COMPLETE LIST OF MUSIC & SOUND AWARD WINNERS: SEE PAGE 34 THE NEWS MAGAZINE FOR MUSIC PRODUC TS RETAILERS
March 2018 Volume 35, No. 3
Meet Two of Many Students Hoping to Be the Future of MI
Generation Next By Brian Berk
For some MI retailers, the next generation is waiting in the wings. Some store owners know that their children can take on the reigns of the business when they retire, with all hopes and expectations that the MI retail business will not skip a beat. But unfortunately, this is the exception, not the rule. Many of today’s MI retailers either have children who wish to pursue other interests, or perhaps have no children at all. What happens to these people when they want to retire? Of course, selling the business to a larger chain is possible for some, but others will wish not to take this route. MI manufacturers can also find it hard to find the next generation to take on roles at their companies, even though pay (continued on page 58)
NAMM 2018: The New Class
A SHOW OF FIRSTS WELCOMES A PROMISING GROUP OF FIRST-TIME EXHIBITORS.
By Anthony Vargas
The 2018 NAMM Show was a show of firsts. The Anaheim Convention Center’s recently completed north hall was opened to convention crowds for the first time ever. Also for the first time ever, AES (the Audio Engineering Society) hosted its own dedicated education and training program for members of the live sound and recording industries. The show also featured an entirely new, more wide-open floor plan and more live music than ever before, complete with new stages for live performances and a redesigned main stage. And, as always, The NAMM Show welcomed a new crop of first-time exhibitors eager to get their products in the hands of the music-making public. These first-timers ran the gamut from established companies looking to enter new markets, to newer manufacturers looking to shore up their client base and establish their brands, to Kickstarter startups that have only been around for a few months. As part of our continuing NAMM Show coverage, the Retailer presents 10 standouts from this new class of exhibitors. (continued on page 24)
My ambition
is to share my passion with other musicians, no matter what they play. You want to give every musician the ability to play at their very best. Our payment solutions, tools and technologies make it easy to offer your customers more purchasing power. They’ll also help you increase store traffic, raise average transaction size and build repeat business. Just right for your future. Find out how we can help you realize your ambitions. Visit synchronybusiness.com/music or call us at 855-433-4522.
Credit extended by Synchrony Bank. Š2018 All Rights Reserved.
What are you working forward to?
L AT E S T
NAMM’s New Board
At the Annual Meeting of Members at The NAMM Show, NAMM welcomed eight new board members to the organization’s board of directors. Each board member will serve a three-year term and provide oversight, input and direction to the organization. “We welcome the new board members with great enthusiasm for their willingness to serve to strengthen the industry,” stated Robin Walenta, chair of the board of directors and president of West Music Co. “And it’s with deep gratitude that we thank those outgoing members who have helped shepherd the organization with their diverse experience and insight in this volunteer leadership position.” NAMM welcomed the following members to the organization’s
board of directors: Christie Carter, Carter’s Vintage Guitars; Jimmy Edwards, Marshall Music Co.; Mark Hebert, Cosmo Music Co.; Louis Hernandez, Avid Technology Inc.; David Kalt, Chicago Music Exchange; Tim Miklaucic, Cordoba Music Group; Mark Terry, KMC Music Group; and Barbara Wight, Taylor Guitars. The meeting also celebrated the service, leadership and the many contributions of the outgoing members of the board, including Joe Castronovo, Korg USA, Inc.; Paul Decker, Music Villa; Greg Deering, Deering Banjo Co. Inc.; Michael Doyle, Guitar Center; Ron Losby, Steinway & Sons; Brian Reardon, Monster Music; Peter Sides, Robert M. Sides Family Music Centers; and Martin Szpiro, Jam Industries Ltd. “We promised a jaw-dropping, multimedia, multi-artist extravaganza that would be the highlight event at NAMM, and dazzle our dealers and other show attendees,” said Chris Gero, the four-time Emmy Award-winning producer of the concert, and the founder and vice president of Yamaha Entertainment Group. “The evening’s extraordinary caliber of artists underscores the high regard and appreciation Yamaha has for its dealers. It was a night none of us will soon forget.”
Yamaha’s All-Star Night
Thousands gathered on Jan. 26 to experience the Yamaha All-Star Concert on the Grand, during The NAMM Show in Anaheim, Calif. Produced by Yamaha Entertainment Group, the concert brought memorable performances by superstars Michael McDonald, Melissa Etheridge, Lindsey Stirling, Sam Moore, Marc Broussard, Butch Walker and Sheléa to the Yamaha Grand Plaza stage. Yamaha Artist and bassist Nathan East served as musical director for the concert, leading a rhythm section that included Greg Phillinganes and Boh Cooper (keyboards), Donald Barrett (drums), Rafael Padilla (percussion); Tariqh Akoni and Andrew Synowiec (guitar); Amy Keys, Kenya Hathaway and Nita Whitaker (background vocals); the 12-piece horn section from Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band; and a 12-person gospel choir. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
3
VOLUME 35 NO.3
Buzz
3 Latest 12 People 16 Products
Columns
34 Music & Sound Award Winners 36 NAMM in Photos 38 The Music & Sound Independent Retailer 40 Five Minutes With
This month, we speak with Rob Troke, president of Veritas Instrument Rental (VIR) in his first magazine interview, so expect a fresh perspective.
42 MI Spy
MI Spy shows off his/her patriotism by visiting our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Who took the victory? Music on the Hill, Middle C Music, The Violin House of Weaver or Guitar Center Rockville?
44 In the Trenches
According to Allen McBroom, 80 percent of the MI stores in America are faced with often unrealistic re-up demands in the first quarter. Here’s his suggestions to help alleviate this problem.
46 Shine a Light
Armando Zuppa, owner of Music Lane Emporium, has always wanted to bring the music that he loves so dearly to the South Florida music scene and help the South Florida acoustic musician with the right tools and knowledge of acoustic instruments.
48 Retailer Rebel
It’s easy to feel like we’re looking at the end of traditional musicianship. But there is hope, because music in all its forms has survived the test of time, notes Gabriel O’Brien.
49 Retailing Better
We need to recognize opportunity when it presents itself, says Robert Christie.
Features ON THE COVER NAMM 2018: The New Class
Plenty of companies exhibited their wares at NAMM for the first time in January. We take a look at 10 of these companies, and some cool things they have to offer for MI retailers.
ON THE COVER Generation Next 36
For some MI retailers, a succession plan is simple. For others, not so much. We interview two students who hope to soon take the industry by storm
50 Not Your Average Column
Customer loyalty is the key to getting ahead in the current retail environment. Tim Spicer explains what he does to make sure his customers feel like VIPs.
52 Veddatorial
Music instruments are not just for kids anymore. Dan Vedda reveals plenty of adults walk through his doors — perhaps learning an instrument for the first time — and it’s a demographic MI retailers can capitalize on.
54 Under the Hood
D’Angelico’s Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic solid-body guitars were well received when launched at The NAMM Show. Here’s a look at what makes the company’s newest models unique.
62 The Final Note
Meet the man behind Fender, Andy Mooney, who tells us the best advice he ever received, the concert he enjoyed the most and much more.
8 4
MARCH 2018
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EDITORIAL
More on NAMM After a NAMM Show, there are so many topics to discuss, it’s hard to narrow down these thoughts into intelligible sentences. But, I’m going to do my best and throw my two cents out there. Let me start by saying The NAMM Show was awesome. The education sessions were excellent with actionable advice, celebrities were all over the place and the night parties were great. I had a lot of fun. Let’s look at some topics discussed at the show more intently. The attendance: No matter how you slice it, 115,085 is a lot of people to attend a trade show. It’s a lot of people for a small city in fact. The exhibitors I spoke to were extremely pleased. In fact, one made this comment: “I was not onboard with the changes NAMM made right up to the show. I didn’t think the additions would work. Boy, I was wrong. The show was great.” The changes he was referring to primarily involved the addition of the two-story ACC North this year. The new hall, primarily home to pro-audio companies, adding 200,000 square feet — or approximately 100 times the size of my house — was a great new addition to the show, although I do admit it was a bit of a walk to get there from the main show floor for appointments every half hour. It left me tired at the end of the day, but I can say that according to the Health app on my iPhone, I logged 27.5 miles of walking from Jan. 24 to Jan. 28, so I got some great exercise in. And I was rarely late for appointments, so I pulled it together. On all of these visits, exhibitors gushed about tremendous foot traffic. I can even say that Sunday at the show, after a good amount of people headed back home, foot traffic still appeared to be solid. Of course, at any trade show, there is a complaint here and there, which I know NAMM takes seriously. One exhibitor told me that although booth traffic was tremen-
dous, there were not enough people with buyer’s badges. Another talked about the delays the security lines caused. The buyer badge concern is something that is hard to address. I can only speak anecdotally. I definitely saw buyer badges out on the show floor, but I did see people wearing “guest” badges, as well. We can’t paint all guests with one brush, however. Were the people wearing these badges students who hope to be the next generation of MI, as we covered in our cover story this month? I’d say I’m all for these guests that can grow the industry. But, if — and I don’t know this to be true — the guests are friends of performing artists who simply want to gawk at instruments, I certainly understand the complaint. As for the security component, of course, it took longer to get into the Anaheim Convention Center than perhaps in prior years. Exhibitors had their own entrance, which was shorter, but others had to wait on longer lines. Although I understand this comment, I know I’m willing to spend the extra time to make sure I have a safe experience. Let’s face it, as we’ve seen during recent events, the alternative is bad for all of us. The only real concern I had was long lunch lines, but with 115,000 people, this was to be expected. Thankfully, there were several food trucks to help out, which The NAMM Show didn’t have when I last attended in 2011. But still, a 40-minute wait was a bit tough, making me think walking to Katella Avenue may be my best bet to eat lunch at future Anaheim shows. But I want to stress that this is a nitpick. NAMM was an incredible experience and remains the best trade show I’ve attended in any industry.
March 2018 Volume 35, No. 3
BRIAN BERK Editor bberk@testa.com ANTHONY VARGAS Associate Editor avargas@testa.com MATT VAN DYKE Assistant Editor mvandyke@testa.com
GEORGE HINES SKIP MAGGIORA Editorial Advisors
ROBERT L. IRAGGI Advertising Director riraggi@testa.com
JANICE PUPELIS Art Director STEVE THORAKOS Production Manager CIRCULATION circulation@testa.com FRED GUMM Digital Art Director
RICKY PIMENTEL Art/Production Assistant rpimentel@testa.com
DONOVAN BANKHEAD ROBERT CHRISTIE JEFF KYLE JR. ELLEN LEVITT
MICHELLE LOEB WILL MASON ALLEN MCBROOM GABRIEL O’BRIEN
ROBIN HAZAN Operations Manager rhazan@testa.com VINCENT P. TESTA President/Publisher TIM SPICER DAN VEDDA LAURA B. WHITMORE Contributors
Editorial and Sales Office: The Music & Sound Retailer, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York 11050-3779. Phone: (516) 767-2500 • Fax: (516) 767-9335 • MSREDITOR@TESTA.COM. Editorial contributions should be addressed to The Editor, The Music & Sound Retailer, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York 11050-3779. Unsolicited manuscripts will be treated with care and must be accompanied by return postage. Sound & Communications • DJ Times • Sound & Communications Blue Book The Music & Sound Retailer • The DJ Expo • IT/AV Report The Retailer’s Vnewsletter • Convention TV @ NAMM • InfoCommTV News VTTV Studios The Music & Sound Retailer (ISSN 0894-1238) (USPS 0941-238) is published 12 times a year for $18 (US), by Retailer Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779. Periodicals postage paid at Port Washington, N.Y. and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Music & Sound Retailer, PO BOX 1767, LOWELL MA 01853-1767
MARCH 2018
Voted “Best Bag/Case of 2017” by the readers of The Music & Sound Retailer
L AT E S T
D’Addario Foundation Announces $247K in Grants The D’Addario Foundation announced $247,000 in monetary grants and D’Addario & Co. product donations were given to 110 grassroots, community-based organizations that are greatly improving outcomes of marginalized and impoverished children through an immersive education in music. These grantees spread out over 34 of the 50 states. Of those 110 organizations, 46 are being awarded D’Addario Foundation grants for the first time, including Ingenuity, an Illinois initiative that is improving the access and quality of in-school music programs in underserved communities in hopes to fully institutionalize the arts in Chicago public schools; INTAKE Organization, which along with a rigorous music instruction curriculum also has a family advocacy team in place that delivers academic and reading tutoring, English language help, and homework assistance; Kids in Concert, an El Sistema-inspired string program in Washington state with a heavy emphasis on student mentoring and volunteering; and The Gift of Music Foundation, an organization serving nearly 200 students that places experienced music educators and volunteer teachers in classrooms where music programs were cut by the city of Atlanta, Ga. The D’Addario Foundation, a 503(c) nonprofit, conducts two grant
cycles per year, which is when organizations may apply for support. Prospective grantees must first clearly illustrate important elements for success, including level of intensity and need, leadership strength, sustainability, and community. After a select number of organizations receive grants, they are asked to report measurable outcomes and progress toward their program’s goals and keep active communication going before they can re-apply for support. “2018 is going to be a big year for the D’Addario Foundation,” said Suzanne D’Addario Brouder, executive director of the Foundation.
Peavey Debuts Loyalty Program Peavey Electronics launched its Peavey Rewards Program, which is designed to improve brand loyalty and establish a direct relationship with both new and returning customers. Accessible through peavey.com, the
user-friendly rewards platform centers on two simple components: earn and redeem. The Peavey Rewards Program offers a unique and flexible point system where customers can earn points for actions like signing up for Peavey’s newsletter, referring friends to create an account and connecting with Peavey’s social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Customers can also earn points when they purchase Peavey products at an authorized Peavey dealer by uploading a photo of their receipt. According to Peavey, creating a Peavey Rewards account takes just seconds, and customers can begin earning points immediately. Upon logging in, customers will be directed to the Rewards Dashboard, which allows them to see their available points and claim rewards that they’ve earned. 8
MARCH 2018
L AT E S T
Roland Hands Out Awards During the 2018 Roland International Press Conference, which took place Jan. 24 on the eve of The NAMM Show, Roland and BOSS presented their third-annual Lifetime Achievement Awards to synthpop and electronic-music pioneer and solo artist Thomas Dolby (Roland), and guitar virtuoso, artist and producer Steve Vai (BOSS). The Roland/BOSS Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize individuals for their invaluable contributions to the music industry, while using Roland and/or BOSS gear throughout their careers. The gala event was attended by artists, musicians and journalists from the music industry.
The evening began with Roland Corp.’s Brian Alli, vice president of global key influencers, presenting guitar icon Steve Vai with the BOSS Lifetime Achievement Award. A three-time Grammy Award winner, Vai has a unique style that has been embraced by fans and peers around the globe. Throughout his career, Vai has sold over 15 million albums and has received many other distinctions, including accolades from the press, music schools and music foundations. Vai’s discography includes numerous album releases, all of which he wrote, produced and engineered himself, and many of which were
released by his independent record label, Favored Nations. “It’s very touching to be given this recognition by BOSS, and I am honored,” said Vai. “They have created many innovative designs over the years for crazy guitar players like me to play with … and dance on! Just about anything they came out with I wanted to feel ... I wanted to use. It’s uncanny how year after year the company releases great tools for guitar players. Thank you to BOSS and Roland for all of the brilliance you put into your products.” Next, Roland Corp.’s Paul McCabe, vice president of global
marketing, presented the Roland Lifetime Achievement Award to Thomas Dolby. During the 1980s, synth innovator Dolby developed fierce technical chops and a new sound that blended his love for technology and his passion for music, a sound that launched his career and helped him rise to international fame during the heyday of MTV. Dolby can also lay claim to being a music technology and software maven, and a published author. He is now a professor at Johns Hopkins University, as well. Dolby took guests on an informative and humorous digital tour of his career using photos, videos and musical tracks, including the backstory on the original, now-famous sound bite from “She Blinded Me with Science,” followed by a live performance of the song. Dolby shared, “As a Roland aficionado for the last four decades, I am honored to accept this award and thrilled to see Roland’s technologies evolving. One of the new things I love is that Roland Cloud finally stuck all of Roland’s classic synths into soft synths, which is great.”
