Accessory Fetish

It was announced yesterday that Guitar Center, which went public in 1997, is returning to private hands. Bain Capital Partners LLC, will reportedly pay $1.9 billion for the largest music store chain in our industry.

How this will change GC will be interesting. There seem to be some people of the opinion that this will be a good thing for their retail locations since, as a public company, the mighty dollar was the most important thing. News flash: To a company with “Capital Partners” in its name, the bottom line will be more important than ever.

It’s been a while since the GC culture revolved around customer service (ever stand in the middle of a GC on a Saturday and see how long it takes for a salesperson to talk to you?) or cool gear (how many red, black and sunburst Strats can you hang on a wall?). Well see if that changes. It will also be interesting to see how this affects the other industry names that they own. There are already rumors that the Music and Arts stores will be sold off. We’ll see what happens with Musicians Friend and Harmony Central (yep, GC owns them, too!).

Here’s some more info.

Has it really been 10 years since Gore revolutionized guitar strings with Elixir coated strings? I guess so.

The good folks at Elixir want to say thanks by hooking you up with a free tee shirt. All you have to do is buy any 2 sets of electric or acoustic Elixir Strings or buy 1 set of 4-string Bass strings to claim your prize. Well, that and send in your receipt with a form that you have to fill out then wait 6-8 weeks for the shirt.

You know the drill…run out to the store and buy the strings, then let the form sit on your desk for a few months until you realize that the deadline (08.31.07) has passed.

So, don’t be lazy! Buy the strings and send in the form.

Check out the Elixir website for more details.

Buy Elixir Guitar Strings at zZounds

I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed. When I did my research on guitar picks, I found some crazy stuff. Guitar picks made from 4.5 billion-year-old meteorites. Picks with LEDs embedded inside. Drum heads, too. Numerous companies are utilizing hi-tech printing process to turn drum heads into works of art.

Where are the mad scientists of the capo world? Where is the guy in his basement who is so obsessed with making the world friendlier to each man or woman who wants to play a tune a half-step up that his marriage is in jeopardy? Where is the person who wants to handcraft capos out of centuries-old mastodon tusks (actually, I do know where that guy is, he just doesn’t have a website)?

All I could find were a bunch of companies who make really strong products and a few that probably don’t (an Australian company that makes the “Gyser” capo that totally looks like a Kyser).

I give you your capo links.

I’m a big fan of Musicians Friend’s Stupid Deal of the Day. Even though I never buy anything(!), I check this stupid thing every morning. When “the deal” fits into what we’re doing here, I’ll let all of you know.

Today’s Stupid Deal
Nomad 6-Piece Fiber Drum Case Set
Regular: $169.99
Stupid Price: $99.99

Features:

Check it out here!

Perma-product link

Here’s a little snippet of background on me: I am a drummer. I also play guitar, but when it comes down to it, I’m a drummer.

Through luck, most of the jobs I’ve held have been with guitar gear manufacturers. At this point, I feel I know more about the guitar industry than the drum industry.

That’s why I’m excited to get this site going. Back when I was a kid, Modern Drummer, Woodwind & Brasswind, and the Thoroughbred catalogs were my bibles, and I really knew a lot about the different gear makers. I’ll admit that I’ve lost touch a bit over the years. I’m excited to get that back.

So, the drum links start with drum heads. Not as daunting as guitar picks, there were still some cool finds. Enjoy!

Drum Head Links

I must admit that I am not a fan of “signature” gear. Also, when it comes to bags, I like any color as long as it’s black.

I did however, get hooked up with a Zildjian Adrian Young Stick Bag a few years ago. I needed a bag, so I took it, thinking it would do the job until I found a less plaid replacement.

Two years later…I still use it. Why? It’s a great bag. Heavy-duty materials. Large enough for all of my sticks. Tons of pockets. My only knock against it is that it didn’t come with hooks to attach it to my floor tom.

Barker’s new “Boom Box” bags replace the “Ransom Note” bags that were introduced in 2004.
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One of my many goals for this site is to create the most detailed manufacturer directory on the web.

There are a handful of sites that have fairly complete lists of guitar, amp, and drum companies. Once you get to accessories, though, they aren’t quite as thorough.

I figure I can do a few product categories per week and have a pretty good resource in no time. So…I started with guitar picks. Simple, right? I’ve been the industry for a while and thought I knew all the players. I was shocked by the number of pick makers I found.

The list starts with 55 manufacturers. Even with that, I’m sure I missed a few. If I did email me and I’ll add to it.

Guitar Picks Links

Welcome to Accessory Fetish!

This blog will focus on guitar and drum accessories, but any musical instrument accessory I find interesting could be mentioned. My goal is not solely to be a resource for new product announcements. There are plenty of sites that do that and do it well. The plan is to offer product reviews, interviews with the manufactures, links to interesting things I find online, etc. One we get going I’m sure the plan will change…so let’s go!

Want to know more about me?