Summer NAMM: Buyer’s Guide to New Gear, Exhibitor Roster, NAMM U. Slate w w w. m m r m a g a z i n e . c o m
June 2008
The Perfect
STORM Schools Battle Slashed Budgets and Pinched Wallets Can Dealers Ride the Tide? See Page 30
Don Johnson 1949-2008
See us at NAMM Booth 300
See us at NAMM Booth 329
Contents Cover design: Laurie Chesna
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JUNE 2008 VOL.167 NO. 6
Features 6
Don Johnson: A Tribute Our readers comment on Don’s impact on the music industry during his 25 year tenure as editor of MMR.
26
Webwise: An Atlanta Dealer Gets it Right Jeff Tarae, CEO of three store chain Music Matters reviews company’s newly designed web-site MusicMatters101.com
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B & O Dealers: The Perfect Storm How the industry is responding to slashed school budgets, rising oil prices and pinched wallets.
6
40
Recession-Proof Your Band & Orchestra Market Capitol Music owner Jim Darby offers some sage advice on how to reach out to music parents who are feeling the economy’s impact.
46 48
Gemeinhardt Turns 60 Meisel: Now More than Strings Recent additions of electronic tuners and metronomes have led the company in new direction.
52
RPMDA Comes to Boston The three-day gathering attracted more than 290 dealers and suppliers.
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Summer Buyer’s Guide to New Gear An overview of recent introductions and products to check out at this summer’s NAMM and MIAC shows.
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Summer NAMM Exhibitor List An up-to-date listing of some 400 companies slated to show their wares in Nashville, June 20-22.
84
NAMM University Schedule
Departments www.MMRmagazine.com
4 18 50 90
Editorial Upfront At A Glance Sound and Light
94 105 112
Supplier Scene Classifieds Advertisers’ Index
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MMR Musical Merchandise Review® (ISSN 0027-4615) founded in 1879, is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orchestra, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JazzEd. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: U.S.A., US possessions, one year $32; two years $40. Canada one year $80; all other countries one year $159. Single issues $5 each. May Supplier Directory $35. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Musical Merchandise Review, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. Periodicals circulation is directed to music dealers and retailers, wholesalers and distributors, importers and exporters and manufacturers of all types of musical instruments and their accessories, related electronic sound equipment, general musical accessories, musical publications and teaching aides. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competion. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Copyright ©2008 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.
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Editorial
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Volume 167, Number 6, June 2008 PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com
Don Johnson 1949-2008
EDITOR Don Johnson djohnson@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kevin M. Mitchell kmitchell@symphonypublishing.com
I
t is with a profound sense of sadness that we report the passing of our dear friend and associate, Don Johnson. Don served as editor of Musical Merchandise Review for the past 25 years and under his stewardship the publication developed a broad international readership. He was a quiet professional who had an intuitive gift of delivering an interview in a clear and concise manner. Over the years he gained the respect and developed friendships within the entire spectrum of the music industry. Diagnosed with cancer some 18 months ago, he yielded no ground and faced the ultimate finality with courage, dignity and a tinge of humor. In the final stages he continued to come into the office and even travelled to Musik Messe. During the last days he responded to a colleague’s question of how he was going to deliver copy from home by saying simply, “It’ll work.” As a patient, he tested several experimental drugs with the unexpressed hope that it would produce a brighter outlook for those who might follow. Don was a renaissance man; there was no cable television at his home, he preferred a good book and a radio broadcast (preferably his beloved Cleveland Indians) and his favored method of office transportation was a subway ride. He was most proud of his family, wife Charlene, whom he met while both were working at our publishing company, and daughters Hilary and Rosie. Hilary is completing her junior year at Brown University, where she has become fluent in Japanese while competing with the Ivy league school’s ballroom dance team and remaining in the top tier of students academically. Rosie is a junior at the prestigious Buckingham Browne and Nichols with equally high grades while remaining active in many school sports. A native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Don majored in Journalism at Ohio University where he graduated cum laude and soon thereafter followed his love of literature to the Boston area where he gained some valuable retail experience managing a local book store. His career turned to writing for a local weekly newspaper and ultimately to the Larkin Group where he became a staff writer and later editor of Music Retailer, a magazine for the record industry. When Musical Merchandise Review was acquired in 1981 Don made a seamless transition into the music products arena. Don continued as editor when MMR and its sister publications were acquired by the Zapis Capitol Group and re-named Symphony Publishing LLC in 2004. Don was instrumental in many of the publication’s ongoing features, including the annual Dealer Choice Award, The Profi le of the American Music Dealer and the 50 Dealer/50 State Economic Review and Forecast.
CONTRIBUTING WRITER Christian Wissmuller cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Rick Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com ADVERTISING SALES Tom Kelly tkelly@symphonypublishing.com Iris Fox ifox@symphonypublishing.com CLASSIFIED AD SALES Maureen Johan mjohan@symphonypublishing.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill lguptill@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@symphonypublishing.com WEBMASTER Sanford Kearns skearns@symphonypublishing.com SYMPHONY PUBLISHING, LLC Xen Zapis • Chairman Lee Zapis • President lzapis@symphonypublishing.com Rich Bongorno • Chief Financial Officer rbongorno@symphonypublishing.com Corporate Headquarters 26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300, Westlake, Ohio 44145 440-871-1300 www.symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHING, SALES & EDITORIAL OFFICE: 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 Fax: (781) 453-9389 www.mmrmagazine.com
sdavis@ symphonypublishing.com
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on Dohnson J 1949-2008
W
e humbly acknowledge the many hundreds of phone calls, emails, faxes and letters received during the past days regarding the untimely passing of Don Johnson. As a tribute to his memory the following are a sampling of comments received. Space and a publication deadline does not permit a complete list, however additional reflections from his industry friends will appear in the July issue.
Don Johnson, our esteemed editor of MMR magazine for over twenty five years, died on May 2, 2008 after a long battle with cancer. Don was my friend, colleague and mentor. He was always patient and provided me with guidance about writing, the music business, and about how to work with people. We shared a room for over twenty years at both the winter and summer NAMM shows and I have many 6 MMR
fond memories of working and enjoying life with him. He was a very dedicated father and husband who would talk proudly about the special and significant accomplishments of his children Hillary and Rosie and of course his wife, Charlene. As Don valiantly fought cancer, he never let his illness affect him and maintained a positive outlook and work ethic. We traveled together very recently to the Musik Messe show, which took tremendous strength on his part, but I know that he didn’t want to miss it. MMR was so important to him that JUNE 2008
Don Johnson 1949-2008
he was e-mailing copy right until the day that he passed away. Don was an integral part of the growth of MMR magazine and its Web site, and led the development of the weekly “Update” which has become the industry’s most widely read industry newsletter. He was always an eager traveler and relished trips to far flung corners of the world including Shanghai, The Czech Republic, Frankfurt, Spain, Italy, and throughout the United States. I always admired his depth of knowledge of world geography, as he always seemed to know exactly where to go, and what happened in those places. His writing style matched his personality which was never pretentious, and always curious, friendly, and non-judgmental. He was known by the industry around the world and most folks were always happy to see Don and would spend time chatting with him about their latest accomplishments or the challenges facing the industry. He enjoyed every minute… One of my fond memories was after the Musik Messe show in Frankfurt was over; we were both beat and tired. We managed to get ourselves over to the old section of Frankfurt for a “Dunkel” beer. We never could figure out why that one beer had such a powerful effect on us, as when we stood up we both looked at each other and sat down again, insisting that it must have been fatigue. I will miss Don very much… Rick Kessel MMR
We have lost a great friend. Joe Lamond President/CEO NAMM
Don earned our friendship and respect. I feel a huge void in the industry. Kevin Johnstone Director of Trade Shows NAMM
Thank you Don Johnson for so many good times and great memories. Those of us who knew you will miss you more than we can realize today. It was our good fortune to have crossed your path in life, and we will always be gratefull for all you gave of yourself in the 25 years we’ve known one another and worked together. Rest in peace, good friend. Joe and Suzy Fucini Fucini Productions
I always knew I was at a NAMM show when I was greeted by Don. I know he is no longer in pain and truly enjoying his discussions with the authors of the many great books that he loved. Pat Martin Chief Operating Officer NAMM
It is with a deep sense of loss that we acknowledge your e-mail about Don. He never lacked the time to stop and chat or listen and advise. He was a wonderful man; the industry has lost
a very good friend. Please add our condolences to family and friends. Ivan I. Kahn Encore Pianos International Dietmann-Bernhard Steiner Pianos
He was a great guy and a tremendous asset to our industry. Rick Young Vice President Yamaha Corporation of America
While I did not know Don personally, I have relied heavily on MMR as my primary source of info on the industry. John Kenny Owner Faultline Music
I am sorry for the loss of your colleague, Don Johnson. While I did not know him at all, I enjoyed his editorials and insight about our industry. Hyman Peller Raxxess
Our condolences to the family and colleagues at MMR. We appreciate your magazine and the talents of men like Don. Peter Pupping www.guitarsounds.com
I have known Don for most of his 25 years at MMR and I can only say that he was always the gentleman, friend, and consummate business associate. Don will always be remembered and missed by all who knew him. Larry Goldstein Westheimer Corporation
I am devastated by this news. Just eight weeks ago we were having dinner at Zum Storch (Music Messe). What extraordinary dedication he has exhibited this past couple of years. Terry Lewis Executive Vice President Yamaha Corporation of America JUNE 2008
MMR 7
I am very sorry to hear this. I appreciate this well-written tribute—makes me feel like we should all know so much about each other. Our condolences. This is clearly a huge loss for our industry as a whole. Paige C. Segler Associate Director Music Magazine Publishers Association
Such a tragedy. Don was quite a gentleman and always helpful to those who called upon him. Our prayers are with his family in this time of loss. Phil Hood Drumlink.com
I am shocked by the news. I just spoke with him via e-mail within the last two
months and he let on nothing about his condition. Don really made it easy to get story ideas published. He was so excited to hear about our latest promotion and how it turned out and “did I have any photos.” He published many features on our store. I am forever indebted to Don for all he did for Firehouse Music. Condolences to Don’s family. He was a truly special guy and I’ll miss him. Terry Lewis Firehouse Music
I have received and used MMR for years and am sorry of the passing of Don Johnson. Adam F. Pivovar Piv’s Music
We are all so sorry to hear about Don’s passing. He was a wonderful man and surely a wonderful friend for many years. Trish Frazzetto D’Addario & Co.
The Retail Print Music Dealers Association offers its heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the colleagues, family, and friends of Don Johnson. When RPMDA first began to reach out to the music industry at large, Don was there. His thoughtful and intelligent reporting from our annual conventions put us on the map and helped us grow as an organization. We owe no small part of our current success to Don. Our admiration for Don’s courage and determination is unbounded. The fact that he kept working, meeting deadlines, and digging for stories, while simultaneously undergoing treatment for cancer was nothing short of heroic. At our 2007 convention in Milwaukee, we honored Don (and I think truly surprised him!) with an RPMDA baseball jacket and cap in recognition of covering fifty straight NAMM shows and 30 straight Frankfurt Music Fairs. No matter what the movie box office receipts say, we all know who the real Iron Man is. Besides his important body of work as an industry journalist, his family – wife Charlene and daughters Hilary and Rosie – are his real legacy. I’m sure Don would say that was reason enough to be put on this earth, even if we all feel that he wasn’t here nearly long enough. Madeleine Crouch Executive Director Retail Print Music Dealers Association 8 MMR
Don was a great man. Our sympathy goes out to his family. Wayne Wesley Johnson & Freda Ruiz
Don always handled himself with a great sense of gentility, and struck me as very accessible and friendly human being. Lynn P. Martin President American Music & Sound
While we only spoke once, he gave me a feeling of being real and honest, which are qualities that are difficult to find these days. Oscar Mederos Tropical Music
Don was one of those special people who understood the value of the news, but also the greater value of integrity and relationships. I valued knowing him and shall forever remember him as a wonderful human being who also happened to be a very fine and highly respected journalist. He will certainly be missed. Wayne Blanchard Sabian
Such sad news… Don was a faithful advocate for the music products industry, a man of gentle wisdom and keen insight… and, of course, a good friend. I am deeply saddened by his passing. He will be greatly missed by the people of Kawai and certainly by all of us who represent the piano industry. Don’s life was a “life well lived.” And we, as an industry, are the grateful beneficiaries of his dedication to our business and our future. Brian Chung Sr. Vice President Kawai America Corporation President Piano Manufacturers Association Int’l
I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of Don! He interviewed me way back in the ‘80s—when I was the cover story— Delian Music— one of the JUNE 2008
Don Johnson 1949-2008 very few women to own a music store. I had written a few “letters to the editors” over the years and Don always published them. I found him easy to work with, interested in what I had to say and he had a dry wit! It was always like talking to an old friend. I will sure miss him. God bless him. Candace Blankenship Delian Music
Please express our condolences to Mr. Johnson’s family and the entire MMR team of his passing. He will be missed. Roger Allan Road Ready
Please express our deepest condolences to the family and everyone at MMR. This is a great loss for the music industry. Mark Ragin President US Band & Orchestra Supplies, Inc.
What sad, sad news. Don was absolutely ace, and a great example of the kind of people in this industry who encouraged others. His MMR years helped keep all of us informed and I enjoyed reading his perspectives. R. Scott Johnson President JT Musical, Inc.
Though I’m not in the music business these days, semi-retired in Conn., I’ve stayed in touch with the industry by reading Don’s weekly update every Friday, and I’ve saved them all to my hard drive. He will be missed by an entire industry around the world. Chris Noblet, Ex-Zildjian, Rico/Boosy & Hawkes
I am very sorry to hear about Don. He was a class guy. Rick Carlson
Though I did not know Don personally I always read his editorials and JUNE 2008
felt a kinship with him, as his “take” was always so on the money. You could tell Don was a unique man… Special. Menzie Pittman Contemporary Music Center
I have known him for over 20 years and saw him at NAMM, MIAC, and MusikMesse, and he was always a true gentleman and a solid industry supporter. I always looked forward to getting his newsletter every Friday. The industry will not be the same without him. It will be very different not seeing him at Summer NAMM and all the industry shows after that. It will be very difficult to find someone to fill his shoes at MMR. Jim Norris Norris-Whitney Communications Inc.
Please pass our condolences to Charlene, Hilary and Rosie. Don will be sorely missed. It was always a joy to
meet Don at the trade shows because he was always smiling, happy, and eager to share his insights. I will always remember Don Johnson, the forever humble and kind gentleman with one or two cameras around this neck. Henry K.S. Lee CFO and Vice Chair Tom Lee Group Companies
Here is my favorite recollection of Don: Back in the fall of 2000, Don accompanied members of Korg USA on a trip to London and the Marshall factory in Milton Keynes for the unveiling of the Marshall AVT series of amps. During the trip, we scheduled in some sightseeing time in London, and we all rode together to the Marshall factory in a deluxe bus, enjoying the views of the English country side. That trip must have made a nice impression on Don, because for years (and I do mean YEARS) later, every time I emailed or called Don with an idea or an editorial inquiry, before I
September 11. 2001. Don and I were waiting at a Long Island Marriott until late morning to visit the Sam Ash headquarters when the planes hit. We decided to go ahead with the interview. When we entered the building the gravity of the situation started to unfold and we witnessed the Ash family’s quick reaction. Paul, Jerry, Bernice, Sam and Richard Ash manned the phones, calling their stores in the tri-state area to assure themselves all employees were safe and with instructions to go home. Jerry offered his New York apartment to any employees who needed a safe harbor. We postponed the interview and started a five hour journey off the Island. Don told me he was never prouder of being part of the music industry than seeing the reaction of the Ash family. He later returned to their headquarters and the finished piece appeared in the January 2002 issue. Sid Davis MMR MMR 9
was able to finish giving the details he would say something to the effect of, “So, I think we should go back to London again, don’t you?” Don was a class act—very polite, friendly, and professional. He will be greatly missed by everyone in our industry. Leslie Buttonow Korg USA
Please accept our sincere condolences. Laura Kaye Vice President Mark Wood Music Productions / Wood Violins
I was deeply saddened by the news of Don’s passing. May we all learn from his courage and his always friendly demeanor towards others. He was a great guy. Alan Vater Vater Percussion Inc.
Don will be in our prayers. I appreciated his down to earth style. I found his insights interesting, insightful and meaningful. I looked forward to reading his column. May God bless him.
Joseph Piccinnini Richmond Music Center
I began working at Larkin Publications in January 1982 as a graphic designer on Music Video Retailer with a young editor named Don
10 MMR
I am so sorry to hear about Don. Please extend our condolences to his family. Larry Davis Stromberg Guitars
I remember Don with great fondness during the past years at NAMM. What a wonderful man. Jeanne M. O’Keefe The Lippin Group/L.A.
I am deeply sorry to hear this news. Please give my condolences to his family and we will pray for his soul. He was a great person and he loved my father and family business. The Rodriguez Family Manuel Senior, Manuel Junior
Our deepest sympathies to his family and MMR. Tony Guarriello President T.G., Inc.
We will miss Don’s friendly smile at the trade shows. He was the consummate professional and always had the most interesting insights about our industry. He was a joy and had a wonderful sense of humor. We always looked forward to his excellent and
Johnson. He had long, brown hair and a thick moustache. We worked with an ad trafficker, Charlene Johnson, whose office was down the hall. They were married two years later, and Don and I both started working on Musical Merchandise Review. Together, over the decades, we have seen many changes in the music industry and magazine publishing. We used to sign off on blue line proofs with a grease pencil and squint at negatives for film ads. Don transitioned from the electric typewriter, to a word processor, then to his trusty laptop. Now I proof pdf pages online and wonder
timely editorials — he had his hands on the pulse of the MI industry. He was unique and will be remembered. Janet and Mike Kropp NS Design
It is hard to believe that another one of our music industry colleagues is no longer with us. There are people I consider “fixtures” in the music industry and Don falls into that category. MMR will miss Don’s keen insight as will all of us. Godspeed Don. Dominick Buonantuono National Sales Manager Generalmusic Corp.
I loved Don from the first time we met over 20 years ago. I will miss our sarcastic banters through e-mails. Condolences to all our MMR friends and associates and especially to Don’s family. John Maher
I saw the announcement this morning and was shocked. Garth and I commented on how much better
how we ever got an issue out on deadline before computers and the internet. Don’s hairline receded, I got divorced, but month after month, year after year, together we managed to send twelve issues of MMR to the printer. Don was a true veteran of the music industry, attending 53 NAMM shows and writing more than 300 editorials. His office chair is empty now. Stacks of papers cover his desk, unanswered e-mails are in his in-box. I will miss my co-worker and friend. Laurie Guptill Production Manager Symphony Publishing JUNE 2008
Don Johnson 1949-2008 Don looked when we saw him in Frankfurt. I wanted to believe he was getting better, but I knew that seldom happens. I will always remember and cherish the night at the first or second economic summit. Neither of us had anything planned on one particular evening, so we went down to Newport Beach to have dinner at one of the restaurants. It was a wonderful evening and we talked on a wide ranging number of topics. While I knew Don for years, this was the only time we spent an appreciable amount of time together, and we talked about everything but the music business. It was a wonderful evening. Harvey Levy Levy’s Leathers
I was very saddened to hear of Don’s passing. I saw him briefly in Frankfurt, and we knew that he didn’t have much time left with us. Still, I was amazed that he made it to the show which showed tremendous courage and strength. I always knew him to be a stand-up guy, always with integrity, and always eager to help. He will be missed. Ross Garnick and the entire Korg family
We are very sad to see Don go. Our condolences to Don’s family and friends. Gabe Whyel American Music and Sound
Don, thank you, we love you and you will be missed dearly. Your encouragement and support have been an immense foundation of not only my successes, but also that of my employers over the years. Our best of wishes to your family—and, Go Tribe! Josh Vittek Kahler International, Inc.
Our condolences to MMR, family, and friends. Brent Eskew Team Stage Ninja JUNE 2008
Don was a great man who always took a moment to give advice to me, which was always timely and extremely helpful. Dale Titus Danabgoods.com
All of us at GCI Technologies pass on our condolences to Don’s family, friends and to the entire MMR staff. This is a very sad day in the musical industry.
Alan Cabasso GCI Technologies
Don truly loved the music industry and it showed at all times. Rob Birenbaum
I will miss his smiling face on Friday’s Updates. Condolences to his family. Steve Weiss SteveWeissMusic.com
My condolences. I’m very sad to hear of the passing of Mr. Johnson. Juan (JC) Faxas DJ & Lighting Buyer Guitar Center, Inc.
I both respected and admired Don. His contributition to the industry was great. I will miss him. Karl Bruhn
Don will be missed. He was the ultimate professional. Bill Everitt Brook Mays
Don will be GREATLY missed. Brian Sateia Diamond Amplification, Inc.
Please give our sympathies to the Johnson family. And what a wonderful recollection written on his life and family.
Judy Gage Davidgage.com
Don was a very nice guy - always a “class act.” I looked forward to reading his Editor’s comments in each month’s MMR. He will definitely be missed. Dennis Houlihan Roland U.S.
He will certainly be missed by all of us here at Publishers Press. Tom Wheeler Publishers Press
I always looked forward to his stimulating articles and knowledgeable insight into our industry. He will be missed by myself and all those who admired his work. My prayers go to his family. Dave Lopez Odyssey Innovative Designs / Show Solutions
Please offer our deepest condolences to the entire Johnson Family and to all of you at MMR, as well. Mark Ross The mrp Custom Drum Company
Like most of us in the industry and those here at PianoDisc who knew Don, I am deeply saddened by his passing, particularly at such a relatively young age. My heart goes out to his MMR 11
dear wife and precious daughters. May God grant His grace, mercy, and peace in this time of mourning and loss. Tom Lagomarsino PianoDisc
I am so shocked. Don was such a fine human being. All of our sympathies go out Don’s family. We had our employee Quarterly Meeting this afternoon at 2:15 and Chris Martin paid tribute to Don in his talk to the employees. All 600 of us. Dick Boak Martin Guitar
I am extremely saddened by this news. I feel privileged to have had a chance to know him. He was a gentleman. Please pass my regrets to his family on behalf of Buffet Crampon USA. Francois Kloc Director of Sales & Marketing North America Buffet Crampon USA, Inc.
I always looked forward to seeing Don at the trade shows and receiving a sincere greeting and handshake from him. Don’s contributions to the retail music industry will be missed. Pete & Genett Gamber Alta Loma Music
I read the sad news of Don Johnson’s untimely passing. I know that despite knowing the end was coming, your
team must be devastated. As a long time reader of your magazine, I just want you to know that my thoughts are with all of you during this difficult time. Don leaves some very big shoes to fill and will be sorely missed by thousands in our community. Bill Robinson Acoustic Instrument Buyer Guitar Center, Inc.
I’ve been in the music business for over 30 years, and although I have never had the pleasure of meeting Don, the presence of his face and words for so many of those years in your magazine made him seem like an old friend to me. I will miss him. Keith Giles Rozwick-Giles’ Alaska Music ONE
My thoughts are with his family and the MMR team. Don was a great guy and always really helpful.
Ali Fard The Music Link
How sad. I wasn’t a friend of Don’s; not even really a nodding acquaintance. We met a couple of times at NAMM shows. He was always cordial. A couple of years ago, he printed a rant I wrote after having read an article in MMR. We exchanged e-mails a few times after that, and I was always impressed how he remembered who I was, and where my store was. This was a gentleman, and my condolences to all his friends and family. John R. Giovannoni The Music Room, Ltd.
Don was always kind and supportive to me in the most gracious way. Shortly after I started working for MMR he had trouble speaking because of the cancer. I never even knew until someone else in the office told me. He just answered my voicemail messages by e-mail without ever mentioning that he could not speak above a whisper. But that is just a sign of how he put himself out for people without ever asking for even the smallest consideration in return. I shall miss his friendship, his calm professional expertise, and his special brand of kindness. Iris Fox MMR 12 MMR
Don was a consummate professional and true journalist, and I trusted every word he wrote. Our industry is diminished with his passing. Gene Joly Executive Vice President, Merchandising Musician’s Friend, Inc.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing him for many years through my previous company, Fine Fretted Friends. He will be missed indeed. Michael Voyage-Air Guitar
As we are still so new to the U.S. as a vendor, and hadn’t had a chance to get to know Don as well as I’m sure a lot of folks did, I was very taken by his humility and genuine interest in our small story. Having read the brief retrospective in MMR, this would appear to have been a long term approach to journalism and life for him. Would that there were more people in the world like this, let alone in our little industry! Dennis J. Drumm John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd.
On behalf of the MIAC Board of Directors and membership, we would like to offer our sincere condolences on the passing of Don Johnson. Don was a fine gentleman and a passionate industry communicator who always presented his opinions and assessments in a fair and balanced manner. Each month we looked forward to his editorial columns in MMR and his unique perspective. JUNE 2008
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We were particularly pleased by the way Don covered our Canadian trade shows, both MIAC and PAL, in an unbiased fashion over the years and was a strong supporter of our Canadian event. Having had the pleasure of many conversations with Don over the past 25 years, I can say without a doubt, the music products industry has lost a wonderful editor, great industry spokesperson, and just a super guy. We hope Don’s family and friends will take comfort in the fact that he made a major contribution to the industry and will be long remembered by his colleagues in Canada. Thanks Don for all the great memories … you were one of a kind! Al Kowalenko, Executive Director Music Industries Association of Canada (MIAC)
I am very sorry to hear about Don. I really have no words ... Tom Shelley Universal Percussion
With great respect, please accept our condolences to all at MMR and Don’s family. Jodi Ann Parker PlayersMusic.com
All of us at Acoustic Guitar and String Letter Publishing are sorry to hear about Don’s passing. Our thoughts go out to his family, and to all of you who worked with him at MMR. He’ll be missed. Dan Gabel Group Publisher & Editorial Director Acoustic Guitar
It is a sad day in the industry. Frank Luppino III
My deepest sympathies to you and all of your colleagues. The last time I saw Don was at the Mondomusica Show in Cremona in October; he was jet-lagged and didn’t seem to speak a word of Italian, but he was glad to be there, 14 MMR
figuring it all out, and smiling. I had no idea he was ill at that time. He’ll certainly be missed by many people. David A. Lusterman Publisher String Letter Publishing
In the 20 years I knew Don Johnson, I saw a man who consistently rose above the crowd, and who possessed enviable personal qualities: quiet, dignified professionalism, a friendly, positive demeanor, and a willingness to help others in very meaningful ways. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “…to know
even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” Well, Don had an impact on many lives in our industry, and I, for one, am a better person having known him.
