GET IN GEAR

IT S ALMOST an unwritten rule that the first instrument a beginner musician buys is, as Neil Young put it, a piece of crap . Of course, many of rock s senior citizens would argue that unless you ve struggled with a drumkit held together with duct tape and chewing gum, or a guitar with a neck shaped like a banana, you ll never appreciate quality merchandise.
Hogwash. Sure, using dodgy equipment may give young musicians a crash course in repairs and maintenance, but learning on an inferior gear is a sure way to pick up bad habits. Trying to master an instrument is a tough enough enterprise without being handicapped by a guitar that won t stay in tune, a set of tom-toms with all the tonal quality of a cardboard box, or a thrift-shop keyboard that sounds like a broken stylophone. In order for aspiring musicians to make progress, and to get the best out of themselves, they need to be inspired, hence, quality hardware.
Cheap equipment is a waste of money, a short-term investment that may incur maintenance and repairs costs equal to or even outweighing the initial sales price. Likewise, flimsy instrument cases will not protect your precious instrument from in-transit damage. Badly wired equipment is a threat to life and limb. Dodgy PA systems have the power to make the RTE Symphony Orchestra sound like The Slits. Or vice versa. There s no getting around it, if you want to get the best out of your money, you have to do the research.
The Tullamore Sound Centre (situated under the arch beside the FBD Insurance firm on Harbour St., Tullamore) deals in musical instruments and PA/Lights hire, as well as the installation of background music systems in churches, hotels and pubs. It also supplies a full tour and concert system service called Little Earthquake, including PA, backline, desk and an engineer. The Sound Centre is able to provide outdoor PA systems for large events such as the agricultural show in Tullamore, the biggest in Ireland. In addition to these amenities, there is a technical consultancy service on offer, including repairs and maintenance of guitars, as well as a flightcase hardwiring service.
If you re going to spend money on equipment, the least you can do is get a decent case for it or it ll get destroyed, warns Darren of the Sound Centre. Always budget for a flightcase. He also suggests that budding guitar players should get a good grounding on acoustic guitar before graduating to the electric model. You have to learn how to play, he stresses, and you can cheat on the electric, sticking on distortion and effects, glossing over the actual playing. Get a relatively good acoustic guitar, it doesn t have to be a big name. But the quality of electric and acoustic guitars has gone up so much, you can get a fairly small brand-name that s just as good as the major ones.
Darren is philosophical about audiences straying from live gigs to dance events and back again. The live circuit is very healthy at the moment, he asserts. Everything goes around in circles, people are getting fed-up of the discos again. It seems to go in a five-year cycle. I d say we ll get another two years out of the live scene and then it ll start to fade away again.
The Soundhouse on Crow Street in Temple Bar has everything the working musician might need, including guitars, amplifiers, keyboards, drums, FX, Pro-Audio hardware and samplers.
We stock a lot of Fender, Hohner, Washburn and Encore guitars, states manager Cormac Smith. We sell a lot of these because of the price range: everyone has to start with a basic entry-level guitar. You can get guitars that are a lot cheaper, but it s false economy, it ll cost you more in the end because you re going to want to upgrade again very, very quickly. You need something that s going to encourage you to play the instrument.
The Soundhouse also provides a full range of accessories: cases, strings, skins, plectrums, tuners, cables, slides and jack-plugs. There s also a full back-up service with a fully equipped workshop and two full-time technicians here for repairs to guitars, amps and so on, Cormac explains. We also take on board a lot of the repairs from other shops in Dublin and around the country, carrying out their guarantee work. In addition to all that, we hire out anything from a plectrum to a full PA system. All we require is a form of ID, and a utility bill. Once we have proof of address and identity we can hire anything, as a rule.
Cormac indicates that prevailing musical trends can have quite a significant influence of the marketplace. The dance market is very big on keyboards and synthesizers, he says, and sampling is very big aspect of the market as well. Different styles of amplifiers, guitars and FX pedals as well, bigger bands like Oasis can hold the key to market trends.
