Mi Pro October 2010 - Issue 125

No. 125

• OCTOBER 2010 • WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

PRINT • ONLINE • MOBILE

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PROFESSIONAL FOR EVERYONE IN THE MI BUSINESS

AUTOMATIC

FOR THE PEOPLE Trevor Wilkinson explains the revolution of auto-tuning

KEMBLE YAMAHA LINE 6 ALLIANZ PLASA LONDON DRUM SHOW INTERMUSIC FIRST LINE

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To find out more about the Class5 contact: Marshall Amplification plc Denbigh Road, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK1 1DQ or visit the official Marshall website: www.marshallamps.com

ISSUE 125 OCTOBER 2010

EDITORIAL COMMENT

COVER STORY 27 HOLDING A TUNE The ADT auto-tune bridge system has been 14 years in the making. Trevor Wilkinson describes the journey – and reveals where he hopes it will lead.

ANDY BARRETT mipro@intentmedia.co.uk

NEWS KEMBLE JOINS BÖSENDORFER, YAMAHA ZERO PER CENT FINANCE, LINE 6 GOES ALONE, HEADSTOCK GETS ZILDJIAN

EVENTS 4

PLASA 2010 15 All the MI goodies from that most pro audio of shows

LONDON DRUM SHOW 18 All the kit that’s fit to hit

FEATURES LOUD TECHNOLOGIES 20 Back at PLASA and with a host of new gear

FIRST LINE 23 15

Jay Henson finds his niche with prestige lines

INTERMUSIC 32 Clever branding for cool products equals growth

BARNES & MULLINS 34 Technology meets tradition and makes Codabow

WORLD RHYTHM 20 Easing into one fo the booming areas of MI

AUDIO TECHNICA 43 34

Summer Schools and Centres of Excellence

SECTOR SPOTLIGHTS TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS 44 Every mando, uke and banjo – and whole lot more

Retailers need to clearly define their areas of expertise and concentrate on that

M

y son has just started university, as I’m sure many of your offspring have also either this year or in the past, but if you’ll forgive me a little parental trumpet blowing, I am especially proud.

Yes, he’s got into a world class establishment and yes, he’s almost a year younger than most of his fellow freshmen, but he didn’t have to come to Britain to study. He could have remained – and had a much easier ride – studying in his native language in his native country: Bulgaria.

What he realised (with no little encouragement from his parents) is that taking the risk and overcoming the fear factor of uprooting from all that is familiar to him has the potential of paying dividends when he sets out on his future career.

I am inflicting this paternal blather on you because of a wee theme that has popped its head over the parapets in this issue.

The cover story of this issue (page 27) sees Trevor Wilkinson talking about how he became involved with the ADT auto-tune bridge for electric guitars. It is a wonderful achievement of engineering that has seen a number of companies getting involved to solve the problems of creating a gearing system that can automatically wind a string without upsetting the tone and balance of the instrument.

Those involved knew they had a good idea, but could they convince the banks to help them out? Could they buggery.

In the end, they had to put their money and time where there belief was and bring the project to fruition on their own.

This they have now done. I wish them well in getting some of the payback for their investments. (No doubt the banks will be on the phone the moment the bank balance starts climbing, letting them know how best to use their financial products.)

Then (on page 11) Tony Smith of Technote points out that, with margins being squeezed, retailers need to clearly identify their areas of expertise and focus on that, leaving the low profit products and services to the big boys. It’s a difficult pill to swallow and the risks are pretty extreme – but the pay-off could well be worth it.

Andy Barrett, Managing editor

BRASS & WOODWIND 51 Looking for market dynamism? Look no further

RETAIL DOLPHIN MUSIC 68 51

How can we keep people on the page?

REGULARS: DISTIE PROFILE 11 I WOKE UP 40 RETAIL NEWS 65 LOCATION REPORT 70 PRODUCTS 56-62 CODA 80

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 3

NEWS

Kemble joins the ranks at Bösendorfer Former boss of Kemble Pianos becomes deputy MD for prestige Austrian manufacturer as new product range is launched BRIAN KEMBLE MBE, the former MD of Kemble Pianos has been brought in by Bösendorfer to strengthen the sales and marketing activities of the piano manufacturer. Kemble has been appointed as deputy managing director, with a remit to oversee the sales and marketing divisions of the Yamaha-owned company.

Kemble, who will be taking up his new role on October 1st, has an unparalleled CV within the piano manufacturing world and over 36 years experience in the

“

“I had to take some time off to take stock,” he explained.

“Then I went to Musikmesse and was asked to do six months consultancy to establish, on a European scale, what local impressions of the Yamaha brands are. I suppose I must have done well, because I was then asked to move to Austria to help Bösendorfer strengthen sales.”

Kemble was previously the joint managing director of Kemble & Co (with specific responsibility for sales and marketing), the last

Old piano men never die. They might fade away, but I’m far too young to do that just yet.

KEMBLE: Continuing with a manufacturer is fantastic

Brian Kemble MBE Bösendorfer

industry. He received the MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services to the piano industry.

Talking to MI Pro, Kemble described the closure of the Kemble factory as traumatic, but indicated that gaining a consultancy position on behalf of all of Yamaha’s piano brands has brought back his enthusiasm.

UK piano manufacturer, which has been part of the Yamaha group from 1986, and which he said would never have survived the last 20 years had it not been for Yamaha’s intervention.

The Kemble & Co factory in Milton Keynes was closed in 2009 (two years shy of its 100th anniversary), when Yamaha

Oyster adds two new pearls

HUGO MONTGOMERY-Swan has told MI Pro that two new events will take place in the Birmingham area in 2011, based on the model of the recent London Drum Show.

While the venue is yet to be announced, he was keen to point out that it will not be the NEC. The shows will take place in the spring and summer and will focus on bass and acoustic guitars, matching Oyster's Bass and Acoustic magazine titles.

4 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

“We see specialist shows as the way forward,” he said. “In the current climate, shows have got to be affordable and the venues appropriate to the sector.

“We are using the London Drum Show as a model – we'll only move ahead with our plans once we have polled the potential clients in the industry.”

The bass show will be going under the name of Bass Live.

OYSTER HOUSE: 01884 266100

moved its European manufacturing to Indonesia, although the Kemble brand lives on with Brian Kemble instrumental in overseeing the upgrading of the pianos for the changeover last year.

Bösendorfer hopes that his personal relationship with many piano dealers worldwide will

assist the company in opening up new market opportunities for the prestige brand.

The Austrian brand launched a new range of pianos at the end of September, following a restructuring of its sales operation to Yamaha Europe earlier this year, with a similar change taking place in the US.

“Switching the sales operation gives Bösendorfer the marketing power that Yamaha has around the world,” Kemble added. “Noone will argue that it is very tough out there at the moment, but Bösendorfer has been performing very well with sales growing and I am hoping to combine this with the new selection of instruments and my own dedication to bringing Bösendorfer to a new level.

“I’ve been in pianos all my life, so to continue with a manufacturing company is fantastic. Obviously, I love Kemble – it is a Premier League brand – but Bösendorfer is Champions League. This is a great honour for me.

“I am looking forward to working with Mike Sakai again [MD of Bösendorfer, formerly of Yamaha Kemble] and using my knowledge of the European market – which has been added to by my work over the past six months. I suppose I should say that old piano men never die.

They might fade away, but I’m far too young to do that just yet.

YAMAHA: 01908 366700

Yamaha introduces part exchange scheme FOLLOWING THE success of last year's part-exchange and zero per cent financing for acoustic pianos, Yamaha has now extended the offer to include both pianos and its selection of brass and woodwind instruments.

The scheme means that up to £2,500 can be added to the value of the customer’s old model, which makes the prospect of purchasing a new instrument more achievable.

The offer can be applied to the full Yamaha ranges of pianos and wind instruments, from entry-level models up to grand pianos, the Disklavier range and professional wind products.

The upgrade bonus scheme for brass and woodwind was

piloted earlier this year and proved effective in driving customers to visit local dealers.

The scheme is simple to operate, offering benefits to customers seeking a quality intermediate instrument by offering a guaranteed minimum part-exchange value against a new Yamaha. Extra value is provided by dedicated direct mailers for participating dealers, together with in-store point-of-sale.

"We know that many people would like to own a new Yamaha instrument and a large number of those have older and

below par instruments. A poor instrument means a poor performance, so this scheme is designed to help customers acquire a Yamaha instrument with the minimum of financial pain," said Yamaha’s Leanne Hassan.

YAMAHA: 01908 366700

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NEWS

Line 6 cuts ties with B&M

LINE 6 has announced the end of its 12-month distribution arrangement with the supplier Barnes & Mullins.

Line 6 approached B&M in August 2009 with a view to broadening the distribution base to reach out to new customers.

“The broad objectives we set up at the start of our partnership with Barnes & Mullins have been met and I would like to thank the whole team there for achieving excellent results,” commented James Owens, Line 6’s European

sales director. “We have had a very open, collaborative working relationship with Bruce Perrin and Brian Cleary [B&M’s joint MDs] and their sales team have done a superb job in opening up new customers to the brand.

As Line 6 is broadening its range, our distribution strategy requires more complex solutions and trying to factor in a distribution partnership simply becomes unworkable.”

Barnes & Mullins’ take on the move is somewhat philosophical.

“We are obviously sad to lose Line 6, particularly as we had some pretty high targets to hit – which we did. We have had a great year with a great product and we sincerely wish Line 6 well in the future,” said Cleary.

The official agreement runs until the end of October, but Line 6 is making the announcement now so that customers can change supply arrangements ahead of the approaching Christmas season.

LINE 6: 01327 302721.

Pitchforth weaves web of ties MARK PITCHFORTH, a former manager at Freestyle Music and the founder of Edoru, the retail website developer, has launched a new website – Findguitarlessons.co.uk (FGL).

His idea is to create a community for both guitar students and teachers and move away from online lessons in favour of ‘the real thing’.

The site, which was developed

by Pitchforth’s partner, Russ Dudley, calls for teachers from around the country to register – as a first step – in order to create the magnet for students seeking face-to-face lessons.

“This is a website where students can find teachers,” explained Pitchforth. “But it will also be a community where teachers and players can flag up events and gigs, as well as their lessons and those that take the paid packages can develop a own microsite within the FGL hub.

The website is free to register for students and teachers and

Russ Dudley (left), the website’s technician and Mark Pitchforth

there is a four-tier system for teachers, ranging from the free basic package, up to a gold package at £149 per year.

“Even at its most basic, guitar teachers will have a visible, cost effective web presence, especially for the ones that don’t have their own site,” continued Pitchforth.

“Also, we are working to expand FGL to include ‘value added’ features, such as allowing students and teachers to be associated so that tutors can add messages and lesson plans to the site that only their approved students can access.”

FINDGUITARLESSONS.CO.UK

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 5

NEWS

Zildjian signs Headstock Cymbal manufacturer forms ‘dream team’ alongside Tama for UK FOLLOWING WEEKS of speculation, the Avedis Zildjian Company has announced that Headstock Distribution is to become its new UK and Northern Ireland distributor.

Headstock will assume exclusive distribution duties from January 1st 2011. In a separate announcement, it was revealed that Lesley Kane’s KMI Distribution will be handling the brand in the Republic of Ireland.

“It is a tremendous honour to become the new Zildjian distributor,” said James Laney, sales and marketing director of Headstock. “Zildjian is an amazing brand with a wonderful family history, an outstanding list of endorsers and a sensational product range. This is the perfect investment for Headstock and sits perfectly

Wear tears away from Future FUTURE PUBLISHING has announced that Simon Wear, the company’s COO, will be stepping down from his current role with immediate effect and will eventually be leaving the company, citing a need for the executive to take on new challenges.

Wear has been with Future since 1992, during which time he has filled the roles of group publisher and international director, before taking up the position of chief operating officer. He intends to remain with the company for a limited time before heading off to seek ‘new opportunities’.

“Simon has been a great asset to Future and we’re very sorry to see him go,” chief executive Stevie Spring commented. “I completely understand that after many years with the company, he’s decided that he wishes to take on new challenges.”

6 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

The news follows the appointment of Mark Wood as CEO last month.

Wood joined the company as a nonexecutive director in April 2009, but on August 30th stepped down from his role to assume his new position.

FUTURE: 01225 442244

with our philosophy of focusing on a limited selection of the very best brands to ensure we do the best job possible. We are very excited indeed.”

“I think Headstock is a really good fit for Zildjian,” added

manager for Zildjian and Tama products in the company's dedicated percussion division, catering to the requirements of the UK percussion marketplace.

“We are also absolutely committed to minimising

Zildjian is an amazing brand with a wonderful family history, an outstanding list of endorsers and a sensational product range.

James Laney Headstock Distribution Craigie Zildjian, the cymbal giant’s CEO. As a consequence of the move, Headstock’s southern area sales manager Andy Sadowski’s role will be expanded to become brand

disruption through the forthcoming period of transition and are dedicated to working closely with our dealers to maximise ongoing Zildjian business,” Sadowski said.

HEADSTOCK: 0121 508 6666

‘Three men’ grow in number

THE THREE Men on a Bike charity ride from Lands End to London, due to take place between October 1st and 8th is gaining further momentum.

Tim Walter, Peter Heath and Simon Griffiths, all Roland UK directors are close to raising £10,000 each for Music for All and The British Heart Foundation.

The 400-mile ride will take in events along the way at Absolute

Music in Poole, Portsmouth’s Nevada Music and Bonners in Eastbourne. The journey has now also received support from the likes of JHS, Peavey, Sound Technology and Yamaha.

Celebrities Howard Jones and Kriss Akabusi will also take part, along with Simon Gilson and Terry Hope of PMT and Tony White from Bonners.

ROLAND: 01792 702701

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DISTIE NEWS

Tomandwill Distribution unites with Reunion Blues Supplier scoops bag range and Jumbie Jams steel drums THE UK and Ireland distribution of the Reunion Blues range of instrument bags has been taken up by Tomandwill distribution, following the brand’s departure from Summerfield.

“We have been keen to add a top line range of bags for some time,” said Tomandwill’s sales manager, Clive Guthrie. “With our own branded bags, MMX carbon fibre cases and now Reunion Blues, we are rapidly becoming a one-stop source for musical instrument bags.”

“We’re excited to be working with this very forward-thinking organisation.

Tomandwill understands what is required to sustain and grow a prestigious product like Reunion Blues,” commented Dave Andrus of Reunion Blues. “We’re confident that this partnership will be a success.”

The first stock shipment has already arrived, with more due in October.

Tomandwill, UK supplier of Graham Lyons’ Nuvo Clarinéo, has also announced it is now the exclusive UK distributor for Jumbie Jams steel

drums, which were until now only available in the US. These tuned pans have been hugely successful in the US, winning two NAMM awards. They also come in a colourful box with handle.

“It’s not my normal type of product, but it’s great fun we’re very excited indeed about it,” said Guthrie. “I can’t believe the interest that we have received in only the first few days, in fact we are even having to take on a new sales person.”

The Jumbie Jams are available in four colours and are ideal particularly for schools and other educational establishments.

TOMANDWILL: 01428 658806

Zappies makes Paper Jamz ‘instruments’ available in the UK ZAPPIES, A UK distributor of hi tech toys has introduced Paper Jamz to the UK, a range of paper-thin guitars and drums made by Wowwee. The range now includes four amplifiers to power the instruments – or any other audio source. There is also a range of fully adjustable straps.

While these toys do much the same as previous toys and games, in that they allow users to play along with pre-recorded

songs, they go a step further than other games with a ‘freestyle’ mode, where users can, playing with up to three fingers, create chord sequences of their own.

Technology similar to touch-phones (called ‘active graphics’) is used and the amps contain NXT flat-panel speaker technology. There are five guitar ‘shapes’ and six drum kits, all made of paper.

ZAPPIES: 020 8133 6151

JHS scoops VQ Live JOHN HORNBY SKEWES & CO has been appointed exclusive sub-distributor of Tannoy’s VQ Live touring PA system.

TC Group International will continue to manage direct relationships with a small number of key accounts, but JHS’ pro audio division will begin handling all other VQ Live business.

JHS was also recently appointed fullline joint UK distributor for the TCowned Lab Gruppen power amp range.

“JHS’ track record in the live sound market and its commitment to customer support across the entire UK

market make this an exciting prospect,” said Simeon Ludwell, TCGI’s UK touring sales manager.

JHS MD Dennis Drumm added: “We are delighted to continue to expand our relationship with TCGI and bring Tannoy VQ Live to the wider pro audio and specialist reseller market.”

JHS: 0113 286 5381

Guitar XS tempts Providence THE JAPANESE boutique guitar effects brand, Proividence, is now directly available in Britain through Guitar XS. “We were attracted to Providence’s combination of boutique tone and approach to design, coupled with typical Japanese build quality and attention to detail,” said Guitar XS’s Doug Chandler.

“There are no hand painted boxes or whacky names here, but with solid player features such as the patented single contact true bypass and metal stomp guard, both available on all pedals, we feel Providence has appeal to dealers in this important sector of the market.”

Among Providence’s pedals is the SOV-2 Stampede overdrive and the Chrono Delay,

8 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

a metronome-accurate tap delay pedal with a completely analog signal path, the latter having just been launched to acclaim in both the music press and in online chat rooms. The Yokohama based company’s products are used by a plethora of worldrenowned guitarists, including the likes of Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Matt Schofield and Guthrie Govan.

GUITAR XS: 01227 832558

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DISTRIBUTION PROFILE TECHNOTE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LITTLE BARFORD - TONY SMITH As a mass-market supplier, Technote has been able to see off the threats that have doomed others in MI. Tony Smith tells us why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the upâ&#x20AC;Ś

Year Established: 1991 Number of Employees: Eight Is business up or down compared to last year?

In what is a tough business climate I am pleased to say we have increased our business over the year.

We have achieved this simply by having the right combination of products and customer base.

How has the economic climate affected business?

Believe it or not itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually been our best time.

We were hit by Woolworths going down, but after re-evaluating the way forward and making the necessary changes, I was really focused on getting additional customers and ensuring we spread our customer base to affect both our turnover and profit. The result last year was probably our best ever in business. Of course, the challenge now is to improve â&#x20AC;&#x201C; going backwards is not on the agenda.

What are your best-selling lines and why do you think they perform so well?

We have introduced our own brands. Jaxville, Rockburn and Martin Smith Guitars have been very successful lines, because they offer something different and focus on what the market needs. We have done very well with the whole Pink thing, and without question these lines have been very successful as some of the big retailers have taken them and sales of these items never disappoint.

Accessories always do well and having introduced accessory display stands in over 200 outlets, they bring in a good solid income.

How does Technote feel the UK market differs from other global markets?

I think all markets are going through these tough times, this is a worldwide problem and I think dealers, distributors and manufacturers are looking to either consolidate, re-structure or try and reduce their overheads. Margins are getting tighter, so I feel anyone in business needs to focus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if you do

not, you simply will not survive, whatever country you live in. I feel the UK is better set than most European countries, but I am a little biased.

What distinguishes you from the competition?

I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been our attitude and products. I tend not to get involved in the politics that go on in the industry. Its not that I am not interested, but I would rather focus on what I need to do to ensure my business is successful than worry about others.

How do you maintain a good relationship with retailers?

Good communication, a well-structured returns policy, competitive pricing and quick delivery of orders. I have a great team behind me, giving good support to our customers, which is very important.

What would you say is the biggest challenge facing the MI industry today?

As a supplier to the mass-market customers I see independent stores facing tough times in terms of competing on price. I believe the volumes being sold via big retailers means a big opportunity for smaller stores to improve their education facilities in order to attract the many customers that have bought from the big retailers. Look at Roy Jevons of Dudley, he did this years ago and is doing very well, which proves if you focus on what you do best, you just need to work out the best way to sell it.

What are your aims for the next 12 months?

I think for 2011 I would like to maintain our current activities. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not bothered about increasing our business, but we need to focus on our profitability. That will always keep the wolf from the door and start to increase business for 2012.

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GUITARS

CONTACT DETAILS Address: Technote, Vernon House, Alington Rd, Little Barford, PE19 6YH Phone: 01480 470320 Web: www.technote.com Email:enquiries@technote.com

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 11

DRUM NEWS

London Drum Show hits the right spot Impressive turn-out makes for a very well received event THE FIRST London Drum Show took place from September 4th to the 5th at The Olympia and was generally praised by exhibitors and visitors alike. Just under 2,000 people attended and some 40 stands featured major brands, such as Pearl, Yamaha and Roland, down to startup companies like Stageworks Gear.

“The drum community always stands a little separate from the rest of MI, so this show really captures that. We all know each other and it’s like old friends getting together,” said Yamaha’s Darren Power.

Mikedolbear.com organised several masterclasses run by the likes of Dave Weckl and Craig Blundell.

There was little in the way of new gear on show, which could explain why

product sales were low. One stand that did have new gear was Morico. The whole stand was ‘branded’ Sound Garden, after its new brand of sound sculptures: hand beaten cymbals, gongs and other ‘hittables’ that looked and sounded great.

OYSTER HOUSE MEDIA: 01884 266100

Terry Ryan appointed new Gon Bops international sales manager GON BOPS has hired Terry Ryan to take on the role of international sales manager for the brand.

His job will involve overseeing the sale of the brand outside of the US, including Europe, Canada and South America. He will also continue his current role as manager of sales and artist relations Canada for Sabian.