Peter Giles Giles Communications
He was such a wonderful person and I always enjoyed talking to him at the conventions. It was a shame he couldn’t come to the RPMDA convention last month, being so close to home. Please pass on our sincere condolences to his family and the MMR staff. Bonnie & Clyde Fitch James Fitch Bonnie’s Music Shoppe
It doesn’t seem possible, but our friend Don Johnson has passed away. With a gentle and positive demeanor, Don played a major role in keeping us informed of the latest industry news and, in doing so, documented key developments and changes over the 25 years he was editor for Musical Merchandise Review. Don contributed greatly both to the expansion of the magazine overseas and to its technological advancement with the industry’s first e-newsletter. More than that, however, he became a friend to all those who care for and hope to perpetuate the music products industry. He often said the magazine’s primary focus was the music retailer. Since the beginning, he added at least one tip that the dealers could use right away in their stores. Don often wrote about the importance of the NAMM show and how attending benefitted the entire industry. He supported NAMM’s educational outreach campaigns and the efforts to globalize the industry. Don was the first person, outside of the NAMM building, to support our annual tribute and to contribute to the program every year with research and ideas. He cared about our history and sent many suggestions of people he believed should be included in the Oral History program. Every one of his suggested names have been added to the collection, along with his own interview, which was completed during the Austin NAMM Show 2007. Don was interested in what people were doing. He was interested in how the industry was developing. He cared a great deal for the people he worked with at the magazine. In talking with so many people who knew Don, they often felt, as I do, he was a gentle and encouraging person you were proud to call a friend. A video clip from his interview is posted on our In Memorial page: http://www.namm.org/resource-center/in-memoriam-1 Dan Del Fiorentino Historian/Librarian NAMM JUNE 2008
One Yamaha At Yamaha, we strive to enrich the lives of people worldwide through music and sound. To that end, we are continuously blazing the trail of innovation within each of our divisions. From Piano to Pro Audio, Band and Orchestral to Commercial Audio, Consumer Products to Artist Services, we put our more than 100 years of experience behind each and every employee, instrument and service that we provide. We are proud to place our name on the world’s top concert stages, in recording and rehearsal studios, among elite marching bands across football fields and especially down Main Street, U.S. A.
We may be many things to many people, but we are always One Yamaha.
Š2008 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved. www.yamaha.com
See us at NAMM Booths104, 136
M.I. lost one of its true nice guys—a fellow who always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye and a moment to stop and say hello.
Larry DeMarco
I was deeply saddened by the news of Don’s passing. He was a fixture at every trade show I can remember in my 23 years working in the Industry, even this year’s Musikmesse. Don always had a smile on his face and so obviously loved his work. He will be missed. My deepest condolences to his family and to all of you at MMR; his other family. John DeChristopher Vice President, Artist Relations & Event Marketing Worldwide Avedis Zildjian Company
From everyone at Core One Creative, we send our deepest sympathies and heartfelt thoughts to Don’s family and the MMR Family. Don was a very nice man always and will be truly missed. Ted McCann Core One Creative
I loved his wit and his sense of humor. He was never self-congratulatory, and always made you think. What I liked most about Don is that I always felt quite comfortable talking with him, and came away feeling better for the time spent with him. Andy Zildjian Sabian
I’m very sorry to hear about Don’s passing. I had no idea he was ill. He was a good person to work with, and I appreciated his help over the years. Andy Robinson Taylor Guitars
Our condolences to the Johnson family. Our thoughts are with all at Symphony Publishing. Ryan Goldin Mountain Rythym, Inc. / Dream Cymbals and Gongs, Inc. 16 MMR
I just wanted to pass to you my sincerest condolences and best wishes. I didn’t know Don well, but I have known him for a long time and he was a wonderful guy who was always a pleasure to work with. This is tragic news and everyone at MMR must be deeply saddened. Kate Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.
Our sympathy with MMR and Don’s family and friends. Andrew Bell Twin Town Guitars
I’m so sorry to hear about Don. My thoughts and condolences are with all of you and with Don’s family. I was very fond of him. Chris DeMaria Director of Marketing Fishman
Don was a friend of Celestion, so I’d like to extend the deepest sympathies from everyone here to Don’s family, and to all his colleagues at MMR. John Paice Celestion
My condolences to you all at MMR. He will be greatly missed. Bee Bantug Retail Up
I am very sorry to hear of Don’s passing. Dave Maloney The Music People
We are very sad to hear of Don’s passing. We always enjoyed working with Don and have a great amount of respect for him. Please know that everyone at Fishman is thinking of him during this difficult time. Rob Ketch Fishman Transducers
What a trooper!
True to form, Don worked the 2008 Musik Messe like always, visiting all old friends, customers, new accounts and covering the ever growing Light and Sound Frankfurt yearly event. It has always been good to see Don anywhere we have met on the road and his smile and friendly disposition always made me feel like a trusted comrade. Don was special and also had a great insight into this MI industry, the people that are lifers in it, as well as those with a new and novel idea. He not only covered the shows in total, his opening comments in “Editorial” usually struck a nerve with industry vets. He not only wrote about the industry, he lived it! Don will be missed, a great and warm human being, we were lucky to have him in our lives. Hap Kuffner
Our deepest regrets at the loss of your friend and colleague... Don will not only be a loss to MMR, but a loss to the industry as well. Joe Zon Zon Guitars
Sorry to hear this news. Paul Buckley First Act
Very sad. He will be missed. Don Rhodes E.M. Winston
I will miss him surely. After seeing him only a few weeks ago it seems like yesterday. Rob Turner EMG Pickups
Don was very kind to us and very professional, and was very good at his job. Sonia and Tom Vallis LPD Music International
I want to pass on my condolences over the loss of our long time friend, Don Johnson. He will be missed by all of us in the industry. Stacey Montgomery-Clark Sabian Ltd. JUNE 2008
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Upfront PAS Inducts Burns into Hall of Fame The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) has announced the names of those selected to be inducted into the PAS Hall of Fame, the society’s highest honor given to individuals whose careers have had a significant impact on percussion performance, education, and research. Drummer, educator, clinician, and manufacturer Roy Burns and famed solo percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie will be honored this November at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Austin, Texas.
Roy Burns has played with Woody Herman, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, and Lionel Hampton. His days of studio work included the Merv Griffin Show, the Tonight Show, and a number of television quiz shows, radio and TV commercials, and recordings. He’s written instructional drum books and pioneered the role of drummer as clinician. As an artist for Rogers Drum Company, Burns presented clinics in Europe, Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, and New Zealand from 1968 through 1980. He started the Aquarian
Accessories Corporation in 1980, where he currently devotes most of his time. Burns is a past board member of the Percussive Arts Society and has performed at PASIC. Dame Evelyn Glennie is an active performer, giving more than a hundred performances annually around the world, appearing with the most respected ensembles and orchestras. She received a Grammy Award in 1988 and was recently honored as a Dame Commander in the British Empire for her continued service to music.
Lowrey Restructures Sales Department, Wisniewski Leaves Lowrey Organ Company has restructured the company’s sales team in a move designed to improve the performance of the unit. As part of the restructuring, the role of director of sales has been folded into the existing unit and the sales team will report to Seijiro Imamura, Lowrey general manager and vice president. Melvin Wisniewski, who held the director of sales position, will no longer remain with the company.
Wiesniewski is a Lowrey veteran, having held various positions within the company for nearly 20 years. Prior to Lowrey, Wisniewski was a retailer selling Lowrey organs for many years. “Mel has been a longtime supporter of the music industry,” said Seijiro Imamura. “We’ve been privileged to have him on the team and appreciate his many years of service to the company. Going forward, the new structure will allow us to be more agile
and efficient in addressing the myriad of opportunities that present themselves to us and in providing the best service to our customers.” The key focus for the sales unit will continue to be to drive revenue in its core (senior) markets of North America and the UK, while continuing to explore new opportunities within the burgeoning boomer and beyond markets.
Yamaha Creates New Department for Music Production Software; Macpherson to Head Yamaha has created Steinberg North America as a separate department within the company’s Music Marketing Group. It replaces Steinberg Software, formerly a part of the Music Production Department of the Pro Audio & Combo Division. The new department’s responsibilities include marketing Steinberg music production software, including Cubase 4, VST instruments, Nuendo and WaveLab, in the U.S. and Canada. “The entire company shares a common vision to develop and promote Steinberg as a strong and distinct software brand 18 MMR
worldwide,” said Terry Lewis, marketing manager, combo Executive Vice President, Yamaand music production diviha. “This reorganization reflects sion, and as national sales and that vision and commitment in marketing manager of the pro North America.” music and audio division. To lead the reorganization, Macpherson, a professional Alan Macpherson has been singer and guitarist, owns a appointed director of marketpersonal recording studio and ing, Steinberg North America. is a user of Steinberg music Macpherson has worked in production software. various capacities for Yamaha Alan Macpherson Also at Steinberg North Canada since 1987. In addition America, Brian McGovern to his last position, as manager will serve as marketing manof the corporate planning and commuager and Greg Ondo will serve as field nications department, he has served as marketing manager. JUNE 2008
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Upfront On-Stage Stands Supports the Troops On-Stage Stands has donated some of its stands and T-shirts to soldiers deployed in Iraq. Captain Matthew M. Hamrick, a U.S. Army chaplain from a cavalry squadron based out of Ft. Carson, asked The Music People, Inc., the manufacturer for OnStage Stands products, for some boom microphone stands. Hamrick is the worship leader for one of the many chapel services on the forward operating base (FOB). Hamrick explained in a letter that his battalion has musical equipment, but
most of it is broken and not functioning properly due to overuse. The team at On-Stage Stands responded by not only sending the requested boom microphone stands, but also appropriately sized quantities of their SM7211 conductor stand,
RS7000 amp stand, MY325 mic clip, and GS7465 Flip-It A-Frame. Additionally, a set of two On-Stage Stands T-shirts were sent to each of the 10 officers who play in Hamrick’s worship team at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq.
Detroit’s Hammell Music Goes Out of Business After 60 years of business, Detroit’s Hammell Music closed its doors and started a public liquidation sale on May 4. It was a longtime Steinway dealer and Michigan’s largest piano retailer. In addition to selling the Steinway family of pianos (Steinway, Boston,
Horn Help for New Orleans King Instruments’ own horn doctors, Mike Corrigan and Mark Farmer, traveled from Kansas City to New Orleans to donate their time and effort helping to rebuild the jazz music scene. Corrigan’s personal experience in the Drum and Bugle Corps allowed him to understand a critical need in New Orleans after Katrina: the need for fine quality brass work on instruments damaged during the storm and to assist jazz musicians returning to the community. With their mobile repair unit, they are now able to provide repair work helping to once again establish New Orleans as the jazz capital of the nation. 20 MMR
and Essex), the store also sold Kohler & Campbell, Knabe, Pianodisc, and Roland instruments. The 30,000-square-foot facility typically had over 400 pianos on display. President Tim Hoy was not filing for bankruptcy and was reported to just be going into semi-retirement.
Concord, Calif., Aims to Break Guitar Record This month, community organizers of Concord, Calif., hope to lure over 2,000 guitar strummers to their downtown plaza, where they will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for largest guitar ensemble. Right now, Kansas City holds that record, from when local music store Funky Monkey Music enticed 1,721
to show up in a baseball field and play “Smoke on the Water” in June of 2007. The tune of choice for this attempt will be “This Land Is Your Land.” The event will be held May 8 as part of the community’s “Concord on the Green” environmental fair. Source: Contra Costa Times
The Music Link Now Distributes Tycoon Percussion Tycoon Percussion announced that their congas, bongos, djembes, timbales, cajons, tamboras, hand-held percussion, and other related products are now available through The Music Link. The Music Link, which offers these products with no minimums,
offers over a hundred different styles and sizes from Tycoon’s extensive product line. Each product is packaged in a colorful POP display box. List prices for Tycoon Percussion range from $7 for egg shakers to $475 for a professional level djun-djun. JUNE 2008
That’s the
$50,000 question!
Levy’s most successful dealers pose this question to each of their customers, and as a result, sell $50,000.00 worth of Levy’s guitar straps per storefront annually. Well… okay, it’s not that simple. There are a couple other things you need to do besides asking the question: 1. Keep your Levy’s display accessible and well-stocked. That’s where we come in. Not only do we offer the broadest range of comfortable, great-looking guitar straps, we also offer a comprehensive array of visually stimulating POP displays. 2. Remember that you’re selling a fashion item. Help your customers match a Levy’s strap to their music, their guitar, or their attire. Your customers will appreciate the personal attention. You too can be a successful Levy’s dealer. Start by asking the question…
Do you want Levy’s with that? Levy’s guitar straps were identified as a “must-have” product at the recent Summer NAMM Show and were designated Best In Show. Levy’s also received the Best in Show at Winter NAMM 2007. See us at NAMM Booth 1226
NORTH AMERICA TOLL FREE PHONE & FAX
1-800-565-0203 1-888-FAX-LEVY (329-5389) Levy’s Leathers Limited: 190 Disraeli Freeway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 2Z4 (204) 957-5139 Fax: (204) 943-6655 email: levys@levysleathers.com
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Upfront Tama Tribute to Drum Dealer Sam D’Amico After being in the drum shop business since 1974, Philly drum retailing icon Sam D’Amico reluctantly announced it was finally time to retire. “Sam D’Amico had brought so many people to the joys of drumming, we felt that we couldn’t let this moment go by,” said Paul Specht, communications director for Hoshino, the Tama distributor. “Not only that, Sammy’s been a Tama dealer since September of 1977, at least that’s what our old paperwork said. It may have even
been longer than that. So he certainly deserved a tribute for hitting the three decade mark with Tama.” To mark the occasion, Hoshino’s new national sales manager for independent dealers, Ed O’Donnell (who studied drums with Sammy’s cousin, Nick D’Amico), Hoshino sales rep Neil Buckley, and Specht went to Moyamensing Avenue in South Philly, land of cheese steaks, the Italian market, and doubleparked cars. On April 5, 2008, Hoshino
Sam D’Amico (center) accepting tribute plaque from Hoshino sales representative Neil Buckley (right) and Hoshino national sales manager for independent dealers, Ed O’Donnell (left).
and Tama Drums let D’Amico know how much they appreciated not just his business with Tama, but how much he had done for the Philadelphia drum community.
Registration Open for Ernie Ball/Music Man Battle of the Bands 12 Now in its twelfth year, the Ernie Ball/ Music Man Battle of the Bands competition is offering North America’s best unsigned talent the opportunity to play live
Chinese Exporters Sour on the Dollar The falling U.S. dollar reached a new low this week when it was reported that an increasing number of Chinese exporters are asking customers to pay in euros rather than American currency. The dollar’s fall against China’s currency has been drastic: It dropped 7 percent against the yuan last year, plus another 4 percent so far in 2008. One of the many manufacturers that is requesting deals in euros is the Shanghai Lansheng Import and Export Company, which exports musical instruments, among other products. The company’s manager, Chen Mang, was reported as saying deals quoted in dollars are only going to be valid for two or three months. It was reported that manufacturers making deals based on U.S. currency six months or more in the future are finding when the deal finally goes through, they have lost as much as 10 percent gross because of the ever-falling exchange rate. Source: The New York Times 22 MMR
on the Vans Warped Tour, perform before a crowd of influential music industry execs in Hollywood, Calif., and even win a $15,000 Guitar Center shopping spree and $1,000 in custom Hurley apparel. Registration for the competition is open now through June 1 via the official Ernie Ball/Music Man Battle of the Bands 12 website. The online voting portion of the Battle website will remain open throughout the duration of the Battle, allowing fans to nominate their favorite registered bands for a shot at playing Ernie Ball’s self-contained Mobile Stage on the Vans Warped Tour, running from
June 19 to August 17. Judges, composed of Ernie Ball staff and Battle sponsors, will then choose four of the 20 most-nominated bands from each region to perform live on the stage during their hometown leg of the tour. Regional winners will be announced by mid-June. To take part in this year’s Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition, bands must upload photos, a band biography, and two MP3 audio files to the Battle of the Bands 12 site by June 1. For more details on sign-ups, please visit the Battle of the Bands 12 Web site at www.battleofthebands.com.
‘Wanna Play Music’ Week in May NAMM declared that May 5–9, 2008, was officially Wanna Play Music week. To kick off the week, NAMM President Joe Lamond did a national media tour of 15 markets together with NAMM grantee Scott Houston (The Piano Guy). In addition, NAMM launched its “Say You Wanna Play” contest on YouTube.com. The contest was designed for nonplayers to give them a chance to showcase their unique musical abilities and tell the world why they wanna play.
NAMM also embarked on a national public relations and media campaign celebrating a different music-making theme each day of the week. Monday: Music Monday • Tuesday: Music for Moms and Dads • Wednesday: Music as Therapy • Thursday: Bridging the Digital Gap • • Friday: Heroes Behind the Music To see the new TV ad and find additional information, go to www.wannaplaymusic.com. JUNE 2008
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Upfront Douglas Signature Pedal from Fishman “I’ve been using some version of this pedal, while we’ve been working on it, for two years now,” notes multiple Grammy Awardwinner Jerry Douglas, speaking about the Fishman Jerry Douglas Signature Series Aura Imaging Pedal. “I’ve used it with Alison Krauss, Paul Simon, with everybody I play with – it’s just amazing, really.” The new pedal features custom Fishman Aura Images created specifically for resophonic guitars (dobros) and was developed in close collaboration with Douglas, a widely respected master of the instrument. “If you’ve ever seen a bluegrass band, you’ve probably noticed that they’re sort of anchored to the floor because of the micro-
phones in front of them – they can’t go anywhere,” Douglas says. “This pedal gives the musician the total freedom to move away from his or her station and still have that microphone sound. That’s the cool thing about Aura imaging to me – it is a microphone that you’re hearing. “Another thing: If you’re working in an arena, in order to get the microphone loud enough to cover the hall, it’s going to start cycling back through and you get all this feedback, but this [pedal] now takes that problem out of the picture. I don’t have any of those issues anymore. Since I’m primarily an acoustic musician I’ve been trying to amplify a dobro for my whole career. There just wasn’t any way to get loud enough in a big place without feedback or to play with an electric band without feedback. I’ve played with The Allman Brothers using this pedal – and been heard! [laughs]. This just changes the whole picture, plus you still sound like you’re playing an acoustic instrument.” The Jerry Douglas Signature Series Aura Imaging pedal runs on a 9-volt battery or power adapter and features: 16 custom Aura Images created and used by Jerry Douglas; Volume, Blend, and Image Select controls; feedback-fighting Phase switch; Bypass/Mute footswitch; Input
Sizable Concerns About Bogus Gibsons The Associated Press reported on May 2 that a Long Island music shop owner accused of selling knockoff Gibson Les Paul guitars had been arraigned in a pickup truck in a courthouse parking lot after his lawyer said the 500-pound defendant couldn’t walk into the courthouse. State Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle said the man’s “severe weight problem” prompted the unusual proceeding Thursday in Riverhead. A defense lawyer also had given 24 MMR
the court a doctor’s letter saying the defendant suffers from osteoarthritis. The shopkeeper has been released without bail after pleading not guilty to trademark counterfeiting and criminal simulation. He says the case and health problems have forced him to close his store. He’s accused of selling bogus Gibsons for $1,500 to buyers who thought they were far more valuable genuine versions of the classic electric guitar.
Trim with Clip/Low Battery indicator; 24 bit A/D/A, 32 bit internal processing. The unit is 5.6”L x 4”W x 2.1” H. Larry Fishman of Fishman Transducers, Inc. says, “It’s exciting for us; this is our first artist pedal. We’re really thrilled that Jerry decided to go ahead with the project. What we’ve done with him is: we’ve gone into the studio with Jerry’s signature guitar model and spent a number of days recording the instrument with dozens and dozens of microphones in different positions. First, though, we designed the pickup for the instrument. We had several varieties of resonator pickups in the past but we really wanted to design a pickup that would work especially well. The dobro’s a tough instrument to get – it’s got all these resonances and unique issues and challenges. What we ended up with, after a lot of trial and error and many of hours in the recording studio, is the Jerry Douglas Signature Pedal which has 16 of his favorite images. We used a variety of different mics, different pre-amps, different mic pre’s and the end result… well, you’ve really got to hear it. We’re very happy with the product.” The Jerry Douglas Signature Series Aura Imaging pedal will be available in June with an MSRP of $389.95. For more information, visit www.fishman.com.
Breaking News Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com JUNE 2008
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WEBWISE
An Atlanta Dealer
Gets it Right … anatomy of a great Web site By Kevin M. Mitchell
S
ometimes it seems like I’m mostly railing against what is wrong with MI store Web
sites, so I want to spend the next couple of columns talking about what is right. There are some terrific Web sites out there and I will point out a few them. I also think it will be useful to examine how they came into being. One I’ve stumbled on recently that I am especially impressed with is MusicMatters101.com for the Music Matters three-store operation in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The site certainly isn’t fancy, but the good ones never are. It’s sophisticated in design but simple to navigate, and effectively brands the operation in a hip, positive way. Of course, it wasn’t always like that … 26 MMR
“The old site was just something we scrapped together,” laughs Jeff Tarae, the Music Matters chief operating officer. The company lived with the original site until they began the process of redesigning their two stores and opening a third. Then they realized it was time to get serious about their Web presence. “We wanted to come up with an online image that would mimic what we do in our stores.” Tarae is no stranger to the Internet. Along with a background in fi nance, he had done sales work with the popular site About.com before getting involved in Music Matters in 2003.
‘She Asked a Lot of Questions’ Music Matters understood they needed a qualified professional to do it right, but they were also on a budget. They searched in various places, including on Craig’s List, and eventually found
Jenn French of JennFrenchdesigns.com. In addition to being impressed with the samples on her Web site, Tarae liked that French also had an extensive print background. Key to the process was Music Matters had a clear idea of what they wanted, and their ability to communicate that made the process successful, especially as French is based in Washington D.C. “She had never seen our store, so she asked a lot of questions,” Tarae recalls. For French, the initial interview is two-way. “They are figuring out if I am capable, while I’m figuring out if they are legitimate, if they really want to do the Web site, and what they want to achieve with it,” she says. Next, Tarae says: “I basically put together a schematic of what the pages would be, and she came up with initial design.” It was a challenging assignment, JUNE 2008
as Tarae wanted the overall look and feel with us and each other more. Whatever to do two things at once. we can do to enhance our store’s experi“Their primary audience happens to ence throughout the week, we’ll do – that’s be younger people, but the secondary what is driving this initiative for us.” audience is parents,” French says. “So ‘It’s Important to Come Up with it needed to be organized, written, and a Story’ displayed in a way appealing to young French has been designing Web sites people, but also prove to the parents that since 2000, and it’s the store is a worthy been a career that investment of their has evolved from her hard-earned dolprint background. lars.” Consequently, she “It was tough has strong ideas as to to appeal to both what looks good. “I groups, but the colJeff Tarae, Music Matters COO like my Web sites to ors and design, the be very clean-lookoverall professional ing, and I never want one where the visilook of the site … we feel she really nailed tor has to scroll down more than twice,” it on the first try,” Tarae adds. French says. “Also, I always keep the conThe site is visually bold, with black and tact information on every page, in the red backgrounds, and either black- or goldupper right hand corner, which is where I colored type. The fonts are simple and easy think people are used to seeing it.” to read. There’s a main photo space that is French does a lot of work for mom & a montage of shots from the stores, and all pop operations, and skews her pricing acthe pictures say something: there’s a group cordingly. And not all are as sure as Music of kids in one, a youngster being taught in Matters what the end result should be. a private guitar lesson, and a nice row of “Sometimes the client doesn’t even acoustic guitars on a wall. The top rightknow where to begin, and that involves hand corner has four options: Home, In more questions,” French says. “It’s imthe News, Newsletter, and Contact. portant to come up with a story, but Below the picture are the basics: Lessons, Rentals, Stores (locations), Summer Camp, Music Matters in Schools, and Lights & Sound. Below that is a foursentence paragraph under the heading “Be Heard!” that promotes the store and music. A very nice touch is that they uploaded a segment of a local television news station’s coverage of their band camp, and that is accessible on a couple of the pages. The only thing I’d nitpick over is the lack of an About Us section. Much more important than that, though, is that they have built the site with an eye to the future: Tarae says they are launching a Myspace-style component for their customers. “Our view was not only did we need something online about what we do, we needed to take it a step further.” Their “mymusicmatters. com” will allow their students to log on and communicate with instructors, review lesson material, interact with the Music Matters community, and share fi les of their songs. “We needed to provide an avenue to do all that outside the store, as the kids are only here on average 30 minutes a week,” he continues. “We’re trying to provide a forum where they can interact
“We wanted to come up with an online image that would mimic what we do in our stores.”
JUNE 2008
some clients are far less structured in the beginning, as opposed to the Music Matters people, who were clear on what they wanted their Web site to accomplish.” After the initial consultation, she writes up a contract and provides a general time frame. She says from start to fi nish, it’s typically two or three months – though for Music Matters it took over nine months, which was exceptional. “They initially wanted to use a name that turned out to already be trademarked, so we had to make some adjustments,” she recounts. The design is then broken up into a few phases. There are comp designs provided so the client gets a sense of where the project is going. Clients provide feedback and French makes changes. The client can provide the copy or French has writers she works with. In the latter case, the writer will call the retailer and interview him or her to get a sense of what needs to be accomplished. A live test site is created where the client can play through it, and make any other changes. To those who aren’t sure where to begin, the first step is to know what you want. Who are you reaching? Those within driving distance? The nation?
MMR 27
The world? Next, take stock of who you are and how your store looks and feels. The Web site is now an extension of your front door and, increasingly, the first impression a customer gets of your operation. The site should reflect your brickand-mortar operation.
“[The Music Matters site] needed to be appealing to young people, but also prove to the parents that the store is a worthy investment of their hard-earned dollars.” Jenn French, Web site designer Spending time on other sites, both music stores and perhaps those of your retail neighbors, will give you a sense of what would work for you and what wouldn’t. Be ready with “dos and don’ts” examples – sites you like, and sites you don’t. Next it’s finding someone to realize your Internet presence with you. Obviously, word-of-mouth is a good way to find a designer. But if there’s no one being recommended, there are many smaller companies, one-person organizations, and even those moonlighting and doing Web design and consulting on the side – but how do you find the right one? “They should definitely have experience,” French advises. “Sample sites and the work for previous clients should be studied.” Look to see if they have a busy or a clean style, and look for someone whose taste matches yours. “Also, look to see if all the sites they design look alike – and if they do, ask yourself how you feel about having a site that looks so much like others.” Talk to at least three designers, comparing styles, availability, and price – but avoid selecting one solely on price. If done right, your new site will benefit you for years. If not, it’s a lost opportunity.