TEC Award Winners Named
Winners in 31 technical and creative achievement categories were announced at the 33rd NAMM TEC Awards, presented annually by the NAMM Foundation at The NAMM Show, which took place Jan. 27 in Anaheim, Calif. The annual event recognizes the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multimedia. Sennheiser picked up two awards for the HD 200 PRO (Headphone/ Earpiece Technology) and the company’s Pro Talk Series (Audio Education Technology). QSC also celebrated two wins for its QSC K.2 Series (Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers) and QSC Q-SYS Core 510i (Signal Processing Hardware). Among many others honored was JBL, who was recognized for its Intonato and AKG for its C636, in the categories of Amplification Hardware/Studio & Sound Reinforcement and Microphones, respectively. Jackson Browne received the evening’s highest honor, the Les Paul Innovation Award, which is presented annually to remarkably distinguished and accomplished individuals from the music industry. Michael Braunstein, president of the Les Paul Foundation, introduced Browne before he hit the stage with the evening’s NAMM TEC Hall of Fame inductees, The Section, for a finale that included his signature “Running on Empty” single. “Thank you for this incredible honor. It means so much to be hon10
ored by you because I’ve relied on the kindness of engineers and their knowledge in the studio and equipment my whole life,” said Browne. “These people know everything I don’t know, but they put their technical expertise at the service of the music, at the service of the song. I am indebted to them and I’m indebted to you all who make the gear.” MARCH 2018
L AT E S T
Letter to the Editor My name is Victor Stuhr and I have been a reader of your publication for the last 18 years. I manage a music retail establishment in the New England area and before that in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. I have always been a huge fan of your MI Spy articles. I will share with my staff these articles as learning tools. What did you read about that you liked? What didn’t you like? Do you see yourself or our staff doing any of these likeable/un-likeable actions? It is always a great conversation starter at staff meetings. I am writing you this today to express my feelings regarding the article in the January 2018 issue. There was a focus on each store, from the spy, to see how much of a discount or deal he could receive on every item he liked. I’m only 50 years young and have been in retail since I was 17; MI retail since 1998. MI retail is the only retail where, the perception is, your products are truly undervalued, and as a consumer, I am going to offer you less than your asking price. If you should choose to not let me grind you down as a loyal customer, you’re not a very good business, salesperson, business owner, etc. Please ask MI Spy to try this at Walmart or Target, or have he/she remind his local grocery store how much milk he’s purchased there, and isn’t it time for a discount? Would love to read about that. In our music instrument retail establishment, we teach our staff to sell customers gear that fits their needs or desires, and fits their budget, and to sell it based on its value, not its price. Here’s a fact: The highest spending, most often repeat, customers in our store rarely or never ask for a discount or deal. Do we ever discount? Of course! When it makes sense. Did we overprice something? Has the current new price dropped closer to our current used price? Is something not fully functioning? All good reasons to adjust a price. Never is it a good practice to lose money just because the customer has asked for a deal. If your product is priced correctly, it will sell, maybe not to the person who wants it for less, but it will sell. As a small business, we have to watch every dollar, and every discount does affect our bottom line. My gripe here is this: I feel the January 2018 MI Spy article encourages this type of behavior from our customers. He/she even gives glowing reviews based on who was willing to deal more. Thank you, Victor Stuhr, Music Go Round Boston
Ibanez Teams with FourChords
Ibanez announced a collaboration with FourChords Guitar Karaoke app. For 30 days of free full-access to FourChords, users can type in the activation code “PLAYIBANEZ.” This code will give them the opportunity to explore the features of FourChords before committing to a subscription. FourChords is a guitar learning app whose technology gets beginners playing faster, according to the company. The app is loaded with more than 1,700 popular hits and classic songs, which can be browsed by artist, song title or the chords students are able to play “FourChords is a fast-track for the fun part of playing,” said Topi Lopponen, CEO of Musopia, the developer of FourChords. “It’s much more fun to practice chord changes with the adjustable backing track and easy visualization of your favorite song compared to rote scales and repetitive exercises.”
Correction In the February issue of the Music & Sound Retailer, in the Product Buzz section on p. 20, we presented the wrong image for Graph Tech’s Ratio Machine Heads and Roland’s KC Series, which were inadvertently swapped. The proper photo for the Graph Tech item is presented here. We regret the error.
PEOPLE
Paul Gets the Call
Great Scott
Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) named Jeff Scott the company’s corporate vice president of finance and administration. He reports directly to YCA President Hitoshi Fukutome and oversees the company’s finance, customer financial services, operations and IT divisions. In his new role, Scott leads YCA financial management strategy, risk management and contributes to YCA strategic goals, and serves as both an officer of the company and a key member of the senior management team. “Jeff has demonstrated exceptional and consistent leadership at several growing companies, where he was instrumental in providing finance and IT vision, along with the strategies to help these organizations get to the next level,” said Fukutome. “I am confident that his experience, knowledge, passion and integrity are a great match for Yamaha, and together we will continue to grow our company.” Immediately prior to joining Yamaha on Jan. 8, Scott served as director of finance and corporate planning for Hyundai Capital America, a position he held for more than four years. Previously, he was director of Ascendant International and held several senior finance and business positions at Northrop Grumman.
Make Note of It
Noteflight, a Hal Leonard company, announced that John Mlynczak has been promoted to managing director. Previously the vice president of sales and marketing, Mlynczak has been overseeing all sales, marketing and business development activities at the company. This new position expands on these duties and allows Mlynczak to lead the entire Noteflight team forward. An experienced musician and music educator with a focus on music technology, composition and arranging, he will continue to represent Noteflight at conferences and trade shows and will offer professional development for educators and sessions for retailers to help them provide a variety of technology solutions from Noteflight/Hal Leonard. Mlynczak has an extensive range of experiences in music education and the music industry. He has taught music, music technology and music business at the elementary, secondary and collegiate levels, is an active performer, and is a highly soughtafter clinician on music technology and music advocacy.
Martin Audio North America named Paul Giansante as product support specialist. In this position, he enables sales by providing technical support services and training to the sales team, distributors, and dealers in the U.S. and Canada. He also assists in the development of new products, as well as identifies and reports sales opportunities. Giansante brings a wealth of experience in the audio industry to his new post, including sales, touring and product management positions at Danley, Meyer, Sennheiser and Turbosound. He also served as an audio engineer for different distributors, including DisneyFest Asia, Britannia Row Productions, Maryland Sound Industries and more.
In Memoriam: Stan Kitchen
Stan Kitchen, who along with his wife were the co-owners and founders of Sound Music Co., has passed away. The music publishing company was established in 1957 in London and has grown over the years to include a special method of engraving that Kitchen developed in the days before the musical typewriter. His own career began on radio as a ventriloquist, which led to years in Vaudeville and the friendship of many interesting characters, including a handful of noted songwriters.
In Memoriam: David Van Koevering
David Van Koevering passed away in January. He was 77 years old. He worked alongside Bob Moog in the early days of marketing the Minimoog synthesizer. The Minimoog was the first mass-produced synthesizer that produced unique tones, ushering in a new era of electronic music. He worked in several positions within the music industry over the years. Van Koevering was also the president of Elsewhen Research, a nonprofit corporation that offers scientific information to explain what the Bible claims.
Introducing the
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PEOPLE
Born Leader
Graph Tech Guitar Labs promoted business development representative Shaun Verreault to business development team leader. He was brought on board to complement the company’s growing demands for GT product and will be taking control of the Nut & Saddle Experts business development team. As the lead singer, guitarist and producer of Platinum-selling blues rock band Wide Mouth Mason, Verreault has opened for The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, ZZ Top and The Guess Who, just to
name a few. “It’s been a dream come true over the past year and a half to get to know and collaborate with the creators of all the great guitars I’ve played and pined for
since I was a little kid, and to conspire with the innovative new builders, distributors and dealers working to bring more music into a world that surely needs it,” said Verreault.
Make a Bad Singer Sound Good and a Good Singer Sound Awesome!!!
Stamp of Approval
KHS America President Tabor Stamper was appointed president emeritus and KHS Global Advisor, supporting KHS’s global development efforts. Stamper joined KHS in 2005 and has served as president of KHS America since 2008. Under his leadership, KHS America has grown dramatically. Stamper now works with the KHS team in support of the company’s expanding global influence in musical instrument manufacturing and music education for all. In addition to his work in music education, Stamper will work with the KHS researchand-development team in the development and refinement of instruments.
MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
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Check out a two-minute homemade product demo from the upcoming artist Derek Day on the VocoPro YouTube channel.
13
ADVERTORIAL • MARCH 2018 • NAMM.ORG
Note From Mary
Be a Part of The NAMM Foundation “We envision a world in which the joy of making music is a precious element of daily living for everyone; where every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught; and in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of that right.” The NAMM Foundation supports programs that advance opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to make music. NAMM members have many opportunities to PARTICIPATE, promote, celebrate and support music education in their own communities. NAMM Foundation projects and programs inspire and grow music making opportunities, and the market, as part of our unique Circle of Benefits business model, which channels trade show, membership revenues and donations into targeted efforts that bring us closer to our vision. Programs such as the Best Communities for Music Education and Make Music Day strive to ensure music education is essential for all children, and promote its vital role in the health and wellness for people at every age.
NAMM’s annual Fly-in and Coalition on Coalitions are other ways that members can PARTICIPATE and ADVOCATE as well as develop skills as advocacy leaders and champions. And, to celebrate all these efforts that unite us as music education champions, you can DONATE to expand and strengthen the work of The NAMM Foundation. Donations can also honor your legacy or the memory of others that have inspired and helped you achieve your goals and success in the music industry. Working together, we can amplify our efforts to ensure every person has the opportunity to learn and grow with music. The future of music begins with you, and through our collective effort, we will continue to work toward the vision of the world we believe in – a world of music makers.
Mary Luehrsen EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NAMM FOUNDATION
Thank you!
Your support of NAMM helps power yearlong efforts to make more music makers.
Get Involved!
Benefit from information to grow your music education expertise. Access our monthly e-newsletter for resources, updates, events and activities.
Participate
Celebrating school districts and schools with an exemplary commitment to music education.
Create your own event during this global celebration uniting people of all backgrounds, ages and skill levels together to make and enjoy music.
Advocate
May 21-24, 2018 NAMM members and other music industry leaders will storm Washington, D.C. to meet with Members of Congress to champion music education for all children.
The Coalition on Coalitions provides tactics, resources and best practices to support NAMM members working on state-level music and arts education advocacy efforts.
Donate Bill Collings 1948 - 2017
Your contributions will expand the work of The NAMM Foundation, helping us support more music education grant recipients in 2018.
Donations can be made to honor your legacy or the memory of others, including the new Bill Collings Memorial Fund.
Learn more at nammfoundation.org
PRODUCTS
Light the Lamp
Seventh Heaven
Roland introduced the R-07 High-Resolution Audio Recorder, a handheld recording device for musicians, journalists, students and anyone who needs to capture sound on the go. The R-07 features multiple high-quality recording modes, plus dual recording and hybrid limiting functions that ensure perfect audio capture every time, stated the company. It also includes Bluetooth for remote operation and features Bluetooth-capable audio streaming. The R-07 supports mono and stereo WAV recording at rates up to 24 bit/96 kilohertz and MP3 recording at rates up to 320 kilobytes per second. It is powered via two AA batteries or USB bus power, and comes in a choice of black, white or red. Street Price: $229.99 Ship Date: April Contact: Roland, rolandus.com
Power Play
Celestion debuted the Neo 250 Copperback, a new type of Celestion guitar speaker intended to help musicians and amplifier builders optimize the native tone of their systems while also achieving maximum response to players’ touch and dynamics. The Neo 250 Copperback is designed to be more tonally transparent, allowing more of the best sonic characteristics of the amplifier and instrument to come through. Weighing less than 5.5 pounds (thanks to a neodymium magnet), the Neo 250 Copperback also boasts a power rating of 250 watts with a sensitivity of 100 decibels. MSRP: $375, $249 MAP Ship Date: Summer Contact: Celestion, celestion.com 16
Keys to Success
Yamaha debuted the YCL-CSVR-ASP and YCLCSVRA-ASP clarinets. Success of the company’s Custom CSVR clarinets, introduced in 2015, have led to a revitalization of the line of Yamaha clarinets with the SEVR, CSGIII and now the Atelier Special model CSVR-ASP clarinets. Players needing nuance at the most exacting levels will benefit from the consistency, quality and performance of the Atelier Special model clarinets, stated the company. For example, redesigned keys have a thicker silver plating that allows for more comfortable and ergonomic hand placement, and a new barrel design promotes a well-balanced response with rich tonal colors. MSRP: Starting at $8,008 Ship Date: April Contact: Yamaha Corp. of America, usa.yamaha.com
Manhasset Stands introduced its newest model LED lamp for use on music stands. The #1090 Trente LED Lamp is designed with an even greater power range than its #1060 LED Lamp II model and is the most powerful LED lamp that Manhasset has ever offered. The product features a durable ABS case construction with a pivoting lamp head to allow for easy adjustment of the light bar. It features 30 LED bulbs, which are built into the lamp’s housing, glare-free lighting, and excellent coverage of the full width of the music stand surface. The audience is shielded from the illumination by the design of the lamp. Retail Price: $57.99 Ship Date: May Contact: Manhasset Specialty Co., manhasset-specialty.com
‘Who’s Bad?’
Bad Boy Guitars introduced its newest series, the Sedona Hollow Body Acoustic/Electric guitar, for which it is seeking MI retailers. The company offers the guitars in six-string, 12-string and bass models. According to the company, the guitars are the brainchild of owner/Arizona luthier Perry Fretz, who dedicated a substantial amount of time, paying attention to every detail to ensure that each custom, handcrafted Bad Boy Guitar stands out from the competition. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Now Contact: Bad Boy Guitars, badboyguitars.com MARCH 2018
L AT E S T
Hold the Phone
Kyser Musical Products Inc. launched a patented Kyser Phone Holder. Suitable for both left-handed and right-handed players, it securely attaches to Kyser Quick-Change Capos, allowing the user to have full access to their smartphone while the capo is either on the headstock
or on the fretboard. It holds all iPhone and iPhone Plus models, as well as all Galaxy and Galaxy Plus models. It expands up to 3.18 inches/80.77 millimeters wide and comes road-ready with a sturdy carrying case. Street Price: $19.95 Ship Date: Now Contact: Kyser Musical, kysermusical.com
INTRODUCING
Ahead of the CURV
LD Systems, an Adam Hall Group brand, launched the CURV 500 TS Touring Array System. The portable array is designed for powerful sound systems with increased specifications in terms of pressure, dynamics and coverage. It is the latest addition to the CURV 500 series by LD Systems, extending the range of use offered by this array system to include applications that require a particularly high sound pressure and broad, wide-ranging dispersion. Equipped with four interlocked array satellites in unibody design, including two new duplex satellites fitted with two speakers each (two four-inch mid-range speakers and six one-inch tweeters), the CURV 500 TS has a narrower vertical dispersion of 30 degrees to ensure the sound has sufficient pressure and dynamics to reach rear sections of the audience, too. The basis of the CURV 500 TS is the new 15-inch bass reflex subwoofer with a peak output of 1,400 watts, including a class D amplifier and DSP unit. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Adam Hall, adamhall.com
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PRODUCT
One-Stop Shop
Bose Professional debuted the S1 Pro multi-position PA system, an allin-one PA, floor monitor, practice amplifier and primary music system. Designed for singer-songwriters, DJs, other musicians and general PA use, the S1 Pro weighs 15 pounds and is engineered to be used in four different positions to accommodate a wide range of applications: tilt-back, elevated, mounted on a speaker stand or placed on its side (as a floor monitor). The S1 Pro comes with a three-channel mixer. Reverb and tone controls are featured on two channels with XLR/quarter-inch combo jacks, and a third channel is for either 3.5-millimeter (eighthinch) line-in or wireless Bluetooth connectivity. MSRP: $599 Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Bose Professional, pro.bose.com
Net Profits
VocoPro released DigiNet, a professional digital wireless audio transmitter and receiver package for powered speakers. Using DigiNet, powered speakers can be placed anywhere a band or group desires using a stable XLR connection with no need for limiting and potentially hazardous speaker cables. Equipped with balanced XLR input and outputs, bands get the professional full-frequency range quality of an XLR connection minus the cable, stated the company. A built-in rechargeable battery eliminates the need for additional power plugs and lasts up to eight hours. The unit’s aluminum housing is lightweight and gig-proof. MAP: $299, $399 retail Ship Date: Contact company Contact: VocoPro, vocopro.com
Grand Teton
Back on Track
Radial Engineering introduced Backtrack, a compact stereo audio switcher that is designed for bands running redundant backing tracks on stage, or for switching between any stereo audio sources. Connecting playback devices to the Backtrack is easy via either dual quarter-inch TRS or 3.5-millimeter stereo inputs. XLR outputs feed the PA system and feature a ground lift switch and transformer isolation to prevent buzz and hum from ground loops. Quarterinch TRS Monitor outputs are also provided for powered speakers on stage. Once connected, an A/B switch selects between inputs, so the backup source can be quickly activated should the primary playback system fail. A JR-2 remote can also be connected to the Backtrack to change the inputs remotely. When cueing up tracks for playback, a mute switch cuts the feed to the main and monitor outputs, allowing tracks to be silently monitored using a dedicated headphone output. Street Price: $349.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Radial Engineering, radialeng.com 18
Teton Guitars introduced 10 natural wood electric guitar models. Teton’s electric guitar line manifests Teton’s genuinely Americana style with a dash of the outdoors to inspire musicians, stated the company, featuring nearby national parks in Idaho to inspire company employees to get outside. So, Teton leaves the Flame Maple, Spalted Maple, Birch, Ebony and Ziricote woods au naturel. The exception is the wine-red highlights of the F144FMWR that add a hot flair to the Flame Maple of the F Series hollow body. MSRP: Starting at $749 Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Teton Guitars, tetonguitars.com
MARCH 2018
PRODUCTS
Mini Me Morley released six new mini pedals at The NAMM Show, intended to save space on crowded pedal boards while maintaining tone, features and durability. The first three are Mini Volume Plus, Mini Power Wah Volume and Mini Maverick Switchless Wah. All three are mini versions of their larger pedal counterparts, but measure 6.75 inches in length, 4.5 inches wide and 2.75 inches in height. Mini Volume Plus is equipped with foot-selectable Minimum Volume. Mini Power Wah Volume is a combo Wah and Volume Pedal with Wah Level control. Mini Maverick Switchless Wah is an optically switched Wah. The next three are Signature Artist Pedals from the Morley Custom Shop. All the new minis are suitable for use with guitar, bass, keys or any other instruments end users can plug into, stated the company.