Ryan studied music at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland and traveled around Canada with several recording acts before starting his career in retail. He is a multiinstrumentalist and has ten years of experience in retail management.

“Terry brings exceptional experience and knowledge of the Canadian MI industry to his new role at Gon Bops and his addition to the team is a huge plus for our brand,” said Lane Davy, executive director of Gon Bops. “As we

continue to build the Gon Bops brand throughout the globe, having Terry onside makes all of our jobs that much easier.”

He has also worked in sales, marketing, merchandising, purchasing, inventory control, customer services and human resources. He started at Sabian in 2003.

WESTSIDE: 0141 248 4812

Bum Chum to give drummers good vibrations

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Silent bass drum monitoring system an ideal live solution INT TEGR RATE ED MARK KETING G COM MMUNICATIO ONS MANAGER When most people think of Fender® guitars and amplifiers, they think of our rich history and legacy, after all the Spirit of Rock and Roll is our Company motto.

For us at Fender® it’s all about the future. We work hard today to MAKE HISTORY tomorrow. Would you like to be part of our future legacy?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for an individual with proven experience in marketing communications to join the Fender Europe Marketing Department.

Reporting to the Director of Sales for Europe you will lead your team in successfully executing, through a variety of media, our marketing communications activities across Europe whilst supporting and contributing to the strategic direction of our global organisation.

The Integrated Marketing Communications Manager will work closely with many aspects of our organisation therefore you will need to be an accomplished communicator with strong interpersonal skills and experience of managing a small team.

To be successful in this role you will have excellent marketing communications experience with a genuine interest in the music industry. You will also need to be commercially astute, creative and flexible as a variety of styles and methods will need to be accommodated.

If you wish to find out more or apply (CV and covering letter) for this position then please contact: europerecruitment@fender.com or telephone Human Resources on 01342 331764.

The closing date for applications is 15th October 2010.

A NEW silent bass drum monitoring system, the Bum Chum, has been introduced as a solution for drummers who struggle to hear their own bass drum in a live setting.

The system features the most powerful tactile generator on the market, which is built in to a throne top and coupled to an electronics pack. Powerful, precise and nuanced soundless reproduction is delivered by the Bum Chum’s bone conduction technology, allowing the drummer to feel the drum through vibrations in the seat.

Audio technicians will also benefit from this idea, as the stage becomes quieter and more controlled.

This product effectively allows for fewer amplifiers and cabinets, saving weight, cost and space and it is especially useful for in-ear monitor users.

The Bum Chum is also easy to set up and transport, as it can fit in to a rugged flight case the size of a ten-inch tom and weighs

eight kilos. Ideal for multiple drumming situations, it is aimed at jobbing drummers all the way up to professionals.

The Bum Chum is already available, priced at £1,199.

MORICO: 01992 461089

THIS PAGE IS SPONSORED BY MIKEDOLBEAR.COM, THE LEADING ONLINE RESOURCE FOR EVERYTHING DRUMS.

VISIT WWW.MIKEDOLBEAR.COM FOR MORE DETAILS. 12 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

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PLASA EVENT REVIEW

A sound investment Despite its pro audio priorities, there was still plenty of MI related gems to be found in the brightly lit (but not noisy) labyrinth that was this 2010’s PLASA show. Adam Savage breathes smoke and dodges lasers to deliver his report…

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hose accustomed to the annual audio and lighting spectacle that is PLASA will be familiar with the dazzling spotlights, perfectly assembled booths, belching smoke machines and towering line arrays that have become synonymous with the event – and this year’s show was no different.

Although the majority of the attractions listed above would leave most of the MI community in a state of bewilderment, there are more than a few reasons why MI Pro feels it is worthwhile sifting through the corridors of cables, lasers and recorders, to find something more suitable.

Shure Distribution had scaled down from its two-storey boothof previous years, but still had a selection of new products on show to turn MI heads.

The PSM 900 in-ear monitoring system was given priority, with its precise frontend RF filtering and digital stereo encoder, which provides excellent audio clarity.

Optimised for channel 38 in time for the 2012 digital switch over, the PSM 900 is made up of a transmitter with removable antenna and a bodypack transmitter.

QSC might be known for its high end audio lines, but its new K series speakers were another prominent MI feature, back

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from a gig at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, an example of their durability.

The range is split in terms of each speaker’s conical waveguide (the angle in which the sound is dispersed) instead of output power and consists of eight-inch, ten-inch and 12-inch versions, as well as a portable subwoofer, the KSub. Line 6 was attracting a real buzz.

Product specialist Simon Jones felt this was proof of how far the brand has come in recent years. “Lots of people have been coming to see us,” said Jones. “When you achieve certain growth, you start making new products for existing customers, then new products for new customers and that’s why we’re here.”

The XD-V digital wireless systems on show have been praised for their simplicity, protection against interference and their superior range and sound. The XD-V70’s rack mount function was displayed to the masses, showing the easy set up and operation first hand.

Portable PA systems don’t get much more portable than the new Elements range from HK Audio. This series features components that slot together with remarkable ease to create a variety of setup possibilities for different situations and

caught the eye of many passers-by who were originally looking for high-end gear.

“We’ve had a good number of conversations already so there’s already been a great deal of interest,” said Alan Smith, executive director of sales and marketing for JHS, distributor for HK. “We’re hoping to have more throughout the week and we’ve been convincing people coming to the stand to have a look at the Elements and they’ve been very impressed with what they’ve seen.”

Samson returned to PLASA this year and was also pulling in the crowds, eager to sample what the brand had to offer. The 510i was another portable PA system that featured an ingenious transportation idea – both speakers can slide together to form one unit, encasing the accompanying mixer and leads within.

The 401W-17 was another new addition with its VHF wireless microphone system, built-in iPod dock and battery operation making it perfect for outside performers and pubs wanting a simple, but effective system for karaoke nights and similar and other scenarios.

Robert Castle, managing director of Korg UK, the distributor of Samson said: “It’s been really good so far. It’s our first year here and we’ve had a great deal of interest from people, with many coming up to us saying they never knew we did all these types of products.”

Another returning star for the PLASA faithful was Mackie. Situated on the same booth as Loud Technologies’ brands,

Martin Audio and EAW, Mackie was back with a bang, releasing the HD loudspeaker and subwoofer series, the 24-channel VLZ3 mixer and two new interfaces – the Onyx Blackbird and Blackjack.

Adam Hall seemed to be having a good week as well, with the cunningly placed Dave G2 series portable PA from LD Systems in a great position to pull the punters further in to its area, which was adorned with loads of MI gear.

“Last year we had a really small booth, which made it pretty quiet, but this year has been a lot better,” said Adam Hall’s general manager, Andrew Richardson.

On the stand was the Eminence Flux Density Modulation speaker technology, which allows guitarists to control the output level, distortion and tonal balance through a dial on the back of the speaker.

This general feeling of satisfaction from those who took part is an indication that PLASA will remain very firmly on the MI calendar for the foreseeable future.

FACT FILE: EVENT: PLASA DATE: September 12th-15th 2010 VENUE: Earls Court, London EXHIBITORS: Over 300 VISITORS: Over 12,000 VERDICT: The exhibitors certainly found this year’s show worthwhile and the punters will have been happy too, with so much to see.

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 15

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EVENT REVIEW LONDON DRUM SHOW

FACT FILE: EVENT: London Drum Show DATE: September 4th and 5th VENUE: Olympia, London EXHIBITORS: 36 VISITORS: 1,921 VERDICT: An excellent event that impressed both the public and those with their gear on show. Well organised with a good choice of venue, the London Drum Show is sure to become an established MI show, but dealer exhibitors hope will sales will improve.

Striking a balance Providing a plethora of rhythmic enjoyment for both the trade and the public, The London Drum Show finally gave the percussion sector back an event of its own. Adam Savage waded through the paradiddles to check it out…

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ith no little cacophony and a good helping of percussion related bedlam, September 4th and 5th saw the London Drum Show come crashing and pounding into town, which was to have been expected from a building full of drummers and a delightful array of the things for them to hit.

A glance around revealed just how well the organiser had managed to fit so much exhibition space in the small hall – and it hadn’t been stingy on booth space either.

What was immediately noticeable was how Yamaha had, quite literally, taken centre stage with a trio of Rock Tour kits

“

national sales manager. “The quality of the punter here has been excellent. Their enquiries have been on a very deep level – a lot of understanding.”

Another manufacturer that attracted a great deal of attention was Roland. With a stand that featured the much-loved VDrums range, there was barely a moment where its space was not invaded by legions of youngsters itching to unleash their adolescent aggression on these kits.

Those who stopped by Roland’s stand were also graced with the presence of Craig Blundell, a demonstrator for the manufacturer and another specialist who

We brought the people in, but we can’t make them spend. We work in other sectors and this is nowhere near as bad.

Hugo Montgomery-Swan Oyster House Media

sitting proudly on the corner of its large display area. Although showing nothing brand new, the Japanese company was able to demonstrate not just its power, but also that it is still takes shows like this just as seriously as other brands.

“You have to be here to keep the brand in front of the public. You can never quantify this sort of thing, but you know it’s valuable,” said Darren Power, Yamaha’s

18 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

wowed fans in the afternoon with his electronic percussion skills. Blundell also offered words of praise for the event. “It’s got a really good, friendly vibe. It’s a good experience for Roland and it’s great to see the punters mixing with the players,” he said. As well as the V-Drums, Roland’s Octapad was a real eye-catcher, with Blundell demo’ing how to loop the bass and drum effects effortlessly.

As for sales, it seemed that accessories and drum parts were doing better than full kits, which was good news for a few of the brands that had gone along. The Dream Cymbals range, distributed by Soar Valley, was there in full force and was the source of a great deal of optimism from sales manager Darran Bramley.

“We’ve just got the full product range in, so the timing has been perfect. It’s a good show for us and it seems people are interested and getting the message. I’m really optimistic for Dream Cymbals and shows such as these only help,” he said.

Following on from this, one of the few negatives that emerged was the lack of overall sales across the venue. Hugo Montgomery-Swan, managing director at Oyster House Media, the event’s organiser confirmed this, but also revealed that many taking part had realistic expectations, so weren’t too disappointed.

“It’s a difficult one. We brought the people in, but we can’t make them spend,” said Montgomery-Swan. “All I can say is that we work in other retail sectors and this sector is nowhere near as bad as some of the others. I think it’s simply down to the economy suppressing people’s desire to spend.”

Also in the accessory category, Stageworks used the Drum Show to launch the second product in its line of problem solving products, the Rimma. This

stick holder/clip attaches to the top of a bass drum and allows the user to reach down and grab a spare stick with ease, should one fly out of the drummer’s hand during a performance.

Interest in world percussion was declared a bit quiet by a number of the tradesmen that MI Pro spoke to, but a few of the larger brands were an exception, convincing a good number to have a tap and a patter on their latest offerings.

Natal looked to have been extremely busy since its appearance at the MI Retail Conference & Expo, showing off a huge array of cajons and a wonderful selection of congas and bongos, including the Fuego and Spirit ranges, which is impressive considering how it is still in its early stages of development since being taken over by Marshall Amplification.

“It’s got good energy and good visitors.

There’s also a good spread of exhibitors – just about everybody is here who should be,” commented Craig Fenney. “Natal is just getting into gear now and the plans for new gear are on track.”

Another percussion brand that was recently the subject of a new distribution deal was Gon Bops – now owned, of course, by Sabian. Instrument designer Akbar Moghaddam, who designs and makes its California conga range, as well as a handful of its other models, was making a surprise appearance.

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IF YOU DEAL IN...

DRUMS ...YOU SHOULD BE DEALING WITH US

“It’s gone really well. It’s the first proper showing since we took on the Gon Bops brand and made it widely available,” said Andy Gillespie, drums and percussion product specialist at Westside Distribution, a supplier that was also displaying the Sabian cymbal range, a section that certainly drew the crowds and not just because Dave Weckl was there to do a signing after lunch.

You know a show has been a hit when a number of exhibitors already state an interest in taking part next year, before the weekend is even over. Active was an example of this, showing off its renowned Meinl and Ludwig brands, both of which needing no introduction in the drum and percussion markets.

“It’s tough out there for everyone at the moment, but when someone organises a drum show, you have to be there,” said Active’s Lee Worsely. “It’s really worth doing and this foundation

“

What is more, they sound just as good as they look.

Also on the Morico stand was the imaginatively titled Bum Chum bass drum monitoring system – another of the few newcomers at the show, a device that allows drummers to feel the bass drum through vibrations in the seat, a worthy solution for those who struggle to hear themselves in live settings.

After a chat with Morico’s Kevin Morris, he seemed keen to stress his belief that developing your own products and brands is a far more effective business method for a supplier, rather than having to deal with some awkward manufacturers.

“I don’t want to work with people or products I’m unsure of. Running things myself gives me peace of mind – so I’ve got a lot of stuff happening over the next year or so,” he said. “This is just the start of a lot of innovative products coming.”

It’s tough out there at the moment, but when someone organises a drum show, you know you just have to be there.

Lee Worsely Active Music

means there is more than enough for the organiser to build on, so it will definitely happen again next year – and we’ll be here again, for sure.”

Although new products in general were few and far between, Morico was introducing the unusual Sound Garden product line. Instead of being named after an old American grunge band, this delightful series of sound sculptures, cymbals and gongs was presumably given this title due to their resemblance to garden ornaments.

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A success it most certainly was. As to whether this event will continue the recent worrying pattern of show’s crashing off the MI show calendar, you can bet that this one won’t be, especially with the feedback collected by Montgomery-Swan.

“With a few provisos from some companies, everybody said they would be back again next year – and some have asked for additional space,” he said. Will it return in 2011? You can bet your vintage steel snare on it..

WWW.BRDISTRIBUTION.CO.UK TEL: +44 (0)1207 282 806 miPRO OCTOBER 2010 19

COMPANY PROFILE LOUD

Loud and proud Loud Technologies returned to PLASA this year, with Mackie one of three of the audio giant’s brands launching a plethora of new audio arrivals. Adam Savage armed himself with headphones and ear plugs and went to check it all out…

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s one of the world’s largest pro audio and music product suppliers, it’s no wonder that Loud Technologies, with its broad brand lineup, created a stir when it announced it would be exhibiting at PLASA after a brief hiatus.

A visit to the stand revealed a hive of activity and swarms of eager techies, drawn to the new lines from Mackie and the pro brands – EAW and Martin Audio.

Although Loud might have been absent in recent years, it seemed that they had been biding their time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to return in style, and they certainly did that.

“While we held effective off-site product demos and training events over the past few years, Loud had so many exciting products this year we felt a frontrow stand on the show floor was exactly what we needed to bring those products to market,” said Loud’s John Kaukis. “Our plan was to make a clear statement regarding our commitment to innovation and the UK market.”

As well as the three aforementioned brands together on the PLASA booth, the new HD1221 compact loudspeaker is the first Mackie product to include EAW and

20 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

Martin Audio technology. This 12-inch two-way unit delivers 1,200 Watts of peak system power via the Class-D fast recovery amplification system and has been boosted by the inclusion of custom designed EAW transducers and a horn from the guys at Martin Audio.

“The HD series is a perfect example of Mackie delivering high-end pro audio

“

This high definition sound is created by blending Mackie active electronics (precision cross-overs, phase and time alignment) and EAW’s acoustic correction processing. Greater accuracy and consistency from box to box is also ensured by Mackie’s DSP HD audio processing and all of this leads to a very open, natural and detailed sound.

We think your first experience with the HD series will be as amazing as your first glance at HD video.

John Kaukis UK sales manager, MI group, Loud Technologies

specs to the MI market,” commented Kaukis, who explained that the name HD was chosen because of the audio clarity on offer from this range, similar to the visual improvements that high definition television brings. “We think your first experience with the HD series will be as amazing as your first glance at HD video and all of the detail you had missed.”

Combining the HD1221 with its partner, the HD1501 powered sub, illustrates how the series was supposed to sound. “Just pair them up for the ultimate portable HD rig,” said Ben Olswang, Mackie’s product manager. “It’s easy to set up and the sound quality is amazing.”

The HD1221’s versatility can be proven further by the fact it can also be used as a

highly effective stage monitor. Its asymmetrical design makes this possible and when laid down, its 60-degree angle directs sound more steeply than usual, which is ideal for musos who prefer not to have sound blasted straight at them.

It is with mixing consoles, though, that Mackie has really made its name. The 2404-VLZ3 four-bus mixer marks a step up from the 1604-VLZ3, but is designed to maintain the low-noise, high-headroom performance that made its predecessors so popular. It also offers several upgrades that take the series forward.

The 2404-VLZ3 features dual 32-bit effects processors, an integrated 4x2 24bit USB interface and eight dedicated inline compressors.

Equipped with studio-grade XDR2 extended dynamic range mic preamps with phantom power and 20 mono mic and line channels, this mixer is perfect for beginners, but also includes plenty of high-tech components to keep the pro audio crowd happy.

A three-band active eq with swept midfrequency and six aux sends (two prefader and post-fader sends, with sends three and four switchable between the

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LOUD COMPANY PROFILE

two) are just some examples of what the 2404-VLZ3 offers more experienced users.

“Mackie is known for creating professional quality products that not only sound great, but are also user-friendly,” said Olswang. “As such, we made it easy to use for beginners and experienced pros alike. We didn’t skimp on any pro features but we also made sure users could easily start with the basics and the mixer would be able to grow on them.”

Mackie claims to have set a new standard in mid-format with this model and with a four-band Perkins eq on every channel, a built-in stereo compressor and limiter all packed into a console the same size as the popular SR24 and SR32 versions. It looks as though the 2404-VLZ3 will take some beating.

Completing the Mackie display at PLASA were the Onyx Blackjack and Blackbird interfaces. The unique selling points behind the Blackjack is without doubt how the manufacturers have managed to get Mackie’s boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps into a remarkably small unit, without costing the earth.

The Blackjack’s two-channel design is perfect for bands wanting to record their performances, either at gigs or during rehearsals and for overdubs in a home studio environment.

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The 2404-VLZ3 might not have a snappy name, but does the business for beginners and pros – and dealers – alike Making it even more competent in a studio setting are the Cirrus Logic ADA converters with 114dB dynamic range and preamps taht deliver top-of-the-range fidelity and dynamic range.

The Blackbird is a 16x16 Firewire recording interface, which houses eight Onyx preamps and high-end 24-bit/96kHz conversion in a rackmount design. The two ‘super’ channels located on the front panel provide quick access to crucial recording tools and the Blackbird matrix mixer software allows for quick mixes and routing any input to any output.

For both interfaces, the built-in Onyx preamps have been flagged as one of the most important additions and it seems that this is one of the areas that the designers at Mackie are most proud of.

“Great recordings start with high-quality preamps and you will simply not find preamps at this price range better than the Blackjack and Blackbird Onyx preamps,” said Olswang. “Found on our most expensive studio consoles, Onyx pres are designed to meet or surpass expensive, esoteric standalone pres in terms of fidelity, headroom and transparency.”

The amount of interest generated at trade show launches is always a first-hand, preliminary indication of how successful a product (or in this case, series of products) could turn out to be, which is why Loud will be sitting very comfortably indeed after its PLASA outing. Add to its brand inventory the likes of Ampeg, Blackheart, Alvarez and Crate and it’s no wonder that Loud Technologies has reached the status it has and it’s with new lines like these that will allow its reputation to grow further still.

LOUDTECHINC.COM

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 21

FIRST LINE COMPANY PROFILE

First in line

Where does the MI retailer turn when the larger brands start squeezing margins? Most of them are discovering that quality, niche brands are quite often the way to keep profits high in these financially tough times that we find ourselves in. Gary Cooper has unearthed a swathe of them all under one roof at First Line Distribution…

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ne small ray of sunshine in the current economic crisis is that it’s provided what you might describe as ‘encouragement’ for retailers to look long and hard at their stock. Increasingly, both they and distributors tell MI Pro they are turning away from trying to compete with brands that attract heavy discounts, because they realise discounting is a battle they cannot win. This doesn’t automatically mean the big brands are vanishing from smaller shops – they’re still

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The company began with Carl Martin effects pedals, then began to add similarly prestigious US lines like Spector basses, Eden bass amplification, Parker guitars, Diamond amplification and DR Strings.

Most recently it has caused a real stir with the long-awaited DBZ guitars – the latest project from Dean founder, Dean Zelinsky.

But wait a minute – DR strings? Surely the axiom is that getting new string lines established in the UK is next to impossible, as most retailers can’t be

The company began with Carl Martin effects pedals, then began to add similarly prestigious US lines like Spector basses and DR strings.

needed and always will be. However, it does mean that canny retailers are doing what canny retailers always have – making sure that they also offer lines on which they can make a good margin and to which they can steer the right customers.

While sometimes this category is composed of what might be described as ‘second tier’ brands, it also includes the prestigious US-sourced lines that First Line Distribution has done so well with. This dovetails nicely with the current mood of the industry, that should be no surprise, as First Line was started by Jay Henson, who had a long background in MI retail before moving into distribution.

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persuaded to stock anything but the big three or four brands? According to Jay Henson, this is not the case with DR. “DR has been doing incredibly well for us and the further we go, the more we are starting to realise how much potential there is and it’s all down to the quality of the product. As a retailer, having someone come in with another strong brand is a bit of a nightmare, I realise, having been there. You want to be able to offer your customers more choice, but trying to put aside that extra bit of space, when you know your Ernie Balls and D’Addarios will sell, is a bit difficult. But the thing with DR strings is that it’s not just a marketing

exercise – it’s not just another ‘me too’ product with different marketing and a new set of endorsers.

