THE MARKET for musical instruments and sound equipment in Ireland is healthy, but extremely competitive. That’s the message coming through from the retailers and suppliers around the country to whom we’ve spoken recently. Customers have become much more discerning in their choice of products and have come to expect good value, top quality equipment and a comprehensive back-up service.

The general trend is towards more

sophisticated gear and the industry is constantly updating and renewing its stocks to fulfil this demand. With such a bewildering range of products on offer to musicians and to the entertainment industry in general, retailers are generally more than happy to advise their customers on new product lines and to supply details and information on any technological innovations.

But there is no room for complacency within the industry. The recent unexpected closure of Mc Cullough-Piggots in Dublin underlines the precarious nature of the business and the need for outlets to establish a strong customer base and to develop good relationships with their clientele in order to create a continuous demand.

There are reassuring signs that the worst may be over in terms of the impact of the recession on the music business as a whole. Despite a shift away from live music in some venues around the country, there is still an expanding live scene and all the retailers and suppliers agree that there remains a vibrant market out there to be won over.

Ireland has recently become a favoured destination for big international acts who choose to rehearse and record here. This provides excellent opportunities for suppliers of equipment and instruments. The presence of big international names like The Rolling Stones and Def Leppard adds a certain prestige to the business and has undoubtedly helped in raising standards of musical equipment and sound gear on offer. These bands and musicians are willing to pay for the very best in top-class brand names and the suppliers have been forced to provide for their specific demands.

Home grown superstars like U2 and Hot House Flowers also purchase a large proportion of their equipment and instruments locally and the contribution these groups make to the survival of the industry cannot be underestimated. The healthy traditional scene can’t be ignored either and all the retailers report a steady demand for traditional instruments like accordions, tin whistles and bodhrans etc.

SYMPATHETIC

Waltons who opened their new store at 69-70 South Great Georges Street, Dublin, last year are one of the best known suppliers and retailers of musical instruments in the country. Generations of music students will have fond memories of trundling up North Frederick Street to the original Waltons emporium for their musical requirements.

The long-running Waltons sponsored programme on Radio Eireann came to symbolise the best in Irish Music and it’s reassuring to know that the business is still family-run, with a new generation of Waltons continuing the tradition of selling top quality instruments and accessories.

With over 6,000 square feet of floor space in each of their stores they can provide for the complete range of musicians’ needs. Whether you want a grand piano or a six-piece drum kit, a tin whistle or a harmonica, a visit to one of Waltons’ showrooms should satisfy your requirements. As David Walton states: “We are happy to do business with all types of customers. From U2, Clannad and The Sawdoctors right down to the buskers and beginners, we welcome anyone who is in the market for good quality equipment and the sort of back-up service we provide. We have guitars ranging from £35 right up to £2,0000, and we provide full guarantees on most of our instruments.”

Waltons are nationwide agents for many of the top names in music equipment including Gibson, Yamaha and Premier and they also stock an extensive range of music books and sheet music. Their range of amplification, effects and mikes includes top names like Crate, Ampeg, Zoom and Beyer Dynamic and their percussion department stocks brands like Pearl, Paiste and Regal Tip. They have increased their range of tutors and “How To Play” books to satisfy the growing demand in this area and have long specialised in Irish sheet music and ballad and folk collections and anthologies.

The move to South Georges Street has, so far proved a success and Waltons are now well-placed to service the burgeoning arts and music population in Temple Bar, as well as being in close proximity to long established institutions like The School Of Music in Chatham Street. David Walton: “We’ve been anxious to establish an outlet on the south side of the city for some time now, in order to complement our original store in North Frederick St. We did have a small premises in Dun Laoghaire for a while but it proved to be inadequate due to the lack of space there and we were unable to stock the kind of ranges we normally like to provide for our customers.”

Of course Waltons not only service the rock and pop music fraternity, they also supply a complete range of orchestral instruments like cellos, violins, and brass & wind instruments as well as catering for the traditional music market for accordions, banjos and mandolins.

Goodwins in Capel Street, Dublin are a long-established shop specialising in guitars and related accessories. They’ve built up a loyal customer base over the years with their unique personal service and they carry a comprehensive stock of prestigious brand names like Takamine, Yamaha, Fender, Ibanez and Washburn Electrics. They also stock an extensive range of the leading budget brands including Encore, Squire and Hohner and they are willing to offer special deals to beginners and ‘first-time buyers’. Liam Carroll is the man in charge at Goodwins and he is impressed by the improvement in quality of some of the less expensive guitars.

“The days when, say, a Korean-made guitar was considered below standard are long gone,” he says. “If it sounds good and looks the part it will have a market once the price is right.”

Goodwins also carry a complete range of effects and accessories. Guitar players have never had such a range of different sounds available to them for relatively little outlay. Most of the newer effects-units are incredibly compact compared with the somewhat clumsy equipment of the past.

“Not so long ago guitar players required a separate pedal for each sound effect.” says Liam. “Now they are going for digital multi-effects units and sound processors, where all the functions can be pre-programmed and controlled by a single flick of a switch.”

Semi-acoustic guitars have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly with the resurgence of country music and the folk/roots revival. With built in pick-ups and ‘on board’ electrics, semi-acoustics have the advantage of easier control of the volume and sound by the musician, as opposed to relying on separate mikes and a sympathetic sound engineer on the PA desk for the end result. Goodwins are happy to talk to musicians regarding their requirements and will advise them on the advantages and pitfalls of particular set-ups. They have also increased their supply of keyboards and have now become main agents for a new range of Technics keyboards.

