mmr-june-2011
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MMr June 2011TRANSCRIPT
Roundtable: USB MicrophonesSummer Buyer’s Guide
to New Gear – Part 1
J u n e 2 0 1 1w w w . m m r m a g a z i n e . c o m
NEW, DIGITAL VERSION: www.mmrmagazine.com
Spotlight: Trademark Infringement & Counterfeit MI Products:
What Happens
Next?
Cover June.indd 1 5/24/11 4:49 PM
It’s not hard to get excited about the masterkey 49 USB controller keyboard, because there’s a great deal to talk about. Let’s start with 49 velocity-sensitive, synth-style keys, pitch bend and modulation wheels, 4 controller knobs, a fader, a sustain pedal input, and a red LED display. And of course, masterkey 49 works with all current Windows or Mac music software products.
Add to that a full version of Presonus’ incredible DAW Studio One Artist, which offers complete audio and MIDI recording capability, full editing, 25 native effects
and virtual instrument plug-ins, 4 GB+ of additional content and much more.
At MSRP $129.99 masterkey 49 offers more value than any other similarly priced USB controller keyboard. It’s more than a great deal for the customer; it’s a great deal for you, the reseller, as well.
Call us today to hear more about why masterkey 49 is simply a great deal! Or register your interest in our expanding product range online: www.acorn-instruments.com/dealer
w w w . a c o r n - i n s t r u m e n t s . c o m
masterkey 49Simply a
Great Deal
Acorn Instruments is a part of Nektar Technology. © 2011 Nektar Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2 MMR JUNE 2011
www.mmrmagazine.com
MMR Musical Merchandise Review® (ISSN 0027-4615) founded in 1879, is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orchestra, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JazzEd. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: U.S.A., US possessions, one year $32; two years $40. Canada one year $80; all other countries one year $159. Single issues $5 each. May Supplier Directory $35. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Musi-cal Merchandise Review, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. Periodicals circulation is directed to music dealers and retailers, wholesalers and distributors, importers and exporters and manufacturers of all types of musical instruments and their accessories, related electronic sound equipment, general musical accessories, musical publications and teaching aides. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competion. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Copyright ©2011 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.
JUNE 2011 VOL.170 NO. 6
In every issue:
Contents
Cover design by Laurie Chesna.
4 Editorial6 Upfront14 People69 Supplier Scene74 Classifieds80 Advertisers’ Index
16 Webwise: TwitterKevin Mitchell takes an in-depth look at the potential of the 140-character-limit social media tool and how it could benefit your business…
22 Show Report: RPMDAMMR summarizes the recent print music convention held in Tampa, Fla., where numbers were up and spirits high.
38 Roundtable: USB Microphones
We get some feedback from key mi-crophone suppliers on this growing segment of the market.
44 MI Stores Catering to School Music Programs Adjust
With cuts to school budgets affect-ing countless systems, local music retailers are finding ways to work around – and sometimes even ulti-mately benefit from – the challenges these changes present.
52 Cases & Stands Product Spread
56 Summer Buyer’s Guide to New Gear – Part 1
A summary of some of significant product introductions to check out this summer.
30 Spotlight: Trademark Infringement & Counterfeit MI Products – What Happens Next?What are suppliers to do when an offshore manufacturer “steals” their name and issues bogus product – and, worse yet, what’s to be done when all that is perfectly legal? We examine the issue of trademark infringement, counterfeit musical gear, and how suppliers, retailers, and consumers are reacting to the problem.
22 44
TOC June.indd 2 5/24/11 4:53 PM
Welcome to the pad.
© 2011 Samson | facebook.com/samson | iPad, GarageBand and Apple are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
Meteor Mic meets iPad meets GarageBand.Unlike other USB mics that require a powered USB hub,Meteor Mic plugs right into your iPad with Apple’s USBconnector. It’s never been easier to start recording…
MMR_3 3 5/24/11 4:13:58 PM
EditorialSidney Davis
sdavis@ symphonypublishing.com
PUBLISHER Sidney L. [email protected]
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Rick [email protected]
EDITOR Christian [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Eliahu [email protected]
CONTRIBUTING WRITERSChaim Burstein, Dennis Carver, Kevin Mitchell, Dick Weissman
ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris [email protected]
SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Jason [email protected]
CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY AD SALES Maureen [email protected]
PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie [email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGNERSLaurie [email protected]
Andrew P. [email protected]
CIRCULATION MANAGERMelanie A. [email protected]
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTPopi [email protected]
SYMPHONY PUBLISHING, LLCChairman Xen Zapis
President Lee Zapis [email protected]
Chief Financial Officer Rich [email protected]
Corporate Headquarters26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300, Westlake, Ohio 44145440-871-1300www.symphonypublishing.com
PUBLISHING, SALES & EDITORIAL OFFICE: 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 Fax: (781) 453-9389www.mmrmagazine.com
Volume 170 Number 6 June 2011
®
4 MMR JUNE 2011
The Disney PrincipleBack in the day, we published a magazine for record stores, and one cover profile was of a Milwaukee retailer wearing a “Mickey Mouse” logo sweater. The ink had hardly dried before a “cease and desist” letter arrived, informing us that any im-age or depiction of a Disney character was a no-no without Uncle Walt’s permission. While this degree of trademark protection is obviously an extreme measure, the fact is that this closely controlled brand policing, along with the guarding of intellectual property rights, is near to impossible in today’s global marketplace. As reported by the website Havoscope, the value of black market goods produced in China alone is valued at $168 billion. Some of the categories on the list include: book piracy, $52 million; counterfeit goods, $60 billion; counterfeit wine, $685 million; movie piracy, $565 million; software piracy, $20.1 billion; video game piracy, $590 million; and music piracy, $466 million!
Another case in point is the iconic Zippo Lighter: according to the Wall Street Journal the company manufactures 12 million lighters a year, which is matched by an estimated 12 million of the counterfeit product. The counterfeit game extends well beyond consumer products. In the first three months of 2011, Customs officials at a Chicago airport seized more than 1,700 counterfeit U.S. drivers licenses made in China addressed to mid-western college students. One source states that five-to-seven per-cent of the overall global trade is taken by counterfeit business.
Within this issue’s Spotlight Report we focus on the dual dilemma of protecting trademark infringement and policing counterfeit products. As trademark protection at-torney Ron Bienstock points out, “If someone registers a trademark before you do in China, it’s technically not a counterfeit product… they are making a product under your name, which they now own in China and nothing prevents them from exporting under that name.” To further complicate the problem, technically a Chinese company “owning” an American brand has the “right” to stop shipments from the true parent company entering their country.
Policing the counterfeit product is an even greater problem. In 2008 four of the major guitar brands – Fender, Gretsch, Ibanez, and Paul Reed Smith – joined forces to form a coalition to pressure government authorities to enforce intellectual property laws against counterfeiting. Their efforts resulted in the seizure of 1,200 guitars. In more recent times, Gibson, Sennheiser, Martin, and D’Addario (among others) have gone to great lengths to protect their products. Within our report, we note that a raid on a single Chinese factory yielded 100,000 packages of D’Addario guitar strings logos forcing the company to spend $750,000 in fees and undercover investigations combat-ing the problem.
This is an obvious longstanding problem that requires a “Disney principle” approach among all segments of the music industry. In a positive vein, Martin and D’Addario have actively engaged their senators, bringing the reality of the situation in local terms. On a national level, NAMM highlighted the problem at their annual Advocacy Fly-In, where 40 music retailers and suppliers huddled with Washington lawmakers seeking stronger protection and legislation for imported counterfeit goods.
Public awareness is a critical component to combating the influx of bad product. While the consumer is aware that a $40 Rolex is a “fake,” it’s much more difficult to determine the authenticity of a guitar string. Dealers can do their part by following the example of Australia’s The Music Shoppe which has used their website to publish, When Is a Musical Instrument not a Musical Instrument with such useful sections as “Can A Price Be Too Cheap?,” “Always Check The Warranty,” and the advice to never purchase from anyone whose contact information consists of only an e-mail address, a mobile phone number, or a land line with an answering service.
And on a final note, Newsweek did a comparison of product values when gold hit a record high $1,500 per ounce. The most expensive product they highlighted was a Stradivarius Violin selling at $259,259 per ounce – 178 times the cost of gold.
Editorial June.indd 4 5/24/11 4:23 PM
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Upfront
Peavey Files Suit Against BehringerPeavey Electronics Corporation re-cently initiated multiple actions against Behringer for various intellectual prop-erty issues, including patent in-fringement, false marking, trademark infringement and unfair competition.
The Behringer-related entities currently involved in these suits include: Music Group Ser-vices LU SARL, a corporation cur-rently located on Mauritius (an island off the coast of Madagas-car); Music Group Services US, Inc., a Washington state corporation; Behringer Inter-national GmbH, a German corporation; Behringer Holdings (PTE) Ltd., a Sin-gapore company; Red Chip Company Ltd., a British Virgin Islands corpora-tion; Behringer USA Inc., a Washington state corporation; and Behringer Spe-
zielle Studiotechnik GmbH, a German corporation.
Peavey filed a lawsuit in 2009 against Behringer in U.S. District
Court in New Jersey for pat-ent infringement, federal and common law trade-
mark infringement, false designation of origin, trade-
mark dilution and unfair compe-tition relating to, among other
things, Peavey’s patented Feed-back Locating System. More
recently, Peavey filed an action against Behringer in the Southern District of
Mississippi, accusing Behringer of in-fringing a patent relating to the Peavey Messenger® portable sound system.
Behringer filed a lawsuit against Peavey in the U.S. District Court in Se-attle, Washington. Peavey has vehement-
ly denied any wrongdoing and is vigor-ously defending that lawsuit.
“Behringer, MUSIC Group, and its numerous corporate identities in various locations, are no stranger to litigation against them for patent and trademark infringement,” stated Ronald Bienstock, attorney for Peavey. “Behringer has been a party to multiple intellectual property related lawsuits with other companies in the music instrument and pro audio industry… Peavey has a long history of innovation that the company has pro-tected through patents, trademarks and other means. Over 46 years of operating, Peavey has earned over 200 patents in the United States and internationally. Peavey has also held about 700 trademarks here and abroad. Peavey strongly believes in intellectual property rights and will not be dissuaded by Behringer or anyone else from enforcing those rights.”
On April 13, KMC Music celebrated the grand opening of the company’s new Dealer Profit Center (DPC) located in FMIC’s Ontario, Calif. distribution cen-ter. More than 100 guests were in atten-dance for the festivities which included tours of the 880,000 square-foot distri-bution center, exclusive sales specials, a champagne toast and ribbon cutting cer-emony and entertainment provided by Latin Percussion artist, Richie “Gajate” Garcia and friends.
The DPC will be home to a regu-lar series of events for dealers and the
KMC sales team focusing on education and training tactics to successfully sell through KMC branded products. Up-coming events include product launches, brand training, merchandising and clin-ics. The room is entirely modular – for quick and easy transformations as needs arise. The DPC also features a perfor-mance stage and state of the art audio and video capabilities.
KMC’s 4,000 square foot DPC is the latest investment and commitment that the company has made to support its deal-ers. Prior to opening the DPC, KMC and
Musicorp relocated their Ontario ware-house into the Fender DC, approximately three miles away from its former location.
The combined KMC and Musicorp facility occupies 140,000 square feet of the site’s total 880,000 square feet. The reloca-tion allows KMC and Musicorp to stream-line the shipping process and better serve their customers while providing additional warehouse space for increased inventory levels and expedited access to incoming shipments. In addition, KMC’s Ontario Sales, Finance and Customer Service teams were also relocated to the facility.
KMC’s New Dealer Profit Center in Ontario
Upfront.indd 6 5/24/11 4:24 PM
A legacy of innovation meets a bold new direction in
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MMR_7 7 5/24/11 4:14:12 PM
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Upfront
We’ve continued to hear more and more legitimate, considerable concern from MI insiders re: the controversial recent revisions to the Lacey Act, a legal initiative ostensibly put in place to combat trafficking in illegal fish, wildlife, and plants – and “plant prod-ucts, a wider category affecting a number of materials essential to the creation, restora-tion, and repair of musical instruments.
“As a musical instrument dealer and lu-thier (a trade with over 350 years of formal history) having over 45 years continuous ex-perience in the trade, it is my opinion that compliance with the Lacey act as amended to include plants and plant derivatives is both impossible and legally unreasonable for the following reasons,” notes R. E. Bruné of Evanston, Ill. “Not every plant (nor ani-mal) form on earth has been botanically classified by science. In the case of myriad rainforest products which have been histori-cally used to construct musical instruments, the amounts of unclassified materials, both pure and hybridized, are significant. There-fore, on this basis alone, compliance with federal form PPQ 505 is impossible.
“Correct identification to the level of ge-nus and species as required on APHIS form PPQ 505 is unreasonable for consumers, dealers and manufacturers alike. This type of botanical identification is something vig-orously contested by trained specialist bota-nists. It is legally and ethically unreasonable to require this of non-specialists… Lacey makes no exemption provision for old or an-tique objects or materials. In America alone there are millions of old or antique musical instruments currently in circulation used by consumers and professionals alike for which neither the provenance nor the correct identification of the plant and animal mate-rial contained within can be ascertained, as required by APHIS form PPQ 505… For example, how many members of the U.S. Marine core band can correctly identify the genus and species of the pearl trim on their wind instrument valve keys, identify the countries of origin, AND prove it was harvested legally?
“Importing and exporting are now im-possible due to multiple permits necessary from separate government agencies, such a F&WS, and APHIS. The marketplace cannot operate with six month and longer
delays affecting otherwise simple commer-cial exports/imports, with additional per-mit costs adding minimally several hundred dollars of cost to the transaction. Currently there is no de minimis exemption, so to ex-port a $5 set of pearl dots for guitar finger-board inlays requires over $200 in permits and formal export documentation! Suppli-ers to the industry cannot operate under these ridiculous business-killing rules. Con-sumers will not bear these costs, nor delays.
“Making the repair or restoration of old and antique items with the original materi-als illegal, and subsequently denying pre-CITES legal status to any antiques which have been so repaired is incomprehensible. When the White House Steinway piano (serial No 300,000, made in 1937 with ivory key tops and Honduras mahogany casework) in the East Room was restored in 1992, it was then no longer pre-CITES, a situation that would apply to millions of other old pianos still privately owned in the USA, not to mention many millions of other valuable antiques which need or may need repair in the future. If Senator John Kerry were to ask me to restore his Brazil-ian rosewood guitar using original materi-als, it would not be legal for me to do so, nor would it be legal for him to ship it to me interstate without required permits and marking of the package. How are we to ex-plain to the public that the White House has circumvented Lacey and CITES but ordinary citizens and businesses cannot?
“The most egregious aspect of Lacey is that it requires individuals (and businesses) to make sworn statements of “fact” which are impossible to accurately and correctly comply with, and then holds these same entities liable for prosecution if the state-ments are disputed by agents of the U.S. Government, effectively requiring the ac-cused to prove their innocence, in direct contradiction of the U. S. Constitution.”
Industry vet Hap Kuffner adds, “Our businesses are being restricted to a point of forced bankruptcy due to the Lacey Act revision. We need a further revision and we need it NOW! America took fretted in-struments to an evolutionary pinnacle and without understanding our position the Lacy Revision is draconian and destruc-tive to a point of crippling our MI industry.
“As a passionate plea for understand-ing we unite in begging the US Govern-ment to hear us and consider helping all of us; in this Musical Instrument industry we love so strongly, survive.”
George Gruhn of Nashville’s Gruhn Guitars sums up the overall concerns succinctly (though ominously): “The Lacey Act applies equally to interstate commerce as to imports or exports. Un-less we can resolve this issue, it threatens to put virtually every music store and re-pair service in the USA out of business.”
Mounting Concerns Regarding Lacey Act
Aftermath of Alabama Tornados…In the wake of the devastating storms which hit sections of the South in late April, we decided to check in with a couple MI retailers from Tuscaloosa, a region where some 41 people are believed to have been killed by a particularly large tornado.
James Stephen, manager of Tus-caloosa Music Service says, “We just opened up yesterday [May 4]. We were out of power since last Wednesday night. I had been able to come in a few times to check for damage – there’s some minor dam-age. We’ve been very lucky. Just two blocks away is absolutely leveled.”
Scott Smith co-owner of The Gui-tar Gallery, with locations in Birming-ham and Tuscaloosa, says of the latter outlet: “Since the storm, we’ve basi-cally been trying to help our friends who weren’t as fortunate as we were. There was minor to moderate damage to the store – damage to the roof and some trees – but we’re up and running. This is uncharted territory for sure, but we’re turning to our vendors who have been more than willing to help us get through this, thus far. We have fami-lies and employees who are counting on us to make this happen. The silver lining is: it’s a college town and it will rebound. It may take a while, but we’re cautiously optimistic.”
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Upfront
Musicians Friend Relocating to CaliforniaGuitar Center, Inc. has announced plans to relocate the operations of its Musician’s Friend, Inc. business that are currently located in Medford, Or-egon, to Southern California early in 2012. Musician’s Friend will continue to operate in Medford through the end of 2011.
“Our customers increasingly appreci-ate our ability to serve them across our various brands through every potential channel – in-store, online, or from a smart phone or a call center. This relo-cation will enable us to have our e-com-
merce experts working side-by-side with our retail experts for the benefit of our customers,” said Greg Trojan, Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of Guitar Center.
Facilities operated by Musician’s Friend in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Kan-sas City, Missouri, are unaffected by the relocation. Musician’s Friend had pre-viously announced that the lease on its
current facility in South Bend, Indiana, expires in February 2012, and that future plans were being evaluated.
Musician’s Friend currently em-ploys approximately 225 associates at its Medford facility. As a result of the relocation, the Company expects to of-fer some associates the opportunity to move to Southern California. Those associates who choose not to accept the opportunity to move or are not offered the opportunity to move will be offered retention packages and severance pay-ments.
Compared to last month, sales are now...
Pulse of the MI Nation
Compiled from replies to MMR’s on-going online survey of MI retailers. Visit www.mmrmagazine.com to participate...
Down 41%
Up 36%
Level 23%
Taylor Opens European Service CenterAs part of its new European distribu-tion complex, and upon the news of its 12-year limited warranty, Taylor Gui-tars has opened a Factory Ser-vice Center to provide quality repairs and service for Taylor owners throughout Europe. Lo-cated inside the company’s headquarters in the Nether-lands, the new Service Center features the same machinery, tools and repair ser-vices found at the company’s California
factory, along with an experienced staff of Taylor-trained repair technicians.
Both materials and components arrive in Amsterdam weekly from the Taylor’s headquarters in Califor-nia and, as the Service Center is equipped to serve almost all of Europe, with a staff capable of communicating in a variety of
languages, including Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and English.
The Service Center honors warranty
repairs and services in conjunction with the free 12-year limited warranty offered to ex-isting owners in Europe who register their Taylor guitar before December 31, 2011.
The Factory Service Center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment for service, European Taylor owners can con-tact the Customer Service team by visiting the International section of the company’s website www.taylorguitars.com and view-ing their country’s webpage.
Martin Teams Up with Songwriters Music Series to Support Music EdC. F. Martin & Co. is partnering with the Songwriters Music Series to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The concert series kicked off on May 10 at the Hard Rock Café in New York City with a short acoustic set by musi-cian and “Glee” star, Mat-thew Morrison. Following the launch in New York, the series is scheduled to travel to Nashville, Tenn. on June 2nd with a per-formance by The Band Perry at the Hard Rock Café Nashville’s Reverb Room, and will finish in Los Angeles in September with a soon to be announced artist.
This is the first in a series of new initiatives and strategic partnerships in which Martin Guitar is participating in charity benefit events as it seeks out new
ways to leverage its iconic American brand to give back to the community. The concert series benefits the VH1 Save The Music Foundation in their mission to restore music education pro-
grams in America’s public schools and raise aware-ness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete educa-
tion. Additional national sponsors of the Songwriters Music Series include: Star-burst® as the Title Sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, and William Hill Estate Wines. Tickets are priced at $100 each, and a limited number are currently on sale at www.vh1savethemusic.com/songwrit-ers, by emailing [email protected] or by calling (212) 846-7882.
Upfront.indd 10 5/24/11 4:25 PM
12 MMR JUNE 2011
Upfront
New Directors Appointed at SteinwaySteinway Musical Instruments, Inc. has announced the addition of Michael T. Sweeney, Edward Kim, and Don Kwon to its Board of Directors.
Michael Sweeney is chairman of the Board of Star Tribune Media Holdings, the holding company for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He is also a partner of the private equity firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Mor-rison, where he once served as its managing partner. Prior to his career in private equity,
Sweeney served as the president of Star-buck’s Coffee Company (UK) Ltd. He pres-ently serves as a director of First Solar, Inc.
Edward Kim is the founder, chairman and CEO of New Pride Corpo-ration, a global intermodal logistics services company. Under Kim’s direction, New Pride became the first United States based company listed on the KOSDAQ market of the Korea Exchange.
