The Power of Sound!

Just five years ago the sale of sound reinforcement gear was cyclical. Bands bought new PA gear every few years when new technology was developed.  Maybe, it was a more powerful amp, a mixing board with more channels, or lighter speakers that attracted the new purchases.  With the way technology moves forward today, we are experiencing a spike in Sound Reinforcement sales-- most outside of live band use.  The advancements in technology the past five years are mind blowing.  The power of laptops, phones, even the dashboards in our cars, is all very remarkable.  The music retail industry is heavily benefiting from these advancements.  

The Band - Digital boards, amps, and even speakers, have shed not only weight but also the learning curve for what it takes to run a sound system.  In the past world of analog gear you needed racks, and racks, of heavy and expensive gear to modify and mix your sound.  On top of all of that, you had to have an understanding of wiring the system together and the skills to troubleshoot issues, if one would arise, during a gig.  You also needed to have a very good ear to get the sound out of your gear.  Today, a complete system can feature just two components; a digital mixer and a powered speaker.  A digital mixer is the backbone of a good sound system.  All of the instruments are plugged into the digital mixer which holds an enormous amount of processing power, just like a large desktop computer.  You can now mix, EQ, compress, gate, limit, add effects, and even record, all from one piece of gear.  Since the creation of the digital power supply, solid state power amps have become lighter and more powerful than ever.  This has created an amazing boom in the powered speaker market.  For the first time ever, manufacturers are making self-powered speakers containing light weight, high-powered amps.  Combined with the front-end processing power of the digital mixer, you can create a serious sound system that can meet the demands of the biggest bands and venues.  The “weekend warrior” bands are jumping on this trend.  Why?  It is lightening their load, and cutting set-up, tear-down and sound check times in half!

The Non-Musician - All over America tailgating at sporting games is a huge event!  In south Louisiana we hold claim to one of the largest tailgating events in the country, LSU home football games.  Over 100 thousand fans will party, for hours, prior to game time.   What’s a party without music?  With the new powered speakers, like the ones available from Peavey and Electro Voice, setting up your tail-gate party with sound is easier than ever.  Simply grab your speaker, plug it into the wall outlet or a generator, connect one cable from your iPad, and you are ready to ROCK!  The Electro Voice ZLX line takes it one step further and offers the user a pre-programmed setting to help quickly ensure the best sound results.  Some speakers are now available with Bluetooth technology for wireless audio streaming.

If you are in need of an audio upgrade, or if you want to put a little extra bounce in your next event, or tailgate party, give Music Inc a call at 855-515-8500.  We have an audio solution for you from Peavey, Electro Voice, JBL or Yamaha.

2013 Year-End Review

Happy Holidays from Music Inc. of Louisiana!  

2013 was an exciting year of firsts for Music Inc.  We received our first national award, a Top 100 Dealer designation from NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants).  This award places Music Inc. in great company with some of the best retailers of music gear in America.  In 2013 we doubled-down on our commitment to providing the best gear, prices, and most importantly customer service.  It was an honor to receive this award in only my second year as a business owner.  

This year also saw the addition of 7 new lines: Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Taylor Guitars, Charvel Guitars, Nash Guitars, Black Star Amps, Orange Amps, and Mooer Effects.  Each of these brands offer exceptional quality and value and we are proud to have them as part of our product offerings moving forward.

Our website, musicinc.com, received a huge facelift this year!  We added a large selection of our inventory to a new “on-line” store complete with a shopping cart.  Look for expanded online offerings in 2014, including small goods and accessories.   Huge shout out to Chris Melton of Meltdown Illustrations (meltdownillustration.com) for his work on the site.  Check out some of Chris’ art, the man is brilliant!

We have continued to increase our commitment to music lessons and we are looking forward to expanding in 2014.  Hats off to our two great guitar instructors, Cameron Pyle, and Bill Kimbrell,  who have collectively surpassed 50 years of teaching guitar lessons!  Sharing the gift of music is something that’s very important to us.  We look forward to starting even more hearts on a wonderful journey with music!

This year was a great year for our team of repair professionals.  Music Inc is once again able to offer repair services for guitars, speakers, amps, keyboards and many other music related devices.  Our guitar service department has continued its commitment to set up every new guitar we sell to our customers, making all guitars purchased from Music Inc. the best playing guitars in the area hands down!

It’s amazing to think I started on this journey with music only 12 years ago and it has given me so many blessings already!  From humble beginnings playing in a friend’s garage, to the excitement of my first gig at a small pool party, to the maximum rush of playing a sold out show at the House of Blues with my first original band. There is no feeling quite like playing music! 

It has been an honor to serve each of you this past year.  Music Inc. will celebrate its 45th anniversary in October of 2014.  We are proud to achieve such a rare mark for a small business and we hope to continue to be a staple in south Louisiana for years to come!

Merry Christmas to you all! 

Happy Holidays to you and your families!

Nov. 2013 - Life is Full of Compromises.

Life is full of compromises.  Maybe we drive an extra 5 miles in search for the cheapest tank of gas in town. Maybe we go out for steak at a chain restaurant instead of a nice steakhouse just to save a buck.  Maybe we do the dishes instead of watching the opening kick-off because we know it will allow us the opportunity to sit in our recliners until the end of the game.  Whatever the case may be we all make decisions based on a specific goal or end result. The guitar buying process is no different.  Whether you are shopping for your first, or (you are telling your wife) you are buying your last, you walk into the store with an objective and with any luck you find someone with the ability to help you achieve it.  

Often time a beginner will compromise on the quality of an instrument because they are not confident in their ability to learn how to play.  So, they think if they purchase the cheapest guitar they can find, and don’t learn how to play, they won’t have to suffer a big loss.  The problem that most first-time, uneducated, buyers run into is that the cheapest guitars are most often the hardest to play right out of the box.  Affordable guitar manufactures don’t spend the extra time that high-end makers do adjusting the guitars for playability.  They are looking to make the most affordable GSO (Guitar Shape Object) they can and are turning them out as quickly as they can.  What we do at Music Inc. is complete the set-up process as if the guitar was a high-end piece.  Backing up a step from the set-up, and even more important for the customer, we have sought out, in our opinion, the best beginner acoustic and electric guitars. We buy these from Yamaha.  I’m sure you have all heard of that global power house brand, right?  Yamaha instruments come out of the box set-up well and, with a little extra adjusting, we can deliver an acoustic or an electric guitar to our customers for under $200 that plays like a dream!  It’s better than anything you could walk into a big box store and pick-up, or order from an online store. If you want to start playing the guitar and are looking for the perfect compromise, Music Inc. has some of the best options. Get your guitar from us and have the best chance to really learn how to play.

Yamaha Gigmaker for $159.00

On the other end of the spectrum is the customer that’s finally ready to buy a guitar without compromise!  For this customer, we offer unmatched choices for custom designed instruments.  Music Inc. offers brands such as Taylor, G&L, Lakland and Nash that build guitars in America with a large list of options for the customer.   Just pick a base model and get ready to customize the woods, color, neck shape, along with a list of other options.  Others, like (PRS) Paul Reid Smith’s Private Stock and Roscoe Guitars offer “the sky’s the limit” approach to building guitars allowing customers to really create a dream instrument.  With years of experience helping customers capture the sound in their heads, I feel confident we can find a sound, feel, and look, which are right for you-- without compromise! 

Custom Guitar options from Music Inc. of Louisiana

From the beginner, to the collector, Music Inc. is devoted to helping our customers reach the end result they are looking for.  And, the end result may simply be learning to how to play a chord or two, or as involved as creating a masterpiece from a dream.