bOrN iN The uSA! - Music & Sound Retailer

VOLUME 26 NO. 9InsidePage 11F E AT U R E SON THE COVERBorn in the USAWe feature manufacturers who produce a majority of theirproducts in the United States. Why do they make productsin the USA as opposed to Asian countries? Find out.Page 8Page 12c o l u m n s18 The Music & SoundIndependent RetaileriMSO had a great Summer NAMM show. Find outwhy. Plus, learn how the group helped a manufacturerand what company hosted a big party for AIMM.21 Five Minutes WithWe check in with Phil Betette about everythingYorkville, including ART’s anniversary and the state ofour industry.25 MI SpySpy heads off to a beautiful summer locale, Portland,Maine, a place he/she has not been in a long, longtime. So was Portland relaxed—expecting Spy not tostop by—or was service great?29 Sales GuruSanta Claus IS coming to town. Find out why GeneFresco is optimistic.31 VeddatorialDan Vedda explains why Summer NAMM wasso important.38 Formidable FemalesCathy Duncan, Seymour Duncan’s co-founder andchairman, received a ton of on-the-job training. But shehas excelled. Creativity is one of the company’shallmarks. Find out much more about her.b u z z3 Latest8 Industry10 People10 Dealer12 ProductsPage 13Page 13 september 2009

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editorialTo the Amazing Subscribers of the Music & Sound Retailer:When we started the Music & Sound Independent Retailer section in April2007, my thoughts behind it were, Let’s have a great two-page story only for independentretailers. It will be part of the magazine. The pages will look different. Andlet’s provide the best information about and for only indie dealers.Well, it has worked.The Music & SoundIndependent Retailer,according to you,has become one ofour most-read storiesbehind MI Spy and,perhaps, a couple ofothers, including Veddatorial.We have you tothank. Not only areJoe Vasko, vice president and general manager at Mapex (l) we the largest tradeand Joe Lamond, president and CEO at NAMM, give Brian Berk, magazine in theeditor of The Music & Sound Retailer, a “beating” during the business, with almostSummer NAMM show. Of course, it was all a good-natured joke.12,000 audited readersas measured by theBureau of Public Audit (BPA), but we also are undeniablythe most read. We have always been known as the crusaderfor the independent dealer. We are the magazine independentsturn to. Just ask the fantastic people at AIMMor iMSO, for example. Our magazine has been integral inhelping them both build their dealer base. At the show,iMSO announced that it has more than 350 members todate. This is fantastic news. It’s all because of you.We believe that the Music & Sound Independent Retailerhas made a difference. And folks, that’s really what it’s allabout. As a journalist/editor, that’s what makes me smileat night: When our writing can lead to positive change, wehave done our job. When you edit a magazine, you can’tsimply be in it to earn a paycheck. You want to provide cutting-edgeinformation on which people can rely.As you will see in next month’s Independent RetailerRoundtable story on the cover, several manufacturers havebegun to treat you much better than before. They have realizedhow important you are. You provide lessons. You fixinstruments when they break. You are the ones who will bethere year in and year out. You don’t simply chase a paycheck,either.Today, manufacturers also realize they cannot place allof their eggs in one basket. No matter if it’s a major chainretailer or a top Internet merchant, manufacturers know evena small hiccup at one of those businesses can affect theirbottom line dramatically. This is evidenced by the fact thatmanufacturers were chomping at the bit to be included inour Independent Roundtable next month. iMSO selected twocompanies to be included.We will continue to be the preeminent magazine for indie retailers.You have shown your affection for this magazine whenwe’ve seen you at trade shows. We truly appreciate that.We will be the magazine that makes sure music industryindependent retailers don’t go the way of independent hardwaredealers or independent electronics dealers.Independent dealers: We will fight for your survival. Morethan that…we will do anything humanly possible to help youthrive.Ladies and gentleman, we’ve seen the pendulum swingback toward independent retailers. Yes, the pendulum isswinging slowly. But it will reach its destination.The Music & Sound Retailer is the only one to say it is THEmagazine for America’s independent music and sound retailers.It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but we will help guide you inany way we can.September 15, 2009Volume 26, No. 9BRIAN berKbberk@testa.comEditorDan Ferrisidferrisi@testa.comAssistant EditorGeorge HinesSkip maggioraEditorial Advisorsgene frescojeffrey kyle, jr.Michelle LoebDAN VEDDAJonathan YorkContributorsJANICE PUPELISGraphic Designer/ArtistSTEVE THORAKOSProduction Managercirculationcirculation@testa.comPhil TaylorWeb DesignerEditorial and Sales Office: The Music & Sound Retailer, 25 Willowdale Avenue, Port Washington, New York11050-3779. Phone: (516) 767-2500 • Fax (Editorial): (516) 767-9335 • FAX (Sales/All other business):(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 accompaniedby return postage.Sound & Communications • DJ Times • Sound & Communications Blue BookThe Music & Sound Retailer • International DJ Expo • ClubWorld • IT/AV ReportThe Retailer’s Vnewsletter • Convention TV @ NAMM • InfoCommTV NewsVTTV StudiosThe Music & Sound Retailer (ISSN 0894-1238) (USPS 0941-238) is published 12 times a year for $18 (US), byRetailer Publishing, Inc., 25 Willowdale Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050-3779.Periodicals postage paid at Port Washington, N.Y. and additional mailing offices.Robert l. Iraggiriraggi@testa.comAdvertising DirectorDOUGLAS YELINdyelin@testa.comArt/Production Assistantrobin hazanrhazan@testa.comOperations ManagerVINCENT P. TESTAPresident/PublisherPOSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Music & Sound Retailer, PO BOX 1767, LOWELLMA 01853-1767 september 2009

RIBBON. EXEMPLIFIED.THE EPITOME OF SOUND AND RESILIENCE.Ribbon microphones have long been prized for their unique sonic signatures, but their delicate components have historicallylimited their use. Until now. The KSM353 and KSM313 Ribbon Microphones from Shure feature revolutionary ribbontechnology, handcrafted in the USA. Experience the highest caliber ribbon microphone sound with state-of-the-art ShureFor more information on these and additional KSM Microphones, please visit www.shure.com.www.shure.com© 2009 Shure Incorporated

industryJacob Javits Convention CenterNews Briefs:• Fender celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of LeoFender.• eMedia Music Corp. is now distributing the Guitar Lab series ofguitar instruction DVDs. They will be available this month.• Big & Rich member Big Kenny appeared at Mt. View ElementarySchool in Antioch, Tenn., to present 20 of the 140 Guild acousticguitars donated to the school via Little Kids Rock. The childrenperformed songs for Big Kenny and presented him with an awardfor his generosity and support.• C.F. Martin partnered with the Musical Instrument Museum,which is set to open in Phoenix in 2010. The company helped to createa 150-sq.-ft. workbench exhibit “illustrating the tools, techniques,and meticulous craftsmanship employed to create world-classguitars at the Martin factory.”• Taylor Guitars opened a new Factory Service Center at thecompany’s El Cajon, Calif., location. The Service Center offers fourcomprehensive guitar maintenance packages: Refresh, Revive,Renew and Rejuvenate.Let the PublicDecideBarnes & Mullins announced thefuture launch of the ML1, which is aguitar with an interesting twist. Thepublic will help decide what it lookslike and what bells and whistles ithas. The company has teamed upwith guitarist Rob Chapman, whowill let thousands of YouTube followersdecide on the facets of thesignature guitar. Chapman’s videosreceive about 10,000 hits per day.ART Turns 25Yorkville Sound is celebratingthe 25th anniversary ofits Applied Research andTechnology division. Sinceits creation in 1984, AppliedResearch and Technology hascreated products for recordingstudios, nightclubs, churches,and more. Its product offeringsincludes vacuum tube preamplifiers,compressors, channelstrips graphic equalizers, andpower conditioners.AES Set for Next MonthThe 127th Audio Engineering Society show, known as AES, willtake place from Oct. 9 to 12 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center inNew York City. A calendar of events can be viewed at www.aes.org/events/127. The live sound events to take place will include ways toreduce a tour’s carbon footprint, a White Spaces update, and “PracticalAdvice For Wireless System Users.”Instruments May Makea Great InvestmentIf you’re looking for another way to sell high-end instruments, itmight work to try to lure collectors in. In these tough economic times,investors have been shying away from stocks and moving toward musicalinstruments. Collectors stormed a Christie’s musical instrumentauction in New York City to a record of more than $2.5 million in salesearlier this year. An auction record being set this year definitely sayssomething. The auction was so successful that Christie’s has scheduledanother musical instrument auction on Oct. 9.Avid Loss GrowsAvid Technology lost $15.9 million,or 43 cents per share, for itsfiscal second quarter ending June30. The figure compares to a loss of$10.4 million, or 28 cents per share,during the same period in 2008.Revenues also dropped. The parentof M-Audio and Digidesign reported$150.5 million in revenues, comparedto $222.9 million last year.“We made a number of strategicand operational improvementsin the first half of 2009, whichhave resulted in gross marginimprovement and reduced operatingcosts on a sequential andannual basis,” said Gary Greenfield,Avid’s chairman and CEO.“…We remain confident that ourcontinued efforts to improveour operations have positionedus to take advantage of growthopportunities when the economyimproves.” september 2009

industryBundle of JoyAmerican Audio introduced its FactoryBundle Systems, which the company saysare designed to“take the guessworkout of findingthe right audiocomponents.” Thebundles comein CD and MP3formats and comein a “heavy-duty”case. AvailableSDJ2 DLS S-MCPSmodels includethe PA Package #2X, which is designedfor live bands, churches, and small clubs;the SDJ2 DLS Speaker and Media CardPlayer System Bundle for mobile DJs totransport music in an SD or SDHC card; theElev8t-R System Bundle for mobile DJs andclub owners; and the CK 1000 DLS SystemBundle, which includes a CD player, speakers,and more for mobile DJs.PA PACKAGE 2XELEV8R SYSTEMCK1000 SYSTEMYamaha Supports California SchoolYamaha donated 20 PSR-E413 Computer Compatible Keyboards tothe Orange County High School of the Arts as part of its Yamaha Caresprogram. The gear will go to the school’s songwriting class. “This isa tremendous donation and our students are so appreciative of thegift,” said Catherine Michaels, the school’s director of development. Infact, the students signed a plaque and sent several handmade cards toYamaha Cares thanking them for the donation.CorrectionIn the August issue on the Editorial page, we mistakenly thanked“Scott Robinson” from NAMM. We meant to say Scott Robertson.We apologize for the error.

