Green Shift Music and Comics

One of the coolest places around is Green Shift located at 5226 N. Nebraska (corner Giddens). (813) 238-4177. I like to refer to the place as a Seminole Heights cultural icon.

It carries guitars of all kinds, other musical instruments, musical equipment and books, thousands of comic books and illustrated novels, action figures/collectibles, DVD's/Video and other items. He also has a collection of antique/vintage/classic musical instruments equipment and radios. It's a small little quirky shop, with hallways that wind around the store, and items packed floor to ceiling. He even rents videos.

The first time I went into the store, one of the employees showed me around. Before we started, the owner, Don Taylor, warned me not to let the employee tell me how about how he was building his own electric guitar. Of course I had to ask. It was fascinating. I never would have thought that someone could build their own guitar.

If you are looking for a gift to buy, try something different and go into Green Shift.

Don is a cool and interesting guy who not only works in Seminole Heights, he lives here.


I have taken the liberty of lifting from their website, the history of Green Shift.

Green Shift Music and Electronics was founded in the late 1970's by Dan May. It was primarily an electronics repair shop. Occasionally a used guitar amp or electronic gizmo would find its way to a corner of the little room at 6500 N. Florida Ave. This is where I came on the scene. I was a transplanted Midwesterner working in the food service industry in Tampa when I fell upon the tiny shop known as Green Shift in the early 1980's. I was also a part time musician-hacker and naturally could not resist checking out the rebuilds and odds-n-ends that would periodically appear at this neighborhood repair shop.

My involvement with the shop began when Mr. May offered me a "job" answering the phone, and taking care of the counter. I think he was just tired of me hanging around, pestering him. Naturally I accepted, being unable to resist the opportunity to have first dibs on the treasures I imagined would find their way to the Shift. Upon my urging we started to offer a few musicians staples i.e. strings, picks etc. After a couple of years Dan decided to retire and offered the store to me. I was somewhat hesitant to embark of this kind of journey. I enlisted the aid of a close friend who was in a better financial position than I, and we became partners.

After a couple of years in 1985 we had a peaceful parting of the ways and Green Shift as it is known today was born. All of this happened with the blessing and help of my wife to be, Amy. Mrs. Green Shift, as she is fondly referred to today, has helped guide our shops over the past 14 years. We (especially I) could not have done it without her.

Around this time, my second passion comic book collecting, found a little corner of its own at Green Shift. Any way funny books and guitars don't seem like such strange bedfellows do they??

The official opening of Green Shift found 2 guitars and 2 amps on the showroom floor. We offered the strings and things also. I believe the first day we were open the "take" was $21.00. There were many days I would buy something myself just so not as to show a gooseegg on the daily sales. Those days are long gone, but the feeling of praying for a customer to walk in will never leave me.

After a couple of years we were full to the ceiling and bursting out of the little 200sq. ft. showroom. We were approached by Jim and Betty Roberts of Roberts Music fame to rent their old building on Nebraska Ave. We gladly leapt at the chance. By this time we had a service department and of course the obligatory lessons. We hung 25 guitars and had a small mountain of amps and speakers. All of these services and product were moved to the 5226 N. Nebraska Ave Store, where we have been for the last 12 years.

We have operated both stores till this day and have a couple hundred guitars in inventory as well as a bigger mountain of amps and speakers. We sell new and used gear both, with emphasis on the used and vintage. The website and whole computer thing have been just born in the year 1999 (thanks to webcreature Mark Suiter) so we are learning and having fun. Thanks for reading this brief history and enjoy the site. Regards ,

Your humble shopkeepers,

Don and Amy

My one question is: "What's a Green Shift?" Is a play on physics/astronomy's Red Shift? Some thing to do with money or ecology? Anyone know? Old Seminole Heights history maven - Barbara Farrar - would you have an idea?