News

New Appointments at Harman Professional

Harman Professional has appointed Noel Larson to the role of director of marketing for its Signal Processing Business Unit. In this role Larson will be responsible for marketing and product roadmaps for the BSS Audio, dbx, Lexicon and DigiTech brands. He will report to TJ Smith, senior director, Harman Signal Processing Business Unit.

Most recently, Larson served as market manager, Portable PA, Tour, and Recording for HARMAN Signal Processing. In this role he managed product development, market strategy and social media for the dbx and Lexicon brands. He also previously held the position of director of business development for Musician’s Friend, a major online retailer and subsidiary of Guitar Center.

St. Louis Music Gains Two New VPs

St. Louis Music has appointed Craig Denny and Patrick Stevenson to new positions in the company.  Patrick Stevenson will become senior vice president of sales, while Craig Denny will take the position of vice president of band.

“It is with great excitement that I am able to announce these promotions,” says SLM CEO Mark Ragin.  “Patrick will be managing our inside and outside sales team, as well as the major national accounts, and Craig will be responsible for all aspects of the band division.”

Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy Joins Gator Artist Family

Jensen Introduces New Interactive Website

Sabian and Cymbal Masters Team Up for Crescent Model Cymbals

To meet the demands of customers and artists for new cymbals, Cymbal Masters of Kenesaw, GA, will begin offering select Crescent models in North America, handmade to their exacting specifications by Sabian, LTD. 

Sabian CEO, Andy Zildjian says, “I am very happy to be working with Cymbal Masters. I am impressed with their passion for and knowledge of cymbals. This is an opportunity to expand our tradition of hand hammering cymbals, originally brought to Sabian by Kerope Zilcan." 

Rush’s Alex Lifeson Joins PRS Acoustic Signature Artist Family

PRS Guitars recently announced the new Private Stock Alex Lifeson Thinline acoustic guitar, new for 2014. The Alex Lifeson signature PRS acoustic is slightly thinner than the company’s Angelus Cutaway and Tonare Grand and is constructed in such a way that it lends itself to louder stage volumes and the rigors of the road.

“During the 2013 Rush Clockwork Angels Tour, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a PRS Angelus Cutaway.  It quickly became my pre-show warm up guitar, and I spent many hours in many hotel rooms lost in the gorgeous sound and tone of that beautiful instrument,” said Lifeson.

RHC Redefines Targeted Marketing Strategies at 2014 NAMM Show

RHC Holdings recently announced its new targeted marketing strategies. Under this plan, RHC Holdings, comprised of well-known dependable brands including RapcoHorizon, Momentum, Pro Co, Pro Co Data, RAT, RoadHog and StageMASTER, will target its brands to their specific markets.

This marketing strategy means that RHC Holdings offers comprehensive audio and cable solutions for a variety of budgets and projects, from 100,000-seat stadiums to single-room houses of worship and everything in between. RHC’s collection of brands affords users the options of low-, mid- and high-grade instrument, speaker or microphone cable options. Fans will also find solutions such as guitar pedals, digital snakes, personal audio interfaces, digital facility design software and personal monitor systems. 

Gretsch Celebrates 10 Years of the Gretsch Custom Shop

When Fender acquired licensing for the manufacture, distribution and marketing of Gretsch guitars in 2002, Mike Lewis helmed the effort. An accomplished guitarist with an especially keen mind for product authenticity and marketing, he’d been with Fender for a dozen years, first in charge of amps and then in charge of guitars. Fender’s own custom shop, founded in 1987 in Corona, Calif., had earned acclaim by the dawn of the 2000s. With the 2002 Fender/Gretsch licensing deal in place, high-quality Gretsch guitars soon started coming from Japan, with considerably more manufacturing and marketing muscle behind them than Gretsch had experienced in quite some time.

Sennheiser and P!NK Team Up for Grammys Performance

Hosted for the third time by LL Cool J, the 56th annual Grammy awards were telecast live from the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in January, drawing over than 28.5 million viewers around the world. One of the most dramatic performances came from P!NK, which included high-flying. For the duration of her aerial segment, she used a custom earpiece with an integrated boom microphone built to specification by Sennheiser – the result of a highly collaborative project that helped her engineers achieve all the technical aspects required by the performance.

Alfred Music Announces 2013 Dealer Awards

Alfred Music announced the winners of the 2013 Alfred Music Premier Dealer Awards at the annual NAMM Show held in Anaheim. The recipients of the awards were Long & McQuade, Musician’s Friend, Inc., and Nick Rail Music. These awards honor the dealers for building strong relationships with Alfred Music over the past year and achieving excellence in the music products industry.

“Long & McQuade is an active partner and promoter of every product line Alfred Music produces,” said Antonio Ferranti, Alfred Music’s Vice President of Sales. “From hosting piano workshops and clinics as well as band and choral reading sessions, to carrying all of our pop music songbooks and instructional media through new issues, they represent Alfred Music to the fullest extent.”

American Way Marketing Announces Sale of Company

Entering its 29th year in business, American Way Marketing LLC  (AWM LLC) recently announced the sale of the Company to John Musselman, Kathy Donahoe and Jakob von Wolff.   This returns AWM to the status of a privately held USA Company.  

The three member-partners have elected Kathy Donahoe as the Company President and Managing Partner.   AWM will continue to offer and build on our Superslick, Faxx and 1st Lesson brand of products, along with a number of fine distribution brands, in support of school music dealers worldwide.  

Yorkville Sound Moves Production of YX Series Loudspeakers back to Canada

In a bid to re-shore as much production as possible, Yorkville Sound has moved the production of most of the active and passive loudspeakers in their popular YX Series back to the Canadian manufacturing facility in Pickering Ontario. 

Opting for Canadian production means the company can now offer improved quality and reliability in a North American made product for the same price as the previously overseas manufactured product.

"We're very happy re-shore this popular and cost-effective PA series for a variety of reasons,” explains Yorkville Sound Vice President Jeff Cowling.  “It keeps our North American facility busy, it provides us a improved time-to-market factor, and gives us more control over quality and performance. The YX series is still a budget oriented series, but the sound and build quality we can provide is extraordinary."