peopledealerFender Goesfor GoldJon Gold was named seniorvice president of internationalsales and market developmentat Fender Musical InstrumentsCorp. He is responsiblefor growing the brand inmarkets like Asia/Pacific,Europe distributed markets,Latin America, Africa/MiddleEast, and India. Gold is alsothe “key driver” of Fender’sintegration of KMC productsand the distribution of TaylorGuitars in Europe, serving asthe primary liaison with thosecompanies.Can you offer your customers an easy-to-useGuitar-to-MIDI solution for under $100?...Now you can.TMUniversal Guitar-to-MIDI Converteris exclusively distributed in the U.S., Canada,Mexico, and Latin America by Peterson. Contact us todayto become an authorized dealer.Yamaha Names Gilman, ObaYamaha Corp. of America has promoted Garth Gilman and YoichiOba to assistant general manager for the Pro Audio and Combo Division.They will report to senior vice president Rick Young and take onincreased involvement in budgeting, organizing, strategic planningand executing the division’s business plan. Gilman began his tenure atYamaha in 2003 as the administration manager of the Band & OrchestralDivision. Oba joined Yamaha in 1990, beginning his career in salesin Tokyo for Yamaha Corp. of Japan.Shure TapsAhlbornJames Ahlborn joined Shure asvice president of finance and CFO.In this position, he is in charge ofthe company’s finance division, andwill also provide strategic counsel asa member of the executive staff. Hecomes to Shure after having held thesame positions at Tuthill Corporation.NOTATE • PERFORM • RECORD & CREATE • TUNEVisit our YouTube Channel:www.youtube.com/sonuusmusicDistributed By:www.sonuus.com | www.PetersonTuners.com | 11601 S. Mayfield Ave. Alsip, IL 60803 | 708.388.3311Spinninga WebMusician’s Friend wasrecognized for its onlinepresence by two separate institutions.The store was ranked No. 1in the Specialty and Non-Apparelcategory of this year’s InternetRetailer Top 500 Guide, wherethe store also ranked 36th out ofall domestic retail sites. Last year,Musician’s Friend ranked 39thbased on annual Internet sales.In addition, the store won thetop award in the Web Computer/Electronics category in the 24thAnnual Multichannel MerchantAwards for the third year ina row. Criteria for the awardinclude creative, merchandising,copy, customer service/navigationand marketing execution.In The NewsEco-Friendly Dealer OpensWright’s Music Shed openedits doors in July. The store,located in Lakewood, N.Y., offersa twist. Of course, plenty ofcustomer favorites will be sold.But the store will also carry anenvironmentally friendly productline, including picks anddrum sticks made from surpluswheat by Wheatware.Store owner Ed Wright ownsanother store with the same namein Bradford, N.Y. “Anything youcan do to help the environmentis something you need to offer asan alternative for the customers,”Wright told The Post-Journal.For more on Wheatware,check out last month’s SummerNAMM cover story titled“…And the Show Did Go On!”Maple Leaf Music in Brattleboro,Vt., celebrated its 30thanniversary with a story in theBrattleboro Reformer. Store ownerKate Spencer also celebratedwith a party and a sale. MapleLeaf Music stocks many boutiquebrands, including Collings,Huss & Dalton, Bourgeois, andFroggy Bottom. “I don’t sell alot of one thing,” Spencer toldthe newspaper. “I sell a little bitof everything.”10 september 2009

Daddy’s Ready for BattleDaddy’s Junky Music teamed up with Berklee College of Musicfor the second annual “Battle for Berklee,” a competition for highschool-ageguitarists. The 11 finalists and their families got a tour ofthe school, and attended a reception in their honor, before heading toDaddy’s Boston location for a live battle. The winner, 19-year-old CorySterling of Portland, Ore., walked away with a scholarship to Berklee’sSummer Guitar Session Program, a $500 gift card to Daddy’s JunkyMusic, a Fender Blues Jr. amplifier and an Ovation iDea guitar.Show No FearCape Fear Music Center in Fayetteville,N.C., sponsored an instrumentdrive to help the band programat Douglas Byrd Middle School. Theschool suffered a fire in its gym andsubsequently lost several musicalinstruments and scores.West Side StoryStudents from West Side MusicCenter’s Band Camp got thechance to perform live at Minipalooza’09. The event, whichthe store describes as “a realisticlive concert event,” took placeat St. Paul the Apostle School inJoliet, Ill. In addition to the sixgroups of guitar, drum, and vocalstudents who performed, the freeevent featured a demo of the newBose L1 line array PA system.Keith Urban AtHouse of GuitarsCountry artist Keith Urbanstopped into the House of Guitarson Sunday, Aug. 2, to do someshopping. He purchased a coupleof vintage guitars: a 1964 FenderDuo Sonic electric guitar and a’60s Airline solidbody electricguitar. He posed for pictures withother customers, as well as Houseof Guitars staff.Famularo forSuccessDom Famularo made educationthe focus at his recent in-storeappearance at Rieman Music inIowa. The drummer invited thecrowd to sit as close to him aspossible as he played a six-pieceMapex Saturn drumset and talkedabout how he developed his style,technique, and the specifics of hiskit. He answered audience questions,and also advised them onthe books, DVDs, and Web siteshe considered most helpful todrummers honing their craft.Music & ArtsDonates toMr. Holland’s Opus FoundationMusic & Arts donated510 musical instrumentsto the Mr. Holland’s OpusFoundation to assist schoolmusic programs thatcannot sustain the cost ofreplacing instruments dueto attrition, depreciationand wear. The donatedinstruments encompassedviolins, violas and cellos.The Mr. Holland’s OpusFoundation provides young people across the country with an averageof 10,000 new and refurbished instruments yearly.Music & Arts Hosts Band BattleMusic & Arts inCypress, Calif., (not thechain) held a battle ofthe bands contest at theRoxy in Hollywood, Calif.Musicorp Sales RepresentativeDan Murdywas one of the judgeson hand who helpedchoose a winner from 11competing bands, eachconsisting of Music &Arts student musicians,ranging in age from 5 toMusicorp Sales Rep Dan Murdy (left) with Music& Arts Owner Randy Scott.52. Six-year-old guitar player Masyn Avila and bass player Matt Cesenatook home top honors as part of The Rock Nerds.Music & Sound Retailer 11

PRODUCTSGuitars and AmpsExpress YourselfOverview: Taylor’s NS24Specifics: Part of the company’s Nylon Series, the NS24 isdesigned with satin-finished Indian rosewood laminate backand sides, a solid Sitka spruce top, and a mahogany neck.Two different versions are available—the NS24e non-cutaway/electricand the NS24ce cutaway/electric. Both modelscome with an onboard pre-amp and the same active controlsfound on Taylor’s Expression System.MSRP: $1198 (NS24e), $1398 (NS24ce)Ship Date: Call companyContact: Taylor Guitars, 619.258.1207, www.taylorguitars.comTanglewood Guitar Company UK is not affiliated withthe Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Festival.LessonPlanOverview:Classic GuitarTechnique, Volume1 (RevisedEdition)Specifics:Aaron Shearer revisedthe instructionalbook toinclude new insights from him and ThomasKikta on core guitar techniques. There aremore than 100 new pictures and illustrationsand the book now comes with a play-alongCD that also contains software players canuse to change tempos and loop sections.MSRP: $16.95Ship Date: NowContact: Alfred Publishing, 818.891.5999,www.alfred.comMIDI SkirtOverview:Moog Music’s MF-105M MIDI MuRFSpecifics:The MIDI MuRF(Multiple ResonanceFilter Array)combines thecompany’s MuRFand Bass MuRFproducts, and addsMIDI capability. Ithas eight filters that are controlled by eightsliders. Users can “animate the filters with 24user-editable sequence patterns,” accordingto Moog. In addition, the unit features MIDIClock Sync and MIDI Note On commandsthat play the filters in real time.MSRP: Call companyShip Date: NowContact: Moog Music, 828.251.0090, www.moogmusic.comTuner SaladOverview: New Tuners from Tune TechSpecifics: The company added three modelsto its line—the TTM-201 is a combinationtuner metronome; the TT-101 changes colorwhen it’s in tune; and the TT-501 builds uponthe company’s TT-500, adding more responsein the lower register for use with bass guitars.MSRP: Call companyShip Date: Call companyContact: SHS International, 317.780.0454,www.shsint.netTurn of theQuarter CenturyOverview: The Edition Tube 25th Anniversaryfrom Hughes & KettnerSpecifics: The Edition Tube 25th Anniversaryis a 20-watt power amp equippedwith two EL84 tubes, three-band EQ, effectsloop, and Accutronics spring reverb. Thelimited-edition model has two channels—aclean channel and a lead channel with mastergain—and is also built with a 12-inch CelestionG12T100 speaker.MSRP: Call companyShip Date: Call companyContact: Yorkville Sound, 716.297.2920,www.yorkville.com12 september 2009

Guitars and AmpsPRODUCTSDouble Your FunOverview: MONO Cases’ M80 Dual Case for Electric or Bass GuitarsSpecifics: The case’s “zig zag” design creates two separate cases, allowingfor two guitars to be transported at once. It comes with a Neckbracedesign that protects the headstocks by suspending them inside the case.The M80 fits standard-body electric guitars, including Fender Tele/Strat,Gibson, Les Paul, Ibanez, and ESP.MSRP: Call companyShip Date: Call companyContact: MONO Cases,415.830.5522, www.monocase.comBand &OrchestraThe Sax of LifeOverview: PJLA Music Sales’Sax Dakota USA Baritone SaxSpecifics: This brass-alloy saxfeatures an oversized graduated7.48-inch oversized bell, stainlesssteel long hinge rods, anddouble arm key cups that aresizes for the “low profile” Italianleather pads that the companysays are “seated so not to losetheir tone hole impression/sealfor many years under normalplaying conditions.”MSRP: $5,900Ship Date: Call companyContact: PJLA Music Sales &Marketing, 877.541.4017, www.pjlamusic.com

ADVERTORIALNewsSEPTEMBER 2009 NAMM Resources to Grow Your BusinessYou know about the NAMM Show, where the industry gathers to network with peers, learn valuable business strategies atNAMM U and Idea Center sessions, and conduct buyer meetings to build your inventory. But did you also know that NAMMprovides savings on everyday business serviceslike shipping and merchant credit/debitprocessing? Or that NAMM is encouraging thegeneral population to become active musicmakers? These efforts help bring customersright to your door each day. During thesechallenging economic times, be sure to takeadvantage of these great opportunities…Note from Joe TomSchmitt Music has been helping peoplebecome music makers for life since 1896.We operate ten stores in Minnesota andsix stores across the Midwest withnearly 400 employees, many of whomare professional musicians. It’s ourprivilege to help more than 10,000children join their school band ororchestra each year, and teach over5,000 lessons each week. But even withour many years of experience and a great baseof loyal customers, I can honestly say that being a businessowner is tough right now. It’s times like these that challenge allof us to manage every aspect of our business better than we everhave before.I’ve found that taking good care of our customers and employees,conducting our business with dedication, enthusiasm andintegrity, and providing products and services that help ourcustomers pursue their musical dreams have all been keys to oursuccess. In addition, our years of Membership in NAMM haveprovided us with a wealth of resources. We’ve grown the strengthof our company and our brand by attending NAMM shows, sittingin on every possible NAMM U session, networking with our peersand taking advantage of the association’s customer-buildingmarket development programs, which have helped grow the musicmaking population across the nation.It’s an honor for me to assume the role of Chairman of theNAMM Board of Directors and, as I do, I am again reminded ofthe many wonderful business-building resources available to allactive Members of NAMM. I thought I’d take this opportunity toremind you as well. After all, in times like these, all of us can useall the help and support we can get. Take it from me—NAMM ishere to help.Tom SchmittPresident & Chairman of Schmitt MusicChairman, NAMM Board of DirectorsMember ServicesOn behalf of its Members, NAMM hasnegotiated with companies to provide themost competitive business products, rates andservices possible. You can participate in oneor more of NAMM’s endorsed business serviceprograms, including merchant credit/debitprocessing, check services, gift cards, shippingand freight services, store-branded consumerfinancing, workers’ compensation insurance,school lease/purchase plans, and NAMM’snewest Member benefit: access to healthinsurance options through Mercer.Public Affairs and GovernmentRelationsNAMM actively represents the needs ofbusiness owners on Capitol Hill by addressingcauses that affect our industry, such ashealthcare reform, sales tax issues andInternet purchase legislation. Additionally,NAMM campaigns for music education,which not only helps kids grow and learn,but also supports the growth ofour industry.

Market Development InitiativesOne of NAMM’s many goals is to provide Retail Members with marketing toolsand opportunities to help increase store traffic, broaden and strengthen yourcustomer base, and encourage community involvement through direct-to-consumermarketing. Programs like Vans Warped Tour, Drum Corps International, the JohnLennon Educational Tour Bus and SchoolJam USA are all designed to help drivebrand-new potential customers into your store. Be sure to get involved today.Wanna Play?NAMM’s consumer-facing Wanna Play? campaign shows the 82 percent of peoplewho think they can’t play but would like to that they can! This PR-based initiativeputs music making into the media spotlight. Memberstores can benefit from this effort by participatingin Wanna Play Music Week activities each Mayand by promoting Wanna Play? contests andevents throughout the year. Hangtags andbrochures can also help inspire would-bemusicians to pick up an instrumentand play. Order materials for yourstore and see all the cool initiativesNAMM is a part of by visitingwww.wannaplaymusic.com.Not sure which programs are rightfor you? Visit www.namm.org forprogram information and to ordersupport materials, or call NAMM’sMember Contact Specialists at800-767-6266 and they will behappy to help.NAMM News September 2009NAMM News is published by NAMM. To keep up-to-date on the latest breaking industry news,sign up for our PLAYback Digital e-newsletter at playbackdigital@namm.org.