Don Kwon is the managing partner at Michigan Venture Capital, a private equity firm based in Seoul, Korea. Kwon
specializes in media & en-tertainment investments. He serves on the board of various portfolio compa-
nies serving the technology, online me-dia, and retail consumer sectors. Prior to joining Michigan, Mr. Kwon worked for nearly a decade in investment banking.
Blackstar Wins Queen’s AwardBlackstar Amplification was recently honored in the 2011 Queen’s Awards For Enterprise in the International Trade category. The awards are widely con-sidered the U.K.’s most pres-tigious awards for business success and are presented in only three categories to a small number of recipients who meet stringent criteria.
Paul Hayhoe, Blackstar U.K.’s sales and marketing di-rector, commented on the four year-old
company’s quick growth and recent suc-cess: “In 2007, four friends – all passionate musicians – launched Blackstar Amplification. Hav-ing worked together for years at the highest levels of the amp designing industry, their dream was to create new and innova-tive guitar amplifiers and pedals that would be the ultimate tools for self-expression.”
For more information on Blackstar’s products, please visit
www.blackstaramps.com.
Paiste & Musicians Institute Launch Student ScholarshipPaiste recently announced the Paiste Cymbals Scholarship, a $1,000 donation to a budding student enrolling at Musi-cians Institute.
The Paiste Cymbals Scholarship will be awarded in the Fall of 2011 to a student (U.S. or non-U.S. citizens) enrolling in the Associate of Arts in Performance (Drums)
program who demonstrate mature musi-cal approach, with particular emphasis on expressive cymbal technique.
For additional information and pro-cedures on how to apply for the Paiste Cymbals Scholarship please visit www.mi.edu/admissions/scholarships or call (800) 462-1384.
Longtime sales rep for Hoshino, Neil F. Buckley, 55, of North Royalton, Ohio passed away April 20th.
Hoshino USA president Bill Reim says: “Neil was a natural salesman, born with ‘the gift.’ He was also insanely funny, insanely wild, and insanely intelligent… at times almost frighteningly so. His cantankerousness was legendary. But anyone who got to know him would quickly see that quality for the façade that it was. Under-neath it all, Neil had a big heart. If you were in need of help, he would always be there. I cannot help, but feel he was taken before his time. Our prayers are with his family.”
Memorial contributions may be made to National Multiple Sclerosis Society of Northeast Ohio, 6155 Rockside Road, Suite 202, Independence, Ohio 44131.
Trade Regrets:
Breaking News!Find it in the Hot News
section of MMR’s Web site, www.mmrmagazine.com
Upfront.indd 12 5/24/11 4:25 PM
14 MMR JUNE 2011
PeopleFender Musical Instru-ments Corp. has an-nounced that MI veteran Jay Wanamaker has been promoted to senior VP of KMC Sales and Global Percussion.
Since joining KMC in November of last year, as the senior VP of Percussion, Wanamaker has aligned KMC percussion brands—which include: Gretsch® drums, LP® percussion, Gibraltar® hardware, Toca® percussion, Sabian® cymbals and Protection Racket—and created, “a glob-al percussion vision.” In his new role, Jay will continue to lead the percussion team as well as oversee domestic sales.
Gretsch Drums recently an-nounced that Joe Mazza has been promoted to Gretsch Drums product specialist.
In this new position, Mazza will report to John Palmer, Gretsch product manager, and be responsible for trade show product displays, product sample analysis and management, product train-ing, new product builds, copy creation and other sales and marketing functions.
Gon Bops has announced the appoint-ment of Randy Chaisson as US sales manager.
An industry veteran, Chaisson has worked as a product, marketing and sales professional throughout his career. Most recently, Randy has served as a percus-sion/cymbal sales and product specialist in Canada.
GCI Technologies has welcomed two new associ-ates to the marketing de-partment: Tim Walsh is the company’s new art director while Jim Soviero takes the reigns as marketing co-ordinator and copywriter.
Tim Walsh is an award-winning graphic artist who has worked as a designer for a decade. Jim Soviero has worked as a writer, editor and marketing coordinator for three international companies and has spent several years working in the pro au-dio industry.
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People.indd 14 5/24/11 4:26 PM
16 MMR JUNE 2011
“ It is clear that a bit of the tweeter’s personality has to shine through or it just doesn’t work.”
WebwiseKevin M. Mitchell
The best social network for business? Or one “thing” too many?
While the importance of Facebook and YouTube are abundantly clear and embraced by this industry, Twitter is the next frontier, as MI businesses realize it’s a great way to build a brand and create an open dialog. [This magazine is al-ready on board with this social network-ing site – sign up for MMR’s tweets on its website, www.mmrmagzine.com.]
When used judiciously and skillfully, Twitter can expand your reach, keep you connected, and move product – though the latter can prove elusive. The rules and guidelines are similar to Facebook in that you don’t want to hard sell, as it turns people off. Many manufacturers are
increasingly using it to their advantage, as is NAMM; for individual retailers, not so much, at least at this moment. That will likely change.
What won’t is exactly how to quantify if Twitter is worth the effort.
YamahaLike most of the big MI companies,
Yamaha has embraced Twitter boldly. At their NAMM Yamaha Piano breakfast meeting, I met Jeff Hawley, whose title is “director, customer experience group.”
He says Yamaha started with Twitter in July of 2008. “We initially envisioned it as a way to inform Yamaha fans of new
content within our various Yamaha Hub podcasts and Hub video websites. But right out of the gate, we realized that we could use Twitter for much, much more.” Being Yamaha, it immediately grew into about 15 accounts broken out either by country (US/Japan/Mexico/etc.) or by instrument group (winds/drums/guitars/etc.).
Is it worth it? “The key to our approach is to have a
common tracking mechanism and to use a few core measurements to inform and guide our tone and frequency and con-tent,” Hawley explains. “My mantra is ‘if you can’t measure it, don’t do it.’” They started out with tracking the number of daily tweets, number following and num-ber of followers approach (largely focused on impressions), but quickly shifted to more of an engagement and conversion focus. “At that point, clicks on links with-in Twitter and offsite conversions and customer service case solutions became our key success measurements.” They doubled-down on social media and, in addition to committing the time, they also are building custom tracking tools
What can you do with the mere 140 characters that Twitter provides per tweet? Encourage? Yes.
Build a brand? Definitely.
Possibly waste your time and annoy others? Oh, yeah.
To Tweet or Not to Tweet?
Webwise.indd 16 5/24/11 4:27 PM
and integrations with their CRM system, web analytics, and business systems.
Tone to me is always the biggest chal-lenge, and if you bounce around on these Yamaha divisions, you’ll note a casual tone in the tweeting. Is that appropriate for all, including that college professor considering pushing his music depart-ment toward that $80,000 CFX?
“I’m very excited to hear that you see our approach as being casual from the out-side,” Hawley says. “We strive to find the balance between the tweeter, the followers, and our business objectives.” Their Twitter guidelines and policy document fits into a few sentences. The idea is to balance the technical and analytical complexity on his side with as much “editorial” freedom as possible for the tweeters themselves.
“It is clear that a bit of the tweeter’s personality has to shine through, or it just doesn’t work. I’d think that the trouble comes when you aren’t authentic and personable. Marketing-speak doesn’t work so well in the social space.”
The next step is to get their dealers to tweet and Yamaha is active in suggesting that they dip their toe in the proverbial wa-ter. “But I always try to come back around to the importance of mea-suring your successes (and failures) whenever you can.”
That seems like a tall order, but they are rolling out a so-cial media analytics tool called PARAGON. “Within that sys-tem, dealers are able to mea-sure click and engagement and the mobile/desktop balance of shortened URLs and QR scans in-store and not have to worry about their metrics being open for public – and competitor – scrutiny. At the end of the day, we want to help dealers safely look at how Twitter and other social media and QR initia-tives work for them and mitigate the risks as much as possible.”
Interestingly, Yamaha tweeters don’t have any rules regarding how often they tweet – during a tradeshow or major prod-uct launch, it might be 10 or 15 times a day; at other times of the year, they might focus more on general “feel-good” tweets aimed at engaging followers.
But they are using it to address cus-tomer service issues as well, and there’s a deep integration with their Service and CRM systems. “Yamaha is actively lis-tening to the twittersphere and we will respond to service or customer support
inquiries in the same way as we would a service phone call or e-mail.”
But he makes a distinction besides customer service issues, which are always important for everyone, and general communications. But as far as engaging and responding to customer inquiries, “I can’t imagine a real maximum there,” Hawley says. “There’s no such thing as too much authentic and purposeful en-gagement with customers.”
For the latter he admits that there is an elusive line of too much tweeting, but “a simple scan of your Twitter ana-lytics should help to inform you of when you might have crossed that line. If I did hear of a complaint of Yamaha just be-ing too good with engaging and respond-ing to customers on Twitter, I’d certainly retweet it!” he laughs.
NAMMNAMM’s Scott Robertson is han-
dling their various Twitter accounts in-cluding NAMM, NAMM Show, Wanna Play, NAMM Foundation, and School-Jam USA. He reports that response from their efforts has been good.
“We use Twitter primar-ily to listen and then to talk,” he says. “We continuously monitor all keywords having to do with NAMM and music products in-dustry and try to engage our fol-lowers in a variety of ways.” For example, for Wanna Play they keep an open ear on the Twitter-verse for any mentions of playing a musical instrument, particu-
larly new players who want to learn to play. “Then, if appropriate, we offer NAMM’s help in getting them started. But we always operate in a listen-first, communicate sec-ond type of model.”
He adds that they learn a lot about what people want and expect from NAMM and their members that way. “Twitter has been invaluable to us at the NAMM Show to communicate in real-time with our attendees. What used to be old news the minute it was printed in the directory is now an instant update when attendees need the information the most. Mobile will change everything about the way we communicate and Twitter is only the beginning of an exciting future.”
In the beginning, NAMM sat down and drafted some social media guidelines for use by any NAMM employee using social me-dia on behalf of the organization. “A lot of
Jeff Hawley
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18 MMR JUNE 2011
people are scared to let their staff represent their brand online. Our feeling is that every NAMM employee can be even more valu-able when sharing our industry’s message with their networks and friends via social media. But we have guidelines, so the staff feels com-fortable doing it and they under-stand that they are representing our brand online and need to act as they would when they represent the brand every day in person.”
Robertson has long been good at his job dealing with all
things communication on behalf of the or-ganization, and apparently this latest for-ay has made him a little better. “I would say that Twitter’s 140-character limit has
really taught us to get to the point faster in our communications and I think that quick, clear sen-tences better match people’s at-tention spans today.”
DealersDealers seem slower getting
to the Twitter trough. West Mu-sic (Coralville, Iowa), Wild West
Guitars (Riverside, Calif.), Daddy’s Junky, and Amro (Memphis) are among those actively using it. Interestingly, across the pond in the UK, there seem to be more retailers Twittering.
“I think it’s a great way to connect with customers and let follows know about specials, clinics, events, etc.,” Robertson says. He’s even taught a few NAMM U sessions on the topic.
“We are just now rolling out a new tool geared towards encouraging music dealers to tweet,” Hawley says. “As of April, it’s open to Yamaha dealers.”
John Swickert at Hix Brothers (two loca-tions in Illinois) says they started using Twit-ter around the same time they started with Facebook, about two years ago. “Facebook is working well, but Twitter seems to be more of a celebrity-drive vehicle to us,” he says. “I don’t update every day as only a few customers seem to care about tweets. Time is definitely a consideration when deciding whether or not to do it.”
Gordy Wilcher of Owensboro Music is another one you can follow on Twitter. He reports he started using it about 12 months ago. “It’s hard to gage how effec-tive it is, but we do get a few folks contact-ing us on it,” he says. “I need to become more active with it and am now promot-ing Twitter on all marketing campaigns.”
After an initial trial, he figured out how to hook it up with his Facebook page, and what he posts there becomes his tweets simultaneously. This is a time saver and works to reach both sets of customers. “Ev-erything I do on Facebook is on Twitter.”
His goal is to get to the point to tweet very special specials – as in “X guitar marked down 50 percent for just the next two hours” kind of things.
But he’s aware of the possibility of annoy-ance. “When I first signed up on Twitter, I had it on my phone, and it was constantly beeping – it was overwhelming! I think there’s a fine line of using that technology. You can’t overdo it. I’m careful how I use it. I don’t tweet that I’m going to J.C. Penny’s.”
And it has to be policed: He had to call out one customer, a “fine young lad” who nevertheless would drop the “F” bomb frequently, not exactly appropriate for the sensibilities of say, his Houses of Worship clients.
But Wilshire added what other ex-perts have said: for the younger gen-eration, Twitter is a key communication tool, and they look at e-mail like we look at the 8-track tape.
Gordy Wilcher
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Your
According to Wikipedia, the word retail comes from the Old French word “retaillier” which, in terms of tailoring, means “to cut off, clip, pare, divide.” It was first recorded as a noun in 1433 with the meaning of a “sale in small quantities.”
I’m not sure what “Ye Olde Retaillier Shoppe” might have looked like back then, but I’m guessing it was a relatively simple affair. Today, NAMM Members are competing in the world’s toughest marketplace: U.S. Retail. A place where unlimited product selection is available from your cell phone, where customers are still hesitant to spend, thinking that another recession (or maybe the loss of their own job) may be right around the corner, and where tax laws and other government regulations throw up roadblocks that favor one over the other. What will retail look like in five years, three years or for that matter even next year?! I don’t know, but I do know it will look different than it does today. You could say that the Great Recession has only accelerated the rapid transformation occurring in retail.
The current best-selling business book The New Rules of Retailby Robin Lewis and Michael Dart explains how consumers have
changed their buying habits in the wake of the Great Recession. They predict that 50 percent of all retailers––and the brands they carry––will disappear as the next phase of retail unfolds. Pretty scary stuff, especially if you’re still running your store like you did even a few years ago. The flip side of that coin is that music making is more popular than ever and those who adapt to the new marketplace will reap the rewards of the industry growth predicted to come our way.
Our goal is to make sure that NAMM Member Retailers do not become a statistic. As Jon Haber from Alto Music said during his Breakfast of Champions interview at this past NAMM Show, “no one wants to go into a lousy music store and see four guitars hanging on the wall.” That’s why we encourage our Members to get out of their stores and sharpen the skills necessary to succeed. There are so many resources available––you can join a sharing group, attend seminars, take night classes at a local business school and go to Summer NAMM in Nashville.
For this year’s summer show, we’ve assembled the best and brightest retailers in the business who will be sharing their ideas and illuminating your path to success. We will also highlight the winning strategies of the “Top 100 Dealers.” You can even get free one-on-one consultations from business experts through NAMM. If you can’t justify a couple of days out of your store to network with your peers, attend NAMM U sessions and strengthen relationships with your key suppliers, then how do you plan on competing with those who do?
Retail has changed forever. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, just different. Some will adapt and thrive, others will choose not to change and fail. And you don’t have to like it for it to be true.
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22 MMR JUNE 2011
Show Report: 2011 RPMDA
Among the many highlights of the three-day event were a session on Freak-onomics in the Music Industry, during which Hal Leonard’s Larry Morton took a look at some common perceptions and misperceptions as applied to the print music industry – “conventional wisdom is usually wrong,” he noted – as well as the annual “Best Ideas” session, moderated by Kevin Cranley of Willis Music. This showcase of 25 ideas, presented by attend-ees in two minutes or less, for print music
retailers to implement in their stores, was an opportunity for the bold among the at-tendees to stand up and make themselves heard. The audience then voted for the top idea of the 25 that had been present-ed, with the winner coming from Chris-tie Smith of Long & McQuade Music, who proposed throwing an in-store piano Christmas music reading party and pot luck meal, giving customers the opportu-nity to hear and discover new music in fun and inviting atmosphere.
At a tropical-themed closing dinner on Saturday evening, Danny Rocks, the well known music industry speaker, NAMM presenter and business consultant with his own firm, The Company Rocks, was presented with the Dorothy Award, given for a lifetime of service and achievement in the music industry, the highest honor bestowed by RPMDA. Also honored throughout the weekend were charter member Don Eubanks, who is retiring from Hutchins & Rea Music after 40 years
a Hit in Tampa BayThe RPMDA:
The 2011 Retail Print Music Dealers Association convention, held in sunny Tampa, Fla. from April 28-30,
walked the line between serving as a relaxing escape and an intense, focused examination of the ever-evolv-
ing best practices in the print music industry. Featuring a significant boost in attendance over last year – over
215 attendees, including 54 exhibitors and more than 30 first timers – the annual get-together displayed its
typical congenial atmosphere, even as publishers and dealers took a serious look at many critical elements
of the retail print industry through an array of breakout sessions, seminars, and meetings. From presenta-
tions on the nuts and bolts of organizing an in-store print music department or maximizing efficiency in
business meetings to a cocktail party and harbor cruise, the 2011 RPMDA convention provided a unique
opportunity to talk shop, network, and get a pulse on the latest trends of the industry.
RPMDA.indd 22 5/24/11 4:28 PM
in the print music industry; RPMDA ex-ecutive director Madeleine Crouch for her 20 years of service to date; Claudia Keith of The Music Mart in Albuquerque, NM, who received the 2011 Sandy Feldstein Service Award for her ongoing volunteer service on behalf of RPMDA as histori-an; and longtime member Diane Moore, owner of the Keyboard Cache, Anchor-age, Alaska, who was presented with the John Walters “President’s Choice” Award for her friendship and support by RPM-DA president Gayle Beacock of Beacock Music in Vancouver, Wash. A new award, the Don Eubanks Publisher Representa-tive Award, was presented on behalf of RPMDA’s dealer members to Bruce Bush of the Hal Leonard Corporation for his consistent and exemplary service to his customers.
While at the convention, MMR spoke with a number of dealers and publishers about the latest trends in the industry, in terms of both the products that are driv-ing the market and the general climate for print music in the immediate future.
Man on the Street Interviews
“We have seen a pretty large contrac-tion in the school budgets and less so on the church side. Why that is is anyone’s guess. It could be that while donations per person are down, more people might be going to church these days; that of-ten happens during recessions. But the state budgets getting hit by the general downturn in the economy has just killed the school budgets. So many of the mu-sic products that teachers buy for their classrooms come out of their own pock-ets, and as everyone is getting squeezed, those disposable dollars – both from the official budget and the unofficial budget which is really the teacher’s pocket – are less available.
“Looking into the next year, I would guess that we won’t see any further re-ductions in either church or school sales. My guess is that things will stay about where they are for a few years. Those companies that have structured them-selves properly for the current level of ac-tivity will get through the next year just fine, and those that either didn’t cut fast enough or were just riding the crest of the boom while it was up might not make it through the next year.
“The biggest component of print pub-lishing is paper, on the material side of
1. The RPMDA’s opening night cocktail party. 2. Wendy Kephart and Natalie Knutson of Kephart’s Music Centers with Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations, LLC. 3. Danny Rocks of The Company Rocks with Frank Billack and Roger McClean of C.F. Peters 4. Chris Scialfa, Diana Macedonio, and Larry Clark; Carl Fischer/Theodore Presser. 5. Myrna Sislen of Middle C Music with Lauri Knapton of Knapton Musik Knotes. 6. Diana Macedonio of with Sheilah Craven of Leading Note. 7. Helene Raison and Pierre Lemoine, Editions Henry Lemoine. 8. Ginny Hurst and Jeff Curran, Jeffers Handbell Supply Inc. 9. Gayle Beacock of Beacock Music, Mick Faulhaber of Ward-Brodt Music, Susan Beacock, and Diane Moore of Keyboard Cache. 10. 2731 Lee Johnston of Hickey’s Music Center, Debbie Mooney and Jeff Ponte of Mel Bay Publications, and Norman Zimmerman of Steve’s Music Store. 11. Dr. Randy Navarre, Northeastern Music Publications. 12. Max Desmurs of Editions Robert Martin. 13. An-nekathrin Mascus, Breitkopf & Härtel KG. 14. Pierre Cotelle of Arpeges-Diffusion IMD. 15. John Kozar, Piano Productions Press.
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1. Mark Kjos, Amber Carroll, and Karl Kjos, Neil A Kjos Music Co. 2. Gilly Woodroffe and Suzy Gooch of Oxford Uni-versity Press with Roger McClean of C.F. Peters. 3. David Janke of Hal Leonard, Kevin Cranley of Willis Music, and Hal Leonard’s Doug Lady. 4. Kyle and Kevin Hackinson, FJH Music Co. 5. Leon and Robin Galison of Music Gifts Company of England. 6. Ulrike Lucht-Lorenz of G. Henle Verlag and Bernard Mueller of Schott Music. 7. Ellen Reeves and Tim Sellers of Frederick Harris Music. 8. Bruce Bush of Hal Leonard with Lori Supinie of Senseney Music. 9. Jenny DuHaime, Joey Lyons, and Steven Loweth of Mayfair Music Publications. 10. Hal Leonard’s Larry Morton presents a seminar on “Freakonomics for the Music Business.” 11. Morton gets the RPMDA crowd up and dancing.
24 MMR JUNE 2011
things. There are a couple of issues on the paper market today. The contract-ing economy means that people are us-ing less paper, but at the same time, the paper industry is consolidating and some of the large players are buying up some of the smaller factories that are going under and taking them offline. So they’re tak-ing capacity out of the system as a whole. We have seen paper prices that were up a couple of years ago have maintained that level. We are not forecasting increases in paper mainly because the raw materials are often relatively locally found, which is different from many other commodities that have to be shipped around the world.”
