Once again, CREEM is happy to present New Products, a semiregular column introducing some of the latest developments in musical instruments and technology as an aid to all the aspiring musicians and producers out there in Boy Howdy land.

PICK OF THE RETAILERS

Starting in this issue/ CREEM will be featuring musical instrument retailers throughout the country to give you a chance to know what retailers are doing both in your backyard and out.

Perhaps one of the best known retailers in the music business is Sdm Ash Music. With seven stores dotted throughout New York and New Jersey, Sam Ash was one of the first retailers to get heavily involved with keyboards and synthesizers. Probably the best known outlet is Sam Ash Music on 48th Street in New York. The store stocks a vast array of keyboards and all the new computer interfacing equipment. Sam Ash does a great deal of its own importing of guitars and drum sets as well as drum hardware and wireless microphones. Depending on the time of day, the Sam Ash store on 48th Street becomes a veritable who's who of the music business. For more information, call their toll-free 800 number located in this issue.

Moving to the opposite coast, probably best known in the Hollywood area is the Guitar Center. Dealing with artists like Van Malen, Rick Springfield, and Kool And The Gang has made the store on Sunset Blvd. a popular stopping point to rearm today's big groups. Guitar Center literally organizes entire tours with equipment. There are nine locations throughout Northern and Southern California featuring a large selection of equipment for both beginning musicians and superstars.

CHARVEL'S JACKSON LINE GUITARS

Charvel, continuing to expand its Jackson line of neck-thru-body guitars, has just introduced two new models: the Soloist and the Kelly. Both guitars have a hard rock maple center with poplar sides. Standard features include: jumbo frets, a 25 V2" scale neck, all black hardware, Seymour Duncan pickups, and a Kahler tremolo. Both instruments are fashioned in the tradition of the Randy Rhoads model and available in both custom and student variations.

THE KORG POLY-800 SYNTHESIZER

Unicord is now offering a special limited edition of the Korg Poly-800 Synthesizer with a reverse color keyboard. The Poly-800's new keyboard, with black keys and white flat and sharp, present an unusual and striking appearance. This ninepound wonder, fully professional and digitally programable, features both a layering mode for thicker sound and a stacking mode for monophonics for extra depth. The Poly-800, of course, has MIDI interface capabilities for link up with other synthesizers, (pictured below)

PIGNOSE AMP

What come around, goes around. Remember the Pignose amp? You know, that little thing that would fit in half your suitcase and was perfect to either plug in or run on batteries. Well, it's back. The legendary small-amp-to-end-all-amps is now available at a significantly reduced price. The reintroduced Pignose is original in every sense of the word, including the pignose on/off and volume switch. It's due to reappear in music stores sometime during the fall of '84, and the new owners maintain it will be the cheapest guitar amp available, a welcome statement these days. So if you've been lamenting at night about the one thing missing in your life— it's back.