Street Price: $129 to $249 Ship Date: Now Contact: Morley Ebtech, morleyebtech.com
Taylor-Made
No Monkeying Around
Loog Guitars unveiled its new line of guitars designed by Paul Frank, the iconic artist and maker who has collaborated in the past with other guitar makers. The Loog + Paul Frank Collection comes in a color palette that reflects the artist’s instantly recognizable style, featuring Julius the monkey and more of Paul’s beloved cast of characters. Loog guitars come with an app that gets kids playing songs on day one, stated the company. The Loog + Paul Frank Collection, as well as the Mini and Pro lines, are available now through Hal Leonard, the exclusive distributor for Loog guitars in North America. MSRP: Contact company Ship Date: Now Contact: Hal Leonard, halleonard.com, sales@halleonard.com 20
Taylor Guitars’ Builder’s Edition K14ce features the new V-Class bracing system, which is designed to dramatically improve an acoustic guitar’s volume, sustain and intonation. The first offering from the Builder’s Edition collection is a cutaway Grand Auditorium K14ce featuring Hawaiian koa back and sides paired with a torrefied Sitka spruce top. Torrefaction, a special roasting technique, helps coax a played-in sound from the guitar and darkens the wood’s complexion to add visual warmth. Together with the V-Class bracing, players can expect a dynamic and responsive voice, rich sustain and a more harmonious relationship between every note on the fretboard, helping chords sing with cohesive beauty, stated the company. Street Price: $4,999 Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Taylor Guitars, taylorguitars.com
Stand and Deliver
Connolly Music division König & Meyer introduced a new music stand. According to the company, the classic steel orchestra stand has been updated for the modern-day musician with adjustable slots and bolts to secure a user’s tablet on a music stand. To secure a tablet, simply adjust the clamping bolts in the appropriate slot and tighten for a sturdy and protected hold. Or musicians can remove the bolts for sheet music. The desk of the stand can easily be removed and attached with the user-friendly quick-release lock on the back of the stand, and the base folds easily for transport. The height of the stand is adjustable from 29 to 50 inches. König & Meyer offers a five-year warranty and a 10-year replacement parts program. List Price: $189.99, $149.99 MAP Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Connolly Music/ König & Meyer, km-america.com MARCH 2018
L AT E S T
Rat Pack
RapcoHorizon entered the cable market with its RAT Tail distortion cable. The RAT Tail distortion cable offers guitarists a new way of achieving some of the effects of the Vintage RAT distortion pedals, as this cable is built using the same clipping diodes that drive Vintage RAT pedals’ signature distortion tones, stated the company. With two built-in ranges of distortion circuitry directly selectable on the connector, guitarists can shift between settings with the connector’s easily accessible dial. The RAT Tail distortion
cable comes equipped with three settings, including true bypass, distortion overdrive with unity gain and distortion overdrive (+3 decibels of gain). Street Price: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: RapcoHorizon, rapcohorizon.com
Thank you.
Japanese Jewel
Japanese instrument and gear brand Teisco returned to the market with an initial lineup of three pedals. Returning under the BandLab Technologies banner, each new pedal captures the high-quality engineering and unconventional design spirit that Teisco has always been known for, stated the company. Teisco, initially founded 70 years ago by two enterprising musicians, returned with three original takes on guitar pedals intended to help musicians create their own unique sound. BOOST is designed to be super clean and flexible, DELAY offers maximum bending potential and FUZZ is made to be adaptable, musical and cutting. Street Price: Contact company Ship Date: Now Contact: Teisco, teisco.com MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
Product of the Year with Product Registration
qsc.com
©2018 QSC, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries. World of K is a trademark of QSC, LLC. 0174-02/23/2018
PRODUCTS
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away
On the Road Again
John Williams, the composer of all scores for the “Star Wars” original film franchise, has been nominated for many Academy Awards for his work. One of his impressive compositions was for the latest film in the franchise, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which has now been adapted for piano with songbooks available from Hal Leonard. Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack features 12 tracks from the soundtrack: “Ahch-To Island,” “The Battle of Crait,” “Canto Bight,” “Fun with Finn and Rose,” “The Last Jedi, Main Title and Escape,” “Old Friends, Peace and Purpose,” “The Rebellion Is Reborn,” “The Sacred Jedi Texts,” “The Spark” and “The Supremacy.” Available in both piano solo and easy piano arrangements, Hal Leonard editors worked closely with John Williams on the arrangements, ensuring “Star Wars” fans have a songbook accurately reflecting the score, as it’s heard in the film. Eight pages of color artwork from the film are also included in each book. MSRP: $17.99 (piano solo arrangements), $16.99 (easy piano arrangements) Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Hal Leonard, halleonard.com
Gator Cases added three models to its popular line of G-Tour Series Large Format Mixer Cases. The line now has custom-fit sizes designed to fit the Soundcraft Si Impact, Presonus SL32III Compact and the Behringer X32 Compact Mixing Consoles. The G-Tour line flight cases feature a nine-millimeter plywood construction armored in black laminate. Aluminum edging aligns the lid and base when latching, as well as provides extra strength for protection. As with all of Gator’s G-Tour Series Road Cases, these include the signature red commercial-grade hardware. The spring-loaded, rubber-gripped handles, lockable twist latches and protective ball corners make them ready to take on the abuse of the road, stated the company. The interior of the cases is lined in EVA foam custom fit to cushion the mixer, while providing optimal air circulation. All three of the new cases include four rugged casters. Street Price: Contact company Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Gator Cases, gatorco.com
Off the Cliff
All About that Bass
Fender Musical Instruments Corp. released the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Thinline, its first custom-chambered semi-hollow Stratocaster guitar to include a traditional Stratocaster arm and body contours. Grammy-winning Johnson, who worked closely with Fender as a co-designer to shape the model to his unique specifications, is known for his “Ah Via Musicom” album and hit song “Cliffs of Dover,” as well as his perpetual search for ideal tone and new sounds. The guitar features custom chambers and traditional Strat contours, as well as nitrocellulose lacquer finish. It also has no tremolo cavity cover on the back and no screw holes for one. Other features include a vintagestyle synchronized tremolo bridge and staggered tuning machines that provide the proper break angle at the nut for improved tuning stability. MSRP: $1,999 Ship Date: Now Contact: Fender, fender.com 22
Tech 21’s VT Bass 200 is a 200-watt bass combo amp with an all-analog SansAmp pre-amp and class D power amp. Housed in a portable, lightweight, rear-ported 1x12 cabinet, the VT Bass 200 offers a range of vintage and modern bass tones, stated the company. The product has a unique, continuously variable Character control that moves between decades of different voicings. It alters the entire sonic structure of the sound to achieve distinctive bass amp tones. To offer an even wider range of bass amp styles than those in the VT family, there’s a Shift button to alter the frequencies within the Character circuitry. Other controls include Drive to adjust the overall amount of gain and overdrive, similar to when the output of a tube amp is being pushed. Street Price: $499 Ship Date: Contact company Contact: Tech 21, tech21nyc.com MARCH 2018
PRODUCTS
In the Loop
Electro-Harmonix debuted the 95000 Performance Loop Laboratory, featuring six mono tracks and one stereo mixdown track per loop. It will record up to 375 minutes and 100 loops with a 16GB Micro SD card, and switching between loops is quick and easy. It is housed in an aluminum chassis with a control layout
Nomad No More
Instead of lugging around screw and nut drivers, wrenches, Allen keys and multiple bit sets in bulky cases, guitarists can use one universal product, the Music Nomad Equipment Care Octopus 17 ‘n 1 Tech Tool. According to the company, the tool is an
excellent solution for adjusting screws and hex nuts on vital gear components like bridges, saddles, locking nuts, output jacks, control pots, tuning machine bushings and more. An ergonomic handle is made from ballistic nylon that won’t scratch hardware and supports popular hex wrench sizes. A unique handle holds the universal adapter, giving the user even more versatility. A metal universal adapter contains a quarterinch hex wrench, in addition to securely holding the 10-piece screwdriver bit set. A screwdriver bit set features Phillips and flat head bits, along with eight Allen key bits. MSRP: $19.99 to $22.99 Ship Date: Now Contact: Music Nomad Equipment Care, musicnomadcare.com MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
optimized for use as both a tabletop and foot-pedal unit. The 95000 also features an I/O, including two audio inputs capable of handling a mic (phantom power is included), instrument or unbalanced line input. Street Price: $550 Ship Date: Now Contact: Electro-Harmonix, ehx.com
NAMM 2018: THE NEW CLASS
(continued from the cover)
Universum Guitars artist Rick Benson (left) and business development director Pavel Masterov.
UNIVERSUM GUITARS universumguitars.com
Universum Guitars made the long trip to Anaheim from Bila Tserkva, Kiev in Ukraine to debut its lineup of guitars and basses. The company was founded in 2016 by designer Alexander Doroshenko and master luthier Vadim Gavrilenko. “Alexander has a lot of knowledge of golden ratio sequences like the Fibonacci Principle. He designed our guitars using Fibonacci Sequences to create our special philosophy,” explained Pavel Masterov, Business Development Director for Universum Guitars. “We use local wood from the Carpathian Mountains — carved maple, black alder, ash, burl poplar — and some exotic woods, like ebony woods and wenge from Africa.” Although the company has only been around for two years, it already offers an array of electric models, as well as several solid-body acoustics. “One of our guitars is a solid-body acoustic that uses a patented acoustic system with
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a condensed microphone,” described Masterov. “It has a condensed mic built into it with special chambers, and a piezo in the bridge position. We also have a solid-body electric with electromagnetic pickups, and you can mix the sound from the pickups with the built-in condensed mic. Many people say we’re crazy because there’s a lot of innovation in our guitars. After only two years as a company, we already have six series and more than 30 models, and all of our models are different.” Universum Guitars has already been getting some stateside buzz. “We’re finding some dealers and distributors in the USA,” said Masterov. “We have two main partners: Walt Grace Vintage in Miami, Fla., and Amp Shop Bass Exchange in North Hollywood. We’ve had some discussion at The NAMM Show with some distributors. They like our products because they’re really unique — unique shape, unique sounds — and unique is interesting for people who play guitar.”
MARCH 2018
ENHANCIA oria.io
The NAMM Show is a great place to find groundbreaking accessories that change the way we think about existing instruments and how they are used to make music. Enhancia, a recent startup based out of France, was showing off one such product that opens up a realm of new sonic possibilities for keyboard players and other users of MIDI-based devices. “We’ve developed a connected ring device that you put on your finger that lets you control musical effects with simple hand gestures,” explained Enhancia’s Damien Le Boulaire. “Basically, with that ring, you can do vibrato on any keyboard like you would naturally do on a guitar. You can also bend the note by running your hand to the right or the left. Or we have a certain movement called the tilt that lets you control whatever you want by raising your hands up and down.” He continued, “The product is wireless. It is paired with a hub that you plug into a computer or into a digital keyboard with MIDI outputs. It also comes with a MIDI plugin, a VST Host, so you can load any virtual instrument on that, and then freely configure any gestures and assign effects to them. There is also software that you can use to make some presets and load those presets on the VST, so you can play without a computer. The hub is also used to charge the ring. You just plug the ring into the hub to recharge it, and it will last around six hours.” The product is currently geared toward keyboard players, but since it’s a MIDI device, it can interface with a wide variety of hardware and software. “It’s a basic MIDI controller, so it can work with any keyboard, any surface and any software,” said Le Boulaire. “It can work with DJ controllers, too. For now, we’re focused on the keyboard, because the movements were designed to fit with that interface. The main purpose of the ring was to complete an existing interface, to add new dimensions of control, to add new possibilities to the instrument.” Enhancia plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to support development of its product in early 2018. To see video of the Enhancia ring in action, go to msr. io/2GEAiuO. (Prototype versions of the product featured in these videos are wired, but the final product will be wireless once it’s ready to ship, according to the company.)
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MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
Enhancia co-founder and CFO Hyun-Jai Lee (left) and co-founder and CMO Mario Viola.
Scott Hathaway, Sales Rep
Years at Alfred Music: One year Instruments: Guitar, Voice, Bass & Keys Best Perk of Working at Alfred Music: Amazing people Favorite Genres to Play: 60’s–mid-70’s classic rock Favorite Artist: Led Zeppelin First Concert Experience: KISS/Uriah Heep, “KISS-mas” concert, 1976
alfred.com
Ready to get the "Led" out? Alfred Music has now made available—for the first time ever—guitar transcriptions from all nine studio recordings in one massive hardcover edition. Yes, even the Coda album is in there! This amazing volume opens with 15 pages of detailed information from noted Zeppelin expert Brad Tolinski. The transcriptions are clear and precise, never crowded or difficult to read and include all overdubbed guitar parts as well. Don’t miss out on this historic edition!
Walkabout co-founder and president Andrew Kilpatrick (left) and co-creator Manuel Luz.
WalkaBout
walkaboutdrum.com Wander The NAMM Show floor long enough, and you’re likely to encounter some products that aren’t quite like anything you’ve ever seen before. Take, for example, the WalkaBout, a strap-worn percussion instrument that looks like a cross between a guitar and a cajón, but boasts its own unique set of music-making properties. “Even though it’s shaped like a guitar, it’s not a guitar on the inside. It’s shaped to maximize the number of different sounds that come of it,” explained Manuel Luz, Co-Creator of the WalkaBout. “We’re a brand-new company that just formed in 2017, and we launched the product in November 2017,” said Andrew Kilpatrick, WalkaBout’s co-founder and president. “The company was started by Manuel Luz and my father, Bob Kilpatrick, both lifelong musicians who love to play the acoustic guitar and use the body of the guitar as a drum. We were having a conversation one day and said ‘Why hasn’t anybody come out with an instrument that’s shaped like a guitar that you can play like a drum?’ We started experimenting with different bracing types and creating sound zones, and what seemed like a simple thing — take the neck off a guitar — all of a sudden turned into a two-year odyssey of an R&D process.” To complement
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the unique acoustic properties of the body, each WalkaBout can be accessorized with a variety of SounDots, which magnetically attach to the inside of the body and produce different percussion sounds, like tambourine or snare, when struck. The WalkaBout Pro is the company’s flagship model. It features a body by Kala Brand Music Co. and an exclusive dual-source pickup system by LR Baggs. “You can play it on the beach unplugged, but it also has the ability to be plugged in,” said Luz. “You can have a mono or a two-channel output, so you can make your sound man happy, and he can do all the compression and EQ that he wants. One of our endorsers is Zoro the Drummer, and he’ll play it with a wireless system, so he can actually walk out into the crowd.” The company plans to release a mid-priced model, as well as an entry-level, acoustic-only model. According to Luz, The NAMM Show was a great place to allow the public to get hands-on with the WalkAbout for the first time. “There are so many people that just walk up, strap it on, and they get a big smile on their face because they get it immediately and they start playing,” he shared. “I tell everybody, if you can play your steering wheel, you can play this instrument. But, at the same time, some virtuoso percussionists have been coming into our booth and playing the snot out of this thing, and we’re amazed at how many different techniques are being applied to it. So, we’re really excited about what we’ve come up with and where we’re headed.” For Kilpatrick, who has a background in business but is new to the music products industry, The NAMM Show was a revelation. “The musical industry is unique to any business I’ve been in, in that it’s a community,” he explained. “I’ll meet a person, and they’ll say to me ‘Oh, you need to meet someone else,’ and they’ll walk me across the convention just to make the introduction. And I’m thinking I’m going to be mugged, or I’m going to be leaned up against the wall outside, because I keep thinking ‘Nobody does this!’ But what I’ve learned here at NAMM is that the music industry really is a community, it’s not just a cliché, and I love that about it. I did not expect that at all, and I’m really blown away by how true it is.”