The Soundhouse has also had a membership discount scheme in place since 1994. This service includes a discount on all marked prices, previews of sale and clearance bargains, and better prices for trade-ins and used equipment. Also, purchases over a specified amount entitle buyers to special recording and rehearsal deals (The Soundhouse is affiliated with Sun Studios, the Temple Bar Music Centre and the Sound Training Centre).
It s easy to get ripped off when buying musical equipment. The music business, like any other, has its fair share of cowboys. That said, there are three surefire ways to ensure that you re not swindled off first time out of the traps:
1. Go to a reputable outlet, one that offers a full guarantee with the product.
2. If you are buying privately, bring somebody who knows about musical equipment with you. The untrained eye mightn t necessarily detect the untold abuse a guitar or amplifier has been subjected to.
3. Pay that little bit extra. When possible, buy the best, it works out cheaper in the long run. Consider hi-fi equipment: the cheap stuff has a finite life and a lousy trade-in price. Quality gear holds its value.
When you go to buy equipment, you ll know yourself if you re being ripped off, says Tommy Leddy of The Sound Shop in Drogheda. In Ireland there are only about ten big reputable equipment shops. Find out how long they re in business, and if they have a service department on the premises. If you buy second-hand gear and it happens to break down, make sure they ll repair it or supply you with a replacement so you don t lose work. Guarantees automatically come with equipment, but find out for yourself by asking questions if the shop is able to carry out the guarantee. Get a proper demonstration of the instrument and make sure you understand what the demonstrator is telling you. If you don t understand it, then it s not a good demonstration.
The Sound Shop supplies a full range of musical equipment, including keyboards, guitars, drums, pianos, organs and brass as well as mixing desks, PA systems and backline. However, it s not strictly necessary to stick to recognisable brands when looking for quality equipment. There are big name brands on the continent that wouldn t necessarily be big here, Tommy points out. Our top selling professional keyboard workstation is the Gem, and that s Italian.
He also readily admits that rise of Oasis has had an impact on the market. Gibson and Epiphone guitars are still flying because of them, he says. But also what s happened in recent times is that groups have broken up and an awful lot of lads have gone on as one-man-bands. We specialise in that, we ll midi up any instrument.
The Sound Shop will be hosting the Irish National Guitar Fair from April 16th-19th. There ll be concerts going on all the time in our own little 100-capacity theatre beside the shop, Tommy promises. The Fair will feature performances, workshops and seminars from top guitar players such as Buster B. Jones, Steve Fairclough, Papino D Augustino, Mick Sweeney and Nick Cooper. There ll be talks from guitar-makers, everything from how to put pick-ups on electric guitars to enable them to achieve acoustic sounds, to midi-ing guitars, anything you need to know.
Marshall Music Maker on Exchequer Street are retailers and distributors of Marshall, Fender and Trace Elliot amps, Pearl drums, Sabian cymbals and an array of percussion instruments. In the guitar and keyboard departments, they stock Encore, Fender, Charvel, Norman and Tailor acoustic models, Fender, Jackson, Washburn, Guild and BC Rich electric guitars, Korg and Roland keyboards and hi-tech equipment, as well as the Roland MC505, tailor-made for aspiring DJs.
Music Maker also supply multi-track and home recorders, ranging from very reasonably priced Tascam recorders to the Roland VS880, an 8-track digital hard disk recorder, the Rolls Royce of Portastudios. Basically you could record a CD on one of these things claims salesperson Mark. What it means to the average musician is that instead of going into the studio and spending thousands of pounds making mistakes, you can make all your mistakes at home and then use your time in the studio for what a studio is best at.
Musicmaker are the main Marshall distributor for Ireland and recently won an international award for the excellence of their service. For beginners with limited budgets, Mark recommends high quality copies such as Squire, who make Fender copies, but are actually a Fender company.