Breaking News
Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com 28 MMR
See us at NAMM Booth 1429
JUNE 2008
advertorial
A Conversation... Bernard Van Doren discusses the new Flow Packs and other issues. Michael Skinner: Bernard, it's always interesting to me to see how new ideas like the Flow Pack started. How did this come Bernard Van Doren about? Managing Director Bernard Van Doren: It actually started in the United States. I was on a dealer tour with you and noticed that in many of the stores the dealers were storing reeds in very unfriendly places where heat or the lack of humidity could damage the reed due to warping which will have an adverse affect on its performance. My concern was that the musician could receive reeds with our name on it that would not play like we wanted them to. I knew then I had to design a system that would help the dealers present a higher quality product to our musicians. The Flow Pack is the end result. MS: So what exactly does the Flow Pack do? BV: Cane is very sensitive to hygrometric changes and that is why our factory is regulated. The new packaging maintains the proper hygrometry of the reed during the transportation of the reed from our factory all the way to when the musician opens it. This is the first time this has truly been done. So now if the dealer is not exactly sure where to store his reeds, we can still insure that the reed the musician opens is factory fresh and at its optimum performance level. Remember, the Flow Pack is extra protection. Once opened, the reed will react to their hygrometric environment exactly as before. MS: What has been the response? BV: So far we have heard very positive comments from our musician friends like Jon Manasse, Claude Delangle and many more. The new packaging, of
course, is different to accommodate this innovation, but the more you use the new packaging, the more you will appreciate it. MS: Yes, the packaging is larger and looks very different. BV: Yes it does. It is because each reed is now packaged individually in the Flow Pack packaging. We needed to make the box to fit the Flow Packs. We understand the packaging is different, but we think it's worth it to insure that every time you open a Flow Pack you have a reed that is factory fresh. MS: I agree. I've heard from many musicians that the reeds are playing very well. Do you have any concerns regarding the packaging with regard to the environment? BV: This is an interesting question because we are very concerned with our environment. Let me give you a few examples: From the beginning – The cane used to manufacture reeds is a 100% natural plant. We use no fertilizer or pesticide during its growth and no chemical components during its transformation into reeds. Any leftover cane resulting from reed manufacturing is completely reused as either compost in our plantations or fuel for the boiler that heats our factory. Our high performance boiler, gives off only water vapor and CO2 into the atmosphere. It is important to note that this CO2 exhaust is of plant, not fossil origin and that its atmospheric evacuation contributes in no way to the greenhouse effect. Inside the new box – The reed protector is 100% recyclable and has the PP5 mark on the edge of the protector. The film we use to protect the reeds is very important. If we use any other type of packaging or method, the amount of waste is much more. It is a recoverable packaging (in the form of energy recovery as it has a high calorific ratio in incineration). The new box – the paper we use
From a recent interview by Michael Skinner, President, DANSR, inc.,the U.S. importer for Vandoren Products
comes from trees planted expressly for paper production and does not contribute to deforestation. Moreover, trees are systematically replanted in each section as they are felled. We have also replaced toxic inks, fixatives, developers and solvents, with others less polluting in nature (for example, the use of offset inks instead of habitual UV inks). Inside the factory – we use electric vehicles to move around our factory and finally I am happy to tell you that I drive a hybrid vehicle. MS: Wow! So it would seem to me that every step of the way, you not only found ways to protect the reeds, but to protect the environment. BV: Yes, it's true. MS: Are there any additional advantages to the new packaging? BV: Yes, in recent years we have seen the increase in counterfeit products that concern us very much. The level of sophistication required to create this packaging and product makes it difficult to copy. Again, our goal here is to create the best product so musicians can continue making the beautiful music for which we are so passionate. MS: Thank you Bernard!
For more information on Flow Packs or the environment, consult the Vandoren website at www.vandoren.com
BAND & ORCHESTRA
B&O Dealers:
The Perfect
STORM Assessing the Challenging Times
I
t’s a perfect storm of challenges: States are suffering financial crises that are affecting school budgets; gas prices are up, home prices are down; and the federal government’s No Child Left Behind initiative has administrators sweating over the next set of tests rather than making sure students are exposed to the arts. While many band and orchestra retailers are certainly feeling the pinch and are voicing understandable concern about the immediate future, 30 MMR
others are pointing to the cylindrical nature of the times. Some places are worse than others, and California has a situation that’s odd indeed: Retailers in the other 49 states were envious about that $500 million block grant the state received for the arts last year, but now that California’s fi nancial crisis is defi nitely taking hold, the program is going to be affected. “We fi nd ourselves from time to time in the inane position of delivering brand-new instruments to districts that we now know will be closing their music programs in the fall,” Nick Rail of Santa Barbara’s Nick Rail Music says. Still, there is good news out there. Some are not only surviving, but thriv-
ing. One retailer spoke off the record about his success, though his location and the success of the community contributed to it. The joke around that town is that if you’re driving a Mercedes Benz that’s two years old you’re having a bad year. Finally, as some old enough to remember the oil unemployment crisis of the 1970s pointed out, no matter how bad things are, they will get better. As for those who want to see those good times get here sooner than later, an Alabama dealer offers some good tips on how to recession-proof the business [page 40].
JUNE 2008
Dealers Speak Out We asked retailers for comments on the current state of the band and orchestra market, how school music programs in their area were fairing, and if they were satisfied with the quality of the music programs, and more. Here’s what they had to say … “The biggest single negative influence on music is the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), a “no child left behind” style of testing. The entire curriculum is built around these tests and consequently the pullout programs of days past have all but disappeared. There is much more competition for a student’s time with reduced options for elective.” Thomas Anderson Music Centers, Inc. Lakewood, Wash. Our market is saturated with too many dealers trying to race to the lowest price. School districts are pounding us for lower pricing and loyalty is something that today you only read about. Bill Labron Music Plus Kitchener, Ontario Canada There are a lot of schools that are facing budget and teacher cuts. This is not only happening to the “marginal” programs, but it’s also happening in some of the best areas too. It’s alarming. I think parents clearly want the benefits of band for their kids but school boards and administrators are becoming even more tunnel-visioned about funding and balancing their budgets.
A ground swell of support and demands from the parents at the grass roots level is urgently needed. School boards tend to listen to their constituents, but those constituents have to be taught how to voice their opinions effectively. Ray Guntren Ray’s Midbell Music Sioux City, Iowa Kids still want to play and if the teaching is good, they find the money necessary to fuel a good/great program regardless of demographics or economics. Russ Beacock Beacock Music Vancouver, Wash. Our business is doing well in spite of the economic conditions. Our rentals are up and our projections are for a big year this year. I attribute much of our success to the quality of service that we offer. We offer high quality instruments made in the USA or Europe, and only the saxophones come from the Far East. We keep our prices below the competition and work very closely with smaller suppliers, like EK Blessing and EMMC. By dealing with the small guys we have access to great product and
How are band and orchestra student participation levels in school systems your dealership serves this year? Up significantly
Very healthy
Down a bit
About the same
Insufficient
27% JUNE 2008
14%
51%
Educational reform is affecting music more than anything else, and the poor economy doesn’t help. Ken Anderson Flesher-Hinton Music Denver, Colo. Younger directors look at instrument lines differently than older directors. They are more open to off-brands for their students, but loyal to the one they play. Linda Young Wert Music Erlanger, Ky. [Schools] buy rubbish and are then surprised that so many kids quit.” Jan H. van Royen Gainesville Violins Gainesville, Fla.
How would you describe school music budget levels in 2008-09?
Down considerably
8%
the ability to market instruments the competition does not handle. We are also not held hostage by the “big boys” that want to jam hundreds of instruments down our throat while giving “special model” deals to our competition. We sell honest product and let the customer decide between our products and those that the competition sell. Ray Noguera Laconia Music Center New Hyde Park, N.Y.
2%
62%
Healthy
13%
Adequate
23%
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School music budgets have either been cut or systems have run out of money because of high gasoline prices. As a retailer, the cost of operating my outside road reps has risen dramatically, and for the most part the school band directors are still expecting the same weekly or biweekly service. Larry Letson Bibb Music Macon, Ga. Budgets are being cut in many schools here, so consequently
teaching positions are being cut, or retirees arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t being replaced. Also, there is much less lesson time for the band students, so overall quality of some bands is deteriorating. Del Sarlette Sarlettes Music Morris, Minn. We in Florida are experiencing state wide budget trimming. I do know of cuts in programs for the next school year, and fear we may
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A few band directors are finally starting to realize that this is a global market and they are learning that the name that is printed on the instrument does not always mean that that is the company who really made it. The purchasing departments are balking at price increases in relation to everything from supplies to new instruments. Some band directors are looking for alternatives to reeds and mouthpieces that they have been using for years because the prices are escalating at an unprecedented rate. Joe Fritz Ridglea Music Fort Worth, Texas We need to fund schools better so the teachers are paid more, which will attract better teaching candidates and keep them longer. Rich Brinkman Montana Music Missoula, Mont.
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lose our elementary string programs. The area directors for the Hillsborough County school system moved teachers from most of the elementary programs about six weeks into the school year. Unfortunately the results have been devastating. New teachers requiring different schedules have resulted in the loss of several students. The politicians are still working on solutions, and have a great deal of respect for music booster organizations, so we will have to see what solutions they can come up with. Mitchel Banks Don Banks Music Tampa, Fla.
See us at NAMM Booths 436,536
Music teachers are not trained nor interested in the proper care, maintenance, and purchase of their school instruments. Teachers need to be made aware of the importance of maintaining student instruments. Kyozo Watanabe Cremona Violin Shop of Los Angeles Los Angeles, Calif. JUNE 2008
Are students and parents continuing to purchase low-cost instruments at mass merchandisers? This trend has tapered off considerably
10%
Yes, more than ever
29%
How do you see music educators faring in your market? Fewer teachers are leaving the profession as a result of “burn-out” now
10% Yes, but at a lower rate these days
29%
California is in a unique position, because while it still has significant funds left to spend from the $500 million one-time block grant, it faces cutbacks and closures of music programs across the state. We find ourselves from time to time in the inane position of delivering brand-new instru-
JUNE 2008
Yes, at about the same rate
32%
ments to districts that we now know will be closing their music programs in the fall. Parents and teachers alike are well aware of the benefits of music making, but until it’s made mandatory at the state level for daily inclusion in the school day starting in kindergarten, we’ll continue to see
There is a higher-than-ever “burn-out” rate
29%
It’s basically unchanged
61%
music show up on the chopping block any time there’s a budget shortfall. Nick Rail Nick Rail Music Santa Barbara, Calif. Because of block scheduling and teaching to state wide test stan-
MMR 33
A Perspective, and a Prediction One Dealer Takes a Step Back to Look at the Big Picture By Randy Millsap There are several things working against music dealers right now: No Child Left Behind has devastated music budgets in favor of curriculum aimed entirely at achieving higher test scores to avoid losing more federal funding. It is unfortunate that No Child Left Behind has had the effect of dumbing down publicly funded education rather than allowing the best students to discover their strengths and excel. On the other hand, most local band directors here won’t let their students use certain brands due to the fact they cannot be repaired locally. Our local major independent repair shop refuses to even look at most big box brands. It has a significant effect on the buying decisions of parents since they perform the repairs for every school and music shop in this market. And yes, there is a higher than ever “burn-out” rate. The down side is that replacement music educators are ill prepared to educate children. In the last year I have dealt with new directors who have little or no practical knowledge of the instruments they teach. One director I have dealt with is completely tone deaf and has already taught at five schools in three years, yet continues to find new jobs. Still, I think my market has some really great music educators. However, the frustration level is growing over a number of pressures that have developed in this decade. Our former governor, Mike Huckabee, made music education a major publicity issue during his presidential campaign. Yet he supported budget cuts to music programs repeatedly in Arkansas throughout his time in office. The end result of programs like No Child Left Behind is that funding that focus on standardized test subject areas are given highest priority in order to maintain federal funding. All other programs are left to support themselves or face elimination in the next year’s budget. Locally, we have seen a decrease in AP courses, fine arts, and even some sports. The result will be 34 MMR
a generation who can do great on a fill-in-the-ovals test, but are poorly prepared for real world workplace problems where common sense and the ability to reason are far more important to success. These important skills are much harder to measure with simple multiple-choice tests.
“Still a Cycle”
But this is still a cycle. Things will be great again. Those who were alive during the oil crisis of the 1970’s can tell you that conditions looked awful during that time. There was talk of America falling as a world power, and all sorts of dire predictions of a new depression. Sound familiar? Things became better and then worse for several years until interest rates soared out of control and the economy broke down and reinvented itself within the course of two years in the early 1980s. As a result we had an expansion of our economy that was unthinkable during the oil crisis. Look at the innovation that came out of that expansion. The DX-7 was a must-have instrument at any price, guitar players wanted the best playing, highest quality instrument they could find instead of whatever was the cheapest. We did have a handful of minor recessions in the intervening years (including a housing crisis similar to what we face now). Those who can manage to ride out this period will be best suited to profit when the market strengthens. I am really annoyed with all of the misinformation I hear in the industry from people who think this is the end of the world. Stores who are not positioned for this current economy will fail. Manufacturers who will not listen to their dealers and users will fail. This is not limited to music retail, and is a natural part of the process. That doesn’t make it any easier to take on a human level though.
No Child Left Behind: The result will be a generation who can do great on a fill-in-the-ovals test, but are poorly prepared for real world workplace problems where common sense and the ability to reason are far more important to success.
I think we are at the bottom of the trough in music education and the perception it has with the general public. I believe that there will be a much greater emphasis on music and arts in the next decade. I believe our economy is going to remain difficult for another 18 to 24 months depending on what part of the country you are in due to more consumer credit problems that have not yet made the news (auto loans and credit card debt are approaching record default levels). This will limit discretionary spending even more, especially as food and energy costs will rise in an uneven pattern. Historically, there has been a pattern of consumers getting comfortable with higher fuel, utility, and food costs. They begin to spend again to reward themselves with lifestyle perks only to face yet another increase in prices. Gas prices will probably be over $4.00 a gallon by Memorial Day, and there is growing talk of $5.00 a gallon gas by late 2008. Fuel price increases adversely affect the cost of everything. This coupled with an extremely weak U.S. dollar value means that all of those cheap goods from China will no longer be so affordable. The Chinese yuan has gone from 14 to the dollar to just under 7 to the dollar in the last year. No amount of bulk purchasing can delay the difficulty ahead.
Randy Millsap is owner of Millsap Music Company in Sherwood, Ark. JUNE 2008
dards, I predict we’re going to lose a lot of good teachers … We also need minimum bid prices controlled by manufacturers. Why do we reinvent our bid prices with every school we deal with? Manufacturers could refuse shipment if attached school P.O. doesn’t adhere to the published bid price. Fred Herter, Herter Music Center Bay City, Mich.
of three private teaching facilities: The Yamaha School of Music, Keyboard Arts, and Piano Perspectives (doing business out of the Howard County Fine Arts Center located in Columbia, Maryland). With the economic climate as it is, many schools are having a difficult time meeting their expectations and maintaining profitability. Kurt Krenzischek Columbia School of Music Columbia, Md.
Teacher burn-out isn’t really a problem. Getting qualified teachers to locate to rural areas is. We see lots of first year teachers stay for one or two years and then move on, leaving music programs basically stagnant. Long-term teachers are rare, meaning the “built” programs are even rarer. Meanwhile funding continues to dwindle. Lou Kraus Lou Kraus Music Ogallala, Neb.
It seems like more schools are investing in recording equipment and music software, obviously for classes in contemporary music and music production/business. They generally seem to be purchasing higher quality items than in previous years. Tony Adams audioMIDI.com Chatsworth, Calif. We were beat up pretty bad in the Burbank area by the Hollywood writers strike. About half of our database of customers works in the movie industry one way or another. Along with the downturn in the housing market and general economy, this double punch made for the worst January and February we have ever seen. It has picked up the last two months, but it was rough. Our once loyal school districts have all but abandoned local music dealers. There are still a few loyal band/orchestra teachers, but purchasing departments no longer support local merchants. We get a few accessories or repair P.O.’s but forget the sales of instruments. It all goes to the catalog joints in the Midwest. It’s nice to see that many of the major manufacturers are pulling out of the big box stores. The down side is that they now are putting more pressure on their independent music dealers to make up the slack. John Pedersen Pedersen’s Band & Orchestra Burbank, Calif. In the past two years here in Maryland, we have witnessed the demise JUNE 2008
MMR 35
NAMM’S Public Relation’s Blitz: Effective or Firing Blanks? Nearly half, 42%, of those surveyed felt that the favorable publicity relating music-making and academic achievement was making a noticeable impression – although a few didn’t necessarily see it translating to the cash register. Here are some comments to the question: Has the favorable publicity relating to music-making and academic achievement made an impression on parents in the communities you serve? Yes, it’s noticeable but hasn’t helped business. Ken Anderson Flesher-Hinton Music Denver, Colo.
king much of a mark in its current form. Randy Millsap Millsap Music Company Sherwood, Ark.
I haven’t seen any evidence of it. I know NAMM is trying really hard to promote the positive benefits of music making, but I’m not sure if the impact is any more than subliminal or on a small subconscious level. Pete Surowski Pete’s Music Anaheim, Calif.
Where and when was this publicity? NAMM seems to favor metro areas with populations over one million. They also need to focus on smaller regional markets, like upper Michigan. Fred Herter, Herter Music Center Bay City, Mich.
The parents of students already involved, or already interested in music, are very impressed with the increase in publicity. Otherwise, the campaign doesn’t seem to be ma-
Parents, yes … school administrators, no! Clint Diffie Boogie Music Phoenix, Ariz.
Has the favorable publicity relating music-making and academic achievement made an impression on parents in the communities you serve? Yes, it’s noticeable
42%
No, haven’t seen evidence of this
58%
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36 MMR
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JUNE 2008
I read a few months that China has passed a new law that states that all children from grades 1 to 12 have to take music education in the school system. I strongly believe that music education should be part of every school curriculum just as math or science. Manuel Berberian Allegro Music Center Coral Gables, Fla. The No Child Left Behind initiative is having a major impact on scheduling. More local districts are adding more time for math, reading, and science, and cutting arts and foreign language electives. Because of this program, more children will be left behind. Randy King King Music Bradley, Ill. Music is moving out of the elementary school around here, and that will cause a big nose-dive in business. Meanwhile, there are too many non-
JUNE 2008
music choices at the middle school level competing against music there. Dan Hill Hill Music Co. Casper, Wyo. The general frustration level is higher than I have ever seen, either in my 26 years as a music teacher or my five years as a school music dealer. This is not limited to music teachers, however. Reasons for music teacher frustration include: Schedule inflexibility which limits prep time for concerts and programs; elementary directors bumped from music classrooms to teach in cafeterias and entrance air locks because the rooms are needed for teachers working with students to pass the No Child Left Behind tests; and music teachers made to help teach math and
reading to raise No Child Left Behind scores. That said, I am very positive about the general outlook. School music dealers have an enduring personal relationship with the teachers and students they serve. Their loyalty, earned by good service, will help carry us through an economic downturn. Ralph Maddox Music Supply Closet, Inc. Olathe, Kan.
MMR 37
I feel the quality of the people we are attracting to the music teaching profession is much lower. We just have a weaker group of teachers working right now. Greg Lyons Royal Music Bowling Green, Ky. School Districts are losing funding (bonds, etc) due to economic conditions. I’ve heard from a reliable source that one of the oldest and largest districts in the metro Phoenix area will be eliminat-
ing the band and orchestra program for 2008-2009. The decline in student participation, I believe, is due in part to the districts making many programs available before or after school only, which makes it difficult on parents transportation-wise. What happened to music and arts being part of the core education children receive? In grade school I had to choose between music, band, or art, but it was part of my daily curriculum. I must be getting too old …
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www.eastwoodguitars.com
Clint Diffie Boogie Music Phoenix, Ariz. I don’t think there is anything the industry can do to try to change [the downward] trend. The economy is [weak], and people are digging to put food on the table, gas in the tank, and keep the roof on the house (or keep the house!). Schools have cut the dickens out of the budgets, and it was just a prop for a style of music that became irrelevant to 10-year-olds about 30 years ago! Show me something that gets a 10 to 14-year-old fired up about a trombone, clarinet, French horn or tuba ... then compare that to a drum kit or a guitar. I don’t want to be a naysayer, but this industry has beaten this nag on borrowed time. This might be the decade where it quietly slips into being a boutique-only commodity. I listen to dudes like Allan Friedman who tell me that the one area of growth that I’m over looking is B&O – and all I see in my market is old-school B&O dealers dying and not being replaced, and school programs doing the same. Prove me wrong! Andrew Bell Twin Town Guitars Minneapolis, Minn. The market has been healthy for us as a specialty violin shop, but perhaps not as good for others in the marketplace. In some areas we are seeing fewer upgrades to higher quality instruments; in others, the upgrade demand remains strong. Mark Lisle Lisle Violin Shop Houston, Texas Parents are more careful when it comes to spending money on their children’s music education. It’s hard when the band classes are so overcrowded that there is no individual attention. Many drop out of music within the first few months. Bonnie Fitch Bonnie’s Music Las Vegas, Nev. JUNE 2008
Instrument repair budgets are the same number of dollars that they were 12 years ago. Jeffrey Vovakes Vermont Musical Instrument Repair Middlesex, Vt. Budgets are smaller and teachers are losing time with the students. This makes our job to support our schools and teachers more burdensome. In general, retailing is more challenging. We seem to have to have an ever-changing range of ideas to keep up with trends. Tristann Rieck Brass Bell Music Milwaukee, Wis. I think a majority of schools do order more over the Internet. But when they find out we offer a better price, they buy from us instead! Also, they know we will service them in any way we can. And we’re glad to do it!! I know the purchasing budgets for schools it way down compared to around five years ago. I think they look to parents and local companies for help. Liz Hawkins Skins’n’Tins Drum Shop Champaign, Ill. I think one of the biggest challenges in the school music market is that we have not changed how we educate these kids. Most other subjects has changed their teaching styles over the last 50 years, but music education has changed relatively little. I think the latest innovation for music education that has been widely accepted and used is combining CD’s with books, and that’s over ten years old! Some programs use Smart Music, but we still teach the same old tired music in much the same way as we always have. We need to make music education more relevant to today’s student. There is a lesson in the success of Guitar Hero, if someone could just figure it out. Donovan Bankhead Springfield Music Springfield, Mo. JUNE 2008
MMR 39
GUEST EDITORIAL
Recession-Proof Your Band & Orchestra Market By Jim Darby, Owner Capitol Music Montgomery, Ala.
A
ll of us associated with school music programs are vitally concerned about the current state of music education, our economy, and the American family. For those that might not be aware, this could be your wake-up call! The Wall Street Journal states, “The retail industry appears to be skidding toward the first big wreck in 17 years.” Just what will be the impact of the recession on our states’ music programs? Whatever it is, let’s not sit back and do nothing. Unfortunately, none of our problems will be solved soon and we must be looking for solutions to one of the worst retail business climates in years that can vitally affect school funding and ultimately our band programs. With all of the problems facing Americans today (the recession, the housing crisis, gas prices, etc.), it’s easy to become uneasy about our country’s future. The net result of all of this can be devastating to our school funding and the future of our bands and ultimately our jobs along with the future of music education.
40 MMR
The Good News Through music, we have the greatest educational tools in the world to work with, and wherever we go and whatever we do, we need to spread the “Good News” of the value of music education, and how, through music, we can make a better world. We need the broadest audience for our music message. Our students are the future and through our efforts, with the tools of music, we can help them to realize their full potential as no other class can do. We have the tools in music to achieve what parents are not able to accomplish on their own. Our purpose is to show the way and give them the inspiration and guidance that they might not be getting at home. Under the director’s skilled guidance and instruction, these students not only learn music, but many other skills that will go with them throughout life – discipline, good work ethics, teamwork, etc. So what do we do? Let’s team up with our band directors to make their programs
so good that school administration can’t afford to even think about diminishing or shutting down the programs. The first step is educating the community whenever we can about the fundamental benefits of music education. All the studies and information about music making kids smarter, better students, better citizens, is widely available to us – we must redouble our efforts to make others aware of the value of music education. We must communicate with principals, superintendents, and boards of education, that playing music positively affects the development of children’s cognitive skills. Writing letters to the local papers, appearing at school board meetings, making sure this information is constantly getting into the community and to the leaders of that community is key.
Open Minds, Ears Always keep in mind that all music is good, if it is well composed, well arranged, and performed well. I might not JUNE 2008
like it, you might not like it, but someone else does. We can’t be successful in the music business if we are musical snobs. As with many other things, music evolves, and as teachers and educators we must stay abreast of changes whether good or bad in our opinion. We must be able to relate music wise with the public. Music is akin to religion … what is heresy at one era of the church is dogma at another. Knowing that there are different cultures, we must strive to teach the best of the different types of music. Expand your perimeters, and change with the times. For example, I grew up playing music in the Big Band Jazz Era. As that era of music evolved, music became more complicated and complex. We began to play modern progressive jazz, which the seasoned musicians loved, but it was beyond the understanding of the average public. Along came Elvis, and the public reverted back to a simpler form of music. Today, in order to survive, we must be flexible and watch the trends enough so that we can attract the kids into our music programs. Through our efforts, we can broaden, expand, and cultivate their musical taste so that their lives are enriched with
JUNE 2008
the thrill of being able to expand their understanding and enhance their enjoyment of more advanced music venues. So stock your music store with different kinds of music beyond the traditional band music, and encourage your directors and kids coming into your store to try new things. It will create excitement and interest.
Be Better at Business
be in business. Quantity discounts are the demise and destruction of all small business, and small businesses comprise over 70% of all American businesses. Quantity discounts are the worst type of discrimination, and they are responsible for destroying thousands and thousands of service-oriented retail businesses. But we must rise about that and strive to be more efficient, and thus more profitable, so we can continue the good service that endears us to band directors. Being a strong member of the “team” can make our store, and our community’s music programs, more recession-proof. Part of this equation is reaching out to parents who want music in the lives of their children, but are feeling their wallets pinched in this economy. Today, most people are cutting back and are going to be looking for ways that they can afford to start their child in music. Be there for them. We at Capitol Music, in addition to having our huge inventory of new instruments,
Part of this equation is reaching out to parents who want music in the lives of their children, but are feeling their wallets pinched in this economy.
A good, service-oriented, quality music dealer can possibly be the best friend a band director can have. However, the retail music business is a tough business to be in today because of the large financial investment with a very small potential net profit return. Manufacturers are increasingly requiring large “buy-in” orders to secure a dealership of seasonal merchandise. Today in business, we must be big enough so that we can buy in large enough quantities to be able to get a dealer cost low enough so that we can do the discounting and still have enough profit to make it worthwhile to
MMR 41
have thousands of used instruments, and all the accessories. We have thousands of high-quality used instruments that are professionally serviced in our shop and are available on rent-to-own plans. Anything $300 or less, we have a minimum $15 monthly rental (it’s hard for us to carry and service it for less than $15 a month). We can go as little as 4 cents on the dollar per month without any other charges added except sales tax if they end up keeping the instrument. For instance, a $400 instrument would only be $16 a month. Money paid into that instrument would not only
apply to it, but any other school band instrument, less expensive, more expensive, new, or used. For 34 months we keep it up free of charge (long after it is paid for). Past the free service, repairs are dirt-cheap. Over the years, I have kept the repair shop as a maker of friends rather than a maker of money.
