The latest from the Frankfurt frontline

The 2011 Frankfurt Music Fair provided conclusive evidence that, recession or no recession, the worldwide musical instrument continues to innovate. There were a record number of exhibitors, a staggering 2,384, and from more countries that ever before. The Prolight + Sound section achieved an all-time record with a 6% increase in exhibitors, and the general buzz was heightened by the news than worldwide sales of musical instruments are beginning to pick up again after bottoming out last year.

There was a mouth-watering procession of new products introduced at the Fair, and as it toured the massive arena, Hot Press saw no shortage of representatives from the Irish industry there to do deals with the best of them. Among those we spotted were John Halnon from Halnon Distribution, Andy Hirst from i-Tab, Gerry Forde and Lisa Kane from Pro Audio, Lesley Kane and Paul Lyttle from KMI, Aidan and Lynette McCullough from Keynote, David Ryan from A.M.P. Distribution, Tommy Leddy from The Sound Shop, Padraig Whelan from MusiCo and Laurence Kerr from MIDI. Also making the trip were Enda Quealy, John Connolly (Naas Drum Centre), John Lynch (Blanchardstown Music School & Shop), Liam Reynolds (Reynolds Of Raphoe & Letterkenny), Tommy Riley (Roland Ireland), Niall Walton and Conor Long (Waltons), Pat Doheny and Paschal Kavanagh (Premier Music, Clonmel) and Jimmy Scanlon (Jimi’s Guitars).
Indeed, the Irish contingent were buoyed with the show and lots of business was successfully transacted - the fruits of which will soon start to be enjoyed and appreciated by Irish musicians back home.