We advise people who haven t got loads of money to buy the most basic guitar, he says. There are lots of other guitars which are very gadgety, with loads of knobs and switches. If you re only going to spend #100 you re better off getting something that s simpler and getting the basics right, the neck, the pick-ups, the guitar itself. Same with amplifiers.
Machetts is an established company which has been in Belfast since 1935. It has two shops in Wellington Place in the city centre, a classical shop and a rock shop. We carry all major brands, explains managing director Derek Crowther. We re a big Fender dealer, we also do Sabian cymbals, Pearl drums, everything bar keyboards in the rock section. We also do Fostex home recorders, and JBL, DAS, H&K PA systems.
With Ulster being such a hotbed of musical activity, boasting established acts such as Ash, David Holmes, Therapy?, and The Divine Comedy, as well as younger bucks like Tunic, Cuckoo, Rare and Watercress, the trickle down effect is having rather healthy consequences for the equipment market. Business is quite buoyant at the moment, Derek concurs. There s quite a few young musicians coming in off the street it s amazing the sort of gear they buy. Money s no object! Some of these kids have never even gigged, they play in their bedrooms.
For aspiring guitarists, Derek recommends the tried and tested Fender Squire Strat. You can t go much better than that, he says. Terrific value for money.
Of course, you don t necessarily have to purchase brand-new gear in order to achieve that magical combination of reliability and an individual sound. As well as carrying up to date stock, Beat It in Dundalk specialise in vintage equipment, including guitars, drums, amplifiers, Hammond organs, analogue synthesizers, moogs and mellotrons.
It s a nostalgia thing, ventures Beat It proprietor Conor . There s an element of antique collecting about old guitars and amplifiers. They re not too hard to maintain or repair because there was only a handful of brands around in the past, Marshalls, Hi-Watts and so on, and they all used very common parts. And musicians get a better feeling about having a worn-in instrument.
Conor s clients include U2 and the Cranberries, who regularly dispatch crew members to the shop in search of rarities. U2 have had a few guitars and drumkits off us, all Ludwigs, he relates. They use them for recording, mainly. They d want a snare drum just to hit it once - unbelievable! The Cranberries have tried out Hi-Watts, and they rang us recently looking for weird old psychedelic effects pedals. It s funny, an American shop actually bought a lot of Vox amps off me four years ago, and hired them out to Hothouse Flowers when they were over there touring. The Flowers liked a couple of them, bought them and brought them back to Dublin, fifty miles away from where they d come from. Bizarre!
The advent of tribute bands has also provided Conor with plenty of custom. We get quite a few Beatles tribute bands looking for old Ludwig drum kits, we ve had Thin Lizzy tribute bands as well, we ve outfitted quite a few of them. He admits to having cleaned out most of the nationwide shops of antique gear. At the minute there s more buyers than sellers, he admits. But there s always something floating around.
With even the greenest of musicians becoming more au-fait with technology, and many artists becoming owners of both commercial and home recording studios, the question of good gear doesn t end with instruments and backline. Aspiring rock stars would do well to familiarise themselves with the intricacies of the recording, and indeed, manufacturing process. After all, if you want autocratic control of your sound, not to mention marketing, you ve got to have even a working knowledge of analogue and digital recording techniques, as well as the mastering and duplication processes.
NJM technical services are primarily a service company looking after Pro Audio Systems design and installation of recording studios, broadcast studios, live venues and mastering suites.
The company was formed six years ago with the intention of providing a range of technical services to the professional audio industry. Its founders, Niall Shortall, Jim McDaid and Jim Phelan, are all qualified engineers with thirty years of experience accumulated between them through posts with Dolby, Sony, Soundcraft and Windmill Lane amongst others.
The services provided by NJM include repair, maintenance, alignment systems and installation as well as a 24-hour call-out service. They cover recording studios, PA companies, high speed duplication plants, post-production facilities, theatres, and just about anything you can think of. The company s clients include Audio Engineering, Windmill Lane Recording, Westland Studios, Litton Lane and many others. Recently they have been getting involved with the consultancy side of things, recommending equipment for studios and venues.