Promote Yourselves! The way our band programs were originally spawned was through old fashioned promotion, and yes, it does take time, work, and resources to go into the school system
Vosi By
Providing Quality Instruments For Music Education Antigua
5806 La Colonia San Antonio, Texas 78218 Phone: 210.661.6505 Fax: 210.661.6702 antiguawinds.com
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See us at NAMM Booth 825
with an exciting presentation. We give a musical aptitude test and tell the kids about the fun and rewards of being in a band program. We show, demonstrate, and play the instruments. After our presentation, the students are allowed to play the instruments and get a feel for which instrument that would like to play, what is most suitable for the student, and we attempt to create in them a burning desire to play an instrument and be in the band. We grade the test, schedule the parents meeting, and send out the letters for the band director. At the meeting, the director tells the parents and students what they can expect from him and what he expects from them. He then turns the meeting over to us and we explain the rental program and sales programs available. Emphasizing how easy and inexpensive it can be after which the instruments are chosen from the display and contracts are signed. That’s how it used to be done when we built the programs, and Capitol still does that today! Also don’t forget the band directors - offer free giveaways, and remind your band directors to register for them often. Make sure they feel appreciated! It’s what we all need to do.
Closing Thoughts There are a lot of guidelines that we need to keep in mind as we work our way through life, but here is an important one to remember: You are the coach and the motivator; so take care of yourself mentally and physically. Always keeping in mind that music is one of the noblest professions on earth. We are richly blessed with the tools to make our jobs easier and a lot of fun. You have the tools so properly package and promote your program and just get the job done … it’s an easy sale. Remember that music is the tool and not the end. Encourage your band directors to teach these kids to be smart, to take the ball, and run with it, possibly changing the world. We need music teachers so good that they leave your mark on these kids, so that later in life when they look back, they will say that you were he or she was the best teacher they ever had. These kids are going out into a rough and tough world…they need and must have what we can give them through the tools of music. Jim Darby is owner of Capitol Music of Montgomery, Ala. In the course of his career, he has bought out 34 other music stores and has been voted one of the top 50 music stores in the U.S. JUNE 2008
See us at NAMM Booth 628
ADVERTORIAL
JUNE 2008
News
EEWAY ² R & HE T R TE F ! G IN O ' ¹7E´RE
Wanna Play Music Week a Hit! W N NAMM declared May 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9 Wanna Play Music Week, helping to put the national spotlight on recreational music making for people of all ages and levels of experience. In a call-to-action that reached millions across the country, NAMM invited people to make music â&#x20AC;Ś just for the fun of it. Wanna Play Music Week generated signiďŹ cant national and regional media coverage, and participating NAMM Members got to enjoy a little time in the spotlight as well.
Note from Joe ngs we get to do One of the coolest thi ng the image and at NAMM is promoti products industry identity of the music tly, NAMM with consumers. Recen c awareness bli pu l na tio launched a na a Play? allowing campaign called Wann us to:
going and extensive Promote NAMMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on all types of for consumers using music-brain research news media nd for NAMM sumer message or bra o Create a uniď&#x192;&#x17E;ed con instruments and ustry to sell musical Members and the ind ewayâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a signiď&#x192;&#x17E;cant n-players â&#x20AC;&#x153;on the fre products to those no rtunity t market-growth oppo sicalâ&#x20AC;? syndromeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;tha down the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not mu sic mu g o Gradually break yin pla joy ented or â&#x20AC;&#x153;goodâ&#x20AC;? to en someone has to be tal took another step of May, the campaign r During the ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst week a Play Music Week. Fo nch of our ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst Wann t ou ab d rea forward with the lau n ca u that yo number of activities sh pu to le this, we engaged in a hic ve a as s weeklong celebration right here. We used thi n households, ca eri Am of ns llio ge into mi our industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s messa products. sed spending on music which leads to increa sic making new promotion for mu ur yo Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s y? Pla a nn all So what is Wa all ages. I encourage out to non-players of the e us u yo when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re reaching w ho t ve abou call us and get creati more NAMM Members to Together, we can get . ess sin bu ur yo in n aig mp ca Wanna Play? al community music ayâ&#x20AC;? and into their loc people â&#x20AC;&#x153;off the freew music making the proven beneď&#x192;&#x17E;ts of e nc rie pe ex n ca y stores so the in their lives.
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music week
may 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9, 2008
A Satellite Tour The weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebration kicked off with a national satellite media tour with NAMM President Joe Lamond and Scott â&#x20AC;&#x153;Piano Guyâ&#x20AC;? Houston talking about why people of all ages should be playing music and why they should visit their local NAMM Member dealer to shop and take lessons.
ADVERTORIAL
A Weeklong Media Campaign Each day we focused on a different theme in the media and on the Wanna Play Music Web site, including: s
s s s s
Monday: Music Monday, with thousands of schools, organizations and individuals across Canada and the U.S. playing the same song at the same time to recognize the importance of music and music education Tuesday: Music for Moms and Dads Wednesday: Music as Therapy Thursday: Bridging the Digital Gap Friday: Heroes Behind the Music
June 20-22, 2008 Nashville, TN
A New Consumer Web Site To coincide with the weeklong celebration, NAMM launched wannaplaymusic.com, a Web site featuring great research, recent news, fun games, celebrity testimonials and a NAMM Member dealer locator.
A YouTube Musicâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Making Contest â&#x20AC;Ś for Non-Musicians NAMM launched Say You Wanna Play?, a YouTube-based contest that invited non-players to upload a short video clip of them making music or singing and then telling the world why they love to play music or want to learn how. In addition to creating millions of media impressions around the country, Wanna Play Music Week helped to keep people talking about the value of making music and brought more potential customers into NAMM Member stores. To learn more about how to use the Wanna Play? campaign to promote music making in your store and to download Wanna Play? logos, Web banners and photos, visit www.namm.org/initiatives/wanna-play-members.
NAMM News
June 2008
industry news, latest breaking -to-date on the up ep org. ke m. To am . @n MM tal published by NA r at playbackdigi NAMM News is gital e-newslette Di ck ba AY PL r sign up for ou
Hotel and Badge Registration Hi^g Ghp ppp'gZff'hk`
BAND & ORCHESTRA
Gemeinhardt Turns
60
… new partnerships, new policies for flutemaker and its Gemstone group
A
s Gemeinhardt celebrates its 60th anniversary, Dr. Gerardo Discepolo, president and CEO of parent company Gemstone Musical Instruments, plans to continue building upon the legendary flute maker’s reputation of quality and value. For Discepolo, that means partnerships – partnerships with other manufacturers allowing them to boost their product offerings, and partnerships with their dealers allowing them to supply quality and competitive products. “We don’t just develop one-way relationships,” Discepolo comments. “Instead, we create synergies with companies whose vision and standards align with ours. For example, our partnership with Trevor James facilitates mutual distribution of our lines in Europe and the Americas as well as joint R&D for new products. Gemstone’s partnership with the Japan-based Sankyo Flutes, a high-end manufacturer, positions the company as the broadest flute suppliers in the U.S. Our collaboration with Sankyo allows us to provide instruments for musicians at all levels. Our flute lines allow us to offer every flute player whatever then need, not just student and step-up instruments.” Discepolo has high expectations for Gemstone’s recent partnership with Weril Musical Instruments, the Brazilian manufacturer. Established in Sao Paolo in 1909, Weril has been building band instruments 46 MMR
for 99 years. Gemstone now distributes Weril brass instruments to North America while, in turn, Weril distributes Gemstone instruments to South America. Gemstone’s policy of partnership extends to their dealer relationships, too. Last year, they became the first full-line company to implement a comprehensive unilateral Minimum Selling Price (MSP) policy, a bold move designed to maintain product value and protect their dealer base from shrinking profit margins. “Declining margins are bad for everyone,” Discepolo observes. “Insufficient margins hamper the dealers’ ability to provide quality products and service to band programs. Manufacturers suffer because of declining brand equity and curtailed R&D, and ultimately, the customer suffers because smaller margins negatively impact quality and service. “So we decided to halt the erosion,” he continues. “While MSP is new to the B&O industry, companies like Michelin,
Geraldo Discepolo
Bose, and Apple have similar policies. Their policies help them create quality products and sustain strong brands that command high market value.”
Kurt Gemeinhardt and Old World Tradition Born in Markneukirchen, Germany, Kurt Gemeinhardt was a fourth-generation flutemaker who began his career as an apprentice under his father. After completing his apprenticeship, he moved to St. Gallen, Switzerland, where his handmade flutes earned him acclaim among some of Europe’s finest musicians. JUNE 2008
Kurt Gemeinhardt
In 1928, Kurt Gemeinhardt came to America to build flutes and piccolos in Elkhart, Indiana. After 20 years he opened his own manufacturing plant, The Gemeinhardt Company. Initially, his vision was to produce a limited quantity of professional all-silver flutes, but he began building student and step-up flutes as demand for his instruments grew. Gemeinhardt replaced the original 20-by-40-foot factory in 1951 to accommodate the company’s growing manufacturing needs. Though it has since been expanded and modified several times, the Gemeinhardt Company continues to build flutes in the same factory. In 1997 Gemeinhardt acquired the Roy Seaman Piccolo Company, makers of handcrafted grenadilla wood piccolos. In 2005, Gemeinhardt became part of the Gemstone Musical Instruments family. The Gemstone team has since expanded the Gemstone portfolio of brands to include Gemeinhardt, Roy Seaman, Brio! Flutes, Trevor James Woodwinds, Sankyo Flutes, Andino Clarinets, Stephanhöuser Saxophones, W. Nirschl Brass, Weril Musical Instruments and Artisan Strings . In March of 2006, Gemstone named Gerardo Discepolo as president and CEO. A former professional flute player, he holds several advanced degrees including a MBA and a DMA in flute performance. He had previously been president of the Haynes Flute Company, vice president of Eastman Winds, led the flute division of Conn-Selmer, and was vice president and director of marketing for Powell Flutes. Looking back at Gemeinhardt’s long history and the promising start of Gemstone Musical Instruments, Discepolo concludes, “We want the next 60 years to be as dynamic and exciting as our first 60 years.” JUNE 2008
MMR 47
BAND & ORCHESTRA
Profile
Meisel:
Now More Than Strings
While keeping violins and related products front and center, company expands offerings
M
eisel has for hundreds of years been about string instruments, and that will never change. But don’t think that that is all they do ….
“A little diversifying has been really good for us,” declares Meisel owner Neil Lilien. “Our recent addition of electronic tuners and metronomes has been very successful.” He sites the compact and convenient MCT-8L Clip On Tuner as being an especially big hit. It is small enough to fit into a pocket, yet is able to distinguish between a single instrument and other noises in a room. By picking up vibrations, rather than sounds, the MCT-8L remains unaffected by ambient noise, but it measures only 1.75” x 1.75” x 0.5” without clip or 2.2” with clip. It’s extremely accurate and dealers have done very well with them. The MT-10 Clip-on Metronome does some serious multi-tasking: it offers six 48 MMR
rhythms, is a clock with an alarm function, and a timer. Another good seller is the Meisel MMT-402 MultiFunction Tuner, which comes with a built-in stand that keeps it from accidentally tipping over. Finally, rounding out the family of new products is the IMT-301, which combines five functions in a single unit. It’s a tuner, a metronome, and provides information on climatic conditions courtesy of a built-in thermometer and hygrometer. Also, not everyone may be aware that Lilien expanded in electric string instruments a few years ago. “Our Spitfire E-Fusion has been a steady seller,” he says. “Players like it because it combines the best of electric and acoustic sounds, and they like that these instruments have a conventional shape.” He adds that the E-Fusion Bass, also a tradi-
“My wife likes to say that I have more unpaid jobs than anyone!” he laughs.
tional shape and available from 3/4 down to 1/8 size, continue to gain in popularity. Otherwise, Meisel continues to serve the string world. “We have a new shoulder rest, the Chin-Chum Chin Rest pad, and it fits full size violins down to 1/8 size and also works for violas. The proprietary product is a six-way adjustable chin rest, and it’s especially popular with players who suffer from allergic reactions to the metal used on typical chin rest clamps.” The Meisel stand, often copied but never surpassed, continue to be a best seller as well.
Lilien’s Story Meisel is a big name in the business, but many don’t know a lot about the man behind it. Lilien was professional musician in the early 1960s, playing electric bass and trombone when an opportunity JUNE 2008
arose. “The leader of the group I was in was a Guild guitar dealer, and he needed an electronic technician, something I had a background in,” Lilien says. From there he got on at Guild as an assistant sales manager and worked his way up to being vice president. By 1984, Guild and Meisel, along with several other music instrument companies, were owned by Avnet Inc., a large conglomerate. “We figured out that the music industry portion of the company added up to being about 10 minutes worth of the company’s financial gain,” he laughs. Evidently Avnet figured that out too, as that year they sold off all the music divisions, and that’s when Lilien bought Meisel. Today he continues the tradition of fine German making that goes back to the nearly 300 years. The instruments started to appear in the states in the 1800s, and when Lilien took over, he inherited some great historic artifacts. “I have a catalog going back to the 1800s – one of the things in it is a violin outfit from Germany that cost $1.50!” he tells. “You can’t even get a single Euro for that these days.” Lilien generously lent this particular treasure to NAMM’s Museum of Music Making, and it will be part of a violin exhibit opening up in the near future. As for the near future, he says while he always has his eyes out for opportunities that fill a need, he’s not going to be getting away from his core business. “I wan to emphasize the fact that strings are our prime focus,” he says. “And with the school-age population peaking in a few years, and school orchestra programs getting stronger, we expect to continue to serve that market well.” Serving is something Lilien is personally involved in, too. He is on the board of such organizations as NAMM, ASTA, and AMC. He’s a tireless advocate for the industry, and most recently he’s gotten involved with an organization known as the National String Project Consortium (NSPC). This group is focused on the teacher shortage, which Lilien says is at a deficit as high as 4,000. “This group goes into universities and music schools and takes string majors who aren’t sure if they want to teach or perform, and gives them a teaching experience. It brings in disadvantaged youth for string classes, and right now we have 35 sites in 23 states – a total of 2,400 kids learning strings who wouldn’t otherwise, learning from 240 teachers we wouldn’t necessarily have if it weren’t for this group.” JUNE 2008
tycoon’s exclusive signature grand design features: • wider bodies for extra depth and power • hand-selected ash quinto, conga and tumba • premium-grade calfskin heads and classic-pro™ hoops • brushed chrome hardware (909) 393-5555 TYCOONPERCUSSION.COM
See us at NAMM Booth 1336
MMR 49
At A Glance:
John Giovannoni The Music Room Location: Palatine, Illinois What: Vice President Where: Palatine, Ill. Founded: Sept. 22, 1994
I play: “Trombone, drums, guitar, left-handed Armenian kazoo.”
“Managing people is a huge pain in the butt.”
I knew I wanted to be in the business when … “Carol [Cook, owner] told me I wanted to be in the music instrument business.”
If I could go back in time and tell my younger self some things, it would be: “Hoshino. Get Hoshino right away. And don’t sign up for new- issue pop sheets. And don’t order that box full of Hunchback of Notre Dame titles. And for God’s sake, make sure the basement bathrooms are in good shape before laying carpet.”
Career Low Point: “Almost leaving the store after my horrible divorce.” Career High Point: “Not leaving the store after my horrible divorce.” Best thing about my job: “Getting to clean toilets, and changing circuit breakers on live lines.” Most unpleasant part about my job: “Um, if the best part about my job is toilets ... do you really want to know about the worst? Just kidding.
People might be surprised to know: “I fixed our elevator myself. Don’t ride it – I sure as hell don’t.” Favorite meal: “Beer and pizza.” Last good movie I saw: “World’s Fastest Indian. Anthony Hopkins is a dude I’d love to have a beer with.” The most important things about managing are: “Having a sense of humor and keeping a good perspective.” The most important thing about doing business with a manufacturer/supplier is: “Follow your gut. And remember that the attitude of the rep will give you a good clue about the attitude of the vendor … and -- oh, yeah -- pay on time. Keep forgetting that one.”
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“Remember that the attitude of the rep will give you a good clue about the attitude of the vendor.” The most important quality to look for when hiring someone is: “Teeth. Shampoo. Fewer tattoos than teeth. Ability to speak the Queen’s English.” Who I admire in this business: “Alan Friedman, George Hines, Fred Bramante, and Charles Walters.” If I was a cartoon character, I’d be: “Yosemite Sam.” True or False: Can you be happy and rich in the musical instrument business? “I know you can be happy and broke …” Words to Live By: “It doesn’t matter whether the glass is half empty or half full. What matters, and what I want to know is, who drank half of my damn beer?”
JUNE 2008
Tune Tech’s line of high profit margin instrument tuners are making the world a better place one string at a time!
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RPMDA
Comes To Boston -Next Year in Salt Lake City
M
ore than 290 print music dealers and suppliers, including 30 first-time attendees gathered in the historic city of Boston for the RPMDA’s (Retail Print Music Dealers Association) annual convention April 23 to 25. Lori Supinie, Senseney Music was installed as the incoming president and Kevin Cranley, Willis Music, was given the organization’s stellar honor, the “Dorothy Award” for his longtime contribution to the print music industry. Denny Senseney, Senseney Music and past recipient of the award, made the presentation. The association also announced a new award, “The Sandy Feldstein Service Award,” in tribute to the late author, educator and print music personality which was given to the music industry publications, MMR, Music Inc., and Music Trades for their support of RPMDA and the print music industry. 52 MMR
MMR was the recipient of the first annual Sandy Feldstein Service Award. JUNE 2008
Among the convention highlights was a tour of the Robert King Music Sales facilities which houses many historic documents and the company’s original printing press. Danny Rocks, The Rocks Company ably filled in for keynote speaker Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser who was not available due to a death in the family. Kawai America senior vice president Brian Chung, despite the handicap of a strained Achilles tendon, received a standing ovation for his closing address in which he exhorted dealers to partner with educators and complete for music-making’s place in contemporary culture. Chung emphasized the power of telling personal stories to deliver messages of music advocacy.
Past Dorothy Award winners gather to salute Kevin Cranley, Willis Music 2008 recipient. L to R: Bill Heese, Playintime; Joe and Claudia Keith, Music Mart, Inc; Jim Strouse, Stanton’s Sheet Music, Inc; Don Eubanks, Hutchins & Rea Music and Geoff Lorenz, Lorenz Publishing.
Opening Keynote The annual RPMDA Convention – “Boston Print Party 2008,” as it was dubbed – faced some early hurdles, as Thursday’s scheduled Keynote speaker, Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser, was a last-minute cancellation due to the passing of his father the previous afternoon. Danny Rocks of The Company Rocks stepped up to the plate, however, and spoke to attendees on a number of topics pertaining to achieving success in today’s rapidly evolving business climate. “Never underestimate the power of being small,” he advised independent retailers. “If you’ve ever doubted the ability of something small to have an impact, then you’ve never shared the bed with a mosquito!” Outlining the numerous ways in which NAMM and similar organizations can help provide sellers of all sizes with the resources necessary to succeed, Rocks continually pointed to the need to embrace any and all tools available in today’s marketplace: “The world is changing – and fast,” he noted. “Don’t be in denial about the realities of who your consumers are and who your employees are.” Danny offered that in any business today, the formula for success is; “Event + Reaction = Outcome… How you react – or don’t react – to changes in the world around you will determine your own outcome.”
Petra Woodruff-Harrris, Barenreiter and AnneKathrin Mascus, Breitkopf and Hartel. Danny Rocks of The Company Rocks
Myles and Teresa Reck, MusicSearch.
Mayfair Music Publications’ Carol Simpanen
Kevin Cranley, Willis Music accepting Dorothy Award from past recipient, Denny Senseney, Senseney Music.
The Christian Market: Seven Steps to Success Mark Cabaniss, president of Shawnee Press, Inc., and Joe Keith, founder JUNE 2008
Steve Rose, Music Minus One and Malinda Boothe, Stage Star Records.
Doug Lady, Hal Leonard Publishing and Kevin Willis, Willis Music. MMR 53
Oxford University Press: Gilly Woodroffe, Lou Fifer, Suzy Gooch.
Leon and Robin Gallison, The Music Gifts Company of England and Masters Music.
Alfred Publishing Co.: Antonio Ferrati, Gail Hopkins Kolehma, Vincent Martino.
Alec Harris of GIA Publications
Lori Supinie addresses the members as the new RPMDA president.
Brian Kane, Jazz Path Publishing.
RPMDA “Best Ideas” A regular feature at the RPMDA convention is a member exchange of “best ideas”conducted by Willis Music’s Kevin Cranley. The following are some of the suggestions” Z
Wish list sheets for non-musical people to use in buying product for their musician friends/family. Dianna Rogers, Beacock’s Music.
Z
Create a single database of all the singalong books w/CD’s that can be used to help sell karaoke. Drew Parker, Seapark Music.
Z
Teacher’s shopping list for students w/your store logo on it. Incorporate into an existing rewards program. Bob Kohl, Long & McQuade
Z
Partner with an outside company to gain new awareness. Example” host a photo exhibition in your store. Myrna Sislen, Middle C. Music.
Z
Bring pre-schoolers into your store and demonstrate the instruments. Valerie Johnson, West Music.
Z
Offer a discount to schools on gift items-have them sell them to raise money for the school. –Your then viewed as a partner rather than a vendor. Norm Zimmerman, Steve’s Music
Z
Offer to give instrument lessons in a school with no music program. Jessica Freehling, Art’s Music Shop.
54 MMR
Dan DelFiorentino, NAMM introduces Bill Heese, recipient of the Legacy Collection, Music and Baseball Award, based on the history of print music.
Rick Kessel, MMR and Eric Ebel, NAMM.
Don Eubanks, Hutchins & Rea/Symmes Music, Atlanta and Becky Lightfoot. JUNE 2008
Becky Lightfoot, Artâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Music Shop, Montgomery, Ala. with Gayle Beacock, Beacock Music and Lori Supinie, Senseney Music, Wichita, Kan., recipients of the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Choice Award. Becky Lightfoot, Penders Music and Steve Wilson, Music Sales.
Kevin Cranley of Willis Music Co. accepts the Dorothy Award, the highest honor bestowed by RPMDA.
JUNE 2008
Denny Senseney announces the recipient of the 17th Dorothy Award given for a lifetime of service and achievement in the music products industry.
Michael and Marc Harris, Harris Musical Products.
Joey Lyons, Music Sales and Dan Herbert, Willis Music.
MMR 55
Dana Piccoli of Carl Fischer
Madeleine Crouch, RPMDA
of MusicMart, led an hour-long session on succeeding in selling Christian choral keyboard and vocal folios. Mark began the presentation by pointing out that in 2006, a record 54.2 million Christian and gospel CDs, cassettes, digital albums and digital tracks were sold. He noted that, “this shows that while illegal copying and downloading are hurting sales of all recorded music, the Christian and Gospel market are
Debbie Mooney of Mel Bay
Santorella Publications’ Tony Santorella
still flourishing. And even better yet, the print music industry is not as directly affected by piracy as other markets.” “Print music is growing while record stores are declining,” said Cabaniss. “Yes, record sales are sliding, but people are still singing in church.” Perhaps the first order of business in building a strong client base is understanding who potential clients are in terms of denominational and cultural backgrounds, and having
Bernhard Mueller, Schott Music.
staff on hand who can relate directly to them. Targeting the right products to the right markets is key. Joe Keith continued the session by speaking of ways to reach the customer. One method he mentioned was hosting reading sessions on location. “Walk-in sales are decreasing,” he states. “Now, you have to go to your customer.” He also noted that dealers should be cognizant of the location of the session – don’t use a space
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Trends in School Print Music With a shaky economy and continued turbulence in the wake of “No Child Left Behind” and other legislation, the school music market faces uncertain times. While at the recent RPMDA Convention in Boston, MMR took to the show floor to ask attendees for observations on the current trends in this particularly volatile retail area.
“What trends have you noticed in the school print music market, recently?” “Things seem to be pretty stable right now, and I don’t foresee any real changes. One thing I’m excited about is that some publishers are coming up with these “easy mix-and-match” ensembles for smaller schools that don’t have complete instrumentation, but now have music without going to the step of re-arranging everything for their schools. I think that’s going to be a really good product. David Zimet Hickey’s Music Center Ithaca, N.Y. “Most of the material considered ‘educational’ — geared toward younger kids — I deal with is on a foot-traffic basis, and that’s been pretty steady for me.” Rob Bethel Cambridge Music Company Cambridge, Mass. “Recently I’ve seen school print music sales go up. This is largely due to personal contact and the service we offer.” Phillips Langlois Langlois Music Modesto, Calif. “My business is primarily schools and churches, so it’s institutional. Although it varies quite a bit by region, generally the band programs are fairly healthy. We’ve gone through a few budget scares over the years, with JUNE 2008
programs being cut back, but right at the moment it’s not too bad. I think my numbers over last year are probably just slightly better, so there’s been a marginal improvement in sales.” Cameron Willis Northwest Music College Services Vancouver, Canada
choral, there are great writers who continue to put out great works. It’s always “what’s new,” “who’s the hot writer,” and “who’s the hot arranger.” Those kinds of things are what I see happening.” Lori Supinie Senseney Music Inc. Wichita, Kan.
“We haven’t been seeing as much in the way of large ensemble music sales – I think there’s a lot of recycling of older music. Part of this is likely due to the noticeable decline in student enrollment in our local programs over the past year or two.” Kyle Patrick West Music Co. Coralville, Iowa
“One trend I’ve noticed is that schools seem to be going with a lot of CD play-alongs, fun books for the kids and method books that have the interactive CD or DVD ‘intro to the instrument’-type accompaniments.” Amy Moe Heid Music Co. Green Bay, Wisc.
“We’ve been selling a lot more playalong products. Kids are just more interested in music that they can practice along with.” Daryl Robbins Strike Up the Band, Inc. Natick, Mass. “School print music is very important for us; it’s the largest piece of what we do in terms of print music sales. I think the mix and match folios and ensembles are key to that. There are also more play-alongs for young instrumental musicians. For
“What we’ve seen is clearly two different seasons. Where you have more of the traditional choral programs in the fall and in the early spring, and you see a lot more pop and Broadway in the later spring, maybe the final concert. That’s kind of what we’re seeing in the school side. We’re also starting to see a shift in our geographic area in show choirs, and a lot of the younger teachers are looking to us to help them develop a solid library.” Wes Hazelrigg American Music Company Independence, Mo. MMR 57
you can’t fill – time of day – Keith found evening to be best – the hiring of an accompanist – make sure this person isn’t simply a pianist, as there is a big difference – and finally, “hire the clinician who is most appealing to your three best customers.”