It’s a genuinely original product made using different construction methods and it has a huge following. People who know them don’t just go back and ask for ‘another set of those strings with the pink packets.’ Once they’ve tried them, DR is all they’ll buy. They won’t even tell me how they make their latest strings, DDT – Drop Down Tuning. They’re absolutely incredible strings across the range and are starting to build a serious following.”

A following is what Dean Zelinsky has, too. It has been over two years since word went out that he had parted company with the Dean brand he founded and was teaming-up with Diamond Amplification to launch an entirely new range of guitars.

It has taken Zelinsky time to get DBZ into full production, but the delay seems to have heightened the buzz surrounding the newcomers, which have now been received to great acclaim in the USA. “It has taken a while to get up to full production but we now have containers coming every month,” Henson says. “The reason it took so long was because Dean Zelinsky knew it had it be right.”

What is particularly interesting about DBZ isn’t just that the guitars look so good (check out the DBZ website), but that they

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 23

COMPANY PROFILE FIRST LINE share something in common with the other First Line brands – they’re not bargain basement, but neither are they in the ‘boutique’ price range which, with the best will in the world, only specialist retailers can sell. In fact, the new DBZ models retail between £300 and £800, making them competitors, not with handmade luxury guitars, but with mainstream, established brands. Again, Henson reminds us, DBZ is really an established name. Once a potential customer makes the connection between DBZ and Dean, the product ceases to be an unknown quantity.

“With a DBZ you’re getting the excitement of a new guitar company, but with the heritage of Dean Zelinsky, who has got 30 years behind him. The price points are attractive, they’re profitable for retailers, we’re not appointing a lot of dealers and I think it represents a really good profit opportunity for those who are looking at their walls and thinking ‘I can’t make enough money off these’.”

The same is true of Eden bass amplification – another product that has a

“

They’re the products you graduate to – quality products – and that takes a big worry away from the retailer, as it means people aren’t going to be walking into your store thinking ‘what is it?’ or ‘that’s not very good, is it?’ They’re quality brands with customer recognition.”

They are also brands that despite having a certain cachet, don’t come with price tags that are looking problematic as the recession bites, Henson says.

“Retail has been struggling, but there are things people can do – looking for alternative brands that can be profitable for them, for one. I know from having spent years as a retailer that it’s very easy to start doing deals, cutting your margins and trying to compete with people you really can’t hope to compete with. It’s about protecting your margin and stocking the type of products that enable you to do that. We don’t deal with the very top market leaders, but I consider our brands to be prestige brands – there’s nothing cheap and nasty there. They’re all known names – not household names, perhaps, but, for example, anyone that would buy a

We don’t deal with the very top market leaders, but I consider our brands to be prestige brands.

Jay Henson First Line

pedigree as a top-end professional range, but has broadened and expanded so that it now includes a range of products which wouldn’t be out of place in a general music shop, as well as bass specialists.

“The range that Eden offers now is quite extraordinary. They can compete with any bass amplifier brand – from extremely light micro heads, all-valve Seventies type bass heads, and they’re still doing all their flagship models – like the WT 550. Four years ago that sold for over £1,000 but now it’s selling for £699. There are even practice amps for £100, yet the quality is still there, it’s a profitable line for dealers to sell and anyone who takes it on does so knowing that we don’t do special deals on the golf course – it’s a completely level playing field for our dealers. Eden is a range that enables the smaller dealer to have just one bass range in stock and it covers all his options.

“A lot of what we sell are the products you move up to, once you’ve gone beyond the average big name brands that everybody plays at some time or another.

24 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

Music Man bass will know of Spector basses and anyone that’s a fan of Dean guitars will know of DVZ. At a time when retailers are struggling, I think we are offering a range of very profitable alternatives, that aren’t hard to sell because they are all brands that their customers will have heard of.”

And just to add a final clincher, Henson adds that there is about to be a new dealer website which will make selling his brands even easier. For example, it will have pictures of his actual DBZ stock – not just catalogue images. As Henson explains, the range of finishes on DBZ is so wide that he wants retailers to be able to hand-select the individual guitars they want. The site will also feature charts of all the different DR strings, as well as Q&A on matching Eden bass amp products.

“It’s all designed to offer dealers support. Talking points about the products, information they might find useful – things that will make their jobs easier when they come to sell these products.”

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WILKINSON COVER FEATURE

Fine tuning ideas After years of development, the long rumoured ADT self-tuning bridge was launched at Summer NAMM on a Wilkinson-designed Fret King. Gary Cooper tightens the gears with Trevor Wilkinson to see how it all came about…

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rev Wilkinson has something on his mind. As Britain’s one-man guitar think-tank, this isn’t particularly surprising – indeed, you imagine that his brain must be bubbling with ideas continuously, but almost as soon as we start speaking, it’s clear that he wants to get something off his chest. The problem, he explains, is one of perception. He wants to make sure the industry understands that the recently launched Wilkinson ATD HT440 self-tuning bridge system wasn’t a solo project and, equally, is soon to be available on other guitars besides his (and JHS’) Fret King – the first brand to carry this remarkable product.

Though it wouldn’t be the MI Pro style to spring Paxmanesque-style questions,

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Wilkinson’s candour did slightly take the wind out of our sails as these were two issues we had intended to raise – both the story behind Auto Tuning Developments and whether it has got off to a lower key start than one might have expected for what could be a truly world-beating idea.

The ATD has been a long time in the making. Word began to spread about its development several years ago and, originally, Wilkinson’s name wasn’t connected with it. We wanted to know how he had got involved, what his role in the project had been and whether he feels he can succeed in selling an auto-tuning system to a public (let alone a trade) that hasn’t exactly showered Gibson’s Robot concept with universal praise.

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I want to set the record straight on this. This was not a solo effort – it has been a team effort from the start.

Trevor Wilkinson

Moreover, we wanted to know whether he felt Gibson had tainted the entire market for self-tuning guitars.

But before that, whence ATD? “The system came about in the first place with Richard Whittall and his son, Nick. Nick was at college and a guitar player. He had heard a guy talking about a device that could automatically tune a guitar. He mentioned it to his father as a product they should develop and, to cut a long story short, they did that. They then looked around for the best way to take what was a very large, expensive piece of equipment to the next stage. They were put in touch with me – and to give you some idea how long this has been in gestation, this was in around 1996 or 97.”

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 27

COVER FEATURE WILKINSON Wilkinson – the only man in Britain who had managed to challenge the US monopoly on advanced guitar vibrato systems and components – had unique experience here. He had a reputation among players, had sold branded products to the big international guitar companies, been an early pioneer in sourcing reliable Far Eastern licensing without getting his ideas stolen – in short, he had credibility in the international guitar world. It was that experience and insight that made him set two initial conditions for his involvement in the project. The first was that it had to retro fit an American standard Stratocaster, the second, that it had to sell at an affordable price. Two conditions which, particularly in the light of what Gibson debuted ten years later, shows the sort of market nous for which Wilkinson is famed.

At this point in the interview, Wilkinson launches into a fascinating account of the technical struggles the team (which included Richard Whittall, a digital engineer, a mechanical engineer and himself) had to overcome. It’s to be hoped that one of the guitar magazines will find

“

Team work “I do want to set the record straight about this, “ Wilkinson continues. “This wasn’t a solo effort. For example, ten years ago I brought into the team a lad called Andy Leadbetter, straight out of college with an honours degree in mechanical engineering. At that time we thought we were going to have to construct the whole gearbox ourselves, which was a nightmare project to undertake. Andy came to the project without the slightest knowledge of guitars and that has more or less defined my role, which has been as designer and taskmaster. I supplied my knowledge of guitars, vibrato systems and fixed bridges and he did the leg work. That’s how this has worked – it’s been a team project.

“Richard Whittall, as the managing director, has raised capital and all the essential things that go to make something like this a reality. For 14 years we’ve been an R&D company – there’s been no money coming in, it’s been just going out. “ Wilkinson also stresses the contribution of Dave Goodway, the digital engineer

Wilkinson with the ADT auto-tune fitted Fret King Super-Matic

There is so much I could tell you. We don’t look after our own in this country. Even with sales in hand, you still can’t raise money from a bank.

Trevor Wilkinson

space for this story – which we, concentrating on the business angle, do not have – because for anyone interested in guitars, engineering or turning an idea into a product, it must rank alongside the Dyson saga for interest.

Britannia’s business Our focus, being on business, needs to record the difficulty Wilkinson says the team faced in trying to get support – the familiar tale that has left the UK with an unmatched record of patents and an empty treasure chest, as waves of inventors have been spurned by banks. For all the talk of ‘cool Britannia’ and the posing of government ministers with rock stars, no-one from government was interested in helping the ATD come to life and the banks proved equally as unenthusiastic. Wilkinson and the team were on their own.

Help came from other companies – including Maxon Motor, German gear makers founded by the Braun family (of electric razor fame) and Turchan, a US company that had developed a revolutionary process using lasers, employed to grow diamonds on the ATD’s bridge saddles and Shadow electronics, again in Germany. With these three working alongside the British quartet (which, itself underwent some design personnel changes along the way) the product was, finally, brought to production, though it took an exhausting 14 years to do so.

28 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

who was a key component in the team.

“The other partners included Maxon.

They make planetary gearboxes and I need to explain why that matters. We’ve got to be able to have enough torque to turn a 52 gauge string around a capstan the size of a tuning key, within the confines of a vibrato block in a bridge, and we can’t go any deeper than 45 mm because 13⁄4 inches is the thickness of a Strat body. That means I needed to find gearboxes and motors within that size. I knew Maxon made a planetary gearbox and after a bit of a giggle at our prototype, they said they could do it. They saw it. I think, as a challenge – a way to demonstrate their skills. They’ve invested a lot of time and money and I’m very grateful for their involvement.

“We’ve had so many things happen like that – Maxon was a strategic partner – and so was Turchan. A problem we needed solving was reducing friction on the bridge saddles without sacrificing the sound of a Strat. Turchan had that technology and they’ve been invaluable. “ Lift off The launch vehicle for the ATD self-tuner was the Fret King Super-Matic.

Without wanting to belittle Fret King, wasn’t that a low-key launch for such an exciting product? Wouldn’t it have made more impact on a Fender or an Ibanez?

Wilkinson has an intriguing answer.

“The device is available to every guitar company in the world and has been since

the start. The reason that it has appeared first in the Fret King Super-Matic is simply because Dennis Drumm at JHS had had the guts and the foresight to say ‘We’ll do that – put it in one of our guitars’. It’s just the fact that Dennis was prepared to do it before anyone else. “ So, what held back the rest of the world? Does Wilkinson think that Gibson could have shot the auto-tuning fox with its Robot – putting guitarists off the whole idea?

“I don’t think they damaged the market – I think they damaged themselves. I think in some ways they did us a favour as they did bring something to the mass market by making people aware that the technology exists and actually

does work. And there’s no doubt that the Gibson technology does work – it’s just that it works within certain limitations.

“But not only do I think Gibson have damaged themselves, I think Tronical have damaged themselves, too, by taking it to market with an exclusive company. “ Herein lies what could prove to be ATD and Wilkinson’s smartest move, or biggest mistake. It isn’t hard to imagine a deal being struck with a major guitar manufacturer to offer the ATD as an exclusive product – but Wilkinson is sure that would be the wrong thing to do.

“In an ideal world I’d like to have seen it available from every single guitar brand in the world. But to have gone from nothing to producing 10,000 bridges a

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off all Guitars, Brass, Stringed, Woodwind & Accessories in our online store:

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COVER FEATURE WILKINSON

month would have been impossible.

Someone had to be first. I’ve been in meetings with investors who know a little bit about rock n roll and their first comment is always: ‘We need to sell it to Fender’. But my call has always been, Fender can have it with pleasure – but I’ve worked with companies like Fender and Ibanez in the past and what they want is exclusivity. Why would I want to give it to a company that has 20 per cent of the market and thus alienate the remaining 80 per cent? If I offer it to the other 80 per cent, that 20 per cent has to have it anyway – or be left behind.”

One can only imagine the wrangling that must have gone on behind the scenes as Wilkinson sought to persuade fellow board members and investors of this point of view. And yet his logic is hard to fault.

“I’m not bad-mouthing Fender and Gibson – they’ve both been good customers of mine in the past – but they don’t sell guitars any more, they sell nostalgia and they don’t have to try as hard as the other guys. You’ve got an awful lot of customers of my age who played guitar, never did anything with it, went into business, made a few bob and later in life decided they always promised themselves a Les Paul or a Strat. But they’re not looking at the guitar, they’re looking at the nostalgia.

“The key to this has been developing a tool that the guitar player can use on stage with confidence, not to show how clever we are. It doesn’t take away from his art – that is our guiding principle.

“As I say, we were never going to get it on everybody’s guitar at once. Somebody

30 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

will be first and after a few years of argybargy with various guitar companies, someone had to be willing to go first and it turned out that nobody – nobody – said ‘All right, Trev – I’ll have some of that’ except for Dennis at JHS. As long as it’s black And what did happen was epitomised by the reaction of ‘a major guitar retailer’ in the USA who, while apparently loving the system, opined that no one would pay $1,599 for a Korean-made guitar. No matter that Korean guitars can be better made than US-produced ones, or that it featured a player-friendly self-tuning system that actually worked Which isn’t to say that the aforementioned guitar chain was wrong.

Guitarists, as everyone in the industry knows, can make the Women’s Institute look radical and edgy.

“I’m not knocking dealers, because I know they’re having a tough time, but I sometimes just wish these two impediments to sales – dealers and distributors – would give the consumer some credit for making the choice. I know they see it as a gamble, but f we’d have thought making the ATD was too much of a gamble, I’d have gone fishing instead. If nobody takes a gamble, how the hell are we going to move forward? This attitude even hurt Leo Fender. He wanted to make a better guitar than a 62 Strat and he used to say to me: ‘Trevor, why do people want to buy my old guitars? They’re junk?’ Well, they weren’t junk, but I know what he was saying. His G&L guitars were, to him, better. He did till the day he died – tried to make a better mousetrap.“

The waiting game To bring things back to the present, the ATD system, for now, can be found solely on the Fret King Super-Matic guitar but that raises the question of Wilkinson’s initial caveat when offered the chance to get involved – wasn’t it supposed to be available as a retro-fit for a Strat?

“It’s do-able now, but I learned early on – especially when I introduced the Wilkinson roller nut, which got me into the business in 1984 – if you put something in a box and put it on the counter, the first question is “Does that work?“ If you can’t point him to a guitar

“

If Wilkinson is right, the appearance of the ATD system on a variety of guitar brands will encourage this preternaturally conservative market to trust the idea.

That should translate into increased guitar sales as ATD becomes the latest ‘must have’. Beyond that, the market for retro-fitting the device to Strats and copies should also grow – another welcome stimulus for sales which the industry doesn’t currently have.

Which takes us back to the point about the difficulty of raising investment.

“There’s an awful lot more that could be done with the ideas we have here.

I’m not bad-mouthing Fender or Gibson – they’ve been good customers of mine – but they don’t sell guitars anymore. They sell nostalgia.

Trevor Wilkinson

on the wall where he can see it working, you’ll never sell it. So we had to get it out OEM first. We’re playing a waiting game and if you pressed me for a date, I’d say it will be available as a retro-fit by next year. It could go tomorrow, but I feel I mustn’t take my energies away from selling it to other guitar companies.”

Will we be seeing an ESP, Ibanez or Dean with the ATD any time soon?

“I’m pretty confident that by the time NAMM 2011 comes around there will be quite a lot of major guitar companies that will have a prototype on show with this system. “

“The frustration is the fact that you can’t get any money to develop anything.

We don’t look after our own people in this country. There is so much more I could tell you that we could do with this and yet, even with sales in hand, still you can’t raise money from a bank. That’s another huge debt of thanks we have – to Richard Whittall and his family, without whom none of this could have happened.

“None the less, in the ATD the MI industry has a new opportunity for increased business. Let’s hope its own innate cynicism doesn’t prevent it from seizing the chance.

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COMPANY PROFILE INTERMUSIC

Marginal opportunities There is little that makes a company take stock of where it is more avidly than a landmark anniversary, although as Intermusic approaches its 25th birthday, Andy Barrett finds out, the Dorset-based supplier is already a step ahead…

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ou have to hand it to Intermusic.

Following the demise of his retail chain, Minns Music, Richard Webb saw an opportunity in the piano importing business and started the company straight away. It’s likely that there were a few raised eyebrows accompanying Intermusic’s start-up, as it was at the time a crowded acoustic piano market, but 25 years on, the company is going from strength to strength.

But what does that mean? It’s a phrase the PR people dish out at every opportune moment, but rarely has any substance behind it. In the case of Intermusic there is real justification. Occupying nearly half of an office/warehouse site in Poole (some five units out of 12, with an eye on each of the others as they become available), Webb’s company has recently undergone an internal revamp, establishing a new website (having finally wrestled the intermusic.com domain name from a previous owner) and two new showrooms, one based on the company’s general MI offering and the other for the impressive Bechstein piano brands.

Coming from a strong retail background, Webb is always very clear about where his efforts are aimed.

32 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

“The showrooms are for dealers to come along and have a look at what we are doing and what we can offer,” he explains. “We’re really pleased with them and we hope it will inspire some of them to get a little bit more focused.” And it’s a focus that can be seen immediately, particularly in the Bechstein showroom, where the C Bechstein, Bechstein Academy and Hoffmann grands each sit in their own space, with some classy branding panels among them. “It’s like you would see in a Mercedes showroom,” Webb continues. “A well organised space with the brands given their own area, with

tables and chairs to talk business. If a shop takes on a display such as this, they will benefit from being a prime dealer.”

The general showroom displays all of the guitar, brass and woodwind, with the impressive (and extremely wide) range of Shine guitars, the Kiss endorsed Silvertone brand and Intermusic’s own Bentley branding on pretty much everything else, from saxes, brass and woodwind to digital pianos and drums.

The two spaces illustrate the maturity Intermusic has achieved over the years, which together with its long-standing policies of allowing dealers to set their

own retail prices and the ability for them to buy products with their own branding makes the supplier one of the most retailer-friendly operations in the country.

The icing on the cake, therefore, has been the capture of the intermusic.com domain, which inspired a complete overhaul of the company’s website. Once again, it is focused on the dealer, with a secure retailer area, a fully spec’d search engine and the ability to see full account details and any orders progressing.

Webb’s son, Oliver, as well as looking after business outside of MI, has been turning his attention to the website.

L-R: Intermusic’s piano product manager Steve Hammett, founder and chairman Richard Webb and managing director, Oliver Webb WW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

INTERMUSIC COMPANY PROFILE “It’s a new direction for Intermusic,” he says. “We are hoping to show dealers the exceptional value they can get by working with us online. To begin with, we are offering a 20 per cent discount for those paying up front on the website. It’s a considerable reduction and I think it will tempt a lot of dealers to take a look.”

“We think we can probably beat pretty much anybody’s trade prices,” adds Richard Webb.

“Even those that are buying direct from China will find us extremely competitive.”

“And the website is completely secure,” says Oliver. “We’ve spent a lot of time on that and getting thorough checking systems to ensure not just anybody gets on to the trade pages.”

We hear the phrase ‘helping dealers make more margin’ a lot these days, but with Intermusic’s reputation, it is easy to believe. “With the website, we can really offer dealers some excellent deals,” continues Oliver Webb.

“It’s what we’ve always done, it’s just now there is more technology involved. What we have now is a 20 per cent discount store for dealers – all day, every day.”

The website is very much aimed at the MI market – as opposed to the acoustic piano sector. “I can’t see us ever selling pianos online,” says Richard Webb. “It’s just not that kind of market – I don’t see it that way and nor do the dealers.

Intermusic’s MI is really about the entry level – although Shine does go a lot further than that. The Bentley digital pianos and digital drumkits will find a place online soon, but that’s probably about as far as it will go.”

“

number of them – and Intermusic has known all about them since…well, forever.

Advances in that business come in different ways – subtle ways and by no means earth-shattering.

“All we can do is help the dealers think like us,” says Richard Webb. “This is why we have set up the showroom. Dealers can see how a shop floor can work with just a couple of brands on show. They buy the stock and we do the branding. When they do this they get a good deal – I should say

We think we can probably beat pretty much anybody’s trade prices.

Richard Webb Intermusic

“In time, we could get piano information online, but it won’t go further than that,” points out Oliver Webb. “Steve Hammett [Intermusic’s piano product manager] has just sold a £25,000 Bechstein grand today. It was a long procedure. Had to make the call and give explanations, send over pictures to confirm the exact colour – it was a big sale. You are simply not going to be able to do that sort of thing online.”

This is very much the nature of the beast when it comes to acoustic piano sales. There is an extremely limited

an even better deal. On top of this, they will be flagged up on the website as a top dealer – and when you are talking about a brand such as Bechstein, you have probably the only high-end piano that is growing its market at the moment.

Bechstein is pretty unique in the market at the moment, in that it is, I think, a better product than all the competition and is at a far better price point. It really is turning heads at the moment.”