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THE GROWLING SAX thegrowlingsax.com
The Growling Sax’s owner and founder Melvin Quinones has had a long career in information technology, working for companies like Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, but the saxophone is his true passion. After many years of dreaming about it, he decided to start his own company. “We’ve been in business for a little less than a year,” said Quinones. “Our main product is professional saxophones, but we recently also designed a student line.” Drawing on his years of experience with the saxophone, Quinones decided to design the kind of instruments he always wanted to play. “I have two different series,” he explained. “One is called the H1110 Series, which is a totally professional series, and we make alto, tenor, soprano, curved soprano and baritone in that line. It’s a very affordable line that competes with instruments that are almost twice the price. And then we did what we call the Master Series, which has additional features. We built it with a different metal that makes it even easier to play. It’s very resonant, and it’s also available in more colors.” Quinones also attempted to solve some common complaints that should be familiar to seasoned sax players. “There’s one important feature that I add on all my instruments,” he said. “As a sax player, I know that most instruments from most brands over the years have had sticky keys on the pads. That’s something that we found a solution for. It’s a custom spring that we put under the G-sharp key and low C-sharp, and it makes it so the keys really won’t stick at all. We do that even on our student lines. People really appreciate that feature.” Despite this being the company’s first year at NAMM, The Growling Sax booth attracted quite a bit of attention to the woodwind section. When asked about his experience at the show, Quinones replied, “It’s been spectacular, surprisingly, because you really don’t know what to expect your first year, and this was definitely the busiest booth in the entire aisle. So, I would say it’s been successful.” Much of that success can be attributed to frequent product demonstrations by The Growling Sax artists; when the Retailer stopped by the company’s booth, saxophonist and pastor Rudy Rodriguez had attracted
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MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
The Growling Sax artist Rudy Rodriguez (left) and owner and founder Melvin Quinones.
a sizable crowd while demonstrating his signature alto sax, which debuted at NAMM. And more than a few attendees were drawn in by the booth’s video screen, which featured footage of The Growling Sax’s mascot: a sharp-dressed, saxophone-playing CGI tiger. “I like doing a lot of creative stuff on computers,” shared Quinones. “Combining that with my sax player ability, I decided to do something different for a marketing campaign, and it just popped. Saxophone players growl with the instrument, so why not use a mascot that identifies with the instrument and what we do? So, it’s a little bit out there, but people have been loving it.”
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Sugar Percussion founder Jefferson Shallenberger (back).
SUGAR PERCUSSION sugarpercussion.com
Pardon the obvious pun, but Sugar Percussion makes some sweet drums. The company’s founder, Jefferson Shallenberger, is a drummer with an extensive background in carpentry who got into the drum-building business out of necessity. “My company has been around for about seven years, and I’ve been a furniture-maker for 20 years. I had an old Fibes kit that fell apart, and I was too broke to buy a new kit, but I had a wood shop, so I figured out how to make the shells myself,” he explained. Shallenberger applies the high standards he brought to carpentry to Sugar Percussion’s manufacturing process. “I haven’t reinvented anything. There’s nothing to give away. But mostly the secret comes from my obsessively neurotic background from furniture making and where I went to furniture school,” he shared. “They’re all solid-wood, stave-
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built drums. We try to exploit the differences between different kinds of wood, the natural sonic properties of each species, and with the solid wood, we found that we could broaden that range between soft and hard woods and get many different sounds within them. Predominantly, we’re using Alaskan yellow cedar, mahogany and cherry. That covers the range from soft to hard. The cedar, being the softest, that’s a really warm and round kind of sound. Mahogany still has a lot of the warmth but starts to get a little bit of growl. And then the cherry gets a little bit angrier. Those are the drums I play when I’m pissed off.” Sugar Percussion debuted a new line of aluminum drums at The NAMM Show; the line was so new, in fact, that Shallenberger heard the drums for the first time on the show floor. “I hired a guy about a year and a half ago who used to build motorcycles, and he’s been ribbing me for the past year and a half, ‘Come on, let’s make a metal shell!’ He started bringing in prototypes, and I finally conceded. So we’ve been playing around with different patinas. We’ve been trying to make them look like concrete, because I have this dream of making concrete drums, too, but that’s proving a little difficult. So, those are brand new. In fact, I put the heads on them and threw them in the crate, and never even heard them until I got here. It turns out they’re really good. So we’re really happy.” I talked to Shallenberger on the last day of NAMM, and four days in the cacophony of the drum hall had left him feeling a little sour on the whole experience. When I asked him how his first year at the show had been, he deadpanned, “It’s an absolute nightmare. This place is utterly ridiculous. How anyone could expect to tell the difference between any drum … I can’t hear any difference at this point. We brought a TV with a bunch of videos and headphones just so people could hide from this noise and actually hear the drums. All I see are kids with tree trunks in their hands who want to beat the crap out of drums. So maybe that’s not the political answer that you were looking for, but that’s been my experience.”
MARCH 2018
JENNINGS GUITARS jenningsguitars.com
Chad Jennings, owner of Jennings Guitars, got an early start in his career as a luthier. “I’ve been building guitars for 12 years or so,” he shared. “I started when I was 14 with a science project, and just got hooked on guitar, guitar crafting, engineering and all that stuff. I’m actually more of an engineer and a tinkerer by nature, less a guitar player. But I really know all the elements it takes to make the guitar sound great and play right.” Jennings founded Jennings Guitars in 2012, and the company was incorporated in December 2014. Jennings Guitars offers its own twists on some classic body shapes. “Starting with the shapes themselves, we wanted to design guitars with classical lines, but that are still new and unique, and still their own brand and shape,” said Jennings. “For our Voyager, we used the Jazzmaster-style body as a reference. We wanted to do something familiar, but again, still our own. And then we’ve got the Catalina; I wanted to take an ES-339 and bring it into a flat top, but keep all the sonic response, and even get a little bit more out of it. We did that by material choice, the body size, the volume of the cavity, and the lacquer really helped that. And the 25.5 scale length really adds a lot of transparency to it. What people are saying about our guitars is that they’re really transparent, they really come alive and they’re very responsive.” According to Jennings, the company has plans to release some acoustic models in the near future, and a bass line is in the works, as well. The first NAMM Show experience was a positive one for Jennings. “The show’s been unreal,” he declared. “We picked up a few retailers, which is the biggest thing we came for. I went and talked with a lot of the other people that we do business with and got to meet them. And I got to meet a lot of people who have been following the company for a long time and who haven’t played the guitars yet. They finally got do that, and they’ve been stoked on them. And I’m just really excited to work with my retailers, to do everything I can to treat them with respect and honor as we do business together.”
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MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
Jennings Guitars owner and founder Chad Jennings.
Bad Boy Guitars CEO and luthier Perry Fretz and the Bad Boy Girls.
BAD BOY GUITARS badboyguitars.com
The hand-built axes at the Bad Boy Guitars booth stood out from the crowd at this year’s show. Each Bad Boy Guitar is designed and built by the company’s founder and CEO, Perry Fretz (yes, I asked, and that is his real name). “The company’s been together for going on seven years. We’re total custom guitars,” said Fretz. “The way I got into this business was through Neal Moser. Everybody who’s a luthier knows who Neal is. Neal designed the B.C. Rich Bich, and I used to do all of his finishes. That got me started in this business, and I got to the point where I said to my wife, ‘I don’t just want to do finishes anymore. I want to start designing guitars.’ There are no CNC machines in my shop, none whatsoever. It’s me, my hand routers, my bandsaws, my table saw and my wood, and a paint booth where we do all our paint work.” According to Fretz, he’s willing to collaborate on any project that meets the Bad Boy Guitars standard. “We will make you a custom guitar to your specs — whatever you want,” he explained. “The finishes on them are polyester. It’s a two-part system. We love the finishes, because they look like glass. All the artwork on these is done in-house. The woods come from all over the world. Whether it be Africa, Brazil, wherever, if it’s wood that I feel will make a quality tone and make the guitar what it is, I’ll get it. And if somebody is looking for something special, I’ll find it. We’re not exclusive to any one pickup builder. I work with DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan, but I’ll work with any pickup builder if I can do something that will be the quality I want.” According to Fretz, the attention his company received from attendees made his first trip to The NAMM Show well worth it. “Everybody here from the NAMM staff has been great to us,” he said. “We’ve had a good experience with the people. Our booth has had people in it day in, day out since we started here. It’s been a good experience, and everyone has been very nice to us. We’ve got the Bad Boy Girls out here running around. One of them has a mohawk about this high — that’s my daughter. It’s been fun. We’ve made a lot of contacts, and a lot of people already want me to do a bunch of stuff. It’s kickoff year, and we’re rattling cages. People are noticing us, and a lot of other companies are coming over to check us out — some of the big boys. And that’s a good thing. I’m not a big boy. I’m just a Bad Boy.”
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WHAT’S NEW FOR
2018 KAL ABRAND.COM
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BITTREE bittree.com
Bittree, a long-established name in studio patchbays, should be familiar to audio technicians across a variety of markets. The company was started in 1978 by Glenn Gerrard, who drew on his extensive background working in recording studios in Motown and Hollywood to design products for studio engineers. Bittree is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, but this year marked the company’s first year exhibiting at The NAMM Show. Bittree decided to make its NAMM Show debut to support the recent launch of its ProStudio line of consumeroriented TT patchbays. “The NAMM community is such an important community for Bittree, and the show represents such an important conversation that we were ready to join with the launch of our new ProStudio line,” said Ari Baron, Bittree’s general manager. “We wanted to come out with a product that retained the quality of Bittree, but with the appropriate price-sensitivity for consumer markets. It’s really for the customer that has purchased one too many pieces of gear, and is finding it difficult to move efficiently around the studio. A patchbay becomes the central nervous system of the studio, and it allows the engineer or producer to quickly change inputs and outputs, and to actually have access to all of the inputs and outputs throughout their studio in one centralized location. So, it’s great for not only troubleshooting, but for quickly adding pieces of gear to a signal chain.” In addition to its new ProStudio line of products, Bittreee also fosters an online community of audio engineers. “We have a great social network of about 50,000 engaged users. I didn’t realize that there were that many patchbay-passionate people out there, but there are,” said Baron. “We also started a YouTube channel last year, and on there you can find programming instructions for most of our products, as well as tutorials on common things engineers run across when patching, like bussing and grounding. We try to define terms like full normal, half normal, isolated grounds, full bus grounds, and all the things that studio engineers face on a daily basis that are sometimes hard to convey.” To visit Bittree’s YouTube channel, go to msr.io/2EXicUg. Now that it has entered the consumer market, Bittree plans to be a fixture at future NAMM Shows. “NAMM has been fantastic,” said Baron. “We’ve been super busy the entire show, meeting with not only buyers, but end users with a lot of questions on how they can increase their efficiency in their studios, and how they can incorporate our patchbays into their workflow. It’s been a really great show, and we’re proud to represent our 40th anniversary here with NAMM.”
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Bittree general manager Ari Baron.
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FRET ZEALOT fretzealot.com
Fret Zealot isn’t your typical guitar lesson system. It has something to offer all guitarists, from students who are just beginning to learn, to virtuosos who want to experiment with exotic tunings and scales, to gigging musicians who just want to add a fun LED light show to their guitars. It’s an LED-based device that attaches directly to a guitar’s fretboard and interfaces with an app to offer a variety of guitar lessons and lighting effects. According to Fret Zealot CEO Shaun Masavage, the company wanted to design a tool that could be attached to existing guitars, rather than design a new guitar with a system built in. “It attaches using a simple form of double-sided tape. We call it a grippingtype adhesive,” he explained. “It’s not a chemical like Superglue, so it doesn’t damage the surface. It’s removable if you’d like, you can install it the way you want to, and if you change your mind in the future, you can take it off, no harm done.” Fret Zealot’s designated app provides an intuitive user interface. “In the app, you’ve got a play
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Fret Zealot CEO Shaun Masavage.
section, where you can go in and learn different songs,” described Masavage. “It also has a tuner. You can tune your guitar to ... I think now we have 57 different tunings. You can go into the chord section, select your different chords, select major, minor, a dozen different types there. You can also select the different voicings of that chord. Then you can change the tuning. We’re quickly approaching many thousands of chord options. There’s a notes and scales section where you can display notes on the neck in different octaves, and your scales, which have dozens of different variations, as well. Finally, you have your light shows, so you can use the LEDs to display any pattern on the fretboard in any color.” As a company, Fret Zealot understands the value of guerrilla marketing and getting its product out in front of the people. Its successful Kickstarter campaign (msr.io/2BQLNQt) got a big boost in contributors following a trip the company made to SXSW, so making its NAMM Show debut was a no-brainer. And, in order to show retailers that the company is serious about working with them, Fret Zealot had a prototype retail display in its booth. “The best selling point of our product is seeing the LEDs light up,” said Masavage. “We’re a company of engineers, so we wanted a way to show distributors and retailers that we’re serious about this, and this is how you sell it. So, our display has buttons on it, and people can come by and press different chords, notes and scales, and it changes the Fret Zealot in the display, along with a video that tells you what’s actually going on.”
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HENDRIX DRUMS hendrixdrums.com
The name Hendrix may be synonymous with guitar, but Hendrix Drums aims to make a name for itself in the drum market. According to the company’s owner Rhett Hendrix, his brand philosophy drives him to make the most drummer-friendly product he can. “Our slogan, if it’s not too cheesy, is ‘Because perfection is worth pursuing.’ I’m always asking: How can I make something better? A better sound, a better look, a better price,” he explained. “I’ve been on this journey since 2010, trying to create an in-demand product that sounds as good as it can possibly Hendrix Drums owner Rhett Hendrix (left) and national sales manager James Wyrick. sound, looks as good as it can possibly look and costs as little as possible. I understand — working drummers, we’re not the richest guys in the world, but you want to have gear you can depend on, and be proud of.” Hendrix Drums’ flagship line is the Archetype series, which features custom, stave-built shells that are available in a variety of solid woods. The drums are built using a twist on the standard stave-building process. “Typically the staves have to be quite thick, like a half inch thick, which can really limit the tuning range of the drum,” said Hendrix. “But what we started doing was taking them down to a quarter inch in the body, and leaving them a half inch at the Reach new musical heights ! top and the bottom edge, like built-in We wanted to pay tribute to the Cigar Box reinforcement rings. That really Guitar, an iconic musical instrument. opened the drums up.” The original design and specific scale length The company also recently launched of these guitars give them a unique sound and a line of plywood-shell drums at a timber. This will add to your sound arsenal lower price point. “For our ply stuff, walnut is hands-down our most and take you to new musical heights! popular wood,” said Hendrix. “It’s got a really warm tone to it and that booming bottom end, but it’s hard enough to still have that punch and attack and the presence to cut through. We’re also doing bubinga ply, as well.” This was Hendrix Drum’s first year as a solo exhibitor at NAMM, and, according to Hendrix, the show was a successful one. “I can’t say how many people have come by and said ‘These are the best-sounding drums I’ve been able to find at the show,’ which is incredibly flattering, whether it was true or not — I like to think it was,” he joked. “We’ve got a pretty good dealer network in the U.S. already, so to see the international guys that we would never see regularly was great. That, and letting the everyday drummer come by and hear our stuff, and even some bigtime artists, too. It’s pretty flattering when Jonathan Moffett comes by For further information on this or any JN product, please contact your EMD Regional Manager or EMD Music, Inc. and plays the snares and tells you directly at: (866) 871 5800: Toll Free Tel -(877) 231 6653: Toll Free Fax they’re great.”
