This year marks the 75th Anniversary of one of the most distinctive—and most beautiful--acoustic guitars known to popular music. Epi fans know it as the Epiphone EJ-200, and it was, and still is, the king of the flat-tops. The original J-200 was introduced in 1938 and perhaps no more than 100 went into production. It became an instant classic and though it was revived in the '50s, originals are expensive and tough to find. (No one ever gets rid of a '200' super jumbo.) The Epi EJ-200 made this fantastic instrument available to musicians everywhere and for the first time in its history, it's safe to say there are probably more EJ-200s in the world right now than the original designers could have ever imagined. Singers love the "200" for its woody, balanced tone that neatly sidesteps the bass and treble range of the human voice, making it the perfect accompanist for singers. Dreadnought style acoustics can be boomy and somewhat moody in their tone, but the "200" never gets in a sin…

Get ready for the next generation of Music Production Controllers. Akai hit the NAMM show this month with some amazing new controllers for DJ's and studiofreaks. The MPC Fly, the first MPC specifically for iPad 2, provides a fully integrated portable MPC solution. The Renaissance fuses legendary MPC production with the power of your computer, and the MPC Studio enables you to produce in your own studio.. anywhere in the world! MPC Fly MPC Fly merges unmatched Akai Professional technology with the power of your iPad 2, embodying legendary capabilities that have made the MPC an industry standard like real MPC pads, MPC Note Repeat and MPC Swing. Its multifunctional, double-hinged design gives you the flexibility to produce tracks anywhere, while also acting as a protective case between sessions and giving you total access to your iPad 2 for normal uses. MPC Renaissance Fusing Akai Professional’s legendary MPC layout and workflow with the power of your computer, MPC Renaissance i…

Almost every artist follows the same path to mastery: extended periods of concentrated effort spent honing the skillset, often followed by a long period of artistic imitation. This mimicry serves as a foundation on which the artist’s contribution of genius to his field of endeavor will be built. So it is with master instrument builders. In the 70s, Ibanez crafted copies with such intensity and diligence that they often surpassed the quality of the originals. Clearly, Ibanez anked among the world’s best. The big question: could Ibanez deliver their own original contribution to the guitar world? It didn’t happen easily. Or overnight. But in 1987, Ibanez created not one, but two guitars that would join the modern musical instrument pantheon. Developed first as the Roadstar, the fully “Ibanezed” pedalto-the-metal RG is known throughout the rock and metal world as a full-bore performer. The thin “Wizard” necks are only one of the many innovations that make the RG, the streamlined, n…

Fender is thrilled to introduce new Bassman Pro series of heads and cabs that will tug at the heartstrings of bass players worldwide. Decked out in '60s blackface, and supercharged with monstrous sound and rock-solid strength, the six new members of the Bassman Pro series are designed with world-tour ready features and enormous Fender tone. The Super Bassman is a pummeling, 300-watt tube head designed to tear up the largest arenas. Features include a tube preamp (two 12AX7s) and tube power amp (one 12AX7, one 12AT7, six 6550s); vintage channel that delivers the full, warm sound of a classic Fender passive tone stack; overdrive channel that delivers the aggressive and responsive sound of a modern active tone stack; footswitch that allows to choose between channels; rear-panel Fender Automatic Bias system that constantly monitors and re-biases tubes for perfect performance and alerts you when service is required; speaker output switch that can be set to "mute" to turn speaker off an…

The legend is alive - Sigma Guitars are back In the late 1960s the situation for US guitar manufacturers became difficult: guitars that were made in Japan, looking very similar to US guitars, were flooding the market but at a much lower price. These guitars increasingly endangered the US manufacturers dominance on the market, and a few American companies reacted to that development in an appropriate manner: They did not take any legal steps but instead launched a counter offensive. That’s when “Sigma Guitars” was born. In 1970 “SIGMA”, the brandname for acoustic guitars, was launched. They were built by specially trained staff in the most efficient guitar factories in Japan and then sent to the US for inspection before being released for sale and shipping to the music stores. The first Japanese made Sigma guitars were quite different to the instruments built in the following years in other countries. After several years of production the manufacturing of the guitars was moved to…