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS
Among the key items that caught Hot Press’s eye at Frankfurt is the Roland Jupiter-80 Synthesiser, a descendant of the 1981 Jupiter-8 which was launched as the most expressive synthesizer then possible. Equipped with the leading technology of its day, the legendary synth’s unique character and rich sound remains an iconic element in the musical landscape.
But the new Roland Jupiter-80 represents an impressive leap in the pursuit of the most realistic electronic musical instrument that technology and creativity can give us. It has a sleek industrial design that pays homage to the original Jupiter-8, the 76-key touchscreen-driven Jupiter-80 integrates the highest calibre of analogue modelling, and digital synthesis available in a live performance synth. It gives keyboard players an amazingly realistic and organic sound, and a truly authentic performance.
The new model also features a complete suite of SuperNATURAL sounds—piano, brass, strings, guitar, and more—resulting in what is arguably the most breath-taking array of acoustic instruments ever assembled in a keyboard. The sound engine constantly analyses the player’s natural keyboard performance to produce continuous authentic performance of the selected sound but without altering the user’s normal keyboard technique. These meticulously crafted instruments provide the most authentic acoustic playing experience for both live performances and recordings.
And those folks at Roland have also been busy with
other products. Their new Roland BA-55 Portable PA
System is a compact, portable, and efficient battery-powered amp, ideal for any small event requiring sound amplification, be it musical performances or public speaking.
Much attention was also drawn to the Boss Micro BR BR-80 Digital Recorder – essentially a professional eight-track studio that fits in your pocket! It’s an updated version of the popular Micro BR multi-track recorder, the first of which was launched in 2006. With an eight-track upgrade, the latest Boss guitar and vocal effects, built-in rhythms, onboard stereo mics, jamming and practice features, and a live record mode that instantly turns the BR-80 into a hand-held field recorder ideal for guitarists, songwriters, and musicians of all shades and grades.
It offers eight tracks of playback, 64 virtual tracks for advanced editing and mixing, 500 hours of recording time and dedicated inputs for guitar and microphone.
There’s an extensive set of features for practice with a huge library of backing tracks and rhythm patterns.
Meanwhile in Frankfurt, Pearl Drums announced the production of an extremely rare Miniature Masterworks Artisan Drum kit in special small sizes for children. The beautifully crafted drum kit will be auctioned and all proceeds raised will be donated directly to the ‘Save the Children – Japanese Disaster Appeal’. This specially built “One of a kind” Miniature Masterworks is finished in a Tamo Scuba Blue Artisan finish, with all the hardware on the drums and the kit finished in gold. So if you want to be in with the chance of obtaining one of the rarest drum kits in the world and at the same time help the children of Japan effected by the recent disaster, watch out for the web auction, which starts on 1 June 2011. For more, see pearleurope.com.
Duane Eddy fans will welcome the news from Gretsch who have honoured the legendary hit maker and rock ‘n’ roll innovator with the G6120DE Duane Eddy Signature Hollow Body guitar. It’s a single-cutaway beauty with classic styling and full, resonant sound and combines features based directly on Eddy’s original 1957 G6120 model with modern Gretsch features to create a fitting tribute to the undisputed King of Twang.
The G6120DE’s hollow body has three-ply maple back, sides and arched top, with trestle bracing and bound oversized f holes. The neck has a brass nut, lacquer finish and slim profile based on Eddy’s original model, and is topped with a bound headstock. It has a 12”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium frets and hump-block pearloid inlays. They say that the pure sound of Duane Eddy is the pure sound of a great Gretsch guitar, so the G6120DE is a real “Rebel Rouser” of an instrument.  
Meanwhile over at Fender, their pro-level flagship amps raise the power of the acclaimed Super Sonic series to 100 watts. The brand’s Pro Tube series Super-Sonic amplifiers are widely acclaimed as high-performance, no-nonsense tube amps that create unmistakable Fender clean tones and expressive modern high-gain tones without masking the tonal character of the player’s guitar. Now they’ve got the hot new Super-Sonic 100 head, Super Sonic 100 412 Straight Enclosure, Super Sonic 100 412 Slant Enclosure and Super-Sonic Twin combo, all professional-level amps and enclosures that raise the power of the Super-Sonic line to an arena-worthy 100 watts. New features include New Fender Automatic Bias control, a Notch Tune control, a rear-panel damping control that lets you select “normal,” “loose” or “tight” speaker response for sounds ranging from warm and loose to tight and focused and an Arena/Club switch that takes the power down from 100 to 25 watts while preserving the high-volume tube tone.
The stand for Tanglewood Guitars combined an acoustic booth with an adjacent electric booth thereby keeping their entire range of over 300 models in one place. The stand was always busy, with six new countries signing up for exclusive distribution, pushing their global distributor total to almost 50 partners. Now that’s what they invented Frankfurt Trade Fairs for!
Frankfurt was also the worldwide launch of the Overwater by Tanglewood bass guitars. Chris May of Overwater was at the booth to discuss and demonstrate the special features designed for these new models. Tanglewood also launched new acoustic guitars for 2011, such as the Sundance Historic TW40’s, featuring ‘aged’ amber spruce tops, V neck profiles, and unique quarter sawn bracing patterns alongside entry level models, such as the Tanglewood Roadster series, stripped down for a natural, clean look. There was also the new Union Series Tenor Guitars three models, Acoustic, Solid Top and Electro.
Hot off the heels of the ”Best in Show” award at the recent NAMM Show, Zildjian’s Gen16 AE Cymbals completed the triple whammy of the awards season with two more gongs at Frankfurt. Gen16 AE Cymbals were awarded two M.I.P.A. awards, beating out top keyboard workstations, software, guitars, and pro audio systems. The first award was for “Most Innovative Product,” given to the top product across all brands and instruments. Gen16 received a second award for “Best Edrum Product,” beating out some of the top electronic drum systems in the world.
Gen16’s AE Cymbals are genuine acoustic cymbals that sound and respond just like a traditional cymbal but below half of the volume. A dual-head microphone system and sophisticated digital signal processing enables the AE Cymbal to create a range of natural cymbal sounds without the use of sampling or MIDI. “One of the most important things for us in creating the AE Cymbal was that it had to feel and play like a real cymbal,” said Paul Francis, Zildjian’s Director of R&D/Quality. “Most of what’s currently available for drummers are rubberized, cymbal-shaped trigger pads, and they typically lack the feel and responsiveness of a real cymbal.”
Maybe there’s a challenge in there for Frankfurt 2012?