This is for you, our customers, to let us know what you think and share with those that read this blog, what you want to see here, how you like what we have or what we do or don’t do that we should.
This blog is also for our staff to contribute tips and tidbits of helpful information and to let you know about new exciting products and maybe even some old exciting products.
Come back and visit us often and add to the excitement.
Please feel free to contribute here.
Thank you for your time and trouble and most of all for being our customer.
All of us at BAM
Bellevue American Music's Weblog 
Nice to be a part of this “Intra-web” series of tubes. I will do my best to post new Guitar arrivals. Many times, guitars that we receive will sell before they’ve gotten on the floor-I know that I hate when guitars sell before I get a chance to see them…
At the moment, one of my latest arrivals is a Jimmy Page Double-Neck out of the Gibson Custom Shop. One of only 250, quite a sight if you’ve never seen one-may not get a chance to see another. Stop by on your lunch hour, or your day off, or during work (I won’t tell) and always make sure to ask about what’s new and exciting. We’ll see you then…
This site is a great idea. I drop in to the store from time to time, but being electronically connected will now allow me to browse and dream daily. Keep those cool “new items’ coming, and i’ll work on my wife to see which ones i can convince her i need. It is so nice to have a place to come and shop and/or visit where the feeling is more like friends than store clerks. Thanks for making music so easy to enjoy and obtain….
See you all soon….
Gee,
I see that the Windsor Studio is shipping. Do you have one(some) in-store at this time?
Also, will BAM be selling the new Epiphone Prophecy series guitars? More specific the SG Prophecy EX.
Thanx.
-M
B.A.M. has grown so much over the last 5 years. It was a pleasant surprise to visit there recently and see the BEAUTIFUL new guitar room. Nice job, Guys! (ps – nice wordpress, too…)
Thanks sooo much for everything guys. I bought a bunch of strings from you guys andyou sold me my first tube amp. The peavey classic 30. I thank you soo much for bringing me into the tube world.You guys are the best 🙂
This is a great music store – I’ve seen you guys for rentals for my son’s DJ business, and have bought alot of cables, mixers, lights, and assorted other items. Your service is excellent, with prices to match. Love the guitar section – just brought a little parlor guitar in, and it was repaired quickly! Thanks for everything!
I’ve known Reese since…..let’s see…..first there was dirt……then there were rocks…you get the idea. Reese is my Man. Always has been, always will be. The “shows” that he is putting on speak to his sincerity and dedication to the well-being of ALL Seattle area musicians. I am grateful that he and his crew go to so much trouble to provide all of us with insightful, musical experiences that otherwise would not happen. AND IT’S FREE.
Props to Jim and John for patiently assisting me with all my stupid questions over many, many years. Especially Jim. You’re a Prince!
What an outstanding evening! Thank you, so much, for hosting Don Alder and Yamaha Guitars tonight. You are the best! Jeff & Karen Schaub
Wow, that was quite an evening. It was inspiring to hear Don. Thank you Reese and BAM for hosting the evening. Thank you Don for your commitment to guitar players and lovers. Thank you Yamaha for your generosity in sponsoring Don and for giving away a guitar. It was an unexpected wonderful night.
At time I yearn for the old days when you guys would let me take a guitar home on a smile and a promise to pay (which I always did), I do like the expansion and some brands I have never heard of. As far as the Yamaha demonstration went, I am glad they had the music do the talking, for all the special patented this and that on guitars, I got two things out of it”
1. Yamaha acoustic guitar can speak for themselves and don’t need madison ave
2. Jazz Alley is not the only venue for steller intimate music.
Don performance makes me want to play and for all his virtuosity on guitar,
the music wasn’t bad either.
I did promise God that if I he wanted me to give up all my wicked ways to let me win that free Yamaha guitar.
I guess we know the answer to that.
Thanks for everything, see you soon
I sure did have fun with the Gibson Namm Trailer. As a lefty it was my first opportunity to try out some of the gibson models besides a Les Paul.
I have tried out in the past lefty Gibson and Epiphone Les Pauls and I can appreciate that they are fine guitars, they never felt right to me. Not a fault of construction, but I have very large hands and my playing style didn’t seem to agree so I assumed that I was a fender tele player. Then I got to play the Elliot Eastman SG, it was like heaven to me. Now I will be honest, I am not going to buy a $7K guitar, but I might buy an SG, Gibson is making them in the sub $2k range and it was everything in feel that I love and very different from my Fenders. It has opened my eyes to the possibility of having my first little Gibson. Of course this causes the problem of which existing guitar has to go to one of my kids house since I overran my place long ago, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Thanks for the Gibson event and if I win those tickets to Return to Forever, I am prepared to give up all my wicked ways.