PRODUCTSPro AudioAll AmericanOverview: American Audio’s XSP SeriesSpecifics: The XSP Series includes fourspeaker models—the eight-inch XSP-8A, 10-inch XSP-10A, 12-inch XSP-12A, and 15-inchXSP-15A. All of the models come with built-inamps that can be connected directly to a mixingconsole or other sound source. They sportan “invisible” Full Grill design andABS nylon fiber cabinet, and offer avariety of install options.MSRP: Varies by modelShip Date: Call companyContact: American Audio,800.322.6337, www.americanaudio.usYour #1 resource forercussionmethodsPlay-alongsPercussionensemblesWORLD-CLASS EXCLUSIVE THE BEST HOTDVDsSony BoyOverview: Sony’s PCM-M10Specifics: The PCM-M10 is apalm-sized, 96 kHz/24-bit capableprofessionalaudio recorder.It comeswith electretcondenserstereo microphones,fourGB of internalflash memory,a built-inspeaker,cross-memoryrecording,digital pitch control, digitallimiter, low-cut filter, track markfunctions, and more. Sound ForgeAudio Studio Recorder Editionsoftware is also included.MSRP: $399Ship Date: OctoberContact: Sony Electronics,800.222.7669, www.sony.comAlfredEarly AdapterOverview: Shure’sX2u XLR-to-USB SignalAdapterSpecifics: The X2uXLR-to-USB SignalAdapter is availablealone or bundled withan SM57 or SM58mic. It connects anXLR mic to a computervia USB and comeswith a headphonejack, integrated preampwith microphonegain control, andmonitor mix control.MSRP: $129 (X2ualone); $199 (bundled with mic)Ship Date: NowContact: Shure, 847.600.2000,www.shure.comFree books every month!Phone (800) 292-6122fax (800) 632-1928Contact your sales rep for details.web alfred.com/dealere-mail sales@alfred.com16 september 2009REWARDS

Thirtieth editioniMSO iBUY Program“Big Hit” at NAMMBy Chris Lovell, Owner, Strings & Things, Memphis, Tenn.I was soaking in the hot tub at the ClubHouse Inn on AtriumDrive waiting for the rest of the iMSO guys to arrive in Nashville forSummer NAMM. I was thinking about how good this hot tub feltand about the last several years of NAMM shows. Just a few yearsback, the level of friction between dealers and manufacturers wasalmost unbearable. Man, have things changed. It just goes to show,“don’t ever think that you know what’s going to happen next.”Just think about big-box retailers then and now. In just a few shortyears, that situation has truly evolved in a way that no one couldhave predicted. Like Bain buying Guitar Center. In my opinion,“big box no longer seems to rule the world.” And could you haveimagined that our own economy would trump all of our industrywoes and send everyone into shock?!Dating back from when the NAMM show was in Austin until now,things have been shifting and many of those adjustments havebeen in our favor, the “Indie Nation.” If it weren’t for the economy,we would probably be feeling it more right now. But, on the otherhand, I believe that this economy is tougher on big-box stores thanon us as independent dealers.Anyway, back to the hot tub...things are shifting and I’m reportingfrom another NAMM show. NAMM is something I’ve been attendingsince I was 21 years old. I’m 59 now. iMSO was set for a greatshow and the indies seem more viable to the vendors than ever.They’re looking at us to see what might be possible if we workedtogether. Is that crazy sounding stuff or what?We on the executive committee of iMSO have been workingall year on a new project: a program we have named iBUY. TheiMSO iBUY Program. A way for independent dealers as a whole tointerface with vendors all over the world. A win-win program thatwas designed to make both parties winners. And a way to communicateon an ongoing basis to keep relationships on track. That’swhat iBUY is all about.The concept was born from our vendor survey, which we conductedin Anaheim in January with multiple vendors from the largestto the smallest. It became obvious to the iMSO board that whatdealers and vendors both wanted most was buying programs thatwill benefit all involved. iBUY...A WIN-WIN PROPOSITION. So, itwas decided that the iBUY program would be tested in Nashville.iMSO hosted its first open house during the entire SummerNAMM show. We set the room up Thursday night after a few“hellos” at The Hang and opened the doors Friday morning. Wehad only scheduled a handful of vendor meetings to test the waterswith the iBUY program and things just expanded dramaticallyfrom there. Vendors startedshowing up in the roomunannounced and we quicklyhad to put together a meetingschedule to accommodateeveryone. At one point, therewere three vendor meetings going on at once within the room. GordyWilcher, Harry Gillum, and I conducted the meetings. Those meetingswere fantastic. No pressure. No arm twisting. Just a lot of talk aboutsolutions for the future and debates about how to get there. It wastruly one of the most encouraging things I have experienced in years.Healthy dialogue is what we are after. Building relationships was goalNo. 1. We believe that diplomacy should always be the first course ofaction here at iMSO. This industry has been through enough. It’s timeto let the “voice of reason” prevail before it’s too late.On Friday morning, July 17, Jim DeStafney from Blues Angel Music, anew iMSO board member, had been asked to speak about iMSO andthe new iBUY program during NAMM’s State of the Industry breakfastsession hosted by Joe Lamond. Jim did a bang-up job because, assoon as the iMSO doors opened, the dealers started showing up at ouropen house. Chris Basile from South Jersey Music headed up our newmember sign-up area. He was slammed all day. Dealers from all overthe country lined up to become part of something that will changeour future. iMSO is here to represent all indie dealers large and small.It deserves mention that iMSO is a non-profit trade organization forindependent music dealers and we have a member-elected leadership.ALL independent music dealers are welcome to join. It is open to allindie dealers regardless of size and/or location. We work with NAMMwhenever possible and have nothing but respect for its leadership.Lamond and the folks at NAMM sent plenty of dealers and vendors ourway during the show.The MissionWe basically had two major missions for this show.1- A Membership Push first and foremost, which we consider to havebeen a success having added several new members.2- The introduction of the iBUY Program, which went far beyond ourexpectations.Below is a list of vendors that participated:PEAVEY- Trevor Gibson & Frederick Poole n KORG- Doug Nessler &Ken Fuente n CRAFTER- Joe Arias n YORKVILLE- Phil Betette & SteveHendee n DEAN MARKLEY- John Rooff n CORT- Jack Westheimer &Jeff Hubert n AVLEX- Dick Starnes n HANSER- Bill Xavier n AUDIO18 september 2009

TECHNICA- Glenn Roop n MAJOR MUSIC-Mike Mulqueen n WASHBURN- Jerry Lambert nULTRASOUND- Mike Connolly n LOUD TECH- Ernie Langsford n AQUARIAN- Roy Burns nCURT MANGAN STRINGS- Curt Mangan n HEIL - Bob Heil n N-TUNE- Sam Sudore n MJSPUBLICATIONS- Rich MacLeod n SLM- Rich Dunsdorf n GUARDIAN AUDIO- David Mott nGE FINANCE, FREIGHT ADVANTAGE AND PRO ACTIVE WEBSITES n TKL n VATERWhere do things go from here? Plans have already begun for Anaheim. We’ve got our work cutout for us. Doing this type of work and keeping your own doors open is a real balancing act. Ourfocus for the Anaheim show will be iBUY once again. This show, the meetings will be scheduledmuch farther in advance and the purpose will be to finalize the 2010 iBUY programs for the year.The iBUY section of the iMSO Web site is under construction as we speak and vendordiscussions are taking place right now. It should take 60 to 90 days before it will be open tothe membership to take advantage of. Many vendors have already submitted proposals andthings are well under way.The INDIE NATION is uniting. It’s a fact. We have become a much closer-knit fabric thanever before. I always knew of, and had heard of, many great indie dealers, but I really didn’tknow them as friends. Well, that has changed so much now.iMSO Hits MilestonePearlHosts AIMMPearl Corporation threw an island-themedparty for the Alliance of Independent Music Merchants(AIMM) dealers on July 16 at its Nashvilleheadquarters. AIMM dealers were treated tosouthern barbecue food and even had a tank sothey could dunk Pearl’s credit manager.The Independent Music Store Owners (iMSO) hosted open houses during all three days ofthe Summer NAMM show in July. The independent dealer group hit a milestone during theshow when it signed up its 350th member. It has surpassed that number since.iMSO is Big for ManufacturerWho says independent dealergroups can’t make a difference?Who says iMSO is only good forretailers? Well, the group hasbeen instrumental to the successof Florida-based MJS Music &Entertainment, LLC. The publisherhas seen sales increase dramaticallythis year, thanks in part toiMSO. “Harry Gillum [of ShowtimeMusic] put up a post about us [onwww.musicstoreowners.com] and Richard MacLeod with Mark and Jeanne Sternalwe’ve picked up a lot of accountssince then,” said MJS Marketing Manger Richard MacLeod. “We used to have a 40 percentdiscount. Now, we have a 55 percent discount with free shipping with pre-paid orders. We hadtremendous success with iMSO doing that and, now, we’ve opened up that deal to everyone. Ioffered that deal or net 60 [points] plus shipping. Whatever works out better for them.”MacLeod said if he didn’t ship another product for the entire year, he’d be up 90 percent insales. “Most companies are down this year,” he said. “I’m forecasting somewhere in the area ofa 145 to 150 percent sales increase this year.“I’ve not had one person in iMSO that I’ve had to chase for money,” said MacLeod. “Theyare all stand-up people. I met Harry Gillum for the first time at the 2008 Summer NAMMshow. He has helped me a lot. Harry gave me advice about how to restructure business, andrenegotiating with manufacturers. We’ve actually cut our production costs by about 40 percent.He is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. Harry spends 45 minutes toone hour talking on the phone often. He’s like a knowledgeable uncle. He gains nothing fromgiving me the information. Everything he provides is from the goodness of his own heart.”TIMELESS.Engineered andBuilt in the U.S.A.A classic in its own time,the sophisticated new EquitekE100S has the lowest noise floorin its class (3.7 dBA), and thesmooth, rich tone with full low endCAD is known for. The bootstrapped,full differential Quadra-FETfront end, plus CAD’s proprietarycircuitry ensures the highestperformance. Vintage cherry caseand stealth shock mount included.Music & Sound Retailer C A D M I C S . C O M 19

