ISSUE 125 OCTOBER 2010
COVER STORY 27 HOLDING A TUNE
The ADT auto-tune bridge system has been 14 years in the making. Trevor Wilkinson describes the journey – and reveals where he hopes it will lead.
EDITORIAL COMMENT
mipro@intentmedia.co.uk ANDY BARRETT
NEWS
KEMBLE JOINS BÖSENDORFER, YAMAHA ZERO PER CENT FINANCE, LINE 6 GOES ALONE, HEADSTOCK GETS ZILDJIAN
EVENTS 4
PLASA 2010 15 All the MI goodies from that most pro audio of shows
LONDON DRUM SHOW 18 All the kit that’s fit to hit
FEATURES
LOUD TECHNOLOGIES 20 Back at PLASA and with a host of new gear
15
FIRST LINE 23 Jay Henson finds his niche with prestige lines
INTERMUSIC 32 Clever branding for cool products equals growth
BARNES & MULLINS 34 Technology meets tradition and makes Codabow
WORLD RHYTHM 20 Easing into one fo the booming areas of MI
34
AUDIO TECHNICA 43 Summer Schools and Centres of Excellence
SECTOR SPOTLIGHTS
TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS 44 Every mando, uke and banjo – and whole lot more
BRASS & WOODWIND 51 Looking for market dynamism? Look no further
RETAIL 51
DOLPHIN MUSIC 68 How can we keep people on the page?
REGULARS: DISTIE PROFILE 11 I WOKE UP 40 RETAIL NEWS 65 LOCATION REPORT 70 PRODUCTS 56-62 CODA 80
Retailers need to clearly define their areas of expertise and
concentrate on that
blowing, I am especially proud. Yes, he’s got into a world class establishment and yes, he’s almost a year younger than most of his fellow freshmen, but he didn’t have to come to Britain to study. He could have remained – and had a much easier ride – studying in his native language in his native country: Bulgaria. What he realised (with no little encouragement from his
M
parents) is that taking the risk and overcoming the fear factor of uprooting from all that is familiar to him has the potential of paying dividends when he sets out on his future career. I am inflicting this paternal blather on you because of a wee theme that has popped its head over the parapets in this issue. The cover story of this issue (page 27) sees Trevor Wilkinson talking about how he became involved with the ADT auto-tune bridge for electric guitars. It is a wonderful achievement of engineering that has seen a number of companies getting involved to solve the problems of creating a gearing system that can automatically wind a string without upsetting the tone and balance of the instrument. Those involved knew they had a good idea, but could they
convince the banks to help them out? Could they buggery. In the end, they had to put their money and time where
there belief was and bring the project to fruition on their own. This they have now done. I wish them well in getting some of the payback for their investments. (No doubt the banks will be on the phone the moment the bank balance starts climbing, letting them know how best to use their financial products.) Then (on page 11) Tony Smith of Technote points out that, with margins being squeezed, retailers need to clearly identify their areas of expertise and focus on that, leaving the low profit products and services to the big boys. It’s a difficult pill to swallow and the risks are pretty extreme – but the pay-off could well be worth it.
Andy Barrett, Managing editor
y son has just started university, as I’m sure many of your offspring have also either this year or in the past, but if you’ll forgive me a little parental trumpet
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miPRO OCTOBER 2010 3
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