MUMBAI: The ongoing Music Expo is a hub of activity- executives, college students, musicians, retailers and distributors- mingle as machines spurt out clouds of smoke, neon green lasers pierce through it and thumping EDM music vie for attention with classic rock riffs.
At a corner, in what looks very much like a make-shift stall, throngs of long haired rock music fans in black T-shirts are lining up to try their hand playing an iconic instrument- the Gibson Les Paul. For those in tune with rock music, the Gibson Les Paul stands on top of the six-string pecking order with the Fender Stratocaster. Legends who have wielded the guitar include Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, the late Rhandy Roades (Qiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne) ex-Guns N’ Roses’ Slash who all play the Les Paul and AC/ DC’s Angus Young who has immortalized the SG model.
The instrument does not come cheap- with the starting price for a Standard set at Rs 50,000 and a Sunburst model starting at around Rs 64,000. The top end models can go upto Rs 1.7 lakhs. What sets the Les Paul apart from its cheaper competitors is a warm tone, a solid finish and the ‘Made in USA’ tag that still denotes quality in the rock world.
Gibson, which entered the Indian market a decade ago with their economy brand- ‘Epiphone’- has also re-launched the Les Paul series for the Indian market through Furtados.
“Anyone who plays a guitar will have an interest in a Gibson. We have a wide variety of musicians from young players to jazz and fusion artists who play a Gibson. Among rock too, guitarists can chose between the different models from the ‘335’, the Les Paul to the ‘Flying V’,” Gibson product specialist Nick Aslin told Radioandmusic.com.
Gibson has taken up a number of initiatives to build its brand in the market. It has teamed up with a number of Indian musicians to endorse their guitars and is active in the live music circuit like the NH7 where they regularly have a stall for rock aficionados.
At the risk of alienating rock fans, they also have a full-time entertainment relations person whose job is to insert Gibson guitars in Bollywood movies.
“We won’t alienate rock fans because Gibson is not just a rock n’ roll brand. The brand was there before rock n’ roll. In the UK market (for instance), we associate ourselves with sports like surfboarding and win fans,” Aslin clarifies.
India, with its growing number of musicians and fans, is an important market for the company and it is confident it has the range to meet the demands of the musician here- from guitars for beginners to models for collectors.
“Over the years I have seen people’s knowledge of music and instruments grow. The first time, people didn’t understand about guitars. Now they are very technical and informed,” Aslin points out as he hands over a gleaming Gold top Les Paul for a fan to test it.
A couple of aisle away, in a corner is a neat stall that displays a range of Indian Classical musical instruments. The crowds too is different from the Gibson stall; black T-shirts are absent and crisp kurta- pajama and shirts with formal pants are de rigueur here. Distorted riffs fade away to plinking of strings and nasal sounds of the harmonium.
A new comer to the expo, but an established name in the music trade, the Haribhai Vishvanath Musical Industries (HVMI) is participating at the expo for the first time thanks the invitation of the organizers, PALM Expo, who introduced an “Indian Acoustic Instrument Village” to promote musical instruments to both local and international distributors.
The instruments are more ‘exotic’ and go well with the serene (amidst the faint background noise) environment. There are harmoniums- a standard one and a smaller version, ‘Swarnmandal’ (a derivative of the harp) and ‘Shahibaja’ among others.
HVMI partner, Ashish Madhukar Diwane speaks with genteel formality as compared to Aslin’s easy friendliness.
“Yes, the Indian instruments have been provided a quieter place (to exhibit our products) and this is the first time we are participating. We are a 90-year old Mumbai based company who manufactures Indian classical instruments,”says Diwane.
HVMI manufactures around 15-20 instruments within Mumbai and sells them through its showroom in Worli and through other musical instrument (MI) dealers. Over the decades, it has maintained its quality and has survived the cyclical tastes of its customers with philosophical calmness. Its range of products is priced between Rs 10,000- Rs 25,000.
“Tastes in music go through a cycle and the taste for Indian classical music keeps coming back. We are seeing interest in Indian classical music among the young. We also innovate on our products designs. For example we have displayed a small harmonium with fewer keys for touring musicians. We are not worried about fads and fashion.”