FEATURE
Class is in Session
We feature many of the new, hot companies that exhibited at NAMM in January.
Gibson
Indictments Likely
Gibson Guitar is expected to face charges due to alleged illegal wood imports.
NRF Talks Jobs,
Jobs and More Jobs
The key to retailers' success for 2011 is, you guessed it, jobs. But a lot more was discussed at the 100th NRF Annual Convention.
It’s a Record!
We give you a huge review of last month’s NAMM show. Were retailers and manufacturers optimistic for the rest of this year?
MSR Exclusive Interview
Zildjian and Vic Firth have teamed up to form a percussion powerhouse. We met with Craigie Zildjian and Vic Firth at NAMM to give you all of the details about the merger.
Music Group's Master Plan
We get an exclusive look at the future of The Music Group, parent of Behringer, Bugera and more. We get an exclusive look at product launches, as well!
Knock it Off With the Knockoffs!
Counterfeit products are killing the MI industry. But one company is fighting back big time. We’ll tell you how badly knockoffs could affect the industry if left unchecked.
Music & Sound Award Nominees
We release the full list of nominees for Music & Sound Awards. See if your favorite product, person or company is nominated.
Taylor-Made For Europe
Taylor Guitars will sell all of its products directly to dealers in Europe beginning on Jan. 1. Find out why the big change was made and where Taylor’s European headquarters will be. We interview Brian Swerdfeger about it first.
We Cover it All!
For the second time, we honor instruments that get zero or little press...
A ‘Super’ Party on Kent Island
Experience PRS loaded up on celebrities, new products and much more. Get the full scoop...
‘Father of RMM’ Passes
Karl Bruhn, a tireless music industry devotee, mentored many and made awareness of health and wellness together a lifelong initiative.
Don’t ‘Skip’ this Story!
Skip’s Music Celebrates 30th Anniversary of its Special Event
I Just Wanna Bang
on the Drums All Day
Your One-Stop Shop For The Holidays!
Heathcare Provision Could
Be a Nightmare
America the Beautiful
Not Doubting Thomas
Mendello Retires, Thomas Named Fender CEO
Music City Mystery

Sharon Hennessey: Loves our industry, you will find out. She'll also tell you why she ultimately decided to join The Music People! And yes, she will definitely fill you in on her goals as a new NAMM board member.
Carla Alger: Being in the music industry is definitely the most exciting opportunity Carla Alger, chief financial officer at Two Old Hippies, has ever had. Find out why.
Dawn Werk:Dawn Werk, Alpha Books’ director of marketing, heads a group that is responsible for 450 non-fiction books. Now that’s a lot! Music is a small, but very important, part of that catalog.
Sonia Vallis: Sonia Vallis might be an only child, but she grew up with a sibling that has now become like another child to her.-
Catherine Polk
Cyndi Fritz
Janet Deering
Kathy How
Sarah Heil
Sue Avant

Here are your 2009
Music & Sound Award Nominees

Best Acoustic Guitar of 2008:

Sierra Compass ST10
Acoustic Guitar
“A special thanks to all of our dealers and partners for recognizing the Sierra Compass ST10. We are truly honored to be nominated for a second straight year in the category of Best Acoustic Guitar.” —Craig Toporek, product manager 

Taylor 816ce

Ibanez Montage (acoustic-electric)

Ovation iDea

Martin M-21 Steve Earle
Custom Edition
“We are of course flattered by the nomination of our M-21 Steve Earle

Best Electric Guitar of 2008:

The Moog Guitar
“To be nominated for these awards is a great honor. We pride ourselves on our ground-breaking products, so being recognized by an innovative magazine like Music & Sound Retailer is very rewarding. It lets us know we’re heading in the right direction.”—Chris Stack, Marketing Manager

Taylor Solid Body

Hamer Talladega Pro

Ibanez ART300 Single Cutaway

PRS Modern Eagle II
“That the Modern Eagle II was nominated is a real honor. I never thought the industry would take notice. To anyone who has had any involvement in this, thank you.”
—Paul Reed Smith

Best Bass Guitar of 2008:

Lace Helix 5-String Thru Neck

Larrivee BO3RE Acoustic/Electric

Ibanez BTB575FMTG

Fender Deluxe Active P Bass Special
“The Fender Deluxe Active P Bass Special is a winner. Its P/J pickup configuration, active preamp and reasonable price point are a great recipe, courtesy of our amazing factory in Mexico. We are very glad that this bass is resonating with our dealers and consumers, and we are proud to be nominated for Best Bass Guitar by Music and Sound Retailer Magazine.”—Jay Piccirillo, sr. marketing manager, Fender Bass Products

Best Guitar Accessory of 2008:

Korg Pitchblack tuner

Stageline Wooden Guitar Stands GS55A and GS55IE
“We are thankful and appreciative of this nomination. It is great to see that the music retailers also recognize the value in these compact but elegant stands.”
—Craig Toporek

Hercules Home Series Guitar Stand (GS412X)

Kahler Kerry King Signature Model Tremolo
“The Kahler USA family of OEM’s, distributors, retailers and players are all very appreciative of Kerry King’s (Slayer) new metallurgical, aggressive design and continued endorsement. Thank You Music & Sound for the award nomination for Best Guitar Accessory.”—Gary Kahler, CEO

The String Cleaner
“Thank you so much to the readers of the Music and Sound Retailer who found the time to try my new product. The String Cleaner went through six years of testing and prototyping and it is so rewarding to see how well it is now being received and appreciated. Thanks again!”—Dave Chiappetta, CEO/inventor,
ToneGear, The String Cleaner

Best Keyboard/Sound Module of 2008:

Korg M3 Music Workstation

Yamaha Tyros3

Roland JUNO-STAGE

Best Instrument Amplifier of 2008:

LR Baggs Acoustic Reference Amplifier (A-REF)

Bugera 333XL-212
“The entire BUGERA team is overwhelmed at the honor of having the 333XL nominated for Best Instrument Amplifier! We’re a new brand and expected to have to prove ourselves over many years before achieving this level of recognition. Thank you very much!”—Bugera staff

Yamaha StagePAS 150 and 250 keyboard amps

Fishman SoloAmp

Peavey Vypyr
“We’re honored to be nominated for multiple Music & Sound Awards, especially for the revolutionary Peavey Vypyr modeling amplifiers, which have been an instant success for Peavey and our dealers. Thanks to the dealers for voting!”—Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO

Best Power Amp of 2008:

QSC GX-5
“Quality, service and commitment are the heart and soul of the QSC family of audio products. We are grateful for the recognition given to the GX-5 series amplifier by our colleagues in the MI industry.”—Evan MacKenzie, director of marketing

B-52 Professional US Series

Applied Research and Technology SLA-4

Peavey SA-4200

Best Speaker of 2008:

Electro-Voice Tour X

Behringer B412DSP
“Behringer is very honored and grateful to receive two nominations for Music & Sound Awards: Best Speaker and Best DJ Product. With everything we make, we strive to deliver exceptional features, performance and value. Doing so, to the degree that we are recognized as nominees for these awards, is most gratifying. Thank you to Music & Sound Retailer, your readers, and all of our dealers and customers. This is just so cool!”—Behringer staff

Event Electronics Opal

Marathon ENT V2 Club and Live Sound Series
“We’re interestingly surprised by the recognition of Marathon. We’re always pushing ourselves harder to meet the quality of our products, and constantly looking for innovative ways on things to contribute something substantial to this industry. That is how I envisioned things for Marathon. You’ll be seeing more of us in the years to come. Quality and affordability are marketing keys that are really too hard to combine. That is why we’re consistently looking for ways to pair this up to cater to our consumers’ (the sound enthusiasts) needs for a product.”
—David Saghian, president

Community Loudspeakers 12W8

Best Multitrack Recorder/Recording & Mixing Software of 2008:

Tascam DP-02

Ableton Live 7
“It’s good to be nominated for the Best Multitrack Recorder/Recording & Mixing Software award. It’s good that people are taking Ableton Live seriously as a tool for multitrack recording.”—Graham Ball, Communications Manager

Cakewalk Sonar 8
Producer Edition Upgrade

Edirol R-09HR

Best Mixer/Console of 2008:

Yamaha IM8-Series Analog Consoles

Pioneer SVM-1000

Digidesign C 24

Allen & Heath ZED-12FX and 22FX
“We are very honored to have the ZED-12FX and 22FX nominated for the Music & Sound Awards. These mixers represent Allen & Heath’s commitment to building the finest sounding and most reliable mixers in the world!”—Gabriel Whyel, marketing manager

Ecler Nuo Series

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