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MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
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Rep of the Year — Dave Batson, Peavey
2018 MUSIC & SOUND AWARD WINNERS
Best Bag/Case — Gator Cases
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Best Acoustic Guitar of 2017 C.F. Martin & Co. D-28 Dreadnought Best Bass Guitar of 2017 Ibanez BTB745-NTL Best Guitar Accessory of 2017 On-Stage GPB2000 Compact Pedal Board
Best Speaker — JBL
Best Acoustic Guitar — C.F. Martin
Best Electric Guitar of 2017 D’Angelico Premier Bob Weir Signature SS
Best DJ Product of 2017 Pioneer DJ DJS-1000
Best Effect Pedal of 2017 Electro-Harmonix SYNTH9
Best Bag/Case of 2017 Gator Cases Electric Guitar Case LED Edition
Best Non-Guitar Fretted Instrument of 2017 Kala KA-GL-KOA-E Guitarlele
Best Book/Video/Software of 2017 Alfred Music “Led Zeppelin: The Complete Studio Recordings”
Best Strings of 2017 Elixir Strings OPTIWEB Coated Electric Strings Best Band & Orchestra Product of 2017 Yamaha YVS-100 Venova Best Keyboard/Sound Module of 2017 Yamaha MX88 Best Amplifier of 2017 Vox MV50
Best Accessory Product of 2017 Audio-Technica ATH-PACK4 Headphone Studio Pack 2017 Product of the Year QSC K.2 Series 2017 Rep of the Year Dave Batson, Peavey
Best Speaker of 2017 JBL EON ONE PRO
2017 Outstanding Community Service Award D’Addario
Best Mixer/Console of 2017 PreSonus StudioLive 32 Series III 40-Input Digital Console/Recorder
2017 Manufacturer of the Year D’Addario
Best Multitrack Recorder of 2017 TASCAM DA-6400 Recorder
Best Cabled Microphone — Shure
Lifetime Achievement/Hall of Fame Richard McDonald, Fender
Best Acoustic Drum Product of 2017 Tama Starclassic Performer B/B in Lacquer Ocean Blue Ripple Best Non-Guitar Fretted Instrument — Kala
Best Electronic Drum Product of 2017 Roland SPD-SX Special Edition Best Cymbals of 2017 Zildjian A Custom 25th Anniversary Ride 23" Best Percussion Accessory of 2017 Promark by D’Addario FireGrain Best Wireless System of 2017 Shure Axient Digital Best Cabled Microphone of 2017 Shure Super 55-BLK Deluxe Vocal Mic Best Lighting Product of 2017 Chauvet Intimidator Spot 375Z IRC Best Cymbals — Zildjian
MARCH 2018
2018 MUSIC & SOUND AWARD WINNERS
Manufacturer of the Year — D’Addario
Outstanding Community Service Award — D’Addario
Lifetime Achievement Award — Richard McDonald, Fender
Best DJ Product — Pioneer
Best Bass Guitar — Ibanez Best Electric Guitar of the Year — D’Angelico
Best Keyboard/Sound Module — Yamaha
Best Electronic Drum Product — Roland
Best Wireless System — Shure
Best Accessory Product — Audio-Technica
Best Effect Pedal — Electro-Harmonix
MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
Best Strings — Elixir
Best Acoustic Drum Product — Tama
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NAMM IN PHOTOS
The Anaheim Convention Center at night
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1-Fender’s Paul J. Waller poses with his guitar creation at the company’s booth 2-Famous drummer Gregg Bissonette (right) and his sister-in-law pose for a selfie with Brian Berk, editor of the the Music & Sound Retailer 3-Michael McDonald performs during the Yamaha concert
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4-Andrea Desmond performs at the Proel/Dexibell booth
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5-(L to R): Gene Joly, VP, QSC Professional Division; Pat Quilter, QSC Founder; John Andrews, QSC Founder; and Joe Pham, QSC President and CEO Celebrate QSC 50 and Forward at NAMM 2018 6-D’Angelico offers those in the Anaheim Convention Center hallway a glimpse at a few of the guitars that were featured at the company’s upstairs booth 7-Dan Roberts and Mary Rowden of Manhasset Specialty Co. 8-Jay Wanamaker, president and CEO of Roland Corp. U.S., speaks during the company’s pre-NAMM press conference
9 9-Meng Kuok of Bandlab Technologies and Heritage Guitar’s Jim Deurloo at the Bandlab booth 10-Prior to its press conference, Roland provided musical performances 11-A one-of-a-kind Wizard Amp and Telecaster set at the Fender booth
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Big Happenings at Cascio
New Berlin, Wis.-based Cascio Music teamed up with The Spirit of Harmony Foundation at the Stephanie H. Weill Center of the Performing Arts for a musical-instrument drive. The event collected both new and used instruments for children in need. During the event, Cascio Music collected and donated more than 60 instruments, both new and used. The instruments ranged from brasswinds, woodwinds, violins, ukuleles and more. The Spirit of Harmony Foundation is led by Todd Rundgren in the hopes of promoting personal development and self-expression for young people through instrument-based education. “The Spirit of Harmony Foundation exists to make sure new hands are learning to play music, new ears are learning to appreciate it and new hearts are learning to love it,” Rundgren said. “Our goal is to support music education in any way we can. The Spirit of Harmony Foundation exactly aligns with our goals, and we are excited to get more musical instruments in the hands of children in need,” added Mike Houser, CEO of Cascio Music. Cascio Music also hosted its 17th-annual DrummerFest event. The drum clinic was free to the public and featured a wide variety of performances by some of the biggest drummers in the industry. Representatives from well-known brands, like DW, Zildjian, Tama, Pearl, Yamaha and Paiste, were on site, showing their latest drum gear and offering exclusive discounts. This event featured artists such as Daru Jones, Joe Saylor and Will Kennedy. After their performances, the artists were able to meet fans and offer their insight. Jones, known for his hip-hop and rock drumming style, as well as touring with Jack White, was the first to play. He played his DW/Pacific Daru Jones drum set along with his signature Paiste Daru Jones cymbal setup. “His playing featured ‘un-quantized’ grooves, slightly off-time, but in-the-pocket at the same time. The result was an extremely ‘fat’ groove, which delighted the crowd and the other artists on the ros-
Ted Brown in the Spotlight
Washington State-based Ted Brown Music was featured on SouthSound Talk in late January. The story described how difficult it is for businesses to not only survive several decades, but stay within the family. “Ted Brown Music started in 1931 around the beginning of the Great Depression,” Garrison Grisaffi, great-grandson of Ted Brown, told the news source. “It sold music instruments, TVs, toys, anything to get by. Knowing that Ted Brown has made it this far through all the massive obstacles there are for a family-owned business is one of my biggest drivers to make sure that I don’t let all of the employees of Ted Brown down.” Instrument rentals are a key component for the operator of six stores, he added. “We have the best brands out there. We have a great rental program. People that work here know more about what they’re selling than the competition. If you want a new instrument, you want to come here because our staff will show you the proper way to use it. They will show you how to care for it. We’re going for the longevity of the customer here, not the sale. Customer service is No. 1.”
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ter,” said Scott Thayer, Cascio Music’s drum and percussion specialist. Next up was Saylor, a jazz drummer, known for being the percussionist on the “Late Show with Steven Colbert.” He brought with him an upright bass player and a saxophonist. The trio played a unique set with music influenced by Latin and New Orleans styles. Saylor played a Tama Star drum set with Zildjian cymbals. “Joe also did one of his famous tambourine solos, which was an amazing and dazzling display of hand work, foot work and voice, which brought the house down,” commented Thayer. The last player of the day was Kennedy, a fusion drummer, who is known for his work in The Yellowjackets, and has been recognized as one of the top drummers in the world. “His solos were smooth, fluid, powerful, creative and flamboyant all at once. He talked with the crowd with great enthusiasm and humor, and his stories and insights were inspiring and entertaining,” said Thayer. The day ended with an “all-star jam session” in which all three of the performers alternated solos and played each other’s kits. “We’ve been so fortunate and lucky for these past 17 years to have secured such phenomenal artists for our DrummerFest event,” concluded Thayer.
Boutique Island
Island Music Co. hosted a Local Builders event in southern Maryland, featuring local musical instrument builders from around the area. Builders included M2 Custom Drums, Lea Basses, PST Guitars, VVT Amps, Maralit Custom Pedal Boards and McSpadden Guitars. Attendees were given a rare opportunity to meet with builders and test drive locally made instruments alongside the usual major brands. The event brought in almost 100 attendees throughout the night, many of whom were unaware that these brands were being made locally. “It is amazing how high quality these custom-built instruments are. These items are crafted with so much dedication, and it shows. You can really hear the difference,” said Paul McMahan, a guitar aficionado who attended the event. Island Music Co. regularly stocks items from these local builders and others. “We love having unique, locally made products in our store. From local musician CDs to high-end custom-made instruments, these items are always great sellers. We decided to have this event because customers really wanted a chance to meet the builders and talk to them about the building process. These builders are giving the everyday musician an opportunity to have items built exactly to their specifications. Something like that is usually only reserved for those that are willing to shell out big bucks for the more traditional name brands,” said Keith Grasso, owner of Island Music Co. MARCH 2018
Drum Store Owner to Retire, Ride Across America
Doug Smith, owner of The Drum Smith in Ohio, will retire this summer and ride his bicycle across America to support the region’s widely recognized community based art school, SMARTS (Students Motivated by the ARTS). Smith’s nine-week trek, “Going the Distance for SMARTS,” will take him from Astoria, Ore., to Virginia Beach, Va. He plans to ride 60 miles per day and believes the trip presents numerous opportunities for fundraising. “I took up cycling a few years ago, when my wife bought me a bike for my birthday, and I got hooked right away,” said Smith. “The importance of the arts in education is something I feel very strongly about, and I’ve long dreamed of doing a Trans-Am bike ride, so I’m very happy to help out SMARTS at the same time, rather than simply crossing something off my bucket list. I was in outside sales in the percussion industry for 17 years, so I’ve got friends all across the country. I plan to visit as many as possible — and hopefully make many new friends, as well — all while drumming up donations for SMARTS; it’s a great organization doing wonderful things for kids who otherwise would not be exposed to music and art education.” SMARTS community art school provides access and early training in the arts for northeast Ohio’s Pre-K-12 youth, with a focus on underserved populations. It offers free classes in visual arts, music, dance, theater and creative writing in an effort to inspire self-discovery, promote student achievement, and impact cultural and academic literacy. Donations toward Smith’s “Going the Distance for SMARTS” ride can be made by visiting the SMARTS website at smartsartschool.org. Smith’s full-service percussion shop, The Drum Smith, along with the building itself, located in Struthers, Ohio, are currently for sale. For additional information, visit drumsmithonline.com. The original Drum Shop was started in 1976 and was acquired by Doug Smith in 2011. The full-service location caters to educational, ethnic, concert, and marching percussion needs and offers an internet sales division, along with private lessons and college audition preparation.
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FI V E M INUTE S W ITH
ROB TROKE PRESIDENT, VERITAS INSTRUMENT RENTAL INC. By Brian Berk Clearwater, Fla.-based Veritas Instrument Rental Inc. (VIR), founded in 1990, is dedicated to serving the school music market by providing quality, value and service to its customers, music educators and affiliated music retailers. Its rentals encompass many top brands, including the Conn-Selmer family of brands, Gemeinhardt and Jupiter Band Instruments. The Music & Sound Retailer caught up with President Rob Troke at The NAMM Show to learn much more about the business. Despite 30 years in business, this is Troke’s first magazine interview, so rest assured, all of the information in this story is new. Find out why he said the instrument rental market is the best it’s ever been, plus much more. Enjoy.
The Music & Retailer: Please tell us about your background and how you got involved in the music industr y. Rob Troke: I started working at a music store right out of high school, selling guitars and teaching music lessons. At that time, the store was renting instruments for one of our local competitors. So, I became very familiar with the business model. In 1988, we broke out with our rental program. We begged, borrowed and leveraged to stock our two locations. Within a year, the elementary music programs in our market were canceled. With that, we had a warehouse full of inventory we’d barely begun to pay for. That was when I thought I would try to duplicate the same model that I learned from the previous relationship. I reached out to a few fellow music store owners in the area and asked them if they would help me rent our instruments in exchange for part of the rent, or commission. The first year, we struck deals with 16 stores. In 1990, we outgrew our music store and formed our own company. Three decades and a few growth spurts later, here we are with hundreds of affiliates in 44 states. The Retailer: You still own an MI store, though. Does that give you an advantage in the VIR business? If so, how does it help you? Troke: I think it does. I can certainly relate to the challenges a music store owner faces. In approaching a prospective business, we always have to consider the value of their time, how simplified we can make this program for the owner, manager and part-time staff, anyone who will be a part of this new department. When promoting our program, I’m always looking through the eyes of the store owner. What would I be looking for? What would the most attractive components be to an owner? How can this program bring people through the door, attract a new customer base, add dollars to the bottom line? The experience gives us an advantage and a little more insight. The Retailer: Please tells us about your day-to-day responsibilities. Troke: The [employees] laugh when they hear me say I’m involved in the day-to-day operations. The good news is, I’ve surrounded myself with people who do what I used to do, and they do it better than I did. So, my role has changed to where I’m meeting with them, signing off on policy and procedural changes, purchasing and forecasting. The Retailer: You manage 60 employees at VIR. What is some of the best advice/lessons you’ve learned that you can impart on them? Troke: I would suggest they focus on their own task at hand and not what anyone else is doing. Everyone works at different speeds and brings something unique to the table. It’s not what you do, but how you do it. Do the best job you can, no matter what it is. I did the best I could and always asked myself, “What can I do to make this bigger, better, faster and move the ball forward?” The Retailer: What’s the best part about your job? Troke: For starters, watching our staff grow professionally, taking the advice I just offered to heart. It’s been awesome to see their development over the years. Many have been with me from the start and others for the last 10, 15, 20 years. Also, watching our affiliate partners grow. I’ve watched stores that reached out to us just after opening grow into a major force in their market. And over the years, 40
MARCH 2018
I’ve watched our families grow, children grow up and have made many friends within the industry.
The Retailer: What did you hope to accomplish at NAMM? What were your goals coming in? Troke: Working with as many affiliates as we do, and many of them planning to attend the show, we always look forward to meeting with our existing partners. However, the primary goal of exhibiting is to promote the program to those who might be interested in entering (or recapturing) the school music market. We’re looking to grow our affiliate network. The Retailer: What is the state of the instrument rental market today? Troke: It’s as good as it’s ever been, as far as I’m concerned. VIR has survived The Gulf Wars, 9/11, tech and real estate bubble bursts, stock market crashes, and recessions — all the while staying positive, financially, every year. And we’re still growing. The Retailer: Why is the instrument rental market better today than before? Troke: The market has always been good. As other segments have faced their challenges over the years, band and orchestra has become the more noticeable bright spot. NAMM has tons of research on the benefits of music education. Pick up an industry publication, and you’ll probably see someone related to B&O on the cover. The music programs aren’t going anywhere. It’s a very stable market. And even when times are tough, parents will pay for their child’s instrument rental before going on vacation or buying a video game. It’s a school supply, and with a rental program, a very affordable necessity. The Retailer: What’s your biggest challenge? Troke: It’s great to say we don’t have many, but it’s also tough to chart what challenges we have as the biggest. Controlling our growth is important. So is compliance. Improving efficiencies, working smarter, not harder. This is a very inventory-intensive model. We have to manage it very carefully. The Retailer: How about challenges at the MI store? Troke: I don’t handle day-to-day operations there, either, and it’s been a long time since I was a salesman on the front line. We’re talking pre-internet! With that, I would say competing with internet sales, online auctions that have taken trades and consignments out of the equation, MAP pricing. The landscape has changed dramatically. Fortunately, all of what I just mentioned almost never applies to our rental program. The Retailer: You’ve been in the industr y for 30 years. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen? Troke: As far as B&O, the average cost of an instrument is nearly three times what it was when we first started. Meanwhile, the monthly rental rate for a trumpet, flute, clarinet or other core instrument has not seen a measureable change. I can show you our rental brochure from 1990 and another from this year. Pricing is virtually the same. For that reason, alone, the barrier of entry into the rental business has become much more difficult. Fortunately, with the economies of scale, we can still be successful with it. The Retailer: What does the future look like for VIR? Troke: Excellent. We recently moved into a new 56,000-square-foot facility. So, we have our offices, repair and distribution centers all under one roof. The move actually reduced our costs and further increased our efficiency. We have a lot of room to grow, plenty of gas in the tank, MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
and that’s why we’re here at the show. We’re looking for new partners interested in growing their businesses. There are a lot of markets we’re still not present and would like to be in.
The Retailer: How has show traffic been at your booth at The NAMM Show? Troke: This is supposed to be the biggest NAMM Show yet. (NAMM attendance came in at a record 115,085). We’ve been busy all day. The Retailer: Anything you’d like to add? Troke: For those business owners, whether in a music store, lesson studio, piano gallery or repair shop, looking for a way to grab their fair share of the school music market, stop by and talk with us. Our program is a drop-in, turnkey rental business, with over 30 years of experience and improvements along the way. We have no retail stores to compete with. We handle all of the inventory outlay, repairs, billing, collections, advertising and offer a wealth of support, including cooperative promotional opportunities, hands-on repair training, marketing assistance and more. We do all the heavy lifting. If you’re not offering instrument rentals, you’re leaving a lot of potential on the table. 41
M I SPY
STRUMMING IT UP IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL How fast time goes by. It’s 2018 and The NAMM Show is but a memory. I was in Anaheim. Or was I? The Spy never tells. OK, I will reveal a secret. I was at The NAMM Show. Lots of cool stuff to see there, giving me ideas for future missions. Anyway, per M’s recommendation, I decided to head back to the East Coast this month and make a visit to the home of politics, the Nationals, Redskins, Capitals and Wizards. Yes, I’m talking about Washington, D.C. What could be more patriotic than spending a few days in our nation’s capital? The answer is nothing. I know I am MI Spy, a suave, cool party animal, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a cultured, patriotic person. So, when M sent me to the nation’s capital, I decided to check out the Smithsonian museum. As a journalist (sort of), I probably should have visited the Newseum also. Maybe next time. And yes, I know what you’re thinking, how could MI Spy not go to the International Spy Museum, the home of espionage? There’s nothing up Spy’s alley more than the Spy Museum, of course, but I’m going to keep that question shrouded in mystery. I am a spy, after all. Anyway, Washington, D.C., may not be known primarily for music the way Nashville, New Orleans or New York City are, although there are high profile concerts each year (at the Kennedy Center, the National Mall, etc.). Also, many musicians are linked to D.C. Duke Ellington was born here. So was Johnny Gill. Meshell Ndegeocello honed her skills here, among many others. There are also many mainstream orchestral, symphonic and choir performances, and the city is known for some niche music scenes (coffee house folk, hardcore punk, funky Go-Go, house music). But no musical genre is intrinsically linked to the District of Columbia, at least not that I know of. However, several politicians do love to play instruments. Everyone knows about Bill Clinton’s affinity for musical instruments. Former Arkansas Gov. and Presidential candidate Mike 42
Huckabee loves to play guitar, and former Pres. Barack Obama is a big music fan. I probably could have looked for any instrument in D.C. In the end, I decided to check out and price guitars in the area.
