MUSIC NEWS

First Instrument Auction

BONHAM'S, LONDON auctioneers since 1793, recently held the first auction of modern acoustic and electric instruments, among them instruments from the collections of Steve Howe and I.M.'s Stephen Delft. Held at their Old Chelsea Galleries near the King's Road, the auction was well attended by a mixed crowd of musicians, roadies, dealers and private collectors.

Bonham's spokesman Ronald Terrill was pleased with this first event. "We are holding another musical instrument auction in the second week in January". When asked if this would become a regular feature, he replied that "It of course depends on the interest, but if the press is any indication, it certainly should be.

"We are not trying to cut out the dealers, but I think that an auction is a fair indication of what the market will bear. It should also serve to 'up' the appreciation of recent instruments and make the public aware of their quality."

Neve Sale

RUPERT NEVE have announced the sale of the first 16 track desk in Pakistan. The Shalimar Recording Company, Ltd. recently ordered a Neve 8034 16-track console. This will be an essential part of the government owned recording company's new Lahore Studio.

Alan Foster of Rupert Neve stated that "This is a significant order. At the present, there is no console in Pakistan with a greater capability than four tracks."

Neve also announced the sale of an 8030 32 channel 16 bus music recording console to Electroimpex, on behalf of RTV Bulgaria. The most recent in a series of Neve consoles sold to RTV Bulgaria, the console was exhibited at the International Fair in Plodiv, Bulgaria, last September.

Moving Assembly

ASSEMBLY MUSIC of Bath are planning a move to larger premises. The new shop will feature additional parking facilities, and will be located on the Bath ring road.

Assembly Music is owned and operated by Steve Gardner, formerly P.R.O. for Hohner. Open since 1969, the shop provides a wide spectrum of equipment, including brass and woodwinds, as well as Gibson (they are a Star dealer), SG, Ibanez, Antoria and CSL guitars, Traynor and Carlsbro amps and Tama, Sonor and Premier percussion.

The staff, which includes Howard Richardson, Stuart Sully and Keith Wheeler, are all experienced musicians, as is Steve Gardner.

Bose Show

BOSE U.K. recently held an exhibition of their sound equipment which has borne considerable fruit. The exhibition, held at London's Royal Garden Hotel, was well attended by members of the Trade.

Nick Pierce of Bose U.K. stated that "We have been emphasising the domestic market, but the exhibition included professional equipment as well. The Bose 800 speakers attracted considerable attention."

Pierce went on to add that Tangerine Dream, who have previously hired Bose systems in Europe, have approached Bose U.K. with regard to buying a complete system.

Wing Products

FOLLOWING THE success of cabinets produced under their own name, Wing Music of Bromley in Kent, will market a wide range of Wing Products.

Barry Mitchell, M.D. of Wing told I.M.: "Our first product is going to be a special pedal for guitarists which offers echo and ADT facilities. We've got a working title of Resounder for the pedal. The amount of echo available on the pedal is highly variable as we're using an electronic method of digital delay to get the effect and the automatic double track is something many guitarists want. We're confident that the pedal will sell for less than £50."

Wing anticipate that the Resounder will be generally available within a few weeks. As well as selling the pedal through their own Wing outlet, (a new, larger, Wing shop is soon opening in Bromley), Wing are also wholesaling their own products. Future items joining the Wing range include amplifiers, more cabinets and effects pedals.

RCF In UK

RCF P.A. equipment is now available in the U.K. from Covemain, Ltd. The Rugby-based company are sole U.K. agents for the complete RCF range, which includes loudspeakers, mid-range horns, compression drivers, acoustic lens and ultra high frequency units.

Also available are the RCF microphones, amplifiers and accessories.

Custom Denial

CUSTOM SOUND Equipment, who recently launched a new range of amplification, have denied rumours that they are the subject of a take over bid.

The company say that rumours have been circulating for some time that a local chain of music shops have acquired a controlling interest in the Custom Sound operation. The company deny this suggestion emphatically and maintain they are an entirely independent organisation.

Name Change

FARMERS, the well known music shop in Luton's town centre, have undergone a change of identity. To bring it in line with other interests belonging to music business mogul Jim Marshall, the shop is now called Marshall.

This gives the Marshall chain shops in London, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Big Bean

SO GREAT is the demand for the new, denim covered, Jimmy Bean transistorised amplifier, announced a spokesman for Jimmy Bean, that they "can't cope". In preparation for a year, the new 150 watt amp is the subject of high hopes for Jimmy Bean.

"I think it will be the biggest selling amp in the world this year," stated Cliff Cooper. "It has four separate channels, stereo outputs, four transistors — not two, integrated circuitry and Trevoid transformers. Quite simply, "Cooper added, "it's the best amplifier in the world."

Hire

OWING TO an unfortunate oversight, last month's hire feature omitted two of the country's leading hire firms. They are included herewith.

