VISIONARY - Music Inc. Magazine

GOING PRO
amps will make any professional
player gig-ready — on
the road or in the studio.
DBZ GUITARS BOLERO Frank Cuevas
of Music Nation 1 in Rockford, Ill., called
Dean Zelinsky’s custom-style axes “the
next evolution of standard guitars.”
He referred to the popular mahoganybodied,
maple-top Bolero as a “refined,
next-generation Les Paul,” an electric
with a body style and fretwork that
create an immediate “wow” factor for
customers who can forgo the “label
mindset.” He shows them how the
streamlined-shaped neck design makes
for seamless playability and unique tone.
BLACKSTAR HT CLUB 40
COMBO AMPLIFIER The secret
to pushing Blackstar’s gig-friendly
Venue series amps at Daddy’s
Junky Music Store in Manchester,
N.H.? It’s all about placement,
according to Lew DiTommaso. He’s
created a Blackstar “hotspot” to
redirect foot traffic. With combos
starting at $249, DiTommaso can
“determine the budget, expertise
and style of the customer.” The HT
Club 40 Combo’s overdrive switch
alternates between “a sensational
clean channel that is difficult to
accomplish in many amps twice
the price and a high-gain, gorgeous
tube-saturated second channel
that rips,” DiTommaso said.
REVEREND GUITARS SEN-
SEI RT Reverend has made
such a name for itself in the
retail marketplace that the line
takes up a third of the guitar
merchandise at Durdel’s Music
in Toledo, Ohio. “They have
their own section here,” said
Fred Shuman, Durdel’s owner.
“I stock about 10 or 15 of
them at a time.” By separating
his Reverend inventory from
the rest of his stock, mature
players and seasoned pros
have started to take note of
the line’s potential. The brand’s
latest addition, the set-neck
Sensei RT, comes equipped
with a double-cutaway korina
body and custom-designed
hot Revtron pickups for
a boosted midrange.
74 I MUSIC INC. I JULY 2011
Unsung Heroes
RECORDING KING RD-316
“We’ve had less returns for
work on Recording Kings than
any other guitar,” said Joe Vest
of Big Joe’s Guitar Works in
Madison, Tenn. The brand has
garnered popularity among
Nashville studio musicians
because of its affordable price
and pro features — real dovetail
neck joints, forward scalloped
X-bracing and high-grade materials.
Vest readily stocks them
with his high-end acoustics and
said that most pros in search of
a Martin typically walk out the
door with a Recording King.
EASTMAN GUITARS AR880
Eastman’s newly revamped
archtop guitars and mandolins
have sparked the interest of
bluegrass players normally
grounded in American tradition.
“To see them talking about
Eastman mandolins and
recommending them amongst
themselves, that’s a massive
change of attitude,” said Fred
Petsch of Atlanta’s Maple
Street Guitars. He’s meticulous
about setups, which he
believes are fundamental to
selling the line. “We invest in
making sure everything is set
up properly,” Petsch said. “I
can unreservedly recommend it
because I’ve hand-selected it.”