Music on the Hill 801 D St. NE Washington, DC 20002 202.733.3158
Music on the Hill is located in the charming, upscale Lincoln Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. I rode the Red Line Metro subway to the large, frenzied Union Square Station and walked east, admiring the quaint row houses, chic stores and businesses, and the public library. The Capitol Building is within waving distance, and it was easy to wonder what politicians may have walked through the same doors I had just entered. Music on the Hill is a cozy corner store, and it seems to get foot traffic. It doesn’t have a parking lot, so customers have to look (hunt?) for spots. Small and tightly packed with instruments and accessories, the store had a relaxed and cheerful vibe. Three women were on staff when I stopped by, and one greeted me shortly after I stopped inside, but she was not pushy. There were about a dozen other customers while I was there, families with children who were signing up for lessons, purchasing guitars, starter kits and accessories, and schmoozing. They asked the staff questions and were treated kindly. Displayed on the walls and a few sales racks were about a dozen electric guitars, a few dozen acoustics, a handful of basses, and a mix of banjos and mandolins. And lots of ukuleles. I strummed some, and they were all in tune. (MI Spy has perfect pitch, of course.) The store even carried a few hybrids like the quaint banjolele. Among the brands I spied here were Eastman, Gold Tone, Seagull, Goodtime banjos, Ibanez, Kala and Rogue. I didn’t see Fenders, Gibsons, Martins or other
names. Many items were priced under $100, and not many cost more than a few hundred. Besides the stringed instruments, Music on the Hill also offers music lessons and a regular Sunday bluegrass jam. Overall, the store is geared toward beginners, children, amateurs, and people who want to support an independent local store and are not overly concerned with limited selection and pricing. Knowing this in advance, you won’t be disappointed. Since I did not find anything that particularly caught my eye, I listened in on other customers’ conversations and was impressed with the attention to detail that the staff provided. They also spoke well with the children who came in and didn’t patronize them.
Middle C Music 4530 Wisconsin Ave. NW Washington, DC 20016 202.244.7326
Good name for a music shop, right? Middle C is a block away from the Tenleytown stop on the Red Line, is serviced by several bus lines, and there is parking on the street and in nearby lots. Situated on a main street, Middle C is surrounded by fast-food eateries and finer dining, as well as many stores, two high schools, the Fort Reno concert stage and the American University campus. As I entered the store, I spied a kiddy corner with percussion and musical toys for young-uns to bash on. Size-wise, this is easily four or five times bigger than Music on the Hill, and the selection is much broader. It had several dozen each of acoustic and electric guitars, and amps too, and I spotted Fender, Gretsch, Ibanez, Yamaha and lesser-known names. They stocked mostly new, but also some used equipment. Lots of incredibly popular ukes once again and mandolins too. The orchestra and band instruments are also represented here, with violins, violas, cellos, harps, brass and woodwinds (flutes, trumpets, clarinets, trombones, saxophones), and a few digital pianos and drum kits as well. There are accessories galore for all those instruments. And MARCH 2018
perhaps the most impressive sight is the sheer amount of sheet music here: walls of the stuff, with practically every genre represented. Toward the back of the store, there are rehearsal and lesson rooms, and one wall was decorated with an Abbey Road reproduction with classical composers strolling across the street. It sponsors summer camp music programs and teaches lessons throughout the year. I overheard a woman shopper say to her companion, “It’s a nice little community store.” And it is. But not one employee approached me during my time sleuthing around in here. I saw five or six on the floor, and they interacted with other customers and with themselves. I hovered closely by them, really I did, but none gave me a “hello” or asked what I was looking for. That is not a good practice, and it wasn’t like I was dodging these people, lurking in corners. I was ready to ask about the acoustic guitars and wanted to see if a worker would stop by, but nope. Overall it is an appealing store, good for families and kids, as well as more serious students and, even, academics. It is easy to get to, and has a fun atmosphere. And as this magazine has detailed on several occasions in the past, the owner of the store is a true music advocate and has done a tremendous amount for the area community, something that definitely should not be downplayed. Admittedly, the day I entered the store was a busy day. But on this day, Middle C Music needed to step up its customer relations. Shmooze, dudes.
Guitar Center Rockville 12401 Twinbrook Pkwy. Rockville, MD 20852 301.231.6100
I decided I wanted to take a break from D.C. for a moment and get out of the hustle and bustle. So, I drove to one of the three Metro D.C.-area Guitar Center stores. There are other locations in Silver Spring, Md., and Falls Church, Va., but I selected the Rockville/Upper Bethesda branch. There are many other businesses nearby, and the store itself has a sizable parking lot. It is located just minutes from the major road, Rockville Pike, which becomes Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. This was the only major chain store I visited during my D.C. trip. I was there on a Saturday morning. I was greeted while walking into the store, and I noticed that the Live Sound equipment section was more crowded than guitars, where there were just a few customers nosing about. A salesman spoke with me about Fender Strats. I asked about the differences between the high-end Squier Classic Vibe and a Standard Strat. He seemed knowledgeable and not pushy as he explained the answer, and he also spoke to me about the range of Strat styles and prices, American versus Mexican production, and more. I checked out specials arrayed on the floor, such as the multiple Yamaha acoustic guitar bundle packs. Overall, there was a very wide variety of guitars offered, and the prices ranged from Disney products priced under $75, Yamahas in the $100-
$250 range, up to specialty guitars stored in a room with a humidifier puffing away. Electric guitars from all major brands and lesser known brands were all there, offered with prices running the gamut from $100-plus to around $2,000. The store was orderly. Overall, this is the most comprehensive music store I saw during my mission. It carried the greatest variety of offerings, there is room to try out equipment and instruments (and you are encouraged to do so), and the staff is helpful. It’s fun to shop here because it’s the proverbial “kid in a candy store” setup.
The Sale
Washington, D.C., and its surrounding suburbs support a modest amount of music stores. Of the stores I visited, the big chain has the most to offer its many different customers’ tastes, talents and wallets. The smaller indie stores can tailor their offerings and services to niche markets. Consumers do have options for musical choice here, and perhaps they might run into members of Congress (or undercover agents) scoping out lime-green and ice-blue ukuleles. My first choice was Guitar Center in Rockville, this month’s winner. I preferred the vast selection and professional service. I was especially interested in the Yamaha acoustics under $200. If looking for a store to purchase sheet music, I would opt for Middle C Music because it had an impressive selection, bigger and broader than Guitar Center. Music on the Hill would be worth checking out for the bluegrass jam session and if you happen to live around there.
The Violin House of Weaver 4706 Highland Ave. Bethesda, MD 20814 301.654.2239
Sometimes you go to a store and think, hey, they must sell more than just the item mentioned in the store name. Oftentimes, yep. Occasionally, nope. Weaver’s is in a house, across from a parking lot and located near a major road (Wisconsin Avenue). It sells violins, violas and cellos. And no other instruments. No margin for error here. Unfortunately, I was out of luck for guitar sightings. This is serious business and an unusual business to boot, a place for buying those instruments, getting them maintained, restored and repaired. You won’t be casually browsing in this store; you are seated in a living room, eyeing the wares. I was, frankly, intimidated by the place and left quickly. But if you are in the market for quality violins or want them fixed and cared for, do make an appointment. MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
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I N T H E T RENCHE S
By Allen McBroom Once upon a time, when Richard Nixon was president, Sears mailed out catalogs and when internet browsers didn’t exist, MI stores tended to have bumper-crop sales in December, enter January heavy in cash and then spend said cash to restock their stores in the first quarter of the new year. Today, that’s all changed. Now Christmas sales start around Halloween, Black Friday (for many stores) is more light-gray than black and December sales aren’t dramatically different from October sales. While the retail selling volume, by season, has changed significantly, many MI suppliers still operate as if it were 1974. Most manufacturers want us to re-up in the first three months
TA KIN G STOCK
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The MI supply side needs to
of the year. $5,000 here, $3,000 over there and $5,000 over yonder. It all happens at the same time. MI stores are expected to drop change its restock approach bundles of cash to fill up the store right after the (historically) biggest selling season of the year. For small stores, this demand for to accommodate the current cash, coupled with paying income tax on, or before, March or April, puts them in a reality of operating a small real cash crunch. By the time Halloween rolls around, a lot of that re-up gear has been sold, and it’s time to restock, so that MI store. How about these the stores can meet the (fingers crossed) demands of the now less-lustrous Christmas for ideas? buying season. Unfortunately, if all that gear doesn’t sell by Dec. 31, not only does the store have to pay taxes on it on their Jan. 1 inventory count, they have to buy even more to meet manufacturers’ first-quarter requirements (again). This first-quarter re-up demand also hits small retailers right after The NAMM Show in Anaheim, which is bad timing. A lot of popular inventory that I’m wanting to order in February for one of our re-ups just plain isn’t available, because NAMM discount sales and show orders ran the manufacturer’s inventory low. And, until the boat gets here from Asia (“sorry, we’re not sure when that will be”), we’re stuck trying to re-up with inventory that doesn’t match our market. To me, this all seems out of balance. I’d be pretty happy if the MI supply side changed its restock approach to accommodate the current reality of operating a small MI store. How about these for ideas? 1. Allow stores to schedule restocks for the third quarter, instead of the first quarter. Then the stores will have heavy stock going into the traditional Christmas selling season, rather than right before taxes have to be paid, and after the low-sales-volume summer slump many of us experience. 2. On restock levels, allow credit for inventory already on-hand. If you have to buy $5,000 to re-up, and you’re sitting on $3,000 in stock already, you buy another $2,000 and you’re good. 3. Base a store’s price tier and sales incentives on last year’s sales volume, not what they can afford to buy just before tax season. For example, one of my suppliers wants a $5,000 order in the first quarter to re-up at the best price level. With what I already have in stock, I just flat don’t need another $5,000 in January, February or March. Last year we bought more than twice the re-up dollar requirement. If we base our pricing on last year’s purchasing, then we’d be at the best level, and we would restock when our inventory level and bank account can support more product, rather than a seemingly arbitrary date on the manufacturer’s calendar. 4. Have some initial buy-in, and then maintain enough stock to represent the line honorably for your area. Let the store’s rep set the re-up process based on the store’s size and available selling population. Maybe you can add three or four other ideas that could be on the menu. I tossed these ideas out in the IMSO forums recently and got a chorus of “me too” replies from other brickand-mortar store owners, so it’s not just me who views the current MI re-up process as out-ofsynch with today’s small-store reality. Large stores and chains may not find the first-quarter crush of re-up demands to be an issue, but the smaller stores frequently do. NAMM estimates there are about 5,000 music instrument stores in America. They don’t have any hard and fast data on exactly how many are mom-and-popstyle stores, but NAMM’s educated guess is at least 80 percent of those stores would fit the mold of a mom-and-pop store-sized operation. That means 80 percent of the MI stores in America are faced with often unrealistic re-up demands in the first quarter. From where I sit, in one store of the 80-percent small-store group that makes up our industry’s retail side, I like option three the best. It would be great if our suppliers looked at last year’s numbers and gave us our price schedule based on that. That’s a far better indicator of how we represent the line and move product than how much inventory we can buy in the first 90 days of the new year. It would also allow us to tailor our stock orders to our needs, and not to an outdated calendar of events. Happy trails. MARCH 2018
HARRAH’S RESORT ATLANTIC CITY AUGUST 13-16, 2018 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.
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SHINE A LIGHT
STRUMMING ALONG IN SOUTH FLORIDA By Michelle Loeb
Armando Zuppa’s love of acoustic music stretches back decades. Both as a solo artist and as a member of the New Country Kitchen, Zuppa toured extensively for 20 years, produced two records and shared the stage with many bluegrass and folk top artists. Zuppa quickly found that his passion for acoustic instruments was contagious when, in 2010, he started an online business, selling ukuleles on his eBay page. Only one brand would sell to him at the time, and the first batch sold out immediately, within two weeks. “It was a moment with a lot of economic uncertainty,” said Zuppa. “Ukuleles were affordable, they came in lots of sizes and colors, and they were easy to travel with, so it was the perfect storm.” After a few months of selling ukuleles and reinvesting the profits into purchasing new inventory, his 650-square-foot apartment was inundated with product. “I couldn’t move with all the boxes!” Zuppa recalled. “At that time, the economy was bad. Many music stores around me were closing and only the big stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash were still open, but struggling,” said Zuppa. “I thought that South Florida was missing an Americana-driven music store, a place where we would celebrate all aspects of the Ameri-
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cana acoustic tradition, where you could find bluegrass instruments, acoustic guitars and ukuleles and could take lessons in all those instruments. So, it was then I decided to open an actual brick-and-mortar store.” With that, Penny Lane Emporium was born. Zuppa opened up a small 750-square-foot store with one and a half teaching studios. He was the store’s sole teacher and one of only two employees; the other being a part-time worker who handled things when Zuppa was busy teaching a lesson. Within four years, the store had outgrown that location and moved into a 2,000-square-foot store. By 2017, it was time to double in size again and the store moved into its current location, which measures 5,000 square feet with five teaching studios that handle more than 100 lessons per week. Zuppa now employs 14 teachers of various instruments, as well as two full-time employees, all of whom have some sort of musical background. “When you walk in, the first thing you see is a long wall that displays only acoustic guitars and ukuleles. The ukulele wall is really a ukulele heaven for all ukulele players,” said Zuppa, who carries such brands as Martin Guitars, Collings Guitars and Mandolins, Eastman Guitars and Mandolins, Alvarez Guitars, Deering and Nechville Banjos, Kanile’a Ukuleles, L.R. Baggs and Fishman. The store also offers mics and amps that are specifically designed for the acoustic sound. To select which brands and products are sold in Penny Lane Emporium, Zuppa will try out products at trade shows like The NAMM Show, ask for advice from some of his touring musician friends, and simply trust his own instincts. “I’ve learned a lot about the construction of instruments and want to bring in the new technology,” Zuppa said. “We will stock a product that I like even if I don’t know that it will sell because I’m proud to be the place where you can find it.” Since starting his business, Zuppa feels that he has become a better musician, learning from his customers and developing a better ear by testing out every product before it hits his shelves. It is important to him that he and his staff can speak with authority about any instrument that catches a customer’s eye. “A customer will know if you’re not knowledgeable. The last thing I want to do is be asked a question and have to go to the computer to get the answer. It’s a horrible experience when your sales rep is clueless,” said Zuppa. “We will show the customer a cheap guitar and a better guitar, so they can hear the difference, and we’ll take the time to show them a few chords, so they can then play on their own and see what they like. If you show a new player a G chord, they can try it and see how the instrument feels and sounds,” he continued. “It can be confusing when shopping for your first instrument, so my goal is to help them decide. You want your instrument to be your friend. If it’s a fight, you’re going to lose interest and not go anywhere with it.” Zuppa still maintains his online business, which helps him cultivate a customer base from around the world. “The store is located in a popular tourist destination, so people who followed us online will come and visit. It’s cool to get someone from Sweden who bought a ukulele from MARCH 2018
Penny Lane Emporium 3038 N. Federal Hwy Ste. M Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306 954.566.8141 pennylaneemporium.com Mon. – Fri. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sat. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Armando Zuppa, Owner
us five years ago,” he said. Having been on both the online and brick-and-mortar sides of the business, Zuppa strives to maintain a similar experience regardless of how his customers find him. “I think it’s good to be able to find instruments online, and we try to give the same personal attention to our web customers,” Zuppa said. “They may not know what sound something has, so we will post videos and do FaceTime calls. It’s not exactly the same experience as playing the instrument in the store and bringing it home, but we have had customers who were very happy with our online experience. We try to add a personal touch because that’s what we have against the big guys.” Looking to the future, Zuppa hopes to be able to open some satellite teaching studios and build his brand in a way that will continue to enhance the acoustic market in South Florida. “My goal since going into this adventure has been to bring the music that I love so dearly to the South Florida music scene and help the South Florida acoustic musician with the right tools and knowledge of acoustic instruments,” said Zuppa. “The acoustic scene isn’t huge in Florida, but in the last few years, we have seen more festivals, so there has been a renewed interest, and I feel positive that we had a hand in that.” MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
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R E TA ILER R E B E L
There’s a relatively new term that keeps getting thrown around: “disruptor.” I’ve been seeing it in news articles and hearing it in podcasts and YouTube videos for a while now, primarily used to describe catalysts — agents of change in a particular industry. In this particular use, they’re referring to significant inflection points that change common perceptions or ways of thinking. We’ve all experienced disruption in this industry. We talk about it all the time. Internet sales, Amazon, MAP, social media ... the list goes on. At times, it feels difficult to keep up with the constantly shifting sand under our feet. It often feels to many like large companies backed by big money that are way ahead in the game hopelessly outgun small businesses. To put it in a football analogy, since I just watched the Super Bowl, small MI retailers feel like they’re the Cleveland Browns. In light of this, we sometimes struggle with finding a path forward, and instead stick to our old tried and true habits — even when it becomes clear
OT HE R VOICE S
By Gabriel O’Brien
they’ve stopped working. This sort of paralysis has resulted in a sort of stagnation among many small independent MI retailers. On top of that, we live in an era when kids can make electronic dance music (EDM) on their iPad without any musical training, when they’re taking lessons on YouTube and when people are growing increasingly accustomed to buying online. So, given these circumstances and all the turmoil the industry has seen over these last years, it’s easy to feel like we’re looking at the end of traditional musicianship, or at least dramatically shrunken numbers of musicians. But there is hope, because music in all its forms has survived the test of time. Every time I begin to think all music is going to be technology based, I meet a teenager who’s just discovered Led Zeppelin for the first time. For every article I read about the guitar dying off and being replaced with MIDI controllers, I 48
Every time I begin to think all music is going to be technology based, I meet a teenager who’s just discovered Led Zeppelin for the first time. For every article I read about the guitar dying off and being replaced with MIDI controllers, I meet 10 or 20 people who are taking the instrument up for the first time.
