MPN Shop upgrade - now a community music store!

[Dave Bryce]

A few years ago we built an MPN Shop - mainly because I wanted an MPN hat and t-shirt, and figured I might not be the only one. 😊  Then, in addition to the merch, we expanded the shop to add a few select Craig Anderton products. It’s also where we built a Donations page so folks could help support MPN.

 

However, given how COVID changed the way people shop for and buy stuff, it occurred to me that the MPN Shop could offer a community-centric alternative to conventional “etailers". We could actually carry a few selected lines that are relevant to the community, write up tips and tricks about the gear, have forum discussions about specific items, and be able to bundle useful freebies with some products. This would also help bring back some of the social, community vibe that’s often missing in music stores these days. What’s more, sufficient sales could conceivably help support MPN—and keep the site running smoothly—without our needing to ask for donations. 

 

So I made a few calls, and found that…Yes! We can, in fact, have our own “on-premises” music store.

 

Two things were key in making this possible: fortunately, quite a few companies can drop-ship products directly to their customers, so we don’t need a warehouse or shipping department (however, we can’t ship products outside of the continental US…apologies); and, thanks to the donations so many of you sent recently to MPN, we can afford to build out MPN Shop pages and make sure everything goes smoothly. 

 

I decided that the best way to approach this would probably be to open one line at a time. That way, we could more easily evaluate whether or not we like each one. Sooooo…

 

[drum roll, please]

 

I’m happy to announce that Warm Audio products are now available for purchase in the MPN Shop!  We picked Warm Audio because they have an excellent reputation for making all sorts of great-sounding useful products at affordable price points. Warranty and support are the same as what the company normally offers.

 

If we like how this goes, we can add more stuff - both hardware and software - in relatively short order.  And of course, since this is a community music store, you can have input into which lines you’d like to see us carry.

 

To be clear, MPN isn't looking to carry everything under the sun, nor all products made by every manufacturer. The goal is to curate an assortment of hardware and software lines specifically for this community.  Think of them as MPN’s “Pick Hits." 😎

 

I'd love to hear what y’all think of this idea…

 

dB

[Anderton]

I like the idea of integrating a community with a custom music store designed for that community. For example, I'd love to see MPN carry the Cherry Audio synths. Everybody here seems to love them - and hey, why not have your $$ contribute to making MPN better?

 

If particular products are a hit with the community, we should start a forum where people can exchange ideas and get peer-to-peer support - just consider how much info was in the GX-80 thread that you wouldn't get anywhere else.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Chances of bringing a Nord line in? Wouldn't mind buying my future Stage 4 88 from MPN. It would probably give you more than the SW affiliate link. Of course, with some of those brands, pricing comes into question as well since some places find ways to sell a product for a bit less (i.e. Musician's Friend having a 15% off sale can actually make a sizeable difference on something as pricey as a Stage 4), "free" shipping, etc.

 

In all seriousness, I wish the best of luck for this endeavor.

[ElmerJFudd]

Maybe Cloud, Casio and any others you already have a relationship with would consider allowing you to be an online dealer.  

[Dave Bryce]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:30 PM, ElmerJFudd said:

Maybe Cloud, Casio and any others you already have a relationship with would consider allowing you to be an online dealer.  

 

Cloud is a no-brainer….that’ll definitely be showing up. ☺️

 

dB

 

[RABid]

So many products out there. It is no wonder that places like Sweetwater have huge warehouses. The trick will be keeping it manageable, and maybe finding companies that drop ship. At any rate, you are going to have to come up with quick guidelines on returns. Take a close look at software sales and delivery systems. No stock. No shipping. No returns. 

[Dave Bryce]

On 7/11/2023 at 1:21 PM, RABid said:

The trick will be keeping it manageable

 

Agreed. Hence the one line at a time strategy.

 

 

On 7/11/2023 at 1:21 PM, RABid said:

and maybe finding companies that drop ship.

 

I’ve managed to find a fairly decent amount of hardware manufacturers.  Obviously, the software side is not an issue here. 😏

 

 

 

On 7/11/2023 at 1:21 PM, RABid said:

At any rate, you are going to have to come up with quick guidelines on returns.

 

It’s fairly simple: Only defective items can be returned. Return requests must be made within 30 days of receipt of the product to be returned.

 

 

On 7/11/2023 at 1:21 PM, RABid said:

Take a close look at software sales and delivery systems. No stock. No shipping. No returns. 