Company Culture: Your Key to Growth and Profitability As a Steinway dealer, we’re very connected to higher education throughout the state of Michigan, but we we’ve moved away from school print music. We haven’t seen any cuts in our music education sales — that’s been a strong market for us. We have somebody who’s dedicated to that area fulltime.” Alex & Linda Hanway Hammell Music Commerce Township, Mich. “School programs are more and more strapped for cash. So a lot of what they are doing is looking for alternative sources to find their resources, either through trading with other schools or looking to buy used music and that sort of thing. It’s really been a scale of economy thing to try to preserve the program, period. Everything that they can do they do to raise funds, because funds aren’t coming directly from government agencies or the school districts.” Bob Kohl Long & McQuade Limited Vancouver, Canada
George Hines, founder of George’s Music Stores, presented a session titled “Corporate Culture: Your Key to Growth and Profitability,” in which he outlined the four necessary steps to building a positive and successful corporate culture. Each stage in the process — determining, defining, communicating, and measuring — was punctuated with numerous examples from Hines’ own business. According to the presenter, “It starts with the four ‘P’s to differentiating your culture: product, price, people, and process.” He went on to say that with the increase of online sales, product and price are no longer the major selling point for many music retailers. Therefore, to build a solid customer base it is increasingly necessary to create a positive experience for the consumer through knowledgeable, happy salespeople, and a smooth transaction process. This transformation is achieved by determining a company’s current corporate culture, defining what it should be, communicating this new credo effectively and continuously to every employee, and finally measuring the effectiveness with which the mission statement is being carried out. A few of the metrics Hines mentions for the fi nal step include having a clear defi nition of short-term and long-term goals, weekly and monthly self- and peer assessment, the occasional employment of “secret shoppers,” and using door counters to track foot traffic flow and sale-per-customer data. Next year’s convention will be held in Salt Lake City April 29-May 2.
Breaking News Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com
58 MMR
See us at NAMM Booth 911
JUNE 2008
See us at NAMM Booth 2055
Summer
Buyer’s Guide to New Gear … an overview of recent introductions and products to check out at this year’s Summer NAMM in Nashville and Canada’s MIAC show FRETTED Composite Acoustic Composite Acoustic (CA), makers of carbon fiber guitars that are lightweight, durable, and impervious to the elements, is now shipping their Cargo guitars. The small-bodied, portable guitar is available with an optional Fishman Matrix VT-Volume and Tone knob located inside the soundhole. It comes in charcoal, red, wine, and green. The acoustic version has a MSRP of $932, and the pickup version has a MSRP of $1,066. Both come with gig bag. www.caguitars.com
Randall Amplifiers Randall Amplifiers launches a signature half stack designed in conjunction with lead guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers of Fear Factory. The half stack includes the V2 Archetype head and the RS412XLT 100BC 4 x 12 cabinet. Developed based on the existing Randall Valve Dynamic, the V2 Archetype is the perfect head for the guitarist who likes multiple tone shaping options. The V2 can produce almost any tone desired by using a full tube preamp, as well as the classic Randall solid-state preamp. www.randallamplifiers.com NAMM Exhibit #162 60 MMR
JUNE 2008
Peavey
Washburn
The new Peavey AG RiffMaster guitar video game controller was unveiled at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, showing up on ESPN’s “Easy Points: The Best of CES.” It’s a real Peavey guitar that’s been unstrung and fitted with the guts of a “Guitar Hero” controller. The neck features five colored fret buttons placed among real frets on a genuine rosewood fretboard, with the familiar strum bar and whammy bar mounted to a basswood body. Consumers can now design one-of-a-kind RiffMaster guitar game controllers with their own graphics. Consumers can choose from a bank of 20 custom designs, including exclusive artist designs from rock artists such as KISS, Pantera, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozzy Osbourne, and Megadeth, or upload their own JPG image to the Custom Graphics portal at www.peaveycustomshop.com and design a one-of-a-kind RiffMaster. www.peavey.com/controller NAMM Exhibit #2010
Washburn Guitars releases two Dan Donegan signature series model guitars for 2008. Donegan is lead guitarist for the multiplatinum selling Disturbed, and both of these models, the DD60 and the DD91 Maya, are based on Washburn’s classic Idol shape. The WI91 is crafted in the Washburn USA Custom Shop with Donegan’s signature Chopper Top flame graphics based on his custom-built motorcycle. It features a mahogany body and ebony fretboard and flame abalone inlay, with Sperzel tuners, Seymour Duncan pickups, a Tune-O-Matic bridge, and Tone Pros tailpiece. It retails for $5,399.90 and includes a hardshell case. The WI63SF features Chopper Top graphics on a mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard and debuts Randall’s new UL neck and Ultra XL bridge pickups. Also included are exclusive Grover 18:1 tuners and a flame logo on the headstock. It retails for $899.90 and includes a gig bag. www.washburn.com
Parker Parker is shipping a limited edition series of the Fly Mojo guitars called the “Four Seasons.” Each of the guitars in the series will be limited in production to 25. The Four Seasons limited run for 2008 includes a “Summer” Fly Mojo Flame in Bubinga, a “Spring” Fly Mojo in Pearl White, a “Fall” Fly Mojo Flame in Olive Burl, and a “Winter” Fly Mojo in Chrome. Each has a fretboard system consisting of long-lasting, hardened stainless steel frets bonded to the patented glass/carbon-fiber fingerboard and Seymour Duncan Jazz Pickup in the neck and a JB in the bridge. They have a MSRP between $4,499 and $5,999. www.parkerguitars.com
Roland
Eden Eden Electronics introduces the E300T all-tube bass amplifier and the E810V4 8 x 10 cabinet. The amplifier features classic, steamlined control set, and is updated with an Overdrive switch and a Mid Shift switch. The power section features a six-pack of KT88s packing a 320W RMS/700W Peak wallop (@ 4 or 8 ohms). The E810V4 features an all-new bass reflex cabinet design and 1000W RMS. www.eden-electronics.com NAMM Exhibit #162 JUNE 2008
Roland announces an addition to its CUBE Series amplifiers designed for the musician on the go. The compact amp features stereo instrument and stereo AUX inputs for microphones, keyboards, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, MP3 players, and more. It sports a 2.5-watt x 2.5-watt stereo power with two high-performance 4” speakers. Built-in effects include stereo reverb/chorus, distortion, and more. It can also be used for vocals or karaoke. www.rolandus.com NAMM Exhibit #109, 110, 127, 180, 800 MMR 61
See us at NAMM Booth 436
Epifani
Fishman
Epifani Custom Sound announces the new Underground line of bass amplifier heads and speaker cabinets. The new line features a 150 watt combo, the UG 115C, the Underground 300 amplifier head and 4 speaker cabs: the UG 112, UG 115, UG 210 and UG 410. All of the products are wrapped in tough elephant skin Tolex, feature high-impact plastic corners, and are adorned with subtle tribal tattoo art. Available in August, the Underground 300 head will have a street price at $399; the UG 115C combos will have a street price at $499; and the cabinets range in price from $249 to $399. www.epifani.com
Fishman announces new piezo-ceramic Concert Series pickups for violin, viola, and cello. These are pre-installed in a Despiau bridge to provide a precise and balanced tone from string to string. Specifically designed for two-piece Flat Top- and Archtop-style mandolins and spider-style resophonic guitars, the new Nashville Series premium pickup models also feature an integrated installation in a bridge that enhances the overall tonal character of the instrument. The pickups are also optimized for use with the Fishman Aura Imaging Pedals to provide a higher level of sound quality and added sonic versatility in live performance. Violin, viola, cello, and mandolin pickups include a carpenter jack, while the resophonic pickup includes an endpin jack. An impedance-matching preamp for these pickups is recommended, but not required. The MSRP is $309.95 (spiderstyle MSRP is $259.95). www.fishman.com NAMM Exhibit #1201
Goodsell Electric Instrument Co. Goodsellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Super 17 Mark Three, an updated version of the line of hand-made EL84-based valve amps, is currently
shipping. The amps employ a proprietary aluminum chassis that incorporates every feature ever offered in previous versions, with reverb, tremolo, and a 5w/17w power switch standard. Combining a lighter power supply with a vintage-style pine 1 x 12 cabinet, the 29-pound combo is 13 pounds lighter than its predecessor. Sensibly sized and reasonably priced, the Super 17 Mark Three is poised to become the standard for boutique bedroom/studio/club amps. The amps have a MSRP of $1,199 to $2,399. www.Superseventeen.com
TAKING THE FIELD WITH CONFIDENCE Jupiterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quantum marching brass has been meticulously designed to make the most of any performance. Combined with the consistent, durable quality and value that Jupiter is known for, these horns are sure to be a hit with your schools.
QuantumMarching.com JUNE 2008
DISTRIBUTED BY JUPITER BAND INSTRUMENTS, INC. MMR 63
DKL DKL Guitars is a new company making handcrafted guitars in a variety of designs and styles. The instruments feature multicolored inlays on the fret board, a heel string anchoring system, and use a trademarked joining method for the neck. The neck joint allows for a smooth feel while playing in the upper register.
Benedetto Guitars Luthier Robert Benedetto celebrates his 40th Anniversary in 2008 with a limited run of forty “40th Anniversary” models. These are handmade and feature a unique peach inlay in tribute to his home state of Georgia. Each instrument comes with a special “Benedetto Signature” 40th Anniversary wine created by the Miner Family Vineyard. www.benedettoguitars.com NAMM Exhibit #1324
Eastwood Eastwood introduces the Airline Tuxedo in metallic copper. The Tuxedo is designed after the Barney Kessel model from the mid-1950s which was sold under the brands of Kay and Airline. This particular model is a full hollow body design, lightweight, and versatile with the twin P-90’s offering a tonal palette from jazz to punk, and is particularly well suited for jump blues players. The MSRP is $849. www.eastwoodguitars.com
Morgan Monroe AXL AXL Badwater Guitars now come with “Jacknife” body style. Designed to have the comfortable feel of a “worn-in” guitar and two EMG-designed overwound P-90 pickups, it is aimed at the heavy metal guitarist. It features a unique “V” body made from solid alder and features vintage-style Badwater distressing, antiqued hardware, tune-o-matic bridge, antiqued cream web pickguard, and an ultra-thin maple neck. It has a MSRP of $359.99. www.themusiclink.net NAMM Exhibit #162 64 MMR
Morgan Monroe introduces a series of three dreadnoughts named “Cedar Hill” featuring solid cedar tops, rosewood back and sides, abalone rosette, herringbone purfling, bone nut and saddle, and deluxe hardshell alligator case with a built-in hygrometer. These guitars complement the popular “Creek Side” series which offer a spruce and mahogany combination. The new guitars feature hand-rubbed satin finishes, stainless steel frets, Grover StaTite keys, and a lifetime warranty. The three models include: MCH-50, an all-solid AA cedar top, solid rosewood back/sides, list price $899; MCH-45, an all-solid AA cedar top, select rosewood back/sides, list price $599; and MCHJUNE 2008
BAND & ORCHESTRA Kenny G Saxophones
EC-45 an all-solid AA cedar top, select rosewood back/sides, Fishman Classic 4T, list price $739. www.morganmonroe.com
Kenny G Saxophones announces their new G Saxophones, designed for the professional musician. The G-Series KGSS6L soprano is a one-piece soprano that features a vintage lacquer fi nish. It features a unique harmonic design that opens the palm E key and not the traditional palm F key. The G-Series Soprano also features Kenny G signature Italian pads by Posoni. Also being released is the Educational Series, which consists of intermediate saxophones available in soprano, alto, and tenor. The sopranos come in two finishes, a lacquer, and a black nickel with silver keys. The alto and tenor are available in a lacquer fi nish. www.kennygsaxophones.com
Legere Synthetic Woodwind Reeds Legere Synthetic Woodwind Reeds is now being distributed by Conn-Selmer. The company says the reeds are ready to play instantly, last for months, and sound warm like cane reeds. There is no need to moisten before playing, each reed gives precise strength and outstanding consistency of sound. Legere reeds cost a little more than regular reeds because they are made using a 15-step process that takes two weeks and are precision-ground for ultimate quality and reliability. www.conn-selmer.com NAMM Exhibit #600
TAKING THE FIELD WITH INNOVATION The Mapex Quantum marching drums combine ground breaking performance technology that is sure to change the way marching ensembles look at drums. Be the ďŹ rst to order samples for the universities and schools in your area.
QuantumMarching.com JUNE 2008
DISTRIBUTED BY JUPITER BAND INSTRUMENTS, INC. MMR 65
PERCUSSION Asonespirit Percussion Ron Vaughn, owner of Asonespirt Percussion by Ron Vaughn, introduces his classic Wide slot, Solid Body Woodblocks again. Originally developed in the 1970s, the previous production runs of these woodblocks are found all over the world in many different performance mediums. They were discontinued for a few years, but now with his new company, he is producing them again under his direct supervision.
PJLA Sax Dakota USA is shipping a matched pair of straight saxophones. Both the SDA-1020XS Alto and SDT-1022S Tenor models offer oversized graduated bells, multiple fine adjustment screws, lowprofi le key cups and pads, iridescent metallic gray mist fi nish, stainless steel rods, brilliant silver plated trim, retro designed Packard key guards, French heritage hand engraving, and more. Both come with a custom classic designed all wood Tweed finish case. The Alto retails at $3,500, and the SDT-1022S Tenor retails at $3,750. www.pjlamusic.com
Grover Pro Percussion
It is also a hickory stick but features a small ball tip for fast response on cymbals. www.BestStick.com
Grover Pro Percussion Inc., parent company of SilverFox drumsticks, introduces two new drumstick models, the Boston Basher and the Sweet Pea. The Boston Basher is an olive-shaped wood tip with a short tapered shoulder. At 16” long with a diameter of .620”, this hickory stick achieves heavy volumes. The Sweet Pea is at 15-3/4” long with a diameter of 0565”.
Pearl Pearl’s new Redline Reference drum sets are limited-edition drum sets that feature Pearl’s exclusive Reference shell recipe. For the Redline kits, the rubber gaskets used to isolate the shells from the drum hardware have been infused with red dye to create a striking splash of col-
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Hudson Music
or. Only 50 of each color set are available. The Limited Edition White on White Redline shell packs are available with a 13” x 9” rack tom, 16” x 16” and 18” x 16” floor toms, and a 24” x 18” bass drum. A matching 20-ply, 14” x 6.5” snare drum is also available. The Black on Black Redline shell pack features a 12” x 8” rack tom, 14” x 14” and 16” x 16” floor toms, and a booming 22” x 20” bass drum, with a 20-ply, 14” x 5” snare also available. The MSRP for the black shell pack is $4,999; the white $5,299. www.pearldrums.com
PRINT Rock House
Hudson Music announces the new Master Series Drum DVDs that feature master drummers in master class settings. The initial DVD features Steve Gadd and was fi lmed at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City during the 2006 “Mission from Gadd” tour. Gadd reveals his approach to the drums and music through a Q&A format. He demonstrates many of the signature drum tracks he created with artists such as Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, Chick Corea, and Eric Clapton. Bonus footage includes a 20-minute Gadd documentary. Future releases will showcase players such as Antonio Sanchez, Jason Bittner, and John Blackwell. DVDs retail for $29.95. www.hudsonmusic.com NAMM Exhibit #1018
Rock House releases two DVDs featuring Alexi Laiho, the acclaimed guitarist and front man of the band Children of Bodom. Titled Metal Guitar, Melodic Speed, Shred & Heavy Riffs, Level 1 has Laiho teaching single note riffs and sharing his tricks for speed, sweep picking, pivoting and pick harmonics. In Level 2, he walks stepby-step through many of his leads and teaches his mastery of five and six string arpeggios, string skipping arpeggios, chromatic scale patters, and more. www.rockhousemethod.com
TAKING THE FIELD WITH FLEXIBILITY Majestic’s Quantum field percussion models feature a rugged frame with up to five horizontal accessory bars and a vertical speaker post to accommodate any performance configuration. Available on Jupiter’s Preferred Option Lease or the profitable Jupiter School Bid program, the Quantum series offers schools more ways to get the instruments they need while your bottom line gets what it needs.
QuantumMarching.com JUNE 2008
DISTRIBUTED BY JUPITER BAND INSTRUMENTS, INC. MMR 67
Alfred
Cherry Lane
Hal Leonard
Alfred presents a new album-matching folio Garth Brooks: The Ultimate Hits. A total of 34 songs are included. Brooks combines his biggest songs into one comprehensive collection, plus four all-new titles. Alfred offers two albummatching folios to The Ultimate Hits, one offering professionally arranged piano accompaniment, and the other offering authentic guitar TAB. Garth Brooks: The Ultimate Hits is now available in a piano/vocal/ chords edition for $24.95, and a guitar TAB edition for $34.95. www.alfred.com NAMM Exhibit #1019
Cherry Lane releases Jim Horn Presents John Denver for Flute, a play-along book and CD package. Horn, who has played with such artist as Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and more, also worked closely with Denver. In 1998 he recorded a tribute to Denver, which is the basis of this book. Each track on the CD contains the full recording with Horn on flute. Solo arrangements of classics include “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Annie’s Song,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and seven others. The MSRP is $14.95. www.cherrylane.com NAMM Exhibit #1018
Hal Leonard unveils the new Transcribed Horn Series to cater to those increasing number of cover bands that boast horn sections that need to play pop/rock, disco/ funk, and R&B songs with more authenticity. The three books feature note-for-note transcriptions of the parts exactly as they appeared on the original recordings, with a separate staff for each horn. Also included are vocal melody lines, complete lyrics, and chord symbols. The titles are
TONESTYLER® “A huge sonic payoff... exposes a spectrum of midrange timbres you didn’t know your guitar possessed” — Guitar Player Magazine, 2006
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68 MMR
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ACCESSORIES Funk/Disco Horn Section (“Disco Inferno,” “Brick House,” “Superstition,” and more); Pop/Rock Horn Section (“Hot Hot Hot,” “Jump, Jive an’ Wail,” “25 or 6 to 4,” and more); and R&B Horn Section (“Dancing in the Street,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” “Sir Duke,” and more). All books feature 15 songs each and have a MSRP of $19.95. Also introduced is the Hal Leonard Harmonica Play-Along series to help players learn their favorite songs quickly and easily. The books include an enhanced CD that plays on traditional CD players and can also be used on Mac computers or PCs. The books in the series are Pop/ Rock Hits, Rock Hits, and Blues Rock. Each book features eight songs and has a MSRP of $12.95, which includes CD. www.halleonard.com NAMM Exhibit #1018
Kaces Kaces introduces a four-piece drum bag set that drummers can personalize and expand into five pieces with their choice of seven different Grafi x snare bag design options. Available in three different size configurations to match most common drum sets (two fusion, one standard), the new gig bags are made with a durable 600D nylon exterior that protects the drums against dirt, scratches, and dings. Every bag is double-stitched and reinforced at all the stress points. They also feature extra-long handles for easy transport along with tough luggage-grade zip-
pers. The set has a MSRP of $159 for the four-piece set, and seven optional snare bags list for $34.95. Kaces also unveils the Universal Radical Electric guitar bag, which is designed to protect and accommodate a variety of extreme shaped guitars including the Flying V, Warlock, Explorer, and more. Available in plain black or with the new Kaces “Hell’s Angel” graphic, the bags offer 20MM high-density foam padding, a durable 600D nylon exterior, and hideaway padded ergonomic backpack straps. A quilted comfort-grip handle and a large accessory pocket is also featured. www.kaces.com
TAKING THE FIELD WITH QUANTUM By combining the strengths of three of the fastest growing brands, the Quantum series offers premium performance and a true ensemble sound for the world’s most competitive marching groups while offering the most generous terms and profit potential to the dealers who serve them. Visit QuantumMarching.com for a complete look at the Quantum series. DISTRIBUTED BY
QuantumMarching.com JUNE 2008
MMR 69
Korg
Cable Up
Korg is now shipping the pitchblack tuner. It combines high precision and functionality in a rugged die-cast aluminum package use. The pitchblack is the size of a compact effect unit but features a large, easy-to-read LED display providing superb visibility in all lighting conditions and from any angle. It is equipped with 100% true bypass. The tunerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 9-Volt DC output jack makes it possible to cascade power to other pedals when chaining effects. Boasting a lightweight body (0.64 lbs. including battery) designed to fit conveniently into a pedal-board system, the pitchblack measures 2.67â&#x20AC;? (W) Ă&#x2014; 4.72â&#x20AC;? (H) Ă&#x2014; 1.85â&#x20AC;? (D) (including feet). It has a MSRP of $150. www.korg.com NAMM Exhibit #101, 102, 140
Cable Up offers the Premium line of professional audio cables that feature a proprietary, low capacitance Belden cable with a high strand count of oxygen-free copper. The cables also feature vulcanized Neoprene rubber jackets that withstand temperature extremes, while remaining highly flexible. The XLR cables are terminated with top-of-the-line Neutrik X-HD connectors featuring weather resistant O-rings designed for heavy-duty outdoor applications. They also are shipping their Industrial line, which is a high-performance, yet rugged, low capacitance AES/EBU compatible cable. The connectors are fitted with gold-plated contacts. www.cableup.com
BE PREPARED TO BE SURPRISED!
Surprises start at Summer NAMM in Booth #1442
Ernie Ball Ernie Ball introduces coated titanium Slinky Acoustic sets, which is a stronger and longer-lasting than traditional strings due to an exclusive protective coating on both the wrap wire and the plain strings. They feature the patented winding of titanium wire around the lock twist of the ball end. The strings are found in the fi rst new string packaging concept in more than 45 years. Produced and now hermetically sealed at their headquarters in Coachella, Calif., the strings are exposed to a minimal moisture and humidity from factory to retailer. www.ernieball.com NAMM Exhibit #1600, 1603
Your customers have been asking about you...
We get countless calls from bassists asking us where they can hear or buy an Epifani rig. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d love to send them to you...
SEE US AT SUMMER NAMM BOOTH# 1341
s s s s s s
-ODERN TRADE PRACTICES !WARD WINNING PRODUCTS (EALTHY DEALER MARGINS 0RODUCTS RANGING FROM -!0 TO -!0 2EALISTIC BUY INS %XCELLENT #USTOMER 3UPPORT
$EALERS )NQUIRIES 7ELCOME SALES EPIFANI COM
Phone: 720-251-3792 70 MMR
www.epifani.com
JUNE 2008
TPK987 Blues Rock Trio features the TM300 Tube Amp Modeler, the UV300 Ultra Vibrato, and the DD400 Digital Delay. The TPK988 Bass Trio features the BOD400 Bass Overdrive, the BLE100 Bass Limiter Enhancerm and the BCH100 Bass Chorus. The TPK989 Keyboard Trio features the UT100 Ultra Tremolo, the UC200 Ultra Chorus, and the FX600 Digital Multi-Effects pedals. All carry a MSRP of $149.99. www.Behringer.com
LIGHT & SOUND Essential Sound Products Essential Sound Products introduces MusicCord AC power cord to the North American musical instrument market. Improvements include greater clarity and definition, more vibrancy and tone, delicacy, immediacy, and greater harmonic integrity. It is based upon a patented multiple-conductor cordage design that replaces a single line or neutral conductor with several smaller conductors. This design eliminates phase distortion and speeds current flow to the component’s power supply. www.essentialsound.com NAMM Exhibit #404
Denon Denon releases its new Direct Drive Turntable Media Player & Controller for the mobile DJ. The DN-HS5500 offers “two decks in one,” which come with separate audio outputs from decks one and two. Both decks provide full access to all available features as well as all connected output devices and music library, and allows users to have full control over their internal hardware preference by choosing the Denon optional (BU5501) Slim-type CDROM drive or a standard PATA-type 2.5” laptop size Hard Drive as the secured “internal” source playback. It has a MSRP of $1,299.99 www.denondj.com
Behringer Behringer has released five stompbox trios, creating toolkits for metal, jazz and blues-rock guitar, bass, and keyboards. Each trio features three effects pedals,
two patch cables, and a 10’ instrument cable in one package. The TPK985 Metal Trio features the SM400 Super Metal pedal, the FX600 Digital Multi-Effects, and the DD400 Digital Delay. The TPK984 Jazz Trio features the CL9 Compressor/ Limiter, the CO600 Chorus Orchestra, and the DR600 Digital Reverb with 24bit high-resolution reverb modes. The
Known for pure tone, played for pure pleasure.
www.pantheonguitars.com or call 410.254.4433
JUNE 2008
See us at NAMM Booth 1326
MMR 71
On-Stage
Allen & Heath
On-Stage Stands has added two new computer laptop stands to their product line. Perfect for DJs and recording studios, these stands are lightweight, portable, and ideal for holding laptops, CD players/Controllers, EFX machines or lighting controllers. The entry-level LPT5000 Computer Laptop Stand can stand alone on sit on any flat surface, is height adjustable from 6” to 10”, and can hold up to 8 pounds. The LPT5000 measures 9” wide which may be all that is needed to fit most small equipment. The LPT5000 lists for $39. Like the LPT5000, the LPT6000 can also stand alone on any flat surface. But, this upgraded model comes with a Cclamp allowing the stand to be clamped to a table, case or other DJ equipment. The taller LPT6000 is height adjustable from 9” to 14” and can hold up to 10 lbs. The width adjusts from 9.5” to 14.5” to accommodate a wider range of equipment. The LPT6000 carries a list price of $75.
Allen & Heath launches the Xone:42 high performance four-channel DJ mixer with USB audio interface. The feature set is built around four dual-input stereo channels. Xone’s Voltage Control Filter is included on each channel via illuminated assignment switches, with selectable filter type, resonance, and frequency controls. The mixer sports a new feature, the X-FX system, enabling an external effects processor to be easily interfaced. It also features a 45mm VCA crossfader with curve control, and a powerful monitoring section with split cue control, mix to cue, two headphone outputs (1/4” and 3.5mm), dedicated booth output, and balanced main mix outputs on XLR. www.allen-heath.com/US
Both stands feature all-steel construction, padded upper supports to prevent slipping and 4 line-it-up height adjustments. www.onstagestands.com
Digidesign
Digidesign releases Version 7.4 of its Pro Tools software. It offers numerous new music and post-production features and workflow enhancements for Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered users. Topping the list of new features is a multifaceted new music composition and production tool called Elastic Time, which allows users to easily change the tempo and timing of loops, music, dialogue, and other sound fi les in real time without cutting up audio tracks. The MSRP for Pro Tools HD is $199 for a standard upgrade and $79 for an upgrade from Pro Tools HD 7.3. www.digidesign.com
Here's the Lowdown...