Dealers wishing to take advantage of the special showroom branding from Intermusic will also be pleased to hear

that the deals are not set in stone. The company is willing to look at each store on a case-by-case basis, with a lot, of course, depending on its size and then a reasonable commitment from the store based on that. Alongside the Bechstein Academy range bringing the Bechstein name to a more budget conscious market, there is the Hoffmann range, which slots in between the two. Hoffmann is made in Bechstein’s Czech factory and as such is a keenly priced European-made piano.

“With the Pearl River products added into the equation and everything that they can bring to the table – Rittmüller, for example, which slots in nicely in between Bechstein Academy and Hoffmann, and is, I think, the best Chinese upright on the market – we have such an offering that there are a few dealers for which Intermusic is the sole supplier,” explains Richard Webb. “But there could be a lot more. Dealers should take a good look at what we are doing, whether highend pianos or OEM stock with their own branding on it. We don’t tell dealers what to sell for, so when it comes to offering top margins, we win. We earn dealers more money.”

That window of opportunity that Richard Webb saw 25 years ago, then, is still open – although it would appear that today it is very much Intermusic’s window.

Dealers could do a lot worse than having a peek through it.

INTERMUSIC: 01202 696963

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 33

COMPANY PROFILE BARNES & MULLINS

Taking a bow The use of modern technology might be less common in the orchestral string sector, but Codabow has been using contemporary techniques to make its bows for decades. Adam Savage sees what they’re all about…

A

round the world of MI, almost all instrument categories include accessories to aid the musician’s playing experience to varying degrees, but there are few products that are as important as the bow is to the violin.

The clue is in the name, of course: bowed instruments. When you take this into consideration, it is baffling that little attention is given to bows. Here’s an opportunity, then, for them to get some much-needed limelight.

The US bow maker Codabow provides bows for string enthusiasts with varying levels of skill and ability. Whether a student in the early stages of development or an accomplished solo artist, Codabow targets all musicians.

The brand traces its history back to the commercial introduction of carbon fibre in the early 1950s and the product is made by a team of craftsmen and scientists, blending tradition and technology to produce quality, performance bows.

Stan Prosen, a key player in the composites industry, is one of the pioneers of this carbon fibre approach, along with Roger Zabinski, who is up there with the most respected traditional bow makers.

Completing the trio is Codabow chief executive Jeff Van Fossen, a mechanical and aerospace engineer. Together, they have started a trend with carbon fibre bows that professionals now follow.

34 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

Two areas where Codabow has made a real difference to players are with its bow camber and bow balance innovations.

“Camber refers to the arc of the bow shaft, typically measured when the bow hair is at full rest,” says Van Fossen.

“Optimum camber is largely dependent upon the material properties of the shaft.

Codabows are crafted using stable materials to exact specifications, yielding bow performance that is predictable and consistent throughout. The camber on all Codabows will never require adjustment.

“

maker has limited control over balance.

Because of the material properties of Codabows, the control of balance can be engineered exactly, so the dynamic and static points can be placed precisely where they serve the player best.”

There are a number of different ranges available from Codabow through Barnes & Mullins that cater for players of all levels.

Starting from the top, the Diamond series is available for violin, viola and cello and consists of three model levels: the GX, SX and NX.

The control of balance can be engineered exactly.

Jeff Van Fossen Codabow

“Balance is perhaps the least understood and yet one of the most important characteristics of a performance bow,” he adds. “The ‘balance’ that a player feels is a combination of two properties: the static balance and the dynamic balance points. The location of these two points strinbgly influences the playability.

“In the case of traditional wood bows whose material properties are defined, the

The GX is designed to be the ideal bow for those looking to replace their pernambuco model, the SX is best as a touring bow for the busy musician and the NX is for advanced players who want to make their first steps towards becoming a fully-fledged professional string maestro.

The most innovative of the Codabows, the Joule, offers performance unobtainable from materials traditionally used.

Originally developed for extended range and electric instruments, this design is capable of commanding power for the lower range, while still allowing colour and nuance for the upper range.

The Prodigy is another product that Codabow feels can enhance the performance of a player. Precisionengineered to provide professional characteristics at an affordable price, the Prodigy is ideal for more experienced students. The balanced shaft delivers offstring agility, usually found in highperformance bows, while providing ease of use and comfort for younger players.

Not forgetting double bass, Codabow has created the Infinity and Revelation bass bows – the former more suited to soloists and the latter for orchestras.

Prices start at £275 for the Prodigy and currently peak at £720 for the double bass Revelation bows.

“Players have really taken to Codabow,” comments Bruce Perrin, B&M’s joint MD. “I spend a lot of time at string players’ summer schools and events and I have worked hard to promote the benefits of carbon fibre bows wherever possible.

“Many players are very happy to try and buy an alternative bow, so with import restrictions on endangered woods such as pernambuco, having a strong, reliable and high quality replacement is now an essential consideration.”

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COMPANY PROFILE WORLD RHYTHM

Cajon spice Percussion is one of the very few MI sectors that is really hotting up at the moment and a lot of dealers are taking advantage of the surprisingly small number of brands there are out there. One of these, World Rhythm Percussion, has adopted a fresh, new approach with the business and wastes no time beating out the message to Gary Cooper…

O

ne of the few bright stars in the MI industry in recent years has been the growing interest in percussion. Not only does percussion sell to existing musicians but it also has a growing market among ordinary members of the public. Increasingly, percussion is showing it has the power to draw people in to start playing by proving that you don’t need to be a musical genius, it’s inexpensive and can be a lot of fun.

Many distributors specialise in this field and among them is one of the most goahead small distributors in the MI sector – World Rhythm Percussion. This is a company that prides itself on the ethical sourcing of its products and while that does mean sourcing materials from sustainable resources, it goes a great deal further, involving WRP directly in the communities which make the instruments.

Which brings us to World Rhythm Percussion’s latest addition – a line of cajons not drawn from ‘the usual sources’ but actually made in Spain, where the instrument has a long association with Flamenco, much as it has right across the world, where it has found its way into ethnic music styles on several continents.

In case you’re thinking ‘another cajon – so what?’ WRP’s Chris Bromwich explains there is a difference. “The ethical sourcing is very important. All the wood used

36 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

comes from FSC sources and then there is the constructional quality. If you put them next to other visually similar cajons, you can see that these are built to a very high specification. The company that is building them have over 20 years collective experience building cajons so a lot of forethought, experience and attention to detail has gone into them. Every one is hand-built from start to finish.”

“

It can’t be stressed enough how fast percussion is growing in the UK. For many years it was the poor relation of the MI family and though having undergone this tremendous surge in popularity, it is still often overlooked by stores. This means if a member of the public is enjoying playing percussion at home and is buying products from a teacher or website, they might not even think to visit their local music shop.

What we’ve seen with the djembe in the UK over the past five years is going to be superseded by the cajon.

Chris Bromwich World Rhythm Percussion Despite being high quality and made in Europe, the new cajons are not expensive, Bromwich says. “They’re certainly well priced compared to others. There are cheaper products, but they are much more inferior. There are also products on the market that are a lot more expensive and are no better. There are three ranges priced from £120 to £230.”

Fortunately, a growing number of retailers have begun to realise this and have started to expand into this area.

Understandably, World Rhythm Percussion is keen to encourage them, Bromwich says. “At a time when there aren’t many growth areas in music, percussion is one and now could well be the time to invest in it.”

Bromwich points to an interesting potential market, too. “Most people who are interested in making, playing or producing music are interested in new sounds and my experience of selling these products to retailers and players is that while there’s a lot of synthetic software that has a variety of sounds, you never really get the true essence of the instrument. What I find is that a lot of general musicians are interested in purchasing percussion items. A lot of the products we sell on the hand-held side come in at under £20. People may not have been thinking of buying a percussion product but they see a shaker, pick it up, it’s earthy, organic, the sound is really interesting and it’s only £7, £12 or £15. So it’s inexpensive, appeals to most musicians and is fairly recession-proof. Everyone has got £15 to spend, even today.”

And the new WRP cajons? “My impression is that what we’ve seen with the djembe in the UK over the past five years is gong to be superseded by the cajon. Its already big in Spain, Germany, Europe and the USA. Effectively, it’s a portable drum kit without the cymbal and most musicians are very excited when they see it. We think this is going to become a very big market and now is a good time for retailers to get involved.”

WORLD RHYTHM: 01242 282191

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ALLIANZ COMPANY PROFILE

An Allianz of convenience We all know that having some form of insurance has become something of a necessity in virtually everything we do these days, but thanks to Allianz’s new dealer website, the company tells Gary Cooper, it can be a two-way street…

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t a time when retailers of all kinds need to squeeze the highest profit possible from their floor space, one avenue which is frequently overlooked is acting as a partner with one of the insurance companies specialising in the music industry. Of those, among the most active is the giant Allianz, which claims to be the largest musical instrument insurance provider in the UK, having established several hundred partnerships with UK MI retailers and it has just launched a new website, designed to make the business even easier to operate, it says.

Allianz’s new site – amipartner.co.uk – is dedicated to retailers, allowing them to register on the site to kick-start the process of becoming an ‘Allianz Musical Insurance partner’. It gives them, the company says, access to a range of support materials to help promote musical insurance to customers and earn commission every time a new insurance policy is taken out.

And that commission certainly isn’t to be sneezed at. It’s a healthy 25 per cent on every policy sold until the end of November.

“We have historically seen a good business channel with the music retailers

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we work with. They have already referred a lot of business to us and we want to build on that,” says Allianz’s marketing executive, Lawrence Davies. “We also think it might help some of the smaller retailers who are perhaps struggling a bit in the online environment by giving them a bit more of a profile.”

This refers to a feature that is due to be added to the website in the near future,

“

to reach thousands of potential customers every month.

Allianz has set its sight not just on music retailers, but is also very interested in working with repairers, too. It is the latter, after all, that usually see the broken instruments on which claims might have been made, so it seems a logical connection for an insurance company to make.

We think it might help some of the smaller retailers who are perhaps struggling a bit in the online environment by giving them a bit more of a profile.

Lawrence Davies Marketing executive, Allianz Musical Insurance

Davies reveals. While retailers can already order stock and promotional material online, soon, those signed up to amipartner.co.uk will also be able to advertise their business for free – a facility which will kick in when Allianz Musical Insurance launches its business listing tool ‘Find a Retailer’ on allianzmusic.co.uk – the company’s consumer website. Allianz says this will give retailers the opportunity

Does a retailer who is interested need specialist knowledge to take part?

“They don’t need to know a huge amount at all,” Davies says. “Basically, all they are doing is referring customers to us.

In fact, there are limits on what they can say, because we are regulated by the FSA. They can say that insurance is a great idea and hand over one of our leaflets, but they can’t say ‘Allianz is great and we

wholeheartedly recommend them’. We provide retailers with lots of material they can hand to customers, with details of our policies and what we are doing now is trying to build more links to our website.

“The longer term plan is to offer the ‘find a retailer’ tool that will sit on our consumer-facing website, but we’re anticipating that this will take possibly three months. What we’re trying to do first is recruit enough retailers to populate a database, so it’s useful to the public from the start. The aim is to provide a short reference guide to our customers who, if they are on our website, may be in the process of making a claim and will be looking for someone in their area.

“From a retailer’s perspective, there is very little effort involved and it will generate commission without costing them anything – it’s a no lose situation with no financial commitment from them and with a lot of support from us to help them. Importantly, we feel, is that it also helps retailers build long term relationships with their customers. Many retailers – particularly independents – do repairs and if a customer becomes loyal to a retailer as a consequence, it can be a very good source of repeat business.”

ALLIANZ: 0800 197 5783

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 39

PROFILE

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING CHRIS FEARN National sales manager – Wharfedale Pro/Surgex

Chris Fearn goes through his busy schedule involving Far Eastern connections, trade shows, traveling and juggling the development of a number of major audio brands…

I

’ll usually rise at about 6:30 in the morning and get straight on Skype and talk to the PR and product managers over in China, where the International Audio Group, of which Wharfedale is a wholly owned subsidiary, has its own factory.

Both of them used to work for Sound Control in the UK. I’ll normally do this between 7:00 and 8:30 and we’ll talk about a variety of topics and recently we’ve been discussing matters relating to the BPM show. I also often chat with the guys from Surgex over in the States, but this would happen later in the day.

“

loved music and sound. I’m a very bad guitar player.

I enjoy all kinds of music – what I have on my iPod is very varied. I don’t really watch films or TV that much and I also have two children, aged three and seven and I have encouraged one of them to start playing the violin.

I go to a lot of trade shows such as Frankfurt and NAMM and I will soon be making the annual trip to China along with a group of dealers.

I’ll always make an appearance at the other large shows, like PLASA, too. However, that show seems to have grown a bit too much for the people and brands I deal with, although the

I love the way that everyone seems to stay in the industry and refrains from becoming hard-nosed businessmen – we should all be a bit more like this.

I’ll then check my emails, which is when I regularly receive a lot of requests from dealers about products. Our biggest customer is PMT, but we also help out a lot of the bricks and mortar stores. Our office opens at 8am, which is quite early for this industry, but there are 25 employees currently working with us and there will almost always be someone in communication with those over in China, hence the early start. I sometimes get a lot of enquiries from end users asking me about products and then it’s my job to direct them on to a dealer.

I live near Nottingham, just off the M1, which means I can get to a lot of places quickly. I’ll spend at least one night a week away from home, travelling all over the country.

As for what I do in my spare time, I’ve always

40 miPRO OCOTBER 2010

regional event in Leeds (PLASA Focus) is much more suitable.

We’re looking to launch the new Alvion range of amps in the UK soon. These have been designed by Steve Grindrod, the director of Wharfedale’s Musical Instruments Division.

I’ve been here for nine years. Before that, I was working for a Canadian installation company and before that a hi-fi company and I was selling Wharfedale products in each of these roles.

I’ve made a lot of friends in this time and I love the way that everyone seems to stay in the industry and refrains from becoming hard-nosed businessmen.

Maybe we should all be a bit more like this. In the end, I just enjoy getting out there and meeting people.

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AUDIO TECHNICA COMPANY PROFILE

School’s in for summer The complexities of the microphone can be perplexing to many MI retailers, which is why Audio Technica decided to help out. Adam Savage went along to Absolute Music in Dorset to see what the Summer Schools were all about…

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he success of the MI Retail Conference & Expo is no secret to MI Pro readers by now, but one key feature of the event – that was in fact launched there – is the series of summer schools and Centres of Excellence from Audio Technica.

As a retailer, developing a good knowledge base for the whole MI spectrum can often be a real challenge, especially when it comes to the industry’s more technical categories, which is why when Audio Technica announced that it was to send its training and product specialist, Logan Helps, to dealerships nationwide in order to get them more clued up on the often complicated and confusing subject of microphones, retailers leapt at the chance.

Upon receiving an invitation to sample one of these sessions at Absolute Music in Poole, therefore, it seemed both churlish to refuse and the perfect opportunity to see an initiative like this in action.

The first impression that was created was how face-to-face and personal the training was. Too many schemes of this kind seem too much like a boring and lengthy university lecture, but with an excellent informant like Helps sitting so close and pointing out features and giving in-depth explanations, it’s no wonder that so many participants have come away stating how beneficial it was to their staff and personal knowledge.

Travelling the length and breadth of the country, visiting a large number of stores and doing more or less the same thing repeatedly might put other people off, but

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Logan was clearly happy with this element of his responsibilities.

“It’s about the application rather than the products,” said Helps. “I’m doing 34 of these, which is of course very tiring, but I’m really enjoying it. The question and answer format is key, as people just want knowledge in order to sell the products more effectively.”

Participating retailers were given the option to choose which modules they wanted to cover, encompassing other areas such as headphones, wireless systems and various categories relating to the world of microphones.

“

support offered by Audio Technica in training staff, increasing their understanding and enabling them to sell product from a position of confidence,” said Harvey Roberts, Audio Technica’s senior UK marketing manager.

Microphones are an oftenmisunderstood area of MI by both retailers and consumers. To many, the dizzying selection of mics available from Audio Technica alone might seem almost unnecessary at first, until you learn the importance of getting the right mic for your voice, something that was stressed repeatedly by Helps.

It’s about the application, rather than the products.

The question and answer format is key as people just want knowledge in order to sell.

Logan Helps Training and product specialist, Audio Technica

Condensers, cardioids, sibilants, ribbon and instrument mics were explained in immense detail, with background information, diagrams and explanations on suitable applications all part of the package and if that wasn’t enough, an entire box full of cut-away product examples meant the participants could see for themselves how the theory is applied to the actual models.

It is an initiative that has gone down well with those that have taken part. “Our customers have really appreciated the

Of course, some stores will benefit more than others, particularly those that specialise in other areas, but are looking to get more educated in this sector. In this case, the Absolute Music workforce already possessed a good deal of knowhow on microphones of various kinds already, but were still extremely glad that they took part.

“We’re very big on sales training,” said Richard Malpass, Absolute’s store manager.

“You need to know your products. We already had good knowledge, but you can

always do with knowing a bit more. Audio Technica is a major brand for us as well.”

Recommending the right microphone to a customer, rather than automatically selling the first one they take an interest in was another crucial point made.

“We get a lot of people coming in and asking for a (Shure) SM58, because it’s what everyone else has,” said Absolute’s Dan Henry. “It’s nice to know more about Audio Technica products specifically, especially as they have a wider range than many other manufacturers.”

As vocalists usually have just the mic for their entire set-up, they are often much less ‘nerdy’ with their gear choices and so another feature of the Summer School is to encourage dealers to ensure that a customer doesn’t just go home with the right model, but that they also know about what they’ve bought.

Having smashed the target number of sign-ups at the MI Retail Conference & Expo launch, Audio Technica would have already known it had hit the right note with a scheme such as this.

“The reaction to Audio Technica’s Summer School training programme has been excellent. We exceeded our expectations for dealer ‘sign-ups’ at the MI Retail Conference, where we launched the initiative and I’m very pleased with the response to the training sessions around the country,” added Roberts. “The programme has been a great success and has become an important part of Audio Technica’s commitment to customer support this year.”

AUDIO TECHNICA: 0113 277 1441

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 43

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT TRADITIONAL

Steeped in tradition There aren’t many sectors as diverse as the traditional one – ranging from the simplest whistle to the grandest of ornate pluckables. Adam Savage assesses the latest offerings…

“

While not ‘cool’, traditional instruments are going strong and many benefit from comparatively low prices, making them tempting for those wanting to mess around on something different

44 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

I

t can’t be denied that certain musical trends play a major part in the popularity and sales of instruments of a certain type. The electric guitar has been the king for many decades because it’s undeniably ‘cool’ and classical instruments have always chugged on nicely due to the level of prestige associated with them.

Folk and traditional instruments have never really been ‘cool’ though, but they’re still going strong and many of the products in this sector benefit from their comparatively low prices, making them great impulse buys or tempting for those wanting to mess about on something simple to fulfill their creative urges.

For a supplier that provides the full folk division, right down to the most unusual instruments found in this sector, look no further than Gremlin Music.

If it’s a whistle you’re after, you’re spoilt for choice, as Gremlin is the largest UK distributor in this field, with models from

Waltons, Clarke, Generation, Dixon, Chieftain and many more. The latter two brands are by far the best sellers and both are made in the UK. The Dixon range varies from simple one-piece high D models, right up to alloy-bodied versions and Chieftain whistles are for those looking for something further up the scale. These instruments are available in a variety of different keys, in either tuneable or nontuneable formats and prices start at £94.

Kentucky mandolins is another major line for Gremlin. Although originally intended for use in the bluegrass genre, their versatility would also suit a variety of other musical styles. Made in China, these beautiful instruments start at £199 all the way up to £1,500 for the KM-1000.

One final highlight from Gremlin’s lineup is the new Ashbury banjos. The AB65 includes maple for the rim, resonator and neck, a presto-style tailpiece and a

flat-type flange, available in either fivestring or tenor for a very reasonable £299.

The AB-85 five-string has a scooped fingerboard, walnut neck, rosewood fingerboard and brass tone ring for £349.

Aria is another distributor that takes a keen interest in the folk market. The AM mandolin collection starts with the AM200, sporting a spruce top and mahogany for the back, sides and neck and a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with chrome hardware. It is also available as an electrified version – the AM-200E. Also from Aria, the steel bodied DG-20 emits a brilliant metallic radio chime. The DG-10 uses its wooden construction to produce a rich, warm sound, ideal for finger picking and slide players.

Folk guitars are very popular in this market and Aria has plenty on offer. Its steel-strung AF Auditorium line has been an Aria flagship model for many years.

High grade spruce, mahogany and

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TRADITIONAL SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

Fender Pa’ina ukelele £304

Kentucky KM-900 £999 Representing the middle of the Kentucky range, the KM900 features a solid, hand-carved spruce top, a one-piece maple neck with a dovetail neck and body joint at the 15th fret, a nitro-cellulose finish in the 1920s sunburst style, a vintage-style ebony bridge with small adjustment wheels and Ivoroid binding on all the edges.

These models are equipped with an unmistakable Telecaster headstock shape and bracing patterns made solely for this range. Named after the Hawaiian word for party, this Pa’ina model is comprised of solid mahogany, with a satin finish and passive electronics for those wanting to crank it up a bit.