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...Phil Betette,Vice President of Marketing andSales, Yorkville SoundBy Brian BerkYorkville Sound has come areally long way since its foundingin a back room at Long & Mc-Quade, a major Canadian retailer,in 1963. Today, the companyemploys more than 265 employeesand offers a wide variety ofproducts dispersed throughoutseveral divisions.The Music & Sound Retailer:Phil, please tell usabout your background. Didyou always want to get into themusic industry?Phil Betette: Funny thingabout that…I actually came toRochester, N.Y., in 1974 to attendthe University of Rochester. Iwas working on my Ph.D. insocial psychology. As you canimagine, I was low on money andwas always looking for a way topick up a few extra bucks. I metKeith Barr through a friend. Heand Terry Sherwood had juststarted MXR Innovations andit was going so well that theywere looking for assistance inorganizing and managing thecompany while Keith took careof engineering and Terry tookcare of the financial end. I said Iwould love to help. I fell in lovewith the business and have neverhad a real job since. My partnersand I bought MXR in 1984 whenit became Applied Research &Technology, Inc.M&SR: How long have youbeen with Yorkville? Why doyou enjoy working there?Betette: I have worked withYorkville Sound since 1999 whenmy partners and I sold the businessto them. I love working withYorkville. There is a very strongteam in place and the companyis very forward looking. We lookto the future in all areas: productdevelopment, marketing, strategyand retail support.M&SR: Yorkville is differentwith your two-year “evenif you break it” warranty.Betette: This is where we rule!Our warranty is actually betterthan that. In addition to the twoyearwarranty on the electronicsand speaker components,the warranty is 10 years on thecabinet. The point is, we run ourbusiness with our retailer customersand our end users in mind.When making policy or settingrules, our philosophy is to askourselves, “Does this make senseto me? Is this the way I wouldwant to be treated?” This way ofthinking is one of the reasons wecontinue to grow and gain marketshare year over year.M&SR: Yorkville is alsoknown for benefits it offersemployees.Betette: Being the U.S. subsidiaryof a Canadian company isthe nice part. Yorkville has a verylow employee turnover rate. Weare proud to say that most of ouremployees are career orientedand are looking for a long-termrelationship with our company.We do have very good benefitsand personnel policies. We try tobe flexible and, at the same time,offer an environment that is fairand reasonable for all of us.M&SR: Yorkville is oftennamed by independent retailersas one of their favoritecompanies to deal with.Please tell us about your philosophiestoward indies.Betette: This again is a philosophythat “starts at the top.”Jack Long and Steve Long arevery successful retailers. Ourretail stores in Canada—Long &McQuade—teach us to be sensitiveto their needs. We craft ourpolicies and decisions with ourown retail stores in mind. Theseare really basic things like greatwarranty, easy RA process, pricing,and MAP that make sensefor the entire process; most of all,we strive to make doing businesswith us easy. We treat all of ourcustomers the same, regardlessof size and volume. We create alevel playing field for our retailers.It is a wonderful feelingknowing that you are not makingdifferent deals for differentcustomers.M&SR: Your ART division iscelebrating its 25th anniversary.Please tell us about thekeys to its success.Betette: Simply put, new productdevelopment. We have thesame core engineering team forART that was in place when mypartners and I started the company:Richard Neatrour, MitchMilton and John Porubek. Theseguys really know our industry andour Pro Audio/Home and projectstudio field. Richard, one of ART’sowners, has always headed upour engineering team. We areextremely proud that the ARTbrand has been part of the musicindustry for the past 25 years. Wehave a great team to bring newproducts to market. Steve Hendee,our ART sales manager, has astrong background in pro audioand works very closely with ourengineering team.M&SR: What were yourthoughts about SummerNAMM?Betette: Summer NAMM wascertainly smaller than it has beenin previous years. This was notnecessarily a negative for us. Wewere very busy. The dealers thatwere there were very serious andthere to do business. We wereable to spend a lot of time withour customers and discuss withthem our entire product range aswe would like to have it presented.We came to the show ready todo business. We offered severallucrative programs for our dealersand many new products from allof our brands: Yorkville, Traynor,Apex, ART, ARTcessories, Alto,VTC and Hughes, and Kettner.Music & Sound Retailer 21

M&SR: What are yourthoughts on the music instrumentindustry right now?Betette: I absolutely thinkour industry is holding its own.I don’t mean to say we are oneasy street, but, relative to theeconomic downturn, I believe ourindustry is holding its own. Thereare, of course, stronger areasof success than others. I thinkour classic “brick and mortar”retailers are having the mostdifficult time. We have designedmany new financial and shippingprograms for these loyal customersof ours. The retailers that areincorporating lessons, service,rentals, installations and have anInternet presence are doing thebest. As we say at Yorkville, “Themore legs on the stool the morestable it is.”M&SR: Are you beginningto see a market recovery? Ifnot, are you expecting to seeit soon?Betette: I think we are startingto see some recovery. Our businessover the last few months hasdefinitely been much stronger, butalso very erratic. I will sleep a lotbetter at night when the erraticpart gets more stable. One of themost positive things for our industryis that the economy as a wholelooks like it has stopped the downhillslide. That is almost as goodas turning around in terms of attitudeand the ability of a businessowner to get their arms aroundtheir current situation. Peoplelove music. It is a large part of ournational culture. With this beingso important in our day-to-daylives, you know our business willbecome strong again.M&SR: Assuming theeconomy will recover shortly,do you need to take a differentapproach as a company?Betette: I guess if I were to considerwhat we have learned fromthis situation, it would be a strongpartnership with our customers.I know we all say this and it hasbeen a favorite phrase over thelast several years. Yorkville reallywants to be a strong partner withour customers. We want to knowwhat they want. What can we doto make our relationship stronger?We have many resources wecan employ. We expect to have towork for our dealers’ business. Weknow these are difficult times forthem. Specifically, what we needto continue to improve is our businessrelationship with our dealers.We cannot afford to take anythingfor granted. Our customers andour dealers’ customers have toomany options and choices. Weneed to make sure we add valueand that we are easy to deal withand that we listen and understand.www.gatorcases.comM&SR: Looking at the endof 2009 and 2010, what aresome of the goals for Yorkville?Betette: The goals we are lookingforward to over the balanceof this year and next are severalfold. Our factory continues to dovery well for us. Our vice presidentresponsible for this is BrianWeafer. He is constantly lookingfor new ways to improve our efficiency,throughput, and improvequality. We consider our manufacturingand warehousing oursecret weapon. With our largewarehouse space and flexiblemanufacturing, we can respond toour customer needs very rapidly.This economic climate has alsoshown us what products andproduct categories are important.They are the items that continuedto sell even in these difficulttimes. We will evaluate where weneed to expand these solid productcategories. We will continueto focus on service for our retailersand their customers. We needto be sure we are easy to dealwith and, as I have said, add valueto our relationship. Still, manyof the goals we will continue topursue are constant. These areinnovative new product development,solid customer service,solid value, meaningful features,continued high quality, and, mostof all, consistent personal contactwith our retailers as partners.made in the usa(continued from COVER)production, testing, and shippingfrom our Illinois location. I just cannotfeel comfortable passing that offto someone else and especially inanother country.” —Bob Heil, HeilSound“We have a lot of pride for ourcountry and its skilled workers.Washburn has always been locatedin Chicago and we like to carry onthat tradition. The U.S.A. customshop allows us to be creative on adaily basis and we are really able tobuild playable works of art.” —JodyDankberg, U.S. Music“We make our strings and pickupsin the U.S.A. because no countrymakes better strings than the U.S.A.We prefer to sell the very best andwe can control our quality by makingthem in the U.S.A.” —DeanMarkley“We’ve maintained our U.S. manufacturingmodel because we like tomake lights. Our customers benefitby immediate availability and ourability to react quickly and maintainour quality standards.” —DonnDeniston, Littlite“We find there is still a largeconsumer sector (even abroad) whovalue products that are made in theU.S.A. It is easier to monitor quality,implement improvements, and makerevisions. More importantly, it employsU.S workers.” —Bill Wenzloff,Morley and Ebtech“We proudly produce and manufactureour software and DVD productsin the U.S.A. because it makessense. As a technology companybased in Seattle, we can easily findthe best talent in the world at ourdoorstep. Furthermore, we can preciselycontrol the development andproduction of our product from ideato final boxed product sitting on a retailshelf by keeping all facets of ouroperation domestic and in-house.”—Craig McGlynn, eMedia“MXL offers two studio condensermicrophones made in the U.S.A.—the M3 and the V6. There are consumerswho still appreciate the rare,“Made in the U.S.A.” logo. While theAmerican auto industry has struggledover the last decade, Americanmadegoods still have a reputation asbeing well built and reliable. Foreignmarkets, as well, have a preferenceto sell “Made in the U.S.A.” to theircustomers. There’s also the benefitof controlling quality and finalproduction.” —Jim Mona, MXLMicrophones“There is a plethora of low-end,mid-level, and even semi-pro-levelproducts being made in Asia. A22 september 2009

handful of OEMs manufacture fornearly every major brand (includingwell-known U.S. brands). Theresult is a flooding of ‘me-too’competitors in the marketplace.We didn’t see the point in beinglike everyone else. We are a small,boutique custom drum companythat began with a mantra: to buildthe Ferrari of drums. In order tomanufacturer a super-premiumproduct at the pinnacle of tier-oneproducts, it was imperative that wehave total control of the process.We’re proud of the fact that we’remaking a product on U.S. soil andputting people, vendors, and suppliersto work. Isn’t that what weshould be doing, after all?” —JayGaylen, Ford Drums“Over the last few years, wehave concentrated on improvingour technology in the U.S.A. andthat has paid a huge return to ourcompany and our customers. Onour U.S.A. instruments, we canoffer the customer the chance toselect the exact pieces of woodand hardware they want for theirinstrument.” —Stuart Spector,Spector Bass“We believe in supporting U.S.workers by keeping our productionhere at home. We believe thatour U.S. production (we produceeverything at our facility in Pacific,Mo.) consistently provides betterquality and reliability. As weproduce Mel Bay products at ourheadquarters, we can monitor productionon a daily basis to ensure itmeets the standards our customersexpect.” —Jeff Ponte, Mel Bay“We manufacture in the U.S.A.so that we can focus on customcase manufacturing. In the sewngoods market, there are a lot ofcompetitors, so being able to offercustom and OEM manufacturingin small quantities is a hugestrategic advantage. We also aredeeply embedded in the country/bluegrass markets, which tend tohave a higher loyalty and affinityfor American-made products.”—Steve Simmons, ColoradoCase Company“One hundred percent of ErnieBall strings and Music Man instrumentsare made here exclusively inthe U.S.A. We feel there’s a distinctquality difference, and more thananything, we like being in controlof the production process to ensurethe products that are shipped outmeet our family’s long-runningstandards.” —Brian Ball, ErnieBall“Building products in our factoryaffords us the ability to tweakour product for maximum performancethroughout the build cycle.We can make changes as needed.”—Ray Maxwell, Eventide“The majority of Barcus-Berrypickups are made in the UnitedStates. We have not strayed fromthe Barcus-Berry factory that hasmade the products what they aretoday. The level of quality fromthis U.S.-based factory has givenBarcus-Berry its reliable reputation.”—Kimberly Hawthorne,Barcus-Berry“Vic Firth manufactures all ofour drum sticks, mallets, practicepads, and drum mutes in Newport,Maine. We only use the bestgrades of American Hickory fromKentucky and Tennessee for ourdrum sticks due to their superiorquality and well-known durabilityover imported wood types. Thisallows us to maintain the highestquality standards and immediateproduct shipment to our partnerswithin 24 hours with a 99 percentfill rate, which is critical for thedealers to maintain our mutualcustomers.” —Mark Dyke, VicFirth“Fender is a company that wasborn in Southern California and,over time, has literally helped to defineAmerican music culture. Thatfact is essential to the proverbialDNA of our company and everythingwe do, and we will continueto remain true to our roots.(continued on page 27)Five wicked little pedals with killer stacks oF tone.Each tempting SansAmp Character Series pedal is a time capsule of distinctive ampliferstyles taken from decades of tone born in the UK and the USA. You can explore theseiconic tones, then tweak them your way with the amp-like knobs and the uniqueCharacter control, which delivers tones from classic vintage to red hot mod. Every pedalfeatures true SansAmp speaker cab emulation specifically voiced for each amp type,delivering a complete stage and recording solution. Go on, take a bite.BritishThe legendary crunch of British steel andGreenback-style speakers delivers searingblues to UK anarchy from this Anglo-voicedpedal. It all adds up to a well tasty spot o’bovver, Brit-style.caliForniaFrom chiming, woody cleans, gnarly ‘wickergrille’overdrive and supernatural silkysustain to devastating, ballsy chunk of ahigh gain rectifier. It’s everything you needto create your own California dream tone.Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A. - www.tech21nyc.comBlondeThis Blonde dishes out pure American toneto the stratosphere. Sparkly, spanky cleansto the bark of a hard-pushed tweed, maxingout in fat boosted lead tone. Hop on for onewild ride through history.liverpoolThat distinctive diamond grille tone is yoursfor the tweaking. This smokin’ amp stylehas a voice that shook generations. Push itto the limit and it will, it will, rock you.vt BassLegendary bass tone for players who enjoybeing heard. Bask in thick, articulatedtones, from chunky funk to the high gaingrowl of indie rock. Clean focused punch todirty earthquaking rump, you dial it in.