SELECT INSTRUMENTS for SELECT INDIVIDUALS Fender is very proud to introduce its new top-of-the-production-line best: the Fender Select series. Designed as "Select instruments for select individuals," the five guitars and two basses in the series are designed to be players' instruments that put more than six decades of Fender experience and expertise on outstandingly appointed display and bring a wealth of high-end features and elegant design options to discerning musicians everywhere. With choice tone woods, figured tops, strikingly beautiful finishes, figured and quarter-sawn maple necks with compound-radius fretboards, specially voiced Fender Select pickups that deliver masterful tone, and other first-rate features, the US-made Select Series presents Fender's finest selection. Check the complete series Fender Select.

When you're looking for the perfect mic for your recording application, what's the first thing you normally do? Check out a couple of forums for conflicting opinions, go searching for reviews online, and maybe glance at a bunch of specs? Then, once you've done all the hard work, get to a music store and ask for a demo - only to realise it wasn't quite the sound that you were expecting. With the RØDE Soundbooth, you can cut down the process and make listening to your potential mic your first move. With sound bytes of the RØDE studio and performance mics across a variety of instrument and vocal setups, recorded by Grammy nominated sound engineer John Merchant, you have the freedom of creating an incredible number of unique recording scenarios to listen to. The RØDE Soundbooth is an innovative and user friendly application that allows you to listen to various RØDE microphones in a professionally recorded, controlled environment. This allows you to see how a particular microphone mi…

This week it's time for the 16th edition of the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), the gateway to the international electronic music scene. As Europe's leading electronic music conference and the world's biggest club festival, it's a true dance lovers' Mecca. The event offers a unique blend of daytime conferences, including interactive workshops, technical demonstrations and in-depth round-table discussions, alongside a nighttime music festival which takes place in 52 venues around the city. The annual event attracts 3,000 business professionals and 130,000 festival visitors from all around the globe to the tune of more than 700 DJs and artists. With this year's programme resembling a who's-who and who's-that of dance floor royalty, 2011 looks set to rewrite the rules on bringing down the house. ADE always brings in the crowds with established names on the line-up alongside rising stars (who take to the decks as part of ADE NEXT). The playlist for 2011 is again suitably diverse: electro…

ROCK PALACE XL - Bigger is Better. Rock Palace has been completely rebuilt and renewed. The musicstore in the centre of The Hague got much bigger! Rock Palace lives up to its name, now more than ever. The store is located a stone's throw of the Noordeinde Royal Palace. The new Rock Palace truly is a palace of royal stature. A place where every musician feels king or queen! The shop has a new face. A modern shop front with oversized windows has an atmospheric feel to the Torenstraat near the 'Grote Kerk' church. We cordially invite you to discover the new Rock Palace XL. You can count on us for trusted quality, top service, competitive prices and the best selection in Europe. Every day. See you in the store! The Rock Palace team

Representing a new generation of portable recording, the H2n is Zoom’s most innovative handheld recorder to date. We’ve packed groundbreaking features into an ultra-portable device that allows you to record pristine audio anywhere you go. From film and broadcast, to journalism, podcasting, musical performance, songwriting and rehearsal, the H2n provides amazing recording quality. No matter the application, the H2n brings the very best in stereo recording to a convenient, user-friendly package that fits in your pocket. Zoom H2n Handy Recorder. The new standard in portable recording. Check the Zoom product site for more information. Mid-Side Microphones. The H2n is the first handheld recorder to offer Mid-Side stereo recording, a technique used for and surrounding noise are crucial. Mid-Side recording combines a uni-directional Mid mic that captures sound directly in front of you and a bi-directional Side mic that captures sound from your left and right. By increasing or decreas…