Reiff Lorenz, Lorenz Corporation
“In the sacred area, there are some pretty exciting young composers who are putting out some really strong material for the church market. As a whole, how-ever, the print market is in flux. Technol-ogy is making some advances and we’re seeing that in the print industry. I know that many companies are doing things
with downloadable print music, and that’s only going to increase.
“Looking ahead, our sales are picking up. We’ve noticed an increase this year over last, and I see that continuing. If you have a great product, it will con-tinue to sell.”
Larry Carrier, SoundForth
“In the print side, we are seeing less and less focus on DVDs – things are swing-ing back to publications. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with material being avail-able online, whether that be YouTube or both legal and illegal downloads. We’ve seen the opposite going on with books. In terms of what types of books, we’ve seen a large segment emerge of people who used to play an instrument and are now trying to get back into it. There isn’t a whole lot of product that caters specifically to that market, so we created something called the ‘I Used to Play,’ series, and that’s do-ing really well with us.
“Since 2009 things have been so un-predictable that I have a hard time say-ing that I’m confident that I know where
things are going for the print music in-dustry. The one thing that I can say is that the first quarter of this year is one of the better starts we’ve had in the last few years. I’m not ready to pop the cham-pagne just yet, but it gives me a little bit of reason to be optimistic that things could be swinging the other way. My concern is that school budgets and cuts that were determined in 2009 and 2010 are actually happening right now so even though we heard about the catastrophes, now is the time when the schools simply won’t have any money. So even though the first quarter was a good one, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.”
Chris Scialfa, Carl Fischer
“Right now we’re focusing on a lot of younger groups, so we like to take stu-dents from the beginning to the end of the their careers – our motto is ‘Music for life.’ Play-a-long books are really popu-lar right now, with accompanying CDs. We’re also doing a lot with our competi-tion solo books. Those are really good for
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1. Alfred Music Publishing’s Gwen Bailey-Harbour presents a session on sprucing up business meetings with energy and efficiency. 2. The RPMDA’s Madaleine Crouch and Lori Supinie of Senseney Music. 3. Kevin Cranley of Willis Music with Christie Smith of Long & McQuade, who shows off the prizes she received for having her “Best Idea” (hosting an in-store Christmas music reading potluck/party) voted as the best overall idea submitted. 4. Chaim Rubinov of Freehand Music. 5. Gordon O’Hara, Retail Up. 6. Bernard Mueller of Schott Music. 7. Alec Harris, GIA Publications Inc. 8. Ian McLaugh-lin, Wingert-Jones Publications. 9. Craig Cornwall, Kendor Music Inc. 10. Alfred Music Publishing: Mike Finklestein, Ron Manus, Elisa Palladino Holly Anzalone-McGinnis, Daniel Frohnen, and Antonio Ferranti.
JUNE 2011 MMR 25
kids because they’re the songs from state competition lists. We’re getting a very warm reception on that from both stu-dents and teachers alike. Putting a CD in a book is a popular trend right now, so that’s something we’re doing with almost all of our books. People like to listen to the music that they’re going to play.
“I’m hoping that we’re going to pick up over the next year or so, but it’s chal-lenging, because we all know that music programs are often the first to get cut in hard times. So you have to find a way to get music into the hands of the teachers, even though they don’t have any money. That’s a tricky thing to do. We’re look-ing into sales promotions and deals for teachers and students because we want to get our music in their hands, whether they have the money to buy new materi-als or not. On that front, we’re redoing our website and spending a little bit of money on that, to hopefully make more money down the line. The whole industry has been hit hard, and I’m hop-ing to see it turn around. We’re getting a little more into the clinics and the
reading sessions, branding, and making cover designs more distinctive so that when people see one of our titles, they recognize it as ours right away.”
Joseph Galison, Ludwig Masters Music
“What we are concerned with are mostly our Urtext Editions. These are editions that are very close to the original intentions of the composer. They’ve been prepared with a lot of musicological ef-fort, and they are prepared by specialists who do a lot of research into the compos-ers’ plans for the music. We believe that these kinds of high quality editions are still necessary to have in paper print, be-cause the paper and the binding and all of the construction is a part of the qual-ity of the piece of music. That doesn’t translate very easily electronically into a usable piece of music for performers on stage. Nevertheless, we are also ex-ploring new media and making elements like the critical commentaries and other text – which is very important to what we present – available online. So we have hybrid editions, in a sense, where there is both a paper and a digital component.
“In Germany, we’re expecting a little pick-up from last year looking forward, but on the whole, in the print industry world-wide, I don’t expect that sales are prob-ably not going to improve a lot. It’s more a matter of maintaining them where they were. Maybe we’ll see a little increase, but the market is not going to be great. The feedback I’m getting from retailers in the U.S. is that there are not that people who are optimistic about the economic climate and the recovery really coming out of the recession.”
Petra Woodfull-Harris, Bärenreiter
“From our perspective, our biggest market is in the UK, followed by the US. What we are noticing is that there’s less money in the educational market, and that affects our choral sales, because choirs are less likely to buy ne sets of music instead of just doing something they’ve done before. We have been hit by the economic downturn on that front.
“I think it’s going to be quite a long haul. There are lots of government cutbacks in the U.K., and everything I’ve read indicates
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that similar things are going on here. It’s a tough time for all of us. I know that some people are predicting a small recovery this year, but I’m not sure if that’s true for the classical music or music education sides of the industry.”
Suzy Gooch, Oxford University Press
“We’re hearing all about the craze in ukulele. The dealers are all indicating that this is just exploding, so we’ve created an all-in-one ukulele starter pack. You get a high quality ukulele, a set of strings, a gig bag, a book, a CD, and a DVD, all based
on Alfred’s Teach Yourself to Play series. “Next quarter, we’re looking forward to
the launch of the big back-to-school season. In these times that have been tough for school music programs – and the entire in-dustry is feeling that – the important thing is to create new products and stay innovative in ways that can reach out to band directors and teachers.”
Antonio Ferranti, Alfred Music
“Talking about the future of this indus-try, we’re minutes away from electronic stuff merging with what we’re doing now. Not
unlike the record industry, we’re going to have to stay ahead of that in whatever way we can, but it’s really hard to know where it’s going to go. It’s obvious that people want convenience, but how that’s going to mani-fest itself, and how we’re going to maintain healthy and positive relationships with pub-lishers and dealers, is going to be an interest-ing challenge for all of us. We have to learn from history and do our best to stay ahead of the curve. We can all see what is inevitable. I don’t think print music ever goes away; people like the tangible books, they like to hold things in their hand, but it’s going to change, ultimately. We’ll see what happens. What I’d like to see is just for everything
1. The ever-popular Best Ideas Presentation, hosted by Kevin Cranley of Willis Music, where RPMDA members submit brief business-practice ideas. 2. Cameron Willis of Northwest Music Services with Kris Kropff of Lorenz Corporation. 3. Kim Frattosio and Anna Letiec, Alphonse Leduc/Robert King Music Sales, Inc. 4. Julie and Dave Cox, Tri-Technical Systems, Inc.
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to continue to grow, where consumers will have more and more elec-tronic options, but more of the traditional offerings as well.”
Christie Smith, Long & McQuade
“We’re seeing big increases in books that include other types of media, whether those are CDs, DVDs, or other options. For example, we are putting something together with Fender that will include a book and also an SD card that can be played in the Fender G Dec amps. So if someone wants to learn a Stevie Ray Vaughan song, they can in-sert the SD card into the amp and the amp will automatically set up the sound that’s appropriate for that style of music. Traditional print augmented with media is what we’re seeing. Everyone wants a little bit more. And that holds true to tra-dition; when we first started with books, we used to include a lot more biographi-cal information in the front – and we still do that to a degree – but people always want a little bit extra. So now we have to find something that we can give them
that they might not be able to easily find on their own.
“As for the future, we’re still waiting to see how the school music market is going to hold up. In Wisconsin, we’ve been in the news a lot because of the fi-nancial woes in our state and some of the changes that are going on their, so we’re all concerned about education. A very substantial portion of everyone’s busi-ness here is directly tied to school music programs, whether that’s renting instru-ments, selling method books, even down to private lesson programs. The upshot is that even if the school music programs get scrunched a little bit, individual mu-sic stores are still in a very good position because they can contribute value-added services, including lessons and every-thing else.
“We’re seeing a big increase in guitar ensembles in local areas, as well as an in-crease in group lesson plans, where stores are able to charge a lot less to have 10 or 15 people in a group taking lessons at one time, instead of the more expensive one-on-one lesson.
“One thing I love about the music in-dustry is that people here always seem to
take an adverse situation and turn it to their benefit. There are enough savvy people and organizations here – NAMM, RPMDA, NASMD – who have all been great as a resource for sparking discus-sion about how retailers can weather the storm, regardless of the difficulties in the school music market.
“On the other side, everyone is asking about digital and wondering how that’s going to impact the print industry. Fortu-nately, all of the main publishers are taking steps to ensure that their products and con-tent can be made available through digital elements. We firmly believe that print as a medium isn’t going to go away any time soon, but also, print as a medium is sim-ply a delivery vehicle. As long the industry adapts, the delivery vehicle can change, be-cause it’s really all about content. We view ourselves as content providers, and we view our retailers as the marketing machine that can take that content out to the masses, regardless of medium. We just have to try to not get emotionally attached to books!”
David Janke, Hal Leonard Corporation
RPMDA.indd 28 5/24/11 4:30 PM
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MMR_29 29 5/24/11 4:15:43 PM
30 MMR JUNE 2011
Spotlight
Both are growing problems as manufacturers learn about
protecting their name – the hard way...
Jose Ferro is at the Music China Show in Shanghai, and he finds himself at a LTD guitar booth. That’s to be expected. After all, he is a vice president of ESP, which makes LTD. But he stands and stares in disbelief because here’s what he could not have expected: It’s not his booth – but another one. Yet it is their name on the banner, their logo on guitars. And being China, it’s all perfectly legal.
“When I got the phone call and saw the pictures, I was just knocked out – how could this happen?” asks an incredulous Matt Masciandaro, ESP president. “How could someone blatantly do this and not know that we’d be at that trade show, a show we’ve been to since its first year?”
“If something has value, there’s always somebody out there trying to figure out how to steal it,” Harold “Hap” Kuffner states. The venerable industry insider has been go-ing to China since 1983, and today is owner of Kuffner International, a company that acts as a consultant on international export distribution in conjunction with being a source liaison for MI companies. “For as long as I’ve been going to the People’s Re-public of China, it’s always been a problem. But today you go shopping in the markets, and you can see it’s the leisure products that are becoming increasingly prevalent – the
Trademark Infringement & Counterfeit MI Products:
“In China, whoever files for the trademark first gets it. This was a big
wake up call to us, and hopefully a wake-up
call to others.”
What Happens
Next?
Counterfeit article.indd 30 5/24/11 4:36 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 31
“It’s bizarre, and almost a full-time job trying to police it.”
Greg Paul,Martin Guitars
Hap Kuffner,Kuffner Intl.
Michael Ciravolo,Schecter Guitars
Ron Bienstock,Beinstock & Michael
Jim D’Addario,D’Addario Co.
Matt Masciandaro,ESP Guitars
Phot
o: N
ique
Pro
kop
golf clubs, guitars… and it’s not just U.S. brands being copied but European ones as well.”
It’s as corrosive as it is controversial. A few major MI companies whose battle on this issue is well documented choose not to comment for this article. Lawyer Ron Bienstock says that many don’t even want to bring this issue up to their end-users, which is troublesome: “You need to let people know if they see one of your $179 [products] for $15, that it’s not the real thing.”
An Expensive ProblemA recent raid on a Chinese factory
yielded 100,000 packages bearing the D’Addario Guitar Strings’ logo. The company has spent more than $750,000 on legal fees and undercover investiga-tions combating the problem. Everything about this problem is expensive – save the fines: there was a $3,500 fine handed down for that particular perpetrator.
Jim D’Addario personally went on one of the more egregious websites, Ali-bab.com, and bought a Music Man gui-tar for $200. He immediately proclaimed it “a piece of garbage.” Adding insult to injury, he notes it got into this country with no problems and no tariff. When this story surfaced, Wang Baodong, a spokesman for the embassy of the Peo-ple’s Republic of China, told Newsday that the Chinese government considers intel-lectual property rights to be of “great importance,” but said it is “a relatively new issue to China, which opened to the outside world 30 years ago.”
During a search of the premises used by one of England’s largest online plat-forms, British investigators seized hun-
dreds of forged branded equipment pur-porting to have been made by Sennheiser and Monster Cable – the largest number of counterfeits of this kind ever confis-cated in the UK.
And Sennheiser, too, has had their problems in China, specifically the Guangdong province where fake ver-sions of their products – along with Har-man, Shure, and Audio-Technica – were seized in large-scale fake goods dens. Over 1,200 items falsely marketed with those trademarks were found. Operat-ing under the name “New Dynamics Audio Equipment Factory,” this group sold large quantities of counterfeit audio equipment under famous brand names online. By the time the case was cracked, sales had already reached $1.8 million RMB, nearly $300,000 US.
Schecter Guitars have been targeted as well. President Michael Ciravolo says it’s tough trying to get a legal firm out of Chi-na to help. “We pay a lot of money each year to trademark our name, body shapes, headstock, and bought as many website names in other countries as possible.”
Two Kinds of FakeKuffner explains there are two sepa-
rate issues: One is the counterfeiting of instruments and music instrument prod-ucts. This is when somebody makes rep-lica instruments and sells them as the real thing. Outlining the situation in a histor-ical context, the problem is compounded by the fact that, since the 1960s, compa-nies discovered it was easier and easier to move factories overseas. The quicker and easier they could be moved, the more MI manufacturing became “more like mak-ing t-shirts.”
“Guitar and amp electronics are American inventions. Millions are sold a year, so there are factories worldwide that are willing to make copies.” In today’s global economy these products are less ex-pensive to make in places like China, and with CnC machines readily available, it’s “easier for people to cross that line.”
Asian-based online operations are the most prominent distributor of bogus prod-ucts, and he notes in the last few years Hong Kong “based” operations actually come from another area in the region, but their websites are routed through that part of the world in the hopes that it gives them a hint of respectability.
“I’m a musician,” says lawyer Ron Bienstock. “These companies are people who I know and have been friends with for 30 years.” His firm Bienstock & Mi-chael is a full-service entertainment and intellectual property law firm. They represent 200 instrument companies. His take is that the root of today’s situ-ation goes back to the 1970s, when the vast majority of instrument making was in the states. When quality began to slide during that decade (think CBS owning Fender, think Gibson in turmoil), Japa-nese companies started gaining a foot-hold in this country with their guitars. This evolved into American companies increasing their production overseas – first Japan, then South Korea, then throughout the rest of Asia. “Guitars got better and cheaper, and when you think of what kind of instrument you can get with $300 today compared to back then, it’s amazing. But all these great, inexpen-sive instruments came with a price.”
The price? It opened a Pandora’s box of counterfeiting. Both he and Kuffner
Counterfeit article.indd 31 5/24/11 4:36 PM
32 MMR JUNE 2011
are careful to distinguish the difference between a counterfeit – where someone gets a hold of a good CnC and cranks out similar looking instruments – with a more brutal assault: the wholesale com-pany-jacking that is happening to trade-marks in China.
Recently Martin Guitars had very public meetings with congress on the topic, and Senator Bob Casey (PE – D) has met with owner Chris Martin. He declared: “Pennsylvania businesses are telling me that unfair trade practices by the Chinese have harmed their ability to compete, and job losses substantiate those claims. The lack of protection on the part of the Chinese hurts Martin and countless other businesses and workers. China must address intellectual property rights infringements and currency un-dervaluation.”
Chris Martin was also featured on Fox News. Some of this publicity must be working, because the intellectual proper-ty rights issue (in which companies who make handbags, watches, movies, etc., are also victim) has been brought to the top. In January, President Obama per-sonally brought the issue up with Chinese President Hu Jintao during a meeting.
The Alternative Universe of Chinese Trademark Law
“We’ve been a part of almost ev-ery trademark case in the business,” Bienstock says. “Peavey, ESP, Schecter, Hoshino, and Fender” to name a few. His experience goes back to the early 1980s with Fender headstock intellectual prop-erty rights – but even then, “[MI compa-ny] owners didn’t take it seriously, didn’t see the growth curve.” But the conse-quences are serious, because if someone registers your trademark before you do in China, it’s technically not a counter-feit product. “They are making a product under your name, which they now own in China.” Nothing keeps them from ex-porting under that name, either.
With American companies moving manufacturing overseas, things got com-plicated. Those who were partners with U.S. companies would apply for the trade-mark of the brand they were working for to protect them – sometimes with good intentions, sometimes not so good; but it could end badly for the U.S. manufactur-er. One manufacturer reported that a for-mer distributor there filed for trademark protection of their name under the guise
of “helping” them in Brazil. But that was fairly quickly and easily resolved.
Greg Paul, vice president, corporate operations at C.F. Martin, has the same story to tell as ESP, only it happened a few years earlier. At the 2008 China Music Show, they discovered another Martin booth – same script logo, simi-lar looking guitars from a distance and, according to the Chinese government, completely legitimate.
Paul explains that in the U.S. and most countries, all you have to do is prove a longtime use of a trademark. This can be anything from trademark documents from the country of origin or even ad-vertisements or things of that nature, something the 178-year-old company would have no problem doing. However in China, it’s first come, first serve. “This was not an innocent mistake. And this is not counterfeit. If a Chinese company applies for your trademark before you do, it’s truly a big problem.”
Masciandaro says they’ve seen some counterfeiting, and he’s not fond of see-ing similar-looking $3,000 models go-ing for $300. But the says that “pales to what has happened” with trademark heisting, specifically the LTD part of the ESP brand. While the company had filed for protection of their ESP lines, unbeknownst to them their LTD line of instruments was left venerable thanks to the Chinese government’s unique take on such matters.
“That was our mistake,” he sighs. “We did not have the LTD trademark protected, too. So this other company jumped in and created a company called LTD, filed for trademark authority, and got it.” Today ESP, working with Bien-stock & Michael, filed for cancellation of the Chinese’s LTD trademark and they are in the process of getting the Chinese government involved. “In our view, it’s fraudulent,” Masciandaro says. “And we have to show them that it is, and we are, and the cancellation is in progress.”
Sounds simple, but it’s not. In fact, it’s so complicated that technically, if they try to sell their own guitars in that country, the Chinese LTD company has the “right” to stop their shipments at the ports. “It sounds like an alternative uni-verse.”
Interestingly, the Chinese LTD didn’t try that hard to clone specific models. But the logo and name is enough to do damage. Also, even if those instruments
A fake Martin guitar.
Counterfeit article.indd 32 5/24/11 4:36 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 33
don’t make it out of the country it’s still bad because, “we are just starting to grow in that country.”
Masciandaro says this unexpected, costly, and time-consuming legal problem is badly timed. “This company has been growing a lot, and now we have 40 distrib-utors around the world covering 60 coun-tries, so now we’re filing for trademark protection in every possible country. This was a big wake up call to us, and hopefully a wake-up call to others. ”
CounterfeitingWhen 35 Gibson guitars were seized at
Oakdale Music is 2007, it was big news. The owner claimed he didn’t know they were fakes. But that might be a rare exam-ple of counterfeits of that number getting to the states and going through a dealer.
Kuffner notes, “I don’t see container loads” of counterfeit products coming into the country. But in addition to the foreign-based online operations, some are squeaking by and turning up in yard sales, Craigslist, and eBay.
“The counterfeit problem isn’t growing per se, and I see it staying at a certain pace and not become pandemic,” Bienstock states. “It’s at a stage where most people in MI understand it, particularly the solidbody guitar makers, where it’s often a matter of bolting on a neck and getting it out the backdoor [of a foreign factory]. In general, Customs and Homeland Se-curity has been good about stopping large amounts from coming into the states.”
About that backdoor: Unfortunately, some of these are of decent quality be-cause they are produced by “friends of the factory” – almost as if in a 24 hour shift, those made in the first 12 hours are for the U.S. company, the second half for those “friends.” “That’s why you need people present, people living in China or Indo-nesia who can be on the factory floor.” To keep counterfeiting at a minimum, you need to have good sourcing, get to know those building your instruments, and have solid manufacturing agreements.
Levy’s Leathers is another company in the business that has reported coun-terfeiters. Their Chinese distributor, Ivan Music, reported that customers were com-menting that similar looking Levy prod-ucts were being bought at a much lower price. In addition to the products, the violators also took to reproducing Levy’s POP materials and display hangers. They hired the law firm Baker & McKenzie to
curb the alleged counterfeiters. According in a statement from Levy’s, the firm will begin by reviewing China-based online auction websites that serve as platforms for intellectual property infringements.
“It’s an ongoing issue, and it’s running rampant,” says Schecter’s Ciravolo. “Other companies are taking more of a beating than us, but fakes are coming up. I have a person on staff searching online for them.”
