MI Pro

Aside from the central business of products, Musikmesse last year began the Musikbiz element. It’s taking place in Hall 4.1, where visitors can explore the activities of music labels, concert and tour promoters, music-marketing companies, music publishers and organisations for young people.

New to the event this year is the International Vintage Show, which will run from March 26th to 28th at the Messe. This, as the name suggests, will be an exhibition and sales forum for old and rare instruments and memorabilia from the history of rock and pop music, offering opportunities to buy and sell vintage items of all kinds (guitars, basses, amps, drums, keyboards, microphones, hardware and accessories – all more than 25 years old).

Among other happenings, there will be some legendary guitars, presented by Burst Brothers USA (Guitar Center Hollywood Vintage Collection), a guitar exhibition and memorabilia from the Roncalli collection, ‘vintage stage’ with live music from, among others, The Rattles, Spencer Davies and the youngsters from the John Lennon Talent Awards.

The vintage show will open at 2pm on the Friday and 10am on the Saturday and Sunday, with an entrance ticket costing €10 (or €5 when bought with a Musikmesse entrance ticket) and will take place in the Messe Congress Hall.

WHAT’S TO SEE?
Writing this in February, there is still
scant news on what exhibitors will be showing. Next month’s (April) ‘Live at Frankfurt’ issue will have a far more comprehensive run through of what will be on offer, but for now, here is the news from the early birds.

WARWICK – HALL 4.1 E12
Warwick and Framus will be one floor down this year in Hall 4.1. Besides the number of products being presented in Europe for the first time, the bass and guitar maker will have an array of artists performing and signing on the stand. Bootsy Collins, Ryan Martinie and Earl Slick are just a few of the names invited to turn the booth into an audience magnet.

There will also be a Framus Museum exhibit around the corner on stand D24, where you will be able to find current products from pickup specialist MEC.

T REX – HALL 4.1 C21
The Danish stomp box specialists will be showing the new Tone Bug distortion unit, a pedal that delivers, T Rex is keen to expound, “gobs of rich, tubey-sounding distortion you’ll recognise instantly as a fundamental ingredient of classic guitar rock”. Well, that’s told you. In plain terms, this is a simple unit that gives lots of gain and has a sensitive tone control that gives purists exactly what they want.

HÖFNER – HALL 3.1 STAND 67
The Höfner brand has been chugging on quietly (in the UK with Barnes & Mullins), but as very much a German brand, Frankfurt is a big event for the guitar maker. This year’s event will see the manufacturer showing the new V64 Violin bass, a bass version of the delightful Verythin guitars (the HCT-500/7-SB) and a Bigsby loaded limited edition of the Verythin guitar (the HTC-VTH-BB). Abandoning the dreadful codes, there will also be a custom Verythin and single cutaway versions and whole swathes of retro looking axes.

MATT NOLAN CUSTOM – HALL 3.0 A47
Last year’s virgin is this year’s vet, and Matt Nolan, the self proclaimed ‘UK cymbal industry’, will be back with his esoteric gongs and cymbals for his second Musikmesse.

For Nolan, it is not a case of ‘once bitten, twice shy’. He clearly enjoyed the experience. If you haven’t seen any of his creations, they are well worth a look.

PEAVEY – HALL 4.0 C08
The MI and audio giant from Meridian always takes the greatest of pleasure in getting behind all the major trade shows, whether that is in California, Frankfurt or London – a fact for which Hartley Peavey (and in the UK Clive Roberts) should be loudly applauded.

Not a show goes by without the manufacturer showing significant new gear and this one’s no exception.

Musikmesse will see the the Nano Vypyr, the latest in the Vypyr series of amps, with 11 amp models and 32 effects, which is touted as ‘the ultimate grab-and-go, portable modeling guitar amplifier’. The 15-Watt amp houses a 6.5-inch loudspeaker in a ten-inch cube and is powered by an AC adapter or four D batteries.

On the pro audio side of things, the new Impulse 12D powered speaker enclosure, which incorporates exclusive Peavey audio innovations, features a true ribbon driver and a 12-inch Peavey Black Widow loudspeaker engineered with dual voice coil, push-pull technology and a neodymium magnet. A Woofer Servo circuit monitors back-EMF and controls cone motion, ensuring the cone’s movement mirrors the driving signal from the power amp and resulting in very low distortion, high power handling and rock-solid low-frequency attack. The advanced new ribbon driver – an exclusive Peavey design based on the ribbons used in the Peavey Versarray line array – provides 90° x 30° coverage, with sonically transparent reproduction.

