12am.com.au : Mixing Music Media


	.: Inside Major Music

Major Music is an Australian company imports and distributes an amazing range of Studio, DJ and audio products for the modern day musician. Greg Cato from Major Music has been a long standing supporter of 12am’s audio media coverage and infact provided us with our first feature giveaway for music lovers way back in 2000. This week we spoke with Greg about new toys, how to buy gear and how to keep abrest of all the new information about products that are literally released on a daily basis from all corners of the globe.

When was Major Music established?
Major Music Wholesale was established in October 1995.
Prior to this I had spent around 10 years in the industry in music / hi-tech retail and wholesale in Australia and the UK.

As a distributor of Audio technology gear, I guess this means you need to have to keep abreast of all the new products and technologies available to DJ's/producers. How do you do this?
Yes, this is possibly one of the most important aspects of the job, and believe me it is not easy. It requires the gathering of information from all aspects of hi-tech technology from computing operating systems, to advances in software technology and trends in hardware development from manufacturers. I spend a lot of time overseas (almost my second home!) attending trade shows and talking to manufacturers.

What are the main things you look for in a piece of equipment when considering taking the Australian distribution licence on it?
I look for something special in the equipment - something that makes it stand out from the competition. Sometimes this is not so product related but more the direction of the manufacturer / developer. We are looking for innvovation not immitation - so many manufacturers are "me too" product builders, and there so many products on the market that all do the same thing..... each a bit cheaper than the other.......
You want a product that will allow you to be creative, and has been designed with that purpose in mind.......to allow you to be creative. It must be said too, that sometimes it takes a little time to master specific products, but if it allows you to create great music, then it's worth it. I think it is all too tempting to use something because "everyone uses it" or because it's cheap

What, in your opinion is the biggest step music technology gear has taken in the past 5 years?
Without a doubt it has been the emergance of Software Synthesis, and music generating software products (other than sequencers). While I don't know the exact numbers of hardware synths and sampler sold, I know that it must have rapidly declined when I look at the numbers of software synths and samples that we have been selling over the past few years. Now with products like the Creamware NOAH, we are seeing a whole new generation of software controlled hardware - where one hardware box can be virtually ANY synth you decide to load into it....... now this is another leap in technology!

Now, this year Major Music has had 3 products nominated for the illustrious TEC awards, showing that you guys really know which products are worth taking on. What were these products and how do you feel to have 3 of your products nominated for awards?
Yes, this has been a great bonus, and indeed a prestigious nomination for our manufacturers.
The products are:-

Antares "Tube" - as you probably know, Antares is famous for its AutoTune and Mic Modeller technology, well the Tube Plugin has been very vell received in the market place and offer a great range of flexibility and 'warmth' previously only found in hardware devices!

JL Cooper - CS32 Mini Controller - once again, JL Cooper is a company that has been manufacturing control surfaces and other products for many years mainly in the professional audio video market. They have realised an opportunity in the market for an affordable control surface with a full range of faders, knobs, transport control, etc etc. There are a bunch of good controllers in the market, but this is the first time that a control surface has made its way into the MI / Production market that didn't cost as much as the rest of your studio! JL Cooper have siezed this opportunity and given us a very usable product.
BIAS SoundSoap - another emerging market is the audio restoration market. With computers being very affordable and old recordings in abundance, BIAS have developed SOundSoap which will 'clean' your audio or video recordings of unwanted noise. This technology has been around for some time, however never at an affordable price and combined with the ease of use and professional results of SoundSoap - a winning combination.

We are very proud of being associated with these companies (and we have been doing business together for many years!), and these developers very much fall into the category of being responsive to the market and developing unique but sought after products.

How can young DJ's and Producers best learn about which products, ie Hardware or Software, Mac or PC platforms to use? Does any particular platform have a longer or more productive life?
To learn about new products I would search the net for news - there are some good sites like 12am, harmony central etc - we try to keep our site as informative as possible on our new products also (www.majormusic.com.au ) and the are plenty of good resources out there. Additionally I find the Australian, UK or US magazines a good source for the latest product developments - although there is often a delay before they arrive in Australia! But then again most of the magazines have websites also.

As far as the Mac / PC debate goes..... if we all spent as much time making music as we did debating this topic....... Personally I am a PC user ..... however as a distributor of Mac and PC products, I obviously use both - and there are pros and cons for both!!!!

I think of these platforms simply as machines that happen to run a variety of software applications. Sometimes depending on software you wish to use, you might not have a choice of computer. In general most software is available on both platforms so I would suggest that you get your hands on whatever you can and start making music.

As for a longer or more productive life - this can depend a little on the degree of specialisation you are in to i.e. if you are into high-end video production you might use a Mac (although I do see many PCs in this area also!)......... in general PCs have a little more flexibility in terms of additional hardware / software, however this is not without potential problems. My advice is get someone who really knows what they are doing to set up a machine for you (either platform) - and it really IS worth getting somebody you trust to do this for you (and yes, it will probably mean paying them!) - because there are a lot of people out there with a 'little knowledge' or 'my brothers cousins fathers butchers hairdresses gardner' knows someone who can sell you a system cheap!

What is next for Major Music?
Hey Andre, we can tell you but...... Seriosly though, we we 2 new sampling / loop products from Native Instruments - Kompakt and Intakt - I dare say these will be an essential part of any DJ/Producers music production arsenal.