Roland FR-3x V-Accordion £2,399

Aria AM-600 £419 Both the AM-600 and 400 resemble classic designs with their vintage headstocks, solid spruce or maple carved/scrolled tops and the back and sides are made from either maple or mahogany. 23 or 30fret inlaid rosewood fingerboards can be selected. Gold hardware gives these models a real sense of quality.

rosewood have been chosen here, and a three-quarter sized variation has appealed to traveling musicians and younger players.

Fender’s three tenor-style ukeleles feature an intricately honed sound and careful construction that can conjure up a Hawaiian feel to any setting.

Its entry-level banjo is the FB-54, an instrument that includes specs more commonly found on more pricey rivals, such as a mahogany resonator and neck.

Other notable qualities are the aluminium rim, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid inlay and chrome-covered tuners.

The FM-52 mandolin is another product made from high quality materials, namely a spruce top, with nato back and sides, chrome hardware and rosewood for the fingerboard and fretboard. The inclusion of a single coil pickup, as well as tone and volume controls means it produces cutting volume and chiming tone when hooked up to an amp.

Roland might seem a surprise entry in this sector, but the manufacturer more than qualifies for inclusion with the FR-3x V-accordion. Typically Roland, this is a unique combination of a traditional instrument with modern, innovative technology.

Ozark is a brand that has become the choice of many for its quality selection of mandolins, banjos and bouzoukis. Its mandolin range starts with the

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A new bellows sensor helps achieve quicker response and greater sensitivity, a USB connection allows the user to save and store settings, a Bellow Resistance Regulator can adjust the bellows’ inertia and a built-in amplification system make this a worthwhile alternative to a standard, traditional accordion.

Several accordion simulations

£170 2250 Army/Navy special model with solid mahogany top, right up to the 2255S, which is hand carved from solid spruce and maple.

In the banjo sector, Ozark has the five-string 2112G. For £405, you get a mahogany neck and resonator, 24 plated brackets and double co-ordinator rods, a clamshell tailpiece and a chrome plated armrest with chrome hardware, making this ideal for upgrade from a first banjo.

A more entry-level option is the 2035 ukelele banjo. This instrument comes with 12 plated brackets, a cream bound fingerboard and resonator, ‘old-style’ open machine heads with cream buttons and aged brass finish settings.

Stagg is a major player in the entry level of many MI sectors and this is no exception. The US100 traditional soprano ukelele has a walnut top, back and sides, a mahogany headstock and rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge.

The M20 bluegrass mando from Stagg has basswood construction and a black-stained maple bridge. Its engraved tailpiece, nickel machines and ‘f’ holes make this great to look at and play.

Although amps have replaced the original purpose of the resonator guitar, there are a number of modern resonator models that would appeal to the tastes of today’s folk musician.

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 45

CONTACTS

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT TRADITIONAL

GREMLIN 01903 203044 ARIA DISTRIBUTION 01483 238720 FENDER 01342 603733 ROLAND 01792 702701 OZARK (STENTOR) 01737 240226 EMD (STAGG) 01293 862612 RECORDING KING (WESTSIDE) 0141 248 4812 BARNES & MULLINS 01691 652449 VINTAGE (JHS) 0113 286 5381 LEE OSKAR (FCN MUSIC) 01892 603733 TANGLEWOOD 01937 841122

Ozark 2255SD £695 The ‘f’ model 2255SD is a highly desirable instrument because of its aged finish and its older, more traditional appearance, as well as its powerful, smooth tone. A rosewood fingerboard, along with gold plated machines and a diecast tailpiece add further to this valuable product.

Barnes & Mullins BJ301 banjo £249 Recent additions include the BJ301 and BJ301T, which feature high quality geared machineheads, a maple fingerboard, Remo head and satin maple resonator. These fivestring and tenor models are aimed at musicians looking for something a bit different from the norm.

Tanglewood TMR £499.95

Recording King RM-998-D (Style O series) £429.99

The TMR resonator from Tanglewood is another quality instrument, with a maple biscuit bridge, mother of pearl veneer headstock, chrome die-cast machine heads and a nickel plate finish.

Its bell brass construction delivers excellent sound projection and tone with its 9.5-inch hand-spun Continental cone, mahogany neck and hard maple bridge. This instrument has received acclaim from beginners all the way up to professionals.

Stagg BJM30 4DL £216.91 The BJM30 4DL four-string bluegrass banjo is equipped with an all-cast metal alloy pot, an 11inch Remo head, a resonator and neck binding made from Ivoroid cream and a maple and ebony bridge.

Lee Oskar harmonicas £29.95 The Major Diatonic is most commonly used for blues, rock, country, folk and jazz styles. For more traditional ethnic music genres, including Eastern European and Middle Eastern styles, there is the Harmonic Minor.

Vintage Laka ukeleles £99-£219 The Lakas are equipped with high quality Italian Aquila strings, which enhance the instruments’ performance and help produce a well-balanced sound. These electro-acoustic models are even fitted with Fishman Sonitone preamp systems, which are soundhole-mounted and nicely concealed.

One of these is the Style-O from Recording King, which starts with a powder coated bell brass body and comes with Fishman Resophonic pickups.

Recording King’s Tricone series, named after its three six-inch Continental cones is available in three engraved designs and a new champagne finish. An eq balance is created from the two cones on the base side and the third on the treble side, providing a sweet, warm sound. The Tricone also includes an ebony and maple saddle and a T-shaped bridge connected to the centre of each cone, which helps direct the vibrations towards the bridge from the saddle.

The Professional resonator banjo combines pre-war traditional features with modern components, such as its floral peghead and inlay and Mastertonestyle flange, for more experienced players.

The Soloist has mostly the same features

46 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

as The Professional, but instead has a flamed maple resonator and figured neck, along with a glorious sunburst finish.

Considering Barnes & Mullins’ founders based their business on the banjo back in 1895, it’s no surprise they have a grand selection in this category. A variety of tenor, five-string and six-string guitar banjos are available from the supplier, ranging from £169 to £320.

B&M also distributes Brunswick mandolins, which specialises in primarily entry-level instruments. The BM500E is a sunburst-finished, arch-topped, flatbacked model with Shadow Electronics SH928 Nanomag pickups. The pickup bar moves and the controls are mounted with the pickguard assembly, making it virtually identical to a regular instrument.

It is when the BM500E is amplified though that it really plays to its strengths.

As well as being a major force in the

electric guitar market, Vintage also offers a variety of ukeleles, mandolins and banjos. The Laka uke range provides excellent tonal resonance and response as a result of their open pore satin finishes.

The VFM300/400 and VMT400 mandolins feature oversize headstocks, solid spruce tops and maple back and sides, creating a collection of affordable instruments that also possess great tonal qualities. All of the above have adjustable rosewood bridges and gold plated open gear tuners with ‘crushed ice’ effect pearloid buttons.

Vintage’s banjo series starts with the £159 VOB12 open back G banjo and the range offers great response, tone, performance and value.

The VGB26 six-string version is ideal for bluegrass and at £349, the VUB50 ukelele banjo represents the top of the Vintage range.

Tanglewood’s TB18 four-string tenor banjo has a mahogany resonator, neck and rim, a chrome tension hoop and tailpiece and a maple bridge with rosewood tip. Then there’s the spruce topped TML VS mandolin and the Union series ukeleles, meaning there is more than acoustics on offer from this brand.

One other instrument associated with folk music is the harmonica. Lee Oskar is one of the leading brands here and The Major Diatonic is its bestseller.

Replacement reedplates can also be purchased for all models for those serious about maintaining their instruments.

The Mi-Si series of pickups and preamps is also available from the supplier FCN Music. These battery free accessories can provide eight hours of playing time with only one minute of charging time and include pickups for guitar, mandolins, violins and ukeleles.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The BR-183 delivers simply astounding value with nothing coming close for that moneyâ&#x20AC;?

Guitarist

Contact Gremlin Music Tel: +44 (0) 1903 203044 Email: post@gremlinmusic.co.uk Web: www.gremlinmusic.co.uk

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Very Impressive Instrumentsâ&#x20AC;?

Drummer Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conclusion on the Rumba and Calabo Cajon models: â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are two very impressive instruments, ones that attracted a good deal of attention from the other folks in the office, which is very telling, especially as they are all guitarists!

They, too, clearly enjoyed the musical scope that each box of tricks had the potential to create. Response is excellent, and the array of tones that each drum possesses is highly rated. Build quality is good too, and pricing seems spot on, making the ownership of such a highly dexterous instrument all the more attainable.â&#x20AC;?

Contact Gremlin Music, Tel: +44 (0) 1903 203044 E: post@gremlinmusic.co.uk, W: www.gremlinmusic.co.uk

COMPANY PROFILE YAMAHA

Mix and match

Yamaha has made a reputation for itself in the pro mixing world that is, to be fair, second-to-none. The onset of digital technology, which was led by Yamaha as much as anyone, has seen the company grow to a position of sheer dominance in the console market. But it’s not all pro – and it’s not all digital as MI Pro learns from the manufacturer’s Peter Peck…

A

sk anyone involved in the pro audio industry to name the world’s leading mixing console manufacturers and it’s likely that Yamaha will be one of the first names that they will utter.

To describe Yamaha’s presence in the mixing console market as ‘ubiquitous’ is similar to suggesting that the M25 sees ‘a few’ cars every day. Thousands of Yamaha consoles are in use throughout the world at festivals, gigs, in theatres, nightclubs, hotels, schools, houses of worship, conference suites, community halls and are used to satisfy the biggest to the smallest requirements for sound reinforcement, mixing and distribution.

48 miPRO OCOTBER 2010

Yamaha began making mixers in 1972 with the EM60 six-channel 'ensemble mixer' and the EM90, which featured a built-in drum machine, establishing a tradition of including features to make the products more flexible.

This is at the core of the design features of all Yamaha mixers, together with audio quality, ease of use and, most importantly, reliability. Being able to rely on a mixing console – to have that confidence that it won’t let you down – may not be the most glamorous of its functions, but it’s one of the most vital.

Speak to audio engineers about Yamaha consoles and you will hear the same thing time after time: “they never fall over,”

“you have complete confidence that you can walk up to the desk at any time and it’ll be working perfectly,” “I’ve never had one crash,” and so on.

Since the EM60 and EM90, the company has continued to bring many of the industry’s innovations to market.

Entering into the professional mixer market in 1974, Yamaha introduced the first live mixing console with VCAs in 1985 and the first digital mixing system, the DMP7, in 1987.

1994’s Promix 01 opened up the markets for digital live sound and recording, while the new millennium brought the PM1D, the industry’s first large-format live digital mixing console.

Yamaha’s digital mixers have since become de rigeur in the industry – the PM5D, DSP5D, M7CL, LS9 and DME series all becoming staples of high profile live shows and installations.

IT’S NOT ALL DIGITAL Yamaha’s focus, however, is not exclusively digital products. The company still ploughs as much R&D into producing analog mixers that satisfy a high demand from a range of market sectors, all of which demand slightly different feature sets.

“Once the initial period settles when a new technology is launched and gradually adopted, people realise that there isn’t one product, or range of products, that

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YAMAHA COMPANY PROFILE models and have the SPX digital multieffects engines, packing a huge amount of signal processing power into the compact chassis. If the user needs to keep both hands free to play an instrument or perform other operations, an optional footswitch can be connected to the mixer’s effect footswitch jack.

Another demonstration of Yamaha including the latest technology on its analog mixers can be found in the MGUSB models, which, as the name suggests, add a USB interface to allow integration between the mixer and a Mac or PC running the supplied (Yamaha-owned) Steinberg Cubase AI5 software. This

“

inputs remain active for background music, connectors for external power amplifiers/effect processors and a highefficiency, high power onboard amplifier.

The console-styled EMX5014C and 5016CF feature all of the above, as well as the inclusion of 26-dB pad switches for input level matching, three band eq on all of the input channels (with midfrequency sweep on mono channels), power amp mode selector and, on the EMX5016CF, nine band digital graphic eq with presets and memory, automated frequency response correction, automated feedback suppression and a multi-band maximiser.

We have to accept that different technologies can exist side by side. There is no panacea and at Yamaha we have always found that diversity is key.

satisfies every possible use,” says Peter Peck of Yamaha Music Europe (UK)’s professional music division. “We have to accept that different technologies can exist side by side. There is no panacea and at Yamaha we have always found that diversity is the key.

“We are continually working to improve our analog mixers alongside the digital ranges, applying new technology and the latest thinking to have different ranges of consoles to satisfy every market.

“We consider ours to be the most respected digital consoles and we take that experience and knowledge to produce a major line-up of smaller, analog mixers.

By combining this with the core values mentioned before, we aim to keep Yamaha dominant in the mixing console market.”

MG: COMPACT, NOT MIDGET An example of this is the MG series of powered analog mixers, which covers 12 models and between them are ideal for everything from corporate, classroom and church systems, through rehearsal and production studios, right up to major theatre and live music events.

Touted as ‘the ultimate in portable-yetrugged, cost-effective flexibility’, the MG

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series is made in four ranges. The MG-C models comprise the MG102C (ten inputs), MG124C (12 inputs – you get the idea), MG166C and MG206C. All of these feature four stereo line inputs with XLR mic inputs making up the remainder of the channel count. There is a host of prolevel features, such as onboard compressors and graphic eq, switchable phantom power, input gain trim pots, insert channels, LED metering and Neutrik XLR connectors, but its all very straightforward to use.

The compact size also makes them ideal for small spaces. The MC102C, for example, measures just 30cm by 26cm, while the MG166C and MG206C can be mounted in a standard 19-inch rack.

The MG-CX line-up comprises the MG82CX, MG124CX and MG166CX. These models have all the features of the C

Peter Peck Yamaha Music Europe

provides a powerful set of DAW tools that are pretty easy to use. The three-console line-up offers a choice of 16 or 20 input channels, the former with or without an onboard SPX processor.

For medium-sized and larger scale events, the MG-FX models offer all the features of a high-spec front of house or monitor board and have become regulars with many rental and touring systems.

“One of the key aspects of the range is that they make it really simple for the inexperienced user to create a tight and controlled sound,” says Peck.

“Market research never ends and it’s only through this that we can make sure we've included all the features that specific markets need. For example, the footswitch control on the MG-X models has been really well received, while things like rack ears on the MG166C, MG166CX, MG206C and all the USB models have allowed installers to specify without any additional cost.”

EMXCELLENCE The EMX series of powered mixers takes the application of digital technology to analog mixers one stage further.

Housed in convenient angled cabinets for easy portability, the EMX212S, 312SC and 512SC all feature Yamaha’s proprietary FCL system (which makes locating and eliminating feedback very easy), 16 digital SPX effect programs with adjustable parameters, a standby switch to mute performer inputs while the stereo

MW – SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL It would be a mistake to think that Yamaha mixers are all about live sound.

Applying the technology developed for the live environment to recording means that there are flexible solutions available for all kinds of recording needs.

The MW series offers eight, ten and 12 channel consoles with the same USB technology from the MG-USB series. They allow for recording to a Mac or PC running the same Cubase software – turning a computer into a pro quality studio.

The MW8CX and MW12CX also feature the SPX effects processor, providing high quality signal processing within the console. Each of the 16 effect programs has a number of editable parameters, as well as effect on/off switching capability and return level control.

Ideal for the home or project studio – or for companies that want to make their own audio/visual promotions – the MW series is designed to be very easy to use, meaning that even the most fleeting idea can be captured quickly.

IN GOOD COMPANY “Our analog ranges are designed specifically to be easily usable for anyone from the home musician, through staff in schools, churches, public facilities and at companies to whom audio is just one of many jobs, to full-time, professional mixing engineers,” concludes Peck.

“As well as giving them all the facilities they will need at their fingertips and the confidence that Yamaha’s reliability brings, we have also tried to make the operation manuals really intuitive. We recognise that not every user is a skilled mix engineer, so in all manuals there are clear explanations of mixing terminology, cabling and how to get the most from all the products.

“Using a Yamaha mixer means that you can easily get the best results – along with the knowledge that you’re in the company of thousands of others doing the same.”

YAMAHA: 01908 366700

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 49

STENTOR

The First Choice * Teachers and music services everywhere recommend Stentor

for the quality and value we offer * Stock Stentor and keep customers coming back to you as they

upgrade to their next instrument * Ideal student and intermediate instruments:

• Stentor Student I • Stentor Student II • Stentor Graduate • Stentor Conservatoire * Our high grade orchestral models:

- Messina, Elysia and Arcadia * Stentor violins, violas, cellos and double basses are carved

from solid tonewoods, with correct measurements and good tonal quality, offering students the best start to their musical careers.

Contact us for free copies of the Stentor brochure, our DVD ‘The Making of the Stentor Violin’ and Stentor posters

www.stentor-music.com Stentor Music Co Ltd Tel: 01737 240226 Email: sales@stentor-music.com

BRASS AND WOODWIND SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

Wind of change To those not keeping a close eye on things, the brass and woodwind sector might seem pretty dormant, but in reality there is as much going on as in any other MI category. Andy Barrett reckons you just need to know where to look…

I

“

If you want to sell brass and woodwind, make sure you have someone who knows their stuff.

There are technicians in every region of the UK.

WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

t is a truth universally acknowledged that not much happens in the world of brass and woodwind… and that’s a lie.

Just ask anyone in this turned, welded, keyed and valved world and you will find that there is more going on now than (arguably) at any other time in the long and illustrious history of wind instruments.

A lot of it comes down to the ‘taming’ of Far Eastern manufacture (for want of a better word), in the shape of vigorous quality control, allowing many brands to significantly increase their product ranges and bring in a trickle down (or sometimes a trickle up) effect. This means that not only has good quality manufacture been achieved in the vast halls of mass manufacturing on the western edge of the Pacific Rim, but that quality is growing and cheaper products are benefiting from the techniques and technologies.

Add to that the daring and precision of UK makers, such as Peter Pollard and Andy Taylor and you have a product and brand world as dynamic as anything you could hope to find in the small world that is MI.

For the retailer it remains, however, a bit of a minefield and a lot of homework needs to be done before taking on brass and/or woodwind ranges. For all the exceptional quality that is now available for intermediate and entry-level ranges, there are still just as many cheap and nasty instruments popping up at trade fairs around the world that should be kept as far as possible from the hands of beginners and students.

For the uninitiated it can be difficult to tell, although a couple of rules of thumb do exist. Use a reputable supplier and look for products designed by recognised technicians, for a start. What sort of backup is offered by the manufacturer or supplier? How do they ‘feel’ in your hands? How do the mechanisms respond?

Even with these sorts of questions answered, there are still more subtle pitfalls. Thus, once again, MI Pro’s top tip is: if you want to sell brass and woodwind, make sure you have someone who knows their stuff. There are technicians in every region of the UK. Forge a relationship with

one if you don’t have the resources to bring one on to your staff.

The good news is that there is a lot out there that retailers can trust implicitly.

Quick off the blocks There is one benchmark the uncertain can turn to anytime, because wherever there is brass and woodwind, there is Yamaha.

Consistent – and persistently pushing up the bar for quality – the Japanese giant covers this market from top to entry level and across the whole breadth of the product offering. And it has never been easier to buy (or sell) a Yamaha instrument. Following the success of last year's part-exchange and zero per cent financing for acoustic pianos, Yamaha has now extended the offer to its wind instruments, coinciding with the 'back-toschool' season.

The scheme, developed in association with Duet Finance, offers interest-free finance over ten to 36 months on any new Yamaha brass or woodwind instrument. For added dealer value, Duet

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 51

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT BRASS AND WOODWIND Denis Wick DW5504 trumpet mute £14 (ex. VAT) Some say it is this innocuous little accessory that made Denis Wick what it is today. First launched in 1968, the 5504 mute maintains tune in all registers and doesn’t affect the 'blow' of the instrument. Hand-spun aluminium, work hardened, real cork and UK craftsmanship makes this – and anything from Denis Wick, second to none.

Yamaha YEP-321 Bb euphonium £2,495

Odyssey OTR140 Bb trumpet £149.99 Designed by Peter Pollard, the clear lacquered yellow brass body produces superb tones through the 11.68mm bore and 123mm bell.

It has stainless steel pistons, a responsive top spring valve action and a first valve slide saddle to fine tune the intonation. The outfit includes an ABS case, a large cleaning cloth, valve oil and an Instruction guide for instrument maintenance.

Listed as an intermediate instrument, this stunning, four-valve euphonium has a distinctly professional feature set, with precise valves, perfectly rounded tubes for a smooth airflow and superlative intonation. The instrument is laser fused for a virtually seamless bell, which allows continuous, even vibrations.

J Michael FL-400SPO flute £199 This C-tuned flute is extremely keenly priced for a model of this standard and the J Michael brand is growing in popularity among learners (and importantly their teachers). A white brass body, silver plated (as is the lip plate), a low-B foot joint and in-line ring keys, combined with the carrying case, make this an outfit well worth looking at.

Rosetti Series 5 Bb clarinet £160 Jupiter JHR-452D French Horn £1,671.99 The Jupiter French horn is about as close to a pro instrument as you can get with its mechanical link rotors, leadpipe rose brass, a 12mm bore and a 302mm bell, but the price and the interchangeable slides for both Bb and F keys, as well as adjustable hooks, means this superbly priced instrument can grow with the child.

Finance has provided a 'while-you-wait' online authorisation process.

Another big news story this year has been the Odyssey Premiere range, designed by Peter Pollard.