Ciravolo says that in this competi-tive market, most guitar companies have instruments made at multiple factories, and that’s a source of the problem. Say a manufacturer approaches a factory in Asia about making instruments. But during the test trials, the instruments aren’t up to the manufacturer’s quality or liking, so no long-term deal is made. “Then sometimes, even though you get your samples back, they just keep making them. They don’t follow U.S. law or gen-eral ideas of business ethics… that’s how it’ll start.” It’s his view that a lot of these factories don’t have enough legitimate business, so they turn to making illegal products to fill their production schedule. “It’s bizarre, and almost a full-time job trying to police it.”
While their instruments have long been made in South Korea, they did try some Chinese companies, but none of them met their standards, and today many of their instruments are made in Indonesia in fac-tories run by South Koreans. Surveying the scene, he says some of what is happen-ing is a head-scratcher: “Some of the stuff that pops up isn’t even a specific Schecter model – it’ll have like a Strat body and/or be in a color we don’t even make. It’s become a weird game to stay a step ahead of them, and you don’t get real help from the Chinese consulate.”
But few of these counterfeit Schect-ers make it to the states. “Every now and then we get a question from some-one who says they bought this guitar on eBay, and it turns out it was shipped out of Hong Kong. We usually turn it over to Ron [Bienstock], and he gets that site shut down though it likely pops up later under a different name.”
He’s not amused by the situation. “Le-gally, China doesn’t give a ____ about it. They make a mockery of trademarks and patents, and it means nothing to them… I guess I’m hounding China, but the fact is the lion’s share of the problem is com-ing from that country. I’m proud we’re not giving our money to them any more.”
“An educated customer is our best customer, and that is our approach to marketing and advertising to alert customers of this problem. We have to protect our brand equity.”
Cracks along the back of a bogus Martin instru-ment.
Counterfeit article.indd 33 5/24/11 4:36 PM
34 MMR JUNE 2011
“Hate seeing anybody get burned”
D’Addario got into a situation where they were fighting both trademark and counterfeit issues, due to a law firm cleri-
cal error. They put in their application for a Chinese trademark, but it never was pro-cessed. Then a Korean counterfeiter who owns a factory in China stepped in and took it. After four years of litigation, the Chinese court decided in D’Addario’s favor.
But John Burke, D’Addario’s General Council, says there are little problems in the States. “If a dealer purchases from one of our authentic distributors, it’s not a problem. We only encounter a counterfeit string problem when a dealer goes online and buys bulk strings because they see them advertised online.” (But a few coun-terfeit strings are getting out of China, partly because customs doesn’t inspect packages where the value is $50.)
As for China itself, seven out of ten “D’Addario” strings are deemed counter-feit. “We’ve done two surveys in the last three years, and it confirmed our early re-sults,” Burke says. “We’re trying to gather
information to conduct raids on factories where they are being made.” This takes detective work. First, an operative has to go into a shop and start asking questions, an adventure in itself. “Sometimes when you ask for D’Addario strings, they come right out and ask you: ‘Do you want the real ones or the fake ones?’”
It’s easy to spot the counterfeit strings: the ball ends are different, they eas-ily break, and they just feel and sound inferior. But Burke says the counterfeit-ers have gotten crafty about one telltale sign – price. Even in China, consumers became worldly enough to be suspicious of extremely low prices. “But now coun-terfeiters are smarter and pricing their strings closer to ours, and the fakes are
“Sometimes when you ask for D’Addario strings, they come right out and ask you: Do you want the real ones or the fake ones?”
www.gatorcases.com
Counterfeit article.indd 34 5/24/11 4:37 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 35
harder to distinguish, especially online.”While all who were interviewed for this
report no doubt regret the loss of a single sale, they were all united in being con-cerned with what that the buyer ends up getting. “The sad part is that [these Martin guitars] are poorly constructed,” says Greg. “It has a very heavy, nasty finish on it, there are construction defects, and cracked backs.” Chris Martin keeps one of these in his office, but everyone there is hesitant to even pick it up as its condition is such that it might fall apart simply through handling of the instrument.
Kuffner points out that some of these end customers don’t even know what they are buying. “You have a parent at a yard sale and there are copies of C.F. Martins and they don’t know the difference or have a reason to suspect.”
So how naive are these buyers? “I have to laugh at some of these websites,” Bienstock says. “And I gotta say, if I’m 14 years old and I see a PRS for $299 on a site called elcheapoguitars.com and the description is clearly not professionally written, as in ‘must most beautiful guitar seen call today now’ … come on!”
“I would hope that the American consumer is a little smarter,” Ciravolo says. “We put as much information on our website as possible to guide them away from imitations. We take a lot of calls and try to help people through it… honestly, I just hate seeing anybody get burned.”
Burke: “D’Addario has been making strings for many, many years, and we’re experts at it. But they can duplicate our packaging. Then a new player who hears that our strings are the ones to buy, and their first experience is bad. We lose a cus-tomer and they have a bad experience.”
“Our consumers in the states are edu-cated enough to know about our product to know when something is not a real LTD,” says Maciandaro. “But know-ing it’s not the real thing, maybe they’ll still take the fake one! It’s like buying a ‘Rolex’ on the streets of New York.”
What’s NextEveryone interviewed for this
report said the single most im-
Counterfeit article.indd 35 5/24/11 4:37 PM
36 MMR JUNE 2011
portant thing dealers can do in educat-ing their customers about counterfeits is repeating the mantra, “If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is.”
“It’s important that end users know they need to go to an authorized dealer for any particular guitar they want,” Paul says. “That’s the best way to ensure that the instrument he or she purchase is the true thing.”
“Our message to consumers is starting to resonate,” says Burke. “An educated cus-tomer is our best customer, and that is our approach to marketing and advertising to alert customers of this problem. We have to protect our brand equity.” Reminding their customers that all D’Addario strings are made in the U.S. offers an antidote. “If you go online and XYZ Manufactur-ing is the source, that should tip you off that they aren’t authentic.”
Another tool is media. D’Addario had a public meeting with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who got an earful about how the problem is hurting Ameri-can family-owned businesses. “Within 24 hours, I had gotten an email from the vice-president of the website alibaba.com saying they had removed 421 counterfeit
ads from their website.” They also report success with their “Play Real” campaign, launched in 2010.
“Let’s be clear, nobody at Martin has a conflict with competition,” Paul em-phasizes. “But we’re continuing our le-gal pursuit to get [the Martin] Chinese trademark, and raising this issue on the political side,” Paul says. “You’re going to see many instrument companies com-municate more with their representatives to push our government to end this par-ticular practice.” Yet “it’s slow going, and many say the [Chinese] legal process is stacked against us.
“Then again, if our brand is old enough for protection, I don’t know whose is!”
Martin, D’Addario, and others were go-ing to be part of NAMM’s advocacy fly-in this month [May], where this issue will be raised to congress. Paul says that by raising awareness of this issue, different MI com-panies sharing their experience and try to get some momentum for change.
In addition to an educational cam-paign, there’s a political one.
“Other government’s worldwide have to understand that it cost a tremendous
amount of money to protect a trademark everywhere,” Kuffner says. “There should be a way that an inventor, a designer, a small company, can be easily recognized internationally.” Once this happens, it’ll make for a better, fairer system.
“I do think the Chinese govern-ment will make a greater effort to reign in counterfeiting, because if they don’t, people will just start to think everything that comes out of the country is junk,” Burke says. “So they have a vested inter-ested. But it’s not a problem that is going away quickly or easily.” On the horizon, he sees the Chinese middle class emerg-ing, and as they do they will come a de-mand for higher-quality products, and thus have less patience for inferior prod-uct. This will cause the people to seek out authentic ones.
“China gets the finger pointed it a lot on these issues, and it’s a shame be-cause right now the market in that coun-try for MI/pro light and sound products is growing,” Kuffner says. The middle class is growing, and so is the interest in western-style music. “You have a grow-ing market of 1.3 billion people sharing a border with India, which has another 1 billion people, and so the marketing for modern electronic musical instru-ment will continue to grow. On the other hand, not everybody has the money to buy the highest end [instrument]. So there’s always going to be people figuring out how to copy – that idea is as old as humankind.”
“Any manufacturer of any size should be sophisticated about intellectual prop-erty,” Bienstock advises. “As a bass player, I want these companies to be around! Those who don’t register their trademark may eventually be in a situation where 20, 30 percent of the product being sold in the world is not from you, and that could be enough to make you go out of business.”
But what if – if – the Chinese govern-ment isn’t particularly interested in work-ing too hard at shutting these rogue com-panies who pop up and also – if – U.S. politicians aren’t that willing to give the problem any more than lip service …
“All of that is true to some extent,” Bienstock admits. “It’s very tricky for us as a country as we’re borrowing trillions of dollars from China. Meanwhile, we’re always emphasizing the value of main-taining your intellectual rights. And the smaller you are, the more important it is – your brand is who you are.”
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MMR_37 37 5/24/11 4:15:52 PM
Jim MonaMXL Microphones/Marshall Electronics
John MaierBlue Microphones
Tony O’KeefeCAD Audio
Cliff Castle,Audix Microphones
Roundtable
USB Mics
38 MMR JUNE 2011
Emerging Technology Grabs Ever-greater Market Share…
While in certain MI product segments there’s rarely all that much in the
way of truly “new” developments which serve as game-changers (think
Band & Orchestra), that reality does not apply to pro audio. Digital
audio technology is advancing at such a pace that – much to end-users’
frustration – gear purchases made mere months ago become, in some
respects, obsolete.
While traditional microphones – based fundamentally on advances dating back to the 1920s through ‘40s – aren’t likely to be lumped in that category anytime soon, the relatively recent emergence of USB mics, which can connect directly to a console/computer, is beginning to seem like a watershed moment in the world of both home and professional recording.
We recently spoke with some suppliers of microphones to get their thoughts on the benefits of USB mics, and where they see these products going…
“USB mics will become the
standard microphones
in all home and professional
studios.”
– Mark Menghi, Samson Technologies
Roundtable.indd 38 5/24/11 4:32 PM
Thomas StubicsAKG Acoustics
Gary BossAudio-Technica U.S., Inc.
John NadyNady Systems
Mark MenghiSamson Technologies
MMR: When did your company begin offering USB micro-phones?
Tony O’Keefe: Early 2008.
Jim Mona: The original award-win-ning MXL USB-006 was released in Au-gust 2006, followed up with the release of an entire series of microphones dedi-cated to USB. The USB.007 offers stereo recording, while the USB .008 offers a large diaphragm condenser to the micro-phone offering true studio quality sound. We added the USB.009 with a LDC, a quality 24-bit/ 96kHz converter with an equally beneficial headphone input.
Mark Menghi: In 2005 Samson released the C01U USB Studio Condenser Micro-phone, and today it sells better than ever. We now offer an extensive line of USB mics, which includes the Q1U, C03U, G-Track, Go Mic and the all-new Meteor Mic.
Thomas Stubics: Our Perception 120 USB is now available since April 2010. It is part of our successful Perception Series launched in 2005 – A completely new se-ries of microphones showing legendary AKG Sound & Quality at an outstand-ing price level.
Cliff Castle: June 2008.
John Nady: 2008. We also offer our UIC series USB interface cables and also the UIM-2X USB interface module, which can all be used with any wired mic, mixer, or other audio source to provide real-time recording and monitoring of pre-record-ed or background music with easy plug-and-play connectivity between the audio source and any computer via any USB port. The UIM-2X interface module is compatible with any audio source and provides a 16-bit, 48KHz USB 2.0 link and features a headphone output, allow-
ing for real time recording and monitor-ing. These units are all compatible with all computer audio software programs.
John Maier: With the introduction of GarageBand in 2004, Blue Micro-phones received a request to create a microphone to complement this pio-neering new digital recording platform. Taking the professional know-how from the long line of high-end studio micro-phones, Blue debuted Snowball – the No. 1 wired, condenser USB mic on the mar-ket – in 2005. Snowball, now available in white, brushed aluminum and black, features a dual condenser capsule design that enables recordings in three settings (cardioid, cardioid w/ 10 dB pad, and omni-directional). A plug-and-play mic, Snowball is compatible with both Mac and PC with driverless installation.
Gary Boss: Audio-Technica began sell-ing the AT2020 USB in February 2008.
MMR: What do you feel are the advantages to end-users?
MM: They’re easy to plug into comput-ers and are really convenient when you don’t have a lot of recording gear around.
CC: Convenience, portable nature, sim-plicity.
John M: The digital platform intro-duced by GarageBand made profes-sional quality recording accessible to the end-user. Now, with just a computer and a USB mic, the average user has the re-cording tools and capabilities that used to cost thousands of dollars in a recording studio. Blue Micro-phones un-
USB Mics
JUNE 2011 MMR 39
Roundtable.indd 39 5/24/11 4:32 PM
derstands that quality of sound capture is critical to maximizing the potential of digital recording for the end-user. With this in mind, Blue Microphones devel-oped the highest-quality sound capture in USB mics through a unique combi-nation of tuned capsules, high quality electronics, and intuitive design. Because the mechanical, analog, and digital com-ponents of the USB microphone are de-signed together, the user is guaranteed consistent high performance without any complicated setup or tuning. As the end-user became well versed in the potential of digital recording, Blue took USB mics to the next level by including professional versatility features like pattern selection, gain control, digital mute and more.
While professional-quality record-ing is key, USB mics offer the portability and simplicity that a studio setup cannot. Connected to a laptop or an iPad, USB mics allow the end-user limitless oppor-tunities to record on the go or on loca-tion with ease, allowing the flexibility of taking studio quality recording wherever they go.
TO: It afforded all end-users the ability to gather high quality audio and easily plug and play/record directly to the com-puter.
TS: The USB is a widely known interface for audio equipment like sound cards, ac-tive monitors and outboard equipment. With the widespread USB standard and its ease of use, this new model allows us-
ers without any recording experience to make professional-quality recordings from their home. You do not need any ex-tra equipment like microphone preamps, mixers, power supplies, or phantom pow-ering units. Now you can focus on what counts: Capturing the emotion at best sound quality. Moreover, the installation procedure is much easier with USB. The AKG Perception 120 USB is a real plug-and-play device without requiring any installation or drivers, enabling custom-ers to do podcasts, voiceovers and studio-quality rehearsal-recordings quickly and easily. The Perception 120 USB comes complete with everything you need: a tri-pod table stand, a swivel mount, a quick start guide and an USB cable. In its class, the Perception 120 USB is the only USB microphone with an integrated ana-logue-to-digital converter with 24-bit and 128x oversampling. Instead of usual one-chip-solutions the high-quality ana-logue-to-digital converter provides con-vincing sound quality and low noise.
JN: USB microphones make computer recording simple by connecting via the computer’s USB port, eliminating the need for a mixer or external adapter, even a preamp. Plug it into the USB port, and the computer will automati-cally recognize it as a new input device. The USB port provides all the power these microphones need, and no de-vice drivers are necessary. These fea-tures make USB microphones ideal for portable computer-based music
recording and podcasting, both station-ary and remote. The USB-24M features a neodymium cardioid dynamic element and an attached 10’ cord and is perfect for recording vocal tracks or voice-overs on the computer or for online commu-nication. The Nady USB Series--USB-1C, USB-5H and USB-2S--are large diaphragm condenser studio mics, all of-fering high-quality audio performance. The USB-5H offers an added headphone output for real time recording and moni-toring, and the USB-2S features dual ele-ments for stereo recording.
Jim M: MXL USB microphones of-fer many advantages to the end users. Communications with the current pro-motions toward VOip this will make your laptop the next telecommunication device. USB microphones offer quality sound that is intelligible and interactive.
Additionally: portability while on the road. Whether you are in business or making music, a USB microphone will help get the job done quickly. No more waiting for studio time or hassling with telephone connections.
Educational uses with USB are found today among the educators teaching mu-sic. The lessons are recorded with the stu-dent and sent home on a USB stick. The
40 MMR JUNE 2011
Roundtable.indd 40 5/24/11 4:33 PM
student can now practice along with the lesson without the teacher. Once the stu-dent performs the lesson they can record it and send it off to many family mem-bers.
Broadcast and Bloggers all benefit from the ease of use, compatibility with third party software and the sound qual-ity is far superior to the microphone in-cluded in their laptops.
Professional musicians can now get a 24bit 96 kHz USB microphone to record a wide dynamic range and deliver profes-sional studio results.
GB: In a nutshell, convenience. They are true plug and play products. For cus-tomers who want to capture audio on the go, it is truly the easiest way to get high quality audio into your computer. No in-terface required. This could be a singer/songwriter looking to capture a musical idea on the road, or grabbing a recording of your band in a bar. For the customer that doesn’t want to fiddle with a bunch of gear, USB mics are perfect. Also USB mics are useful for podcasting or Internet radio applications, where sound quality and ease of use are key.
MMR: What percentage to USB mics represent of your overall microphone sales and produc-tion?
Jim M: 16 percent, YTD.
MM: About 30 percent.
TO: Rather than talk percentages, I would say that the USB category gave CAD the ability to rapidly expand our offerings and also reach a new demo-graphic of entry-level recording enthu-siasts.
CC: Currently very small.
JN: Less than 10 percent.
TS: In respect to our large portfolio of recording microphones including top-sellers like the famous AKG C 414, D 112, D 5 and C 451 B, just to name a few, our AKG Perception 120 USB shows just a one-digit share. It is a part of AKG’s well-known Perception Series. Since its introduction in 2005, this range has be-come a real success story. The entire Per-ception line has been designed and engi-
neered by AKG in Vienna, Austria. The microphones are manufactured in China under strict quality control by AKG. The result is unique, innovative Austrian technology and exceptional build quality at very attractive prices. They have built a strong following among musicians and engineers, proving to be among the best high-value true condenser microphones on the market today.
John M: While we don’t release spe-cific sales figures or product share figures, we can say that the USB cat-egory has been growing as an overall share of our business and we see that continuing for at least the near term.
MMR: Are you seeing USB sales increase, flatten, or de-crease in recent months?
Jim M: Increases are seen every month, as business, education and consumers are starting to embrace the ease and use of USB technology.
John M: We have been seeing big in-creases in USB product sales for some time now and with the advent of more and more people recording with their computers, we see these increases con-tinuing. As an example, our classic Snowball USB mic has been out
JUNE 2011 MMR 41
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Roundtable.indd 41 5/24/11 4:33 PM
42 MMR JUNE 2011
for many years and we still continue to grow its sales every year.
CC: Sales are increasing slightly.
JN: Flatten.
MM: For Samson, USB microphone sales have been rapidly increasing, espe-cially with Apple’s introduction of Ga-rageBand as an app for the iPad. Our National and International distribution has also crossed over into the consumer markets, which has been terrific for us.
TO: We have seen a gradual increase over the past couple of years and fully expect this trend to continue.
TS: Our new AKG Perception 120 USB is received well – Professional au-dio magazines have reviewed it and the results are very convincing - Our cus-tomers love it thanks to the great sound quality and ease of use. We have been working long and hard on it, therefore, we now very glad to get such good feed-back from our customers. Moreover, sales figures are great and we still see a considerable growth.
GB: The market as a whole is increasing, but there are now a number of manufac-turers with a number of models. This is causing market share to begin to spread out. Audio-Technica still commands sizeable market share with a single SKU offering. We attribute that to offering a very high quality microphone, with great reviews at a reasonable price. It doesn’t hurt that we based our USB mic on one of the best-selling side-address condenser mics in the market, the AT2020.
MMR: What do you see on the horizon for USB mics and re-lated technology?
MM: We envision that USB mics will become the standard microphones in all home and professional studios.
Jim M: Complete packages and kits. Our new Studio 24 USB mic and
the USB.009 come as a complete recording kit.
MXL is now bundling Mix Craft LE software with certain
models of our USB products. The end user now will have a portable DAW re-
cording system starting under $200.00. I can see more musicians recording this way once they discover the benefits and that a quality USB microphone can de-liver.
MXL also offers a USB mini mix-er capable of using four dynamic mi-crophones into the mixer with a USB out to your computer complete with a Headphone out to your monitors/ head-phones. Multiple inputs offer many con-versations to be recorded with multiple microphones, Rehearsals of your band can now have more direct feeds and re-cording live shows can give you four mi-crophones to capture the performance and the audience. Fast, quick and with the right choice of microphones you will have quality results.
TS: USB-equipped microphones are go-ing to establish as the new standard for many applications. There is still some room for improvement to make the workflow even easier for our customers. Furthermore, new technologies will add some additional functionalities to USB microphones, which allow you a lot of things which would not be possible with conventional microphones.
TO: Continued expansion of feature set, form factor and quality.
JN: USB mics with built-in DSP (reverb, multi fx, and even mic & preamp presets), better wireless USB microphones (with better video integration, and device con-trol over 802.11 networks), and even bet-ter quality consumer USB microphones at lower prices than most professional wired mics.
John M: User-generated music and content is becoming the primary step for any emerging artist or professional. As the market continues to embrace tablets and mobile devices and as new technol-ogy platforms are introduced, the USB mic will evolve and change. Blue’s Mikey mobile recording product line will soon add digital capabilities that allows them to be used with a broader range of de-vices, while Blue will continue to push the envelope of digital recording with higher resolution and advanced feature-sets. Blue plans to continue leading the market in bringing professional quality audio capture to these new developing platforms.