See Me at Booth 2045
Handcrafted in Canada, all solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, Sitka Spruce top, parabolic Xbracing, rounded headstock with white inlaid logo, chrome tuners and equipped with a custom LR Baggs pickup system... Larrivée has brought back the acoustic electric bass: Model B-03RE
www.larrivee.com
VISIT US AT SUMMER NAMM BOOTH #1400 72 MMR
See us at NAMM Booth 2045
See us at NAMM Booth 1400
JUNE 2008
Martin Audio
Violet Designs
Martin Audio introduces Blackline+, which features significant improvements to provide an even higher level of performance. Drivers and crossover networks have been redesigned so that all of the low frequency drivers in two-way systems now feature aluminium demodulating rings to minimize the variation in voice coil inductance as the coil moves in the gap. The result is improved midrange clarity and reduced intermodulation distortion at high excursions, ensuring that the sound balance and quality are maintained even at high levels. The Blackline+ line covers eight full-range cabinets and four sub-bass enclosures. www.martin-audio.com
Violet Designs is shipping the Amethyst series of studio microphones which feature capsules with six-micron gold-sputtered Mylar diaphragms tensioned and adjusted on precisely made brass backplates. This allows for fast impulse transient response without sound coloration or low frequency reduction, as well as the ability to handle louder sound pressure levels. The Amethyst Standard has a dark amethyst red body and uses a single large-diaphragm center-terminated capsule. The internal phantom powered preamplifier is a fully discrete Class ‘A’ transformerless circuit. The Amethyst Vintage has a gray/blue body and uses a dual large diaphragm, and a center terminated dual back plate capsule. Both models have a unidirectional cardioid polar pattern with minimal proximity effect and are linear over the wide frontal incidence angle. www.violetusa.com
Audio2000’s Audio2000’s introduces the AWP6407 universal PA and karaoke system. The system contains a complete karaoke system with a built-in CDG/MP3/CDR/VCD/CD player, a digital recorder, a rugged retractable dolly, a built-in dual-channel UHF 16-frequency wireless microphone system, and a set of rechargeable batteries. The built-in wireless system can allow two persons to use it at the same time and the wireless transmitters can be any combination of the headset, lavaliere, and/or handheld microphones. www.audio2000s.com
Wholesalers of:
Juzek Stringed Instruments Bows Cases Strings Accessories
P.O. BOX 1415 STOWE, VT 05672 1.866.846.5461 JUNE 2008
sales@metmusic.com MMR 73
X2
Stanton
American DJ
X2 Digital Wireless Systems has announced the new XDS-PLUS. The XDSPLUS combines the portability of a stomp-box device with the advanced sonic and RF performance of the company’s XDR95 rack-mount system by putting the receiver in a rugged metal stomp-box chassis. However, due to its compact and portable design, the system is also well equipped to solve some unique challenges facing sound reinforcement and installed sound professionals such as wireless high-quality audio distribution and portable PA applications. The system features X2’s proprietary companderless digital format and new dual-diversity (anti-jamming) technology for the sound and feel of a direct wire connection. Additionally, the system is 2009-compliant meaning that it’s free from DTV and FCC licensing concerns and can roam virtually anywhere throughout North and South America without issue. The MSRP is $599. www.x2digitalwireless.com
Stanton DJ releases the C.324, the company’s newest slot-loading tabletop CD player for the professional DJ. The Stanton C.324 is designed for digital DJs who want to scratch CDs like vinyl, and has all the latest components needed for ultimate performance. It features MP3 and CD audio playback with onboard fi le and folder browsing, onboard pattern and real-time sequencer for drum machine style performances, seven on board digital effects, and a slot loading CD mechanism with LED for quick loading of CDs into the unit in low light situations. The C.324 also features responsive trigger pads that offer real-time sample / loop sequencing. www.stantondj.com
American DJ has put a new spin on the mirror ball with its Starball/Sunray LED series. They are rotating spherical effects that shoot beams around a room like mirror balls, but are powered by LEDs instead of traditional halogen lamps. There are four models in the series: Starball LED, which produces all-white beams; Sunray LED, which produces multicolor beams; Starball LED DMX, which is DMX-compatible with all-white beams; and Sunray LED DMX, which is DMX-compatible with multicolor beams. The LEDs throw out 34 crisp, bright beams, which slowly rotate around the walls, ceilings,
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National Music Funding 4095 AVENIDA DE LA PLATA OCEANSIDE, CA 92056
Phone 800-981-6874 Fax 888-660-0798 See us at NAMM Booth 2052
74 MMR
dennisnmf@earthlink.net
See us at NAMM Booth 1043
JUNE 2008
and floors. All of the units’ beams radiate from one three-watt LED light source and don’t require the use of fog. The LEDs are rated at 50,000 hours. The MSRP of the Starball and Sunray LEDs is $139.95. The MSRP of the Starball and Sunray LED DMXs is $209.95. www.americandj.com
M-Audio M-Audio announces ProFire 2626 for PC or Mac host-based recording systems. This interface delivers 26 x 26 simultaneous I/O, complete with an onboard DSP mixer sourced from up to 52 audio streams. It features many connections, including award Octane preamp technology on all eight analog inputs, ADAT, S/ PDIF, word clock, and MIDI. It also features JetPLL jitter elimination technology, which ensures pristine audio quality and reliable synchronization all the way up to high-definition 24-bit/192kHz resolution. In addition, ProFire 2626 offers easy FireWire connectivity, low latency, dual headphone outputs, front-panel ¼” instrument inputs and standalone operation. Compatible with most major DAWs including Pro Tools M-Powered. www.m-audio.com
shell with integrally molded valiance, and it comes standard with eight elastomeric shocks (load range 40 to 150 lbs). The load range can be enhanced by adding an additional shock on each mounting point (load range 300 pounds). A new feature is the inclusion of SKB trigger latches with TSA locks, which allow for TSA screeners to exclusively unlock cases for security checks while keeping the contents otherwise locked and secure. The street price is $579.99. www.skbcases.com NAMM Exhibit #628
Breaking News Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site,
www.MMRmagazine.com
Meeting the Needs of Students for More Than 25 Years ... Our Best-Selling SV-175 Cremona Violin! Cremona bowed instruments have set the pace for the vibrant student and rental markets for over 25 years. Strict adherence to international sizing requirements, domestic educational set-up standards and continuous quality improvement have made Cremona Violins, Violas, Basses and Cellos proven sales leaders. Our best-selling, ebony fitted SV-175 Cremona Premier Violin Outfit has again been upgraded to include the new LaSalle LB-15 Octagonal Bow and the TL-33 deluxe rectangular Travelite case.
Cremona SV-175 Violin Outfit: •Six sizes from 4⁄4 to 1⁄16 •Long lasting ebony fittings •Finetuner tailpiece for precise, easy tuning •Rugged TL-33 Travelite case •All-solid carved, graduated construction •Well-balanced LaSalle LB-15 bow with ebony frog
SKB SKB is shipping its new 6U 20” rolling Shock Rack case (model number 3SKBR06U20W). SKB has added wheels and a sturdy pull handle, as well as updated TSA lock trigger latches and upgradeable elastomeric shocks. The rolling Shock Rack provides a rotationally molded tough JUNE 2008
Still
169
$
Suggested Retail
SV-175
See us at NAMM Booth 1110
[800] BUY-SAGA www.sagamusic.com Dealer inquiries invited.
MMR 75
The Ultimate Sound Instrument: 1) UHF Wireless In-Ear Monitoring System 2) Wireless PA System with ith Rec Rechargeable Batteries & CD Player AWP6404
H&F Technologies, Incorporated 650 Flinn Avenue, Moorpark, CA 93021 Tel: (800)661-8069, (805)523-2759 Fax: (805)523-2021 E-Mail: sales@audio2000s.com
速
www.audio2000s.com
Audio2000'S
See us at NAMM Booth 838
Exhibitor List 65Amps Access Bags and Cases Accutronics Actodyne General Inc AIM Gifts Akai Professional Alesis LLC Alfred Publishing Co, Inc. Alhambra USA The Alternative Guitar Company ALTO Amati’s Fine Instruments America Longxing Inc American Audio American DJ Supply, Inc. American Music & Sound American Way Marketing LLC Ameritage® AmpTopper Products AMT Electronics USA Analysis Plus Angels Musical Instruments AntakaMatics, Inc. Antigua API Aquarian® ART - Applied Research And Technology Art Strings Publishing ASK Video Audio Agent, LLC Audio Media Audio Plus Services Audio-Technica U.S., Inc. Aurora Automated Processes, Inc. (API) Avant Electronics B-52 Professional Babicz Guitars USA Baden Guitars bandFIND, Inc. 78 MMR
1222 1507 243 1501 226 400 400 1019 1005 214 300 649 828 524 518 900 230 1106 2041 234 2100 818 1349 825 322 713 300 1018 304 152 926 2040 500 1229 322 207 336 1123 150 260
Bass Dynamics 244 Bass Player Magazine 926 BBE Sound 1337 Beat Kangz Electronics, LLC 644 Bee-In Tuner, Inc. 826 Behringer 2014, 2020 BEiiMEiiUP Stuff, LLC 606 Belcat Co. Ltd. 1622 Belkin International, Inc. 406 Benavente Guitars 1343 Bends Instrumentos Musicais Ltda 238 Benedetto Guitars 1324 The BERP 248 Bigsby® 700 Bill Lawrence Guitar Design Co 2026 Blue Book On Line 836 Blueberry Musical Instruments 113 Bogdon Music 544 BOSS U.S. 800 Boulder Creek Guitars 1404 Bourgeois Guitars 1326 Bourns, Inc. 245 Breedlove Guitar Co. 1210 Breezy Ridge Instruments, Ltd. 1006 Budda Amplification 2050 C.B.I. Professional Wiring Systems 1448 CAD Professional Microphones 2049 Campbell American Guitars 1245 Carr Amplifiers Inc. 2100 Cascade Microphones 247 Caster Tray 169 CE Distribution 1423 Cedar Creek Custom Case Shoppe 329 Century Strings Inc. 725 Charles Dumont & Son, Inc. 918 Cherry Lane Music Company 1018 Christian Musician Magazine 224 Clement & Weise Ohg 742 Club World Magazine 836 Codel Enterprises 1323 Collings Guitars 1205
Completely Oblivious 2044 Composite Acoustics 1305 Conn-Selmer Inc. 600 ConventionTV@NAMM 836 Cort USA 1309 Crafter USA, Inc. 1618 Creation Audio Labs, Inc. 340 Cruztools, Inc. 2048 CSC Products, Inc. 749 Curt Mangan Inc. 1418 D’Addario & Co., Inc. 2008 D’Aquisto Strings Inc. 1508 Daisy Rock Girl Guitars 1027 Dana B. Goods 1318 Dean Markley Strings 1218 Deering Banjo Company 1104 Digitech 1510 Diplomat 2052 Direct Sound Headphones 346 DJ Times 836 DKL Guitars 1442 DnR guitars LLC 246 Dolsey Ltd 115 DownBeat Magazine 1029 DR Handmade Strings 1310 Duesenberg USA 1222 E. K. Blessing Company Inc. 443 The E.M. Winston Company, LLC 648 Eastman Guitars and Mandolins 1000 Eastman Strings 1000 Ebtech 243 Eden Electronics 162 Edencompanies.com 544 Edirol by Roland 109, 110 Electratone, Inc. 1350 Elixir® Strings 728 Emac Music, Inc. 1004 EMD Music Inc 1236 Emery & Webb, Inc. 1045 EMG Inc. 1319 JUNE 2008
Enhanced Listening Technologies Corp. 223 Epifani Custom Sound Systems, Inc. 1341 EQ Magazine 926 Ernie Ball, Inc. 1600, 1603 Essential Sound Products, Inc. 404 ETI Sound Systems, Inc. 336 Everly Music Company, Inc. 1428 Evets Corporation 1528 Farley’s Musical Essentials 1410 Fender Musical Instruments Corp. 107, 108, 130, 132, 133 Fernandes Guitars 1500 Fishman 1201 Flavoreeds 447 Flaxwood Oy 1249 Focal Professional 2040 Folkcraft Instruments, Inc. 905 Forge 744 Four Star Wire & Cable Inc. 209 Fred Kelly Picks 2007 Fritz Brothers Guitars 2038 Full-On Management LLC 1325 G & H Industries Inc 2000 G & L Musical Instruments 1337 G7th Ltd 1628 Gadow Guitars 1348 Gallagher Guitar Co. 909
Gallien Technology Inc. 1610 Gatchell Violins Company, Inc. 824 Gator Cases, Inc. 908 George L’s Musical Products 911 Gibson Guitar Corp. 526 gig-fx, Inc. 168 Glasser Bows Inc. 649 Godin Guitars 1437 Gold Tone 1422 Goldbug Products 1441 Goodall Guitars, Inc. 1209 Goodsell Electric Instrument Co., LLC 2045 Greasy Groove Inc. 1345 Gretsch Co. 700 GretschGear.com 700 Guangzhou Cremona Violin Co. Ltd 170 Guitar Player Magazine 926 GWW Group 1106 H & F Technologies, Inc. 810 H.E.A.R. - Hearing Education & Awareness for Rockers, Inc. 181 H.G. Leach Guitars 1544 Hahn Guitars 1540 Hailun Distribution LLC 741 Hal Leonard Corporation 1018 Hall Crystal Flutes 546 Halo Guitars 2051 Hammond Suzuki USA Inc. 736 Hana Corporation 256
Hanser Music Group 328 Harmony Guitars 1242 Harris Musical Products, Inc. 1136 Henry Import & Export 114 Heritage Guitar Inc. 1624 Hohner, Inc. 1411 Homespun Tapes, Ltd 1018 Hosa Technology, Inc. 428 Hoshino USA Inc. 618, 718 Hudson Music, LLC 1018 Humes & Berg Mfg. Co., Inc. 901 Huss & Dalton Guitar Co., Inc. 1407 Ibanez 618 IBC Trading Ltd. 1628 International DJ Expo 836 InTime Design, LLC 2054 ION Audio LLC 400 ISP Technologies LLC 422 J. Jennings Publishing Company 222 James Trussart Guitars, Inc. 1225 JAMS Audio 2042 Jazzkat Amplifiers LLC 1627 Jean Larrivee Guitars USA Inc 1400 Jet Fretz 1304 Jodavi, Inc. 1247 Joemeek 323 John M. Connolly & Co Inc 1126 John Pearse® Strings 1006 Johnson Guitars U.S.A. 1542
DISCOUNT STRINGS WAREHOUSE We Build Quality
Reasonable Prices for Student and Rental Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Bows, Bags and Cases Call us about Leonard Smith Instruments nished by Weavers Violins.
1-800-608-6899
Fax- 301-540-8169 • E-mail- dswviolins@comcast.net JUNE 2008
See us at NAMM Booth 1305
MMR 79
JT Musical Inc. 2005 JZ Music 548 K and S Music Inc. 822 Kahler International, Inc. 208 Kala Brand Music Co. 1527 Kaman Music Corp. 436, 536 Kelhorn Corp. 448 Kelly Concepts, LLC 607 The Kelly SHU 607 KennyAllyn LLC 1440 Keyboard Magazine 926 King Doublebass 1538 König & Meyer GmbH & Co. 1126 Korg USA, Inc. 101, 102, 140
Krank Amplification Kyser Musical Products Inc. Latch Lake Products Inc. Lava Cable LeCompte Electric Bass Levy’s Leathers Limited LM Products Los Cabos Drumsticks The Low End Ludwig Drum Co. M & M Distributing Mad Professor Amplification Ltd Major Music Supply Manufacturas Alhambra, S.L.
Not your ordinary POP FILTER! Innovative design and professional engineering have led to the creation of Air Pressure Dispersion Technology™ the most effective method for ensuring pop-free recording - available exclusively from Music Accessories.
Thanks to A.P.D.T™ �Air Pressure Dispersion Technology�, our Split Screen Pop Filter eliminates unwanted explosive �P� and �B� consonants to satisfy the most discriminating customer.
1st screen diffuses air
Split Screen Pop Filter
Opening between screens disperses air �relieves pressure�
Our pop filters are engineered to perform. 2nd screen diffuses any remaining air pressure and passes full-range vocals
ALSO AVAILABLE
Contact us today for program details and to learn more about becoming an authorized dealer.
800-266-7225 or music-accessories.net
80 MMR
1635 1304 205 320 1440 1226 1118 218 1343 600 650 1142 2004 1005
Mapex USA, Inc. 508 Marshall Electronics 344 The Martin Guitar Company 1200 Mason & Hamlin Piano Company 737 MasterWriter 327 Mattrixx-N Inc. 254 Meinl USA, L.C. 608 Mel Bay Publications, Inc. 928 Merano Musical Instruments 719 MI Distributing 444 MicFX LLC 1140 Microboards Technology 407 Microsonic 504 Mid-East Mfg. Inc. 1144 Middle Tennessee Technologies Corp, 264 Mighty Bright 1412 MixMeister Technology 400 MJS Music & Entertainment 1506 Mogami Cable 344 Mojo Musical Supply 1642 Moody Leather, Inc. 1425 Moog Music Inc. 637 Morgan Hill Music 1404 Morley 243 Morrell Music Co. 1248 Motion Sound 744 MPR Enterprises 1410 MTD (Michael Tobias Design LLC) Club Murga Boot Co 225 The Music & Sound Retailer 836 Music Dealers Resource Group LLC 2036 Music Inc. 1029 The Music Link 1336 Music Magazine Publishers Association 924 The Music People Inc. 309, 310 Music Player Network 926 Music Sales Corporation 166 Musical Instruments Distribution Canada Ltd. 1617 Musical Merchandise Review 1031 Musician’s Wholesale America 1526 MusicMags 924 Musicorp 436 Musiquip Inc. 117 MXL Microphones 344 N-Tune 152 Nady Systems, Inc. 501 National Music Funding Corp. 1043 Nechville Musical Products LLC 1426 NEMC 838 Neo Products, Inc. 236 New Sensor Corp. 1518 NewBay Media LLC 926 Nik Huber Guitars 1536 NOTION Music, Inc. 305 Numark 400 Ochenrider Concepts, Inc. 228 Odyssey Innovative Designs 1609 JUNE 2008
OME Banjos Onori Accessories Oscar Schmidt Division of Washburn International The Paige Capo Paige Musical Products Palmerino Music Pantheon Guitars, LLC Panyard, Inc. Parker Guitars Paul Reed Smith Guitars Paul Shelden Global Productions, Inc. Peace Musical Peaceland Music Peak Music Stands Peavey Electronics Pedal Pad Pelosi Guitars Penton Business Media Perri’s Leathers Ltd Personal Cooling Concepts LLC Peterson Electro Musical Products, Inc. Phil Jones Bass Phoenix Musical Instruments PianoDisc Pick Guy, Inc. Pikcard USA Pintech Canada Inc. Pintech USA, Inc. Play It Now Tunes Players Music Accessories PMI Audio Group Power Group Premier Guitar PreSonus Audio Electronics Pro Audio Review Pro Sound News Pro Stage Gear Pro-Active Websites Pro-Mark Corporation PROGRESSION ProSing Protec PZtronics Q Lighting Qingdao Gangyi Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd. Randall Amplification The Recording Academy Redland Music Products Remo, Inc. Rental & Staging Systems Retail Up! Retro-Sonic Reverend Guitars RJM Music Technology, Inc. RoboKey USA Roc-N-Soc Inc. JUNE 2008
1523 1328 162 1613 1613 605 1326 806 162 2003 2052 702 318 721 2010 243 1243 922 2055 220
Roché-Thomas Corp. 1039 Roland Corp. 109, 110, 127, 180, 800 RS Berkeley Inc 829 S.I.T. Strings Co. Inc. 1300 Sabian Ltd. 708 Saga Musical Instruments 1110 Saint Blues Guitar Workshop 1545 SaintFishy’s Distribution, LLC 1621 Samick Music Corporation 636 Santa Cruz Guitar Co. 1211 Scary Productions 1443 Schenk Guitars 1522 Sennheiser Elec Corp 401 Sensaphonics Hearing Conservation 405
Sewing Machine 252 Shanghai Max Precision Instrument 721 She Sings Out, Inc. 240 Shubb Capos 1010 Simba Products, Inc. 1606 SIMS America, LLC 1342 SKB Corporation 628 Solid Cables 210 Sonic Distribution LLC 232 Sony Electronics, Inc. 410 Souldier 1505 Sound & Communications 836 Sound Enhancement Products, Inc. 243 Sound Ideas Music LLC 2043
418 1541 445 737 212 1009 605 605 918 831 323 341 2037 440 926 926 911 206 601 305 2025 200 202 1629 Club 162 172 337 711 926 844 1646 1429 250 242 604 See us at NAMM Booth 1304
MMR 81
Sound Innovations Sound To Earth, Ltd. Source Audio LLC South Gulf International Spectr Audio Spectraflex, Inc. Sperzel SPL Electronics GmbH Stage Ninja Stagg Starkey Laboratories Stephen Paul Audio Steptime Sterling Company
262 1523 641 1504 227 1640 1146 326 424 1236 507 323 221 747
String Swing Inc. Strings by Aurora Studio Devil Studio Projects Super Sticks Music Synergy House Systems Contractor News T.G., Inc. TalkingTabs Taloose Group, Inc. TASCAM Tama Taye Drums Taylor Guitars
Doug Lawrence Marshall McDonald John Williams Grant Langford Doug Miller www.c ountbasieorchestra.c om
82 MMR
1636 1229 204 323 258 727 926 1436 918 808 Club 618 707 105, 135
TC Electronic 319 TC-Helicon 319 Testa Communications 836 Thomastik-Infeld GmbH 1126 Thunderfunk 243 Timberline Guitars 1409 TKL Products Corp. 329 Toft Audio Designs 323 Tornavoz Music 1100 Trace Elliot 2010 TRAF Group, Inc. 1039 Traveler Guitar 1405 Trem King Club Tri-Technical Systems, Inc. 1039 Trillium Cabinet Company, Inc. 1444 TV Jones, Inc. 1427 Tycoon Percussion 1336 Tyler Retail Systems, Inc. 1037 U.S. Band & Orchestra Supplies, Inc. 443 Ultimate Ears 219 Unigrip 348 UpBeat Daily 1029 US Music Corp. 162 V-Picks 1619 Valley People 323 ValveTrain Amplification 1446 Ventura Guitars 2043 Veritas Instrument Rental Inc. 819 Vision International, Inc. 337 Visual Sound LLC 911 Voyage-air Guitar, Inc. 1544 W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. 728 Warehouse Guitar Speakers, LLC 2027 Washburn International Inc. 162 Watch & Learn, Inc. 840 Waterstone Musical Instruments, LLC 1644 Wave Distribution 426 Wechter Guitars 1327 Wedgie Products 1404 Wendler Instruments 2046 West Coast String Instruments 729 Western Digital 241 Westone Laboratories, Inc. 306 Wilkins Guitar 1443 Willis Music Company 1018 Wilmington Fibre 1227 Wm. Rees Instruments 823 Woodsound Flutes 542 Wristies Inc 2024 Wyman Piano Company 745 Xcel Drumsticks 606 XP Audio, Inc. 744 Yamaha Corp. 104, 136 Yorkville Sound Inc. 300 Z Right Stuff 216 Zaolla Silverline 428 Zoogee World Inc. 2047 Zuni Custom Guitars 1625 JUNE 2008
AIMsi IS NOW SUPERCHARGED WITH e-COMMERCE INTEGRATION AND
Test drive the souped-up features of AIMsi’s Version 8 upgrade and learn more about the e-commerce integration at NAMMBooth# 1039 or call now at 800-670-1736 for more information
Tri-Technical Systems, Inc. Providing Accounting and Inventory Management systems integration for retailers since 1984. 3162 Cedar Crest Ridge • Dubuque, IA 52003 •
Toll Free 800.670.1736
• www.AIMsi.biz
NAMM University Schedule Summer NAMM – Nashville Convention Center NAMM Idea Center (Exhibit #837) Fri., JUNE 20 10:30 a.m. How Your Web Site and Your POS Can Produce Hot Buyers, Keep Warm Prospects and Manage Cold Leads (ECommerce/Web) Presenter: Gordon O’Hara, Managing Partner, Retail Up! Music The Web and your POS have always been about connections. In the retailer’s case, it’s how to keep prospects and customers connected to your store. We’re talking about the cream—mid- and upper-end guitar buyers, fine keyboard and piano purchasers, sound system users, band directors, professionals, and more. All of these people have one thing in common: they want your Web site to connect them to your store’s expertise and product knowledge. We’ll explore how your site can serve them and develop leads and profits for you. 11:00 a.m. How to Turn Zero-Cost Marketing into Big-Budget Results (Sales/Marketing) Presenter: Bob Popyk, Founder of Bentley-Hall, Inc. If you don’t have a mega-store marketing budget tied together with a big checkbook and a bigger crystal ball, this is the session for you. Learn some ideas to bring more customers into your store immediately without having to go to the bank. Find out lots of easy ways to generate more store traffic each day by getting everyone in your store involved. 84 MMR
11:30 a.m. How to Sell Your Toughest Customers ... 90% of the Time (Sales/Marketing) Presenter: Bob Popyk, Founder of Bentley-Hall, Inc. Are customers getting “tougher” to sell? Competition today is more than just the dealer down the street—it’s the Internet, catalogs, the classified section of your newspaper and anything else that might prevent a sale. Learn some simple ways to close a high percentage of those “tough” customers who beat you up over price, tell you they’re “shopping around” and walk out of your store without buying. NOON Free One-Hour Lunch and Learn Session Case Study: An Innovator’s Perspective on Store Design (Store Design) Presenter: Gayle Beacock, Vice President, Beacock Music For the past few years, Beacock Music has taken its store design to new heights. Join Gayle Beacock and merchandising expert Michelle Webb to hear their perspective on design, their latest creations, and their passion for these projects. They will take questions in the second half of this one-hour session. 1:00 p.m. (One-Hour Presentation) Panel Discussion: “Ask the Experts” (Retail Ideas) Moderated by Zach Phillips, Editor, Music Inc.
You, the music products retailer, asked the hard-hitting questions. Now, you’ll get answers. Join this panel to learn solutions to your finance, sales, marketing, merchandising, and staffi ng issues. These specialists will respond to questions submitted prior to Summer NAMM but will also take audience questions in the second half of this one-hour session. 2:00 p.m. NAMM’s New Member-Only Insurance Portal with Discounts for Health and Lifestyle (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Christine Lee, Principal Program Business Leader, Mercer Don’t miss your new member benefit, the insurance services and products offered through NAMM’s Smart Business Interactive Portal from Mercer. This session discusses the new program, which offers a free prescription card for all members, families and employees. In addition, the program offers options for savings on health services, including alternative medicine, dental, vision, chiropractic and doctor visits, as well as movie tickets, dining, hotels, and more. 2:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: How to Increase Profits in Your Female Drum Market (Retail Ideas) Moderated by the Percussion Marketing Council Learn how to understand the tremendous sales and marketing opportunities JUNE 2008
that exist in targeting the female drumming market. This panel will address how to drive existing female percussion players, as well as non-players, into your store. 3:00 p.m. The Value of Store Design (Store Design) Presenter: Chris Miller, President, Pacific Store Designs, Inc. When properly applied, design is one of the best returns on investment in retail today. But how can you prove it? Let Chris Miller show you! This session will reveal how retailers can develop a shared understanding of the return on investment of design, so that its value as an effective business tool can be convincingly communicated. 3:30 p.m. Your Lesson Program—The Heartbeat of the Community Music Store (Lessons)
JUNE 2008
Presenter: Pete Gamber, Owner, Alta Loma Music Everyone’s selling gear—from national retailers to gas stations. And everyone’s got a Web site. So what makes you special? Your lesson program! It creates, develops and encourages musicians of all ages! Your lesson program can make you unbeatable in your community, and that’s where it counts. Pete will show you how to create a fantastic music lesson program and grow it during the next five years. 4:00 p.m. Get Out of Your Store! Get Out in Your Community! (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Pete Gamber, Owner, Alta Loma Music Nothing beats getting out of your store and meeting musicians and potential musicians! The Internet can’t put a guitar
in someone’s hands for the first time, or encourage a person to start playing an instrument. You can, if you get out of your store. Find out what Pete does when he’s not in his store. His ideas will increase new customers and students for your business without hitting your checkbook! 4:30 p.m. Your Lesson Rooms—Your Best Place to Market to Your Students! (Lessons) Presenter: Pete Gamber, Owner, Alta Loma Music Do you use the lesson room as a place to market to students? Do your students get dropped off, beeline it to the lesson, and then haul buns back out to mom, who has to get the next kid off to soccer? If so, listen to Pete’s ideas of how to sell more gear and services to your students.
