as a percussionist, i am constantly searching for stores at which good instruments can be found at reasonable prices. for the past few years, i have been primarily purchasing mbiras, kalimbas and small idiophones; however, many of the stores below carry orchestral instruments, as well.
located in chinatown with the main entrance off of waverly street, clarion carries a good selection of imported gongs and tam-tams, including chau and wu han items. inventory is about three-fifths percussion.
service was great: i was encouraged to sort through every single 19.5-inch wu han tam-tam in the store at a reasonable forte dynamic and the owner was quick to give good advice when i asked. ownership of the store is changing generations; i hope that the positive atmosphere and good selection remain!
other notables: individual temple blocks, racks of tibetan singing bowls, a nice selection of traditional chinese cymbals.
Lark in the Morninglark in the morning and alcatraz filled up an entire morning for me in the touristy fisherman's wharf area. the store is maybe half percussion, half other.
service was good: helpful when i needed items like mallets and beaters for testing, comfortable with letting me wander on my own about the store.
percussion selection included ethnic (not professional) keyboard instruments, a nice variety of metal sounds: japanese rin (cup gongs), chinese cup gongs, gongs, single bells. some ok rattles; avoid the mbiras and kalimbas.
Rhythm Fusionlots of percussion, including many mbiras and hand drums with good sound. staff knowledge ranges from tremendous to negligable, but tolerance for at-length testing out of instruments is uniformly average.
AATMI's site is lovingly devoted to the djembe: text and pictures about the drum makers and their creative process make a visit to AATMI's website well worth the time, even for those not in the market for west african drums. the website is largely in french.
herb david's is about one-fourth percussion. some items (in on consignment) are very nice: a talking drum that i wanted for years was here, as were some authentic mbira.
staff members in general are not very knowledgeable about the percussion inventory as far as fielding questions from a serious performer or collector; staff members are friendly, however.
custom music companycustom music company sells kori marimbas and xylophones. i bought my 4 1/3 here, and have been very happy; the staff are friendly, supportive and patient! i played on over 20 sets of bars over the course of three weekends before making a purchase without ever feeling like i was inconveniencing the sales folks.
this store changed location some time in the mid-1990s; the new space is not quite as friendly but the selection is still nice and almost 100% percussion. toy sounds, LP knock-offs, drumset components and orchestral instruments all share space.
unfortunately, staff have been brusque and unhelpful on my last few visits.
archimagegift shop with a small nook or two for percussion... some nice hand drums and a large collection of individual camel bells.
staff is nice but not percussion-savvy; store layout is cluttered enough that trying out instruments was sometimes difficult from both playing space and shelf height perspectives.
formerly the "one world shoppe", this store is one of many nationwide that vends instruments bought from an umbrella organization, ten thousand villages, which used to be called "self-help gifts." ten thousand villages, organized by the mennonites, aspires to pay third-world artisans a fair wage. musical instrument displays are littered about the store; inventory is perhaps one-twentieth percussion; small, easy-to-transport items are the focus.
i've really liked the shekeres and caxixi i have purchased through this store. mbiras used to be on this list, but the quality of those instruments has greatly decreased in the past few years. staff members are not percussion-literate but are very friendly and patient. supply and quality does vary.
ten thousand villageshand-crafted kalimbas, ready to be hooked up to any old guitar amplifier you might have lying around. the instruments look beautiful, though the website is not updated often.
steve weiss is the best percussion mail-order house i have ever encountered. great percussion sheet music selection, quality mallets and good prices on almost everything.
steve weiss is my port of call for orchestral instruments and sheet music; i have never purchased anything from steve weiss more unusual than claves. nonetheless, steve's catalog lists several pages of ethnic instruments, including a good break-out for gongs and tam-tams.