mi spythe maine eventBzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzz. My cellphone vibrated.“Hello,” I answered as I simultaneouslyshut “Jon and KatePlus 8” off on the TV.“Hello Spy.”“To what do I owe this pleasure?”“I have a new mission for you.”“Fine.”“I have a scenic location foryou to spend some summer daysand look for great service, ofcourse.”“I’m so excited. Yippy.”“Don’t get sarcastic with me.Head to Portland, Maine.”Guitar Center198 Maine Mall Road #105Portland, ME 04106Since I was near South Portlandalready, I decided to makemy first stop Guitar Center.Guitar Center is a relatively newarrival on the Portland scene,having set up its new store hereonly a few years ago. Beinglocated near the South Portlandmall makes it an easy destinationspot for many musicians, especiallyyoung kids whose familycan shop at the mall and thenhop over to indulge their son ordaughter’s burgeoning musicalinterests.When I entered the store, Iwas immediately greeted by ayoung kid in a black polo monogrammedwith the company’slogo. The teen in question waspleasant enough. When I toldhim I was looking for a strat, hesaid that they had plenty and hedirected me to the wall of guitarslocated at the right-hand side ofthe store.The store was well laid out,with distinct zones dedicatedto guitars, drums, amps, and arespectable section for computersand audio production. On a stand,a decent-looking white stratcaught my eye, so I sat down,plucked the instrument fromits hanger, and experimentallystrummed a few chords.Out of nowhere, a sales agentdescended on me faster thana Russian oil baron on a 2009Marussia sports car.“Hey,” he said. “That rightthere is the sweetest strat wehave in the store.”Despite his agility, this salesmanlooked like he had seenbetter days.I questioned the sales clerkas to why he believed that thisparticular guitar was the best,and he gave me a few noncommittalanswers, eventually revealingthat the guitar had belonged to afriend of his. The guitar was fair,but far from a prize, especiallycompared with some of the otherguitars I could see hanging onthe wall. When he realized thathe wasn’t going to land a quicksale, he disappeared faster thana Navy SEAL can reassemble anM16.Freed from the presence of thesales clerk, I returned the guitarto its hanger and perused thewall of guitars. No one came tohelp me after that, which at leastleft me free to inspect the instrumentswithout hassle. Therewere a fair number of strats onthe wall, although few of themwere American made and noneof them really seemed to fit thebill. At this point, I felt that I hadseen all that this mega chain hadto offer in the way of strats, anddecided to move along. Next stop,Daddy’s.Daddy’s Junky Music1064 Brighton Ave.Portland, ME 04102When I returned to my car,I found that there were threemessages on my phone (whichI never take into stores withme) from the Chief. I calledhim back and he inquired, withtypical brusque charm, as tothe progress of my mission.When I related the details of myreconnaissance, he agreed that Ishould keep looking, although heseemed a bit anxious.The Portland Daddy’s is arelatively small store comparedwith the Boston Branch, but itoffers a reasonable selection ofnew and used gear. Oftentimes,it’s a place where good deals canbe found. This is especially trueif one is not in a hurry—assumingmost people shop for guitarswithout the chief breathing downtheir necks—because their onlinestore allows access to their variouslocations’ entire inventoriesand they will gladly ship gearMusic & Sound Retailer 25

from any of their locations.When I entered the store, afriendly kid who wanted to know ifI required assistance greeted me.He was well dressed and bore noresemblance to either a punk ora nun, so I felt at ease. I laid outthe parameters of my problem.He looked a bit apprehensive,but gladly showed me the wall ofguitars. The selection here wasmuch more limited than at GuitarCenter. Clearly, this locationfocused on entry-level and low-endinstruments. It had a healthy stockof Squiers and a number of Mexican-madeguitars. After admittingthat I probably wouldn’t find whatI was looking for, he directed myattention to the end of the wallwhere they had a small collectionof used instruments. There wasan interesting used strat hangingon the wall. It had a black finish,which strictly speaking was notone of the colors I was interestedin, but the guitar was attractive,with an aged appearance and, at$749, was reasonably priced for anAmerican-made instrument fromthe early ’80s. It was the kind ofguitar that I might want for myself.But it was time to move on. Nextstop, Portland Percussion.Portland Percussion803 Forest Ave.Portland, ME 04103Portland Percussion is not awell-named store. Although thestore does sell drum kits, it alsohas just as many guitars and othermusical gear. For this reason, Igathered that the store wasn’t aswell known as it could be. WhenI entered the room, it was eerilysilent. There wasn’t a single othercustomer in the store, nor didI see an attendant behind thecounter. That set off alarms bellsfor me instantly, and I quicklyscanned the room for danger. Younever know when even a respectablemusical establishment can beappropriated and used as a frontfor spies.While I checked under thenearest potted plant for a listeningdevice, a plump guy in his mid-30s emerged from a back office.He was quite knowledgeable,and, while not very assertive,was pleasant in his manner. Heshowed me to the wall of guitars,which was well laden.I played around in the storefor an hour or so, chatting aboutvarious aspects that make a goodstrat-style guitar. The store hada reasonable selection of variousbrands, including new Gretschand Rickenbacker guitars. I spieda beautiful baby blue “Rick” 330on the wall for the hefty sum of$1,999, which made me wish I hadbecome a lawyer or an investmentbanker.I found at least two guitars herethat could fit the bill: a nice candyapple red Fender for $1,199 anda well-priced used white Fenderstrat for $850. He never pressuredme to make a sale, andwhen I told him that I might buysomething but that I needed tocheck out one more store, he wasaffable. Last stop, Buck Dancers.Buck Dancer’s Choice248 St. John St.Portland, ME 04102Buck Dancer’s is a mom andpop store, yet it’s also quite large,with as much retail space as GuitarCenter, and a wider selectionof brands. The staff is friendlyand knowledgeable, and the storeradiates a relaxed, no-pressureatmosphere. A young man whowanted to know if I needed anyhelp immediately approachedme. When I related the details ofmy mission to him, he said thatthis would be easy, as they hada good collection of higher-endstrats. We talked for a while aboutvarious wood types, particularlythe differences between ash andalder, the two woods used byFender on their higher-endmodels. He agreed with methat while a Les Paul should beheavy and resonant, the lightera Fender was, the better. Afterweighing the merits of variousinstruments for a few minutes,the salesman directed my attentionto several similar instrumentsmade by other brands. Many ofthese guitars offered similar, ifnot superior, features to the typicalmodels, and often for less money.I was particularly drawn to the“Vintage” brand. I liked the soundof the pickups, and the worn-in feel.The only thing that turned me offwas the distressed finish. I wasn’tsure if I liked a “relic-ed” guitar. Iwanted a new instrument, or at theleast a guitar that didn’t look like ithad been dragged behind a truck. Ifinally settled on looking at a usedvintage ’57 reissue. Normally, theseguitars retail for almost $2,000, butBuck Dancer’s had one in nearmintcondition for $1,049.99. I wassold, and felt satisfied that I’d founda great guitar for a steal of a price.But it was more than price. Spyknows price is only one factor…Time to Make a ChoiceOne thing I noticed aboutPortland stores is that stores (onesI visited anyway) stock very fewboutique brands. Some storesstock none. Is this a good opportunityfor a new store to sell differentproducts from different manufacturers?Although the other storeshad their plusses, I found BuckDancer’s Choice to have the mostfriendly, knowledgeable service,the widest selection of gear, andthe best deal overall. Therefore,Buck Dancer’s is the winner thistime. Guitar Center had a goodrange of new gear, especially inthe audio production department,and Daddy’s Junky Music can be agreat place to land a bargain, especiallyin their online store. Of thefour stores I checked out, PortlandPercussion came the closest to havingthe depth and breadth of selectionof Buck Dancer’s, and I foundtheir customer service friendly andhelpful, which I can’t say for GuitarCenter. But of all these stores,Buck Dancer’s really delivered. Ithad the widest range of gear, andthe friendliest, most knowledgeablestaff. I felt very confident in buyingfrom Buck Dancer’s.I noticed while standing at thecounter that Buck Dancer’s alsoprovided a wide variety of musiclessons and had an impressiveinventory of new and used effectspedals. My mouth began to waterat the sight of a Full Tone tapeecho on display.When I got back to the car, Iphoned the Chief.“Well,” he barked, his voicesounding strained, “was the missiona success?”“Mission confirmed.”26 september 2009

