from starving artists to successful executives.

1 Pick something that you love and is of great interest to you.

2 If other people already provide the service for the business you’re going into, make sure you set yourself apart.

3 Reputation is more important than money.

4 Never lose your enthusiasm. If you do, it’s time for you to sell your business because people will notice.

5 It takes a lot of hard work, and it doesn’t happen over night. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

AS RENTS CONTINUE TO RISE

on 48th Street, smaller stores are struggling to stay in business. Places from Rudy’s past have already been overtaken by the music chain Sam Ash. Is Rudy’s Music Stop next in line?

As Rudy says, “I asked Sammy Ash if he was going to buy me out, and he said, ‘No, we need you, because we need quality on the street.’ the perception of Rudy’s has always been that we do quality work, quality service and quality products. I’ve been here for 30 years, and I’d love to be here for another 30.”