Pollard has become one of the most sought after instrument designers and repairers in the UK, having worked with the country’s top musicians for over 40 years. He has a thorough understanding of the player’s needs, is known for his experimental nature and pushes the boundaries of instrument design, often using materials not usually associated with the instruments he is building.

The result is a range of instruments targeting the student specifically – including special, smaller sized horns and saxes, enabling the younger learner to start playing all the sooner.

Pollard has a pretty impressive CV, having worked with Dawsons (designing the Mirage range) and Dolphin (where he oversaw an overhaul of the retailer’s 52 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

orchestral marketing), until turning full circle and working with JHS on the Odyssey line and creating his own custom instruments for individual artists.

Supplied by Korg in the UK, Jupiter’s instrument range covers everything form the entry level to professional, and the two companies together have been extremely active in education initiatives, particularly the Sound Start scheme, teaching hundreds of school children brass and woodwind instruments.

Jupiter has also won the MIA Awards best woodwind instrument four times in the past eight years, most recently with the Jupiter JFL-511ESSC flute. , which joins the JAS-567GL alto sax, the JTR308L trumpet and the JCL-631SMTO clarinet as an MIA award winner.

The instrument was one of the first to include a silver chimney, which although a small point, with a carefully designed headjoint and well crafted keys, this silver plated flute is a great model, and just like

The Rosetti Series 5 Bb clarinet is an excellent value clarinet, featuring a brushed ABS finish, silver plated keywork and bell ring flare – and it ships with its case. It is designed for beginners, students and intermediate players and plays as well as many more expensive models.

the rest of the Jupiter range offers quality, design, longevity, playability and above all a student instrument that will last for years to come.

Antigua is a brand that has certainly made waves in the saxophone arena, but the company’s extensive brass and woodwind offering looks very much as though it will be expanding its market considerably in the coming years.

A fresh start Graham Lyons’ Nuvo Clarinéo is an opportunity to access the six-year-oldplus age group for the first time with a proper wind instrument. The instrument is perfectly designed for young children with no compromises in tone, range or expression and it ranges three and a half octaves from E below middle C to the third G above and is fully chromatic.

The Clarinéo does for woodwind what the three-quarter sized guitars or violins do for their respective sectors – bring

youngsters on before they are big enough to handle the instrument proper. What is important, however, is that the fingering is the same basic Boehm system as the Bb clarinet. When the child starts taking up the clarinet proper, they are using the same fingering to play the same notes as they learned on the Clarinéo.

Never to be left out of any sector, Stagg has plenty to offer the dealer looking to dip a toe into the world of wind. Beginning with the simple bugle at £105, to the hefty tuba from £1,445, all Stagg brass and woodwind is fully serviced and regulated by qualified inhouse engineers before being delivered.

Making a name for itself in brass and woodwind is Rosetti’s own eponymous brand featuring trumpets, flugels, euphoniums, trombones, cornets, French horns, tubas, flutes, clarinets piccolos and saxes – it’s an impressive range and very keenly priced. Rosetti is also the UK supplier for Vandoren reeds (see below).

WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

Super-matic

© 2010 JHS & Co. Ltd.

Order today and receive a FREE Fret-King Super-matic WALL DISPLAY WORTH over £100!

Super-matic self-tuning guitar The Fret-King Blue Label Super-matic self-tuning guitar, is the first ever guitar to feature the truly outstanding and innovative Wilkinson ATD HT440™ self-tuning hard tail guitar bridge;a super low profile, real time electro-mechanical device utilising ultra hi-tech micro gearboxes, with a micro hex magnetic sensor and an intuitive one touch button The ATD bridge allows the player to automatically tune the Super-matic to Standard E or one of five alternative tuning presets such as, open E, open G, DADGAD... or a myriad of other tunings chosen by you the player. Simply select the desired tuning preset, strum and the ATD will rapidly change the guitar’s tuning.

Tuning status is confirmed in the hi-visibility display, designed to be viewed whilst playing, and overall tuning is assured with the built in chromatic tuner.

The signature Wilkinson 'Vari-coil’ control, (allows either of the humbuckers to be progressively wound down to single coil), creates an instrument with an exceptionally versatile palette of sounds.

Possibly the only ‘other’ guitar you’ll ever need!

,, MODEL ILLUSTRATED: FBSMOCB, ORIGINAL CLASSIC BURST. BODY: AMERICAN ALDER, NECK: HARD ROCK MAPLE BOLT-ON, SCALE 25.5 /648MM, TUNERS: WILKINSON, BRIDGE: WILKINSON ATD HT440 WITH MICRO HEX MAGNETIC SENSOR, PICKUPS: 2 X WILKINSON WHHBZ33 ZEBRA HUMBUCKER (B/N), 1 X WILKINSON WHSM SINGLE COIL (M), CONTROLS: VOLUME, TONE, VARI-COIL (HUMBUCKERS), 5-WAY SELECTOR. COLOUR OPTIONS: ORIGINAL CLASSIC BURST AND GLOSS BLACK COMPLETE WITH FRET-KING HARD SHELL CASE. £1,299.00 RRP INC. VAT.

Worldwide Trade Distributors:

FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON JHS PRODUCTS AND DEALERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES CONTACT YOUR JHS ASM OR OUR SALES OFFICE ON:

www.jhs.co.uk

0113 2866 411

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT BRASS AND WOODWIND Nuvo Clarinéo £149.99 This C clarinet is something of a revolution for woodwind teaching, allowing small-handed players of six-years old and upwards to learn the instrument and then, with just a day’s practice (or when the time comes) transfer to a full-sized Bb instrument.

Stagg Mini trumpet £189.99 This Bb pocket trumpet sports stainless steel pistons, a third tuning slide finger ring and ships with its own case.

The instrument comes in a variety of coloured finishes and once again presents customers with the chance to try out an instrument that might not otherwise be considered, thanks to the spectacular entry-level pricing.

Accessorise Denis Wick Products specialise in brass accessories, with the best-selling model the DW5504 trumpet mute. This mute is still hand-crafted in the old-fashioned way. "This method gives the metal a 'work-hardened' quality that makes the mute hard and resonant – ideal for orchestral playing," said director Stephen Wick. The DW5504 is available in aluminium, brass or copper.

Whatever instruments you are selling, there will be accessories to add to that profit figure. Wind is no exception – and the UK even has a world famous brand of its own for your brass add-ons.

54 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

New products from Denis Wick include mute bags for horn, euphonium and tuba and mouthpiece pouches in embossed leather or a canvas-like durable nylon, although it is the mutes and mouthpieces that are responsible for Wick’s appeal.

The first Denis Wick mouthpieces were made in 1968, and the range has grown to become one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. They are famous for their wonderful sound and designs, and are produced to the highest technical specifications. Special attention is paid to the rims, which are both comfortable and consistent. Special techniques are used to produce beautiful

and extremely hard-wearing silver and gold plating. Many mouthpieces are available in Heritage, Heavytop and Ultra formats as well as in the Classic shape.

At the other end of the manufacturing process come the items that make clarinet, saxophone and oboe playing possible – the humble reed. It takes usually two to four years of growth before a mature cane plant is harvested and that harvest period takes up to three months. Cane pole processing involves de-husking, sunning, drying, sawing and storage, which takes another two years.

After that the lengthy process of cutting, splitting and shaping the reeds

CONTACTS TOM & WILL (CLARINÉO) 01428 658806 EMD (STAGG) 01293 862612 YAMAHA 01908 366700 DENIS WICK 01202 665100 JHS (ODYSSEY) 0113 286 5381 KORG (JUPITER) 01908 857100 FCN (J MICHAEL) 01892 603730 ROSETTI 01376 550033 BARNES & MULLINS 01691 652449

into the wee tools we all know seems like no time at all. Two brands stand out in the reed department, namely Rico and Vandoren. Rico divides its reeds for sax and clarinet and for classical and jazz players, while Vandoren has traditional, V12 German and 56 Rue Lepic clarinet reeds and traditional, V12, V16, ZZ and Java saxophone reeds. Needless to say, whatever your playing preference, these two companies will be able to find the right playing tool for your customers.

And there we leave it. It’s a huge market and hard to get a handle, but with the right research and the right partners it could be your next best thing.

WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

Channel 69 to Channel 38

Wireless microphones and in-ear monitors the transition ...

Channel 69 854 to 862 MHZ Channel 38 606 to 614 MHz

Sennheiser Channel 38 Equipment Options G3 Series

2000 Series

G3 Series - Range GB - 606 to 648 MHz

2000 Series - Range GW 558 to 626 MHz

3000/5000 Series

3000/5000 Series - Range L - 168 MHz tuning bandwidth - 470 to 638 MHz - EM3732 II, SK5212 II and SKM5200 II

N.B. Any wireless systems operating in Channel 38 in the UK require a licence. Licences can be obtained from JFMG Ltd. www.jfmg.co.uk 0207 299 8660 Sennheiser UK are a proud sponsor of BEIRG - the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group - working for continued access to sufďŹ cient quantity and quality of spectrum for our industry. www.sennheiser.co.uk

NEW PRODUCTS ACCESSORIES BACKLINE BASS & GUITAR DRUMS PRINT

NEW PRODUCTS ACCESSORIES GUITAR SPOTLIGHT 3. DR STRINGS DDT ELECTRIC GUITAR STRINGS £8.99

1. ANTONI AVR1 VIOLIN & CELLO ROSIN £3.99 They say: Superior resin makes a superior rosin.

For: Bowed instrumentalists Range: Antoni accessories Spec: Quality rosin, sold in box with cleaning cloth.

From: JHS 0113 286 5381

They say: We call them Superstrings because of all their unique attributes.

For: Electric guitarists Range: DR guitar strings Spec: Patent-applied construction/winding, very stable tuning whether de-tuned or normal, extra sustain, long-life (uncoated).

Also available as bass strings (£33.99).

From: First Line 01626 830336

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2. PLANET WAVES NEW LICENSED STRAPS £45

2 KORG WI TUNE WIRELESS TUNER £105 They say: Korg announces the world's first wireless tuning system; the Wi-Tune.

For: Brass, woodwind, musicians Range: Korg tuners Spec: Korg invented the world's first hand-held tuner in 1975 and the company has continued to lead the way, creating a succession of revolutionary tuners featuring new technology and new ideas.

Using Korg's wireless tuning system, the Wi-Tune allows players to tune any instrument in any situation, unobtrusively, accurately, and easily.

Wi-Tune systems are ideal for instruments such as sax, clarinet, flute, horn, or tuba – instruments where using a traditional tuner could be problematic. Wi-Tune eliminates these obstacles, allowing new avenues for practicing. Wi-Tune wireless tuning is discreet, and can be used in any musical environment.

Korg offers the widest range of tuners in the business and we will continue to innovate with new offerings like the Wi-Tune alongside the best selling entry level models.

Korg tuners enjoy a high profile as they are used by many top artists and there is a real chance for dealers to improve profitability by selling customers up to a Korg.

There are two Wi-Tune packages: the standard WR-01 and the WR-01S. The WR-01 includes a regular clip that fits a wide range of instruments.

The WR01S model for sax and clarinet, which allows the tuner to be attached to the strap rather than directly to the instrument itself, so as to not obstruct or interfere with tuning the instrument (£117).

From: Korg UK 01908 857100

56 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

They say: We are proud to announce the exciting launch of new collections in the licensed strap and pick lines For: Guitarists, bassists, musicians, collectors Range: Planet Waves licensed products Spec: New ollections feature Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mötley Crüe and The Who. Products feature album cover artwork and images of the musicians.

From: D’Addario 0191 300 3000 Summerfield: 0191 414 9000

4. REUNION BLUES CONTINENTAL ALTO SAX CASE £125 They say: Combining sleek, contemporary design with the ultimate in instrument protection.

For: Saxophonists Range: Reunion Blues Continental Spec: One-inch thick shock-absorbing Flexoskeleton exterior, knurled abrasion grid, large pocket, adjustable shoulder strap, bell area suspension system, rubberised protector pad, double helix velvet lining, double stitched seams, limited lifetime warranty included.

From: Tomandwill 08450 945659

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6. STRING SWING JACK & FERRULE TOOL £24.99

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5. SEIKO DM01 METRONOME £14.99 They say: Keep in time with the latest addition to Seiko’s metronome range.

For: Musicians Range: Seiko metronomes Spec: Tempo range: 30 to 250bpm (221 steps), tempo & beat sound beep, LCD indicator, memory back up, auto off.

From: JHS 0113 286 5381

They say: Ever tried to tighten a jack on your guitar or amp and the it starts to spin, potentially trashing the wiring?

For: Musicians, technicians Range: JHS accessories Spec: Works on any surface-mounted input, tool inserts into socket and tighten internal screw with allen key, this allows tightening of retainer nut without need to go inside instrument or amp. Also works with removal of 1/4" string ferrules.

From: JHS 0113 286 5381

WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

Audio-Technica’s

Great Christmas Giveaway Pack a festive punch and give your customers more this Christmas with some fantastically festive sound bundles from Audio-Technica. This Christmas we’ll be packing a free pair AT4033

of monitor headphones with a selection of our best-selling studio microphones. And that’s not all... for full details on this and a whole load more seasonal special offers, call our sales office on 0113 277 1441 or email sales@audio-technica.co.uk

ATH-M50

Stocks of promotional bundles are limited, so order now for delivery anytime in October, November & December.

Connect with us... twitter.com/AudioTechnicaUK youtube.com/AudioTechnicaUK flickr.com/audio-technica facebook.com/AudioTechnicaUK

www.audio-technica.com

NEW PRODUCTS LIVE AND MICS 1. KAM GIGSTER 14.2 CONSOLE £399.95

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2. KAM GIGSTER 16.2 CONSOLE £469.95 They say: When the gig gets that little bit bigger.

For: Musicians, performers Range: Kam consoles Spec: Balanced mic/line input with combi socket, multi-functional stereo channels, three-band eq per channel, 24-bit digital multi effects, two aux sends per channel, 60mm faders, sealed potentiometers.

From: Lamba 01582 690600

They say: Designed and built for performers and musicians.

For: Musicians, performers Range: Kam consoles Spec: Balanced mic/line input with combi socket, multi-functional stereo channels, three-band eq per channel, 24-bit digital multi effects, two aux sends per channel, 60mm faders, sealed potentiometers.

From: Lamba 01582 690600

3. KAM POWERHEAD PA MIXER £189.95 They say: A perfect PA mixer for that smaller event or gig.

For: Musicians, performers Range: DR guitar strings Spec: Delay effect with adjustable parameters, front mic/line input, rear stereo RCA input, USB and SD media player, LCD display, four XLR mic inputs, three 1/4 inch jack and two line inputs, two-band eq with gain control, three-band master eq.

From: Lamba 01582 690600

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4. AUDIX TM-1 CONDENSER £276.13 They say: Known for its linearity, accurate response, consistency, ease of use, and affordability.

For: Test and measurement applications Range: Audix mics Spec: 6mm pre-polarized condenser mic, uniformly controlled omni-directional polar pattern, 20Hz to 25kHz frequency response, requires 18 to 52 Volts phantom power, fourstage brass body and capsule housing, nickel plate finish.

From: SCV London 020 8418 1470

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5. SENNHEISER G3 GB WIRELESS SYSTEMS £POA They say: In response to the impending need for UK wireless users to move from Channel 69 to Channel 38.

For: Live applications Range: Sennheiser wireless Spec: Covers all of Channel 38. Range D (usable post Digital Switchover), Range A will possibly lose 8MHz of tuning range, but likely to become off-limits, Range G possibly lose 40MHz of its tuning range for the same reasons as Range A, Range B f& C full tuning range available.

From: Sennheiser 01494 551551

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6. TRANTEC S5-3 & 5 WIRTELESS SYSTEMS £POA They say: Making sense of the mayhem surrounding the past, present and future of radio microphone frequencies.

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GUITAR SPOTLIGHT JBL PRX-600 SERIES PORTABLE PA FROM £850 They say: Portable PA from the master of sound reinforcement.

For: Bands, performers, venues Range: JBL portable PA Spec: Offers unparalleled power, rugged durability and incredible versatility for small to mid-sized lenvironments.for Bands, musicians, performers range JBL portable PA spec Four full-range cabs (PRX612M, PRX615M, PRX625, PRX635) and two subwoofers (PRX618S and PRX618S-XLF). JBL Differential Drive speaker technology, dbx Type IV limiting 58 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

circuitry, Crown class-D amps, integrated DSP input section with mic/line level input, selectable system eq, A/D converter.

In addition to Crown amplifiers, the PRX600 series utilises new, low noise AD converters that reduce idle noise and improve the overall spectral balance. The entire line has been revoiced for better clarity and tone.

In addition to meeting the performance requirements for the PRX600 series, JBL also met using Harman’s Green Edge promise of being environmentally responsible. The new speakers require less wood and less plastic than their predecessors, use less

energy to build and will use less fuel (due to the lower weight) to transport than previous models.

All PRX600 series speakers include proprietary JBL Differential Drive neodymium woofers, powder-coated obsidian 16-gauge perforated steel grilles, obsidian DuraFlex finish; integrated handles with backing cups, commercialgrade lightweight multi-layer 18 mm plywood cabinetry and tongue & groove construction.

From: Sound Technology 1462 480000

For: Live applications Range: Trantec wireless Spec: Channel 38-compliant version of S4.16 16-channel system, S5.3 12-channel system and variant 24-channel S5.5.

From: Trantec 020 8330 3111

bringing brands together

The Leisuretec Listings Plus 2010 • Call us to Order Your Copy • Experience • Choice • Value • Service Sound • Lighting • Special Effects • Distribution Power Squared • Tel: +44 (0) 1525 850085 • www.leisuretec.co.uk

NEW PRODUCTS DRUMS & PERCUSSION DRUMS SPOTLIGHT

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1. CUSTOM PERCUSSION CYCLE THRONES £????

SABIAN PARAGON NEIL PEART CYMBALS BOX SET £????

They say: Deliver full, musical responses across a wide volume spectrum.

For: Drummers Range: Sabian Paragon cymbals Spec: Set contains 11 cymbals (also available individually): 16 (x2), 18 & 20-inch crash, 13 & 14-inch hi-hats, 22-inch ride, eight & ten-inch splash, 19 & 20-inch chinese. Shipos with flight case.

Neil Peart first developed these with Sabian in the late 1990s/early 2000s. These were originally a natural (matt) finish cymbal set, but now they have been updated to offer a brilliant (shiny) finish. Made in collaboration with Rush’s drummer, Paragon is a range of cymbals that – although designed for Peart''s hard hitting, high powered style – delivers full, musical responses across a wide volume spectrum.

This complete set of cymbals in their included flight case weigh in at 32kg, or around 5 stone. A hefty set indeed.

On opening the heavy duty case these new brilliant finish Paragons greet you with an immaculate, shiny surface with the golden B20 bronze looking as good as any cymbal you will ever see. All models show the Sabian and Paragon logos in a subtle and classy earthy golden colour. The various models have their own patterns of hammering and lathing.

The range is medium to heavy weight and well proportioned as a cymbal range and very professional looking.

From: Westside 0141 248 4812

They say: A new range of thrones, shown to the world for the first time at the London Drum Show.For: Computer musicians For: Drummers Range: Custom Percussion products Spec: World Max hardware frame and legs, padded ‘cycle’ seats, leather, finished in ‘racing stripe’ designs (blue & yellow, red & yellow or black & white).

From: BR Distribution 01207 282806

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2. EVANS POWER CENTER TOM HEADS £????

3. GRETSCH SM-45148DS STANTON MOORE SNARE £????

They say: A full-bodied tone with great attack, increased durability, and impeccable focus.

For: Drummers Range: Evans drumheads Spec: Graduated film thickness (10mm film for six to 12-inch and 12mm on 13 to 18-inch), graduated dot sizes, stressrelieved metalized dot on underside (allowing flex and vibration).

From: D’Addario 0191 300 3000 Summerfield 0191 414 9000

They say: Leans towards the past with a mixture of old style and modern manufacturing.

For: Drummers Range: Gretsch snares Spec: 14x4.5-inch solid (single-ply) maple wood shell, eight lugs, die-cast hoops, big snare wires, chunky reinforcement hoops, 30-degree baring edges, birds-eye maple outer.

From: Fender 01342 331700

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4. RHYTRHM TECH ECLIPSE CONGAS & BONGOS £329 & £114

5. WORLD MAX MICRO VENT STEEL SNARE £150

They say: An excellent choice for the budget conscious and entry level player.

For: Percussionists Range: Rhythm Tech percussion Spec: Ten and 11-inch select-wood congas, double ultra-durable hardware in matt black powder coated finish, 30-inch height, slim line bowl, lacquered finish.

Bongos feature matching specs. Both with animal skin heads.

From: JHS 0113 286 5381

They say: Grown to a point where stores and customers alike regard it as a well reknowned snare drum for its quality and price.

For: Drummers Range: World Max snares Spec: 14"x6.5" chromed, perforated steel shell, for air movement inside drum, holes kept small to avoid ‘dry’ sound and maintain resonance. 20 single-ended bullet lugs.

From: BR Distribution 01207 282806

6. YAMAHA ROCK TOUR KIT £????

They say: Yamaha’s most ecologically friendly kit to date.

For: Drummers Range: Yamaha acoustic drums Spec: Indonesian Big Leaf mahogany kit (100 per cent certified re-forested), traditional rock sizes (incl 22-inch bass), basic kit features bass plus 12x8 rack, 16x15 floor tom and 14x6 snare. Add ons available (10x7.5, 13x9, 14x13”and 22x18 bass drum).