EXPERIENCED

The Sound Shop in Drogheda has built up a reputation as one of the major players in the musical instruments and equipment industry in Ireland. Drawing customers from all over the country they also stock a wide range of recorded music on CD and cassette. The proprietor of the Sound Shop, Tommy Leddy, has noticed a swing back towards live music, particularly in the smaller venues like lounges and on the cabaret scene. He admits, however, that the big showbands and groups are no longer as viable as they were in the past.

“The four and five-piece bands of a few years back are reducing in numbers,” he says. “Nowadays you’re more likely to come across three-pieces or duos but they are more inclined to invest heavily in keyboards, drum machines and MIDI equipment.” He has also noticed that customers these days are displaying a much better knowledge and understanding of the complex equipment on offer and are becoming much more specific in their demands. “They know exactly the kinds of sounds they require and we strive to supply the very latest models available to satisfy this demand.”

Musicians and performers not only require quality instruments and reliable backline equipment. They also need to get their sound across to the audience and to be heard clearly. Not surprisingly there has been considerable growth in the PA and sound systems end of the market in recent years. But there are subtle changes in the nature of the business, with more purpose-built PA systems being installed in many of the leading venues and a noticeable reduction in the demand for PA rental and hire.

The name Litton Lane has long been synonymous with PA hire and rehearsal facilities, with the company having entered the big league by supplying the sound systems at the Féile, Sunstroke and Slane Castle festivals this year. Now they have gone a stage further and opened a specialised outlet at 10 Fownes Street, Dublin in the heart of the bustling Temple Bar area which has become a mecca for young bands and musicians. Trading as The Live Sound Store, John Carton runs the new operation and has very definite ideas of his target market.

“Basically, we’ll supply anyone who needs to use a microphone,” he says. “We deal with everyone from bands and solo performers to comedians and politicians, and we can provide everything from a basic budget set-up to an expensive, elaborate rig.”

John confirms the trend towards venues and clubs fitting their own in-house PAs and a subsequent decline in the rental market.

“Bands don’t need to hire PA’s as much as they used to in the past,” he says, “and many venues have installed their own set-ups, some of which are totally inadequate and some which are up to a reasonable standard. We’re willing to advise any venue, large or small on suitable PA and sound systems, and we can provide a full back-up service at extremely competitive prices.”

With most night-clubs and venues now mixing a combination of live bands with a DJ and a disco afterwards, they require a sound system which is capable of handling the demands of both. The dance music boom and the ‘rave scene’ has a created a requirement for a good solid bass sound on the dance floor and The Live Sound Store are increasingly supplying specialised dedicated bass systems to that particular end of the market.

Also in Temple Bar at 22 Eustace Street are Roadshow Rentals who have established a reputation as leading PA and lighting suppliers. Manager Tony Verechia highlights a growing market for spectacular lighting set-ups:

“The dance scene has created a demand for more specialised lighting systems,” he says, “and we’ve been supplying more and more laser-simulated lighting effects to discos and clubs. We’ve also become known as major suppliers of PA and lighting systems to the colleges and universities around the country, and this is a sector which is becoming increasingly important to us in recent years.”

Tony notes the increasing tendency for DJ’s to use CD rather than vinyl for their main sound source and the speakers and amplification used need to be capable of handling the wider dynamic range and higher resolution of digital sound.

Rea Sound in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone are one of the biggest suppliers of music equipment and instruments in the country. With over twenty years experience in the business, they have established a premises which has become almost a place of pilgrimage for musicians and bands who travel from all over the country to sample the wide and varied range of musicians requirements. They are particulary strong on PA and pro-audio equipment and are appointed agents for many prestigious names like Martin Pro Audio, Crest Amps, Mesa Boogie, Studio Master, Crate, Ampeg and Lap Gruppen (power amplifiers). Rea Sound offer free delivery on all their equipment to any part of the country and Sean Gallagher states that their prices are so competitive that they even have customers travelling across from England!

“Our prices won’t be beaten,” he says, “and we offer a level of service that would be hard to find anywhere. All our staff are experienced musicians and we have a live demo area which includes a full stage set up.”

Rea Sound also specialise in PA and equipment hire and have supplied most of the top names in the country at some stage as well as some of the biggest international stars.

Sean Gallager: “If a band need a first class PA system for a nationwide tour, for example, we’ll supply it on a weekly rental basis. We’ll also install a sound system in a venue and rent it out on a similar basis and this end of the business is particularly strong in recent years.”

Rea Sound also provide custom-made flight cases to order and with a half million pounds worth of stock on the premises they certainly seem to have everything a musician could possibly need.

CONFIDENCE

To sum up, then, the long-term survival of the musical instrument and equipment industry in Ireland depends on several interlinked factors. A healthy live music scene is by far the most important element in the equation, followed by a strong recording industry. There is already a long tradition of people playing instruments and performing at a local level and this forms the backbone of the trade.

There are other moves afoot which would help in no small way towards developing even more business for the industry. The re-instatement of the National Film Board and encouraging moves towards the establishment of a viable film industry offer just one example. Movies need soundtracks and soundtracks need musicians and studios. The same goes for any moves to set up a third national television channel, which would benefit independent film makers and ultimately the music industry as a whole.

As 1993 draws to a close, the industry faces challenges, opportunities and technological change with growing confidence. Roll on 2001!

• Colm O’Hare