Guitars that never were but should have been The new Pawn Shop Series guitars from Fender draw inspiration from the eccentric and sometimes wildly innovative Fender creations of the mid-'60s and mid-’70s era that sometimes found their way to the outside world and into the more esoteric pages of Fender history. With this adventurous spirit in mind, Pawn Shop Series instruments emerge as all-new Fender guitars with a boldly creative alchemy of diverse Fender components. And while they are brand-new members of the Fender family crafted with thoroughly modern sound and quality, Pawn Shop Series instruments now take the stage with a remarkable new identity as "guitars that never were but should have been."

After five years at the top, it’s time for an update to the DJM-800 club mixer. Enter the DJM-900 Nexus – the next level in creativity for the pro DJ. Headline features include ultimate computer connectivity, up-to-date effects, high performance features and sound. All based on the world’s favorite DJM-800 industry-standard layout. The four-channel 96kHz/24-bit soundcard streams all audio signals with no loss of sound quality – and being Traktor Certified, the DJM-900 Nexus unlocks DVS control. DJs can connect one USB cable and control Traktor with Timecode CD and/or vinyl, directly through the mixer. Six stunning studio-quality SOUND COLOR FX expand upon the previous four and add extra dimensions to any DJ set. With a dedicated FX processor for each of the four channels, it raises the bar once more. An overhauled BEAT EFFECTS section further enhances the potential for mind-blowing arrangements: five new effects, a revolutionary level of control and Pioneer simplicity will ri…

HK Audio debuts cutting-edge line source system For the first time ever HK Audio Elements merges the benefits of modern line array technology with the easy handling of ultra-compact PA systems. No matter how large the audience or what size the venue, you can put together a system suitable for every situation using just the six components of the HK Audio Elements system. If it's just for supporting a presentation or for powerful band audio with a whopping 3.6 kW, Elements handles it all with ease. And as Elements is consistently based on line array technology, the sonic results are always superb—just as you would expect from HK Audio. Setting up the Elements system and tearing it down again is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Thanks to E-Connect, the novel integrated signal routing, even the largest Elements setup is performance-ready in just a few minutes with a minimum of cabling. Due to the extremely compact and rugged design, every configuration fits easily into a compact car. With Elemen…

Now available! Among the world-wide suppliers of DJ equipment Reloop takes an exceptional position in many aspects. Reloop is the most important German brand on the global DJ equipment market thus also taking the leading position among European manufacturers. With its unrivalled product philosophy Reloop is the only European brand that could establish itself among the big ones on the market which is otherwise solely dominated by the Japanese and Americans. As opposed to most of the other suppliers that were originally active on the Hifi and audio market Reloop has always been a manufacturer for DJ technology. Reloop has evolved from a German garage company, founded by a group of specialized engineers who had a high affinity for DJs, to a globally operating company that equips mixing musicians in more than 40 countries. The product philosophy also distinguishes Reloop considerably from other suppliers. From the first mixer that came on the market in 1996 up to the release of…

Matt Masciandaro, ESP President, says, “When I first joined the ESP group, the USA division consisted of six people. Today, ESP products are distributed in 60 countries around the globe. ESP could not have reched this 35-year milestone without the loyalty and supprt of our customers, the artists who endorse our guitars, and the passionate and talented team of people employed by ESP both past and present. the success of ESP is truly a team effort, and I feel privileged to be part of that team.” Now a world-renowned, highly respected instrument manufacturer, the ESP Guitar Company had humble beginnings as a small custom shop started by Japanese businessman Hisatake Shibuya. It was 1975 when Shibuya founded a chain of music/ audio retail stores called Electronic Sound Products, or ESP for short. In 1983, the stores started making replacement parts and accessories for the booming guitar market. Two years later, in 1985, ESP began building entire custom guitars for special customers. It…