Where To Source Musical Instrument Repair Supplies: 9 Top Providers

Finding quality parts and tools can make or break a musical instrument repair business. The right suppliers provide specialized components that ensure professional-quality repairs, help maintain customer satisfaction, and protect your shop's reputation.

Many repair technicians waste valuable time searching for obscure parts or settling for inferior substitutes, which leads to delays, customer frustration, and lower profit margins on repair services.

But how can you always find the right repair tools and supplies at the right time?

This blog cuts through the confusion by presenting nine trusted suppliers across all instrument categories. Whether you're restoring vintage string instruments, repadding saxophones, or rebuilding pianos, these providers deliver the specialized components and tools you need.

Let’s dive in.

The Importance of Finding the Right Musical Instrument Repair Supplies

Musicians tend to be very attached to their instruments. They won’t trust just anyone with their “baby” when it comes to repairs. If you want to offer repair services in your store, you need to invest in the proper repair supplies to build a reputation that keeps musicians coming back.

Running a successful repair department requires balancing several key elements. Let’s take a look at a few of the considerations you need to keep in mind when ramping up repair services for your shop:

Technical expertise: Develop knowledge across all instrument families (but consider that you may have greater success if you specialize in one or two areas).
Workspace setup: Create an organized, well-lit environment that helps your repair staff with efficiency and quality.
Inventory management: Maintain just the right stock of parts without wasting excessive capital on unused parts or running out of key pieces when you need them.
Customer communication: Set clear expectations about timelines and costs, and set up communication channels and processes.

That’s a lot to juggle, so you may be wondering if musical instrument repairs are even a profitable offering for your shop. Industry data shows repair services generating approximately $2 billion annually in the U.S. Many of our most successful clients have integrated repair services seamlessly with their retail operations, creating multiple revenue streams and increasing customer lifetime value (CLV).

So, if you want to run a profitable music shop, adding reputable repair services can be a fantastic way to do it. With this baseline information in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top providers for where to source musical instrument repair supplies.

1. Allied Supply

Allied Supply is a major supplier for band instrument parts, specialized tools, and accessories across woodwind and brass instruments.

Allied Supply offers one of the most comprehensive inventories in the industry, making it a go-to resource for many music repair shops. Their catalog includes hard-to-find parts for vintage instruments alongside components for current models.

Minimum order: Request an account for access to estimates and more information.
Customer eligibility: Sells to both businesses and individuals, with wholesale pricing available to qualified repair shops
Shipping policies: Free shipping on orders over $200 within the continental U.S.; international shipping available to most countries with competitive rates based on weight

2. Ferree's Tools

Feree’s Tools specializes in tools, parts, and stringed instrument repair and restoration supplies.

Ferree's Tools has earned its reputation through decades of serving professional luthiers with precision tools that meet the strictest standards. Their specialized string instrument supplies are considered industry benchmarks.

Minimum order: No minimum order requirement
Customer eligibility: Open to both businesses and individual craftspeople
Shipping policies: Standard domestic shipping with tracking; international shipping to 45+ countries with full customs documentation assistance

3. NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians)

NAPBIRT is a professional association that offers members access to specialized suppliers and resources for musical instrument repairs.

NAPBIRT itself isn't a supplier, but it’s worth mentioning in this post. As a professional organization, NAPBIRT provides members with valuable connections to preferred vendors like the ones on this list. You can also use this association to get technical training and make valuable connections with others in the music repair industry, so it’s worth keeping on your radar.

Minimum order: N/A (membership organization)
Customer eligibility: Membership open to repair professionals and businesses ($150 annual fee)
Shipping policies: N/A; member benefits include discounts with affiliated suppliers, who each have their own shipping policies

4. Stew Mac (Stewart-MacDonald)

Steward-MacDonald is a leading supplier of guitar repair parts, tools, and supplies, and offers lots of educational resources.

Stew Mac combines parts and supplies with educational resources that help your technicians tackle even the most challenging repairs. Their tools are designed by guitar experts to address real-world repair challenges for guitar shops.