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Sat. JUNE 21 10:30 a.m. How to Give Your Web Site More Curb Appeal (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Kevin M. Mitchell, MMR Associate Editor and Web Wise Columnist The reality is that your Web site is now your new storefront. Over 70 percent of customers in your hometown do research online before ever getting in their car and driving to a brick-and-mortar shop. So as your Web site is now their “first impression” of your store, is it all that it can be? Does it inspire your customers to get out of their chair and drive to your store? Kevin will show examples of sites that have real “curb appeal” and offer five important ways to make your site better, more appealing and more likely to bring customers into your store. 11:00 a.m. How to Enhance the Customer Experience and Drive Up Profitability (Sales/Marketing)
Presenter: George Hines, President, George’s Music, Inc. The state of the retail industry is in flux. The days of competing on selection and price are gone. Increasingly, consumers are choosing where they shop based on their instore experience. This session will highlight how retailers can improve service for their customers and increase the bottom line. 11:30 a.m. 5 Ways to Financially Fix Your Store (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Alan Friedman, CPA, Friedman, Kannenberg & Company, P.C. Today’s independent music retailers face an endless barrage of challenges, ranging from external factors beyond their control like rising gas prices, falling real estate and stock markets, and discounting from mass merchants and online retailers—to internal factors within their control, such as the constant need for inventory management and monitoring of operating expenses. Yet,
despite the unpredictable landscape, music retailers can survive and even flourish by implementing some time-tested practices that have proven to generate profits and improve cash flow. Join industry CPA Alan Friedman for a look at five essential practices to financially improve store operations for all music stores. NOON Free One-Hour Lunch and Learn Session Panel Discussion: How to Redesign Your Retail Store on a Dime (Store Design) Moderated by Danny Rocks, Catalyst, The Company Rocks Even if you are not considering a store remodel, you need to attend this session! Join Danny Rocks and his panel of experts as they examine actual music store remodeling projects. See the “before and after” photographs of these remodels. You will even have a chance to win a prize: an estimate for the cost of the remodel and the expected return on investment.
In 1864 Antonin Petrof built his rst concert grand piano. Since then his family has continued in the same tradition of expert instrument craftmanship. Petrof Piano Company of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic has extended their international success to the U.S. market with the formation of PETROF U.S.A., LLC, a factory owned subsidiary that is responsible for all sales, distribution and marketing in the United States. PETROF’s great success for the past 140 years and current sales records in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Iceland and Asia have afforded the company the ability to produce new, improved and tested scales and furniture styles that will be offered in the U.S. The high standards of the PETROF company will be maintained and dealers should know that they can expect in-depth inventory, nancing and service never before experienced.
Petrof U.S.A., LLC. 5400 Lawrenceville Hwy Suite B1 & 2 Lilburn, GA 30047 O) 770-564-4974 F) 770-564-4978 www.petrof.com 86 MMR
JUNE 2008
1:00 p.m. Good to Great: Creating a HighPerformance Sales Team (Sales/Marketing) Presenter: Elly Valas, President and CEO of Valas Consulting Group, LLC It’s no secret that the best teams in sports are those that are the best managed and the best coached. They attract the best team members, who clearly understand their goals. Find out how you can recruit the best players to your team and set goals that motivate them to peak performance. Learn how to increase your margins, improve your close rate and raise your average ticket. 2:00 p.m. How to Beat Today’s Retail Challenges (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Al Slivinski, President, Retail Business Solutions In this session, you will learn seven tips to help you profitably manage your business in today’s highly competitive retail environment.
JUNE 2008
2:30 p.m. How to Level the Playing Field on the Internet (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Jim Norris, President, NorrisWhitney Communications This session will discuss how innovative uses of technology and data insights can help retailers reach out to customers in a more meaningful way and level the playing field on the Internet. 3:00 p.m. How to Weather Recessionary Storms (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Ken Murray, CEO of Amazing Saint Coaching and Consulting Economic indicators point to a slow down. Fewer customers are coming to the store. The “R” word is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Good news is on the way. Ken Murray will offer practical solutions.
3:30 p.m. How to Make the Most of In-Store Events and Double Your Press Coverage (Sales/Marketing) Presenter: Myrna Sislen, Owner, Middle C Music How often have you wanted press or television coverage for your store events but couldn’t get a bite from even your local newspaper? Learn some new and old tricks for pitching the media that will help you gain the coverage you so richly deserve. Develop unique and catchy story angles that will make the media beat down your door. 4 p.m. It Worked for Me! (Retail Ideas) Presenter: Alan Friedman, CPA, Friedman, Kannenberg & Company, P.C. You don’t have to look far for new ideas—they are all around us. The trick is to take someone else’s great idea and adapt it to fit your store’s situation.
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Sunday, JUNE 22
This could be a sales promotion or a merchandising planâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even a hiring and training procedure. See it, adapt it, implement it and document it so that you can use it again! Alan Friedman and his panel of retailers will share the practical ideas that have worked in their stores.
10:00 a.m. Panel Discussion: Indy Music Retail Groupsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Why, the What and the How (Retail Ideas) Moderated by Harry Gillum, Showtime Music Co. Learn why it makes sense to participate in a buying or sharing group and how to go about joining or forming a group.
5:00 p.m. How Your Lesson Programs Can Give Your Store a Competitive Advantage (Lessons) Presenter: Ravi, Columnist, Clinician, and Consultant to the Music Products Industry In this session, Ravi will discuss how to create tangible value in your lesson program to lock in the students you have and â&#x20AC;&#x153;sellâ&#x20AC;? that value to potential new students and customers. Learn how to expand your teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; resources, techniques and recruitment abilities, and create winning lesson programs.
10:30 a.m. How to Build Your Web Site Communityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Take Advantage of Free Advertising! (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Jen Lowe, President, BoomBoom Percussion, LLC Marketing your products and services canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be an afterthought or the line item you cut when money gets tight. From Google to YouTube and beyond, you have low-cost, high-impact marketing options at your disposal. Learn from real-life best
practices how to differentiate your business and win customers. 11:30 a.m. How to Get More Visitors to Your Web Site (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Bill Walzak, President, and David Hall, National Sales Manager, ProActive Software Learn how to automate your business. From eRetail site management, to processing orders, to marketing, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll learn how you can implement these vital ingredients in your Web presence and bring more peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and potential customersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to your Web site. Noon (One-Hour Lunch & Learn Presentation/Part I) Web Site Successâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;It Starts With a Plan â&#x20AC;Ś (E-Commerce/Web) Presenters: Bee Bantug & Gordon Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara, Managing Partners, Retail Up! Music
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There is no doubt the Internet has become an essential part of your store’s operations. In this session, you will review the process and methods to build a plan for your store that will help you manage and grow all aspects of your Web-based efforts. Gordon and Bee will walk you through the planning process step-by-step so that you can start managing your Web site more profitably. 12:30 p.m. (One-Hour Lunch & Learn Presentation/Part II) ... and Follows Through with Action! (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Bee Bantug & Gordon O’Hara, Managing Partners, Retail Up! Music In Part II of this session, learn how to put your plan into action throughout your store. Every person on your team plays a role in the success of your Internet efforts. From the shipping person to accounting, from road reps to sales staff to management, we’ll review the roles each person plays to help make your plan a success. Most important, we’ll show you how customer feedback can contribute to periodic updates of your Internet strategy. 1:00 p.m. Industry Panel Discussion: Ask the Technology Experts (E-Commerce/Web) Presenter: Industry Panel You have asked the hard questions. Now you will hear some answers. Join this panel of Web and technology experts, including Kevin M. Mitchell of MMR, to learn solutions that will keep you on the right side of the digital divide. These technology experts will respond to questions submitted prior to Summer NAMM, but will also take audience questions. Submit your questions to asktheexperts@namm.org. 2:00 p.m. Music Industry Panel: Building Local Alliances: Keeping Music Education Strong in Your Community (Music Education) Moderated by Mary Luehrsen, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, NAMM Healthy, sustainable music programs depend on community comJUNE 2008
mitments and the involvement of decision-makers, including school board members, administrators, legislators, teachers and parents who believe in keeping music and the arts as part of the school curriculum. Join the discussion and strengthen your role in helping music education stay strong in your community. 2:30 p.m. Music Industry Panel: Teaching Music with Technology: New Tools for the Music Room (Music Education) Moderated by Sandra Jordan, Associate Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, NAMM Technology is transforming the way music is composed, performed, promoted and taught. Music educators are exploring this frontier and succeeding through partnerships and support from the music industry. Join a discussion about how music and technology create a bridge to engage student learning. 3:00 p.m. Music Industry Panel: Far Out Strings: Going Beyond the Traditional School Orchestra Program (Music Education) Moderated by Sandra Jordan, Associate Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, NAMM Alternative styles, new methods and innovative designs are reshaping and reviving string programs in schools. Join the discussion and learn more about new methods and approaches that are invigorating school orchestra programs. 3:30 p.m. Music Industry Panel: More Music in Schools: Now, EVERYBODY Play (Music Education) Moderated by Sandra Jordan, Associate Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations, NAMM Music teachers are expanding access to music education by offering guitar programs and expanding access to music making to children who may not have been drawn to traditional music education offerings. Learn from organizations that are leading this new opportunity for every student to learn music. See us at NAMM Booth 2008 MMR 89
SOUND & LIGHT
Sennheiser Works to Resolve ‘White Space’ Issue
W
hen it comes to the “white noise” issue, the first problem is semantics.
“We’re communicating to the legislators that the term ‘white space’ is a misnomer,” explains Sennheiser’s Joe Ciaudelli. “It implies that unoccupied TV channels are not being used, but production professionals have used frequencies in so-called white space for years. This spectrum is being used in the U.S. to produce the world’s greatest content.” It’s also where wireless microphone frequencies dwell. The battle to protect wireless mic technology and the frequencies they inhabit continues. As reported last Fall in these pages, the reason this matters to the industry is that congress is getting pressured by the likes of Dell, Microsoft, among others, to quickly open up and make available frequencies on the low end of the spectrum that have long been the domain of wireless production technologies. This means microphones, wireless guitar and bass products, and in-ear monitoring devices used by bands, churches, and schools could be severely compromised with the onslaught of Personal Communication Devices (PCDs) using the same frequencies — should congress be rushed into making a ruling on the issue. Ciaudelli, Sennheiser’s professional products consultant, is one of those who has been on Capitol Hill in Washington, and reports that the proceedings can almost be downright funny at times -- if the matter wasn’t so serious. Six months ago, Microsoft submitted a device they 90 MMR
claimed had a sensing circuit that would detect – and then avoid – digital television transmission and wireless mic communications. It failed miserably. Their defense? It was a defective unit. (Apparently Microsoft doesn’t have the time or inclination to test something out before they take it in front of the FCC.) “They did a new test last week, and that unit overheated,” Ciaudelli says. “The FCC is continuing to test and make recommendations, and until those tests can be completed, we won’t likely see any legislative action,” he notes. The stakes are high not only from a quality standpoint, but from an economic standpoint – entertainment, from local community concerts to major sporting events, is an important U.S. commodity. “So we’re urging legislators to take a measured approached to the issue. But Sennheiser has always been a solution provider and, despite challenges that arise, our wireless business continues to grow and thrive.” He says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the white space issue will be resolved. Helping are the production arms of powerful companies like Disney, GE, and Viacom, who are actively engaged as they too could be affected by these PCDs. Meanwhile, Sennheiser continues to look to the future. “Obviously we’re not sitting on our hands,” Ciaudelli continues. “We’re always investigating new ways to reliably
transmit audio that meet the high demands of wireless mic and monitoring systems: full audio bandwidth, no detectable latency, ample battery life, multichannel operation, and so on … we’re always coming up with refinements, so this will be an evolutionary process.” One new tool Sennheiser now offers is available on the company’s Web site. The musician can go to it, type in his or her Zip Code, and get a listing of local TV channels and licensed wireless service already in use. When the musician gets to the site of the gig, he or she has a good head start in dialing in on frequencies not in use, thus speeding that process along and ensuring a great-sounding show. Otherwise, Sennheiser is developing other technology that Ciaudelli was not at liberty to discuss at this point. “I will say this: a lot of people have this notion that all their wireless equipment will be obsolete after February, 2009 [the current deadline to open those white space frequencies to PCDs],” he says. “That is not the case. One thing I remember during my first Audio Engineering Society (AES) event was that VHF wireless mics would be made obsolete because of digital TV – that was 20 years ago! And I still use VHF mics nearly every weekend without a problem! “Nothing is eaten as hot as it’s cooked,” he concludes.
“We’re always coming up with small refinements, so this will be an evolutionary process.”
JUNE 2008
the Right POP
for YOUR Store
Sennheiser makes it easy to add on microphone sales for every piece of gear you sell in your store with the new Right Mic POP! Colorful hang-tags on products help pre-sell your customers on which mic they’ll need to capture every nuance of the gear they crave. Three-sided POP checkout counter displays and a fold-out brochure reinforce The Right Mic message while cards in your display case highlight the features, benefits and applications of Sennheiser’s evolution mics. Add web-resources, promotional incentives and a vigorous national ad campaign and you’ve got an in-store promo that’ll rock your register. Call your local Sennheiser Rep to find out what The Right Mic can do for you!
www.sennheiserusa.com See us at NAMM Booth 401
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Audix CabGrabber
SOUND & LIGHT
Audix introduces the CabGrabber, an accessory for the pro audio market. Simple, compact, and easy to use, it enables sound engineers and musicians to place a microphone on a guitar amplifier or cabinet without the use of a mic stand. Constructed of durable aluminum tubing, it is lightweight but capable of holding microphones typically used for miking guitar cabinets securely and firmly in place, including large diaphragm condenser mics weighing up to 16 ounces. Designed to operate with most guitar
combo amps and cabinets on the market, The CabGrabber will accommodate cabinets ranging from 8 to 14” in depth. It will work equally well on cabinets with a flat surface or a recessed edge. The tubular arm, which is threaded to hold any standard microphone clip, will rotate 180 degrees and can be locked into position with a thumbscrew. Breaking down to a length of just 9.5”, the CabGrabber can easily be stored in the back of an amp or a gig bag. It has a MSRP of $59. www.audixusa.com
American Audio Wireless Mic Systems American Audio unveils the WM-16, WM-64 and WM-700 Wireless Microphone Systems featuring selectable frequencies in multiples (16, 64 and 700, respectively) that make it possible to fi nd a clear channel that’s free of interference in any environment. Sensitive, low-noise, and inexpensive, WM Series systems come as complete packages that include a uni-directional electret condenser unit
wireless mic, a receiver, and 12-volt DC power supply. The systems are available in either handheld or lavalier (with bodypack) versions, making a total of six models in the series. All WM systems have a wireless range of up to 150 feet. MSRPs range from $179.95 to $279.95. www.adjaudio.com
Martin MAC 575 Krypton Moving Head
Chauvet Vue 6-Channel DMX
The MAC 575 Krypton is the newest in Martin’s line of MAC moving heads and the latest in the Krypton series. Based on the MAC 700 platform, the MAC 575 Krypton combines efficient optics for brighter output with outstanding gobos and colors, all wrapped in the MAC’s modular design. www.martin.com 92 MMR
Chauvet is shipping the Vue VI, a sixchannel DMX fi xture that features LED illumination, built-in automated programs, individual control of red, green, and blue LEDs for each pod, and a wide beam angle. Equipped with over 250 LEDs distributed by color into two pods, the Vue VI produces a bright output and adds pod rotation for a dazzling effect. It weighs less than seven pounds, consumes very little power, produces
a beam angle of 110°, and has an additional power output. www.chauvetlighting.com
JUNE 2008
Elation LED Color Wash
fishman.com
Solo performers want to move audiences. Not gear. The SoloAmp.
See it at NAMM. Booth #1201.
Elation Professional is shipping the VBar 270 LED Color Wash, a versatile stage and theater light. Equipped with 270 5mm LEDs and RGB colormixing capabilities, the compact, lightweight VBar 270 changes colors on command and also adapts to its environment by taking on completely different configurations. Manufactured by Alkalite and distributed exclusively by Elation in North America, the VBar 270 features optional brackets and accessories that allow users to link multiple units in different ways to create fi xtures like light bars, blinders, and various multilateral shapes. Features include an integrated power supply, auto switching from 100-240v, as well as a power link of up to 10 pieces on one line and three-and five-pin DMX connections. The VBar 270 can be operated in DMX mode, Master/Slave mode, or Auto-Chase mode with 19 built-in color chase programs. The unit has a variable strobe function and offers electronic dimming from 0–100%. It comes with a built-in Neutrik Powercon for secure and reliable power connection. The MSRP is $459.95. www.elationlighting.com
Breaking News
Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com
JUNE 2008
SHUBB the
CAPO
Resilient like your fingertip,
so it will not create tuning problems. www.shubb.com • shubb@shubb.com 707-876-3001 MMR 93
Every Music Dealer in the U.S. In the Palm of Your Hand!
New For 2008!
Directory of
Musical Instrument Dealers A must for every musical instrument manufacturer, importer and sales representative A city-by city list with name, address and telephone number of stores throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, PLUS—a separate listing of the nation’s top chain headquarters. Email and Fax numbers when available.
The ONLY directory of its kind available anywhere! MUSICAL T INSTRUMEN DEALERS
AND MUSIC 3000 CLAIRMONT AVE S
LORNA MUSIC 3241 LORNA RD MIKES MUSIC CENT 2324 1ST AVE ER N MUSIC ALLEY 113 LORNA BROO K VLG SAVAGE DRUM S 2710 YELLOW
HAMMER HL
SOUND ADVIC E INC 3004 4TH AVE S
A complete listing of dealers featuring the following product categories: AP DP EK OR BO DR SR RE FR PM DJ KA
Acoustic Piano Digital Piano Electric Keyboard/Synth Organ Band & Orchestra Drums/Percussion Sound Reinforcement Recording Equipment Fretted Instruments Print Music DJ Equipment Karaoake Products
MUSICAL T INSTRUMEN DEALERS
STATE
34 ..............MT ...... Montana ...... 39 54 ..............AL .....1 .........NE ...... Alabama ....... Nebraska.......... 33 ..........AK ....... ...NV ......49 ...... ...... ...... Alaska .............. Nevada .....150 0 ..AZ .....6 ....... NH re......... Arizona .............. New Hampshi .....94 ALA 216 A J.....BAM ..............AR.. ....N RAILROAD BAZANew Jersey ............ Arkansas ....... 87EIDSO AR 1207 8 .....5 DP EK .......CA ..1,0 N ST .NM ....... BO DR ...... ....... SR RE FR PM ...... California 250-232-5201 DJ New Mexico.. FAX: ATHENS 150 250-232-5201 ....520 ETOWAH MUSIC .............CO.... ............NY CO Colorado ....... 414 4TH New York ......DR SR RE FR PM ..CT .....139 ST NW ...250 ....... C 256-53 ....... ....N 8-7788 icut. ...... AUBU ATTALLA RN GUITAR SHOP h Carolina Connect Nort PE THE 758..22 E GLEN E..... 5 N AVE .....2 .............D .....ND ...... 334-82 1-6818 Delaware ....... AUBURN North Dakota.. FAX: 334-821-0074 ........5 ...356 mbia ...DC ..OH E-MAI MARK ......L:...... @AUBURNG JACK’S MUSIC District of Colu UITAR.COM Ohio ............ 28 E 150 N HOYL DR SR FR BAY AVE ..........FL......4 .....OK....104 251-58...... Florida .............. 0-8380 homa ...... Okla MINETTE 2 E-MAI ....28 L: INFO@JACKS....134 .OR MUSIC ...............GA WEBS ...... ITE: ...... WWW.JACKSMUS .NET Georgia ....... AFFORDABLE on......... IC.NET .47SOUND &Oreg LIGHT INC ....... 2ND AVE S DR SR ..........HI1304 .......PA.....418 nia....... Hawaii .............. 205-25 1-7635 PennsylvaFAX: BIRMINGHAM ......45 205-251-7662 .ID.. ALAN .............. S DISCOUNT ..........RI ........37 d.... MUSIC Idaho........... Islan e 1407 MONTGOME Rhod DP EK OR DR SR FR 23 ....IL ......383 RY HWY C ....1 ....... 205-408-4132 ....SC ....... ...... BIRMINGHAM Illinois ....... FAX:lina. 205-979-0084 South Caro ARTS MUSIC 11 .....2 SHOP 18 INC .........IN ......SD ...... 4647 HIGHW AP DP ota. AY 280 S STE Indiana .............. EK...... BO DR SR RE Sout O h Dak FR PM 205-995-8376 ..107 BIRMINGHAM .............IA.... FAX: 205-99 .......TN ....218 ...... 5-8377 e..... Iowa .............. E-MAI Tennesse L: ARTSBHM@A OL.CO KS .....100 WEBSITE: WWW M 65 ....... .....4 .TX .......BIRMI .ARTS NGHAM PERC MUSICSHOP .................. Kansas.......... ...... s USSION CENT .COM Texa 1615 MONT ER DR ...142 ..............KY.. GOMERY HWYSTE 158205-823..UT ......79 ...... ...... 9911 ...... Kentucky ....... BIRMINGHAM Utah ...... FAX: 205-823-9911 88 E-MAIL: RUSS ........VT .......32 .............LA ....... TIX@AOL.CO ...... Louisiana ....... BURNING BUSH PRODUCTIO Vermont ...... M NS 211 LORN SQ 2 SR RE FR PM ....201 ...........MEA......4 205-82...... ...............VA 2-8588 Maine .............. BIRMINGHAM Virginia. FAX: 205-822-2252 122 D.... ELLIS......M 2 PIANO & ...22 A ....... ...W ORGA N tonPM............ Maryland ....... 1550 MONTGOMERY hing DP EK OR 7HWY Was205-97 1 9-4463 .........MA ....23 .............WV .....5 BIRMINGHAM FAX: inia 205-97 Massachusetts.... t Virg 9-2229 Wes E-MAIL: DAVID MI .....265 FRETT @ELLISPIAN WI ....163 ....... INSTR .......ED ......O.COM TS Michigan....... 2906 LINDENUMEN onsin ............ FR PM Wisc AVE 8 ...16 MN 205-87 .....21BIRMI 9-6489 .............. NGHAM ...................WY FAX:ming Minnesota..... 205-879-6434 Wyo GUITAR GALL ERY ......76 .MS 2080....... ....... VALLEYDALE BO SR RE FR .............1,068 RD STE 7 ...... PM ...... Mississippi.... ada Can 205-44 4-9430 ...189 BIRMINGHAM FAX: 205-444-9830 TOTAL 9,727 ...............MO Missouri ....... E-MAIL: GGBH M@BE HIGHL
STATE
Bonus: 1,288 Canadian Dealers!
Dealer Product Categories
LLSOUTH.NE T SR FR 205-254-3288 E-MAIL: LITEE X@RICHNET .COM
BIRMINGHAM
Please reserve my copy of MMR’s 2008 Directory of Musical Instrument Dealers. 35611-4419
35954-2203 36830-5017
Enclosed is my check for $_________($199 per copy) Return to MMR, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 Fax to: 781-453-9389 • Email orders to: mprescott@symphonypublishing.com
36507-4828
35233-1404
Name: _____________________________________________________________________
35216-3606
35242-5032
35216-4975
35216-5439
Company:__________________________________________________________________ Street: _____________________________________________________________________
35216-4582
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Supplierscene Pearl River To Promote The Benefits Of Piano Playing
Morley Endorses Barcus-Berry Violins Barcus-Berry announces a new endorser, Tom Morley, a violinist and fiddler. Morley declared, “I’ve been playing BarcusBerry violins since the late ’70s. I can honestly say that from beer halls to symphony halls, I’ve trusted Barcus-Berry violins. They’ve been an important part of my 30-plus years (so far) as a professional violinist!” Morley has performed with such artists as Emmylou Harris, Rod Stewart, Harry Connick Jr., and Luciano Pavarotti.
