July 3, 2008

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New and flashy finishes are definitely the number one attribute that entices drummers to come over and look at a set. Sound and response are what gets them to stay. Which is why size, or rather, having the right sizes, matters. A lot. With that in mind, Tama's best-selling Bubinga and Birch hybrid Starclassic Performer B/B gets four new configurations to thump on, including one with an 18 x 20" kick and another with an thunderous 20 x 22" Ultra-Deep bass.

First is a new 4pc shell kit configuration which features an 18 x 20" bass drum PL40XS 4pc Kit (pictured in Lava Glass Glitter with added optional Warlord snare drum and optional hardware)

* 18 x 20" BD with tom mount
* 8 x 10" TT with Star-Cast Mount
* 9 x 12" TT with Star-Cast Mount
* 14 x 14" FT
* List price: To Be Announced

Then there are 6 & 7pc shell kit (drums only) configurations including one with Ultra Deep 20 x 22" bass drum. PL72BZS 7pc Double-Bass Shell Kit (pictured in DSF Dark Stardust Fade with optional hardware)


* (2) 18 x 22" BD without tom mount
* 8 x 10" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 9 x 12" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 12 x 14: TT
* 14 x 16" TT
* 6.5 x 14" SD
* List price: $5649.99

PL62S 6pc Shell Kit

* 18 x 22" BD with tom mount
* 8 x 10" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 9 x 12" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 12 x 14: TT
* 14 x 16" TT
* 5.5 x 14" SD
* List price: $3799.99

PL72XZS 7pc Ultra-Deep Bass Drum Shell Kit

* 20 x 22" BD without tom mount
* 7 x 8" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 8 x 10" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 9 x 12" TT with Starr-Cast mount
* 12 x 14: TT
* 14 x 16" TT
* 6 x 13" SD
* List price: $4399.99

For more information, visit their web site at www.tama.com.

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First seen at the Anaheim NAMM Winter 2008 show in the hands of George Benson himself who gave a live performance at the Hoshino booth, the Ibanez GB30TH gets its official send off at the Nashville 2008 Summer NAMM Show. Only 30 of these collectible small-bodied jazz guitars will be available worldwide, with just 16 slated for the U.S.A. The list price is $13,333.32.

The GB30TH electric guitar celebrates three decades of the contributions of George Benson and Ibanez to the evolution of the modern guitar. It also commemorates one of the earliest, longest and most significant artist endorsements in the musical instrument industry and how important those artist/instrument maker relationships have been creating in interest and enthusiasm in the public for music making.

The original George Benson GB10 guitar was the first real acknowledgement that the nature of jazz performance had changed significantly from the conditions that had created the first jazz boxes. Benson's design featured a thicker top with floating pickups to reject feedback — a must at the increasingly higher dB levels of modern music. Not only did the smaller body allow Benson, a stellar vocalist in his own right, to perform standing up, it also allowed the guitar to ride in the safer airplane overhead compartment to gigs. Plus the guitar was much more stable than traditional jazz boxes so it arrived at the gig as playable as it was at departure. During the rare times adjustments were needed, the guitarist could do many of them without tools, even on stage. But most important was the sound. "The notes don't melt together like on softer guitars," says Benson in the guitar history, Ibanez — the Untold Story. "It maintains the tone while articulating each note. No other guitar gets that sound."

For a fitting tribute to this historic collaboration of an American jazz master with Japanese craftsmanship, Ibanez chose a prestigious company in Kyoto with a four-hundred year history in the traditional Japanese textured silver leaf Garahaku art form to create and apply the finish for this extraordinary and very limited edition instrument.

Specifications

* Model GB30TH
* List $13,333.32
* Available Finish Garahaku Silver Flake
* Body Material Spruce Top, Maple Back & Sices
* Max Width At Lower Bout 14 3/4" Max Body Thickness _ 3 1/4" Neck Material 3pc Maple Neck
* Scale 24 3/4"
* No. Frets/Type 21/Medium
* Fingerboard Bound Ebony
* Inlay Special GB30TH
* Bridge Ebony
* H/W Color Gold
* Neck Pickup IBZ GB Special
* Bridge Pickup IBZ GB Special Controls
* Case Special GB30TH
* Case List Included

For more information, visit their web site at www.ibanez.com.

May 30, 2008

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Alfred is pleased to release an incredible new songbook featuring hits from duo Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Raising Sand, the critically acclaimed album, is now available for in an album-matching folio for pianists, guitarists, and vocalists to play and sing along to!

Talented vocalists Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have teamed up to release an entire album of stunning duets. Separately, the two are well-known for their musical talent and creativity, but their collaboration has gained them recognition as an incomparable match. Debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 Chart, the album was credited with a slot on the Top 50 Albums of 2007 list by Rolling Stone. Raising Sand features the Grammy Award-winning song "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" plus the popular track "Killing the Blues." The Raising Sand folio is arranged for Piano/Vocal/Chords.

Titles: Rich Woman; Killing the Blues; Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us; Polly Come Home; Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On); Through the Morning, Through the Night; Please Read the Letter; Trampled Rose; Fortune Teller; Stick with Me Baby; Nothin'; Let Your Boss Be Your Lesson; Your Long Journey.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raising Sand is now available for $19.95.

For more information, visit their web site at www.alfred.com.

April 8, 2008

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Pete Sweeney's Drummer's Guide to Fills is designed to expand drumming vocabulary by teaching drummers not just how to play fills, but when and where to play them. The book offers a step-by-step approach to playing fills of varying lengths, as well as different approaches to resolving fills and returning to the groove. Drummer's Guide to Fills features fills all drummers can use to add excitement to different sections of a song and even use as the building blocks of a solo. Drummers can learn fills in many styles, from rock to funk to jazz, plus a "melodic" approach to fills that allows further embellishment on basics. The included CD accents the book by demonstrating all of the musical examples.

Drummer's Guide to Fills is now available as a book and CD set for $19.95.

For more information, visit their web site at www.alfred.com.

Come get one today!