 

Oh, I know it.  I believe we’ll be able to offer a pretty decent selection of software. 😎

 

dB

[Anderton]

6 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

I believe we’ll be able to offer a fairly decent selection of software.  😎

 

If MPN can carry Helix Native, I can contribute some cool, free presets to bundle with the software. That would be another good reason to buy from MPN instead of somewhere else.

[Mark Zeger]

Bravo, dB!

[Dave Bryce]

Today's add: a very cool line with lots of useful products - Ik Multimedia!

 

I own an Uno Desktop synth, but my big fave of theirs is ther iLoud series.  I have two pairs of the Micro Monitors and one set of the MTMs. 

 

QUICK NOTE: only Ik's hardware is currently posted.  Some of the software is coming shortly. 

 

dB

 

[Dave Bryce]

Iconic pedal manufacturer Morley has been added to the MPN Store. 🥳

 

I own their ABC Pro, which is the heart of my guitar pedal board, and the fabulous Power Wah Volume, which look awesome in yellow. 😁

 

I don’t just use them on my guitars.  They’re great on keyboards as well.

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

Let's add another one!  Hey, it's Friday, right?

 

Cloud Microphones has been added to the MPN Store.  No real surprise there... 😁

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

TASCAM in da house!

 

I love these guys.  They’ve been providing all sorts of easy to use, affordable audio capture and delivery solutions for as long as I can remember.  My earliest multitrack was a TEAC 3340S reel-to reel, and over the years I’ve owned Portastudios, TASCAM consoles (my 320B was my baby in the ‘80s) and even had an MS16 1” sixteen track reel-to-reel at one point in the early ‘90s.

 

These days, they still do PortaStudios, but now their consoles are more affordable and have built-in multitrack recorders with onboard effects.  They also offer a nice selection of hand-held capture devices, audio interfaces of all shapes and sizes as well as a few podcast and commercial/industrial audio solutions.

 

Coming later this week - a way cool company with not only one of the most sought after line of effects pedals on the market today,  but also a few kick-ass Eurorack modules! 🤔😊

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

21 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

Coming later this week - a way cool company with not only one of the most sought after line of effects pedals on the market today,  but also a few kick-ass Eurorack modules! 🤔😊

 

I’m especially proud to announce that we’ve added Strymon to the MPN Shop.  🥳

 

As some of you may know, Strymon is very choosy about whom they open up as a dealer…so I’m really proud to be able to offer their products. I’ve known a bunch of the Strymon folks for decades, so they were kind enough to let MPN carry the line; plus, they’re a ten minute drive away from me, so I can go pick up whatever I need from them directly.

 

I have a bunch of their stuff - Blue Sky is the main reverb for my PA, Iridium is a huge part of my guitar rig, and of all the phaser pedals that I own the Zelzah is the one that I use the most - it lives on my pedal board.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with their stuff, I encourage you to check it out. 😎

 

dB

 

 

[nursers]

This is great stuff

[Dave Bryce]

Another new line for the MPN Store - Presonus is now live.

 

I didn’t add everything they offer…yet.  

 

First of all, none of the software is up there because we’re still not quite quite set up for that at the moment..but I also avoided some of the bigger heavier PA stuff for now; however, if any of y’all want anything from them that you don’t see, please let me know and I’ll try to get it up there for you.

 

dB

[ksoper]

This is so cool. Thanks, dB. 

[ElmerJFudd]

On 7/18/2023 at 8:36 AM, Dave Bryce said:

 

I’m especially proud to announce that we’ve added Strymon to the MPN Shop.  🥳

 

As some of you may know, Strymon is very choosy about whom they open up as a dealer…so I’m really proud to be able to offer their products. I’ve known a bunch of the Strymon folks for decades, so they were kind enough to let MPN carry the line; plus, they’re a ten minute drive away from me, so I can go pick up whatever I need from them directly.

 

I have a bunch of their stuff - Blue Sky is the main reverb for my PA, Iridium is a huge part of my guitar rig, and of all the phaser pedals that I own the Zelzah is the one that I use the most - it lives on my pedal board.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with their stuff, I encourage you to check it out. 😎

 

dB

 

 

Just saw Strymon release the Brig dBucket Delay. 

[Dave Bryce]

5 minutes ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Just saw Strymon release the Brig dBucket Delay. 

