Upbeat Sounds From Frankfurt 2010

The Frankfurt Musikmesse is, along with NAMM in California, perhaps the most important annual get-together for the international musical instrument and equipment business.

It takes place in a convention complex far larger anything we have in Ireland. Industry players from all over the globe, including a sizeable contingent from this country, unveil new products and sign new deals, while future trends often begin to take shape here among the thousands of exhibitors.
This year’s four-day Musikmesse took place at the end of March and attracted 110,000 visitors from 128 countries and included over 1,000 events. As Irish delegates will tell you, it’s a bewildering experience, with over 2,300 exhibitors. Yamaha alone takes over one whole building to showcase its products.
The show even hosted a company from Pakistan exhibiting their range of Irish harps, bodhrans and Scottish bagpipes! Also creating a stir was the iTab, the world’s first electronic songbook, developed by an Irish company and launched at The Music Show last year. iTab secured further distribution channels across Europe and is set to hit Irish retail shelves in April.
Aidan McCullough at Keynote Music Sales was pleased to announce further good news for Irish musicians who can look forward to an exciting new innovation from Line 6, which is moving into wireless microphone and guitar technology.  
The XD-V70 and XD-V70L digital wireless microphone systems, which offer 12 channels, a 100-metre range and heavy-duty cast metal 1/2U rack receivers, will be available in Ireland in the coming months. McCullough also reported on Martin Guitars’ Performing Artist Series, which have just arrived in Irish stores. The innovative line of guitars is Martin's first ever acoustic-electric series and is equipped with Fishman’s newly designed onboard sound reinforcement system, the F1 Aura.
Meanwhile, KMI Distribution announced that Casio Musical Instruments will be launching a limited-edition AP6BP to celebrate their 30th anniversary and the 70 million keyboards and pianos they’ve sold during those three decades.
Based on the already popular AP-620, the AP-6pb anniversary model boasts most of the key attributes that players of any age look for in a top quality electric piano.
Housed in a beautiful jet-black polished cabinet akin to a grand piano, it features 250 unique tones and 180 assorted rhythms. With only 2,000 to be made for the world market, it’s bound to attract attention.
At this year’s show, MIDI Distribution was appointed as the Duesenberg Guitar distributor in Ireland. Vice President of Duesenberg Guitars, Ingo Renner, told Hot Press: “We’re delighted to have appointed Musicmaker LTD/MIDI as our distributor for the island of Ireland. This country has such a rich musical heritage we are delighted to get our guitars into the hands of the next generation of Rory Gallaghers!”  John Paul Prior of MIDI/Musicmaker added: “This is a really exciting development for Irish guitarists. Duesenberg make instruments with a vintage sound yet they also benefit from all the enhancements that come from first class craftsmanship”. High profile endorsers of the Duesenberg brand include Bob Dylan, Ron Wood, John Mayer and Elvis Costello, and the guitars are currently available from The Dublin Guitar Centre, with new dealerships to come on stream throughout the country in the coming months.
Conor Mulhall of Macromusic was upbeat about this year’s Musikmesse.
“Even though I found the show to be smaller and quieter than previous years, there was a real buzz among manufacturers, distributors and retailers alike. There were more Irish dealers in attendance than I have ever seen before. The general vibe was a positive one!" he enthused. “There will be plenty of new products and dealerships popping up all over Ireland as a result of the Frankfurt show. One that particularly caught our eye is the new Clarineo wind instrument. It’s a child-friendly clarinet, with plastic keys, mouth piece and reed, extremely durable and very easy to play. This will be a huge hit with schools and young children."
Equally upbeat was MusiCo which saw lots of new products launched, from Orange Amps, Ketron, Taye Drums, Gator Cases and LD Systems. The Carlow-based company is also concluding discussions to secure another exclusive distribution deal with a major amp manufacturer.  According to Padraig Whelan of MusiCo: “Overall the mood was positive at Frankfurt and while business might be a little down it certainly isn’t out. There are plenty of new products coming our way to stimulate the market”.
That sentiment was supported by Tanglewood Guitars Ireland MD John Halnon, who was very pleased with the show. He said that: “Business has been good, and there was a lot of positive reaction to the new additions to our range from the dealers in attendance. The mood of the retail visitors was more upbeat and optimistic than the previous year. All in all it was a good show”. 
Tanglewood was exhibiting several additions, including the new Overwater by Tanglewood bass guitars, a collaboration with iconic bass manufacturer Overwater and new Masterdesign electro acoustics developed with acclaimed luthier Michael Sanden. 
Roland Ireland saw the launch of some exciting new products, including the new Boss BR 800 digital recorder, the R05 digital wave/mp3 compact recorder and the new GAIA SH01 synthesizer.
Frankfurt worked well also for Tone House Music, the new kid on the block in the Irish industry. The newbie venture had very encouraging discussions with suppliers and has its sights set on bringing a great deal to Ireland in the coming month in terms of both products and services. For Waltons Music Distribution, the Zoom H1 and Zoom R24 24 track recorder, sampler and control surface were show highlights, while Gibson showcased the Slash Appetite Les Paul limited-edition guitar, in stores later this month.