Founded in 1970 by John Connolly, Jr. (originally as “Connolly & Co., Inc.”), Connolly Music Company is now celebrating its 40th Anniversary. Best known for distributing such brands as Thomastik-Infeld and König & Meyer, the company remains a family owned enterprise, with John’s son Jake now at the helm.
While the entire MI industry has suffered with what many now refer to as the Great Recession (capital G, capital R), the piano market could be considered the recession within the recession. The housing freefall has affected piano sales disproportionately, digital pianos housed in attractive consoles are more appealing than ever, and financing for the dealer and the consumer is increasingly elusive.
The 2010 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California offered music educators a unique opportunity to participate in the music industry convention featuring hundreds of instrument, accessory, and software manufacturers, publishers, dealers, and artists. For the first time ever, School Band & Orchestra, MMR’s sister magazine invited educators to walk the NAMM exhibit halls in search of the most useful products for use in the classroom and with student musicians.
While there’s a certain charm and unquestionable tradition to being woken up in the early hours by a noisy marching band while at NAMM, MMR’s editorial staff (not “morning people,” by any stretch), preferred the gentler approach provided by the early morning acoustic session in Hall E at the Flea Market Music booth.
When talking about inventors in the guitar world, few names that have changed the landscape of guitar playing as much as Floyd Rose. After conceiving the revolutionary double locking tremolo, Rose could’ve kicked back on a beach and watched the dollars role in, but being the innovator that he is, Floyd refuses to stop and is constantly tweaking, reworking, and reinventing tremolos for the needs of modern guitarists. After a successful NAMM show, MMR decided to give a call to the guys at Floyd Rose to talk about the past, present and future of the company.