From: Yamaha 01908 366700

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NEW PRODUCTS PRINT EDUCATION AUTHOR: JANET HORVATH PLAYING (LESS) HURT Target: Musicians Comment: Much has been made in recent years of the damage musicians suffer to hearing due to amplified performance, but, while admirable, the focus detracts from the injuries musicians can subject themselves to simply through playing.

Horvath takes the reader through the whole gamut of strains and pinches, back trouble and (of course) hearing, with advice on prevention and cure.

A valuable publication.

HAL LEONARD (MUSIC SALES): 01284 702600

ARTIST: BRIAN AUGER HAMMOND B-3 MASTER Target: Hammond organ players Series: Alfred Artist Comment: One of the masters of the Hammond, Auger has played with some of the biggest names of the 60s and 70s – and now he shares some of his tips, tricks and secrets. The book covers a brief history of the instrument, looks at some famous players’ drawbar settings, then dives into chord constructions, scales, soloing techniques and some left and right hand practice. A must have for Hammond players.

ALFRED (FABER): 01279 828989

AUTHOR: TOM FLEMING THE ULTIMATE GUITAR TUTOR: ROCK Target: Guitar Comment: An unusual ‘tutor’ this one – although very much in line with the requirements of the aspiring rock guitarist, whose tenet tends to be ‘I just wanna play’. Fleming uses mainly top rock hits, smattered with a few of his own compositions and offers p[laying tips before simply supplying the notation and tablature for the pieces. The book comes with a CD so the learner can imitate and progress. Simple, but effective book.

FABER: 01279 828989

ARTIST: ERIK HALBIG PENTATONIC SOLOING STRATEGIES FOR GUITAR Series: The Improv Series Target: Guitar Comment: The pentatonic scale has done for guitar soloing what the car has done for human mobility – and like the car, there is almost nowhere you can’t go with a pentatonic scale. This book begins with the basic major and minor scales and builds up to a series of substitution scales, including the rootless 9th, half diminished and whole-tone augmented. A lot of work here – and a lot of fun for the solo guitarist.

ALFRED (FABER): 01279 828989

AUTHOR: SCOT LITTLE BIHLMAN THE TOTAL BLUES DRUMMER Target: Drummers Series: National Guitar Workshop Comment: Say the word ‘blues’ to many and the image of a medium-paced 12-bar arrangement immediately springs to mind, but, as Bihlman points out, there are almost as many blues styles as there are styles. This book will provide all the tools necessary for beginners and intermediates, while offering advanced players different angles and some useful tips.

ALFRED (FABER): 01279 828989

AUTHOR: JEFFREY DEUTSCH PIANO FOR SINGERS Target: Piano, vocals Series: Keyboard Instruction Comment: With the current prevalence for youngsters to get in front of a microphone and almost hope beyond hope that they are going to be famous, this book points out the values of being able to accompany one’s self, grow repertoire, understand music and ultimately be more creative. It’s not a question of becoming the next Bach or Mozart, Jeffries explains, it’s much simpler than that to give yourself the edge.

HAL LEONARD (MUSIC SALES): 01284 702600

POPULAR ARTIST: VARIOUS (ARR JOHN KEMBER) MAMA MIA Series: Schott Saxophone Lounge Target: Piano Series: The Pop Piano Player Comment: On the face of it, this looks like another compilation of pop tunes, thrown together in order to cash in on the wave of Abba nostalgia resulting from the film. It is that, of course, but with Kember at the helm, it takes on meaning. He has arranged the 13 tunes twice, for piano and vocal, and solo piano, making this a good resource for players’ repertoire.

FABER: 01279 828989

60 miPRO SEPTEMBER 2010

ARTIST: VARIOUS POP STANDARDS Target: Vocal Series: Pro Vocal Comment: Interesting to see some of the pop of the early 60s now being touted as ‘standards’, but there you go. This book contains eight titles of the easy listening variety (Blue Velvet, Moon River, Singing the Blues and so on) aimed at the karaoke/audition vocal market. The CD functions as such on a CD player, but on a PC or Mac it can be pitch shifted without adjusting tempo.

HAL LEONARD (MUSIC SALES): 01284 702600

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RETAIL NEWS, OPINION, DATA NEWS Audio Technica xmas offers, Korg opens its dealer portal, Red Dog Music events planned

INDIE PROFILE Francis and Graham Jones of Amen Corner Music reveal how crucial repairs are to their business

Dion Dublin launches The Dube Premier League footballer and pundit steps into MI trade with new percussion instrument DION DUBLIN, the former Aston Villa, Coventry, Norwich, Leicester and Celtic footballer, and current BBC football pundit, has launched a percussion instrument, The Dube, and is presently scouring the market for outlets.

The Dube is a wooden cube made of basic woods, with a Shure PG52 kick drum mic installed that offers different playing tones on four of its surfaces – but whatever you do, don’t suggest to Dublin that it is like a cajon.

“It’s cubic in shape and you play it with your hands, but it is nothing like a cajon,” he told MI Pro. “It sounds nothing like a cajon and with four playing sides, the range of tones is far greater. You have at least two different tones on each face, which means it can sound like congas and bongos – all sorts. On top of that, you can play it in any way you like – on the floor between your feet, standing up on a stand, it’s entirely up to the player – and then there is the microphone inside. It’s a completely unique instrument.”

Dublin has been touting The Dube (as MI Pro goes to press) for two months and is disciplining himself with a gruelling tour of schools, radio stations and potential retailers and distributors as he, in his words, starts “to get my head around the drum world.”

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He admits it is slow progress, but Dublin believes in his invention to the degree that he will not be giving up on it.

“The first thing is to get it into the right hands, get the professionals playing it and then get it into schools so the kids can grow up with it. I’m at the very bottom of

The instruments are made in Chesterfield by Bedford & Havenhand and the electrics are fitted by Foxwood Electrical, meaning the instrument is completely UK made.

Dublin has created an all-singing-alldancing website at thedube.com, where

”

It’s just a day-byday thing at the moment, but I know how addictive it is and I’m certain it will catch on.

Dion Dublin Founder of The Dube the trade’s ladder at the moment, I know that, but you have to have a beginning and this is mine.”

That said, Dublin has already succeeded in getting The Dube used on Courtney Pine’s latest album and in the hands of the likes of Carl McGregor and Karl Brazil (of Feeder), as well as professional soundmen, such as Jim Jones of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

anyone interested in finding out more about The Dube and the opportunities for selling the instrument should go.

The Dube comes in a range of finishes as well as with accessories such as stands and bags.

“It’s just a day-by-day thing at the moment,” he concluded. “But I know how addictive it is to play and I’m certain it will catch on.”

RETAIL FEATURE Jason Tavaria and Katy Watson-Cave reveal how they are dragging MI into the 21st century

LOCATION REPORT MI Pro visited Hampshire to see what musical treats could be found in the town of Winchester

ALL INSIDE THIS MONTH miPRO OCTOBER 2010 65

RETAIL NEWS

Christmas comes early for Audio Technica dealers AUDIO TECHNICA has announced a series of offers aimed at both retailers and end users for the period leading up to the festive season.

Participating dealers will be able to receive free T200 and T300 headphones when ordering some of the manufacturers highly regarded M20, M40 and M50 headphones, with a potential saving of up to £70. Retailers will be able to take advantage of these deals from October.

Ordering five M20s will result in a free set of T200s, five M40s will lead to two pairs of T200s and two free T300s are obtainable with a purchase of five M50s. A free pair of T200s will also be available when combining one of each from the M series.

The audio manufacturer is also planning a number of deals for the benefit of the consumer.

Five special packages will be available to end users, which involves free M series headphones when purchasing selected Audio Technica studio and video microphones, including the popular 20 and 40 series among others, with a maximum possible saving of £149. These packages will be backed up by consumer advertising and will be available until the end of the year, or while stocks last.

For more information on any of the offers mentioned above, contact your local Audio Technica area sales manager or calles the sales office on the number below.

AUDIO TECHNICA: 0113 277 1441

Regional Manager

Korg opens up dealer portal Website expands to other lines, starting with Samson IN MAY, as part of its plans to distribute the Behringer range of products, Korg UK launched a new dealer portal giving registered trade customers the ability to process their own orders online. To date this has been for Behringer items and the company reports it has been a great success.

Now Korg has started to add their other brands – beginning with Samson, which is now live on the site. So both Samson products and the remaining Behringer stock can be ordered on the site. Additional Samson products will be added in due course and will automatically appear on the portal. Not only will customers be able to purchase Samson online, they will also be able to track any outstanding orders, view stock level indications, historical orders, web confirmations and invoices.

Communications are being sent to both new and existing users informing them of the Samson additions and either providing or reminding them of their usernames and passwords.

Samson and Behringer will now coexist on the site while Behringer stocks last, as Korg is finishing with Behringer once the stock has gone. Behringer

products are automatically removed from the portal as and when there is no stock remaining. This means that if the Behringer product line isn't on the site it will have sold out.

With a new catalogue now available, Korg urges dealers to look afresh at the Samson range.

Call Oli Webb in the north on 07733 323599 or Mike Gibson in the south on 07887 854340.

KORG: 01980 857100

Red Dog barks up right tree

Yamaha, Kemble, Bösendorfer Pianos Yamaha Music is currently seeking a motivated and professional individual based in the Midlands, to sell our market-leading range of acoustic pianos.

Whilst not necessarily from within the "music industry", the successful applicant must have some knowledge of the piano as well as the ability to play to a basic level. More importantly they will be able to demonstrate their professional skills through a proven sales record and possess the drive, enthusiasm and confidence to expand sales within an established territory.

We seek an experienced and disciplined communicator, with advanced inter-personal skills, who enjoys being part of a successful team. Computer literacy and a driving licence are essential.

This is an excellent opportunity for the right candidate to expand and develop our Yamaha, Kemble and Bösendorfer piano business through our new multi-brand strategy.

We offer a competitive salary and a car plus all the usual benefits associated with working for a large, forward thinking company.

If you meet the criteria please e-mail your CV and a covering letter, demonstrating your suitability and including your salary expectations, by Friday 15 October 2010 (quoting reference RMACO/1010/MID) to: Helen Bates, HR Assistant, at: recruitment@gmx.yamaha.com

NO AGENCIES PLEASE 66 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

RED DOG MUSIC is planning a series of events for the Edinburgh music community and is also launching The Dog, a free magazine for the city’s music fans.

These gatherings will include weekly Red Dog Music Clinics, Hair of the Dog Sundays, which will consist of several in-store gigs from a number of local bands and artists and Red Dog Music Open Jam Sessions, which will aim to bring the city’s musicians in to one place and encourage them to improvise together.

The release of The Dog magazine will be celebrated with a launch party on

October 28th from 9pm to 3am at The Caves on Niddry Street South.

A strong lineup of musical talent has been arranged, with Horndog Brass Band, The Ordinary Allstars, Stanley Odd, The Black Diamond Express and The Banana Sessions all scheduled to take part on the night. There will also be live DJs and a drawing showcase from local artist group The Too Much Fun Club.

RED DOG MUSIC: 0131 229 8211

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RETAIL

INDIE PROFILE Francis Jones and Graham Jones of Amen Corner Music in Berkshire reveal how good service and a strong reputation in repairs have helped them survive the worst of the recession…

What are your best selling lines?

Acoustic guitars, particularly Freshman at the moment.

How is business compared to this time last year?

It’s picked up slightly over the last 12 months actually. It’s not as good as it used to be, but it’s not too bad either and it’s certainly improved recently. I think we’ve reached that turning point – people are still talking about the effects of the recession and all the doom and gloom associated with that, but I think we’ve turned that corner now.

How do you market the shop?

We have our website and that’s about all we use on the marketing side, but we also have an advert in the Yellow Pages.

How do you compete with the online competition?

We do try and get pretty close to them.

Some we can compete with, others we can’t, but we do try as best as we can. We get a lot of enquiries through our website, but it’s not the most important part of the business, although we are looking into improving the site in the future. As for the local competition, there aren’t any music shops in Bracknell or Wokingham and you’d have to go to either Windsor or Reading to find another similar store, so we take most of the area up.

What are your biggest strengths?

It’s probably the repairs side of the business, particularly with guitars. We have a great reputation for being a major port of call for anything to do with the physical side of guitars.

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How do you ensure a good level of customer service?

This shop has been here for 33 years and it’s part of the fixtures and fittings of Binfield. Because we offer such good prices on the repair side, we really do well in this area. It’s a personal service that we adopt here, especially as buying a guitar is such a personal thing and therefore we’re always inviting people to come down and try out as many models as they want. We let them take as long as they like and it’s that kind of service that is the key to this shop’s success.

What is the one product you couldn’t live without?

Lower priced package deals are doing really well for us right now, as are tuners, particularly from Korg, but it’s the string sector as a whole that’s most important for us.

How can the industry do more to support retail?

It seems that our online competitors are getting better deals than we are – it’s certainly more of a cut-throat business with the online side. However, we don’t rely on the Internet as much as most do – we focus more on point of contact and sticking to what we’re good at.

FACT BOX Address: Beehive Road, Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8TR Phone: 01344 427783 Owner: Francis Jones Established: 1977 Employees: Two Best-selling lines: Acoustic guitars, particularly Freshman at the moment.

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 67

RETAIL DOLPHIN MUSIC

Bang up to date In the second of our articles on the Dolphin Music business model, Andy Barrett discovers that while Dolphin is forging a path for MI, the retailer recognises that it is simply staying in step with the rest of the retailing world…

DURING MY visit to the Dolphin Music a few weeks ago to discuss the company’s restructuring (see MI Pro, September 2010), the conversation veered at various points – as it tends to with the passionate folk that inhabit the MI world, of which Jason Tavaria (CEO) and Katy WatsonCave (chief of staff) are undoubtedly two.

I knew that there was going to be a need for a second article, particularly when Watson-Cave suggested that MI was probably about 20 years behind as an industry. Halfords, part of the Boots Group, which is one of the companies that makes up her impressive CV, she pointed out, had said less than 20 years ago that they couldn’t sell bikes online. Today, it’s a significant part of its business.

Between them, Tavaria, Watson-Cave and their team are among the pioneers bringing MI (kicking and screaming, admittedly) into the 21st century, so it’s interesting to see how they view the development of musical instrument sales online and on the High Street – and the relationship between the two – and where the manufacturers and suppliers fit in, too.

As far as Dolphin is concerned, it’s not just bricks and mortar stores that are behind the times, either. The other online purveyors of musical instruments are also, according to Dolphin, languishing in relative antiquity.

68 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

The Dolphin team: Jason Tavaria, Katy Watson-Cave, Sam Davey, Andy Ball, Carly Crowder, Stephen Hartley, Peter Moss “It’s about good customer experiences,” says Tavaria. “Whether in-store or online, you put the customer first. You ask ‘how can you have a good experience online?’ but you can have a bad experience in a shop and online – and vice versa.

“If you go into a shop and the atmosphere and service are bad, you’ll leave pretty quickly. We want to keep people on our website as long as possible, so your appearance, branding and positioning are all really important.” And this is where manufacturers and suppliers can learn a lesson or two.

“From our tracking, we have discovered nearly 40 per cent of percussion buyers

are women,” points out Watson-Cave.

“Why isn’t that reflected in the marketing percussion companies create?”

“If you’re a customer and you know what you want, you can go on to a website or into a store and buy that product,” adds Tavaria. “It’s actually very difficult to switch sell – even in a store.

But there are others that don’t really know what they want and these people need information and they need to be sold to.

This means, online, you need something that gives the information, but in a pleasant, enjoyable way. If the customers are enjoying themselves, they are going to stay on the page longer – this is key.”

Which makes sense, but isn’t Dolphin (and the other e-tailers) turning bricks and mortar into an expensive showroom? And one that will fade and die if it continues to lose sales to the online world.

“Yes, you hear this a lot,” explains Tavaria. “It’s a bit misleading. I know a lot of customers do their research online and then go to a store to buy.” Well, yes, but I don’t hear too many online retailers complaining about losing sales as result.

“It’s the time we live in,” rejoins Tavaria.

“Online retailing is still so new, of course its growth is going to look impressive.

Over time, the whole market will settle down and achieve an equilibrium.”

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DOLPHIN MUSIC RETAIL Which is all very valid. Everybody with an ounce of understanding has known for years now that internet retailing is here to stay. The question is how do we embrace (or reject) the phenomenon and what does that do to our business model? One thing is for certain, no-one can ignore it.

The industry got itself into palpitations recently when Amazon launched its dedicated MI ‘tab’ and quite understandably. It was Amazon, after all, that put paid to the UK’s record and bookshops. Of course, the pricing and convenience were major reasons for Amazon’s success, but there was also the ability the retailer has for allowing customers to get hold of more obscure items that would rarely make it into stores simply because it would not be worth the dealer’s time or money. This had the effect of bringing a whole new market sector into the mainstream. I put it to Tavaria that this might well be the same for MI. Let’s say I wanted a Gretsch White Falcon.

I know for a fact that none of the stores in my immediate vicinity would have one – I would have to go online to find it.

“Well, you could drive around a whole number of stores – and people do that happily – but if you are so precise in knowing exactly which guitar you want, chances are that when you find one, it won’t be exactly right,” he muses. “The hardware might be different, or the colour or the trimming – there’s a lot that can vary. When you go online, you find what

you want – exactly – and wait for it to be delivered on exactly the day you want.”

“Customers have so little time these days,” says Watson-Cave. “You can talk about the intimidation factor of going into a store, which does exist, but it is not as big an issue as having the hassle of delivery or collection taken out, the 30day customer returns protection and the fact that online purchasing is really very safe these days. Online buying gives the customer time.”

“And this is a really important point,” interjects Tavaria. “We are always hearing about how much cheaper it is to run an online operation, but it’s simply not true.

It is completely different, yes, but to run a successful and efficient online business is as expensive as it is difficult.”

“We have spent so much on staff and systems to monitor customer traffic, reactions and feedback in order to target our marketing better. This is neither cheap nor easy,” adds Watson-Cave.

“What we are doing here is working in the realm of big business,” continues Tavaria. “How many small retailers can carry out this sort of research? Only a couple. If anyone wants to sell online, I say ‘do it’, but don’t expect it to be the same as working in a shop. Everything is very different and it is very easy to fail.”

Indeed, when functioning on the level that Dolphin is these days, there is a lot to take into account. With the beginner and mid-range market having grown up with

Taking advantage of cool images helps keep punters on the page

the internet as a daily tool for commerce and socialising, there is a need to be involved in all of the networking sites, communicating messages and gaining feedback, as well as having staff at a level of understanding at least equal to that found in a bricks and mortar operation.

This means that when an enquiry comes in, someone in the team needs to identify what sort of customer it is and deal with him or her accordingly – again, just like any retail operation – whether via the website or the telephone.

These enquiries come when the customer feels confident with the portal,

so the combination of lifestyle-centric videos and demonstrations with careful imaging, and the communication through the social networking sites creates exactly that sort of all-round confidence.

That most MI retailers using the internet are still concentrating on simply listing products and prices as though it is an interactive catalogue shows that, once again, Dolphin is a step ahead in this new market, although, as Tavaria and WatsonCave point out, that means the company is simply staying abreast of what the rest of the commercial world is doing.

DOLPHIN MUSIC: 0844 815 0888

Quality Brands Sell DR Strings

Eden Bass Amplification

DBZ Guitars

Clayton Picks

Parker Guitars

Spector Basses

First Line Distribution Ltd www.firstlinemusic.co.uk 01626 830336 Carl Martin Effects

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 69

RETAIL LOCATION REPORT

Winchester CY MUSIC Having been around for five years since taking over from Probyns Music, CY Music gets its name from its jovial owner Chris Yarnton. Catering primarily for the entry level across all the sectors commonly found in a general music store, CY has managed to fit a lot into a small space, but not make it look cluttered.

It’s nice to see an all-round store that sees brass and woodwind as one of its main sources of income, rather than an after thought, which explains the very eye catching display of saxes, including some lovely Trevor James, Jupiter and Antigua models, towards the rear of the shop.

Flutes and clarinets have also attracted customers in droves, leading Yarnton to state that interest is so high that it is often difficult to maintain a full display.

A good range of Casio digital pianos are another highlight, as is the selection of acoustics, the most popular being the Freshmans and the Tanglewoods.

CY Music also seems to pull in many visitors from outside the city, including many preferring this store ahead of those

70 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

in neighbouring Southampton. This, combined with its brass and woodwind attraction, the fact it’s the only general MI retailer in the city and the personality and attitude of its owner, makes this a very pleasant store indeed.

HAYWARD GUITARS Considering how Brian Hayward of Hayward Guitars started off as an allround guitar builder, repairer and luthier, it seems fitting that he would consider his back room workshop as having more than equal importance to its guitar retail offering, which is certainly extensive.

With Hayward commenting that he had cut his range down to the core stock to focus more on the repair work, the variety on display before this change was made must have been impressive.

Currently, the entry level and mid range is covered very well here, with Cort, Aria, Vintage and Ibanez the main brands in the electric sector. A separate acoustic room is also adorned with a number of Cort models, as well as a great selection of Lags, Faiths, right up to a few nice Martins.