They have some other fun stuff coming soon.  ☺️

 

dB

[nursers]

10 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

Another new line for the MPN Store - Presonus is now live.

 

I didn’t add everything they offer…yet.  

 

First of all, none of the software is up there because we’re still not quite quite set up for that at the moment..but I also avoided some of the bigger heavier PA stuff for now; however, if any of y’all want anything from them that you don’t see, please let me know and I’ll try to get it up there for you.

 

dB

Love the PreSonus stuff, their audio interfaces are great!

[Dave Bryce]

We’re adding a bunch of products from the Gator Cases folks.  Useful stuff to have in the shop, I’d say. 

 

dB

[zephonic]

dB, maybe nitpicking, but it would good if we could display more than 10 products per page in the shop? Just have an option for "show all" or something like this:

 

[Dave Bryce]

4 hours ago, zephonic said:

dB, maybe nitpicking, but it would good if we could display more than 10 products per page in the shop?

 

The most I can set each page for is 5 products per row, 8 rows. That looks like too much to me, so I set it to 5 x 5, which I agree looks better.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

4 hours ago, zephonic said:

Just have an option for "show all" or something like this:

 

 

The option to do that/allow users to choose the view does not seem to exist.

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

Okay, so I have eleven hardware lines up there at the moment.  Now I want to turn my attention to software.

 

I've already gotten a green light from the nice folks at Cherry Audio and GForce, and am happily building those pages now.  Would love to hear if you guys have any suggestions/faves you'd like to see us offer here?  

 

I can't promise I can get them, but I can ask... ☺️

 

dB

[ElmerJFudd]

uHe seems like an open minded fellow.
 

Maybe TAL 

 

soundtoys 

 

audiothing

 

orangetree 

 

scuffham

 

kuassa 

neural DSP

 

 

I’m supportive of most developers that haven’t been snatched up by private equity, raised prices and stopped innovating.  😉

[Dave Bryce]

I’ll see if I can get the uHe stuff.  I’ve already got a request in for SoundToys.  Will check on the others.

 

The Moog folks just gave us access to the Moogerfooger plug-ins. 😎

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

So, I'm happy to say that one of the lines that inspired the expansion of the MPN Shop is now live:  Cherry Audio. 

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the line or those who have not had a chance to hear/try their products, you're in for a treat.  These folks have an awesome selection of software instruments at extremely attractive price points...and they sound ridiculously good as well as providing interfaces that (I think) are way easy to navigate.

 

Craig Anderton, Mike Metlay, Jerry Kovarsky and I did a Team Test in Gearlab on their flagship product, the GX-80, with a few members of Cherry Audio's staff chiming in with comments and clarifications.  GX-80 is a hybrid born of folding two of Yamaha's monster synths (CS80 and GX1) into one extraordinarily powerful soft synth.  To call this bad boy drool worthy is an understatement. 

 

dB

[Anderton]

On 7/27/2023 at 3:13 PM, Dave Bryce said:

Would love to hear if you guys have any suggestions/faves you'd like to see us offer here?  

 

Music Hack Master Plan!

 

Also, Blue Cat Audio makes great plugins that are totally underrated. As just one example, any rock guitarist who doesn't know about AcouFiend is missing out. It works with keyboards, too.

[nursers]

6 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

So, I'm happy to say that one of the lines that inspired the expansion of the MPN Shop is now live:  Cherry Audio. 

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the line or those who have not had a chance to hear/try their products, you're in for a treat.  These folks have an awesome selection of software instruments at extremely attractive price points...and they sound ridiculously good as well as providing interfaces that (I think) are way easy to navigate.

 

Craig Anderton, Mike Metlay, Jerry Kovarsky and I did a Team Test in Gearlab on their flagship product, the GX-80, with a few members of Cherry Audio's staff chiming in with comments and clarifications.  GX-80 is a hybrid born of folding two of Yamaha's monster synths (CS80 and GX1) into one extraordinarily powerful soft synth.  To call this bad boy drool worthy is an understatement. 

 

dB

This is so cool - I already have the GX-80, but will now buy the Dreamsynth    

[Dave Bryce]

We are way psyched to add GForce Software to the MPN Shop!

 

Their fabulous M-Tron Pro IV is currently undergoing interactive review by our own Dr. Mike Metlay in the MPN Gearlab.  Members of the GForce team are keeping an eye on the review, so if you’ve got any questions about this product for Dr. Mike or the G-Force folks, please do join us over there.

 

dB