None more black

Have the Music Technologists at The Laboratory discovered the answer to Spinal Tap's age old question: How much blacker could this be?

Perhaps.

Take, for example, the Blackheart Little Giant amp which recently appeared on our showroom floor. This is a small black box, equipped with Class A, all-tube circuitry for allowing maximum frequency response and coolness. It is an elegant thing of simple design and straightforward focus. The result is a lush, warm tone, with plenty of punch and clarity. No circuit beyond the essential requirements of rich tube amplification is present to trip up your guitar mojo as it erupts from the Blackheart's 12" Eminence Blackheart speaker.

And what better tool for driving the Blackheart Little Giant than the Schecter Blackjack ATX C1? With its black chrome hardware, ebony fingerboard, and black binding, this is a striking guitar. Tonally it is just enormous, with the included active Seymour Duncan Black Out pickups. Black black black. And the body? Gloss aged white. You gotta have a little contrast, you know.

If you just read all of that and said "what the heck are you talking about??" then this may be a sign you are a drummer. Good news! Perched upon our floor in the drum room (yes we have a room now!) is a five piece monstrosity in the form of a Yamaha Absolute Birch Nouveau kit. Birch produces a dark, rich tone, and packs plenty of volume and presence. Yamaha's Absolute Birch shells are resonant and dynamic, projecting body and presence at any volume threshold. Innovative nouveau lugs facilitate fast head changes, and present minimal contact to the shell, so the percussive energy can get the shells moving as much as possible. The exquisite lacquer finish is Black sparkle.

The blackness of it all is somewhat unsettling to the faint of heart, some of whom have demanded that we reconsider packing a music shop with so much dark energy. No doubt the universe is in no danger of collapsing in on itself as a result. But if so, then that is the price we pay for our art. Either way, playing music is a fine pastime until the cosmological constant has been established in light of all this.

Rock on, in blackness and rich tonality.

www.laboratorymusic.com

Laboratory Jounal Volume 3

Welcome to the third installation of The Laboratory's critically acclaimed newsletter! On to the topics:

Web Page
Our web page is continuing to evolve and improve. One of the latest features we're testing is a chat function, which allows shoppers to chat real time. In addition, we're still hacking away at the massive pile of gear which exists in the store but hasn't yet made it to the web site. Day by day there are more and more items displayed and available at www.laboratorymusic.com, as well as featured product reviews, video content, and links to our network of area musicians.

Michael Kelly Hybrid
The Michael Kelly Hybrid is an electric guitar with a piezo acoustic pickup. You can send each pickup's signal to two different amps using a stereo output cable, or send both pickup signals to the same amp with a mono cable. Either way, the guitar has on board blending control to adjust the ratio of acoustic to electric. With its slender, hollow body, and speedy neck, this is a player's electric which can deliver acoustic sound. None of this is news - they've been around for a while now. The news is that we've got two of the last Hybrids made. The model for $499 has been discontinued, so when these are gone, they're gone. Come check out what a versatile and playable guitar this is for the money. Get 'em while they last. Operators are standing by. Call now and SAVE.

Peavey
Come check out the Peavey amps! We've recently stocked up on Peavey's rugged and sonorous amps for guitar, bass, and keyboard. We've got plenty. We even have a JSX Mini Colossal combo signed by Joe Satriani himself. This class A, all tube amplifier is a tremendous recording or practice amp, with plenty of tube tone. It's also a collector piece, bearing the signature of the guitar icon for whom it was designed. This will be someone's treasured collector piece. Maybe that somebody is you...

Foraging Ban
Sadly, we have had to cease providing nuts and berries for foraging, as area squirrels have begun aggressively pursuing recognition as part of our customer base. While we think their tricky antics are hilarious, and their puffy cheeks and tails are just adorable, we can not service squirrel "shoppers" and still maintain the high level of quality in our selection of instruments and amplifiers. It is just a matter of time before the squirrel's fondness for dashing at oncoming wheels clashes unpleasantly with somebody rolling a PA speaker across the floor on a hand truck. The newly enacted ban's adjunct to prohibit gnawing applies also to our two-legged visitors, so please keep a close watch on those mandibular urges and teething toddlers.In conclusion, here is wishing you a happy and musically inspiring spring!

www.laboratorymusic.com

The Continuum

Today is the day after February 28th. Normally, we would be welcoming the lion's roar of March's early days. And yet... no March.

Similarly, there is a rather large hole in the wall of The Laboratory.

Where there was once March, now there is more February. Where there was a wall... now there is more Laboratory.

I have some concern as to the whereabouts of March, but I am certain that it has something to do with bigger Laboratorys needing bigger months.

I have attached some low quality camera phone shots of the progress. It is no accident that the gorgeously dynamic Orange Rockerverb 100 is front and center in the photos. You should consider coming by to give it a test-rock. Just watch out for wormholes in the space-time continuum. That's what we'll be doing.

The intrepid Larry toils at his craft

The dust shield down, you can now see the existing showroom from the new expanded territory

Open and Filling Up

Last Saturday, the 4th, we opened our doors to the public for the first time. Building the Laboratory has been a sometimes difficult and always challenging undertaking, and it was greatly rewarding to finally let customers browse the store.

And that is by no means the end of building. This week, dozens more Schecter guitars arrived, along with a huge selection of fine straps and cases from Levy's.

So, the lights are on, the door is open, and we're happy to say we're in business. But this is only the beginning!

www.laboratorymusic.com