The former capital of the Kingdom of England might be a historian’s dream, but it’s also got plenty of reasons for musicians to visit, as Adam Savage finds out…

Seeing a business that really has established a worthy balance between selling and repairing is very refreshing and it certainly seems to keep Hayward busy.

He must be good at what he does as well, with guitarists travelling from as far away as Devon and London to get their axes in his trusty hands.

Whatever their requirements, guitarists are sure to find whatever they need here.

With plans for a smaller workshop area within the main retail space and an increase in priority towards the spares market, this business can only get better.

GEOFF DENYER VIOLINS It’s always nice to get a pleasant surprise and that’s exactly what we got uncovering this little jewel in a quiet part of town.

Expecting little more than a small, primarily repairs-based business that serves the local area, Geoff Denyer turned out to be a dealer of vintage stringed instruments ranging from £200 right up to many tens of thousands, as well as a repairer for musicians all over the country and even further afield than that.

Turning up at one of Denyer’s busiest times of the year, his workload was evident, with violins, violas and cellos covering the room, which created a sense of awe at how much of a reputation he must have built over the years and how many have chosen his services.

To be successful in the high end of this market, you must develop a knack for finding and identifying classic violins and makers, which Denyer definitely has. He said that this is the hardest part of his job, especially as prices are going up, putting more pressure on discovering the right instruments.

Major portions of his customers are serious students, specialist schools and colleges, who often fork out between five and ten thousand pounds a time. Add to that the fact that there is certainly no-one else in Hampshire trading in the high end and that you’d have to go as far as Bristol and London to find similarly priced instruments, it’s no wonder that Geoff has a nice little business going here. A friendly demeanour with visitors is just another string to his bow, so to speak.

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MIA NEWS

an update from your industry trade association

Music for All focus for MIA Awards Annual celebration of all things MI has raft of new features, including all proceeds going to the Music for All charity

THE MIA has announced that it will be hosting the 2010 MIA Awards in partnership with NAMM and the association is planning a great celebratory evening for the MI industry – with all proceeds going to the Music for All charity.

The evening will also see the renewed partnership with MI Pro, which is sponsoring two of the

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best supplier awards. Other new features of the event for this year include a special raffle and auction prizes and the Future Publishing Instrument Awards.

The Future prizes will be voted for by the music playing public on the Music Radar website.

On top of that, the organizer promises that this year will see less speeches and more bar time

for that essential networking activity, which is widely seen as vital for these sorts of events.

The MIA Awards ceremony will take place on the evening of Wednesday November 24th at the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone Road, London NW1 6JQ. Tickets are available immediately with ‘early bird’ discounts available up to

October 15th (£150 plus VAT or £1,350 plus VAT for a table of ten). After this date, full prices will be charged (£175 plus VAT or £1,575 plus VAT for a table of ten). Dress code for the event is black tie or lounge suit.

Voting is also underway and the association is taking the final votes for the Best Suppliers and Best Retailers. Those interested in

casting a vote should contact Clare Sayers on 01372 750600 or by e-mail at clare@mia.org.uk.

This year’s entertainer and awards presenter will be the stand-up comedian, Dominic Holland, who has made a name for himself through appearances on Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You and the like.

MIA: 01372 750600

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 71

THE PLACE FOR BUSINESS

MIMARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE CALL DARRELL CARTER OR JODIE HOLDWAY ON 01992 535647

440 DISTRIBUTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0113 258 9599 A ARIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01483 238720 AVSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0845 270 2411 B BILL LEWINGTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01268 413366 C COVERNOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0121 327 1977 CBAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8816 8368 D DADDARIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SALES@DADDARIO.CO.UK DBT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0800 234 2848 F FCN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WWW.FCN.CO.UK FENDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WWW.FENDER.COM FOCUS MERCHANDISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8245 9035 G GUITAR XS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01227 832 558 H HOT ROX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0115 987 3163 L LEED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01243 378 050 LEISURETEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01525 850085 M MARSHALL AMPLIFICATION. . . . . WWW.MARSHALLAMPS.COM MCLELLAND/GREMLIN MUSIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01273 491333 MEL BAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8382 8010 MORICO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01992 461 089 MUSIC SHIPPING CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01562 827666 O OCARINA WORKSHOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01536 485963 P PROEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8761 9911 R ROBERT MORLEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 020 8318 5838 ROTHWELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01204 366 133 ROTHWELL AUDIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01204 366133 S SOAR VALLEY MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0116 230 4926 T TEAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01923 438880 W WND PLUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0116 243 1698 WORLD RYTHM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01242 282191

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT

MARKETPLACE INDEX

Global distributor supplies vital accessories and repair lines from all areas of the woodwind world

W

ind Plus has been supplying woodwind repair materials to repairers throughout the UK and around the world for many years.

Stocking a wide range of pads from two of the most renowned manufacturers in this field – Pisoni Music Center in Italy and Prestini from the US. “This means we can offer repairers and players a great choice of pads for all levels of instrument,” said Gill Horton of Wind Plus.

Wind Plus also stocks an everincreasing range of specialist repair materials and tools, such as cork and felt sheets, metal rods, pliers, screwdrivers, taps and dies, along with workshop consumable items, like abrasives and adhesives.

“Customer service is of great importance to us. We realise that orders need to be despatched quickly and reliably to enable repairers to meet players’ deadlines,” added Horton.

The contact Wind Plus has with specialist woodwind music shops through their onsite technicians has made the distribution of woodwind accessories the next logical step to complement their repair materials business. To this effect, Wind Plus distributes Kölbl instrument care accessories, Roko case covers and

gig bags, and Légère synthetic reeds.

Kölbl is a German manufacturer that specialises in woodwind accessories. Its comprehensive range of professional quality Roko brand case covers and gig bags, and attractive range of instrument care accessories, slings and harnesses under the Kölbl brand, are handcrafted in Germany with the attention to detail expected.

In recent months, Wind Plus has greatly expanded the Roko brand products they distribute.

“We like the Roko case covers as the quality is self evident. The generous padding, the quality metal fittings and the traditional styling make them ideally suited for any professional player,” Horton continued.

Légère produce premium synthetic reeds for clarinets and saxophones. New this year is the Légère Signature series reed, available for clarinet, alto and tenor sax. Signature series reeds have been hailed as a breakthrough in synthetic reeds and have been endorsed by a long list of top professionals.

Wind Plus runs monthly special offers on its distribution items giving extra discount to the trade. Don’t miss out – just sign up to the mailing list now by emailing gill@windplus.co.uk.

CLASSIFIEDS: MINIMUM 12 MONTHS - ONE ANNUAL CHARGE QUARTER PAGE £1,295 72 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

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MI MARKETPLACE ABOARD REPRESENTATION

AMPLIFICATIONS

To find out more about the JVM Series and other Marshall products contact: Marshall Amplification plc Denbigh Road, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK11DQ www.marshallamps.com

DISTRIBUTOR

ADVERTISE IN MI MARKETPLACE GREAT ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

CONTACT JODIE HOLDWAY

CALL: Call Tom Harrison on 01132 589599 or email - tom@440distribution.com WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

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MI MARKETPLACE DISTRIBUTOR

DISTRIBUTOR

GROUP

www.dbtechnologies.com

Order online

A leading distributor within the Audio Visual, Sound & Light, Public Address and MI trades.

Friendly sales team

0845 270 2411 0845 270 2433

Over 4000 products in stock

sales@avslgroup.com Active & passive speakers

www.avslgroup.com

Line array

InEar & Wireless

Public adress

The sound of experience dBTechnologies UK 16 Whitebeam Close Newhey, Rochdale OL16 4ND Direct: 07595 672157 Freephone: 0800 234 2848 mail: sales@dbtechnologies.com www.dbtechnologies.com

DISTRIBUTOR

74 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

a member of

DISTRIBUTOR

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MI MARKETPLACE DISTRIBUTOR

DISTRIBUTOR

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Acoustic, Celtic and Traditional Musical Instrument Specialists Become a Gremlin Dealer and give your customers a bigger and better choice! We pride ourselves on the personal touch - you can always reach us by phone during working hours, and we’ll always send your order as fast as possible, no matter what the size. We’ve been in the business for over 25 years, and can offer you an experienced, friendly and professional service.

Email: post@gremlinmusic.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1903 203044 (9.30 - 5.30 Mon - Fri)

www.gremlinmusic.co.uk WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 75

MI MARKETPLACE DISTRIBUTOR

DISTRIBUTOR

INTERNATIONAL LTD

The UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest growing supplier of Professional Audio and MI equipment direct to the industry!

Supplying you with our ever expanding range from

As well as premier UK distribution for these leading brands

Tel: 020 8761 9911 Fax: 020 8761 9922 Email: sales@proelint.co.uk

www.proelint.co.uk DISTRIBUTOR

76 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

MANUFACTURER

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MI MARKETPLACE

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MANUFACTURER

MANUFACTURER

MUSIC PUBLISHERS

INSURANCE AND BUSINESS

miPRO OCTOBER 2010 77

MI MARKETPLACE OCARINAS

PERCUSSION & DRUMS

tel: 01536 485 963 fax: 01536 485 051 email: sales@ocarina.co.uk

Making Music in Schools Since 1983 UK made rainbow ocarinas from Ocarina Workshop are easy to play and great fun to teach with.

These pocket-sized instruments are popular with kids & well-tuned.

Together with 'Play your Ocarina' music books, they are the key to successful music-making in many schools around the country.

Make sure school ocarinas are on your counter-top and available when customers request them!

Quote ‘MI Pro’ when you order 12 Ocarinas & 12 Books and be amazed at the ocarina’s potential...

Trade orders are sent by return: free delivery & no minimum order

www.ocarina.co.uk PERCUSSION

78 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

PERCUSSION

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MI MARKETPLACE

Ro

t ber

PROMOTIONAL

REPAIRS

PIANOS

WIND INSTRUMENT

MORLEY Co Lt d

020•8318•5838

Grand & Upright Pianos by Elysian, Grotrian-Steinweg, Bechstein, Monington & Weston and other famous makers John Morley Clavichords, Spinets, Harpsichords, Virginals & Celestes

Antique, Modern & New, Rental, Repairs, Sales lists & colour brochures on request.

34

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Robert MORLEY & Co Ltd. Piano & Harpsichord Makers Established 1881

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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 79

D IN MI PRO THE L AST WOR MI Pro is the only place the UK’s MI trade turns for the news and analysis of everything going on in the industry. Aside from that, we appreciate the fun that lies at the root of everything we do, so this is the section to crack open a beer, put your feet up and have a laugh. If you have any pictures you’d like us to include, send them to mipro@intentmedia.co.uk...

RETRO

HOW DID THEY DO THAT? THE BEATLES: A DAY IN THE LIFE

OCTOBER 2005 Cover Stars: Gremlin’s Pete McClelland explains how he built a £1 million business by staying focused on the roots of folk music News: Lloyds abandons £9 million musical instruments for schools initiative due to lack of interest, General Electronics buys Formula Sound, Percy Priors in Wycombe changes hands, hedge fund bids for Kaman Features: PLASA 05 report, MIA Awards report, Yamaha Expo, Drummer Live, Stewart Ward talks internet potential Products: Kemble Cambridge 10 piano, Fender Jazz King combo, Peavey 6505 Plus amp, Fender 50s Precision, HK Audio Elias, Peavey Studio Pro CM1 mic Number one singles: Sugababes: Push the Button, Arctic Monkeys: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Number one albums: Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better, Sugababes: Taller In More Ways, The Prodigy: Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005

80 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

The impact that Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had on popular culture has only now begun to be questioned, but for 40 years it was universally recognised as the album that changed modern music. The album comprised mostly McCartney songs (thus the growing perception that it’s not as good as we think), but kept its feet on serious ground thanks to groundbreaking contributions from Lennon and Harrison.

The killer ‘hook’, though, came with the stunning A Day in the Life, that had within itself a dramatic crescendo that makes both the song and the album what they are.

Although Lennon and McCartney had not really collaborated directly on songs for a few years, this piece perfectly illustrates the chemistry between them, with Lennon writing the ‘main’ verses in a moody, wistful manner, while McCartney adds a boppy ‘middle eight’. The two sections are stapled together with a 24-bar orchestral crescendo that stopped the world in its tracks at the time.

After the band had finished recording the basic track, there was a 24-bar bridge with a repeated piano

chord sequence and the voice of studio assistant, Mal Evans, counting the bars and setting off an alarm clock at their conclusion.

The band and producer, George Martin, had no idea what to do with the bridge, other than McCartney’s desire to bring in an orchestra and Lennon’s wish to create what he called ‘a musical orgasm’.

The three were concerned that an orchestra would have trouble improvising, so Martin wrote out a ‘score’, which started with the lowest note of each instrument on the first beat of the first bar and the highest note in E major on the last beat of the last bar. He joined the two notes together with a squiggly line.

With Martin and McCartney conducting, the players climbed

through scales in any way they wished, ending with the huge spike of sound that can be heard on the album. This was done four times and the takes were placed over each other.

The sections were then spliced to repeat after the final verse.

The final (E major) chord was played by Lennon, McCartney, Evans and Ringo Starr on three pianos and Martin on a harmonium and rings out for some 40 seconds, with the engineer raising the recording level as the notes decayed. At the end, the recording level is set so high, that incidental noises in the studio can also be heard.

A stunning conclusion – and one that prompts one to ask where that sort of imagination in the studio has since gone.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH HIGHLY STRUNG Danish guitarist and composer Henrik Anderson has had himself made a 52string instrument, the Manzer Medusa, combining the necks of a veena, a sitar and a conventional guitar, on which the the instrument is based.

Following on from Pat Metheny’s Picasso guitar, also made by Linda Manzer, that featured in these pages a few months ago, the Medusa focuses on Indian instruments. The nightmare of amplifying the instrument fell to DPA, which supplied the two 4061 miniature omni mics. Next month, Slartibartfast’s Octiventral Heebiephone…

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THE STARS AND THEIR GUITARS CARLOS SANTANA This Mexican American maestro burst on to the scene at Woodstock and seems to have been around forever with his signature singing sound. Here’s a look at the guitars he’s been using over the years in order to create his noise… led to a very noticeable change in tone, Gibson Les Paul but at this point he had still not Special (1969 – 1971) established the unique sound for which he This was his guitar of choice when making his first two albums, although he mostly chose an SG for live performances.

Originally equipped with P-90 pickups and later standard humbuckers, this helped him achieve a raw sound that really helped boost his status in the early years.

Gibson SG (1969 – 1972) This guitar is most fondly remembered for its appearance at Woodstock, where Santana truly made a name for himself, having not yet released his debut album.

This now iconic red model also featured P90 pickups and another version with humbuckers was also commonly seen in his hands in the early 1970s.

Gibson Les Paul Standard (1971 - 1976) Santana used this model to record his third album, Santana III, as well as occasionally switching back to the SG. This

1982 - Present

1969-1971

MI ICON

I

t may not look like much, but over the six years that the Korg M1 was in production, it became the world’s best selling synthesizer workstation. A built-in MIDI sequencer and rich variety of sounds that included neverbefore-seen samples as standard might not seem much compared to today’s synths, but at the time these features would have been a breakthrough, as the M1 sold 250,000 units since its inception in 1988.

At the time, the likeness of artificial sounds on similar products were poor, but the M1 actually offered acoustic guitars that resembled the instrument and it was a similar story with the oboe, strings, bass and piano sounds. It was also one of the first to include a worthy selection of drum kit sounds.

Up to eight programs could be made into a combination and along with the added sequencer and two

1969-1972

1971-1976

has become known today.

Yamaha SG2000 (1976 - 1982) His trademark tone started to emerge during this period (particularly on the 1978 album Moonflower) with the combination of this guitar and the Mesa Boogie amps he began using at this time.

The SG2000 was based on the Yamaha SG175 model and was a collaboration between Santana and the manufacturer.

Various PRS Signature guitars (1982 - Present) Santana’s love for the Paul Reed Smith brand began when he borrowed one to record his 1981 record, Zebop! These days he can be seen playing any one of three PRS models – The Santana SE One Abraxas, Santana I or Santana II. The former features a mahogany body, PRS designed Stoptail bridge and tuners and a peace symbol on the 12th fret.

1976 - 1982

Korg M1 Workstation digital signal processing chips, which produced a remarkable range of effects, the M1 allowed for bags of creativity. In fact, it was so ahead of its time that there are a few die-hards around today that still use it, despite its age.

The M1’s retro controls were a lot more basic than modern synths, such as the 40x2 character LCD, data slider and four-way joystick. Sounds and sequences could also be saved using the two expansion slots.

As its lifetime progressed, a number of different versions emerged. These included rackmount versions, such as the M1R. Its synth engine was so good that it remained until the release of the Korg Trinity in 1995, which offered several keyboard variations – a disk drive and a better selection of samples and an improved sequencer.

Like everything, it was eventually surpassed as technology advanced, but it was remarkable how long it stayed as the synth benchmark.

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MI SPACE

SOUNDALIKES MUMFORD & SONS

ALEX THEAKSTON Company/job title: Source Distribution, marketing coordinator Years in the industry?

I think it’s three now. I first started as a lowly sales chap on the phone at Turnkey.

First single bought?

The first album I bought with my own money was Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty.

Favourite album?

Aphex’s Drukqs, Music for 18 Musicians (if you can call it an album), and nobody can resist Screamadelica Currently listening to?

Everything Everything’s Man Alive, which I’m rinsing to death. It’s wicked.

Favourite musician?

Richard James.

Which instruments do you play?

I play the filter Are you currently in a band?

Yes, although it’s more like a one-manband. The other members are Japanese and born in the mid-eighties.

Narrowly missing out on the Mercury Music Prize, these four lads have not only skyrocketed in popularity, but have taken folk and traditional-style music in to the mainstream... the international monthly magazine for music instrument professional and everyone in the MI business

Managing Editor

Sales Executive

Andy Barrett mipro@intentmedia.co.uk

Jodie Holdway

Editorial Production Manager

jodie.holdway@intentmedia.co.uk

Helen French

MARCUS MUMFORD – vocals, guitar, mandolin, bass drum – Martin OM in standard tuning, but a whole tone lower, two Martin D28s (named Mary Kate and Ashley) tuned to open C and open D, Martin D-18VS, Martin OM-21, Gibson ES335, Gibson SG, Gibson Mandolin, LR Baggs parametric eq, Fishman pickups in all guitars, Lehle 3@1 switcher, Boss TU2 tuner, Ludwig bass drum, Fender Hot Rod Deville amplifier, all guitars have been

MI Pro has a monthly circulation of well over 6,000. It is distributed to all MI retailers and industry professionals plus carefully selected pro audio executives and resellers.

Designer

Gary Cooper gary@garycooper.biz

Claire Brocklesby

Publisher

claire.brocklesby@intentmedia.co.uk

Dave Roberts

Staff Writer

Production Executive

Adam Savage

Rosie McKeown

Managing Director

adam.savage@intentmedia.co.uk

rosie.mckeown@intentmedia.co.uk

Stuart Dinsey

dave.roberts@intentmedia.co.uk

stuart.dinsey@intentmedia.co.uk

Advertising Manager

Marketing & Circulation

Darrell Carter

Lindsay Banham

darrell.carter@intentmedia.co.uk

mipro.subscriptions@c-cms.com

82 miPRO OCTOBER 2010

BEN LOVATT – keyboards and accordion – Roland FR-7 V-Accordion, Nord Stage 88 TED DWANE – double bass – Guadagnini double bass

UK: £50 Europe: £60 Rest of World: £90 Enquiries, please email: mipro.subscriptions@c-cms.com Telephone: 01580 883 848 Charges cover XX issues and 1st class postage or airmail dispatch for overseas subscribers.

MI PRO is published 12 times a year, reaching well over 6,000 readers throughout the UK and international market.

miPRO is a member of the PPA © Intent Media 2010 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners. Printed by The Manson Group, AL3 6PZ

ISSN 1750-4198 Enquiries to MI Pro, Intent Media, Saxon House 6a St. Andrew Street, Hertford SG14 1JA.

MI PRO Magazine. Saxon House, 6a St. Andrew Street.

Hertford, Hertfordshire. SG14 1JA ISSN: 1750-41980 Copyright 2010 Printed by The Manson Group, AL3 6PZ

WINSTON MARSHALL – banjo – Gold Tone EBM-5 banjo, Gold Tone OB-250

SUBSCRIPTION

helen.french@intentmedia.co.uk

Editor at Large

strung with Martin Phosphor Bronze M550 strings

Tel: 01992 535646 (Editorial) Tel: 01992 535647 (Advertising) Fax: 01992 535648

NEXT MONTH In another edition bulging with content, you’ll find a look at Chris May’s 30 years making basses, MI trade show news, sector spotlights on starter packs and guitar accessories and a further fix of company profiles, retail news and much more.

EDITORIAL: ANDY BARRETT mipro@intentmedia.co.uk ADVERTISING: JODIE HOLDWAY jodie.holdway@intentmedia.co.uk

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PS-6 Harmonist

ST-2 PowerStack

Four new Cube amps

HPi-6F SuperNATURAL piano in satin black or rosewood

OctaCapture USB audio interface

HPi-7F SuperNATURAL piano in satin black or rosewood

Juno-Gi synth with digital recorder

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New Cubes: top panel

C-380 Classic organ

RD-700NX SuperNATURAL stage piano

FP-7F SuperNATURAL piano in white or black

AX-Synth: black sparkle

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