April, 2013 - Music & Sound Retailer

Ad IndexCompanyPgACE PRODUCTS GROUP..............6ALFRED PUBLISHING.................33AMERICAN DJ.......................... C-IVAMERICAN LIGHTING................53RATTLE & STRUM(continued from cover)guitar market right now?Conversely, what isn’t sellingas well?Dennis Webster: In theoverall guitar market, acousticand acoustic electric guitars aregrowing, whereas the electricguitar market seems more stag-service is what’s hot. We findthat customers want the “extra”customer service experience,whether they’re spending $800 or$3,500. With the Web, they haveaccess to more information thanever before. So, when they gointo a retail location, they demandSchecter led the way with affordablesevens and eights, and thesecontinue to be constant sellers.We have continued to expandwith additional models each year.Active pickups are still very popular,and our guitars loaded witheither EMG or Seymour DuncanASTEROPE.....................................11CHAUVET LIGHTING...................17CHEM-PAK.....................................50EMINENCE SPEAKERCOMPANY...................................25FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS..........31GALAXY AUDIO...........................3GEORGE L’S...................................35GODIN GUITARS...........................39HOHNER.........................................7HOSHINO................................... C-IIIKORG..............................................16LM PRODUCTS..............................35NAMM.......................................14-15NEW SENSOR................................19OSIAMO..........................................52PICK PUNCH..................................18PRS GUITARS................................21QSC AUDIO....................................29RAPCO/HORIZON COMPANY....51RCF..................................................53ROTOSOUND.................................37SABIAN...........................................41SOUND ENHANCEMENTPRODUCTS..................................10STRING SWING.............................22TKL PRODUCTS......................... C-IIU.S. BAND & ORCHESTRASUPPLIES....................................12VOCOPRO.......................................13YAMAHA........................................9YORKVILLE...................................5YOU ROCK GUITARS...................51While every care is taken to ensure thatthese listings are accurate and complete,The Music & Sound Retailer does not acceptresponsibility for omissions or errors.Michael CiravoloI think there are still alot of people who arewilling to pass up onlinediscounts, the no-taxpolicy or free shippingto actually see, feel andhear the latest gear forthemselves.nant. In the acoustic market, itappears there are higher unitsales at lower price points thanthe last few years. Whereas theaverage price for the acousticguitar seems to be lower, theaverage purchase price ofacoustic electrics is increasing.In both acoustic and acousticelectric, the hot trend continuesto be with the smaller bodyinstruments. In the past year,there has been an introductionand revamping of smaller bodyacoustic electrics at great valueswith improved playability. In theelectric guitar market, the industryis seeing fewer units soldoverall, but the average unitcost is up. This is the oppositetrend of the acoustic guitar.Ken Haas: Our experienceis in the mid-priced market($749 to $1,399), and customerJust like how Disneyre-releases their classicsevery seven years, thereare always new customers,generations and musicianscoming into the market,and what’s old becomesnew again.that the Owner or the salesmanknow at least as much as they doabout the guitar they’re interestedin. In-store training at all levelsis key. In my opinion, this givessmaller retailers and manufacturersan edge with the educatedconsumer.Justin Norvell: The “bluechip” or core products are doingvery well. Our new American VintageSeries is hot at the moment,and that points to the essence ofwhat the brand is about: a greatStrat, a great Tele, but quitetraditional. On a more generallevel, acoustics, as a category, arehot. A lot of that mirrors currentmovements in music: Mumford &Sons, The Lumineers, etc.Michael Ciravolo: We stillsell an incredible amount ofseven- and eight-string guitars,even with Floyd Rose trems!Justin NorvellBlackouts still outsell our passiveguitars by a factor of five to one.The Retailer: In terms ofidentifying trends, what doyou see taking root right nowthat might, in two or threeyears, fully come to fruitionand have a big impact on theguitar market?Ciravolo: Music trends seemto be fairly stable right now,and we see a lot of great up-andcomingguitar-based bands. This,of course, is great for our market.To be honest, and although someof our competitors might thinkotherwise, we are not reinventingthe wheel in the guitar market.Consumers are more knowledgeablenow and expect quality andaffordability. Internet sales mayhave the biggest impact on theguitar market in the coming48 APRIL 2013