Electronic Musician on line has a four part historical overview of the role of electronics in music. Electronic music either begins with the bold but ill fated Telharmonium in 1906 or with Leon Theremin's inventive engineering school project that became know as the Theremin. The first commercially successful product was the Laurens Hammond's Model A using tonewheels that were refinements of the generators that were the heart of Cahill's Telharmonium. Hammond taught us the potential of the combination of innovative design backed up by solid production and business practices and intense marketing efforts. And an industry was launched.

Los Angeles, CA, April 20, 2010 — BOSS® is proud to announce the availability of the ME-25 Guitar Multiple Effects to its popular line of floor-based multi-effects. The compact and durable ME-25 inherits its high-quality sounds from the flagship ME-70, and packs a ton of BOSS tone tools into one amazingly affordable package.

Sporting a quick and easy user interface for professionals and newcomers alike, the ME-25 features a full compliment of COSM® amplifier models. The onboard Sound Library comes loaded with 60 effects combinations suitable for a wide range of playing styles. The ME-25 runs on six AA batteries or AC power, and its portable size makes it ready to rock anywhere.

After checking out the offerings of 2,340 exhibitors in 16 halls at this years Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, they have come up with their top 10 'Certified Hits'. And while it's hard to not be impressed by the 13,000 watt potential of a 4x21" array of woofers, and the compact speaker array by Meyer Sound would have come in handy in on several occasions, but my personal favorite is the Digital Mellotron. With 100+ classic Mellotron/Chamberlin samples and a wooden keyboard for traditional feel, it appears to be a real winner for those who love the classic sound without the reliability issues and hassles of complex tape changes. Have a look at the video introduction.

Korg also has sweet offering with there new little analogue synthesizers. A real analogue synth in a compact package with a ribbon keyboard. Classic analogue sound in a modern and compact package.

In Alphabetical order the top ten picks are:

Reporters from around the world have come together to issue the 11th Annual MIPA awards, honoring the best in audio and musical products. Announced on the evening of March 25th selections were made from 3 candidates in each of the product categories. Representatives of manufactures and distributors from numerous countries were present making this a truly international affair. A special lifetime achievement award was given to Hartley Peavey of Peavey electronics for a liftime of contributions to the music industry. The most coveted award, "Most Innovative Product", was won by TC Electronics for their Polytune electronic tuner. One strum and you can tune all 6 strings of your guitar at once.

March 30, 2010

PEAVEY INT'L. HEADQUARTERS — Music-and-audio innovator Hartley Peavey received the 2010 MIPA Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor in the global music-products industry, at the Musikmesse International Press Awards in Frankfurt, Germany, on March 25.

Chosen by the votes of more than 100 magazines worldwide, Peavey accepted the MIPA Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award during the annual Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound convention. Peavey also won the MIPA Best Guitar Amp Combo Award for the Peavey Vypyr™ 15 modeling guitar amplifier at the event.

As the founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation, award-winner Hartley Peavey heads one of the world's largest and most diversified manufacturers of musical-instrument and professional-audio products, boasting a product line exceeding 2,000 products and distribution into more than 130 countries.

With Musikmesse 2010 in full swing in Frankfurt, Germany a wave of new product introductions have been unleashed by manufacturers of all sizes and nationalities. While much of the action is in the area of software plugins for the major Digital Audio Workstations DAWs, there is some cool hardware taking the stage and I thought I would provide some peeks at what is coming up. Here is the first batch of products that are drawing attention on the convention floor.

The MIDI 1.0 specification was released in 1984 in an attempt to end the Babel of proprietary interfaces that dominated the early days of electronic synthesis. This product of the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA), a consortium of large and small manufacturers of electronic musical gear, has been the backbone of live music performance for over 2 decades now. This is a testament to it's foresight and a clear acknowledgement of the need that it filled. Initially it specified only the basic interconnection of gear and a simple data protocol. The application layers were left to the manufacturers to define. This still made interconnection of gear from multiple manufacturers a challenge and patch and controller assignments had to be re-learned with each new piece of gear that one added to a rig. Eventually, separate application layers were defined; General MIDI and GM2, MIDI Machine Control, Standard MIDI Files, and MIDI Show control allowed true integration of equipment from multiple manufacturers to automate studios and live performance. This did not prevent proprietary extensions such as Roland's GS and Yamaha's XG extended GM sets.

Frankfurt, Germany; March 23, 2010

Musikmesse 2010 opens its doors on 24 March and, from then until 27 March, Frankfurt will be the ‘place to be’ for everyone who makes, loves and listens to music. The Musikmesse is the world’s biggest fair for all aspects of music making. The range of musical instruments on show is huge and includes something for everyone – from classical instruments, such as violins, cellos, pianos, trumpets, trombones and tubas, via electric guitars and basses, drums, percussion, keyboards and software, to synthesisers and sheet music. Altogether, the exhibitors are showing over 30,000 different products and thus offer trade visitors and music fans a comprehensive overview of everything needed to make music. However, there is more to be seen at the fair than just musical instruments. Many stars of the national and international music scene also give demonstrations of their playing skills, especially on the Saturday when the fair opens to the public and gives fans the opportunity to see, marvel, test and hear numerous celebrities at close quarters.