“The reality and quality of
HD audio recording
with USB has come of age.”
– Jim Mona, MXL Microphones
Roundtable.indd 42 5/24/11 4:33 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 43
CC: As more and more portable devices become available, USB mics and mics aimed directly at that market will be-come more popular.
GB: We continue to see USB micro-phones as a convenience product. They will never totally replace standard ana-log mics or even a good USB interface in professional applications. That being said, there are many instances where a higher-quality USB microphone will be useful. Better transducers, higher bit rate, great build quality will be the next movement. Think of the trend towards photographers using cell phone cameras to take pictures in the field. Many of these shots end-up in print. Sometimes it is quicker to capture musical inspiration while it is happening rather that mess-ing with a bunch of gear. Wouldn’t it be handy to be able to set-up and grab that audio at a moments notice?
MMR: Any further thoughts on the topic?
John M: Blue Microphones sees the in-creasing popularity of USB mics as the representation of a much larger trend: the democratization of great sound. When Blue was first founded, profes-sional capabilities were only available at professional prices in professional studios. Today, tools like Blue’s USB microphones offer the right blend of professional capability, affordability, and simplicity that allows novice or ad-vanced users to realize their artistic vi-sion and create something amazing. Blue is excited to play such a major role in bringing these visions to reali-ty and will continue to build the prod-ucts that inspire the next generation of artists.
Jim M: As a recording engineer and based on the many discussions
I have concerning USB Vs hardware recording I would say this; USB at 24 bit 96kHz offers the dynamic range we are looking for in a professional record-ing - The Nyquest theorem will remind us all of the technical reasons to pur-chase a 24 bit USB product. The reality and quality of HD audio recording with USB has come of age.
The other key feature that our current USB microphones offer is the addition of quality preamps and headphone jacks. The issues with computer recording and in particular latency can almost be elim-inated with this valuable addition.
The largest factor I can say is to choose your USB mic based for the ap-plication. A USB 16 bit 44.1 kHz micro-phone can give great results for spoken word and where the dynamic range is very limited, ideal for conferences and computer communications. Musicians and broadcasters may need the 24 bit USB microphones to capture more of the passion and dynamics of their recording session. Choose well and you will be ex-tremely happy.
Roundtable.indd 43 5/25/11 9:48 AM
44 MMR JUNE 2011
School Market
At ed.gov, you’ll find some brutal num-bers, as they show state by state funding where all 50 states in the nation are affect-ed – some as “little” as 5 percent; others as much as 14 percent. And that’s just on the federal contribution level. Pick up a paper and you’ll see what your own state govern-ment is going through: their usual sources of revenue, largely state money and local property taxes, have been tightened by the Great Recession.
Yet in talking to retailers in three of the hardest-hit states, the mood is upbeat. The worst appears to be in the rearview, and they’ve all made positive changes and instituted new ideas over the past few years that have helped. Continuing to be proactive is key.
As Peter Sides says, “There are peo-ple who say it’s hard to keep a consumer down and I think that’s true.”
North CarolinaA nearly seven percent cut across the
board, plus counties and cities cutting their input as made for a drastic and can-tankerous scenes. In Raleigh, the capital, public school teachers’ darned in red t-shirts rallied against their legislature, as they made additional cuts that amounted to a total of $1 billion in education.
But Al Woodruff, who owns The Mu-sicenter in Greenville and co-owns with Joe Chambers the recently acquired Mc-Fadyen Music in Fayetteville, says that things are going well for them – “very well.” He gives several reasons including being affiliated with the Music & Arts program and stocking a lot of Yamaha instruments. They also deal in Conn-Selmer and Howard Core instruments.
Yet they’ve suffered from some pret-ty terrible news in some schools – their
Greenville location had to deal with one school district eliminating their string program completely. Yet that didn’t keep the store from surpassing the “1,000” number in rental instruments this past season.
“We’re fortunate to have made some wise decisions plus maintained good relationships with schools that can sup-port the arts,” he says. “Being a full-line dealer has helped.” Another thing that has helped is their ability to maintain and grow a dedicated staff that not only keep up with product knowledge but also “know how to turn a sale.”
That they acquired a McFayden store in March of 2010 has been a benefit, as the store has been known for their B&O expertise for 100 years. Such is their rep-utation that even when bought by Brook-Mays and then being dragged down into
MI Stores Catering to School Music Programs AdjustAs school budgets get slashed, retailers get creative; even have reasons to be optimistic
As state legislatures from Ala-
bama to Wyoming wrap up their
sessions for the summer, having
prepared their finances for the
2012 fiscal year, every single one
of them is sending less money to
schools. The vast majority has
made significant cuts the last sev-
eral years, and in extreme cases
it’s led to the obliteration of en-
tire school music programs.
School Market.indd 44 5/24/11 4:38 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 45
bankruptcy didn’t permanently soil the appeal.
Then there’s tradition. “All of the things that are working we’ve done since day one,” Woodruff says. In addition to the Music & Arts program, their own road reps working the field, they have an inside employee that focuses on school and parent relations and sets up meetings in the store. “We’re doing a pre-rental drive right now to drive instrument rent-als before the next school season starts. We’re offering better rental fees if they sign up before June. That and other in-centives for kids to sign up today have been successful.”
They’ve also been aggressive with their relationships with band directors, not only with their ability to service in-struments but the quality of those in their rental program, the bulk of which are Yamaha. Supplying student-level instru-ments that won’t be a headache to the
directors, which will have a proper tone is as crucial as it is elusive – especially in the string world.
Woodruff says some band directors have been reassigned to other posi-tions, but parents in the community often pick up the slack when a program is trimmed. But in the cases when a music program goes away altogether, kids’ in-terest in music making falls by the way-side and there’s not much that can be done.
“I can say this – last season we saw an increase in this year over the year before,” he says, though noting they took a big hit in 2009. “We’re not back at the same level we were a few years ago, but we’re hoping for the best and we’re doing all we can to meet the needs, including having a good lesson program in the store.”
He adds that they are looking to ex-pand into a third location by the end of next year.
PennsylvaniaIn Northeast Pennsylvania, school
districts were put in the ring to make up deficits totally more than $35 million. School jobs are being lost and extracur-ricular activities are being dropped. The current 2012 budget will cut K-12 fund-ing statewide 15 percent – that’s a $1.18 billion cut.
“ All of the things that are working we’ve done since day one.” Al Woodruff
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School Market.indd 45 5/24/11 4:39 PM
46 MMR JUNE 2011
Yet Robert M. Sides Family Music Center is also doing relatively well. Rob-ert M. Sides, a piano tuner, founded it in 1937 in Williamsport. In 1984 they built a 52,000 square foot modern facil-ity housing a 250-seat recital hall with Allen pipe organ showroom. Today they have locations in Wilkes-Barre and State College.
Siblings Peter and Alysha Sides, grandchildren of the founder, manage the stores plus a recently acquired Fletch-er’s store in New York. Peter operates out of the Williamsburg location. They
keep six road reps busy but “so far I’m not aware of any rental programs being cut or changing from starting in fifth grade rather than fourth or anything like that,” he says, adding that they do sev-eral thousand rentals every year. “I know schools are doing more with less – there’s fewer teachers here and there and others are picking up the slack. People are do-ing more repair work than buying new, which we’re proponents of.”
They do indeed do a lot of repair work and keep eight technicians busy covering two-dozen counties. And the times have
made for some innovative programs: They are going to schools and reaching out for instruments that they can’t afford to fix, taking them off their hands, fixing and reselling them. Then the school gets credit for it either with other repairs or instruments.
“It’s something we always talked about but are trying to do more of it now.” But the number-cruncher business managers at these schools sometimes have trouble getting their head around it, though those who do benefit from it. One school district in New York has $300,000
worth of instruments that are unplayable, and the repair bill would be in excess of $50,000. Since the annual repair budget of $13,000 is barely enough to maintain the instruments currently in use they are looking at a consign and repair program that will earn the district repair shop credit once they sell off their refurbished inventory. “It’s the only way we can help them dig out of this hole.”
He thinks more schools will consider these timely ideas. It takes a leap of faith,
“I know schools are doing more with less – there’s fewer teachers here and there and others are picking up the slack. People are doing more repair work than buying new, which we’re proponents of.”
Peter Sides
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School Market.indd 46 5/24/11 4:39 PM
48 MMR JUNE 2011
and also some time as the instruments that have been left to gather dust in the band room closet are usually the less popular ones as in the bari sax, the sou-
saphone … the bass clarinet. “I picked up an alto clarinet from a school two years ago, and I still have it!” he laughs.
Sides has also had success with getting
schools to do something often ignored just a few years ago: a five-year lease/purchase agreements. “When June 30th comes around, many business managers want to close their books and not have to think of carrying anything over to the next fiscal year,” he says, though he notes that obviously in the case of things like buses and capital expenditures they certainly do. “But we’ve been able to get teachers to partner with their adminis-trators to see the benefits of working with Sides and BGE Financial allowing them to get instruments now and pay for them over five years.”
This past fall he asked his road reps if any of their band directors were get-ting the axe, and when the answer came back no, he ordered the same amount of instruments as last year and that proved to be a good move – especially since the store picked up another school serving an additional 150 kids. “We have to split it with a competitor, but it still amounts to a good increase.”
The brands found at their store in-clude a lot of Yamaha and Jupiter, and some Cannonballs. Also working out well was his decision a while back to
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School Market.indd 48 5/24/11 4:39 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 49
join a buyer’s group with 20 other deal-ers and that allows him to offer Accent instruments. “I can count on one hand the number of band directors that are brand-specific,” he says. “Schools trust us to rent good instruments.” Occasion-ally band directors are specific but they are relying on prejudices from a college teacher that they adopted 25 years ago. Or worse, you get a band director who is a drummer and he’s calling on friends and basing his or her request on third-party information.
As to the future, “I’m optimistic. While spending on musical instruments is discretionary, it targets parents and kids. Combo numbers are kind of bleak because that’s people buying instruments for themselves. But I buy anything my kid needs, especially school related, be-fore I buy anything for me and I think most parents do that.”
Texas
Texas has boasted that they’ve done better than most during this Great Reces-sion, and that’s mostly true. But it doesn’t mean they have escaped unscathed. In January, the Austin school district an-
nounced that a $113 million shortfall will likely lead to up to the elimination of 300 teaching positions. The Houston school district, the state’s largest with over 200,000 students, is looking to slash up to a fifth of its budget: $348 million.
The statewide budget is slashing $9.8 million to schools. Yet Paul Rieger of The String and Horn Shop of Bryan, Texas states, “over all Texas will fare fairly well.”
The store has been providing instru-ments to central and southeast Texas since 1979, when a violinmaker appropriately named Bradley Bowman opened it. In ad-dition to the public schools, they also serve colleges, including U.T. in Austin, which has a well-known and vibrant music de-partment (Rieger’s wife and co-owner of the store, Susan, studied cello there). The Riegers bought the store in 1994.
“We’re full service in terms of every-thing B&O including repairs, but we’re known as a European string shop.” They brand their own instruments from Ro-mania providing quality beginning and mid-level instruments.
“We do a lot of band instruments of course – we’re in Texas!” he laughs. Brass-
wise, it’s Conn-Selmer and Yamaha, and they also use a Music & Arts program. Changes lately include backing away from floor planning. He acknowledges it makes sense for a lot of reasons, but its difficult with instruments. “It doesn’t mean we won’t do it in the future.”
He says they are keeping a close eye on the budget cuts as they always do. “[The state] has had to make cuts, but they’ve been very targeted cuts, although I as others would make the arguments
that these cuts need to be in areas other than music education. You look at the SAT scores [of music students] and they are 400 points above the national aver-age … and you go to the legislators with that and you may fare okay. Time is go-ing to tell.”
“You have to take the lean times as well as the good times.”
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School Market.indd 49 5/24/11 4:39 PM
50 MMR JUNE 2011
If the cuts affect The String and Horn Shop, he’s philosophical about it: “You have to take the lean times as well as the good times.”
He’s also got an eye on gas prices, which he does see affecting his business, from the parents trying to fill up their tank and decide on an instrument to his road rep’s driving expensive. On a re-lated note, a few years ago they switched to especially relying on e-mail to contact band directors to let them know they are coming, and asking what they need. “Teachers don’t always have time for a call or a visit, so e-mail is very efficient – especially as we cater to the greater Austin and Houston area. That way they can tell us if we have instruments to pick
up for repair, or need strings or valve oil. Directors are very receptive to it and it helps them plan their day.”
Otherwise he laments the challenge of inexpensive but poorly made instruments that doesn’t stay in tune and need frequent-ly repair that get in parents’ hands via the Internet. “We get caught in the middle be-cause we serve the directors and the par-ents.” He also notices that kids in general are waiting to get step-up instruments lon-ger, a trend he hopes will change soon.
“Texas orchestras are nationally rec-ognized, and we still have string pro-grams that are growing and that’s fantas-tic,” he says. “They put a lot of emphasis on music programs and that doesn’t seem to be changing.”
L to R:Clayton Wuensche, Head Band Repair Technician; Jennifer Lawrence, Assistant Band Repair Techni-cian/Educational Road Rep/Product Specialist; John Lytton, Floor Sales/Customer Service; Harold Turbyfill, Master Orchestral String Instrument Repair Technician; Kathryn Krol, Front Office/Sales Floor Business Manager; Susan Rieger, Business Owner; Paul Reiger, Business Owner.
Breaking News!Find it in the Hot News
section of MMR’s Web site,
www.mmrmagazine.com
School Market.indd 50 5/24/11 4:40 PM
52 MMR JUNE 2011
Cases & StandsEZ Clamp for iPhonesAc-cetera, Inc. introduces EZ Clamp™ model EZ01 for all iPhones, Smart Phones & many other hand held products offered in the music industry.
The universal locking clamp mounts to any microphone stand, music stand, pole, shelf or surface from ¼” to 2”. The clamp has an extension arm that swings 180°. A spring-loaded adjustable grip attaches to the clamp by a ball and socket connection
that tilts and rotates 360°. This allows im-mediate access to either portrait or land-scape formats. Both clamp & grip are padded for protection from marring.
When not being used for your music apps, the user could apply the product to a shopping cart, stroller, golf cart, bike, home end table as a cradle or even in a vehicle. MSRP: $33www.ac-cetera.com
Pearl Advanced Marching HardwarePearl’s new Advanced Marching Hardware is compatible with Pearl’s CX Airframe and MX T-Frame Marching Carriers, and is easily modified with a turn of the hand or drum key.
Model Description ListMSS-3000 Marching Snare Stand $250MTS-3000 Marching Tenor Stand $280MBS-3000 Marching Bass Stand $275
www.pearldrum.com
SKB Expands DJ/Audio Rack CasesAs a follow up to the overwhelming success of the 1SKB-R104 10x4 rack case, SKB announced the availability of the larger version, the 1SKB-R106 10x6 rack case and the 1SKB-R1906 6U Roller Case.
The 1SKB-R106 is a 10U slanted top and 6U front, rack case that features steel threaded rails, hardcover lid and doors, side access ports (for cable routing) and has enough space to mount the new AV-8 shelf with the lid closed.
The 1SKB-R106 has a one piece, unibody base, roto-molded of Linear Me-dium Density Polyethylene (LMDPE) that provides maximum protection for DJ and audio gear. The 1SKB-R106 includes an In-jection molded lid, front and rear doors. The front door is attached and hinged to the lid to make pack up a snap. Two SKB patented TSA locking trigger latches se-cure the lid while the flat hard top allows for stacking in transport and storage. There are two removable side panels that
are ideal for cable routing while the full size back lid provides maximum access to the rack gear and can be left in place to maintain a clutter-free performance.
The 1SKB-R1906 is described as the ideal com-panion for the 1SKB-R104 and 1SKB-R106 rack cases. Providing 12U of additional rack spaces (6 front/6U back), the rolling 1SKB-R1906 allows for secure
stacking for the 1SKB-R104, 1SKB-R106 or even the 1SKB19-R1006 Mini Gig Rig or 1SKB19-R1010 Gig Rig. The 1SKB-R1906 can even stack on itself! The 1SKB-R1906 includes (4) heavy duty, locking cast-ers and full size front and rear doors that incorporate SKB’s Patented TSA Locking Trigger Latches.www.skbcases.com
Humes & Berg Enduro Snare Drum Case with Foam The Humes & Berg Enduro Hard Shell Drum Case lineup is, “the ultimate case needed to transport your valuable drum and percus-sion equipment.” The Enduro line is scratch resistant, water resistant, and impact resistant.
These cases are guaranteed to perform for you flawlessly under any and all conditions or Humes & Berg will repair or replace these cases at absolutely no charge. The Enduro Snare Drum Case with Foam is available in a number of sizes at dif-fering retail prices.www.humes-berg.com
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New Kaces Soprano Ukulele Bag
Kaces recently introduced an “overstuffed” soprano ukulele bag that offers an incredible list of professional features for under 30 bucks.
On the outside, a durable 600D polyester shell is double stitched and trimmed with solid tubular piping for maximum protec-tion. A knurled abrasion pad is attached to the bottom of the bag, putting additional armor between the instrument and the ground where it’s needed most. A solid-yet-flexible poly handle is ergonomically shaped to comfortably fit the hand, and
heavy black finished zippers are used throughout. A large, zippered accessory pocket is located on the front of the bag while an adjustable shoulder strap and extra hanging D ring are featured on the back.
On the inside, overstuffed foam has been installed between the lin-ing and the outer shell, and two 600D polyester patches have been
stitched into the walls where the strings are attached to the bridge and tuning pegs to keep any sharp edges from eventu-ally wearing into the interior. MSRP: $29.95.
www.kaces.com
On-Stage Stands has introduced its new GS8200 ProGrip II Hang-It Guitar Stand. This pro-level stand joins other models in the Hang-It series like the GS8100 Pro-Grip Guitar Stand, GS7155 Single Guitar Stand, GS7255 Double Guitar Stand, and GS7355 Triple Guitar stand. Like all Hang-It mod-els, the GS8200 is designed to allow guitars, basses, banjos, and similar instruments to hang securely from their headstocks rather than sitting in a cradle. The Hang-It design is excep-tionally stable and especially well suited for long instruments with asymmetrical body styles.
The first generation GS8100 Pro-Grip Stand is equipped with the company’s exclusive patent-pending ProGrip gate system. When placed into the GS8100’s cam-activated yoke, the instrument’s weight closes the padded gates, locking the headstock firmly in place. The in-strument stays put even with the vigor-ous bumping that can occur on crowded stages or in rehearsal studios. The system releases simply by lifting the guitar up and out of the stand.
The new GS8200 ProGrip II also utiliz-es an auto-locking yoke system, but features a spring-loaded gate, allowing for even easier instrument removal. The weight of a guitar draws the spring-loaded yoke arms to pull the gates of the yoke shut, all in one single action. Picking up the guitar opens the gates instantly outward for unobstruct-ed removal. The GS8200 also includes a purple designer cam locking mid-point clutch and reinforced leg housing.
Like the GS8100, the GS8200 is lined with soft velveteen rubber at all contact points, specially formulated to avoid marring and/or reacting with instrument
finishes. The GS8200’s wide reinforced tripod base supports up to 40lbs, and the yoke height is adjustable from 30” to 43”. Suitable for any style of guitar, bass, or banjo, the GS8200 (List $59.99) provides peace of mind on stage and in the studio.www.onstagestands.com
GS8200 ProGrip II Hang-It Guitar Stand from On-Stage Stands
Cases & Stands
JUNE 2011 MMR 53
• Outperforms wood and plastic• Shock-absorbing Flexoskeleton walls• Neck brace suspension system• Zero-G Palm-contoured handle
RB ContinentalUkulele Case
Lightweight, Upscale, Affordable
www.REUNIONBLUES.cOm
Call 800-950-1095 and ask about our free freight deal
See the drop test at: www.reunionblues.com/Video_Gallery.asp
RBTUK TenorRBCUK Concert
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54 MMR JUNE 2011
Cases & Stands
TKL Vectra Molded Single Cutaway Guitar CaseLike all Vectra Series™ cases, the TKL VTR-525 for single cutaway style solid-body guitars case includes: TKL’s pat-ented designs; rugged precision molded exterior; tempered & formed aluminum valance; TKL’s patented Advanced In-terlink Construction™; TKL’s Provi-dence Forge® steel-plated hardware;
the company’s Comfort Grip™ Molded Handle; contoured, thickly-padded, soft plush Interior; spacious accessory com-partment; TKL’s Traditional Neck Sup-port System™; TKL’s 24/7 Protection®; and limited lifetime warranty.
The retail price for the VTR-525 is $259.95www.tkl.com
New Strukture Stand from AceAce Products has introduced a new Strukture music stand made with heavy-duty aluminum designed to be as light as possible without sacrificing strength and sturdiness.
Currently available in seven colors, this unit incorporates a locking tray with a simple thumb-operated release for quick and easy adjustments on the fly. One of three ergonomically de-signed wing bolts hold a sturdy tripod base securely in place, while the other two allow for a height adjustment from 24 inches all the way up to 44 inches from the floor.