Pearl River Piano Group announces they are promoting the benefits of piano playing directly to consumers. The company is releasing a brochure entitled “Discover the Difference a Piano Can Play in your Life” which can be read and or downloaded from their Web site, and will be available through authorized Pearl River retailers. “It’s time that piano manufacturers take the lead in acquainting the public with the benefits of playing the piano,” says Jennette Xu, President and CEO of Pearl River Piano Group America. “The facts alone make a very compelling case.” The brochure cites studies that indicate a direct correlation between studying piano and higher test scores in math and science, enhanced creativity, and stress relief. Hand-eye coordination, concentration, reading ability, memory, problem-solving and greater self-confidence all seem to be enhanced through playing the piano. The brochure works hand in hand with a similar piece produced by NAMM in support of their “Wanna Play?” program. While the NAMM brochure addresses all instruments, the Pearl River piece focuses on the piano. www.pearlriverusa.com
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DANSR Sponsors Saxophone Workshop Vandoren artist Otis Murphy, one of the preeminent performers and teachers of classical saxophone in the United States today, held a standing-room-only saxophone workshop at Fresno City College in Fresno, California. Murphy presented a master class for all levels of abilities and age groups and covered a range of topics for a diverse group of attendees. He discussed everything from the history of the saxophone to such topics as embouchure, air pressure, hand and instrument position, and articulation. He had intermediate level students age 12 to 70, as well as college saxophone majors. This clinic was sponsored in part by DANSR, Inc, the sole US importer of Vandoren products. www.vandoren.com JUNE 2008
Sonny Emory’s Drum Camp Goes High Tech Atlanta native and Grammy Award-winning drummer Sonny Emory will kick off the third year of his drumming camp in early June, offering an opportunity for all ages (11 and up) and skill levels to study with the pros and learn new tips and techniques. The camp brings together local faculty and guest instructors from a variety of musical styles, including Latin, jazz, classical, rock, pop, and soul. Students will learn teamwork, discipline and self-esteem, along with the art and craft of drumming techniques. In addition to playing with Earth, Wind & Fire, Emory, a Yamaha Drum Artist, has recorded and/or performed with Eric Clapton, Stanley Clarke, David Sanborn, Bette Midler, Al Jarreau, Paula Abdul, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Boz Scaggs. For the first time, Sonny is collaborating this year with Georgia Tech’s Music Technology Group, allowing students to not only learn percussion skills, but to also gets hands on experience with the latest in music technology. Campers are invited to take classes and clinics with some of the world’s greatest drummers, including Emory, Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz), Taku Hirano (Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks), Gene Lake (David Sanborn/Me’Shell Ndege Ocello), Oscar Seaton, Jr. (Lionel Richie), Marcus William (Tyler Perry), and Teddy Campbell (American Idol Band/Al Jarreau/Rod Stewart). www.yamaha.com
Oscar Schmidt Ukulele Idolized American Idol contestant Jason Castro has performed guitar and drums on the hit show, but in April, he brought out a ukulele to play “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” That ukulele was an Oscar Schmidt OU5, which features a Hawaiian Koa top, back and sides, Abalone top inlay, a Rosewood fingerboard and bridge and Grover tuners. It has a MSRP of $209.90. JUNE 2008
Pro-Mark Has a Winner in Messe Prize Marcin Widera, from Bielsko, Poland, was the winter of a Pro-Mark 50th Anniversary Snare Drum given away at the recent Musik Messe in Frankfurt Germany. The 5-1/2” x 14” drum is only one of 50, built by Pete Stanbridge. It was constructed out of Japanese Shira Kashi White Oak, Maple, and American Hickory. www.promark.com
Music Books Plus Launches Web Site Music Books Plus, Web site distributor of over 8,000 books, Instructional DVDs, CDROMs, Software and Musical gifts anounces the launch of its new Web site at www.musicbooksplus.com. The specialty areas featured include: Music Business, Directories, Publicity, Composition & Publishing, Recording, Audio & Video Production, Internet, Electronic Music, Instrument Instruction, Broadcast, Electronics, Lighting, Chart Toppers, Biographies, Fake & Song books. Music Books Plus, www.musicbooksplus.com features: Secure Online Ordering, Worldwide Shipping, 30 Day Guarantee, Great Selection, Free Newsletter, and more. Music Books Plus is operated by Norris-Whitney Communications, Inc., publishers of Canadian Musician, Canadian Music Trade, Professional Sound, Professsional Lighting & Production and the Music Directory Canada. www.musicbooksplus.com
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Supplierscene Brazen Offers Signature Guitars Brazen Guitars announces the Caleb Quaye Signature Model Guitar. Quaye was called by Eric Clapton as the world’s greatest guitarist, and has played with the Yardbirds, the Troggs, Elton John, and Mick Jagger, among others. His signature guitar features a mahogany body, Patagonian rosewood neck, and is capped with a 4A flame top. It also comes with two Duncan Cool-Rails in the bridge and middle slots, plus a jazz pickup. www.brazenguitars.com
‘Frankenstrat’ Builder Debuts New Guitar Pictured here is Paul “Unk” Unkert holding Eddie Van Halen’s Kramer “Hot For Teacher” guitar that Unkert made in 1982. The luthier worked at Kramer Guitars from 1979-1982 and built 10 to 13 of Van Halen’s famous “Frankenstrats.” These days, Unk Guitars, based out of Toms River, N.J., provides a “100 percent Made In The USA” patented guitar with a unique forked headstock and a beautiful design element that maintains the finest sound quality, says Unkert. “I finally have the opportunity to design and build a guitar which I think will be the next great American guitar,” he comments. “Using a combination of computer-aided design machinery, and hand craftsmanship, we will be using the highest quality materials plus my thirty-seven years of guitar building experience to offer the perfect missing link to anyone’s guitar collection, using perfect form and function at an affordable price“ www.unkguitars.com
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JUNE 2008
EV Auctioning Celebrity Guitars for Charity Electro-Voice is boosting the fundraising success of its “Musicians for Minneapolis: 57 Songs for the I-35W Bridge Disaster Relief Effort” CD release with a celebrity guitar auction on eBay, running until May 9th. Guitars from legendary artists including Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, and Dick Dale are available. This auction is being held to raise money for the families of those who were either wounded or lost their lives when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minn., collapsed on August 1st, 2007. All proceeds from the sale of these instruments will be donated to Minnesota Helps: Bridge Disaster Fund. Electro-Voice, a Minnesota-based pro audio manufacturer, has been involved helping those affected by the
Shelby Lynn on Tour with Heil Shelby Lynn, shown here in concert at Nashville’s Polk Theater last month, is on tour using the new Heil PR 22 microphone. The microphone was actually developed by Bob Heil after working with Lynn in preparation of this tour and her latest album, Just a Little Lovin’. The microphone made its debut when Lynn was featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
tradegy since the morning after it happened when they began receiving e-mails and phone calls from various partners and friends in the music industry. They wanted to know how they could help. A benefit album, a celebrity memorabilia auction, and a benefit concert were planned, whereby all proceeds would be donated to Minnesota Helps: Bridge Disaster Fund. Autographed guitars began showing up at EV’s door from the likes of Megadeth, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Dick Dale, and others. Likewise, some of the most recognized names in the music industry began sending songs for use on the benefit album. Two months and EV had amassed enough material to fi ll 3 CDs—a total of 57 songs – nearly four hours of music.
Auction items include: two Autographed Les Paul guitars from Ozzy Osbourne/Black Label Society guitar phenom Zakk Wylde; a Dean bass signed by all members of Megadeth; a custom Minarik Dick Dale f lame guitar, autographed by Dale himself; an Ibanez RE350DX guitar signed by guitar virtuoso Steve Vai; a Schecter guitar signed by the members of Ministry; a Les Paul guitar autographed by the members of Twisted Sister; a Washburn guitar signed by Nick Catanese of Black Label Society/SPEED X; and several EV microphones. For more information go to: www. electrovoice.com/musiciansforminneapolis
Smotherman Endorses Kahler Kahler International announces that Tony Smotherman has joined its family of endorsers. The guitarist has been featured in Guitar Player Magazine three times in the last year, and has played with Adrian Legg, Joe Satriani, and Buddy Miles, among many others. Smotherman is using the Kahler flat mount bridge. www.kahlerusa.com
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Supplierscene Gretsch Partners with VH1 for Contest In an effort to create more music makers, Gretsch and VH1 are giving amateur musicians the chance to be in the spotlight: The Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition. To help the company celebrate its 125th anniversary, Gretsch has created “The Next Gretsch Greats Unsigned Artist Competition,” giving bands a new place to showcase their talent. For more information, musicians can log on to www.gretsch125th.com/contest/. VH1 and the classic rock band Yes have partnered to organize the “Your Move with Yes” contest, encouraging music makers to perform original music. The winning performer or band will join the band on stage during its fortieth anniversary tour this summer. For more contest details, log on to www.vh1.com/events/a2n/contests/yes/.
Cecilio Reaches Out to L.A. MusiciansTo-Be Cecilio Musical Instruments announces its partnership with Los Angeles–based Castelar Elementary School to help make music education a reality to this underserved community. Castelar is part of the Experience Through Music (EMP) program that promotes the use of music in the curricula of schools with at-risk populations as a means of enhancing students’ academic performance and general development. Castelar is situated in one of the poorest communities in Los Angeles, and 94 percent of its students are on the free/reduced lunch program. The program provides weekly instruction on violin and cello to second and third graders.
Big Band Distribution On Display 2008 Ahead Drumsticks is offering a compact point of purchase display rack. This multi functional rack can be displayed on Slat wall, pegboard, or counter top. It comes with high profi le color graphics and a complete best seller assortment of stick model labels for the store’s personnel preferences. In addition the new display can accommodate side hooks for all Ahead accessories i.e. grip tape, covers, gloves, and tips. www.aheaddrumsticks.com
Ashleigh Flynn Endorses Sierra Guitars Sierra Guitars announces Ashleigh Flynn, guitarist and singer-songwriter, as the newest endorser of Sierra Guitars. Flynn is a guitarist and singer-songwriter with four albums, and regularly plays many different venues and festivals all over the country. Ashleigh plays the Sierra Sunrise Auditorium guitar in wine red. www.sierraguitars.net. 100 MMR
JUNE 2008
Musicorp Sponsors Bishop Gadsden Drum Circle Musicorp was a sponsor of the Bishop Gadsden Drum Circle held to benefit the residents of the Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community in Charleston, South Carolina. Other sponsors included Charleston Southern University (CSU), Inner Rhythms, and Odyssey HealthCare of Charleston. The event was held on Sunday, April 19, 2008, from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. The first drum circle began with the Bishop Gadsden Memory Care Unit and later a second drum circle began with Healthcare/Assisted Living Unit. Chip Burr, owner of Inner Rhythms in Charleston, SC, was the drum facilitator for each
drum circle while CSU music therapy student volunteers and Musicorp employee volunteers assisted in helping with drum rhythms and patient interaction. Musicorp supplied the Remo drums and was thrilled to be able to contribute to the betterment of Charleston’s senior community. Musicorp volunteers included director of marketing Catherine Polk, sales representative Gene Taylor, and graphic designer Jennifer Harvey. Chip Burr uses Remo Drum’s HealthRHYTHMS Program, an evidence-based drumming program developed by Remo, to help reach and heal autistic children
and their parents, elderly, brain surgery patients, and Alzheimer’s patients.
B.C. Rich and dreamGEAR Form Alliance dreamGEAR, a video game accessories company, and B.C. Rich announced a licensing agreement to provide PS3-compatible guitar controllers using B.C. Rich’s guitar names and designs. In this first-ever partnership between a third-party guitar controller manufacturer and a major guitar company, new product designs will be launched. The two companies will produce the first guitar controller designed to play Guitar Hero and Rock Band on the PS3, which is also backwards compatible with the PS2. As the market for music simulation accessories evolves with an ongoing focus on realism, B.C. Rich’s designs will allow dreamGEAR to produce guitar controllers with stunning displays and realistic feel performance. The new guitar controllers are designed to give gamers the sense of being on stage. B.C. Rich will lend its trademarked body shapes and model names to develop guitar controllers with dreamGEAR closely based on some of B.C. Rich’s most popular models.
JUNE 2008
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Supplierscene School Of Rock Auction Yamaha Announces “The Hub,” Winner Visits Sabian an Online Portal Drummer Goes Home With Choice of Cymbals
Drummer Michael Pitale recently flew from his home in Atlantic City, N.J., to the Sabian vault in eastern Canada for a day of touring the cymbal making process, selecting a set of cymbals, and getting some insight into Sabain. Pitale won the visit by making the winning e-Bay bid to the School of Rock benefit for the California Wildfire victims’ relief held in Los Angeles and San Diego. “Congratulations to Michael – we appreciate his support of the School of Rock’s Wildfire Victims Event, and for visiting with us,” said Bobby Boos, Sabian’s East Coast artist relations manager. www.sabian.com
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Yamaha Corp. has launched “The Hub,” a centralized, comprehensive information portal at Yamaha.com that offers consumers and dealers a quick and easy way to access multimedia presentations about products from the company’s three musical instrument divisions: piano, band & orchestral, and pro audio & combo. Aggregating downloadable streaming video and audio, along with brochures and reference documents in PDF format, The Hub (www.yamahahub.com) enables dealers and consumers to easily access product information in a variety of convenient formats. Downloadable video and audio programs include product overviews, performances, educational clinics, and backstage interviews with prominent Yamaha artists, along with free podcast subscriptions that deliver
streamed content updates to iTunes. The podcasts can then be transferred to a range of devices, including an iPod, AppleTV, iPhone, or other mp3 and video players. The site will also include a section dedicated to Yamaha Electronics Corp., which distributes quality home audio and video products. The Hub employs a program that uses an advanced, anonymous personalization design and coding system to “learn” how visitors interact with the site and subsequently determine what content might interest them, thus enhancing the online user experience. In addition, Yamaha’s entire podcastbased YCSP dealer training program has been expanded and extended to the pro audio & combo division. The new program, pro audio & combo education, or PAC-E, will provide free online video training modules and certification for the PAC retail network.
JUNE 2008
Tregan Guitars Signs Ronny North Tregan Guitars announced that it will introduce a Ronny North Signature Guitar at the Summer NAMM in Nashville. The instrument is signed by Tony Guarriello, President of T.G., Inc., and Ronny North in collaboration with L.A. guitar builder Greg Back. North, a longtime Southern California guitar hero who plays his own signature brand of instrumental guitar rock, chose Tregan Guitars to create his signature guitar. With its lightweight body, super fast neck, and great looks, the guitar includes such features as an original Floyd Rose tremolo, Buzz Feiten tuning system, and custom Ronny North Monster Tone pickups hand wound in the U.S. by Performance Labs. The guitar will also feature a mahogany body with a maple cap and flame maple top, a bolt-on maple neck with a bird’s-eye maple fretboard, and custom inlays. The hand-wound Monster Tone pickups have been custom designed for Ronny North’s signature guitar and
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D’Addario Launches Eight New Web sites D’Addario & Co. announces the launch of eight new websites for all of D’Addario’s brands, including D’Addario Fretted, D’Addario Bowed, Planet Waves CI and CE, Evans Drumheads, HQ Percussion, Rico Reeds, and PureSound Percussion. All sites feature expanded usability and content—including product news and information, videos, promotions, articles, community, and more artist features. The sites will also incorporate built-in purchasing options fulfi lled by local retailers, plus international catalogs and consumer buying options. “With this major revamp of D’Addario’s online presence, not only do the sites have a fresh new look and feel, but we’ve also expanded our content to offer more promotions, news, product information, and artist features than ever before,” said Danielle Record-Buglino, D’Addario Online JUNE 2008
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Supplierscene marketing manager. “By listening to what is important to our valued customers, we knew we could make our sites even more user-friendly, with improved product images and info, better search tools, and an overall better experience for our visitors.” The sites are: D’Addario Fretted: • www.daddario.com D’Addario Bowed: • www.daddariobowed.com Planet Waves CI: • www.planetwaves.com/ci Planet Waves CE: • www.planetwaves.com/ce Evans Drumheads: • www.evansdrumheads.com • HQ Percussion: www.hqpercussion.com • Rico Reeds: www.ricoreeds.com • PureSound Percussion: www.puresoundpercussion.com
American Recorder Technologies Appoints Musical Distributors Group California electronics manufacturer American Recorder Technologies, Inc., has entered into a distribution agreement with Musical Distributors Group (MDG), located in Boonton, New Jersey. Under the agreement, MDG will sell and distribute American Recorder’s unique line of pro audio and MI products. American Recorder Technologies president Alan Adelstein stated,
“We are extremely excited to be working with a high quality distributor like Musical Distributors Group. We look forward to working with Steve Savvides and his entire staff at MDG”. Steve Savvides of MDG added, “We are very enthusiastic to add American Recorder Technologies products to our mix. Their products complement our current line offerings, making MDG a complete one stop source.”
Sierra Guitars Sponsors the High Sierra Music Festival Sierra Guitars is to be a sponsor of the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA, July 3-6, 2008. The High Sierra Music Festival is a unique four-day music and camping festival that features an eclectic group of music from acoustic singersongwriters and down-home bluegrass to high-energy funk and skillfully improvised jazz, rock, and live electronica.
Sierra Guitars will be making a cash donation to the High Sierra Music Foundation and donating two Sierra guitars, an acoustic sequoia dreadnought in vintage sunburst and an acoustic-electric sunrise auditorium in natural, for raffle during the event with proceeds to benefit the High Sierra Foundation. The High Sierra Foundation was established in 2003 to raise awareness and
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funds for worthwhile organizations related to music, art, education, and social justice. A portion of each High Sierra Music Festival ticket purchase directly benefits the High Sierra Foundation. In 2005 the High Sierra Foundation established a special fund to give direct aid to those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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JUNE 2008
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STORE MANAGER WANTED New England area full line music store needs experienced store manager Excellent compensation and benets. Send resume to linda@greenwichmusic.com
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Miscellaneous
Repair Tools
BAND INSTRUMENT REPAIR VIDEO Save $$$ on repair expense. Earn extra income. Journeyman repairman offers “How To” videos on the repair of brass and woodwind instruments. For information write to: B.I.R.V. Co. 880 Slater Rd. Bellingham, WA. 98226 (360) 384-6707
BAND INSTRUMENT REPAIR Complete woodwind/brasswind repair, from rental return service to complete overhauls. Dealers welcome. All work guaranteed. Member of NAPBIRT. Quality Repair Service PH #574-268-5360 email: mwebb451@embarqmail.com
For 60 years we have provided musical instrument repair tools to technicians and musicians around the world. We have a wide selection of pads and other supplies in addition to our repair tools. Contact us today for a FREE CATALOG.
BOW REHAIRING For Classified Sales Call Maureen 800-964-5150 ext. 34 mjohan@symphonypublishing.com
Product Distribution
Expert Bow Service
Order forms,Pricing and Shipping label at:
www.bowrehairing.com Violin bows as low as $10.00 per bow in quantity incl. shipping (see website for details.) Large inventory of replacement parts both new and vintage. IRA B. KRAEMER & Co. Wholesale Services Division
“An industry leader since 1967” 467 Grant Avenue, Scotch Plains, N.J. 07076 Tel: 908-322-4469 Fax: 908 322-8613 e mail: info@bowrehairing.com
FDW-Worldwide, the exclusive distributor of Violet Design and Nevaton microphones in the Americas and the exclusive international distributor of Cable Up pro-line cables and accessories is seeking to establish new strategic partnerships with manufacturers exploring the outsourcing of their sales and marketing operations. We operate out of a 75,000 square foot facility in Wisconsin and provide a wide range of services including sales, marketing, customer service, credit, service, warehousing, and shipping. We have sales representatives positioned throughout the USA and Canada and can react immediately to expand your current distribution. Contact Garry Templin, Brand Manager, at 615-308-7808 or visit www.fdw-w.com for more information.
JUNE 2008
CLASSIFIEDS on the MOVE! check
www.mmrmagazine.com for daily updates!
For Classified Sales Call Maureen 800-964-5150 ext. 34 • mjohan@symphonypublishing.com MMR 109
Visit the Classifieds on the Web: www.MMRmagazine.com
Sales Reps Wanted
CLASSIFIEDS on the MOVE! Boulder Creek Guitars seeks Independent Sales Representatives Morgan Hill Music is seeking independent sales Representatives for their exciting new line of Boulder Creek guitars. Along with the Boulder Creek guitar line, representatives would also have access to the Wedgie pick and accessory line, the new Wedgie Powerband drumsticks, Natural One Acoustic Preamps and Pickup systems, and the Pitch Pocket tuner line. We are interested in Sales Representatives that have current active territories. Available territories include most of the western United States and the Northeastern States. Please contact Morgan Hill Music @ 408-779-3845 for inquiries. You may view our product Lines @ www.morganhillmusic.com, www.bouldercreekguitars.com, and www.wedgie.com.
check
www.mmrmagazine.com for daily updates!
INDEPENDENT SALES REPS Sales Reps Wanted Band & Orchestra Instruments Most territories open A Great Job! AMERICA LONGXING
(718) 706-0828 Ask for Paul
Seeking Employment Pianos/Digitals/Organs I Don’t Sell, You Don’t Pay Closer for hire! 20 years experience Outside promo specialist timfeager@msn.com • 561-379-4718
Services
Sales Representatives Wanted!! Michigan-based Brass, Woodwind and accessories line. Join a great new organization with an “artist-endorsed” product. Competitive Commissions with incentive. Contact: toya@dymusicusa.com 734-384-1705
For Classified Sales Call Maureen
800-964-5150 ext. 34 mjohan@symphonypublishing.com 110 MMR
Services
SHIPPING YOUR PIANO
with Lone Wolf Trucking
is a “grand” idea!
LOCAL & NATIONWIDE PIANO MOVING • CRATING • STORAGE •
(800) 222-2888
(310) 830-3362 (FAX) • http://www.pianomove.com
Used Instruments Used 4 Less Music
over 2,000 used parts and 400 used instruments. 50 – 70% less than new. Repaired with one year guarantee or not repaired. Brand names Clarinets and utes from $50 Alto saxes from $250 Everything from piccolos to Sousaphone Clarinet & Flute repad $69 Call Jimmy Hayes 800 559-4472
www.mmrmagazine.com
Vintage Instruments
An independent, long-distance Mover specializing in coast-to-coast residential Relocation.
1-800-982-9505 Alamogordo, New Mexico. 88310
ICC MC-256289 JUNE 2008
Visit the Classifieds on the Web: www.MMRmagazine.com
Vintage Instruments
Wanted To Buy ’re g e W in
y os u B ian P Breaking News Find it in the Hot News section of MMR’s Web site, www.MMRmagazine.com
We are buying grands — and smaller verticals Honest - Professional - We Sell Nationwide JAY-MART PIANO WHOLESALERS P.O. Box 21148 • Cleveland, OH • 44121
800-411-2363
Fax: 216-382-3249 Email: jaymartpianos@sbcglobal.net “The Piano Store For Piano Stores”
www.mmrmagazine.com
Wanted USED TUBAS ANY CONDITION-CASH PAID THE TUBA EXCHANGE 1825 CHAPEL HILL RD. DURHAM, NC 27707 1-800-869-8822 WWW.TUBAEXCHANGE.COM
WE, BUY, SELL, TRADE and ship worldwide. Written APPRAISALS available. GRUHN GUITARS, 400 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 256-2033
fax (615) 255-2021
www.gruhn.com
Vintage Showcase WE, BUY, SELL, TRADE
What’s it worth? We buy, sell, trade, consign and appraise fine guitars, banjos and mandolins.
629 Forest Ave., S.I., N.Y. 10310 Phone (718) 981-8585 mandolin@mandoweb.com www.mandoweb.com
and ship worldwide. Written APPRAISALS available.
GRUHN GUITARS 400 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 256-2033 fax (615) 255-2021
www.gruhn.com
Call Maureen Johan 800-964-5150, ext 34 or mjohan@symphonypublishing.com
for Special Offer Details! MAY 2008
MMR 111
Adindex COMPANY NAME
A
Access Bags and Cases Alfred Publishing Co. Allparts Amati’s Fine Instruments America Longxing Inc. American DJ Supply Inc. American Way Marketing LLC Anderson Silver Plating Anthem Music Group Antigua Winds, Inc. Benedetto Guitars
B/C
Bourgeois Guitars Breezy Ridge Instruments Ltd. Cecilio Music Composite Acoustics
E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS www.accessbagsandcases.com www.alfred.com www.Amatis.uscom www.huntermusical.com www.americandj.com info@americanwaymktg.com www.ANTHEMmusic.com www.antiguawinds.com www.BenedettoGuitars.com www.pantheonguitars.com www.jpstrings.com www.ceciliomusic.com www.compositeacoustics.com
D
D’Addario & Co. www.daddario.com Diplomatte Musical Instruments Discount Strings Warehouse email: dswviolins@comcast.net DKL Guitars Dunlop Manufacturing Inc. www.jimdunlop.com
E
Eastwood Guitars Eleca International Epifani Custom Sound Systems Epilog Laser Essential Sound Products
F
Fishman Transducers, Inc. Fishman Transducers, Inc. Fishman Transducers, Inc. Fishman Transducers, Inc.
www.eastwoodguitars.com www.eleca.com www.epifani.com www.epiloglaser.com www.essentialsound.com www.fishman.com www.fishman.com www.fishman.com www.fishman.com
G/H/J
Golden Sound/Kenny G Saxaphoneswww.goldensounddist.com Goodsell Electric Instrument Co., LLC www.goodsellamps.com Grover www.grotro.com H & F Technologies Inc. www.audio2000s.com Hall Crystal Flutes Inc. www.hallflutes.com Hal Leonard www.halleonard.com Jean Larrivee Guitars Ltd. www.larivee.com JHS www.jhs.co.uk Jupiter Band Instruments www.jupitermusic.com Jupiter Band Instruments www.jupitermusic.com Jupiter Band Instruments www.jupitermusic.com Jupiter Band Instruments www.jupitermusic.com
K
Kaman Music Corp. Ken Smith Basses Ltd. Kurzweil Music Systems Kyser Musical Products Inc.
112 MMR
www.kamanmusic.com www.kensmithbasses.com www.youngchang.com www.kysermusical.com
PAGE 36 13 103 95 66 5 85 102 37 42 100
COMPANY NAME
L/M
L & L Sales Co. Inc. Levy’s Leathers Ltd. Metropolitan Music Co. Middle Atlantic Products, Inc. MPathX MPathX MPathX Musician’s Wholesale America Musicorp, Inc. NAMM
71 93 55 79
N
89 74 79 70 28
P/R
38 68 70 88 56 93 101 96 104 103 72 39 76 47 47 72 87 69 67 63 65 32 49 25 81
National Educational Music Co. National Music Funding North American Music NS Design P & D Wholesale P.Mauriat Paris/ALBEST Musical Inst Pearl River Piano Group Perri’s Leathers Ltd. Petrof USA Real de los Reyes Reverend Musical Instruments Roland Corp. U.S.
S
Saga Musical Instruments Samson Technologies Corp. Sennheiser Electronics SHS International Shubb Co. SKB Corp. Sonaré Winds Stellartone Stringnet Co., Ltd Super-Sensitive Musical String Co.
T
TKL Products Corp. Tri-Technical Systems Tycoon Drums
V/W
Vandoren Vandoren Walking Bird Repair Forms Web Only Piano.com Wyman Piano
Y
Yamaha Corp. of America Yorkville Sound Inc.
E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS
PAGE
www.georgels.com 58 www.levysleathers.com 21 sales@metmusic.com 73 www.middleatlantic.com 80 mpathx.com 97 mpathx.com 99 mpathx.com 101 www.musicianswholesaleamerica.com cov 3 www.musicorp.com 62 www.namm.com 44-45 www.nemc.com www.nationalmusic.com www.NAmusic.com www.NedSteinberger.com
77 74
www.PDWholesale.net
93
www.monteverdemusic.com www.PearlRiverUSA.com www.perris.ca www.petrof.com www.realdelosreyes.com www.reverendguitars.com www.rolandUS.com
35
82 47 59 86 39 28 cov 4
www.sagamusic.com www.samsontech.com www.sennheiserusa.com www.shsint.net www.shubb.com www.skbcases.com www.sonarewinds.com www.stellartone.com www.eleuke.com
75 3 91 51 93 33 41 68 98
www.cavanaughcompany.com
64
www.tkl.com www.aimsi.biz www.tycoonpercussion.com
1 83 49
www.dansr.com www.dansr.com www.walkingbirdmusic.com www.webonlypiano.com www.wymanpiano.com
33 29 98 17 66
www.yamaha.com www.yorkville.com
15 cov 2
JUNE 2008