ESE of Maidstone have been established for two years, and offer a full range of services which include tour and personal management as well as sound systems and instruments. Their systems are comprised of JBL and Gauss bass bins, JBL mid-range and HF horns, Crown DC 300A amps, with a possible output ranging anywhere from 1,000 to 12,000 watts. Their mics are all AKG and Shure studio models, and the mixing desks are from Soundcraft and Turner, while the monitors are JBL floor units. They claim to be able to meet the needs of anything from a one man band to a 34 piece orchestra, and their tour experience runs the gamut from Glen Campbell to the Bay City Rollers.

SOUNDCRAFT aim to provide good personal service and expertise and top quality gear in one service, and have supplied a hire system to this year's Pink Pop festival. The equipment which they are prepared to supply falls neatly into two schemes, A and B. A is basically a 5,000 W (2,500 r.m.s.) system, comprised of components from JBL, Crown and Soundcraft's own Mark IV mixer. Any number of Shure and AKG mikes can be included, and a sound engineer and crew are included.

System B is basically a 600 W P.A. system and any kind of Soundcraft mixer may be specified, although the 16 into 2 is the conventional choice.

AKG Anniversary

AKG ARE celebrating their thirtieth anniversary. The company has a dual anniversary which includes a 20 year U.K. history. Managing Director Peter Eardley's family have been involved with the AKG U.K. operation since the beginning.

AKG started immediately after the war in Vienna. The two main movers of the operation were Mr. E. Pless and Dr. Gorike. In the beginning, AKG stood for Acoustic and Cinema Products (in German) and the company rapidly gained a good market for their products. Pless did the selling and Gorike did the development.

Today AKG principally market microphones and the specialisation occurred in the 1950's. The big breakthrough happened when the company launched the D12 cardioid microphone. The C12, a condensor version of this mike, was the first with a switchable pick-up pattern. The mikes are still in use in broadcast applications the world over.

AKG U.K. are now situated in a large office and warehouse building in London's Notting Hill Gate. Managing Director Peter Eardley "The last few years have been very good for us indeed. We've long been established as producers of high-quality studio microphones and ancillary equipment, but in the last few years we've also made a real inroad into the live music market.

"As groups improve their overall sound systems they become conscious of the need for high-quality mics and with our range now starting with reasonably priced dynamic models, they're easily able to find a microphone to suit their need. Perhaps our most popular mic in this field is the D190 with the D1200 in second place."

Kitchen Dinner

OVER 300 guests, including the directors of International Musician, recently attended a celebration dinner in Leeds to mark the centenary of Kitchens of Leeds.

The dinner, held at the Hotel Metropole, Leeds, marked the highspot of the year's celebrations. In the chair was Ron Cooper with his wife Dora. Mike Cooper, joint Managing Director, also thanked guests for attending.

Hitchcock Travels

KEITH HITCHOCK, Managing Director of Sharma, has completed an exhaustive (and exhausting) European tour. In six days, Hitchock managed to call personally on most of the continental agents for Sharma's range of professional organ speakers.

Ranging from Helsinki to Zurich and Amsterdam to Vienna, Hitchock often found himself catching four aeroplanes a day as part of his policy to establish and maintain personal contact.

Keynote Progress

KEYNOTE MUSICAL Instruments, Ltd., have received wide acceptance for their new two-manual portable. Designed for the semi-professional musician, the acclaim following Keynote's recent promotions, which featured session organist Harry Stoneham, led to a marked increase in sales.

Keynote have also announced the design of a new tone cabinet, the Vortex. Equally useful when connected to a portable or a console, the new cabinet is believed to be among the more inexpensive on the market, and is covered in a durable black finish.

Bellson Clinic

SELMER, U.K. distributors for Pearl drums, featured Louis Bellson in a recent drum clinic at London's Horseshoe Hotel, Tottenham Court Road. An audience of over 300 watched Duke Ellington's drummer demonstrate and explain his theories on finger, wrist and arm control. Bellson utilised two long solos, incorporating almost every conceivable sound and rhythm pattern, to further demonstrate his ideas, as well as his skills.

Among the audience were many members of the International Drummers Association, of which Bellson is Vice President.

Notts Shop

JUST OUTSIDE Nottingham City centre is a shop sufficiently specialist in its approach to enjoy a national, if not international clientele.

Mike Jackson only opened Percussion Sounds this February but the shop's already enjoying the result of specialisation. The spacious shop area is packed with all types of percussive instruments. Pearl, Ludwig, Maxwin, Rogers — all the main kit names can be found and there's also a wide range of more exotic instruments like vibraphones and glockenspiels.

"We make a point of stocking all the little items a drummer can't find," says Mike. "A band who were playing at college here recently broke a Slingerland drum spur just before they were going on. They called us and we took one off a new kit because we'd just sold two spares we held in stock. We think that kind of service is going to pay off. We want a drummer to feel that if he decides to come to Percussion Sounds he's going to get exactly what he needs."

Percussion Sounds are open six days a week, usually till 6.30 pm or later.