Each stand folds down to fit into a 5” x 21” carry bag with draw string closure for protection and portability, and all col-ors are enhanced by a high-gloss finish for a durable, modern appearance.
S3MS-BK Black Licorice; S3MS-WT Frost White; S3MS-PP Plum; S3MS-RD Cherry; S3MS-BL Blue-berry; S3MS-PK Bubblegum; S3MS-LM Lime – all have a list price of $49.95.www.kaces.com
Violin Case RBCV44
•Shock-absorbingFlexoskeletonwalls•Linedwithreinforcedimpactpanels•Multi-layerfoamsuspensionsystem•Patent-pendingslip-lockbowholders (Nospinners)
RBContinentalHeavyweightViolinCase
Outperforms Wood & Plastic
www.REUNIONBLUES.cOm
Call 800-950-1095 and ask about our free freight deal
See the drop test at: www.reunionblues.com/Video_Gallery.asp
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56 MMR JUNE 2011
NAMM Buyers’ GuidePart 1
BAND & ORCHESTRAAdams Academy Series Marimba and XylophoneThe new Academy Series is available in a 3.0 octave graduated bar Padouk Marimba, as well as a 3.5 octave Light Rosewood Xylophone for school or home use.
Both keyboards feature a patent pending Integrated Resonator Rail System, providing a quality bar suspension and box resonator format, as well as a rigid Alumi-num Beam structure that makes these instruments lighter and more durable. Every tone bar of the Academy Series keyboards is hand-adjusted through the 6th overtone, using the same tuning method as used on the top-of-the-line Adams Artist Series in-struments. The Academy Series keyboards can be secured atop the height adjustable double leg X-style stand, or set directly onto a table-top.
Each keyboard features a carry handle, drop cover, and one pair of mallets and includes the X-style stand. A soft case will be available separately for those who need to protect their keyboard from the elements.
Model Description List MAPAMPD30 3.0 Oct. Academy Padouk Marimba $1995.00 $1295.00AXLD35 3.5 Oct. Academy Light Rosewood Xylophone $1595.0 $895.00www.pearldrum.com
Envoy Sax from Diplomatte Musical InstrumentsThe new Diplomatte Envoy model alto saxophone has been designed by Dr. Paul Sheldon with beautiful engraving, including bell rim, extra hard keys, all leather pads, and exceptional quality brass usually only used on the highest-grade professional models, as well as other features. These instruments are the result of a lifetime of work as pro-fessor of music and a renowned per-former of woodwind instruments. This new line also includes a full array of woodwind and brass instruments.www.diplomattemusic.com
St. Louis Music, exclusive distributor of P. Mauriat saxophones, announces that the instrument maker is now manufacturing quality trumpets, starting with the PMT-700 series. This line of professional trum-pets is available in six distinct versions, and they have a MSRP of $2,549 to $3,029.
The design of the PMT-700 series uti-
lizes a standard weight mid-section and lead pipe, a 4.8-inch yellow brass bell, and stainless steel valves. All this makes for a quick response throughout the en-
tire range of the trumpet. The PMT-700 trumpets come in a variety of finishes in-cluding Clear Lacquer, Silver-plate, Un-lacquered, Matte Silver-plate, and Matte lacquer. Each finish is applied to the in-strument to give them a slightly different feel from behind horn. www.stlouismusic.com
New Trumpet Series Available Through SLM
FRETTEDRotosound Adds 45-100 Gauge Nickel Strings To Their Swing Bass RangeRotosound have just added 45-100 gauge nickel strings to the Swing Bass range, their popular round wound bass string range.
Round wound strings were developed by Rotosound at the behest of the Who’s John Entwhistle, who was looking for a brighter, more piano like bass tone to complement his trebly and fleet fingered lead bass style. Introduced in 1962, with
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1
Musicorp To Distribute Hamer XT Series GuitarsMusicorp is now distributing Hamer XT Series guitars in the United States.
Hamer’s XT Series offers a vast selection of guitars and basses inspired by Hamer USA’s solid vintage design principles, and available in the most sought-after body styles and finishes. These high-quality instruments are visually stunning and deliver spectacular sound, truly reflective of their legendary work-manship standards. The XT Series includes the Monaco, Sun-burst, Vector, Standard, Special, and Velocity Bass models. www.musicorp.com
Titanium Floyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Titanium system features components that are ma-chined from Titanium and heat treated to achieve optimal material strength levels. Titanium is natu-
rally non-corrosive, so this tremolo will never rust, discolor or oxidize. Plus the high strength to weight ratio results in a 40% weight reduction in comparison to other tremolo systems.
For those who desire the “Ulti-mate Upgrade,” Floyd Rose is also offering the individual Titanium parts a la carte: From saddles, sus-tain blocks, nuts and tremolo arms, now you can totally customize your favorite Floyd Rose with Titanium parts at an affordable price. www.floydrose.com
The ThunderDrive is an overdrive pedal kit that provides a strong clean signal boost in the early gain settings and smooth distortion at maxi-mum gain settings. Adjusting volume and gain controls pro-vides a wide variety of tones in spite of its simple construction. It is capable of overdriving the pre-amp section of your guitar amp or adding its own layer of distor-tion at lower volume. The cur-rent draw of this pedal is very low at 1.3 milliamps, allowing for long battery life.
Mod™ Kits are designed to give nov-ice and experienced musicians the oppor-
tunity to build their own amps and effects pedals. All kits come with easy to follow instructions and use point-to-point wiring. A pre-drilled enclosure and all parts are included. All you need to pro-vide are hand tools, a soldering iron and solder. The effect pedals operate on a 9V battery; for a lon-ger lasting option, a 9-volt adapter
can be purchased separately.www.modkitsdiy.com
ThunderDrive from Mod Kits DIY
widespread usage since the 1970’s, they changed the bass sound instantly, and have led the pack ever since.
The Swing Bass range offers 4 to 8 string sets in a wide range of gauges, made from either stainless steel or nickel, with a choice of dou-ble ball ends or not and even non standard lengths. All have the red silk ends mak-ing them instantly recogniz-able as Rotosound.
The new 45-100 gauge nickel strings ( Product Code RS66LN ) are manufac-
tured to the same high specification as the Swing Bass Stainless Steel sets, but
are much, much smoother to play. The slightly muted, smoother tone, with the vin-tage vibe of the nickel plate makes them a good alterna-tive to the punchier sound-ing stainless steel. These strings are said to be kinder to your fingers with their softer feel and give a warmer
sound which develops the more you play them.www.rotosound.com
The Vibramate String Spoiler is a little bracket designed to fit right onto an ex-isting Bigsby vibrato without any modi-fications or special tools. It easily slips right into place and is held in position by the tension of the strings when tuned to pitch.
The Spoiler, “makes string changes so easy you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.”
The Vibramate String Spoiler is de-signed to maintain the same smooth operation and feel of the classic Bigsby vibrato and may even increase the poten-tial range of pitch bending. The fulcrum position also eliminates unwanted stress to the ball end string wrap. The Spoiler has a polished finish and subtle appear-ance designed to look like it was original equipment on your guitar and vibrato.
Manufactured in the USA from high-grade Stainless Steel, the Vibramate String Spoilers are available in 3 finishes; Silver, Gold and Black.
SR1 String Spoiler - Polished Stainless Steel $39.95 SR1-B String Spoiler - Black $59.95 SR1-G String Spoiler - Gold $59.95www.vibramate.com
String Spoiler from Vibramate
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58 MMR JUNE 2011
NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1
Jensen Jet Falcon 10”Jensen® Musical Instrument Speakers recently announced the latest addition to the Jensen® Jet series: the 10” Falcon.
With its 40 watts of power, a ceramic magnet, and a seamed green cone made from all natural materials, the 10” Falcon is specially designed to ensure optimum tone for all styles of mu-sic. The Falcon 10” tone is warm and straightforward with a pronounced low end. Its mid frequencies are slightly enhanced over the Falcon 12”, and it has a very sweet, yet cutting, high end. When presented with overdrive distortion it, “creates some mean fuzz.”www.jensentone.com
Levy’s Tie-Dyed Guitar StrapsLevy’s expands its luxurious Platinum Col-lection ™ guitar strap line for 2011. One of this year’s models is fashioned with a premium “tie-dyed” leather, and features foam padding with soft leather backing. Pictured is model PC17TD available in purple, gray, and brown.www.levysleathers.com
Harris Musical Products Distributing Timber Tones Picks Harris Musical Products has inked full distribution rights for Timber Tones Exotic Wood Picks within North America and Canada.
Timber Tones hand-finished picks are crafted from 18 differ-ent exotic woods utilizing unused end cuts from guitar manufactur-ers. Timber Tones appeal to any musician who is attracted by the craftsmanship and beauty of fine wood. Every pick is the same size and thickness, however each differ-ent wood has its own sonic characteristics and variations in tone, reflected by the wood’s grain, beauty and density.
All Timber Tones Luxury Wood Plectrums are manufac-tured to strict tolerances and sealed with wax, ensuring a firm, non-slip grip. They are sold to dealers in trays of 108 picks (6 each of 18 woods) or Players Packs of 4 picks of the same wood as refills. Timber Tones also sells a full line of pendants, keychains and other gift items using Timber Tones Exotic Wood Picks hand chosen after passing their strict quality con-trol process.www.harrismusical.comwww.timber-tones.com
AER Introduces Amp Three Germany’s AER (Audio Electric Research) has ex-panded its Bottom Line family of electric bass com-bos with the introduction of the new Amp Three. Amp Three follows in the footsteps of its predecessors – Amp One and Amp Two – by being small, rich, and powerful. Based on a 200W power amp, Amp Three employs a pair of heavy-duty 8” bass speakers. The smaller speakers enhance the low-mids for max-imum clarity and punch, providing the nec-essary focus to cut through in both live and studio situations.
A built-in compressor (with adjustable ratio & threshold) and three-band EQ with parametric mids allow you to control and shape your tone as you please, and a one-touch Colour control adds definition to your sound with its mid-cut / treble-boost filter. The Bass Boost adds a simple +10db of gain at 55Hz, and the Tone Balance con-trol enables emphasis of bass or treble, or a combination of both.
The Amp Three weighs in at 35 lbs and measures 14.5” x 16.5” x 12.5.” Suggested Retail Price is $2199 ($1999 Street).www.musiquip.com
Daisy Rock Stardust Elite Rebel in Cherry Bomb BurstDaisy Rock Girl Guitars is now shipping the Stardust Elite Rebel Standardelectric guitar in Cherry Bomb Burst finish, the newest member of Daisy Rock’s Stardust Elite line of gui-tars.
Stardust Elite Rebel Standard is the base model in Daisy Rock’s Stardust Elite Rebel Series lineup, provid-ing girls with all the essential features they need at an affordable price. Designed with Daisy Rock’s signature traits—lightweight construction, “Slim & Narrow” neck design, and totally inspiring visual appeal—the Stardust Elite Rebel Standard features a lightweight
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1Sengon body, a 22 fret 24-3/4” maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and dot inlays. Quality components include Daisy Rock High-Output Humbuckers, a Tune-O-Matic bridge with stop bar, master volume and tone controls with a 3-way selector switch for sonic versatility, and die-cast chrome tuners for rock solid tuning.
Like all Daisy Rock Guitars, the Star-dust Elite Rebel Standard guitar arrives at your door set up and ready to play, and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty. The Stardust Elite Rebel Standardelectric gui-tar (14-6316) is now available for $249.99. www.daisyrock.com
Wolfgang USA Custom and Stealth Guitars from EVHEVH has introduced two new Wolfgang guitar models, the Wolfgang USA Cus-tom and the Wolfgang Stealth. Both are distinctive variations on the original model, the U.S.-made EVH Wolfgang guitar designed by Eddie Van Halen.
The Wolfgang USA Custom repre-sents Eddie Van Halen’s personal tribute
to the short-scale set-neck gui-tars of the late 1950s, combined with the distinctive modern per-
sonal touches he prefers on his own guitars.
The guitar’s mahogany body has a ½” arched maple top and
seven-ply binding, a bound mahogany set neck with dual graphite reinforce-ment rods, and a 24.75” scale length. Features in-clude a compound radius
(12”-16”) ebony or rosewood fingerboard, 22 vintage stainless steel frets, seven-ply headstock and body binding, mother-of-pearl headstock logo inlay on ebony, dual EVH Wolfgang Custom nickel-covered humbucking pickups with three-position switching, stop-tail bridge with fine tuners, EVH custom tuners, dual EVH custom low-friction 500k volume pots, dual EVH custom high-friction 250k tone pots and an EVH molded-stripe case by SKB®. Available in Black, White and Vintage Cherry Burst.
In designing an especially sleek all-black addition to the Wolfgang series, Eddie Van Halen decided to try something he previously wasn’t known to prefer—an ebony finger-board. He liked it so much that the resulting guitar—the Wolf-gang Stealth—now resides at the very forefront of his arsenal.
Features include an arch-top basswood body, quarter-sawn maple neck with dual graphite reinforcement rods, compound radius (12”-16”) ebony fingerboard with 22 vintage stainless steel frets, dual hard-mounted EVH Wolfgang humbucking pickups with three-position switching, dual Bourns® low- (volume) and high-friction (tone) potentiometers, EVH-branded Floyd Rose® locking tremolo with EVH D-Tuna®, black hardware, EVH-branded 14-1 Gotoh® chrome tuners with pearl-oid buttons, Schaller® chrome string retainer and EVH molded-stripe case by SKB®. Available in Stealth Black.www.evhgear.com
St. Louis Music is a division of U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies Inc.
Supplying 10,000 products from 150 of the world’s leading brands to music stores across the Nation.
www.stlouismusic.comTo request a dealer catalog or to arrange a visit from one of oursales representatives call us now on 1 - 800 - 727 - 4512 [email protected]
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60 MMR JUNE 2011
NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1
New Amp and DSP Lines from DanleyThe Danley DSLA amplifier is available in four output power configurations: the DSLA 1.7k, 3.3k, 4.5k, and 6.5k.
The DSLA 6.5k delivers 6500-watts to a 4-ohm load in bridged mode or 2200-watts to two 4-ohm loads in dual-channel mode, and the other configurations follow a paral-lel name-to-output convention. The DSLA
is capable of driving a 2-ohm load and fea-tures unusually robust performance, both in terms of fidelity and reliability. Input and condition status monitoring is intuitive and comprehensive, and input and output con-nectors and protocols will easily integrate with any installation or touring system.
The Danley DSLP48 sound processor contains a wealth of DSP functionality, including parametric equalization, filter-ing, crossovers, compression, limiting, and delay, that is easy to deploy via in-tuitive design software. Its 4-in x 8-out architecture and flexible internal rout-ing fits the needs of installations and live
sound rigs. Forty-bit internal floating DSP, musical algorithms, and faithful 24-bit input and output converters en-sure that sound at the outputs is as good or better than the input signals.
Fully-integrated RS-232, USB, and Eth-ernet interfaces allow command and control from an external computer or a network.www.danleysoundlabs.com
Jackson’s Scott Ian Signature Guitar
Designed by Anthrax’s Scott Ian himself and acclaimed Jackson Mas-ter Builder Mike Shannon, the neck-through-body Scott Ian T-1000 Solo-
ist is based on the guitarist’s ’87 Soloist (the one bearing the New York Yankees logo). It comes in single and double humbucking pickup configurations and fea-tures a super-sized mahogany
body with a 1/8” maple top, and an oil-finished maple neck.
Other features include a Quicksilver finish, compound radius ebony finger-
board (12” to 16”) with 24 jumbo frets and “High Boltage” lightning bolt inlays (“My homage to Angus Young,” Ian said) de-signed by Shepard Fairey (of Obey fame), Ivoroid neck and headstock binding, Sey-mour Duncan® Scott Ian El Diablo bridge pickup and Seymour Duncan® ’59 neck pickup (two-pickup model only), original Floyd Rose® bridge (two-pickup model only) or TonePros Tunamatic bridge (sin-gle-pickup model only), black hardware, Schaller® strap locks and G&G case.www.jacksonguitars.com
VOX’s ToneLab EXVOX is now shipping the ToneLab EX, the latest addition to its popular ToneLab line of Valvetronix modeling pedals. Of-fering more presets and more effects than previous models, ToneLab EX also intro-duces a number of new features designed to satisfy the needs of the live performer.
There are 200 ready-to-play pro-grams instantly available in the ToneLab EX (100 user programmable; 100 preset). Fifty of the presets are “Song Presets” –
each one created to capture the signature guitar tone of a well-known song, for in-stant playability.
Like all Valvetronix Series models, the ToneLab EX relies on a real 12AX7 vac-uum tube (valve) to accurately capture the tone quality of a tube-driven amplifier, a feature not found in other modeling units. In addition to 33 expertly-voiced amp models, the ToneLab EX also provides ac-curate simulations of 11 speaker cabinets. The cabinet and amp models can be mixed and matched to suit the user’s preference.
©2011 Latin Percussion
Take it from the top.LP Prestige
Gio Series Timbales
Giovani Hidalgo Master Percussionist
LPmusic.com
Buyers Guide.indd 60 5/24/11 4:43 PM
JUNE 2011 MMR 61
NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1A total of 45 effects are provided: 11
Distortions; 15 classic stomp boxes ef-fects;11 Modulation types; 4 Delay types including Tap Tempo; 3 Reverb types and Noise reduction.
New to the ToneLab EX are the 11 dis-tortions, which can be used in place of amp modeling to drive the front of a user’s ampli-fier. Up to nine effects can be used at once (when including Noise Reduction and Ex-pression Pedal). An easy-to-read chromatic tuner is also built-in, offering both normal and strobe modes for easy viewing during performance. Another performance feature of the ToneLab EX is the “Stomp-Box” mode, where the individual effects can be turned on and off using the footswitch con-trols, just as on a custom pedalboard.
The multi-function output provides the best response in almost any amplifi-cation situation. Set to the Amp Mode, the output offers three settings, to suit
some of the most popular amplifier types. Set to the Line Mode, a three-band Total Equalizer allows the tone to be matched to any venue or sound system. The Line In is available for jamming along to CDs, MP3s, etc.
A personal monitoring system al-lows for backstage tweaking, editing and rehearsing – as well as programming – without the need for any additional amps or equipment. For private use, a head-phone jack is also provided.
Finally, a USB port is provided, al-lowing a convenient single cable audio connection to a computer’s digital re-cording software.
VOX Tonelab EX is now available with a U.S. MSRP of $500.00. www.voxamps.com
Recording King’s RD-316Recording King’s new RD-316 is an Ad-
irondack top, all-solid, nitrocellu-lose finished guitar with a MAP of $689.
The soundboard of the RD-316 is made from solid AAA Adiron-dack Spruce, a prized choice for guitar tops since the 1920s. For many years, Adirondack Spruce was rare or unavail-able; even now, guitars with Adirondack Spruce tops are among the most sought-after guitar models on the market.
The RD-316’s back and sides are made from solid African Mahogany. The 316 has a nut width of 1-11/16” and the one-piece neck is fitted to the body with a hand-cut dovetail joint. The fretboard is made from ebony, as is the bridge. The guitar is finished in a thin coat of nitrocellulose lac-quer for resonance and historical accuracy.
Appointments include descending sized dots on the fretboard, solid black bridge pins and endpin, subdued tortoise body binding and a traditional, under-stated rosette. This is a professional instrument, from top to bottom, right down to the Grover butterbean tuners. www.themusiclink.net
LIGHT & SOUND
American DJ’s Micro Wash RGBWAmerican DJ has unveiled the Micro Wash RGBW, a mini par can that’s powered by 7 bright 1-watt LEDs (2 red, 2 green, 2 blue, and 1 white).
The unit mea-sures just 6.9”L x 4”W x 2.6”H/ 175 x 101 x 66mm and weighs a mere 1.6 lbs./ 0.74 kg. The Micro Wash RGBW produces a super-high output, along with satiny smooth RGBW mixing, to give you the kind of intense color wash you’d expect from a much larger professional LED stage par. Plus, the Micro Wash RGBW is loaded with pro-style features and effects typically found on bigger units, such as DMX control, 32 built-in color macros, a color strobe, 0-100% electronic dimming, and selectable fast or slow color change operation.
Easy to transport and pack in a vehi-cle, the pocket-sized par can go virtually
©2011 Latin Percussion
Take it from the top.LP Prestige
Gio Series Timbales
Giovani Hidalgo Master Percussionist
LPmusic.com
Buyers Guide.indd 61 5/24/11 4:43 PM
NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1anywhere a color wash is desired. Fea-turing a 6° beam angle, it comes with a dual bracket system that allows it to be hung from overhead or set on a floor or surface, making it great for performance stages, DJ booths, table spotting, uplight-ing and retail displays. With its flicker-free operation, it’s also ideal for studio and video production use. The Micro Wash RGBW’s portability, along with its extremely affordable price tag, make it well-suited for DJs, bands and mobile entertainers who want to add a splash of vibrant color to their acts.