made in the usa(continued from page 23)Players aspire to own FenderUSA instruments for manyreasons, whether it’s the qualityor simply the way our Americanmadeinstruments look, sound andfeel. Whatever the reasons, wemust meet the expectations of ourcustomers. By creating productsright here in the United States, weare able to tightly control how ourproducts are made, ultimately todeliver the finest instruments possible.”—Andy Rossi, Fender“The Manhasset SpecialtyCompany has been manufacturingsymphony-quality music standsand music accessory products fornearly 75 years, and we feel thatour manufacturing in America affordsus many distinct advantagesover having them made overseas.These advantages include thefollowing: Longevity: Manhassethas been doing what we do fora long time. We have had manydecades to work things out, anddevelop the best ways to make ourproducts. Local Control: Becausewe do not outsource our productsor associated operations, we have100 percent control. In addition toour ability to continually monitor,oversee and direct processes, wecan immediately make operational,process, or other changes. Quality:Our policy requires inspectionsand verification through everymanufacturing step and the entirepacking and handling process.Customer Service: Rather than thecustomers having to contact thestore where items were purchasedor a supplier, we direct them to us.We deal with them and their issuesfirst hand. Employee Owned: TheManhasset Specialty Company isan Employee Stock OwnershipCompany, meaning that all of ouremployees have a stake in the company.”—Barry Heid, ManhassetSpecialty Company“As a tiny company, we havemuch better control over ourmanufacturing here. We can movequicker on new designs and makeupdates faster. Fewer surprises.Plus, most of our customers likethe idea of a California-built product.”—Dave Smith, Dave SmithInstruments“Whirlwind has always had areputation for making high qualityproducts and we also build alot of custom pieces with shortlead-times. You just can’t get asconsistent a quality of manufactureoverseas unless you invest heavilyin constantly having on-site peoplefrom your company to enforcestrict procedures. Short-runcustom builds are impossible to dooverseas and it’s also impossible tomeet deadlines that our customershave come to expect from us regularly.We have domestic sourcesfor high-quality components thatare closer and more reliable. Thishelps in controlling inventorylevels, maintaining the qualityof product, and shortening leadtimes. We are a company that hasbeen manufacturing in the U.S. for35 years.” —Al Keltz, Whirlwind“There are several reasons. Firstof all, our business is made up ofour people and our factory. We allneed jobs and aren’t excited aboutsending our own jobs to anothercountry. Second—and this comesback to people—it’s the peoplehere who know how to do thework, so the quality of the guitarswould surely suffer if we exportedour production to Asia. Third, wehave a highly sophisticated factorythat’s equipped with the latest technology,which is required to craftprecision musical instruments. Wehave spent millions upon millionsof dollars keeping our factory onthe leading edge. Asia does notoffer this, only low-wage labor.”—Bob Taylor, Taylor Guitars“The No. 1 reason we build allour products here is because itfuels our desire to make thembetter and feeds our new productimagination. Secondarily, we willship products of a higher qualityfrom here. We understand thesubtleties of our instruments betterthan any Asian or Mexican contractmanufacturer does, and we willsee small deficiencies that wouldotherwise go unnoticed. We sourcecomponents from all over theworld and we see the quality thatcomes in from overseas vendorsand, frankly, many of those componentparts are returned and nevermake it into our products. Thesecomponents would be installedif the factory were simply a jobshop and not as careful as we areabout the quality of our finishedproducts. When you visit the Moogfactory, you see all our productsbeing produced and it gives you areal sense of Moog, an Americancompany.” —Mike Adams, MoogMusic“There are many reasons. First,Completely Oblivious, Inc. manufacturesPointless Picks in SoutheastMichigan and our economyis in a depression. In our smallway, we are taking a stand againstoutsourcing. Manufacturing locallyallows us to maintain high-qualitystandards and eliminate shippingcosts. It also gives us peace of mindin protecting our intellectual property,which is impossible to do inplaces such as China.” —DouglasLarsen, Completely Oblivious“Simply put, virtually every producton the U.S. market containssome elements of foreign productionand that is how it should be ina globally competitive marketplace.However, almost any U.S.-basedproduct manufacturer would agreethat product control and qualitycontrol are extremely difficultwhen retail-ready products aremade overseas. Variances exist inevery complex system and globalmanufacturing and componentsourcing are prime examples of it.But when those variances appearand need to be resolved right thento meet a production deadline, howcan you be a part of the decisionto use this kind of epoxy or thatkind of cable if your manufacturingoperation is 12 time zones away?You can’t.” —Dan Goldsmith,X-Laser LLC“Our factories in the U.S. arevery flexible. They contain specializedequipment and experiencedpersonnel and they are in closeproximity to our engineering talent.Therefore, in the U.S., we areable to build a much broader rangeof SKUs with a smaller inventoryinvestment and shorter lead times,which results in a much tighteralignment between manufacturingoutput and demand fluctuations.This translates into improvedcustomer service levels. Also, weare able to build more complex and(continued on page 34)breaking NewsVoyage-Air Bitten By Sharks?Voyage-AirGuitars’ CEOJeffrey Cohenappeared onthe ABC realityshow “SharkTank” on Aug.23 seekingventure capitalfunding for hisbusiness alongwith his sonJosh. The elderCohen sought$500,000 fora 5 percent stake of Voyage-Air from the five “Sharks,” who areJeffrey Cohenduring the 2009Summer NAMMShow.five successful businesspeople interested in providing capital forfledgling businesses. “It’s the most innovative guitar in a century,”Jeffrey Cohen told the Sharks. Not only do they look incredible,they sound incredible. They fold in half. You never have to travelagain with your guitar. What makes it work is its patented hinge.”Jeffrey Cohen said he sold all 800 guitars he had built. “Wedon’t have a lot of revenue because we are not building them fastenough,” he said.Jeffrey Cohen told the Sharks Voyage-Air has revenues of$400,000 but the company is operating at a net loss now.The Sharks focused on the value of the patented hinge thatmakes the guitar fold. Jeffrey Cohen said he’d sell 49 percent ofthe patent for $1 million.One of the Sharks, Kevin O’Leary, offered Voyage-Air $500,000for a 51 percent stake in the entire company. Jeffrey Cohen declinedbecause he did not want to give up decision-making controlof Voyage-Air.Sharks were flabbergasted by the rejection, saying Voyage-Aircould be a $100 million business if sold via television infomercials.“They were very smart to ask for the deal they did,” said JeffreyCohen. “Hopefully, I was just as smart. Time will tell. Ask me 12months from now if I made the right decision.”Music & Sound Retailer 27

FIND OUT WHYEVERYONE IS WATCHINGMusic & Sound Retailer subscribers and all MI Professionalscan receive VnewsletterFREE of ChargeEmail your request to Vnewsletter@testa.com or subscribe to theMusic & Sound Retailer magazine at www.msretailer.comand start getting The Retailer’s Vnewsletter today!http://msretailer.com/vnewsletter28 september 2009

sales guruSanta Claus will come.He always doesBy Gene FrescoIf you are wondering what theholiday season will be, here isthe answer...Great.I have told you that when theeconomy is bad, the music businessis good.People can’t afford the bigbuys, so they make a lot of smallbuys.They can’t afford a new houseand they can’t afford a new car.They can’t afford a luxury vacation.They can afford a guitar, adrum set, an electronic piano, asaxophone and any other musicalinstrument.I know a dealer who is completelynegative and his businessreflects this negativity. Last year,he bought $25,000 worth of myproducts. The other dealer inthe same town bought $76,000worth of my products.Stay away from negativepeople. Get negative thoughtsout of your head. Don’t hirenegative people. Don’t socializewith negative people.Give your children and familypositive reinforcement in everythingthey do.Teach them to be happy,constructive, and the desire tosucceed.You are a living magnetand you attract whatever is inalignment with your dominantthoughts.There is only one way to gothrough life, and that is positively.Earl Nightingale wrote: “Youare what you think about.”Whatever you believe becomesyour reality. Whateveryour belief system is what youbecome. If you believe with feelingthat you will be a success,you will be.Unfortunately, it is the samewith failure.The most important word inselling is “Attitude.”Attitude is 90 percent of selling.The other 10 percent consists ofpeople knowledge, sales knowledge,and product knowledge.A great attitude gets greatresults. A good attitude gets goodresults. A bad attitude gets badresults.You know there are three kindsof people. Those who wonderwhat will happen, those who say“What happened?” and those whomake it happen.You need to be the one whomakes it happen.There is another word in sellingthat is very important.That word is control.You must feel good about yourselfto the extent that you feel incontrol of your life. When youare working toward a goal aboutwhich you feel good and that youhave made a conscious decisionto target, your actions supportyour feelings of being in controlof your destiny.Control is necessary in youreveryday performance.You must control your inventory,your advertising, yourpersonnel, your finances, andeverything that will guaranteeyour success.In a selling presentation, youmust have control of the situation.You are the professional andyou can’t afford to allow yourselfto lose control. You must qualifyyour customer and ask the questionsthat will give you the abilityto sell that customer the exactproduct to solve his problem.I would say most sales are lostwhen the salesman loses control.Most objections are opinions,not facts.In selling, there are objectionsand there are excuses.Objections can be overcome,but excuses cannot be.Learn the difference and youwill be a successful salesman.Get ready for the holidays now.Order the products you plan onselling now. Music product manufacturersand distributors need90-day lead times and, if you waituntil October or November to orderyour Christmas products, youprobably won’t see them in time.In the real world, departmentstores and big-box chains likeBest Buy and Costco order theirholiday products in July.That’s why NAMM thoughtmusic dealers would want to attendthe Summer NAMM show.They probably forgot we are inthe music business.One of my favorite songs is“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” byBobby McFerrin.I was once traveling with thepresident of a company I workedfor in Texas. I mentioned thissong to him and he had neverheard it. He was a very uptightguy.When we got to a music store,there was a musician who knewthe song and he sang it for us.I saw a smile come on the faceof this uptight guy I was travelingwith and I had him singingthe song as we drove to the nextdealer.When we got to the next store,we wrote the biggest order hehad ever seen and we had thebiggest selling week in my territoryever.I’m going to tell you that, witha positive attitude and a smile onyour face, all your expectationswill come to pass and you willhave a happy, successful, andconstructive life.If you have any questions aboutselling, write my editor, BrianBerk, and he will forward them tome. He can be reached at bberk@testa.com. Your comments arealways welcome, as well.I enjoy helping salesmen/saleswomento become successful andwill be happy to be of service.I wish you good selling.We’re looking for your questions!Gene Fresco is ready to answer anysales question you may have. Whatchallenges are you having when tryingto sell at your store? Ask Gene.Send your questions to Brian Berkat bberk@testa.com. We promise allquestions will be forwarded on toGene Fresco. And hey, there’san excellent chance your questionwill be answered in a futureSales Guru.Music & Sound Retailer 29

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veddatorialA Pivotal Summer NAMM ShowBy Dan VeddaWhile it would be a stretchto consider Summer NAMM inNashville a triumph—after all,attendance was down, majorexhibitors called in sick, and theeconomy is still on the injuredlist—I think it’s reasonable to callthe show a success. For my part,though, I’d call the show pivotal.The vibe at the pre-show receptionwas cheerful determination.“Regardless of attendance, we’rehere to give our guests the bestshow experience possible,” oneNAMM staffer told me. It wasnice to see the room visibly relax,though, as badges appeared andthe usual locusts descendedon the buffet to scour it clean.NAMM’s decision to continue tosupport the summer show wasmade despite pressure from thesupply side, economic woes, andseeming dealer apathy. A bustwould have been both embarrassingand costly. Likely, it wouldhave finally nailed the summershow’s coffin shut, at least for theforeseeable future. So it was bothan act of faith and courage forthe folks at NAMM to hold theshow. The decision to place thebet rather than fold the hand wasa high-stakes gamble.But it was not a bust, and thegamble seems to have paidoff. Certainly, the attendancenumbers were down (just under13,000 badges, a 26 percent decreasefrom last year), so it can’tbe called a jackpot. But using theattendance number alone is likerating a restaurant by portionsize. As the show unfolded, it becameapparent that the attendeescame to play. Some companiesthat opted for a smaller boothfound themselves swamped withtraffic that spilled into the aisles.More than 145 first-time exhibitorsscattered into the main floormix could have amped up thecheesiness factor, but insteadthe new faces lent an air of fleamarketexcitement, with a newdiscovery around every corner.On the first day, the exhibitormood was more optimistic thanI expected. So often over the lasthalf-decade of summer shows,the comment has been, “I’ll sayit’s a good show when I writesome business.” But, from thebeginning, everyone I talked to,whether sales rep or companyvice president, affirmed that theywere at the show to support theindustry and the independentdealers. Of course, they all hopedto write some business, and manyhad hedged their bets with limitedpersonnel, stripped-down booths,and lowered—or perhaps betterstated as realistic—expectations.But they were there, and the dealerswho turned out appreciated it.The dealers who attended werenotable, too. With the possibleexception of a few hour-drive daytrippers who would as likely havegone to a county fair, any dealerthere had to make an effort andspend to travel. As one exhibitorremarked, “These are the survivors.”True, many of us aren’texactly sailing through the year,and survival may simply mean theheart is still beating. But the factthat a dealer came to this summershow is a strong testament to tenacity.Everyone was out lookingfor solutions, profitable products,and relationships.Solutions were easy to find, fromNAMM’s Idea Center sessions toinnovative programs from manufacturers.(Props to the folks at AccessBags & Cases, for example,for a truly clever take on customlogo gig bags). Just walking thefloor was a brainstorming session—theideas were everywhere.It’s in the area of profitableproducts that I found the greatestsurprises. After more than 25years in the industry, I know howrare it is to find a product thatmeets a gold standard of quality,price bracket, and profitability.Satisfying two of the criteria—forexample, attractive price, highprofitability, but compromisedquality—is common. But to havea high-quality product that theconsumer feels is affordable,while being able to make a goodmargin…well, that’s almost a pipedream in MI. Yet we found morethan a dozen examples—instrumentsand accessories alike—that qualified. What’s more, thebuy-ins were reasonable and thecompanies were cordial and welcoming.I have strong memoriesof being rebuffed by manufacturerswith a hot product, or treatedto a sales pitch that informed meI’d need to take on an entire lineof unmovable products just tohave the privilege of carrying themoneymaker. Not so this time.That final area, relationships, iswhere I believe the show wasmost valuable, though. Our attendancesent the message that,no matter what, we were fighting.Despite the economy, we werelooking for ideas and productsand making our business adapt,rather than just hunkering downand hoping. Manufacturers respondedwith encouragement andopportunities, and those opportunitieswere within reach. I trulyappreciated their concern for ourbusiness and their willingness tostretch to make things work forus. As I’ve said before, if the returnof personal relationships andtrue partnerships is the outcomeof all the turmoil we’re goingthrough, then, in some measure,it is worth it.As close and conservative asmost companies are, particularlywhen it comes to trade showresults, I had several companiestell me—on the record—that theshow was successful by any standardfor them. Hal Leonard VPDavid Jahnke gave me the bestquote, hands down. “I feel sorryfor the dealers and manufacturersthat didn’t attend the show,” hetold me candidly.He’s right. Props to Joe Lamondand the NAMM crew for takinga stand and providing a venuewhere the healing began. Forall the upheavals, bad blood,failures, double-crosses, andmisunderstandings, we are still afamily, though sometimes a feudingone filled with more grudgesthan a Sicilian grandmother. (AndI had a Sicilian grandmother, soI know.) NAMM invited us all todinner and got us talking.Now, as we talk, we’re also at acrossroads where manufacturingtechnology provides affordablequality. The room was laced withsmall, new, innovative companies.And finally, we’ve been throughenough the last 10 years that weknow who our friends are. That’swhy I call it pivotal.Dan Vedda is the owner of SkylineMusic in Westlake, Ohio.Music & Sound Retailer 31

