PRODUCT - Music Inc. Magazine

with three knobs on it and a fuzz
box. But given our history, we
still have a large segment that
wants to buy tweed and Blackface
tube amps from us because
of the great music that has been
made with them. The trick is to
keep that historic flame alive but
also realize that everyone has a
cell phone in his or her pocket
that takes photos and holds music
and show that we’re not afraid
of technology.”
RoBUST TEAcHiNG Tool
Scott Maxwell, store manager
of Reno’s Music in Fishers,
Ind., said this new generation of
amps offers great teaching tools
that let fledgling musicians explore
sounds without having to
spend a fortune on pedals.
“A lot of beginners might not
know what a lot of the effects
are,” he said. “They now have
them at their disposal with these
new amps, so they get to learn
how a tremolo differentiates from
a flanger. They’re learning about
all of the effects, and that goes
toward building trust with the
customer. After a couple of years
when someone is in his first band
and wants a stage amp, he knows
what specific pedals he’s going
to want at that point.”
Maxwell added that his company’s
big in performance-based
education and has advocated Hal
Leonard’s Play-Along series.
When the publisher teamed up
with manufacturers, such Fender
and Roland, to make the Play-
Along books compatible with
their amps, Reno’s outfitted its
seven guitar rooms and larger
classroom with Fender G-Decs.
“The two of them joining
forces was a perfect match for
us,” Maxwell said. “The Play-
Along books come with SD cards
loaded with songs and the appropriate
tone. It changes the
student’s whole experience of
‘The g-Dec
has been a big
help in launching
some of our
classes and
TREND SEGMENTS
GUITAR AMPS
TREND SEGMENTS
group lessons.’
— Scott maxwell
learning to play. No matter what
the student might be playing,
you can adjust the tempo. It
makes the learning process more
efficient, so they progress faster
and it’s more fun.
“The G-Dec has been a
big help in launching some of
our classes and group lessons.
They’re essentially little rock
bands, and the G-Dec is a big
part of their personal practice
and getting the material together.
It brings in more teaching revenue,
which is more and more
important for everyone.”
NoT JUST foR STUDENTS
John Rosborough, owner of
Sound of Music in Kokomo,
Ind., said students aren’t the only
demographic benefiting from the
G-Decs and Spider Jams of the
world. These amps also open up
new opportunities for amateur
recordists and guitarists in bands.
“It gives the enthusiast the
opportunity of going to a computer
and layering and putting
down tracks, so they can make
their own CDs,” Rosborough
said. “It’s very helpful to have
bandmates who are learning a
new song to be able to hear a
product that they can put together
and rehearse off of.”
Pinkston Music in Gulfport,
Miss., caters to the $795-andunder
market and sells 30–40
Line 6 Spider IV 15s per month
to entry-level players. But ac-
GUITAR AMPS
ALL-In-OnE AMPS
Fender G-Dec This amp includes USB
connectivity for high-quality, lowlatency
audio output and for engaging
the Fender Fuse software application.
This allows for on-screen parameter
control, deep editing, unlimited preset
storage, online preset swapping with
the Fender Fuse community and free
Fender artist presets. {fender.com}
Vox JamVox This package lets users
import their MP3/iTunes libraries or favorite
CD tracks. Using proprietary technology
by Korg, guitarists can extract solo guitar
parts or reduce and essentially mute
guitar parts from any prerecorded track.
Plus, guitarists can then record their own
guitar performances. {voxamps.com}
Orange OPC This unit is
a PC housed in an Orange
cabinet. It boasts stereo
twin JBL 6 1/2-inch speakers,
an Intel i3-540 3.06
GHz Dual Core processor
with 4 GB of RAM, a 500-
GB hard drive and a slotloading
DVR drive. The OPC
comes preloaded with software,
including the Orange
Edition of PreSonus Studio
One. {orangeopc.com}
Line 6 Spider Jam The Spider
Jam offers more than 350
artist-created and song-based
presets, 12 original amp models,
seven Smart Control FX, and more
than 100 endless jam tracks by
session musicians. The looper
features up to 24 minutes of
CD-quality recording time, and the
Spider Jam offers a mini stereo
MP3/CD input. {line6.com}
Roland AC-33 The amp’s onboard
phrase looper lets users
record and loop up to 40 seconds
at a time. Users can jam over guitar
riffs or incoming audio from
the aux input. The AC-33 also
offers battery-power capability,
running on AC power or eight
AA batteries. {rolandus.com}
MAY 2011 I MUSIC INC. I 53