CREATING NEW RETAIL OPPORTUNITIES
Businesses are dealing with the new economic realities in their own creative ways. Taylor Guitars has introduced no-interest financing to dealers, Martin Guitars has reintroduced its affordable 1 Series of guitars, and Sierra Guitars recently announced a program of rebates and giveaways that Sierra guitar buyers can take advantage of online (sierraguitars.net). While it appears that the summer NAMM show may be a bit quiet this year, a visit to Frankfurt, Germany’s Musikmesse in April left Acoustic Guitar Senior Editor Teja Gerken in a more optimistic mood. "I was really encouraged talking to people like Lakewood’s Martin Seeliger, Shadow's Joe Marinic, and AER’s Udo Roesner, who all reported that their European sales continue to be strong,” Gerken says. “And representatives of American companies like Jean Larrivée and Bob Taylor said that European business continues to be an important part of their overall sales. Overall, the mood at Musikmesse was incredibly positive.” If you’re seeing signs that things are turning around or you’re finding creative new ways to boost your sales, let us know: acousticguitartrade@stringletter.com.

COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS
Acoustic Guitar is just one of the many companies who have taken advantage of Web 2.0’s connectivity possibilities by creating online communities with Ning networking software. Other guitar-oriented social networking sites include Guitar Player Zen, the Girls with Guitars Network, the Flatpicking Guitar Network, Frets.Net, and the National Guitar Workshop.

The Acoustic Guitar Community has more than 5,400 members, including amateur guitarists, Grammy-winning artists, and luthiers such as Kevin Ryan, Laurie Williams, and Michael Greenfield; boutique guitar retailer Guitar Gallery; Dick Boak of Martin Guitars; and Brian Ball of Ernie Ball Strings (to name just a few) who are using their Community pages to connect with customers and promote new products with videos, photos, and sound clips.

Connect with these and thousands of other members in the Acoustic Guitar Community by creating your personal profile, a corporate profile for your company, or better yet, both. AcousticGuitarCommunity.com

BOURGEOIS VERY VINTAGE MAHOGANY
The Bourgeois Very Vintage Mahogany dreadnought includes an Adirondack spruce top and braces and Honduras mahogany back, sides, and neck. It also features hot organic hide glue construction with an oil varnish finish. According to Dana Bourgeois, "Properly applied, oil varnish smoothes out the ‘jangly’ sound of a new guitar in much the same way that lots of playing seems to accomplish." Additional features include ebony bindings, a mammoth ivory nut, ebony bridge and end pins, and Waverly tuners. pantheonguitars.com

RECORDING KING CLASSIC SMALL-BODY
Recording King has unveiled the latest model in its Century Jubilee series, the Classic Small-Body. Designed with fingerstyle blues and ragtime guitarists in mind, the Classic Small-Body has a solid Sitka spruce top with hand-shaped, scalloped X-bracing and solid, figured maple back and sides. The 4½-inch-deep body supports a C-profile short-scale neck made from a single piece of mahogany. recordingking.com

ULTRASOUND PRO-250
Acoustic Guitar reviews a combo amp with power and tone-shaping potential that’s ready for a variety of venues. With video. [more]

MARTIN HISTORY REVISITED
Richard Johnston and Dick Boak rewrite Mike Longworth’s classic book on C.F. Martin and Co. [more]

July 3–5, 2009
MONTREAL GUITAR SHOW
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
salondeguitaredemontreal.com

July 17–19, 2009
SUMMER NAMM SHOW
Nashville, Tennessee
namm.org/summer

August 14–16, 2009
HEALDSBURG GUITAR FESTIVAL
Healdsburg, California
lmii.com/GuitarFestival

August 23–24, 2009
MUSIC INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION
OF CANADA TRADE SHOW
Toronto, Canada
miac.net

October 13–16, 2009
MUSIC CHINA
Shanghai, China
messefrankfurt.com.hk

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