Guitar Center Introduces Hi-Tech Custom Shop; Reveals Custom Music Equipment
Published: Friday - September 7, 2007
Words by Jay Casteel
Guitar Center, the nation's leading musical instrument retailer, announced recently the introduction of its exclusive Hi-Tech Custom Shop. A new model for the retail chain, the Hi-Tech Custom Shop gives musicians unique access to rare and specialized items designed to break the homogeny of mass-market gear.
Custom designed Akai MPC 4000s Photo: Guitar Center
The planned inventory for the Shop includes limited custom editions, exclusive product and artist-endorsed items. These will be conceived and designed by industry experts to celebrate the legacy of genre-defying pieces as well as appeal to musicians with a desire to own a piece of history.
These exclusive collaborations will be on display at select locations, but can be special ordered at any Guitar Center nationwide.
To launch the Hi-Tech Custom Shop, Guitar Center purchased the last eleven Akai MPC 4000s ever made and partnered with Bruce Forat, who has been at the forefront of music electronics for the last 25 years. Forat, who has personally customized drum machines and keyboards for top musicians including Prince, Dr. Dre, Jermaine Dupree and Madonna, customized the eleven to create one-of-a-kind MPC 4000s, of which only six remain for sale exclusively through the Guitar Center Hi-Tech Custom Shop.
"For the launch of Guitar Center's Hi-Tech Custom Shop, we wanted to offer something incredibly special," said Tony Baraz, assistant buyer for Guitar Center. "The Akai MPC is iconic in and of itself, but when customized by a monster talent like Bruce Forat it is a work of art."
"To make each of the remaining Akai MPC 4000s truly unique, we headed to the Caribbean for inspiration," says Forat. "There's something about the atmosphere and cool breeze that gets the creative juices going -- I count these Hi-Tech Custom Shop MPCs among my best work."
The Akai MPC series, used by influential musicians and producers such as Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pete Rock, has been instrumental in the development of hip-hop music and is widely regarded as the industry's gold standard.
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