NEWS  

The latest headlines from MusicYo

SALES -> As expected the holidays were a strong period. Though not a record season they still were very happy with the results. Yet again Steinberger posted gains and continues to expand with every quarter. Most notable is that Steinberger has officially passed Kramer as the top selling brand for MusicYo. This is a watershed moment, especially with the mid-priced line not out yet. Steinberger is on the move in a big way. More on that further on down.

USA PRODUCTION ->; They're still trying to get consistent inventory. To facilitate this there's been a management change at the Nashville factory. Richard Akers, who's headed production for about the last year, has been moved back into more of an R & D capacity. He's a degreed electrical engineer, and has primarily been involved with amp & effects design for both Epiphone and Gibson proper since he was hired. He's continued to do double-duty in the R&D in this area during this time. Epiphone now wants to focus more heavily on new product in that market pace and utilize his skills there.

Most of you have never spoken with Akers, and only know him from my updates here. Those few who have dealt with him have likely been impressed by his overwhelming desire to "make it right";. Let me go on record as saying that his guiding of production at such a crucial incubation time was invaluable. I think his background as an engineer allowed him to "get" Steinberger the way we do - not just the nuts and bolts stuff, but he understood the design, form and functionality. In addition he's been a stickler for details and for quality and his passion for the USA product was sincere. He'll still be involved in Steinberger R&D, but won't be having any day-to-day responsibilities once items are moved into production.

Though he doesn't get the press or accolades he deserves, I did want everyone to know that his contributions were (and will continue to be) significant.

So with that I'd like to personally say thanks for all you help Richard. You've been an intergral key to the success of the brand again, and your help to me personally and the folks here (both directly and indirectly) is appreciated. Looking forward to more exciting things coming down the pipe!

Heading up production now is Marty Burns. He's been with Epiphone at least 5 years, and manages all of the Epiphone QC in the same building. That consists of about 25 assembly and production folks. My initial talk with him was positive, but it will take a little time for things to settle in. The actual production staff (Neal Logdahl, Dave Mahaffey and team lead Jimmy Ellis) is intact, so I don't really expect hiccups in production from this. Akers office is still only 50 feet from the USA workbenches, so his knowledge can be tapped during the transition as well as well.

There's another idea behind this restructuring . With the mid-priced line coming there needs to be a more fluid routing from both a QC and production supply standpoint. Burns has extensive contact with the Korean factory making the Spirit and upcoming mid-priced line, and will be overseeing all build out and supply chain issues for the USA products.

MID-PRICED LINE -> This is where the biggest news is. And to be honest it all came as bit of a shocker to me.

First off, the release is being pushed back to July to allow for an official Summer NAMM announcement and showing. You will likely see Steinberger on the floor somewhere in the GMI booth. So they will be going for more visibility and press. A comprehensive ad campaign will support the launch.

But by far the biggest news is that MusicYo will not be selling them. Yes you read that right. I guess Steinberger is now back on the radar, and many dealers are now asking to carry the product. It's been decided to only sell this line through normal retail channels and not the MusicYo site. Admittedly this will affect the street price (it'll be higher), but they claim are looking at the big picture on this. They also pointed out that if the mid-price line sells well, it's very possible the USA product will go back to a traditional dealer arrangement as as well. Nothing firm, and again the price will likely bump back up if/when that happens. So get those TT equipped GM's and GLB's when they arrive.

NEWBURGH GM's ->There are some in assembly right now and these should be available for sale "shortly". It's hopeful once these arrive they'll beble to keep up with demand and have consistent stock.

XQ BASSES -> Plans are still to offer some natural oiled ash basses and test some tinted oil ones as well. After talking about this with Ned at NAMM, they've decided to go back to maple bodies with nitro lacquer for solid colors. I actually talked with Ned briefly about this before NAMM, and he seems to have a strong affinity for maple for stiffness & tone. These will be finished by the same Gibson factory doing the Newburghs and GLB's so supply will be more controllable. If the oil tints don't work, we likely won't see translucent finishes. I asked about maybe offering trans figured maple caps. They didn't say no, but admitted they've got far too many other projects/models to undertake that too right now.

