MusikMesse Final Impressions and Recap
More product reviews to come
By Brett Ratner
ratocaster@harmony-central.com
Well, the adage that says "you can’t please all of the people all of the time" turned out to be true regarding my "First Impressions" of MusikMesse ‘99.
In my sleep deprived state, I figured that readers would appreciate a break from the gear talk and find the humor in an American Neophyte World Traveler struggling to locate a light switch in a German bathroom. For the most part, I was right... as I received several friendly emails from abroad sharing stories and suggestions for future overseas trips (thanks!)
Unfortunately, others did not, as I received two flames (one stateside, one from Italy). One criticized my tone towards Americans and the other towards Europeans, respectively. Well, I extend my apologies towards anyone I unintentionally offended. However, I believe that people should not always take things so seriously. Also, it’s cool every now and then to laugh at yourself (as I was trying to do in my piece). Finally, if a reader feels that his or her time is wasted by a piece that provides more color than technical information, one should always exercise their right to not read the piece.
As a freelance writer with no business stake in this web site, I can say objectively and with utmost confidence that the powers that be at Harmony Central try extremely hard to give every reader something he or she can enjoy. My efforts towards the site hope to provide technical information, but also seek to round out Harmony Central’s vast supply of data with a little bit of human interest. Your email responses reach me personally, and I welcome and appreciate the knowledge, opinions and experiences of anyone willing to share it via the Internet.
Speaking of which, several readers wrote to explain that the red button on the right-hand shower knob is a safety which prevents children from burning themselves. The left-hand knob is the only one intended to control water pressure. However, changing the temperature with the right hand control may cause an incidental change in pressure due to a shift in ratio between hot and cold water. Another reader pointed out that "Stewardess" is an antiquated term. The correct one to use is "Flight Attendant." Therefore, I extend my apologies to Flight Attendants world-wide.
More importantly, I left MusikMesse with a newfound interest in guitar-related technology. My opinion has always been that the old stuff is the best and that improving on old designs with high-tech gadgetry is an exercise in futility. My opinion now is that the products of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s were just examples of the industry’s growing pains. The second and third-generation stuff is finally delivering on its promise of vintage tone with modern versatility and control. I’d even venture to say that the tones are getting better than vintage. Guitar sounds are more fine-tuned in that the essential "vintage" harmonics are enhanced and even "magnified" while the harsh and offensive frequencies are filtered out. Better yet, multi-channel amps are actually offering two or three excellent sounds... versus one excellent lead tone and a compromised clean and crunch (the Engl Savage and Bogner Ecstasy are my new all-time first and second favorite amps, respectively - more details to come). Better still is that despite the extensive controls, amps are sounding good right out of the box. Anyone who has ever played a first-generation Mesa Boogie or Rivera knows how great they can sound... once you’ve had a week to fiddle with the controls.
Finally, the digital modeling units are excellent, and in a blind taste test you’d swear they sound like tubes ... even direct into the mixing board. I still have a problem with modeling amps, based on principle. But those who have no problem with the theology behind them can be rewarded with a truckload of tones stuffed into one box.
Three more articles with reviews I wrote while at the show will follow in the coming week, covering tube amps, accessories, and guitars respectively. Since photos were taken on a conventional camera, we waited to publish them until pictures were developed and the visuals could accompany the text.
Brett
Brett Ratner is a contributor to Guitar Player, Musician, Electronic Musician and Music & Computers. He also spent two years as the Creative Writer for www.gibson.com. Currently, Brett plays sessions and performs regularly around Nashville with the band Katoorah Jayne. Please email Brett at ratocaster@harmony-central.com with any questions, comments.
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