Guitar Center Names Mike Pratt New CEO

Guitar Center today announced that Mike Pratt has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors effective April 1, 2013. Pratt succeeds Marty Hanaka, the Company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, who will remain on the Board and assist in the transition.

Since 2008, Pratt has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of leading Canadian consumer electronics retailers Best Buy Canada and Future Shop. He began his career more than 20 years ago with Future Shop, which was acquired by Best Buy Canada in 2001. During Pratt’s tenure, Best Buy Canada grew from 165 to 275 stores and greatly expanded its e-commerce activities and web presence.

Bose RoomMatch Loudspeakers Control the Sound for Austin’s Cedar Street Courtyard

In the weeks leading up to the opening of the Cedar Street Courtyard music venue in Austin, Texas, America’s live music capital, the venue was already drawing noise concerns. Due to its close proximity to residences and other establishments, Cedar Street Courtyard was looking to minimize its contribution to the noise pollution problem, and RoomMatch loudspeakers and PowerMatch amplifiers from Bose Professional Systems Division were able to solve these issues by controlling the sound with extraordinary precision. Nashville-based consultant Steve Durr was called in to recommend a sound system whose sonic quality would keep it competitive with the city’s many other music venues, while at the same time keeping the sound highly controlled and away from reflective surfaces, and keeping the energy channeled within the venue and away from neighboring residences.

Guitar Center opens new store in Katy, Texas

On the evening of Thursday, March 14, 2013, Guitar Center held the grand opening of its new location in Katy, Texas, located at 24429 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77494. The Katy store is Guitar Center’s 244th retail location and is part of a new wave of Guitar Center retail stores that feature lesson spaces, which allows the brand to offer additional music lessons, special programs and expanded opportunities for local musicians.

Trevor McGrew, Katy’s new store Manager, stated, “I love being a part of people becoming musicians, from helping them find their first instrument, then watching them learn to play at GC Studios lessons, to when they come back to expand their collection – it’s exciting to have that connection with customers and feel like you’ve been a part of their achieving their musical ambitions.” McGrew has been with Guitar Center since 2006 and is certified in multiple departments including Guitars, DJ Gear, Lighting & Effects, Amplifiers & Effects, Effects Pedals, and Bass.

Phantom Focus System and Auralex’s Carl Tatz Signature Series Transform MTSU Control Rooms

The Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is one of the largest programs of its kind in the world. Recently, MTSU control rooms D and E have been refurbished and acoustically redesigned by Carl Tatz Design. Garnering a Mix Magazine Class of 2012 Educational Facility Award, both rooms, which are mirror images of each other, feature the Carl Tatz Design (CTD) PhantomFocus™ System 4 monitor tuning protocols utilizing the school’s existing Genelec 1037C monitors. Along with a custom application of the Carl Tatz Signature Series™ family of control room acoustic modules by Auralex, the facilities were transformed from the least popular studios on campus into the most sought-after ones by the university’s students and teachers alike.

Audio-Technica showcases its System 10 Wireless in You Tube Video

In a recent You Tube clip, Audio-Technica’s Gary Boss (Marketing Director) performs an “unboxing” of A-T’s System 10 wireless, going through the package component-by-component while explaining the setup and the technologies incorporated in the system’s design.

Guitar Center Pro offers Neve Genesys Console with New EQ Option

Guitar Center Professional, the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, along with AMS Neve, is pleased to announce a new EQ option, 88R-style four-band EQ, for the Neve Genesys, a custom-crafted, expandable digitally controlled analog recording console that incorporates digital workstation control. This new EQ option is an alternative to the classic 1084 EQ option currently available. Exclusively distributed in the U.S. by GC Pro, the Genesys was designed to address the new realities of the modern professional audio industry for music and postproduction, while building on Neve’s 50 years of accumulated technical heritage.

Leading Drummers Choose Auralex HoverMat and HoverDeck

Auralex Acoustics is proud to see an increasing number of prominent drummers using the HoverMat Isolation Platform and HoverDeck Isolation Riser. Used together or separately, these two products isolate a drum set from the floor or a hollow stage, reducing coloration from floor resonance by decoupling the drum kit, thereby resulting in a tighter, more pure sound for both studio and live applications.

Acclaimed drummer Van Romaine, whose credits include Steve Morse Band and Enrique Iglesias, has integrated HoverMat and HoverDeck into his setup for both studio and stage work. He says, “The HoverDeck/HoverMat combo is the perfect addition to my recording studio and my drum riser for touring. The first thing I noticed was the crisp sound of my drums with no extra vibrations from outside sources. The second was how they very easily eliminated any imperfections in the flooring of my studio, enabling me to play with more confidence.”

Alan Parsons hosts Recording Master Classes in Vegas and Nashville in February

Alan Parsons has announced two new Master Class Training Sessions to be held at top studios in Las Vegas (Studio At The Palms on Feb 1st and 2nd) and Nashville (Ocean Way on Feb 11th and 12th).

In keeping with the tradition of these popular training workshops – previous events have been held in Los Angeles, Toronto, Bogota, and Buenos Aires – Alan Parsons has given each event its own unique theme: Vegas is titled “Iconic Instrumentals” and looks at the creation of music suitable for live music productions or international sporting events. The Vegas event also features a special section on Surround 5.1 mixing, for which Alan is rightly renowned, and for which he was Grammy Nominated in 2007.

Waves Audio has released Element Synthesizer

Waves Audio introduces Element, its first-ever synthesizer. Powered by Virtual Voltage™ technology, Waves Audio Element Synthesizer is an analog-style polyphonic instrument engineered to deliver the fat, gritty sound of the classics, with all the precision, flexibility and control of contemporary digital synths. Waves Audio Element Synthesizer includes a vast array of convenient features and functions, including integrated effects, a 16-step arpeggiator/sequencer, MIDI Learn for all controls and a massive preset library, with total tweakability. Plus, all parameters are laid out right in front of the user, so when inspiration strikes, there’s no need to scroll through page after page to customize sounds. Searing leads, booming basses, ethereal pads, electro-percussion, sequential motions, mind-blowing FX and lots more: Element does it all.

Auralex Acoustics announces SheetBlok-AF Sound Isolation Barrier Material

Auralex Acoustics, Inc., has announced its new SheetBlok-AF Sound Isolation Barrier material. Based on the company’s popular SheetBlok construction-grade sound barrier product, SheetBlok-AF is a thin, dense isolator with a Class A fire-rated PVC laminate on its surface for a finished look. SheetBlok-AF Sound Isolation Barrier is intended as a solution for improved sound isolation between adjacent spaces in the retrofit market where aesthetic appearance is important, but invasive construction and demolition are impossible. With an STC rating of 27 or greater, SheetBlok-AF is at least 6dB more effective than solid lead at stopping the transmission of sound. It acts as a thin, dense sound barrier layer in wall, ceiling and floor systems and is most effective when used as one component of a multi-layered construction scheme, as described in Auralex’s widely respected Acoustics101 publication.