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made in the usa(continued from Page 27)Andy Rossi Bob Taylor (center) Bryan Bradley Conn-Selmer Logotechnically demanding productsmore effectively in the U.S. Thisgives us time-to-market andtechnical superiority advantages.”—John Andrews, QSC“We’ve found that it’s muchProject2 6/8/09 2:21 PM Page 1A KeyboardPlayer’s Dreameasier to control production qualityby manufacturing locally, and thesavings on inbound freight costsis significant. We’re having all themain components of our new TWALittle Dipper envelope-filter builtright here in New Jersey, so wecan oversee quality right as theproduct comes off the productionline. In addition, we’re puttingmoney back into the pockets of ourneighbors and helping to stimulateour local and state economies. It’s agood feeling, and more Americansshould be concerned about thesetypes of intangible benefits, beforewe’re all out of jobs.” —KevinBolembach, Godlyke“We make the great majority ofour guitars here in Nazareth, Pa.Of course, we take great pride inall of our products, especially thevery special guitars made here inNazareth. These instruments havea heritage and legacy that tracesback nearly two centuries. Wecould shut everything down, leverageour brand and make inexpensivecopies of our guitars in China,but that would be shortsightedand probably disastrous to ouresteemed reputation. It would alsoterminate most everything thatis special about Martin guitars.”—Dick Boak, CF Martin“The main reason is quality control.Manufacturing is much morethan schematics alone. All of ourproducts are tested several timesat various stages and there arethings only musicians hear. Whenyou design and manufacture in thesame building, we can constantlymonitor each and every step. Thishelps us see how we can improvethe process and increase reliability,which is why we have such a lowrepair rate. When you go offshore,it can take months to implementchanges. We can do it within aday.” —Dale Krevens, Tech 21“Peavey has a long history ofAmerican manufacturing andmakes more products in the U.S.A.than any other manufacturer in themusic products industry. A dealerwho sold our first SP loudspeakersin the 1970s can buy the latestevolution of the series today, andthey’re still made here in theU.S.A. In fact, although we sourceselect product lines overseas, thevast majority of our products aremade here. I believe that we haveachieved a unique balance in whichwe can still compete with the industryon entry-level products whilecontinuing to serve the middleand upper ends of the market withAmerican-made wares. That’s evidentwith our 19th Street CustomShop. We made our first big pushinto custom instrument making in2004 and, this year, we expanded toinclude custom amplifiers.…Whilemost of our competition sourcesproducts that are both designedand manufactured offshore,Peavey’s approach is to design andengineer in the U.S.A. and specifycomponents, etc., for all Peaveyproducts manufactured offshore.It’s a difference that is usually readilyapparent.” —Hartley Peavey“We make our products here fortwo reasons: We provide jobs forU.S. workers and we have betterquality control over our products.”—Orin Portnoy, CE Distribution“The heritage of Conn-Selmerbrands is the ‘American sound’that has defined band musicsince musical instruments startedbeing made in America. Greatreputations have been earned bythose who produced this ‘definingsound’ of an instrument, includingVincent Bach, Alexander Selmerand George Bundy, C.G. Conn,William Ludwig, H.N. White andVito Pascucci. Today, Conn-Selmercontinues that tradition with anenduring craftsmanship, expertise,and dedication that is required toguarantee this famous heritage. Weare proud that our American-madeinstruments provide jobs that,in turn, help support Americanmusic education.” —Scott Jennie,Conn-Selmer“Rane manufactures in theU.S.A. because it is the best way forus to produce the musical instrumentsand professional sound toolsour customers demand, respect,and deserve. It simply makessense. Rane is proud to define,design, manufacture, and supportall of our products from oursingle facility in Mukilteo, Wash.Doing so allows us to have a deepunderstanding of our product,our customer needs, and gives usa superior ability to support ourproducts and react to customerwants and desires.” —George M.Sheppard, Rane Corp.“In our business, quality andaccuracy are extremely important,especially when it comes tocopyrighted material. Not onlydo we have a responsibility to theconsumer to deliver a productwith accurate transcriptions of theaudio tracks, but we also have beenentrusted by the composer to representtheir creations in the bestpossible manner. The only way tomaintain the type of controls on themanufacturing process we requireis to produce it locally. The costsavings by using Asian productiondo not outweigh these benefits. Additionally,we have a fairly automatedmanufacturing process, and wehave found that pricing in the U.S.has gotten increasingly competitivewith overseas manufacturing. Onceyou factor in the additional freightcosts, there is very little costbenefit to importing from Asia.”—Bryan Bradley, Alfred Publishing“Headquartered and manufacturingin Austin, Texas, we are atthe global crossroads of musicand technology. Our location haseverything to do with what kindof company we are, and what weultimately aspire to be. In Austin,we have access to the talent andresources necessary to design andmanufacture these smart musicinstruments. We could not do thatby turning this over to disengagedassembly line employees. Manufacturingin the United States (andespecially the Central Time Zone)also enables us to more efficientlyand effectively communicate withall aspects of our business, eliminatinglanguage, time, and culturalbarriers typically associated with34 september 2009

Dale Krevens Dave Smith Dean Zelinsky George Sheppard John Andrewsoverseas manufacturing.” —VictorWong, Open Labs“The reason for making DBZGuitars here in the states issimply there is a demand for myU.S.A.-made guitars. While Asianmanufacturers make a very niceproduct, the attention to detail ittakes to make an ultra fine guitarthat caters to the demands of myartists and collectors could neverbe achieved in a mass productionenvironment. There is also a bigdemand for customization of myguitars and that is not possibleout of Asian factories. Our U.S.A.guitars compared to our Asianinstruments are much like thedifference between a Toyota and aBentley. Fortunately, I have alwayshad customers for both.” —DeanZelinsky, DBZ Guitars/DiamondAmplification“Not only are all of our productsmade in the U.S., but theyare all made in our one factory inConnecticut. Manufacturing in theU.S. is a great way to provide jobs.Our parent company is BridgeportWire, and we’ve been in businessfor 60 years.” —Chris Pelletier,Strings By Aurora“Our products are all made inthe United States. Our factoryis located in Kalamazoo, Mich.,where the original Gibson factoryis. We were all former Gibsonpeople. In 1995, Gibson decided toclose that factory. When they did,Gibson asked the factory workersto relocate to Nashville. Manydecided not to do so. Kalamazoohas a number of great craftsmenwe can draw when building ourguitars. Every one of our guitars ishandmade. It takes years of experienceto build handmade guitarsand we have many great people[available in Michigan].” —LaneZastrow, Heritage GuitarGE Moneymajor company concern or are notapplicable. Those responding thatway were Craig McGlynn, JeffPonte, Steve Simmons, KimberlyHawthorne, Andy Rossi,Dave Smith, Barry Heid,Douglas Larsen Dan Goldsmith,John Andrews, OrinRe-energize salesNow is the time to re-energize your business with financingFinancing is a proven tool to drive traffic, generate leads,and help consumers buy what they really need or want. Byeffectively communicating financing options, you’ll create apositive buying experience for consumers that can translateinto re-energized sales for your business. More than ever, it’stime to make every sales opportunity count.For more information or to enroll call 866.210.1646or visit www.gemoney.com/music.Portnoy, and Victor Wong.Here are the other answers:“This is becoming increasinglymore difficult as our trade policies“The GE Money financing programis so easy to use! You can processan application and complete asale within a matter of minutes!”BJ & Randy Conley, Owners,Southern Music Co., Cordele, GAQuestion No. 2: Are youfacing problems regardingimports/exports or tariffs? Ifso, what needs to be done toalleviate the problem?Several respondents said imports,exports, and tariffs are not aMusic & Sound Retailer 3508-04518 Southern Music Music ad 12-8 8.125x10.875.indd 1 5/28/09 11:53:45 AM

(continued on page 35)are not very fair. For instance, thereis no U.S. tariff for those who importstrings, reeds, and drumheads.Yet, we face tariffs even in ourfriendly ECC countries when weexport our products. For instance,each year, more than $6,000,000 instrings are imported from Austriatariff-free, yet our strings aretaxed at 2.7 percent when shippedinto the ECC. In China, stringshave a 17.5 percent import duty;in Argentina and Brazil, it is 16percent. These are string-producingcountries. In 2007, $411,000 worthof Chinese strings were importedinto the U.S.A. and, in 2008, it was$3,800,000. If our government doesnot level the playing field, it maybecome impossible for Americanstring manufacturers to stay competitive.”—Jim D’Addario“[I think another way to look at itis] ‘What are some of the difficultiesbetween manufacturing inthe U.S.A. vs. overseas?’ Manufacturingin the U.S. takes muchmore of a commitment of money,equipment, space, and humanresources. Those, coupled withtaxes and government regulationsregarding wages and benefits foremployees, are the main reasonsdriving companies to go overseasfor their manufacturing. Cheaperparts and labor is appealing, butmany companies (including us)have horror stories to tell: everythingfrom parts being substitutedwithout consent to improper fit andfinish to non-delivery to outrighttheft of intellectual property.With regards to outsourcing, Iheard someone say, ‘There is theprice, and then there is the realcost.’ Looking at the shape of theeconomy and the shape of ourcountry compared to the rest of theworld, don’t we owe it to ourselvesto become producers once again?”—Cliff Castle“Currency or tariff issues did notplay a part in moving productionback to the U.S.A. However, we dobelieve that products in our industrythat are built in the U.S.A aremore desirable and sought after,worldwide.” —Tony O’Keefe“We feel that most of the importand export tariffs are fair and reasonable.It really does not affect ourbottom line.” —Jody Dankberg“We know we must pay someduties and such. That is a given.If foreign quality and reliabilityis good, it would be nice if extracharges, such as duties, were loweredto help us be more competitive.But that might not be the bestanswer for the United States. Beingable to make products in the U.S.A.is still the best answer all the wayaround!” —Dean Markley“Import challenges: Artificialpricing advantages that enableoff-shore manufacturers to presentdomestic manufacturers withformidable problems. Exportchallenges: Currency fluctuationsand freight costs impact the priceof U.S.-made products, especiallysmaller accessory products.”—Donn Deniston“Trademarks and copyrights canbe challenging to monitor. As anindependent company, it can alsobe futile to go after internationalcompanies who borrow designs.These last few years we have seenan increase of unauthorized saleand shipments going into othercountries. There is a significantimbalance in fair trade thatcontinues to make it difficult forU.S. goods to compete in a globalmarket. The upside to exportingAmerican products is the currencyvalues make it advantageous formany export distributors.” —BillWenzloff“RoHS (Restriction of HazardousSubstance) compliance is an issuewhen selling into foreign countries.The M3 and V6 are not compliantto RoHS and create difficulties forus when trying to sell these mics tothe international community.” —JimMona“Yes! Exporting, with poor exchangerates, tariffs and alike, addsup significantly. All of that makesour products nearly cost prohibitiveat retail in Europe and other countries.Perhaps if the governmentswere far less greedy, the first wordsspoken about our drums wouldn’tbe, ‘They’re nice but they’re soexpensive.’” —Jay Gaylen“Regarding export, which iscrucially important to the U.S.economy, it would be nice to seesome real support from our government.Many other countries aroundthe world directly help their exportersto defray the cost of internationaltrade shows and exhibitions.These shows are a valuable tool forreaching new customers in foreignmarkets and thereby improving ourbalance of trade.” —Stuart Spector“Yes, many Chinese-manufacturedconsumer products coming into theU.S. do not face any tariff or importrestrictions, while our core productshave an approximately 17 percenttariff going into China. It’s an unevenplaying field.” —Brian Ball“No. There are no issues exceptfor exceptionally high import dutiesin India.” —Ray Maxwell“With all wood for drum stickscoming from our U.S. sources,our strong U.S. production greatlyreduces any import or tariff concerns.”—Mark Dyke“Any problems we have exportinghave more to do with therequests and demands our customersput on us and not as much to dowith regulatory issues.” —Al Keltz“Export tariffs are high and increasethe price of our guitars in Europeancountries, as well as Japan,Australia, and the rest of the world.These countries do not producetheir own version of our guitars. Weare not there competing with theirlocal products, but rather, with otherAmerican products. I don’t see thepoint of tariffs if they don’t manufacturea product of equal quality intheir country to begin with. We nowlive in a time where a person in Germanycan check prices online in theU.S., see how much more expensivethat same product is in his hometown, and then make decisions tocome here, buy the guitar, and carryit home duty-free as personal property.The removal or reduction oftariffs would allow more free tradeand much more competitive pricingworldwide.” —Bob Taylor“We sell virtually nothing into36 september 2009