A lot of manufacturers are in a kind of race at the moment to bring out digital recorders, states Niall Shortall. I think people should sit back and wait before investing for a while. Many of these consoles are designed for mixing and not recording. Digital recording is advancing at a dramatic rate, but there does seem to be a move back slightly towards 2 analogue recording.
Sensible Music Ireland was set up in March 1996 as a partnership between John Munnis and Mark Kennedy, two men with a wealth of experience in the local and international live arena. The company serves the live industry with a comprehensive range of backline for hire, and the studio sector with a microphones, FX, dynamics and multi-track recorders. Recently, the company added Pro-Tools, the 24-byte digital audio workstation, to their armoury of stock, and it is already being hired out to a major act recording in France.
As well as the rental business, there is also a Sensible Music Sales operation in Ireland. The company are Irish distributors for Amek Systems and Controls, SCV Audio products, Oktava and Byetone microphones as well as being agents for BASF tape. They also specialise in complete design, supply and installation for studios and live venues. Other successes include the sale of a Langley 501 which was recently installed in The Red Box.
Sensible Music have come to specialise in location recording. Their most ambitious project to date was the live recording of the Faith Of Our Fathers concert at The Point, an undertaking which required a full 2 48 track analogue set-up utilising Dolby SR, two Otari MTR 90 s, 56 channels of Focus Rite mic amps and a vast array of high quality microphones.
The biggest problem with that was probably getting all the machines to talk to each other, to get it all to run smoothly, Mark Kennedy recounts. We could only stop the programme for 30 seconds to do tape changes. Initially it took two minutes, but after rehearsing it time and time again, we got it right. Because it was a live recording it had to be absolutely fault-free, without so much as a crackle or a buzz.
Other past satisfied clients of the company include Westland Studios, Windmill Lane Recording, The Corrs, Hothouse Flowers and The Cranberries.
APEX Duplication have been operating for over 15 years, originally dealing mainly with cassettes, but in recent years the bulk of their orders have switched to CDs.
We take it in from the level of DAT, disc, artwork or film, whatever the customer supplies, says Joe O Reilly. Three years ago we were still manufacturing more cassettes than CDs, now it s the other way around. A lot of new artists are making more demos in home or smaller studios, and now they re manufacturing more CDs for promotion at gigs. The cost of doing that before was prohibitive, but it s not as expensive as it was, and it s more worthwhile having it on CD, you ve got more of a chance of radio play which you wouldn t have with a cassette. Our business has shifted a lot to where you have bands coming in with CD-ROMS and DAT tapes, so obviously they have more access to this stuff. I do believe it s a lot more inexpensive to get quality masters made.
As well as manufacturing service, Apex also offer a print service.
Usually that s something that we take on and do for artists, Joe explains. We would put them in touch with a designer, or we d take it on completely, from start to finish, it s less hassle for them. I think as time goes on we re establishing a good name for service, and that, more than advertising, seems to be the way to expand the business. The word of mouth is good, you find new customers coming in who found out about us through someone else we did work for. Service is the key to it.
A to Z Music Services are the UK s largest independent manufacturing broker, offering a complete service on Audio CDs, Multimedia, Cassettes, Vinyl, Video, Design, Printing and Reprographics. Over the last ten years they have manufactured a string of top forty hits (including several number ones) and currently produce over five million units every year. A to Z are equipped to handle high volume orders in specialised packaging or minimum orders in standard cases also possess the buying power to offer competitive prices and fast turnaround. You only need to make one call, guarantees an A to Z spokesperson. We can be your designer, repro house, cutting room, printer and pressing plant all in one. One detailed invoice from us keeps you on top of what you are spending it is much easier than ten different invoices from ten different suppliers at ten different times. We communicate with you on a one-to-one level, giving you regular updates so you don t have to worry about missing deadlines, and we do our best to get your product to you in the fastest possible time, even during the busiest periods.