Users are also given a lot of pro-style options when it comes to operating the Micro Wash RGBW. The fixture can be run in 6 operational modes: Manu-al Color Mode, Color Change Mode, Color Fade Mode, Auto (Program Run) Mode, Sound Active Mode, and DMX-512 Mode. Operators can further choose from 6 DMX modes: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 or 8-channel modes. A 3-button LED dis-play on the rear panel makes it easy to scroll through the various options and select the desired settings. Additionally, the Micro Wash RGBW can be linked in multiples via 3-pin XLR cable.
Sporting a sleek black case, the Micro Wash RGBW includes multi-voltage oper-ation (100-240V, 47/63 Hz). It is “mini” in price too, with an MSRP of just $139.99.www.americandj.com
M1280B from AudixWith a distinctive machined brass hous-ing and modular threaded capsule, Au-dix’s M1280B is designed to handle a wide variety of live, studio and fixed install applications. Features include a smooth frequency response of 40 Hz – 20 kHz, 12mm gold vapor diaphragm, and a selection of four capsules with ei-ther cardioid, hypercardioid, omni, or a supercardioid (shotgun) polar pattern. Improvements for the M1280B include a completely discrete circuit design, ex-
tremely low noise components, recessed miniature XLR connector, and 100% immunity from RF caused by cell phones and wireless GSM devices.
The linear frequency response, low
distortion levels, and wide dynamic range make the M1280B excellent for field re-cording and musical instrument miking.
The M1280B is available from au-thorized Audix dealers in a matte black finish at a suggested retail price ranging from $430-$470 depending on capsule. Supplied accessories include a 25’ cable, hanging mic clip, mic stand adapter and external windscreen. www.audixusa.com
Gemini’s New Models for GVX Series LoudspeakersGemini has announced the addition of two white powered cabinets (GVX10P-WH, GVX12P-WH) to the complete line of GVX loudspeakers
Available in both powered and passive cabinets, the GVX series of loudspeakers is particularly well suited for installations in clubs, bars, fitness centers, houses of worship, or any place where performance is crucial.
With three powere cabinets with 10, 12, and 15-inch woofers, delivering 1,000 watts peak; three powere subwoofer models with 12, 15, and 18-inch woofers, delivering 2,000 wats peak, and three passive models with 10, 12, and 2x15-inch woofers, the GVX series loudspeak-ers are said to “offer unmatched design and sound quality.”www.geminidj.com/speakers
Pro Tools 101 (Version 9.0) Distributed by AlfredAlfred Music Publishing has announced the distribution of Pro Tools 101 Official Courseware (Version 9.0), the certified foun-dation course manual for Avid Pro Tools Certification, from Course Technology PTR, a division of Cengage Learning.
Pro Tools 101 Official Courseware (Ver-sion 9.0) is a comprehensive approach to learning the fundamentals of Pro Tools that is endorsed by the makers of today’s most popular DAW in the world of au-dio production. Now updated for Pro Tools 9, this new edition covers the es-sentials to success-fully completing and mastering any type of Pro Tools project. The course explores the building blocks to proper session set up, including multi-
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1track recordings of live instruments, MIDI sequences, software synthesizers, and virtual instruments. Geared for the serious learner, fundamental techniques for recording, editing, and mixing are also reviewed in a helpful and easy-to-understand method. Developed as the foundation course of the official Avid Pro Tools Certification program, the guide can be custom-paced or used to pursue formal certification through an Avid Authorized Training Partner. The com-panion DVD-ROM features tutorial files and videos, additional documentation, and Pro Tools sessions to accompany the projects in the text.
The Pro Tools 101 Official Courseware (Ver-sion 9.0) book and DVD-ROM set (54-143545880X) is now available for $49.99 at music retail stores and at alfred.com.www.alfred.com
LEDQUADCASTER from MBT MBT Lighting has introduced a brand new low-heat, energy-efficient LED ef-fect light: the LEDQUADCASTER!
256 bright LEDs (64 red, 64 green, 64 white) are arranged in a square pro-jection pattern, and active matrix tech-nology creates fifteen exciting built-in pat-terns that scan, chase, strobe, and bloom onto a dance floor. With the addition of fog, interesting laser-like aerial effects can be achieved. The LEDQUADCASTER features DMX, Auto, and Sound-active modes, 3-pin XLR inputs for master/slave linking, 3-channel DMX control, a 4-button menu selection control with a digital display, and built-in audio sensor with sensitivity control knob. With to-tal power consumption of only 36 watts, the compact (12” x 10” x 10”) and light-weight (10 lbs) LEDQUADCASTER, is a superb option for bands, mobile DJ’s and a centerpiece light for small clubs. Retail price is $339.00.www.mbtlighting.com.
Focusrite’s Scarlett 18i6The Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 is an 18-in-put, 6-output USB 2.0 audio interface. A total of 18 inputs allow the user to capture the whole band simultaneously, without having to constantly re-patch a studio. Two award-winning Focusrite
preamps and six high-quality line inputs allow you to connect and record key-boards and guitars, while the ADAT op-tical input lets you plug-in a further eight inputs from an outboard mic pre such as the Focusrite OctoPre MkII: perfect for tracking drums.
Included with the Scarlett 18i6 is Scarlett MixControl, an 18 x 6 DSP mixer. It enables you to create six sepa-rate mixes with ultra-low latency, then route any combination of input signals
and sequencer outputs to any of the Scarlett 18i6 outputs, and recall intui-tive one-click configurations that help you track, monitor and mix as quickly as possible.
The two Focusrite preamps ensure low noise and distortion, whilst quality digital conversion ensures quality as your audio flows between the analogue and digital domains. Combined with the very latest in USB interfacing technology, ex-cellent routing flexibility and rock-solid
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1driver stability, the Scarlett 18i6 is the heart of the modern recording studio.
$399.99 www.focusrite.com
Hohner Squeezebox AppHohner recently announced the intro-duction of a new app for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch: the Hohner SqueezeBox.
Mimicking the layout of Hohner’s iconic Corona Classic diatonic accordion,
this intuitive virtual accordion app feature a super responsive, three-row fingerboard that plays and sounds like the traditional instrument. The Hohner SqueezeBox allows musicians to practice chord com-binations, scales, and songs on-the-go in five different key combinations and col-ors. Headphones can be used for private practice or, the audio output of the virtual accordion can be amplified by plugging into computer speakers or other sound enhancing devices. Players have the op-
tion to display the note names on the large white simulated pearloid buttons and with the touch of a button, the tonality can easily be changed from “wet tuning” for a more animated sound, to “dry tuning.”
The Hohner SqueezeBox App is avail-able on the iTunes App Store for $1.99 in the following key combinations: Hohner-GCF, Hohner-FBbEb, Hohner-EAD, Hohner-ADG, and Hohner-BbEbAb. The Hohner-Mini version is available in GCF for the iPhone and iPod Touch at $.99. www.hohnerusa.com
Angelicals Sound Bank from Applied Acoustic SystemsAngelicals is a 101-preset collection by re-nowned sound designer Andre Ettema for the Ultra Analog VA-1 analog synthesizer and AAS Player plug-ins that is inspired by the work of Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre. It’s a “retro-futuristic flashback in
progressive and experimental elec-tronic music.” The presets, divided into Arpeggios, Bass, Ef-fects, Leads, Loops, Pads, and Synth
categories, provide a number of options for creating dramatic tension and enigmatic realms of sci-fi and thriller sounds.
The Angelicals sounds bank is avail-able now for $39. The instant download delivery package includes both an Ultra Analog VA-1 preset file as well as the free AAS Player plug-in. The AAS Player plug-in runs on both Windows and Mac OS X and supports the VST and Audio Unit plug-in formats. www.applied-acoustics.com
PERCUSSION
Zildjian RaritiesThe Avedis Zildjian Company has shipped select collectable and proto-
To support aspiring musicians with well-crafted, reliable,
responsive instruments at affordable pricing.
Trusted brand namesfrom a trusted supplier.
C 0 M 91 Y 76 K 0
4 Color Version on white background
4 Color Version on a dark or black background
www.BeckerInstruments.comwww.stentor-music.com
Three Brands, One Focus...
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1type cymbals from its vault and sound lab that are available to consumers be-ginning in June and July for a limited time at dealer locations throughout the world.
Developed in conjunction with Zild-jian Artist, Adam Nussbaum, the 22” K Constantinople Renaissance Ride draws its inspiration from various other Zildjian cymbals. This medium thin Ride has random hammering and tradi-tional lathing, giving it an even spread of overtones. Cluster hammer marks
add a little “dirt” to its sound. The K Con Renaissance Ride is easy to control and versatile enough for small to medi-um size group. Only a limited quantity of these cymbals is available, and the first 100 are signed under the bell by Nussbaum himself.
In response to artist and consumer demand for thinner and darker cym-bals, Zildjian has developed a new K Dark Thin Series of cymbals, all un-lathed and featuring brilliant finishes. The 19” K Dark Thin Crash Ride has a thin weight and a dark vintage K sound with a small bell similar to convention-al ride cymbals. The unlathed 22” K Dark Thin Ride has great stick defini-tion and dark overtones making it an ex-cellent choice for small to mid size group settings. The 14” K Dark Hi Hats are extremely thin weight to achieve a vin-tage, wispy Hi Hat sound.
Also featured in the 2011 Rarities Program are the K Custom Special Dry Crashes in 16”, 17”, 18” and 19”. Origi-nally introduced in 2004 (with the ex-ception of the 19” Crash Ride which is a new product for 2011), these cymbals are heavily hammered on top and unlathed for a raw, earthy appearance and a very dry sound. The completely lathed bot-tom allows for a certain amount of decay to temper the dryness and provide exotic overtones.
Finally, Zildjian is featuring a 24” ZHT Ride and a 10” A Custom EFX cymbal as part of this year’s Rarities offerings. Played by Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, the 24” ZHT Ride is a powerful, medium heavy cymbal with a great ping sound and a high pitch wash that projects well. Also, the 88/12 al-loy contributes to this cymbal’s unique sound frequencies. The 10” A Custom EFX, played alone or stacked above or below another cymbal, has multiple laser
cut holes that give it a unique wispy, slash sound.www.zildjian.com
Vic Firth’s Carter Beauford Signature StickCarter Beaford’s new signature stick com-bines a 5B shaft with an extended taper and elongated oval wood tip. The result is a design that “provides superior response,
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1sound and versatility,” according to the company. For a distinctive look and feel, the butt end of the stick is dressed in Vic Firth’s anti-slip Vic Grip coating in Cart-er’s signature yellow. This specially formu-lated coating is extremely durable and an ideal choice for players like Carter who pre-fer an enhanced grip on their drumsticks.
With a length of 16” and a diameter of .595”, the Carter Beauford Signature Sticks have an MSRP of $20.50.www.vicfirth.com
PRINTAmerican Folk Songs for Solo Singers from AlfredAmerican Folk Songs for Solo Singers, ar-ranged by Jay Althouse, is a 13-song collection of treasured American folk favorites—available in medium high and medium low voicings—written for solo voice and piano.
Offering a variety of classic folk tunes, the songbook includes such songs
as “Bright Morn-ing Stars,” “Honey Babe,” “How Can I Keep from Sing-ing?,” “Simple Gifts,” and many more. Also included is an audio CD with the piano accom-
paniment for every song in the book. Alfred’s Vocal Solo Collections are said to be, “great resources for any singer looking for a broad selection of vocal so-los.” Geared for vocal students and their teachers, each of the editions in the series offers a repertoire that’s ripe for recitals, concerts, and contests, yet accessible to the casual learner and hobbyist.
As part of Alfred’s ongoing commit-ment to improving the environment, this book is printed on 100% recycled paper stock. The American Folk Songs for Solo Singers book and CD sets are now avail-able in medium high and medium low voicings for $24.99 each, and can be found at music retail stores and at alfred.com. www.alfred.com
Backbeat Books’ The Funky Bass BookBackbeat Books has published The Funky Bass Book ($14.99) in partnership with Bass Player Magazine.
Edited by Bill Leigh, former editor of Bass Player Magazine and with a foreword by Bootsy Collins, The Funky Bass Book is described as be-ing, “part history, part wisdom, and part inspiration from the roots of R & B, soul, and funk to the flame-tending funkateers of hip-hop, neo-soul, and gospel of today.” With interviews and analyses from both groundbreaking old-school innovators and ongoing revo-lutionaries – players like Larry Graham, Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey, Bootsy Collins, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Andrew Gouche – the secrets of how to take a groove and make it funky are revealed.
The Funky Bass Book is written in chronological sections, beginning with The Funky Founders in the 1960s and continuing through the ‘70s and ‘80s as
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1the Funk Bass Flourishes before enter-ing the ‘90s through today covering the Modern Funk Bass. In-depth interviews with the players reveal a first-hand ac-count of the evolution of funk bass play-ing. Throughout the book, sidebars called “Deep Cuts” point readers to recorded tracks that illuminate the text with ex-amples and insights about the playing or the actual recording sessions.www.halleonardbooks.com
The Illustrated Directory of GuitarsThe Illustrated Director of Guitars by Nick Freeth is a comprehensive overview of 266 examples of intriguing and unique acoustic and electric guitars.
Organized alphabetically for quick ref-erence, many instru-ments are featured as double-entry pages with close-up color images showing the instruments in detail. The accompanying copy describes the development of each guitar, famous play-ers associated with the instrument, and the background of the manufacturer.
The 512-page book features numerous hi-resolution color photos of the guitars being profiled and is published by Pep-perbox Press.
The Bassist’s Guide to Injury Management, Prevention and Better HealthWorldwide Music Services, a full-service print music distributor in Chicago, Il-linois, is now distributing Dr. Randall Kertz’s best-selling book for bassists, The Bassist’s Guide to Injury Management, Preven-tion and Better Health.
Previously self-distributed by the au-thor – a bassist whose day job as a chiro-practic physician has brought him into contact with many of the top bassists in the classical, jazz and rock genres, from symphony players
to Victor Wooten to Lemmy from Moto-rhead – the book retails at $19.95 and is endorsed by Victor Wooten himself.www.worldwidemusicservices.com
MISCELLANEOUSAlpine MusicSafe ClassicAlpine MusicSafe Classic™ professional hearing protection is now exclusive distributed in the USA by American Music & Sound.
Designed specifically for musicians and Pro Audio engi-neers, Alpine MusicSafe Clas-
sic is an innovative multi-frequency earplug that contains two different and
interchangeable sets of music filters with outstanding sound characteristics, perfect for me-dium and high attenuation rates up to 27.7dB depending on the frequency*. The special music filters guarantee optimal protec-tion without loss of clarity, while at the same time ensuring a plea-surable listening experience.
Cremona bowed instruments have set the pacefor the vibrant student and rental markets for over30 years. Strict adherence to international sizingrequirements, domestic educational set-up standardsand continuous quality improvement have madeCremona Violins, Violas, Basses and Cellos provensales leaders.
Our best-selling, ebony fitted SV-175 CremonaPremier Violin Outfit has recently been upgradedto include the J.LaSalle LB-13 Octagonal Bow andthe TL-33 deluxe rectangular Travelite case.
Meeting the Needs of Studentsfor More Than 30 Years ...
Our Best-Selling SV-175 Cremona Violin!
SV-175
[800] BUY-SAGAwww.sagamusic.comDealer inquiries invited.
•All-solid carved, graduated construction
•Seven sizes from 4⁄4 to 1⁄16
•Long lasting ebony fittings
•Finetuner tailpiece for precise, easytuning
•Rugged TL-33 Travelite case
•Well-balanced J.LaSalle LB-13 bow with ebony frog
Cremona SV-175 Violin Outfit:
$249Suggested Retail
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NAMM Buyers’ Guide Part 1Alpine MusicSafe Classic™ earplugs
are produced from a very soft, flexible, and durable thermoplastic material that adapts to the unique shape of the wear-er’s auditory duct. The earplugs were designed as an open system, making sure that the wearer doesn’t feel separated from the music they are making or listening to.
Conceived with comfort as well as per-formance in mind, MusicSafe Classic’s compact design makes the earplugs hardly visible in the ear and comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Also supplied is a custom storage and travel box ensuring hygienic protection for the earplugs.
*Attenuation values measured by TNO (Dutch organization for Applied Scientific Research) according to EN 352-2 (2002) and calculated to ISO 4869-2a standards.www.AmericanMusicAndSound.com
Rovner ‘Next Generation’ Products Now PatentedRovner Products has announced that all four Next Generation products, the Star Series, Legacy and Platinum ligatures, and the TurboCharger Kit, have been granted a U.S. Patent.
Rovner’s unique and unprecedented Mass-Loaded Technology™, which pro-vides greater facility and ease of play, and FlexVibe Technology™, which increases resonance, are said to elevate these in-novative products to new levels of perfor-mance excellence. www.rovnerproducts.com
Epilog’s Legend EXTAdding personal touches to musical in-struments and accessories is simple with an Epilog Laser engraving system. Epi-log’s powerful and user-friendly equip-ment provides a fast and easy way to add initials, text or even images to musical in-struments and/or instrument accessories.
Epilog’s Legend EXT is the compa-ny’s large-scale laser engraver that com-bines a robust design with convenient features that make personalizing instru-
ments as easy as pressing the print button on your computer. Due to the large work area and powerful cut-ting capabilities of the EXT, users can create beauti-ful designs that add style and flair to the instrument of their choice – even large or uniquely shaped items such as guitars.
Regardless of the instrument or acces-sory, the Epilog Legend is said to make product customization easier and more affordable than ever. For more informa-tion and laser engraved samples, call Ep-ilog Laser at 888.437-4564 or visit www.epiloglaser.com/mmr.htmwww.epiloglaser.com
Auralex’s Sustain Bamboo Sound Diffusor SeriesAuralex Acoustics, Inc. continues its long history of environmentally conscious prod-uct innovations with the official European launch of its first line of acoustical products made from 100% Eco-Friendly bamboo, the Sustain Bamboo Sound Diffusor Series.
The new line consists of the Wave-Prism, WaveLens, QuadraTec, Peak Pyramid Diffusor and KeyPacs, and re-tains the longevity and acoustical quali-ties Auralex is known for with green and acoustical properties of natural bamboo.
The Auralex WavePrism eliminates flutter echoes and other acoustical anom-alies without removing acoustical energy from the space. The closed box design configuration of the product disperses sound evenly to create a more consis-tent listening or recording environment. The WavePrism is sized to drop into a suspended ceiling grid or can be wall mounted using mechanical fasteners.
Auralex WaveLens’ open-boxed de-sign scatters and redirects acoustical en-ergy. The WaveLens can be beneficial in numerous applications as it can create a “large sound” in a small room, as well as optimize existing absorption panels by redirecting the sound energy.
The QuadraTec’s unique tiered de-sign provides excellent scattering proper-ties, resulting in a warm, musical char-acter to the dispersed sound. The nested pair offers two unique diffusion tools that, when used in combination with
each other, can result in a more spacious feel in any room. The lightweight design allows QuadraTec diffusors to be placed in suspended ceiling grids or attached to wall surfaces with mechanical fasteners.
Auralex’s Peak Pyramid Diffusor is optimized to provide high-quality sound diffusion while also doubling as an effec-tive bass trap when filled with absorp-tive material. These lightweight, sturdy pyramid-shaped diffusors are sized so that they can be easily dropped into a suspended ceiling grid or installed onto wall surfaces using mechanical fasteners.
KeyPacs are designed to be mounted to the face of absorptive panels; such as, Auralex’s ProPanels or Studiofoam. These specially designed panels will tune your absorption treatment to be more ef-fective in the low and mid range while not killing off the higher frequencies – yield-ing a room that is well balanced across the frequency range. Available in three configurations – 9 Hole, Bubble and Star – KeyPacs can fine tune any absorption treatment to be more effective and create a more acoustically balanced space. www.auralex.com
Three Legacy Shell Models Now Available from WengerWenger Corp. now offers the choice of three Legacy® models – Basic, Classic and Select – to better suit different ap-plications, aesthetics and budgets.
To easily raise and lower the shell, the Basic and Classic models feature a simpli-fied hand-crank lift mechanism. These two models are intended for small auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafetoriums and recital halls, and are available with adjustable tower height and canopy angle to better suit music groups of various sizes. The Classic model’s larger height provides approximately 15 percent more reflective surface coverage than the Basic model. The Classic model is offered in four solid colors; the Basic model is available in Oyster finish.
The Select model is intended for onstage use with an overhead ceiling system in a small auditorium or recital hall. Its curved panels are available in any Sherwin Wil-liams paint color or Wilsonart laminate.
All Legacy Shells feature fast, one-person setup; they nest together com-pactly for storage and roll through a standard 34” (86 cm) by 80” (2 m) door.www.wengercorp.com.
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Earthworks Celebrates Anniversary with 15-Year WarrantyEarthworks, Inc., announced that November 2010 marked the company’s 15th anniversary as a leading manufacturer of microphones for a wide range of audio applications. To celebrate this milestone
in the company’s compelling history, Earthworks is
introducing an unrivaled, 15-year warranty for all new purchases. This provides
customers the peace of mind that comes from knowing the
company is dedicated to superior products with industry-leading support.
