From a one-man band to a big band

It was the year 1931 when Reino Laine opened his music store on Linnankatu in Turku.
On an opening day, nothing but one E-string for mandolin was sold. This however didn’t worry Reino,
as he had both knowledge about the instruments and contacts with the local musicians who played them,
and he strongly believed that there would be a demand for his expertise.

Since its humble beginnings, the company has expanded a lot. Today Soitin Laine employs a couple of dozen people,
has stores both in Turku and in Helsinki, and serves the whole of Finland via our online store. The core idea has always
remained the same: to take care of the material needs of musicians so that they can focus on playing.

Over the decades, Soitin Laine has served its customers in many various areas (you, unfortunately, can’t purchase
gramophone drive belts made by us anymore.) Nowadays we offer traditional symphony orchestra instruments,
band instruments, digital pianos, studio equipment and software, all sorts of accessories and supplies for the
different instruments, printed sheet music, and much more!

Helsinki, here we come

At the beginning of the 21st century, it became apparent that an ever-increasing number of packages were shipped from the
shop in Turku to Helsinki. Thus, the shop in Helsinki was opened in 2004 and has since been an important outpost in the nation’s
capital. Most of the professional musicians reside in and around Helsinki and there are good transport connections to the
capital from other parts of the country. That is why there is a separate space in the Helsinki store for trying out instruments and accessories.
The trial sessions should always be arranged in advance with the salesperson of the instrument group in question so that the
necessary instruments are at the right place at the right time. The storage facilities in Helsinki are limited in space so the storage
of especially larger instruments sometimes creates a bit of a challenge but our own weekly transfers of goods between the
two stores ensure that instruments are flexibly and safely transported to where they are needed.

Here, there and everywhere (in Finland)

Mail ordering was standard at Soitin Laine long before the era of online shopping and because of that, we were the first music store
in Finland to seriously develop a functioning sales channel online as well. As a small company it is challenging for us to compete with
the industry giants in terms of visibility, but thanks to our own imports our price level is at least competitive. We don’t however offer
the cheapest trash you can find online. Our selection is managed by our sales personnel, each responsible for their own instrument group,
and we want to sell only products we can personally stand behind – instruments that fulfill each customer’s specific need. Playing is
challenging enough without the added trouble of faulty equipment!
The decision to keep only proper instruments and not cheap toys in our selection also comes with the idea of sustainable music sales.
Rather than trying to sell as many new instruments as possible, we encourage repair and maintenance of old instruments whenever reasonable,
and often have good secondhand options available both for students and vintage connoisseurs. There are enough companies selling unusable,
unrepairable instruments you regret buying. Naturally, we also use recycled packaging and reduce waste whenever possible.
All of our personnel have varying musical backgrounds. Some practice music as a hobby while others are active musicians alongside their daily work.
Our salespersons are committed people with over 200 years of combined experience in the music trade. The team works well, and information
flows between people and cities and even though everyday life can be a bit chaotic sometimes, more often than not the customer’s problem gets solved.
The instrument or accessory finds its way to the player's hands when needed, so the concert gets played, the album recorded, and the music lesson taught with success.
So, if you have a problem with an instrument, or if you want the instrument not to cause you problems in the first place – contact us and be able to focus on the music!