We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sunir Patel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sunir below.

Sunir, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. undefined

For us, the most innovative thing we’ve done doesn’t sound super exciting, but I feel that it was quite an achievement. For an entire year, we operated a retail business without a retail showroom while building a retail store around us.
Due to the building we had called home for 20+ years being sold to a developer, we had to relocate at the end of 2023.
We were forturnate to find a new home just a few blocks away, but had to do a complete buildout. When we moved in, we had only demolished the interior to create a blank slate and started putting up walls. Essentially we worked in a construction site. Constactors were in daily building around us. Meanwhile, we were trying to sell to customers, handle repairs with all of the techs in a different building, and keep track of thousands of pieces of inventory. All of our inventory and workspace, including where we could deal with customers, moved multiple times. There was a continuous shifting of where boxes could be stored, what space could be used, and how to function.
Our online business became the primary focus, and grew significantly. We were also creative in how we could still sell to local customers. It was extremely challenging, and not fun, but we found a way to make it work.
Hats off to the contractors that showed a lot of patience, and most of all, to our staff at Truetone – this was not a great work environment for a year, and they were all cool about it. It’s a testament to their dedication and ability to roll with the punches.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Truetone Music has been a destination for guitar players for decades now, going back to the late ’90s. It started as a single small storefront of 1000 square feet on Santa Monic Blvd, then grew over the next 20 years. By 2018, it was on the very of collapse, but a change in ownership was in motion, which begain what we call “Truetone 2.0”. The goal was to keep the old school guitar store vibe but with the moderization on the backend and a creation of an e-commerce business. We successfully started turning the ship around and getting it to float, but then the pandemic hit. That presented a never seen before challenge. We were able to get creative and navigate the new world. Fortunately, the guitar industry exploded at the same time. We were then met with our newest challenge with relocating, and just recenly (last month) reopened our new facility on Broadway, with a custom one-of-a-kind showroom, as well as multi-room repair shop, two warehouses, shipping/receiving department and a full office and photo/video studio.
We have have always been a source for guitars, amps and pedals of all price points. In recent years, we’ve shifted more towards being a higher-end retailer. This has come with the focus on our online presence. The ability to sell new, used and vintage gear in multiple ways is our current strength, as we are not relying on a single channel.
What we are most proud of is that we’ve kept mostly the same crew here the entire time, with new additions that have fit right in and helped us improve the operation. While others have experienced high turnover or cut staff, we have not – our staff is what makes Truetone what it is.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Being able to pivot and roll with whatever challenges are presented is the single most important thing that could be done by any business, in my opinion. We’ve had 3 pivotal moments where this came into play:
1. In 2018, when ownership changed and the entire operation need to start modernizing, become financially solvent by paying down debts and also growing inventory, and restoring morale. We had to find a way to do this quickly and performed a 180 degree turnaround.
2. In 2020, when the pandemic started, the stay-at-home order was put in place, and we had our retail store closed. We had to find a way to survive, which we did, and managed to grow.
3. In 2023 – 2024, when we had to relocate, operate without a store, and build a new facility. Again, we had to find a new way to function, and were able to do it, with the new store opening the day after Christmas.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I was working at Fender Musical Instruments for 15 years when the opportunity to become the co-owner of Truetone Music came up. It was a big decision, as I loved what I did at Fender, and it’s a great company to work for. However, after having been the one to handle Truetone’s account for years, I saw an opportunity. It would require a complete retooling and modernizing of an old school operation, without a lot of capital. That was a major challenge. I did it because I saw what Truetone could be, and that the key component was in place: the people (staff). They all stayed on board, adapted to the change, and have been integral to retaining our customer base and further growing what we do.
I have been going to guitar stores since I was a kid, and it became my career at Fender – to now own/operate what is considered one of the best out there is a special feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.truetonemusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truetone_music
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truetonemusiconline/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruetoneMusicOnline

Image Credits

Matt Abrams