Mackie in the Big Apple
Tony Gavilanes, Guitar Center tour: MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ
5/22/06 – 5/26/06
With all the musicians on the east coast making new and exciting music, there is a music store to keep up with their demanding needs for quality gear. Brian Martin (SMT) and I hit eight Guitar Centers in the time we spent touring the great American states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, and I met an array of people who all had one thing in common: momentum. The one thing that an east coast musician can't deal with is sub-par equipment that slows their craft. I was fortunate to have visited some of Guitar Center’s most prolific stores and meet all-star salesmen to see how and what was getting into the hands of this generation's musical revolution. The Manhattan store hosted one salesman that rivaled entire stores’ sales margins, so we can assume that some of the industry's biggest acts are shopping here. The fact is that there is a whole lot to choose from and it takes both an educated salesman and an educated customer to be able to fit the right gear for the purpose. Fortunately for everyone, Tony the "info guy" rang the bell because school is now in session!
Mackie Blog 5/22/06 – 5/26/06
Tony Gavilanes Guitar Center tour MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ
All in all Brian Martin (SMT) and I hit eight Guitar Centers in the time we spent touring the great American states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. I was fortunate to have been in these particular stores because some of Guitar Center’s very best salesmen work in these locations. For example, the Manhattan store hosted one man that rivaled many stores’ margins. This intimidated some of the newer employees of these GC stores, but never fear! Tony the Product Specialist was here!
I was able to spend up to four hours in each store and often times with a single salesman, which turned out to be quite the advantage. Most of the salesmen that I spoke with were newer employees who have had a considerable amount of experience in the field of audio, but deeply lacking in specific and general product attributes of their market. I have found that making a habit of spending at least fifteen minutes in every music store I go into to familiarize myself with competitor products is the easiest way to compare specs and prices and learn about the different technologies. I ended up strolling the store picking up everything in it – they’re museums unless we actually play with the stuff people!
But as far as Rioux from the N. Attleboro store is concerned, Mackie is “the best company out there.” He was so impressed with the Mackie ideals and feature sets that his frantic notes could spec out an entire studio recording system with Mackie gear, with the principal interface being the new Onyx 1200F. Unfortunately I never saw any of our Onyx rack-mount interfaces at any of the GCs Brian and I visited, so Rioux might have to hit up his Internet resources for that piece as soon as it is released.
Brian and I made sure that every Ampeg tower was fully operational at every stop, so if you’re in the states that we hit, go test out some SVT tube amps and boxes. I almost wish that we could hard-wire the towers because they’re so confusing to musicians who haven’t worked with them before. Nonetheless, they are great ways to quickly test and match amps to speakers and get your sound down.
And on a side note, if you’re ever in Brooklyn near Bedford Avenue, go and get some of the specials at Diner. We had pork cuts in rhubarb chutney with Brooklyn Lager. Be merry gentle folk!
