Spend any time in downtown Fredericksburg and eventually your path will lead you to Picker’s Supply on Caroline Street.
Guitars hang from the walls like artwork. A banjo from 1910 sits next to a gleaming electric. An 1868 Martin guitar rests in a coffin case. Tourists wander in out of curiosity. Players wander in and never really leave.
It’s more than a retail shop. Picker’s is part museum, part music school.
“You know, everybody says that coming in: ‘It’s like a museum,'” says store manager Matt Montoro. “And I’m like, yeah, but you can buy it — everything’s for sale.”
Owner Bran Dillard opened Picker’s Supply in 1975 on a small inheritance, after years of working and teaching at area music stores. Downtown Fredericksburg at the time was emptying out. Shopping malls were the future. Dillard planted his flag anyway.
“I’ve always been attracted to downtown,” he said. “Plus I was too stubborn to give up. This was not the industry that you go into to make money. But I feel fortunate I’ve been able to make a living doing what I enjoy.”
That stubbornness paid off. What began as a used instrument shop — “we didn’t call it vintage or antique, it was just used because that’s all I could afford,” Dillard recalls — grew into one of the most respected music stores on the East Coast.
Montoro, Dillard’s nephew who has worked at Picker’s for 15 years and serves as his right-hand man, describes what sets the store apart in an era dominated by big-box retailers like Guitar Center.
Store manager Matt Montoro refers to Picker’s staff as guitar sherpas. (Photo by Jeff Kearney.)
“We filled a niche that is difficult to fill because of the knowledge and expertise you need on particular vintage instruments,” Montoro said. “When the Guitar Centers came in, their goal was to run everybody out of business — they weren’t making any bones about it. But whereas I don’t think I can compete with them on brand new $200 guitars, they can’t compete with us on the higher-end stuff.”
That higher-end stuff is the heart of what Picker’s does. The shop carries a wide selection of vintage American guitars — instruments Montoro likens to classic cars. “It’s like classic cars aren’t exactly better than today’s. But people want them for what they represent,” he said. “They are a piece of history, a piece of American history — commodities that appreciate as well as tools and art.”
Regular visitors to Picker’s know there’s more than guitars here.
Picker’s isn’t only for collectors with deep pockets. The store maintains an active lesson program and carries beginner guitars alongside instruments that run into the thousands. Dillard says that range has always been intentional.
“I get as much enjoyment selling somebody their beginner guitar for $100 as I did back then selling one for $10,000.”
Stringed instruments of all varieties are available at Picker’s Supply. (Photo by Jeff Kearney.)
The selection on any given day might include mandolas, mandocellos, banjo-mandolins, even accordions — instruments that most stores have long abandoned. The only new brands Picker’s carries are Martin and Fender. Everything else is secondhand.
“Each instrument should kind of make you pause,” Montoro said, “because you’re not just looking down a line of homogenous regular things. Every corner is something different and something for you to give your attention to.”
That philosophy extends to how the staff approaches selling. Rather than stocking a wide range of competing brands, they curate — studying specific instruments, developing deep opinions, and acting less like salespeople than educators.
“We’ve honed our selection down to specific things that I think are either the best of or work the most efficiently,” Montoro explained. “A lot of these things are multiple thousands of dollars. Some of them are lifetime investments for people.”
And those investments, he argues, are unlike anything else you can buy. “The longer you own an instrument, the less you pay for it, because it will not only hold its value, but you use it for 10 years plus. Your car is going to be worthless in 20 years. Your TVs are worthless in 10 years. Everything becomes worthless except for instruments.”
Picker’s reputation has grown far beyond Fredericksburg. The store has become an international destination for musicians and collectors, and a regular stop for touring artists. Blues guitar legend Joe Bonamassa made a special trip to Caroline Street specifically to shop at Picker’s, walking out with a guitar.
Fredericksburg native Keller Williams, who has built a devoted following on the jam band and bluegrass circuit, took his first lessons at the store. He remains a loyal presence.
“Picker’s has been a constant for as long as I can remember — and I’m old,” Williams said. “Not only do they carry world-class vintage instruments made back in the day when they first started building them, but they also offer affordable pieces and lessons for beginners. I couldn’t imagine Caroline Street without Picker’s.”
A signed Keller Williams guitar available for purchase at Picker’s Supply. (Photo by Jeff Kearney.)
Williams regularly consigns used instruments through the store—often autographed. The last time he offloaded gear, everything sold within 30 minutes. Another release is expected this spring.
For longtime local musician Stephen Hu, Picker’s is as much a place of wonder as commerce. He first wandered in over 40 years ago as a freshman at Mary Washington College and has been coming back ever since.
“I can just walk in there and enjoy all the vintage instruments for their beauty,” he said.
That sense of beauty — of every instrument having a story, of every visit offering something new — may be the deepest secret to Picker’s longevity. In a music industry reshaped by the internet, streaming, and big-box retail, a store that bets on expertise, curation, and genuine love for its merchandise has not just survived but thrived.
“I’ve seen a lot over the years,” Dillard said. “There’s always been a good community interest in music.”
Half a century later, the evidence hangs on every wall.
