In Durham NC, there’s a new independent music store whose roots go deep in the area’s music history, according to a report from The News & Observer. In 2011, Sound Pure, a Durham audio company, purchased Indoor Storm, a Raleigh music store that sold customized boutique drums and guitars. With the acquisition, Sound Pure took over Indoor Storm’s inventory and began making plans to add a retail store to its existing location in downtown Durham. Sound Pure sells high-end recording equipment, guitars, drums, mics, etc.
The brand new storefront represents a significant evolution. The store will sell custom-made boutique guitars—many of them made in North Carolina—and drums, as well as the usual miscellaneous items that all musicians need, such as strings, picks, amps, cables and drumheads. But, the original article stressed, you probably shouldn’t come to the store expecting to find a Fender Telecaster or anything else you could grab at a big-box guitar store. And it’s also not the place to get a starter guitar for a kid. Prices range from $500 to $25,000, with the majority in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.
With regard to the rest of Sound Pure’s business, the recording studio is used for commercial work and by local musicians, such as Shirley Caesar, Nnenna Freelon and Clay Aiken. And, it functions on a retail level by showcasing everything the company sells—computers, microphones, speakers, furniture, cables, guitars and drums—for home recording studio types.