Issue 192
Conspiracy theories have become a booming business. One of my favorites is that NASA is surely hiding crucial data on alien contact. Well, I hate to burst any bubbles, but NASA would give anything to be able to make a case for aliens. They get a pretty small piece of the budget, and if NASA could find faces on Mars or evidence of buildings, you can bet their budget would go up astronomically. Yet people ignore logic and figure that if there’s no proof of little green men, then by golly, it's because somebody’s hiding it.
The music biz isn’t free of conspiracy theories either. One of my all-time favorites is when a representative of a major organization opined that the Japanese invented the Digital Audio Tape (DAT) format because they couldn’t make music, only copy it. Yessiree, I can just see a bunch of Japanese engineers getting together and saying “Gee, we Japanese have no native musical art forms, so let’s make something that will produce better copies of Bruce Springsteen.“ I think the reality is more that a bunch of people thought they could make money by producing a higher-quality version of the cassette.
In recent days, one of the most persistent and pervasive conspiracy theories is that companies withhold technology so they can come out with an update later on and sell a slightly improved version of something they’ve already sold you. Sounds plausible, doesn’t it? Well . . .
Maybe that could happen in a world without competition, but I can assure you that when a company comes up with a killer feature, they can’t wait to get it into the marketplace because of what they hope will be a competitive advantage.
The fact is that companies, like people, learn. Updates are usually course corrections, not planned events. The chances of a company coming up with a perfect product right out of the chute are about as remote as writing a hit song the first time you pick up a guitar. Over time, our music improves, and similarly, a company’s ability to make hipper products improves too. So, they introduce new products.
Conspiracy theories may be entertaining, but the truth is usually a lot more prosaic than the speculation. The same goes for music industry conspiracy theories. Sure, there are always exceptions; the whole JFK assassination just won’t go away, and companies sometimes do hold off on introducing new products if a lot of old ones remain to be sold. But even in the latter case, if the competition is too intense, companies will introduce something even if it makes their dealers unhappy because they have to blow out earlier models at bargain prices.
There’s no conspiracy, folks. Just companies that want to stay in business, and believe that introducing more features periodically is a way to promote that. But in any event, all this conspiracy talk has showed me one thing for sure: I want the Roswell Chamber of Commerce to handle the PR for my next album. They really know what they’re doing! —Craig Anderton
Headliners
Review
Acoustica Mixcraft 6 Pro Studio
by Craig Anderton
Really, how much of a DAW can you get for $150? Let's find out . . .
Technique
Some Assembly Required: The Art of Album Assembly
by Craig Anderton
 |
Can you really get a genuine USA-built Gibson for $500? In fact, you can—and you even have options for colors and pickup types. These guitars are generating quite a lot of positive buzz; find out why in this thread. |
 |
Amp Logos That Light Up—Cool, or Kitsch? There’s a trend towards amp logos that light up so they can be seen from across the room. Bad Cat, Hughes & Kettner, Matchless, and other amplifier brands (particularly boutique marquees) have been spotted with them. Cool? Uncool? The debate rages on, so drop in and share your thoughts. |
|
What's Wrong with the Music Industry They say that to correct a problem, you first have to identify it—and the Music Industry forum discusses some of the main issues affecting the industry today. Do you have a particular issue that has caused you grief? Got any innovative solutions? Stop in and tell us about it! |
|
The Biggest Weaknesses of the Three Most Iconic Electric Guitars Stratocasters, Telecasters and Les Pauls are probably the three most successful electric guitar designs in history—but are they “perfect”? Hardly. Each has at least some minor annoyances or weak aspects to the design that can either be improved on, or that players should be aware of before they commit to a particular model. |
|
What Piece of Gear Turned Out To Be a Doorstop? No matter how carefully you do your pre-purchase research, occasionally a piece of gear turns into a doorstop much sooner than you anticipated—for a number of possible reasons. Want some examples? Click the link, and read the regrets from the gear-savvy folks from the Sound, Studio, and Stage forum. |
|
Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs—Legitimate Techniques, or "Cheating?" Do you have to pick each and every note that you play, or are hammer-ons and pull-offs legitimate playing techniques? You might be very surprised by some of the opinions players have on this subject. |
 |
AER Introduces the 3rd Generation Compact 60 Amp The Compact-60/3 features a smaller and lighter cabinet, representing a 15% reduction in weight while offering the same performance. The newest version also boasts a slight voicing modification to the overtones, resulting in an improved response to modern percussive playing styles. |
|
T-Rex Introduces Next Generation of Overdrive and Bass Chorus Pedals The Møller 2 delivers the same classic analog overdrive that made its predecessor one of T-Rex’s most sought-after pedals, while the Sweeper 2 is a simple, intuitively-designed pedal that does just one job and does it extraordinarily well: produce an exquisite chorus effect for bass. |
|
Korg MicroKorg XL+ Now Available Korg's latest iteration of the popular MicroKorg analog synth, the new MicroKorg XL+, is now available in stores in the U.S. It contains a reimagined palette of analog-modeled sounds, plus new dedicated PCM for Korg's SGProX piano. |
|
Port City Amps “Orleans” Bass Preamp This hand-wired, all-tube amp presents a flexible and reliable option for the modern bassist. In addition to the standard Treble, Middle and Bass tone controls, a “thick” switch provides extra low-frequency tone shaping. |
|
Osiamo Releases New Mooer Micro Effect Pedals New pedals for 2013 include the Acoustikar (acoustic simulator), Blues Mood (classic blues overdrive), Funky Monkey (auto wah), Gray Faze (vintage fuzz), LoFi Machine (decimator effect), Repeater (digital delay), and more. |
|
Premier Piano Course: Technique Book 4 Released by Alfred Music Publishing Perfect as a supplement for advancing piano students, Technique Book 4 continues and expands on the technical tools and artistic skills learned in Technique books 1A – 3. |
At Harmony Central, we are committed to protecting the privacy
of the users of our website. Please review our Privacy Policy.
© 1995—2012 Harmony Central®.
All rights reserved. 180 W. Election Road, Draper, UT 84020, USA.
Editorial
Craig Anderton | Editor in Chief
Jon Chappell | Senior Editor
Phil O'Keefe | Associate Editor
Advertise with HC
adsales@harmonycentral.com
Publisher
Kirit Sarvaiya
Help Desk