NO GEAR COMES NEAR

THE CURRENT state of the market for musical instruments, sound gear and recording equipment can be viewed as a handy barometer of the health of the music industry as a whole. Any increase in activity on the recording, performing and touring front should, in theory, be reflected in increased demand for, and subsequent sales of band gear. Let’s face it – the first thing most bands and musicians do when financial rewards start flowing in, is to upgrade their stock of instruments and accessories, as well as expanding their PA and backline equipment. And while there can be no doubt about the ongoing vitality of the Irish music scene in terms of recent international successes, the situation on the domestic front can at times present confusing signals.

On the one hand, you have the rapid growth and popularity of dance music and its allied forms – techno, house, ambient – and the consequent demand for samplers, sequencers, drum machines and other keyboard and computer-based instruments. In complete contrast to that, there’s the current unplugged boom with albums like Nirvana’s Unplugged In New York nestling comfortably at the top of the charts and many venues opting for special unplugged and acoustic nights. This has undoubtedly resulted in a surge in sales of acoustic and semi-acoustic guitars, double basses and percussion instruments, as well as accessories like high quality microphones and pick-ups. Allied to that, the continuing renaissance of folk and traditional music presents even more demand for a wider range of predominantly Irish instruments like fiddles, accordions, bouzoukis and bodhrans.

The decline in suitable live venues around the country – particularly for rock bands – has already been widely commented on and documented in these pages in recent months. Even well-established bands with successful albums on release have been finding the going tough and the ambitious countrywide tours of five years ago have been largely replaced by heavily marketed and successful package tours like the Heineken Rollercoaster Tour. And while it is to be hoped that the live situation will show some improvement this year, there can be no doubt that young rock bands playing original material, occupy the toughest, most competitive slot within the industry – albeit the one with potentially the greatest rewards, should success arrive.

Given this scenario, one might expect the market for the basic components of rock – electric guitars, basses and drums or, “the primary colours,” as Bono once described them – to be at the very best stagnant in terms of overall demand and sales.

Not so, according to Maeve Duane of Music Maker who specialise in supplying the rock end of the market. “Electric guitars, amps, keyboards and drums are still selling very well for us,” she insists. “We had a very good November and December and the new year is looking promising so far. For some reason we’ve sold a lot more drum kits recently,” she adds. “I don’t know whether it’s just us, or if it’s a wider trend.”

She also points to the fact that prices are now very competitive in this country and the range of gear and instruments on offer is much wider than was the case in the past. “There’s absolutely no need for anyone to go cross-border or to the UK any more to get value for money or for a more extensive range,” she says. “Prices are the same or even cheaper than they are elsewhere and we find that musicians are much more knowledgeable than they used to be – they know exactly what they want and how much they’re prepared to pay for it.”

While January and February can be a fairly quiet time on the live front for most working bands and musicians, Lesley Kane, guitar manager with Music Maker, has noted that a lot of the more prestigious personalities in town are doing quite a bit of new year shopping and splashing out on some new equipment. “They obviously have their money made over the Christmas period and are looking for some new gear,” she says. “We have recently begun to stock Blade, a new line of prestigious guitars which are causing a lot of interest at the top end of the market. Although the Fenders are still flourishing, particularly the Squire range which has become well established as a quality name, some of the early ones have even become collectors items.

“Marshall are still the most popular amplifiers, followed by Fender,” she continues. “In fact, you can almost tell the kind of music people play by the brand names they choose. The heavy metal and rock heads go for Jackson guitars and basses and Marshall amps, while the indie crowd will go for Fenders and Gibsons. There’s a big demand too for acoustic guitar-amps and effects units like Roland, Boss and Korg.”

Music Maker are distributors of Marshall, Trace Elliot, Pearl Drums, Sabian Cymbals and are main dealers of many of the top brands like Fender, Korg, Roland, Zildjian etc.

Of all the major changes in the way the music business operates, over the last few years, one of the most dramatic and profound developments has been the growth of do-it-yourself recording. More than ever, bands and musicians are taking over control of the recording process themselves, by utilising relatively inexpensive new technology. This has partly come about as a result of the increased reluctance of major record companies to fund new talent, as well, of course, as the new ease with which bands can now release product independently.

The Studio Sound Store at 8 Malpas Street, Dublin 8 was established two years ago to cater specifically for the recording requirements of the music industry by stocking the full range of recording, mixing and midi equipment.

“We don’t do instruments of any kind,” says Jim Meade of Studio Sound Store. “Recording is such a specialised area that we decided from the outset to confine ourselves to dealing exclusively in recording equipment in order to be able to provide a high degree of service our customers.”

Jim confirms the change in recording habits of bands and the move away from expensive studios to home recording.

“One thing I’ve really noticed happening,” he says, “is that bands are setting up their own recording set-ups, using their advance from the record company or money they’ve pooled together. That way, they save a lot of money on studio time and have full access to recording facilities whenever they want. It’s now possible to have a complete digital 8-track set-up for around £4,000 and the great thing about these systems is the fact that they’re open-ended, they can be upgraded and augmented quite easily.”

As well as stocking a comprehensive range of equipment, Studio Sound Store offers helpful advice to their customers on how to get the best possible results from recording set-ups. Jim Meade confirms that the trend is towards digital and away from traditional analogue recording methods. “I don’t think we’ve sold a new analogue multi-track machine over the last two years,” he says. “It’s virtually all digital nowadays, for example, the Yamaha Pro-mix which is a new digital mixing desk can be had for around £1,800 – that would have cost four or five thousand pounds a year ago.”

Specialised equipment used mainly in the production of dance music has also become much more affordable in recent years according to Jim Meade. “You can get a sampler now for about £700, whereas a few years ago they cost several thousand pounds,” he says. “We’ve had 4th Dimension in recently and they’ve been upgrading all their gear. Although we don’t do musical instruments as a rule, we handle keyboards and synthesizers on the basis that they are effectively a midi workstation.”

Studio Sound Store are holding a major sale during the month of February with lots of discounts on well known brands so if you want to get it taped you know where to go!