South America because its tariffsrun 60 percent and higher on ourgoods. For example, a MinimoogVoyager that costs $3,000 herewill cost over $5,000 in SouthAmerica. Our politicians should notallow any country to burden U.S.A.-made products with that kind oftax. If they do, then we shouldcharge them a similar tariff on anygoods they are attempting to exportto the U.S.A.” —Mike Adams“European tariff rates are notoriouslyhigh. In my opinion, whatneeds to be done is to raise importduties for products and componentscoming into the U.S.A. in order tolevel the playing field for U.S.-made products on a global level.”—Kevin Bolembach“Some of our imported componentsare taxed at a high rate,which is why we are always lookingfor more cost-effective sources. Wetry to procure parts and hardwarelocally in the U.S. as much as possibleto avoid the tariffs and save onshipping costs. Some componentshave exceptionally long lead times,which makes planning productiona challenge. If there’s a glitch withthe supplier meeting, the schedule,or if the parts come in wrong, itcan literally stop production on agiven product. There can always bea surprise, no matter how well youplan for the unexpected. We exporta great deal without much incident,except for some of the ‘exotic’ countries.They have extremely highimport taxes due to politics, whichmakes it harder to do business inthose parts of the world.” —DaleKrevens, Tech 21“Yes. In spite of the fact that thereare a number of so-called ‘free tradeagreements’ between the U.S.A.and various countries, or tradingblocs such as the ECC, Americanmanufacturers continue to facehuge problems with so-called‘non-tariff trade barriers.’ The mostprevalent method other nationsutilize to discourage imports arevarious ‘safety inspection requirements.’‘Safety issues’ are a loopholein almost every trade agreementand the U.S.A.’s competitorsuse them at every opportunity toblock or stifle imports while at thesame time generating revenuefor their respective governments.Huge markets that do billions ofdollars of business with the U.S.A.effectively block imports with redtape, trumped-up ‘safety issues’ orexcessive taxes (tariffs) on imports.This is nothing new, since it’s beengoing on for years. Unfortunately,the people who actually negotiatethese agreements for the U.S.A.are almost always neophytes whoattempt to reach a fair and balancedagreement with seasoneddiplomats from other nations whoalmost always have many decadesof experience under their belts…almostinvariably, our ‘team’ is like‘lambs to the slaughter’ and theresult is that the U.S.A. almostalways gets the short end of thestick on these so-called free-tradeagreements.” —Hartley Peavey“Unfortunately, today we arenot competing on a level playingfield due to tariffs. As an example,the duty or tariff rate for productsimported into the U.S. from Chinaor Europe range between 2 percentand 6 percent. The duty rate forour American-made products exportedinto China is 17.5 percent.This is quite a difference. We arenot looking for an advantage, only alevel playing field.” —Scott Jennie“Because of rules, regulations,and taxes, manufacturing in theU.S.A. becomes more difficultdaily. Rane worries about its compressortanks being properly inspectedby the certified inspector,the city inspection of the backflowwater valves, the monthly inspectionof our federally mandatedelevator, the OSHA (OccupationalSafety and Health Administration)required paint markings onthe loading docks, etc. Exportingproducts out of a U.S. facility hasbecome just as complex. Tariffsare but one obstacle Americanmanufactures face exporting toother countries. Tariffs along withVAT (value added taxes) do justwhat they are supposed to…makeU.S.A. products less price competitive.However, tariffs are asimple money calculation; whilethey put U.S. manufactures at ahuge disadvantage, they are easilyunderstood. At the moment, morepernicious are the ever-increasingand ever-changing ‘compliance’rules.” —George M. Sheppard“Our import/export issues areno different than what every othermanufacturer is facing. We’reconstantly watching and reactingto the currency markets to keepour pricing stable and manage ourcash flow. We also have to dealwith VAT and other regional taxes,fuel prices, etc. In our business, wehave the added concern of territoryterms. Our rights are constantlychanging as different licensingdeals are renegotiated. As we gainor lose territories for a catalog, wehave to be ready to react quicklyto get products into or out of thatmarket.” —Bryan Bradley“I actually prefer manufacturingto importing. The economic climatein the U.S.A. since the mid-1980shas made it almost impossible toUNLOCK THEPOTENTIAL OF YOUR GUITAR.be a U.S.A. manufacturer in almostany business, including musicalinstruments. The problem I havewith tariffs is they do not evencome close to achieving the objectiveof keeping jobs in America so itsimply becomes just another formof taxation in the U.S.A.” —DeanZelinskyThe TUSQ ® saddle and TUSQ ® bridge pins in our Acoustic Supercharger Kitsare specifically designed to unlock the harmonics and tone of any guitar.www.graphtech.comp 604.940.5353The Evolution of Guitar Performance.Music & Sound Retailer 37

FORMIDABLE FEMALESCathy DuncanCo-Founder and Chairman,Seymour DuncanBy Michelle LoebThough she says she wasnever a San Francisco hippyherself, Cathy Duncan did findherself “aligned with thosesensibilities,” having come ofage in that tumultuous era ofAmerican history. Not onlydoes Duncan try to bring thoseideals to her management ofSeymour Duncan, but her wholeassociation with the companyand its eponymous founder canbe traced back to Woodstockperformers Canned Heat.“Seymour Duncan had beenover in London doing a bunch ofwork and, at that time, we hada mutual friend, James Shane ofCanned Heat. He introduced usat the ice cream store in TopangaCanyon, of all places,” Duncansaid. “So, we kind of startedtogether and, actually, my rolethen with him was the same asit is now in the company, whichis really that concept of takingcare of people and helping themto reach their dreams—all in asmooth, efficient manner.”Duncan describes the timeof her company’s inception as“the period of the mid-’70s whenFender, Gibson and some of theother companies of that sortwere not taking care of theircustomers,” so the Duncans setout to make their company andproducts as fair to its customersas possible. She recalledone instance in particular thathelped to define the return policiesto which Seymour Duncan stilladheres today.“We were living in our warehouse,”said Duncan. “A kidcomes in and he’s already boughta competitor’s product. He spent$100, but didn’t get the sound hewanted. He spent $100 on anothersimilar pickup, but didn’t get thesound he wanted.“I realized this guy’s been eatingmacaroni and cheese as longas we’ve been eating macaroniand cheese to do one thing—getthat dream in his head,” Duncancontinued. “So, I found myselfsaying, ‘Look, we’ll do it for youand we’ll take your money, but ifit’s not right, we’ll do it again andagain and again until you get thesound you want. You shouldn’thave to pay us money and still goout searching for the simple thingof getting the sound you want.’”Make Your Own RulesNot only do policies like thatgive comfort to Duncan’s customers,but they also helped ease herinternal struggle of becoming abusinesswoman after embracingthe hippy mentality that “businesseswere kind of yucky guys;they were the snakes” for so long.Finding that balance is somethingDuncan points to as one of hergreat achievements.“The biggest challenge for mewas coming to an understandingthat you could develop your ownvalue system and your own wayof doing business with integrity,”said Duncan. “Once I decidedthere were no set rules that youhad to be a ‘snaky’ person, it wasthen very creative and enjoyable.”One such way Duncan was creativewas in the company’s dealingswith employees internally. “Ithink it’s nice to take the stressesout of your employees’ lives,” saidDuncan. “We have places for kidsin the lunchroom and elsewhereso, when your kids are sick andthere’s no childcare, we havework tables for them, games, andcomputers in the lunchroom. Ifyou know you have support as afamily, as a parent,” she added, “Ithink those things go a long, longway.”Quite a few of the company’semployees have been there 25years or more and, according toDuncan, the average tenure isabout 12 to 13 years. Despite that,her company does go throughpersonnel changes like any other.However, Duncan came up witha way to make those transitionseasier.“I was never comfortable withthat concept that people wouldcome in on Monday morning andthe old name on the door hasbeen taken off. You know, theperson got their walking paperson Friday,” said Duncan. “We justdon’t do that. We talk to peoplewell in advance of a separationand they then have time to pulltheir life together, and lots of freedomto go out and do interviews.We coach them and help them.“You don’t have to wait untilthere’s that final last straw,” shecontinued. “Then you get to saygoodbye to all your friends andyour environment. And it worksboth ways. People in our companynow—if they’ve decided it’s not reallyworking out—give us notice.Oftentimes, that could look likemuch more than the standard twoweeks. That could be months or,in some cases, even a year downthe road. That’s nice. It’s a differentway of doing it.”Learning on the JobDuncan had no aspirations togo into business when she wasyounger. “Do I love making reallycool Excel spreadsheets that aregood tools for people to makegood decisions? Yeah, I loveefficiencies and keeping thingsso that people don’t have to keeptripping over their own shoelaces.I didn’t realize that I would begood at that. I hadn’t figured outwhat I was going to be when Igrew up,” said Duncan, who wasa math major before dropping outof college.“I feel very fortunate becausethere’s a lot of creativity insidethe business world,” continuedDuncan, who, despite her lack forformal education, doesn’t feel shesuffers at all professionally.“I didn’t know anything aboutbusiness. I was pretty dismayedwhen I’d go to the library andI couldn’t find out what’s thedifference between a wholesaleprice and a retail price,” she said.“So, one way I [learned] wasvolunteering around the community,getting around other brightpeople, listening and learningfrom them, and getting on someboards. That’s been my teachingtool. That’s been my MBA.”38 september 2009

One YamahaAt Yamaha, we strive to enrich the lives of people worldwidethrough music and sound products with a long tradition ofinnovation.From hand crafted acoustic instruments like guitars, saxophonesand flutes to the latest in digital music production technologies,from portable keyboards to grand pianos, Yamaha bringscomprehensive integrated solutions for every musical situationand genre.We put our more than 100 years of experience behind each andevery employee, instrument and service that we provide. We areproud to place our name on the world’s top concert stages, inrecording and rehearsal studios, among elite marching bandsacross football fields and especially down Main Street, U.S. A.The Hub is a centralized, comprehensive information portal fordealers and salespeople. It offers a quick and easy way toaccess multimedia presentations on nearly every Yamahamusical instrument. The Hub now houses Yamaha OnlineUniversity (YOU), a single source for all dealer training content.To experience The Hub first hand visit www.yamaha.com/thehub.©2009 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights reserved. www.yamaha.com