Minimum order: No minimum order
Customer eligibility: Sells to businesses and individuals; volume discounts available for qualified repair shops
Shipping policies: Domestic shipping with various speed options; international shipping to 200+ countries with a transparent customs fees calculator on their website

5. Yamaha Music Service Centers

Yamaha is a reputable instrument brand and offers official parts and supplies for Yamaha instruments across all categories.

Yamaha's official service centers provide parts and supplies that are guaranteed to be compatible with their instruments. Using parts straight from Yamaha can reduce troubleshooting time and keep customers happy.

Minimum order: No minimum for authorized service centers; $50 minimum for other businesses
Customer eligibility: Prioritizes authorized service centers; other repair businesses can order with appropriate credentials
Shipping policies: Domestic shipping via preferred carriers; international shipping through Yamaha's global distribution network

6. J.L. Smith & Co.

J.L Smith & Co. specializes in woodwind and brass repair supplies, and offers an extensive inventory of pads, springs, and components.

J.L. Smith offers specialized equipment for wind instruments. It’s one of the most trusted names in the industry for components of classic band instruments, and has one of the most flexible order and pricing structures of the wholesalers on this list.

Minimum order: $100 minimum for wholesale accounts; no minimum for retail purchases
Customer eligibility: Sells to both businesses and individuals; tiered pricing structure based on annual purchase volume
Shipping policies: Standard domestic shipping with tracking; international shipping available to North America, Europe, Australia, and select Asian markets

7. Volkwein's Music

Volkwein’s Music is a wholesaler of band instrument parts and repair supplies. It offers parts for instruments across multiple music families.

Volkwein's specializes in band instrument components with particularly strong offerings for school-model instruments, making them valuable for shops serving educational markets and offering instrument rental services.

Minimum order: $150 minimum for wholesale accounts
Customer eligibility: Primarily sells to verified businesses; individuals can purchase with retail pricing
Shipping policies: Domestic ground shipping with delivery guarantee; limited international shipping to Canada and Mexico

8. Conn-Selmer Parts Department

Conn-Selmer offers official parts and repair supplies for multiple major instrument brands and manufacturers.

With Conn-Selmer, you can access genuine parts for brands including Bach, Selmer, Ludwig, and more. Getting the genuine branded parts ensures that your repairs maintain the instruments' original performance specifications.

Minimum order: No minimum for authorized service centers; $100 minimum for other businesses
Customer eligibility: Prioritizes authorized service centers; other businesses can order with verification
Shipping policies: Domestic shipping via standard carriers; international shipping available through distributors in major markets

9. Thomann

Thomann is a well-known European supplier of musical instrument repair parts. It offers a large catalog of parts and international shipping.

If you offer repairs for European-branded instruments with specialty components, Thomann provides access to parts that might be difficult to source through domestic suppliers.

Minimum order: No minimum order requirement
Customer eligibility: Open to businesses and individuals worldwide
Shipping policies: Flat-rate international shipping to the U.S. for €15 on orders under €199; free shipping on larger orders; comprehensive global shipping network reaching 120+ countries

Manage Your Music Repair Shop With Music Shop 360

The 12 wholesalers and suppliers discussed in this post offer quality parts and tools that music repair shops like yours can use to deliver excellent customer service. The right supplier for your shop depends on the type of instrument you plan to specialize in, your target audience, and more.

But remember: Sourcing quality supplies is just the first step in running a successful repair operation. Even with the best parts and tools, managing your repair business effectively requires systems that bring organization and visibility to your operations.

As a music store owner, you understand the challenges of balancing repair tracking, inventory management, and customer communications while maintaining profitability. Without the right tools, you might find yourself ordering too many unused specialty parts — or worse, not having critical components when you need them for an urgent repair.

Music Shop 360 offers an all-in-one point of sale (POS) and inventory solution designed specifically for music shops like yours. Our system helps you:

Track repair orders from intake to completion.
Manage repair parts inventory with automated reordering.
Monitor technician productivity and repair profitability.
Integrate your repair services with your retail operations.
Create professional estimates and invoices for repair customers.

Ready to transform your repair shop management? Schedule a demo today to see how the right software can make your musical instrument repair operation more efficient, more profitable, and significantly easier to manage.