I'd add that the v1 XQ's were dreadfully heavy. Ned radically slimmed the body down for the newer/current v2 body, and that will likely cut down from the original weight.

POTENTIAL STEINBERGER WORLD CUSTOM -> I tossed out the idea of a "Steinberger World Custom" instrument to the powers-that-be last month. These would be one/several small run (dozen or so, depends) done as a pseudo-custom shop order to see how they work out and are recieved. Surprisingly they've said OK to the concept. I'll be following up a bit later once USA production gets smoothed out, but wouldn't expect anything until summer at best if it ever happen. My initial thoughts are for some a figured top bound GM's with black back or maybe even figured top GLB's. Maybe gothic paint jobs too. As much as I'll consider some input, I obviously won't be able to accommodate all ideas. And these won't be individually custom instruments, they'll all be the same. Again this is nothing more than talk right now but it would be cool to do. What I can say is that they would be a premium instrument with premium features at a premium price, being non-standard and all. They might even sport the gold custom logo like previous Newburgh era custom orders. Limited run, collector's item type of thing.

TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE UK -> As of February 1st, MusicYo will no longer be shipping to the UK. The UK distributor, Academy of Sound, will have exclusive rights for the sale of all Steinberger instruments (USA, mids and Spirits) from that date forward. They are planning an ad campaign to coincide with the launch. Keep your eyes open.

TRANS TREMS -> MY got notification that the order for 300 units is on schedule for a late March delivery. At the past rate of sales that amount of trems would likely last them a year (works out to 25 guitars a month). They are hoping to roll out the Type3 TT for Winter NAMM next year - as long as everything goes according to plan. If the TT equipped gutiars sell briskly, it's possible they'll run out before the new version is ready. No plan B has been decided but I don't see them ordering another batch. But they should have sample stock throughout the summer. Undecided if they'll sell them separately just yet. They'll need to see sales for a few months first. If TT's fly out the door, don't expect to see them in the Parts section.

PARTS -> Speaking of parts, Korean parts are on order. These were supposedly on order in the 4th quarter, but it likely got missed/put off in the holiday craziness. They are now officially on order and scheduled for a late March arrival as well. They were apologetic about this and understand some people's frustration for being out of stock for so long. They looked at the purchase orders while I was on the phone. R-Trems, gearless tuners, string adapters, TT tools, leg rests, headpiece rubber bands - all are confirmed on that list.

WEBSITE -> Again I've confirmed that the Epiphone web crew will be designing and rolling out a new steinberger.com website to coincide with (or proceed) the July/NAMM new product launch. With the line moving to more of a traditional retail item they will be giving it a more traditional presence. Take a look at the Epiphone site for some general ideas of how it will look. I would expect them to use the same general layout and templates.

I stressed the idea of lots of "drool factor" and they are aware of some tools to provide a full user expereince. I did mention the Zoomify software discussed on the Yahoo! boad a while back. They were aware of some others used on other sites (Musician's Friend was mentioned).

The thing I walked away with most from this update is that Steinberger now seems to a priority for Epiphone/Gibson. Not that they didn't take it seriously before. But the strong sales growth (with no mid priced offerings mind you) has definitely raised many eyebrows, and it appears they see some strong potential there. Not a news flash to us I know, but the attitude seems to have gone from a bit of an experiment or niche product to a full-blown effort. The production management change, the retail shift - all these seem to be aggressive moves. The stakes have officially been raised.

Personally I'm still bit mixed on what this means and need some time to see where it all goes. When we started this whole thing Steinberger World thing the brand was a ghost. I'd like to think our guidance and support have been crucial to the growing success. But it remains to be seen if we end up victims of our own success - especially if the prices for the same exact items go up. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

As always, more news as it arrives. . .
Posted by andyyak 1/25/2004 08:27:53 PM