meet 10 or 20 people who are taking the instrument up for the first time, be they young beginners or retired adults trying something they’ve always dreamed of but never had time for. Because it can be experienced by people of any age, music plays a very unique role in society, allowing it to serve many purposes. Because music is able to connect at an emotional level, it can effectively cross boundaries of language and culture, even in the age of the smartphone. It gives people an opportunity to share emotions, to express what they’re thinking and to share experiences together. However, music isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience; it’s something many people approach in different ways. Think of it as an access point, a beginning for which there is no end. Hardly any of us still listen to the first music we discovered because we grew and matured and discovered new things. As such, it’s important to not marginalize or shrug off the changes, or disruptors, that make us uncomfortable or don’t fit into our own preconceived way of thinking about what music should be. People who are piecing together music on their iPads now are the guitar and keyboard players of tomorrow; we just have to introduce them into the wider world of possibilities ahead of them. If learning from YouTube makes you feel like your lessons program is threatened, it’s time to rethink your lessons program and add some new features, such as a rock camp, recitals or perhaps an open mic night for students. Give people a community to become a part of. And listen to voices other than our own, even though what they have to say may challenge us or disrupt the norms of our aging industry. One of the things I’m most optimistic about is the exceptional people who are brave enough to start new businesses and enter this industry with optimism and determination. I follow a number of other stores on various social media platforms, two of which are Spicer’s Music and Mason Music. I’m very excited that Tim Spicer and Will Mason are also now contributing columns to the Music & Sound Retailer. They’re both fresh voices in this industry with great ideas, both of whom have created unique stores with great aesthetic and vibe, and both of whom can teach us all a lot about how to be a successful MI retail store in this challenging new era we’re all navigating. At critical times like these, it’s helpful to listen to other voices to gain perspective and better inform our own decisions about the future, and to open us up to new ideas, trends and ways of approaching our customers. My friend and former editor of this magazine, Dan Ferrisi, said a while back, “These are consequential times.” I couldn’t agree more. We’ve seen many of these inflection points over the last 15 years, causing shifts in the industry and introducing uncertainty. I truly believe the answers will be found in the voices we’re just starting to hear from, and I’m looking forward to learning from them. So should you. How do you adjust to disruption in the industry, and whom do you want to hear from? Write to me at gabrielobrien@upperhandstudios.com MARCH 2018
RETA IL IN G B ET T ER
OPPORTUNITY By Robert Christie
The opportunity to build your business doesn’t always arrive with flashing lights and an instruction manual. We need to learn to recognize opportunity when it presents itself and be prepared to take advantage. Having open ears and an open mind is oftentimes all it takes. Here are just two examples of how being alert to opportunity can help you grow your business.
Problems and Opportunities
I once had a teacher who said, “There are no such things as problems, only opportunities.” This is a lesson I took to heart. In the context of building your business, it is helpful to recognize that someone else’s problem can be a chance to gain new business. Here is a recent example from one of our stores. A customer, who has never worked with us, came in with a new tenor saxophone he had purchased online and had some fairly specific complaints regarding the instrument’s performance. After thanking him for coming in, we took the saxophone into our shop and looked it over. We found it had several adjustment issues, likely from shipping, and a small defect in its construction that would surely be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. The simple way to deal with this situation would be to recommend the customer return the instrument to the online store where they made the purchase. After all, it’s their problem not yours. Why not teach this customer a lesson about doing business online, right? Wrong. This is
MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
an opportunity for you to demonstrate how great the customer experience is in your shop. In this case, we contacted the saxophone manufacturer and arranged to ship it back to them for a warranty repair. When the manufacturer returned the instrument to us, we put it through our shop and made all the necessary adjustments and put it in perfect playing condition. The customer was so grateful that we resolved all his new instrument’s issues, he purchased a new professional alto saxophone from us the same day we returned his tenor to him. He is now a loyal customer and routinely says, “I can’t believe I ever shopped anywhere else. I’m so glad to have found you.” This situation holds two important lessons. First, you can’t control when a customer will find you or under what circumstances. The important thing to remember is that they did find you, and this is your opportunity to become their go-to music store. Second, never pass up a chance to make “someone else’s problem” your opportunity.
The Add-On Service
We certainly know the value of the add-on sale. It’s our opportunity to ensure that our customer has everything they need for a great experience with their new purchase. Training our co-workers to be mindful of add-on sale opportunities is not a new idea. How many of us recognize when to sell the services we offer as an add-on to a purchase? These opportunities are all around us every day. An obvious one is making each customer aware of our lesson program, especially to those customers who are purchasing their first instrument or have expressed dissatisfaction with their current abilities. But what other services does your store offer? Can you recommend repairs, instrument cleaning, rentals, workshops or maintenance agreements as an add-on sale? Of course, you can. We routinely see students pass through our doors on their way to a lesson. Why not look at their instrument and see if it’s clean and operating as it should? When greeting customers as they enter, ask questions and make sure they have everything they need. When parents come in with students or to purchase something for a young musician, they often have younger children who may be getting ready to start playing an instrument, too. This is an excellent time to inform parents about the value of your rental program or an upcoming student instrument sale. When working with repairs, it’s easy to get in the habit of
just returning a customer’s instrument and collecting for the completed repair, but you are missing an add-on sales opportunity. Take a moment and look in the case. Are all the accessories they need to have a great playing experience in there? Is there something you can suggest that would make the playing or practicing experience better for them? Customers who regularly come in for repair, or perhaps are picking up an expensive instrument, would benefit from hearing about your maintenance agreement (MA). An MA is a great opportunity for an add-on sale. The customer will appreciate that you are offering them a better way to keep their beloved instrument performing at its best. Competition is omnipresent. We need to constantly be mindful of the opportunities that are all around us every day. Understand the need to create a great experience for your customer, even if someone else has let them down. Don’t miss the chance to invite your customers to take advantage of all the products and services you offer that will enhance their musical experience. Learn to recognize each opportunity to be a partner in your customer’s musical journey and you’ll beat the competition every time.
KNOCKS 49
E
N OT YO UR AVE R AGE COL UM N
E M O TI O N I N M O T IO N
LEA D A MO N T H LY O P EN MIC N IG H T. C O N V IN C E Y O U R R EP S T O D O N AT E G EA R T O R EWA R D T H E “ S TA N D O U T ” P ER FO R MA N C E O F T H E N IG H T. C O LLA B O R AT E WIT H A LO C A L R EC O R D IN G S T U D IO T O R EC O R D A N A LB U M O F LIV E P ER FO R MA N C ES THROUGHOUT T H E Y EA R .
By Tim Spicer Customer Loyalty. This phrase has been so overused throughout the years that we often take it for granted. The truth is, there is power in a loyal customer. We work in a highly competitive market where most of us sell the same products at the same price, so it’s important to focus on what sets us apart from our competition. Having great customer service alone won’t push you to the top in today’s market. Online giants like sweetwater. com have top-notch customer service that can effectively compete with us, only using a telephone and the internet. So how else can we compete? Hosting powerful events is an effective strategy that can boost sales and customer loyalty by engaging customers and giving them a reason to give us their business. I led a NAMM University session at The NAMM Show where I discussed the importance of using in-store and out-of-store community-based events as a valuable strategy to build customer loyalty and boost gross sales. Exciting and engaging events create emotion, which can be a powerful tool to facilitate customers spending their money with you instead of giving it to your competition. Emotion sells. I’m sure you can think of a time you had an emotional experience with a business in the past. How did that effect your shopping habits? Did you share your positive experience with your friends and family? Emotion alters the way we perceive the world, which is why it is important to focus on building emotion while building your brand. When you think about event planning, focus on how to engage your audience and captivate their emotion. This can be accomplished through event hosting. Throughout the years, we’ve done everything from open 50
mic nights, blues jams, and senior music events to VIP nights, socials, and Guinness World Record attempts. Our best days of sales consistently follow engaging community events. Now, let’s break down how to plan and coordinate events, then we’ll look at some ideas for hosting commanding events. When planning an event, first decide what you want to accomplish. Are you attempting to create sales, create new customers, showcase a new product line or simply build name recognition? After you have the “what” and the “why,” your next step is to focus on the “who.” Assemble a team of detail-oriented and big-picture personalities, clearly define job roles and expectations, and delegate the details. Make sure to communicate often and thoroughly to your team throughout planning. When advertising your events, lean on your local chamber of commerce and your local tourism bureau. Consider pairing up with your city to host an event. Doing so will drastically increase your marketing reach. Lead a monthly open mic night. Convince your reps to donate gear to reward the “stand out” performance of the night. Collaborate with a local recording studio to record an album of live performances throughout the year. Expand your marketing reach by selecting the artists with the most social media likes, comments or shares. Now you have a brand ambassador for each performer. Sell the records in your shop and give the profits to a local charity. Now you have spread your marketing reach to the people that attended the shows, the friends and families of the musicians on the record, and the people involved with the charity. Maximum outreach accomplished! Host a musician networking event. Make your store a comfortable place for local musicians to meet and network. You can make this a broad event, or you can focus it to a specific group of musicians. Think local band educator socials, church worship leader meet and greets, or networking nights for musicians looking to join a band. This event will really build community with your store at the focal point. Hold a VIP red-carpet event for your top customers. Treat your top customers like royalty as you reward them for giving you their business. Make the event invitation only and hire a bouncer. Set up your showroom, hire a band, and bring in a catering company for food and cocktails. Hire a photographer to take pictures of your customers as they walk down a red carpet leading into your store. This event can truly build customer loyalty as you honor your customers. Finally, if you aren’t involved with Make Music Day, you should be. This is an incredible opportunity to be the musical focal point in your city. For more information on Make Music Day go to makemusicday.org. Powerful events can create a reason for customers to give you their business. Some events will be successful and some may fall short of your goals. The important thing is that you are being active in your community! I’d love to hear your thoughts on any events you’re thinking of trying. You can reach me at tim@spicersmusic.com. I look forward to hearing from you! MARCH 2018
Manufacturers: Nominate Your Favorite Retailers For Music & Sound Awards Visit msretailer.com now to submit your nominations. All nominations must be received by April 6.
V E D D AT O R I A L
By Dan Vedda I sold a violin to one of our adult students the other day. Playing the violin was her proverbial bucket-list item, and as she took early retirement from her job last year, she showed up at my store and said, “I’m interested in the violin. Tell me what you think I need to know to get started.” As we talked — and as she realized it was very easy to get started with a rental and lessons without making a thousand-dollar commitment — she got more and more excited. She signed up for lessons, got her rental and began plugging away. Nine months in, she knew she was enjoying herself, could see her progress and used her rental credit to purchase an instrument she fell in love with (for the best reason: its sound). She spent about $1,100 on the outfit, not counting ancillary purchases like humidifier, tuner, shoulder rest, books and other items. She continues to take lessons, and she’ll continue to buy books, strings and anything else she fancies for years to come. Given her age and decent health, she will do so longer than the eight years an average school player participates in a school program. She’s also very appreciative of the help and guidance we’ve given her and sings our praises in the community to anyone who will listen. She wouldn’t look to Amazon for music help any more than she’d buy sushi at 7-Eleven. I also refurbished a clarinet for a 30-something woman restarting on her instrument, excited about the opportunity to play in a band again. If she stays with her plan, we’ll likely see her for reeds, repairs and other needs — perhaps even an upgraded horn — for several decades. I cite the statistic that more than 25 percent of our students are adults. It’s not that we don’t pay attention to the school program kids; they’re still almost two-thirds of our enrollment (the other 10 percent to 15 percent are preband kids from age four to nine). But the adults are highly motivated, well-funded, and deeply appreciative of their musical experience and the help we provide. Kind of ideal customers, if you ask me. No, we don’t see many of the over-geeked collector hobbyists or the grasping-at-glory barband could-have-beens. Or more accurately, we don’t see them often, because we’re not a store 52
where people hang out and fondle cool gear, talk specs and never buy anything. Our focus is helping people make music, and when we meet a person who needs our help, we jump in fully engaged. I could tell a hundred stories of the NASA engineers, airline pilots, teachers, doctors, moms, clergy, and other adults from all walks of life that take lessons with us or stop in regularly for supplies. Some began coming in as their kids got into band; some came on their own. But all of them consider music an important long-term component of their life. We know, thanks in part to steady support from NAMM over several decades, that there is a documented health benefit to music participation. We have seen the costs of participation drop to an amount that approaches many peoples’ monthly latte budget. (Actually, it’s under the monthly outlay for a dedicated “Starbuccaneer.”) That’s why I don’t understand why so many industry folks that hear the story of our adult customers are incredulous or dismissive. Often people will assert that our market is an anomaly, or that we’re in an affluent area (as if hitting a certain income bracket triggers the music gene). Our market is unique in its character, but common in its components. We’re also in an affluent suburb but surrounded by widely disparate income brackets — and we see adults from all of them. So again — why are so many surprised? Part of it, certainly, is inertia. If your store has had a long and steady run with school music or combo in its “traditional” sense, you came up seeing the adults as a bankroll or perhaps a somewhat pesky wanna-be well past the window of opportunity. Some teachers have been even slower to embrace the adult student, making it harder to create a welcoming, nurturing musical environment for them. While many educators are now on board, I still hear from those who feel adults aren’t worth their time because they “won’t amount to anything.” Define “amount to” in music. Teachers need to stop defining themselves with their students ... but that’s another topic. Yet the fact is that many people came up in this industry as musicians, talking to other musicians. Like any industry or discipline, we have our own culture that is potentially opaque or intimidating to newbies. Another part of the issue is sheer lack of observation. Some assert that there just aren’t that many interested adults in their area. An adult walking into a music store isn’t as forward as a lot of kids. They seldom just grab a guitar off the wall and start fumbling. It’s easy to assume they’re in to pick up a student, and if you engage them with the wrong tone they might walk, or even flee. But they’re out there, in spades. Today I talked to four different adults inquiring about getting started or with questions about their instrument or music in general — and that doesn’t include the adults who are already our students. That is an average day. So how does a store tap into this market? I honestly think it’s a simple, two-step process. Step one is simply a revision of tactics you probably employ already. Get the word out in any media you use that adults — particularly adult beginners — are welcome. Everything from window signs to social media can help, and once the stream starts, it can be self-sustaining. Step two is harder. You have to prove that adults are welcome by putting yourself in their shoes. A show of empathy for the new player’s potential fear of failure and a cheerleading attitude will let them know that you understand and wish them success. If you already have successful adult students, recruit them to tell their story and yours. Schedule “adult-only” recitals. Contact local community bands, so you can funnel returning players to them. Create a musical environment where adults are comfortable, and they will come. That’s the final take away from this discussion, though. If you are uncomfortable — having newbies, adults over 65 or customers who need more than average handholding in your store — it will be difficult if not impossible to execute step two. In the early rock era, stores were just as uncomfortable seeing young kids looking for guitars — but look what happened. Today, I think the tables are turned. You can stay in your comfort zone or you can embrace the market knocking on the door. I’ve been doing it for more than 25 years, and it just keeps getting better. MARCH 2018
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UNDER THE HOOD
D’ANGELICO GUITARS’
Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic Solid-Body Guitars By Anthony Vargas
To kick off 2018, D’Angelico Guitars has done guitar players worldwide a solid. The company has released a lineup of solid-body guitars, representing D’Angelico’s first real foray into the solid-body market in its 85-year history. The Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic solid-body models all made their debut during the 2018 NAMM Show. “There were two driving forces behind developing the Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic,” said Ryan Kershaw, D’Angelico’s director, product development and artist relations. “The first was timing. After the enormous growth we’ve experienced in the past six years, we felt this year was the perfect time to make our first true foray into the world of solid-bodies, which makes up the majority of the guitar market. It was something we’d been thinking about for years, so to finally know it was the right time was tremendously exciting to us. Secondly, developing solid-bodies was the logical next step for the expansion of our brand from a design standpoint. Having historically 54
MARCH 2018
been a hollow and semi-hollow guitar brand, we took our first big step toward building out our product line two years ago by introducing flat-top acoustics. That was such a successful venture that we knew our brand was strong enough to continue expanding our offerings, so we decided solid-bodies would be next. The No. 1 goal of our design efforts was to offer instruments that struck the perfect balance between the unique and the familiar.” Reflecting D’Angelico’s devotion to its New York City roots, the Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic each bear the name of an iconic New York street, and the versatility of the instruments echoes the city’s cosmopolitan vibe. And, of course, the hardware used in each model lives up to D’Angelico’s high standards. “First, the craftsmanship of these guitars is outstanding,” said Kershaw. “The slim, satin-finished neck profile, quick fingerboard and light weight make them extremely playable guitars. Second, the tonal variety (continued on page 60) MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
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57
GENERATION NEXT: TWO STUDENTS HOPING TO BE THE FUTURE OF MI
Ad Index
Company
(continued from the cover)
Pg
ALFRED PUBLISHING..............25 AMAHI UKULELES...................23 BITTREE......................................59 BOURNS PRO AUDIO................31 CELESTION.................................5 CHAUVET LIGHTING................9 D'ADDARIO.................................17 D'ANGELICO GUITARS.........C-III EMD MUSIC................................33 GALAXY AUDIO........................3 GATOR CASES............................7 GLP - GERMAN LIGHT PRODUCTS...............................26 HOSHINO.....................................27 KALA BRAND MUSIC CO........30
can often be competitive, if not lucrative in some cases. Why do more college students not choose the MI route? Some don’t know about the excellent employment opportunities that MI can provide. Others prefer a goal of becoming famous musicians. And others simply wish to enter other fields of employment. Although it seems daunting to convince today’s college student, as well as high-school students about to enter college, to take up MI for a living, thankfully, there is hope. Much of these efforts are being led by The NAMM Foundation, a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and its 10,300 members around the world, via its GenNext program. The Foundation presented 94 college music students with the President’s Innovation Award. The annual award provides students exploring a career in music education, business, and/or music products with a travel stipend to attend industry events and advance their careers. In total, approximately 2,000 students came to The NAMM Show. Although some do want to be performers and others want to be music teachers, many are seeking jobs, as well as internships in MI. In fact, many helped exhibitors set up their trade show booths at The NAMM Show, allowing them to forge industry connections. To learn more about this topic, the Music & Sound Retailer spoke with two of the scholarship recipients, as well as Mary Luehrsen, executive director of The NAMM Foundation. “We have a wonderful relationship with College Music Society, which is a service organization for college faculty members and deans,” said Luehrsen. “They tell us that enrollment in college music programs has never been stronger. There’s a serious group of young people who are studying music.” As part of the GenNext program put forth by NAMM and the Missoula, Mont.-based College Music Society, students and college faculty were treated to educational sessions while at the show, targeting such topics as entrepreneurship, résumé building and computer development. “When you are 18 or 19, you may not know for sure what you want to do,” noted Luehrsen. “But from our perspective, we are very bullish on the future of the music industry. We believe young people will give so much to us. I think when we look back, we will see a future NAMM board president and certainly a leader in this industry that came to The NAMM Show for the first time through this program. That’s why we created the [GenNext] program about five years ago.” “For many of us, it’s life affirming to know there’s a place where vibrant and wonderful people are gathering and there is an industry that is open and eager to receive them,” continued Luehrsen. “GenNexters have a lot to contribute to us.”