Enforceable by the original retail purchaser as of January 1, 2011, Earthworks’ 15-year warranty ensures its product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of fifteen years from the date of original retail purchase. By simply registering the product online at www.earthworksaudio.com within 30 days of purchase, customers can rest assured their investment is protected. Full details of the limited warranty are available on the Earthworks website.www.earthworksaudio.com
Starin Marketing to Distribute Jet City AmplificationJet City Amplification has announced a new distribution arrangement with Starin Marketing, Inc., who will represent Jet City in the United States, Mexico, Caribbean and Puerto Rico. Retailers should communicate with Starin for all their Jet City purchases, logistics, technical support and marketing activities.
Jet City Amplification will continue to manage social media and artist relations directly, with a close interface between the two companies.
For more information please visit www.jetcityamplification.com.
Vu Adds New Manufacturers’ RepsVu, manufacturer of Cable Up cables and Vu stands, has announced the addition of several new independent sales reps throughout North & Latin America. Companies include GP Marketing, Global Sales Management, JMS Marketing,
Sigmet Corp, Sound Vision Marketing and Audio Biz of Michigan. Vu continues to expand distribution in 2011. Six established rep companies have already signed on to represent the Cable Up and Vu lines, with opportunities in other territories to be filled in the near future.
Vu is owned and distributed exclusively by FDW Corp, located in Madison, Wis.
Proel America Revamps Rep NetworkProel America, Proel Group Company, has announced major changes to their independent sales rep network in the USA, with the addition of well-established firms to their sales team.
Reflex Marketing of Hempstead, N.Y. will be representing Proel in Metro NYC, NJ, and Eastern Pennsylvania, while John
Supplier Scene
“The Sound” as requested by you.
www.jjbabbitt.com Mouthpieces for clarinets and saxophones
You asked for the playability and sound of the early Otto Links.
We listened.With structural changes bothinside and out, “the sound” of yesteryear has been recaptured.
Otto Link Vintage for tenor sax.
jjbmmr.indd 1 11/16/09 2:27 PM
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Stevens Marketing of Syracuse, N.Y. will be covering Upstate N.Y. and New England.
Pro Media Marketing of Ann Arbor Mich., will be handling Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
The Marketeers will be expanding into Georgia, and North and South Carolina, while JMS Marketing of Austin, Texas will be expanding their territory into Oklahoma.
TC Marketing, based in Chowchilla, Calif. will be representing Proel in the northern parts of California and Nevada.
Warman Marketing of Broomfield, Co. will be representing Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Nevada.
Samick Announces Williams as Latest JTR EndorserSamick Music has announced the addition of musician James Williams to the JTR family of artists.
Williams is a guitarist, composer and producer for the band X Opus, a sophisticated group that has found its own cutting edge sound in today’s Prog Metal. The band has recently
signed on with Magna Carta Records and released its latest album, The Epiphany, worldwide on May 31st. Williams utilizes his new JTR guitar to bring out the best in his creativity as he incorporates metal, jazz and blues into his music.
“Samick has gone over the top with their new line of JTR series guitars, great for Metal, Jazz and Blues,” said Williams. The Marie MR30 has a neck through body that sustains all day long, and the fast neck width and jumbo frets will have you playing notes that seem to play by themselves. It’s a masterpiece that is like a Stradivarius for guitar players.”www.smcmusic.com
Boucher Partners with Musiquip to Enter U.S. MarketMusiquip, Inc. has been appointed the first exclusive U.S. distributor for Boucher Guitars, a Canadian builder of acoustic guitars set to make its initial foray into the United States.
Founded in 2005, Boucher Guitars is the extension of a 40-plus year Boucher family history of guitar craftsmanship. The
Provide your customers with the highest quality instruments and the best possible price points. Hunter
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company is headed by Robin Boucher, the nephew of famed Quebec luthier Norman Boucher (the founder of Canada’s first acoustic guitar manufacturing company, Norman Guitars.)
Boucher Guitars are entirely handcrafted in Canada. Tops are all Adirondack Red Spruce, harvested from the forest that surrounds the company’s workshop on the St. Lawrence River. A wide variety of tonewoods, from the traditional (Mahogany, Indian Rosewood, etc) to the exotic (Cherry, Walnut, Escrito, Cocobolo, Brazilian Rosewood, etc), are available for backs and sides.
The company builds three series of guitars:• Genuine – retail prices from $2699
to $3199• Studio – retail prices from $3299 to
$4099• AVT (Adirondack Vintage Top) –
retail prices from $4699 to $9999Every Boucher Guitar includes a
Hiscox Cases Pro-II guitar case. Visit Boucher Guitars online at: www.boucherguitars.com
Cecilio Supporting Music EducationCecilio Musical Instruments is lowering prices to help keep music program running in schools.
Many school boards have decided to cut music programs to reduce costs due to current economic difficulties
and, as a result, a number of students nationwide will not have the chance to pick up an instrument. “Music education encourages teamwork and
brings improvement of a child’s reading comprehension, mathematical, and motor skills,” states an official release from Cecilio Musical Instruments. “It also strengthens a child’s sense of self-worth, discipline and commitment. It is most important that music stores, manufactures, non-profit organizations and schools work together to keep music programs alive in our schools. Cecilio Musical Instruments was founded on the promise of bringing high quality, hand crafted instruments at affordable prices to all musicians. Over the years Cecilio have worked to continually improve on that promise.”www.ceciliomusic.com
Chris Godber Signs with L.A. SaxThe L.A. Sax Company recently announced the addition of saxophonist Chris Godber to its list of endorsing artists.
25-year-old Chris Godber is a saxophonist, producer and multi instrumentalist from Panama City, Florida, who has released three Independent albums so far and has a fourth album titled, My Offering, coming out in July 2011.
Chris has worked with various other musicians both in the studio and on
the stage. He was a National Finalist in GMA’s (Gospel Music Association) 2005 Music in The Rockies, Estes Park, Co. He’s also been an opening act for various Gospel Artists such as “Seventh Day Slumber,” “KJ 52,” and has performed for “Dancing With The Stars” on two occasions. www.lasaxophone.com
Eminence Offers ‘the Ultimate Loudspeaker Protection’Eminence Speaker LLC has reached an exclusive license agreement with
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Evenstar, a wholly owned subsidiary of SLS Audio, to use and sub-license their revolutionary new D-fend™ technology within the Professional Audio and Musical Instrument markets.
D-fend is the industry’s first all-digital, programmable loudspeaker protection and
attenuation circuit designed to solve the age-old problems associated with
protecting loudspeakers from excessive power conditions. D-fend has eliminated the headaches for speaker engineers - no more hassling
with polyswitches, blown lamp filaments, lossy resistors,
or slow relays. Incorporating such features as digital signal processing with on-board digital filtering, customizable microprocessor and MOSFET construction, the D-fend protection circuit enables a designer to use this technology prior to passive filtration and allows different sensitivity settings in specific frequency bands, such as woofer over-excursion bands or high frequency peak damage regions.
E-mail [email protected] for more information. www.eminence.com
Tosin Abasi Plays New YorkEMG Pickups and Ibanez Guitars joined together to hold four exclusive clinics with guitar virtuoso and Animal As Leaders founder Tosin Abasi. The five-
day tour of New York dealers saw guitar players of all levels showing up to in large numbers to hear Tosin play tracks off the latest AAL album, explain playing styles, different techniques, and gear. Tosin plays an Ibanez RG2228 8 string guitar loaded with EMG 808X pickups for the bridge and neck positions.www.emgpickups.com
Petrof Featured at AXPONA 2011 AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) 2011 was recently held in Atlanta. With the mission to further the faithful reproduction of music through high performance audio, AXPONA is dedicated to the proposition that living with music is different and better than living without music.
The Petrof P210 ‘Pasat’ grand piano
Standing (L/R): Vincent Badalamenti, Gary Gatti (Guitar Asylum), Tosin Abasi, Scott Wunschel (EMG), Harry Grota (Guitar Asylum) and Angelo Mimmo (Ibanez) Kneeling: Chris Monet and Phil Digiglio of Guitar Asylum.
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was featured in conjunction with an audiophile exhibit of high-end equipment designed and built by Mark Levinson. A legend in the arena of sound engineering and reproduction – and a jazz musician of repute – Levinson partners with the Petrof company in the building of speaker cabinets for his renowned brand, “Daniel Hertz.”
Provided courtesy of Atlanta’s Cooper Music (Blake Cooper), the ‘Pasat’ model of the Petrof grand line is sized (at 210cm) to fit into the home, as well as provide stage performance excellence. Audiophiles attending the Atlanta AXPONA responded enthusiastically to the Hertz/Petrof demonstrations. Additionally, a Petrof P4 was utilized for musical entertainment venues.
JensenTone Veggie VanJensen® Musical Instrument Speakers recently announced their sponsorship of the Jensen®Tone Veggie Van.
Operating on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) fuel, the energy efficient, clean burning JensenTone van will be touring the country in 2011. Jensen Musical Instrument Speakers is clearly interested in the most innovative speakers, and in conjunction with GreenVans of Boston, is also interested in the most innovative methods of helping our planet.
The JensenTone Van will be traveling to musical venues across the country with environmentally conscious touring bands.
New Roland Artist Relations Office in BurbankLast year, Roland Corporation U.S. (Roland) named long-time Product and Marketing specialist Dan-Michael Krisher as Artist Relations manager. Since assuming the role, Dan has
restructured Roland’s AR into a new program called the “Roland Artists & Educators Alliance.” As Dan explains, “The idea is to recognize and support performing artists and the importance of music educators – who inspire and connect people to our products.” Through the Roland Artists & Educators Alliance, Dan has created a new heightened visibility for Roland products on television and in the media.
As the next phase in the growth of
Roland’s artist relations, Roland will soon be opening a 740-square-foot Artist Relations office and showroom at the SCLA-CenterStaging facility in Burbank, Calif. The new office will enable visiting artists and tour personnel to experience Roland products first-hand. The office and showroom will include a performance stage, office space, and a rotating selection of the newest in Roland and BOSS products.
5.995.99$$
FACT:Make More Profit With The Tune Tech Orb!
Box of 20
each
800.475.7686 shsint.net
Supplier Scene June.indd 73 5/24/11 4:47 PM
Classifieds
Accessories
Visit the Classifieds on the Web: www.mmrmagazine.com
Business Opportunities
☛ RATES: Classified Display: $30 per column inch for text only. $40 per column inch, 1 color, logo, graphics. $50 per column inch 4 color. ☛ PAYMENTS: ALL ADS ARE PREPAID. Charge on Mastercard, Visa or American Express. ☛ SEND YOUR ADVERTISEMENT TO: 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 • [email protected]. ☛ QUESTIONS? Call Maureen Johan at 800-964-5150 x 34 • [email protected].
• BandandOrchestraRentals• NewandLikeNewEducator-Approved BrandNameInstruments• PersonalizedRent-To-OwnProgram• NoFranchiseFeeorInventoryInvestment• NoShippingCosts• HighCommissionsPaidthe1stofEveryMonth•ExceptionalService
www.mmrmagazine.com
Merchandise
Merchandise
74 MMR JUNE 2011
Classifieds June.indd 74 5/25/11 9:22 AM
JUNE 2011 MMR 75
Business Opportunities
Merchandise
ACCORDIONS, CONCERTINAS, & BUTTON BOXES new, used, buy, sell, trade, repair, tune,
CASTIGLIONE DISTRIBUTING CO.13300 E 11 MILE WARREN, MI 48089
PH # 1-586-755-6050 WWW.CASTIGLIONEACCORDIONS.COM
www.mmrmagazine.com
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2009, 2010 & 2011
Recognized as HOUSTON’S BEST by the US Commerce Association
(in operation since 1986)
Housed on its own PRIME REAL ESTATE property
in a beautiful, affluent suburb of Houston, TX
Call Owner at 832 445-5668
Real Estate and Music School operation can be sold separately
MUSIC SCHOOL for SALE
OWNER RETIRING
www.kingwoodmusicschool.com
Merchandise
Classifieds June.indd 75 5/25/11 9:23 AM
76 MMR JUNE 2011
Merchandise
Business Opportunities
The UCL-S PorchBoard Bass offers analog, clean bass rhythm with the tap of a foot. Durable passive magnetic sensor system and 3-way frequency response switch eliminates low-end feedback and delay. Features both 1/4 inch and XLR outputs. No batteries, wall worts or external power supply required. Includes carry bag. $299.95. www.porchboard.com (608) 752-2229
PORCHBOARD BASS
www.mmrmagazine.com
Classifieds June.indd 76 5/25/11 9:23 AM
JUNE 2011 MMR 77
www.mmrmagazine.com
Business Opportunities Merchandise
Merchandise
From button accordion to Piano accordion, from Kid’s to adult, from entry level to professional, from solid color to combo, we have a wide selection for the accordion player.
Hunter Music Instrument Inc adds in an accordion line.
www.huntermusical.com718-706-0828
FINANCING AVAILABLEYA
MA
HA
–KA
WA
I
Japanese High Quality
GUARANTEED You get what you pay for!
1-800-782-2694North American Music
11 Holt DriveStony Point, NY 10980Fax: (845) 429-6920
CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED
PIANOS
Over SIX MILLION Unique VisitorsThat’s right, Piano World received over six million unique piano loving visitors last year.
And that is just one of the reasons you should be advertising on Piano World. You really should take a minute to see the other reasons.
Visit www.PianoWorld.com/advertising ... Today!PianoWorld.comThe World’s Most Popular Piano Web SiteHome of the world famous Piano Forums
Classifieds June.indd 77 5/25/11 9:23 AM
78 MMR JUNE 2011
Help Wanted
Music Man is a family owned and operated Band and Orchestra dealer located in West Palm Beach, FL with over 30 years’ experience serving the music education community of South Florida.Seeking:Educational Sales Representatives who are friendly, knowledgeable, professional, creative and dynamic to build and maintain long-term relation-ships with existing customer base through the use weekly sales visits. 2+ years of sales experience or instrumental music related degree desired.Repair Technicians w/ 5+ years of repair experience or degree from an accredited Band Instrument Repair program desired.Salary: Negotiable based on experienceAll inquiries will be kept confidential.Send resumes to: John Jarvis Music Man 2309 N. Dixie Hwy West Palm Beach, FL 33407 or via email to [email protected]
Are You Tired of Trying to Climb the Corporate Ladder?
is a multi-store, family owned and operated full-line retailer based in Metro Atlanta. Ken Stanton Music has over 60 years’
success and customer satisfaction.
Seeking:Band & Orchestra Division Manager,
Certified Band/Orchestra Repair Techs, Print Music Manager, Store Managers,
Sales Associates in the following departments: Guitars, Pro Audio, Drums
and Percussion, and Band/Orchestra.
Looking for friendly, customer service oriented, self-motivated, proven closers with good listening skills and 2+ years experience.
Availability for flexible scheduling a must. Bi-lingual a plus.
We feature: Competitive non-commission based pay, medical/ dental coverage, 401(k) plan, vacation/holiday/sick time,
and room for advancement.
Complete application online at: www.kenstantonmusic.com
By mail: Ken Stanton Music Attn: Scott Cameron, General Manager 119 Cobb Parkway North, Suite A Marietta, GA 30062 Via email: [email protected]
BOW REHAIRING
Expert Bow ServiceOrder forms,Pricing and Shipping label at:
www.bowrehairing.com
Violin bows as low as $10.00 per bow in quantity incl. shipping (see website fordetails.) Large inventory of replacement parts both new and vintage.
IRA B. KRAEMER & Co.Wholesale Services Division
“An industry leader since 1967”467 Grant Avenue, Scotch Plains, N.J. 07076
Tel: 908-322-4469 Fax: 908 322-8613 e mail: [email protected]
Repair Tools
Repair Tools
FAST TURN-AROUND ON STOCK REPAIRS NATIONWIDE
NAPBIRT member, 28 Years Experience
Contact: Dan Rieck, [email protected]
Visit the Classifieds on the Web: www.mmrmagazine.com
Classifieds June.indd 78 5/25/11 9:24 AM
JUNE 2011 MMR 79
Vintage Instruments
Wanted USED TUBASANY CONDITION-CASH PAID
THE TUBA EXCHANGE1825 CHAPEL HILL RD.
DURHAM, NC 277071-800-869-8822
WWW.TUBAEXCHANGE.COM
WE, BUY, SELL, TRADE and ship worldwide.
Written APPRAISALS available.GRUHN GUITARS,
400 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 256-2033fax (615) 255-2021 www.gruhn.com
Wanted To BuyRepair Tools
For Classified Sales
Call Maureen 800-964-5150
ext. 34 [email protected]
SHIPPING YOUR PIANOwith Lone Wolf Trucking
is a “grand” idea! An independent, long-distance Mover
specializing in coast-to-coast residential Relocation.
1-800-982-9505www.lonewolftrucking.com
Alamogordo, New Mexico. 88310ICC MC-256289
Services
Sales Reps Wanted
Guitar Show Operators
Promote your show dates and
reach every guitar dealer in the US
through the classified pages
of MMR. Call Maureen
800-964-5150 ext 34
Classifieds June.indd 79 5/25/11 9:24 AM
80 MMR JUNE 2011
Ad IndexCOMPANY NAME E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS PAGE COMPANY NAME E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS PAGE
A/BAc-Cetera Inc. www.ac-cetera.com 54
Ace Products Group www.kaces.com/www.reunionblues.com 53
Ace Products Group www.kaces.com/www.reunionblues.com 54
Acoustics First Corp. www.acousticsfirst.com 36
Al Cass 72
Allparts Music Corp www.allparts.com 70
Amati’s Fine Instruments www.Amatis.us 65
American DJ Supply Inc. www.americandj.com 9
American Way Marketing LLC www.americanwaymktg.com 58
J.J. Babbitt Co. Inc. www.jjbabbitt.com 69
CCAD Audio www.cadaudio.com 43
Casio America, Inc www.casio.com 47
DD’Addario & Co. www.daddario.com 28
Dream Cymbals And Gongs www.dreamcymbals.com 17
E/FEpilog Laser www.epiloglaser.com 26
Fitness Audio LLC www.fitaud.com 72
Floyd Rose Marketing www.floydrose.com 68
G/HGator Cases www.gatorcases.com 34
GCI Technologies www.gci-technologies.com 7
George L’s www.georgels.com 14
Glasser Bows www.glasserbows.com 48
Humes & Berg Mfg.Co. Inc. www.humes-berg.com 55
Hunter Music Instrument Inc. www.huntermusical.com 70
KKala Brand Music Co. www.kalaukulele.com 49
KMC Music, Inc www.kmcmusic.com 18
KMC Music, Inc www.kmcmusic.com 64
Knowledge of Music, Inc www.KnowledgeOfMusic.com 49
Kyser Musical Products Inc. www.kysermusical.com 66
L/M
Latin Percussion www.LPmusic.com 60-61
Meisel Accesories LLC www.meiselaccessories.com 50
The Music People www.musicpeopleinc.com 13
The Music People www.musicpeopleinc.com 11
The Music People www.musicpeopleinc.com 15
NNady Systems Inc. www.nady.compleinc.com 41
NAMM www.namm.com 20-21
National Educational Music Co. www.nemc.com 51
Nektar Technology, Inc www.acorn-instruments.com cov2
PPalmer Guitars www.palmerguitarsusa.com 73
Peavey Electronics www.peavey.com 19
PRS Guitars (Paul Reed Smith) www.prsguitars.com 5
S/TSaga Musical Instruments www.sagamusic.com 67
Saga Musical Instruments www.sagamusic.com 27
Saga Musical Instruments www.sagamusic.com 46
Samson Technologies Corp. www.samsontech.com 3
SHS International www.shsint.net 73
Shubb Capos www.shubb.com 70
SKB Corp. www.skbcases.com 37
TKL www.TKL.com 1
UU.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies www.StLouisMusic.com 59
U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies www.StLouisMusic.com 45
VVic Firth Company www.VicFirth.com 63
Vic Firth Company www.VicFirth.com 62
Visual Sound www.visualsound.net cov4
W/YW.D. Music Products Inc. www.wdmusic.com 14
Wittner GmbH & Co. KG www.wittner-gmbh.de 35
Yamaha Corp. of America www.yamaha.com 29
Ad Index June.indd 80 5/25/11 11:31 AM
LOUISVILLE, KYTHE 3RD ANNUALRESERVE YOUR EXHIBIT AT
JEN CONFERENCEJanuary 4-7, 2012
Developing Tomorrow’s Jazz Audiences Today!
The Jazz Education Networkis dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing
education, promoting performance, and developing new audiences.For complete membership information/benefits please visit us at: www.JazzEdNet.org
Exhibit space is limited, so go to the JEN web site and reserve your space today www.jazzednet.org
Reach the highly influential audience of:
This past January in New Orleans, over 2400 attendees were brought together with top educators, marketers, presenters, performers and industry leaders to identify and discuss trends, share techniques, and leverage promotional opportunities.
Nearly 100 exhibitors took advantage of this amazing interaction – sign up now to reserve your sponsorship for the conference in Louisville, KY
If you’re a Jazz Educator, performer or simply want to support America’s true art form, JEN is the “Must-Attend” event for key industry professionals and market influencers like you.
Created by and for the Jazz Education community, the JEN Conference delivers industry leaders in an intimate, cultural setting – making this one of the most engaging jazz events of the year.
MMR_COV3 COV3 5/24/11 4:13:41 PM
