Re: RE: JamMan Rumors

[kflint@annihilist.com (Kim Flint)]

>>In a message dated 1/3/97 12:30:58 PM, you wrote:
>>
>><<Yes, it is true that we are no longer making the JAMMAN.  There may be
>>limited availability at some stores.  We do not currently have any plans 
>to
>>release another dedicated looper.
>>
>>Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything 
>that I
>>can do for you.
>>
>>Best regards,
>>
>>Greg Hogan
>>Lexicon Customer Service
>>Phone 617-280-0372
>>FAX 617-280-0499>>
>>
>Is this really the wisest move on the part of Lexicon? I've had 4 friends
>in my area, not exactly a hotbed of musical activity, pick up JamBoys or
>Echoplexi in the last 6 months. I also see a lot more interest on the net
>and in the press for looping devices, and not just on this list. And I see
>a lot more musicians using them onstage in the last year. Maybe loopers 
>are
>devices that needed some time for the public to really get interested in
>them, and that's starting to happen now. Is there any possibility on
>Lexicon re-thinking this decision?
>

Modern corporate capitalism at work. If a product's sales are not
increasing and showing healthy profits this quarter, the stockholders get a
bit irritated, and the execs ax the product to make way for something
capable of generating a profit by next thursday.

Works great for the computer industry, totally wrong for musical 
instruments.

Gibson gave me a great perspective on this. While I was working there,
Gibson celebrated its 100 year anniversary. That company was creating
legendary products long before companies like Lexicon even existed, or for
that matter, before their founders were even born. At Gibson, it was always
understood that some things just take time to develop. And at that company,
there were plenty of examples that waiting can pay off big. Less than 2000
Les Pauls were sold in the first year of production. Now, decades later,
they sell far more than that each month. What if companies like Gibson and
Fender had bailed on electric guitars after the first few years when market
acceptance was slow?

Musical instruments are a different thing than modems and toothpaste,
marketing-wise. They're slow to catch on, but once they do they hang around
for a long time. You know its gonna happen when you see that "emotional
response" from the first adventurous souls who try it out. Those are the
ones who go off and make passionate music that gets the rest of the world
interested. It can take a while, and the bean counters usually fail to get
the process.

Don't worry, though. There are plenty in the business who understand this.
If Lexicon is giving up, its only a matter of time before someone else sees
the opportunity and jumps on it. We just have to show them why they should!

kim

______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
http://www.annihilist.com/  | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com