MEGHAN TAYLOR, 24, ATTENDS NORTHWESTERN
KORG...........................................19
STATE UNIVERSITY, WHERE
KYSER MUSICAL PRODUCTS.12
SHE STUDIES MUSIC EDUCA-
MANHASSET SPECIALTY COMPANY............................................6 MARSHALL ELECTRONICS.....11
TION, WITH A GRADUATION DATE OF MAY. HER ULTI-
MUSIC & ARTS CENTER..........53
MATE GOAL IS TO HAVE A
NAMM.....................................14-15
PRIVATE CLARINET STUDIO.
NEW SENSOR.............................29 PRO X...........................................47 QSC...............................................21 RAIN RETAIL SOFTWARE........61 RAPCO/HORIZON COMPANY................................24 SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL....C-II TMP / THE MUSIC PEOPLE!.....31 TRUSST........................................32 VOCOPRO....................................13 WALKABOUT DRUM................28 WD MUSIC PRODUCTS............8 YAMAHA.................................C-IV ZILDJIAN.....................................39 While every care is taken to ensure that these listings are accurate and complete, The Music & Sound Retailer does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors.
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Meet the Students
Two students hoping to take the MI world by storm are Meghan Taylor, 24, and Hilary Janysek, 29. Janysek is a doctorate student in flute performance, as well as studying entrepreneurial music, at Muncie, Ind.-based Ball State University. Upon graduation, Janysek could be a part of the next generation of MI manufacturers to exhibit at The NAMM Show. She is currently developing a product intended to help children get more creative and expressive in their musicality. As soon as she completes her dissertation, she will apply for jobs as soon as possible, most likely around August. Taylor attends Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., where she studies music education, with a graduation date of May. Her ultimate goal is to MARCH 2018
have a private clarinet studio — perhaps expanding to a larger MI retail operation — and be involved in event planning. “This is my second NAMM Show,” said Janysek. “Coming to these events really opens my eyes regarding how many options there are for people in the music field right now. I think it’s really refreshing to know what I’m geared toward. There’s an opportunity for me to follow that. Serving as an intern, I’ve been able to see a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff at The NAMM Show and the GenNext program. The goal is to go to NAMM every year.” “I think it’s important for us to be as diverse as possible,” she added. “There are so many possibilities in the music industry. Encouraging that curiosity can help students explore different paths and know there are opportunities in this field.” Why strive for a job in MI and not attempt to become a professional musician? “I think it’s about coming to terms with what I actually want to do on a day-to-day basis,” said Taylor. “I love playing my clarinet on a day-to-day basis. I love teaching clarinet. But I have too many interests to just do one thing.” What does the future of MI look like from a student’s perspective? “There are a lot of people like Hilary that are coming up with new, creative ideas,” responded Taylor. “Those are the people who will take the music industry from where it’s at today into the future. Maybe they will change some things, whether getting more involved with social media and websites, or something else. I feel secure knowing the people at the GenNext conference [at The NAMM Show] are going to be leaders in the industry soon.” “There are always gaps you can find in the industry, in terms of needs, that can be filled,” added Janysek. “Even if it seems like a small market at first, it can expand. Even an outlandish idea can blow up to be something much bigger.” Both students stressed that doesn’t mean current MI manufacturers are not meeting musicians’ needs and certainly does not mean they are not up to date on rising technologies. It’s quite to the contrary in fact. “I feel I’m behind on the technologies at this conference,” joked Janysek. “The technology out on the show floor is very forward [thinking].” But the next group of people with ideas still need to want to be in MI, as opposed to other fields. Why haven’t more students seen the excellent career opportunities the industry can provide? “There are so many universities that have two tracks, teaching and performance,” answered Taylor. “There’s not as much emphasis on music business, the music industry and entrepreneurship. In order for their knowledge to expand, I think it’s important for students to come to an event like [NAMM]. Even music faculty at universities that don’t have a program already can come to the show and bring back information that the music industry is changing and there is always this other path you can take.” Of course, any student attending The NAMM Show has to be excited not only about the grandeur of it all, but also tons of cool new products they can see for the first time. “I was walking The NAMM Show floor and saw a digital display where you can upload a PDF that displays it on a screen that’s more like paper, because it’s not as straining on your eyes. It looks like a regular sheet of paper, as opposed to a smaller iPad screen. That was really neat,” relayed Taylor. “I saw some inflatable instruments that make sound,” added Janysek. “Anything is possible. … Any sort of niche possible is out there.” The students summed up their NAMM experience with these comments: “The NAMM Show MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
HILARY JANYSEK, 29, IS A DOCTORATE STUDENT IN FLUTE PERFORMANCE, AS WELL AS STUDYING ENTREPRENEURIAL MUSIC, AT BALL STATE UNIVERSITY. UPON GRADUATION, JANYSEK COULD BE A PART OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF MI MANUFACTURERS TO EXHIBIT AT THE NAMM SHOW.
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and GenNext cater to any path you want to take in the music industry,” said Janysek, “whether it’s performing, teaching or [manufacturing] products. The more students that come to experience NAMM, the better.” “I love coming to The NAMM Show. There are so many refreshing ideas. The products, the people and the networking opportunities are unfathomable. You can meet anyone in the industry,” concluded Taylor. “… NAMM is a life-changing experience.”
UNDER THE HOOD: D’ANGELICO’S SOLID-BODY GUITARS
(continued from page 55) is remarkable. All three models feature coil-tapping push/pull tone knobs, so the range of humbucker to single-coil sounds is impressively diverse. There’s also a range of pickup variation, from a single-coil stack paired with a humbucker to P90s to double humbuckers. All three of [the new guitars] are easy-to-use Swiss Army Knives.” The Bedford is a ’60s-inspired offset equipped with Seymour Duncan pickups, a maple neck featuring a stacked single-coil pickup, a bridge humbucker and a six-point tremolo bridge on certain finishes. According to Kershaw, the Bedford is “perfect for all kinds of rock.” The Ludlow is an offset model with a unique, oversized body 60
shape. Its unusual offset design offers easy access to the highest frets, and it features a slim-C neck shape for added comfort while playing. Kershaw described the Ludlow as “a unique offset with infinite sustain.” He added, “[It has] double humbuckers and coil-tapping push/pull tone knobs for a huge range of tones” and that it’s well-suited for “rock, funk, R&B, jazz and beyond.” The Atlantic is a single-cutaway solid-body that features a slim-C neck shape, two Seymour Duncan humbuckers and two push/pull tone knobs for coil-tapping. It is surprisingly lightweight given its sizable body shape, thanks to its deep belly cut and shallow body depth. According to Kershaw, the Atlantic is “a curvaceous
modern take on a single-cutaway solid-body that spares you the shoulder-ache. [It offers] light weight, massive sound, [and is] super versatile in tone — including surprisingly remarkable single-coil sounds.” He added that the versatility of the Atlantic’s tone makes it a good choice for any genre of music. Kershaw reported that all three solid-bodies were well received during their NAMM Show debut. “Considering our foray [into solid-bodies] a somewhat bold one, we did not expect to receive the degree of positive feedback that we have,” he shared. “Absolutely every consumer, dealer and artist who tried one at The NAMM Show in January had only the highest
praise — it was truly rewarding. Everyone from Bob Weir to Isaiah Sharkey to Kurt Rosenwinkel played one onstage, and across the hundreds of attendees who picked one up, we heard positive feedback about every aspect of the guitars — the aesthetic, the playability, the tone, the weight, you name it. To say it was a satisfying first response would be an understatement.” The Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic are all available in Premier and Deluxe Series models. “Across our entire product line, we offer many of the same models in both our Premier and Deluxe Series to guarantee accessibility for the largest possible range of players,” said Kershaw. “The differences between the seMARCH 2018
ries come down to pickup brand, tuning machines and tonewood selection. Electronics configurations, body shapes and construction are all exactly the same. Both series are designed to have
the most outstanding quality for the lowest price possible.” D’Angelico also plans to release artist series models of the new solid-bodies in the near future. “We’ve been very active getting
them into the hands of artists,” said Kershaw. “We’re already working on signature-model versions of each model with a number of big names, which we’re excited to reveal soon.”
The Premier Series versions of the Bedford, Ludlow and Atlantic start at a MAP of $699, while Deluxe Series models start at $1,199 MAP. All three solid-bodies are now shipping.
THE FINAL NOTE: ANDY MOONEY — CEO, FENDER
(continued from page 62) The Retailer: What is the best concert you’ve ever been to? Mooney: I saw Deep Purple in a very small venue in Edinburgh just after “In Rock” was released. Ritchie Blackmore was on fire that night.
The Retailer: If you could see any musician, alive or deceased, play a concert for one night, who would it be and why? Mooney: I would’ve loved to have been on the roof of the Apple Building to see the last live performance of The Beatles. There has never been a band quite like them since. The Retailer: What musician are you hoping to see in the near future? Mooney: I saw Marylyn Manson play the Palladium MLK day, and I’m excited to see Machine Head in Las Vegas. I’m a metal fan. My wife says I need therapy. Metal is my therapy. The Retailer: What song was most memorable for you throughout your childhood and what do you remember about it the most? Mooney: The two first singles I bought were “Paranoid” from Black Sabbath and “Black Night” from Deep Purple. Both bands shaped my taste in music. I’m still trying to master Blackmore’s solo from “Black Night.”
The Retailer: If you had to select three people, past or present, to have dinner with, who would they be and what would you ask them? Mooney: I’d like to have dinner with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. There’s a long list of things I’d like to ask them about their creative process. Most of all, I’d like to have dinner with my father again to tell him how much I miss him. The Retailer: Tell us about your most memorable experience with an MI retailer (without naming them). Mooney: I met with an MI retailer who just wanted to tell me how strongly he disagreed with Fender’s decision to sell consumer direct. I explained that consumer direct sales were less than 2 percent of total [sales] and mostly comprised products they couldn’t find anywhere else, e.g. left-handed guitars. The data didn’t sway him, so we ended up disagreeing, but respecting each other’s point of view.
The Retailer: What is the best thing about the MI industr y? Mooney: Having passion and work intersect on a daily basis. This is truly my dream job. The Retailer: Who do you admire most outside of the music industr y and why? Great brands are the cumulative effect of great products, so I admire companies like Apple, Nike and Disney. The Retailer: What technology could change MI down the road? Mooney: Digital distribution is changing MI now. Over 100million people subscribed to a digital streaming service in 2016. Digital distribution in general, and streaming in particular, is the key driver of growth in MI. The Retailer: If you weren’t in the music industry, what would you be doing and why?
Point of Sale + Website + Rentals
MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER
The Retailer: Tell us about your hometown and why you enjoy living there. Mooney: I grew up in a small mining village called Whitburn, half way between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I live in the Hollywood Hills of L.A. and can walk to the Whiskey, Roxy and Viper Room. I consider the U.S. home. I’m a citizen and have enjoyed every moment of the 30-plus years I’ve lived here. The Retailer: What are your most prized possession(s) and why? Mooney: I’ve been collecting Fender Guitars since moving to the U.S., three decades ago. The collection tracks Fender’s history back to its very origins and now hangs on the wall outside my office. If someone feels the urge to play a ’52 telecaster or ’54 Stratocaster, they can just lift it off the wall and plug it in.
ALL IN ONE
cloud-based system • POS & Website (Integrated Inventory) • Rent to Own • Reverb Integration • Product Data Integration (Alfred & D’Addario) • Class Management • Service/Repairs Tracking • Automated Marketing • And more!
The Retailer: What songs are on your smartphone, right now? Mooney: I subscribe to Apple Music, so every song in the world is now pretty much on my phone. The Retailer: What’s the most fun thing you saw and/or did at a NAMM Show? Mooney: Last year, we hosted performances from Jeff Beck playing a selection of Cliff Gallup songs and Gus G played the Metal Allegiance Show. Two masters of their craft.
Mooney: I’d be retired and living on a beach somewhere.
"Our year-over-year sales increased by 35% after switching to Rain Retail" ~Jeremy Chapman, Owner, The Acoustic Shoppe
See how it works! rainpos.com/music As seen at
www.rainpos.com/music sales@rainpos.com • (801) 893-3680
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THE FINAL NOTE
ANDY MOONEY CEO, FENDER By Brian Berk
The Music & Sound Retailer: What was the best advice you ever received? Andy Mooney: My father told me to “Always leave a place in better condition than when you arrived.” One of his maxims from the mines. The Retailer: What was your first experience with a musical instrument? Mooney: My father bought me a classic nylonstrung acoustic guitar on layaway for Christmas when I was 10 years old. The Retailer: What instrument do you most enjoying playing? Mooney: I have one of the first American Standards from 1986 I bought in a pawn shop in Portland. It’s a very special guitar. The American Standard marked Fender’s rebirth in my mind and was the first guitar in my collection. The Retailer: Tell us something about yourself that others do not know or would be surprised to learn. Mooney: I’m a huge student of architecture. The Retailer: What is your favorite activity to do when you are not at work? Mooney: I try to run or bike every day. Working out daily is a habit I developed working at Nike for 20 years. (continued on page 61)
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MARCH 2018
We Take Full
Responsibility — For Protecting the Environment — Like you, Yamaha employees around the world want to live in an environment with clean air and water. So we created a wide range of initiatives that embrace our corporate responsibility and address vital issues, like global warming and biodiversity. For instance, we recycle and reuse factory waste water, plant trees in growing forests, build instruments from eco-friendly materials, cut emissions of greenhouse gases from manufacturing and shipping, and employ ISO 14001 environmental management systems worldwide. We thought you’d like to know because we don’t just work together, we all live together.
Planting new trees is one of many Yamaha eco initiatives.