MEL BAY – HALL 3.1 C28
While the publisher gathers itself for its doubtlessly indulgent round of Frankfurt offers (still to be announced), the UK branch has informed us that its UK signing, Rodney Branigan, will be appearing at the show, on the Mel Bay stand in Hall 3.1, at 4:30pm on the Thursday and 11:30am on the Friday.

JADEN ROSE GUITARS – HALL 4.0 B75
Bespoke UK guitar maker – and this year’s notable Musikmesse virgin – Jaden Rose Guitars, will be unveiling its Single Cut series. Features include a flat top with a forearm contour and in both fixed bridge and locking tremolo versions.  

The usual Jaden Rose features apply, including precision CNC working of hand-selected tonewoods and bodies tone-matched with necks and finishes that highlight the natural beauty of the materials used. A three-year guarantee applies to both new and existing models.

Also appearing at Frankfurt will be new designs expanding upon its ‘Original Series range. The Single Cuts will join the Original series and the Jens Hausmann JHM series signature models on the Jaden stand. 

NOVATION – HALL 5.1 B65
The synth and MIDI controlling expert is enjoying something of a revival at the moment, not least because of its Automap products (including one for the iPhone) and Musikmesse will see the company maintain its position in the world of MIDI control with the launch of the Remote SL Mk II. Like all Novation keyboard controllers, the SL Mk II is a musical instrument, not just a computer peripheral.

A semi-weighted Fatar ‘fast touch’ keyboard is combined with a full DAW and plugin control surface that visually feeds back all control information to the user. All knobs and faders are touch sensitive. By simply touching a control, all the mapping information automatically appears on the giant 144-character LCD display.

HARDCASE – HALL 3.0 E76
­The UK case manufacturer will be showing its new utility HNUTIL3 case, aimed at those wishing to transport their cables, pedals and drum accessories safely, as well as the HNMUTE1, which caters for various trumpet and cornet mutes. The latter comes complete with foam lining in the lid and base, as well as each compartment having a loose sheet of foam for a handy bit of extra protection.

As ever, of course, the manufacturer will also have the drum and percussion cases on show that have made Hardcase the success it is.

ELECTRIC INLET
Money saving initiatives are available for your visit to Frankfurt from the UK office of Messe Frankfurt, allowing you to book a season ticket in advance via the UK office and redeem a complimentary show guide on site worth €25 (01784 415950).

Admission tickets can be purchased from the Musikmesse website. These can be printed out on the spot, which saves visitors the need to queue at the box office on arrival at the fair.

Online tickets are personalised and authorise the holder to travel to and from the fair using local public-transport services, which are operated by the RMV public-transport authority. Tickets for the public day (Saturday, March 27th) can also be purchased from the internet at the lower advanced-booking rate.

The online ticket purchase page can be found by clicking on the ‘online ticket’ link on the top right of the visitor homepage of Musikmesse.com.

THE ROAD TO FRANKFURT
The Musikmesse is easy to get to by aeroplane, car or train – and a big choice of hotels means you should have no trouble finding accommodation.

If you book your flights with British Airways you can save between ten and 20 per cent off published fares. To take advantage of this, call the Messe Frankfurt office in the UK on 01784 415950.

Those arriving at the Frankfurt am Main airport will find getting to the exhibition grounds is fast and easy. After arriving, you can reach the centre using taxi (pricey, but convenient), S Bahn train or shuttle bus. This will take you directly to Messe Frankfurt.

For the S Bahn, take the S9 or S8 line (heading towards Hanau, Offenbach Ost) to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (central train station). Once you have arrived at the train station, you can continue to the Messe Frankfurt grounds on foot (about ten to 15 minutes walk) or by using the tram just across the street from the front of the train station.

Those taking advantage of the mightily discounted fares of Ryan Air (and others) will find themselves arriving at Frankfurt Hahn airport, which is a near two-hour bus ride from Frankfurt proper. Shuttle buses run regularly from there, but probably best not to take a taxi, unless you are feeling especially flush.

Once there, you will of course want to be off the streets (eventually) in the evening and Frankfurt – in no small measure thanks to the Messe – has some 5,000 beds within 15 minutes’ walk of the exhibition centre. Going to the ‘accomodation’ link in the visitor section of the Musikmesse website will open up the Frankfurt Tourist Board’s registration page, where you can find everything from a luxury hotel suite to budget guest houses and B&Bs. Booking via this link will entitle you to a ten per cent discount.