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In 1984, fed up with a perceived lack
of coolness in the Fredericksburg music
store scene, Mike Chafin founded Apple
Music, Inc., with $5000, twelve guitars
of dubious quality, two sets of golf
clubs and one dog. Chafin, a vetecitarist
from "Up North" with an affinity
for great bargains and cheap food, opened
his shop on Caroline Street in a storefront
not much bigger than a closet. Within
a few days, Pete Sellers, a prominent
jazz guitarist with a prominent beard,
signed on as Apple Music's first guitar
instructor, a position he didn't enjoy
for 10 years. One day in 1985, on his
way to a Duran Duran concert, Karl Steinbach
wandered into the store and hasn't left
yet
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Even though downtown Fredericksburg
was in a steady decline throughout the
late 1980s, the store continued to prosper
in its tiny confines. In 1987, as Karl
got taller and Pete got wider, Mike
was forced to relocate the store to
a much, much bigger location on William
Street. This new location allowed Apple
to aggressively acquire more animals,
employees, and tons more junk to fill
up the basement, including a humongous
collection of valuable vintage vinyl
that no one seemed to want. Expert guitar
repair, knowledgeable personalized service,
and vintage coolness became Apple Music
staples.
In 1992, after not cleaning the bathroom
for seven years, Apple Music was forced
to move right next store to its previous
location. The move cost a total of $48,
and would have taken less than three
hours, were it not for the 50,000 record
albums that had to be moved. The new
location was much smaller but a lot
cleaner. Around this time, Pete Sellers
grumbled his way out of town to Maryland,
and the lesson program and all of its
students were bequeathed to Tim Bray,
a seven-year student of Sellers's, who
underwent seven years of therapy to
recover from his lessons. In 1996, Apple
Music became an authorized dealer for
Fender musical products, and continued
toward the new millennium carving its
own niche in downtown Fredericksburg,
selling, fixing, teaching and buying
guitars, and selling and installing
PA gear and systems. A great addition
to the Apple Music family was Bob Smith,
a recovering car salesman and blues
guitarist.
In 1999, Apple moved across Princess
Anne Street to its present location,
which is much, much, bigger (4,000 square
feet!), but nearly 200 feet from Hyperion
Espresso. The new location offered enough
room to expand its nearly forgotten
cache of records, its lesson program,
and its showroom area.
In 2005, Mike Chafin retired to Pennsylvania,
which left Karl and Tim scratching their
heads and wondering what to do with
all of the records. Since they were
the only ones with sets of keys to the
store, they decided they owned the place,
and set out to make some changes, including
greatly expanding the showroom and inventory
on display. Apple now has on display
over 150 new and used, acoustic and
electric guitars, dozens of amplifiers,
and tons of accessories. After more
than 22 years, Apple Music, although
a bit larger, is still what it's always
been---your hometown guitar shop, where
expert advice and friendly service are
always available!
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