Thanks again Reece and Yamaha for the great event today, It was great to meet a variety of the Yamaha folks. I have had some long festering questions about some of my Yamaha gear answered and had an in depth explanation of the Yamaha PSR series keyboards and personal demonstration. To say that I am knocked out is an understatement, this is no BS I have determined to buy from BAM a Yamaha keyboard even if it costs a bit extra compared to online.
Today your price was hundreds of dollars less than what what I could get it online, in addition Yamaha rep gave me resources to learn how to use the thing to full advantage. I have a prejudice that any keyboard that has speakers installed into the case is not professional despite the convienance of not having to hook up to my main amps for monitoring, I am stunned by the depth and realism I heard today, definitely better than the beat box of old. The free refreshments were nice too, fresh coffee and donuts. Thanks for the free pen, I am going to use it to write that check for next keyboard.
Great Job, looking forward to Doyle Dykes
As an adendum, I would never in a million years think that an arranger keyboard would be something I am interested in and on top of all the free this and that, I am finding this a great place to meet chicks.
Maybe I will find a few wicked ways.
While my pursuit of musical virtuosity has not flagged through the decades that I’ve played, times have dictated whether others had a hand in fanning my passionate predation for more…more…and your organization, whether I have been there or not, has given me concrete information over the internet much better than even some of the local experts. For your service orientation and follow-up, I owe you folks and cannot wait to leave the North Beach on a trek to search out your store and see what I can come away with.
Just an unsolicited heads-up on several great products recently acquired (in no significant order, brief credentials follow) from BAM:
1. Composite Acoustics (Performer model) carbon fiber guitar: The BEST acoustic guitar I’ve ever played at any price ($500 to >$5000), regardless of what it’s made of. Table your wood-ite ways and give them a try.
2. Peavey ReValver Mk III amp plug-in software: the most amp-like digital technology I’ve tried, and I’ve been playing digital products for the last 7 years, analog for the previous 40 years.
3. Fender Custom Shop Strat Pro: the best production Strat I’ve played in 47 years.
4. Johnny’s Jack DeVol strings are still undefeated. I may have purchased a lifetime supply. At my age, though, that’s not very many!
I”ve been playing for (surprise) 47 years, 20 years full time, the rest wishing I still was full time. I drive 300 miles just to buy from these guys, so you should too. I’ve been a customer ever since they opened and before (if you count San Francisco and Seattle’s 1st Avenue).
If gas prices keep coming down, or opportunities knock maybe I’ll get to come in more often.
Why BAM is the best music store:
They don’t let my tantrums bother them. They provide therapy when I come in crying about my tone.
They have the high-end gear one cannot find at other stores. They know what they are talking about. They know the industry people in order to find and acquire the things I need. They are not afraid to contact slow-to-respond OEMs in order to get the ball rolling. They went to NAMM and brought back a specific one-of-a-kind item for me.
They have given me so many good deals; I don’t know how they’ve been able to stay in business (glad they have, though).
“They” include Gee, Jim, Jonny, and of course Reese. They are some of my favorite people.
Gee told me he didn’t like Cloverfield however. So, well, he’s a dumbass.
Sincerely,
Mike Sales
It would be great if your website had a few tabs instead of being one long scroll. I came to the site to find your hours of operation, and just kept scrolling and scrolling. It was not a pleasant experience.
Hopefully, William, you read the blog area directed at the web site and it’s design. All the reasoning is contained therein and the new site might even be up in 2011
I turned 38 this year and can still remember buying my first guitar, in the same store, at the age of 14!
Reese, Jim, Johnny and now Gee keep me returning.
To me, these guys are friends. They have never sold me something just to make a sale.
They have always gone above and beyond to make me a happy camper!
The best guys and the best service, hands down.
It gets NO BETTER
Jay
So events are on us, Ovation in here Friday the 5th Nov and Propellerhead on Monday the 8th. Come on down and have some fun. Go our the web site for more details on these and a newly added TC Electronics event featuring their factory product specialist on Nov 11 at 5PM
Thanks for including me on the mailing list. Been to a couple of taylor road shows there. Like the selection and service. Got 3 taylors, looking for another for Christmas. Mabe a Martin , like the EC model without the fancy stuff 00028? Need the wide style neck like that model w/ short scale….
This is Nick with Bellevue American Music. Just got a sweet new light in from American DJ! The Revo 4 from American DJ is THE Best moon flower effect I have seen in a long time. Check out the link below for a sneak peak or come on in for an in-person demo.
ATTN: DJ’s
This is Joel at BAM letting all DJ’s with an NDX800 from Numark know about how to get your FREE copy of Native Instruments TRAKTOR LE! Traktor LE now comes free with purchase of Numark’s amazing DJ controller, the NDX800!!! The NDX800 features touch-sensitive platters, full MIDI software control for your favorite DJ software (now including NI Traktor LE), and the ability to perform using virtually any kind of media including CD’s, MP3 CDs and USB flash drives! Check out this link on how to download your FREE copy of NI Traktor LE: http://www.numark.com/tr
Check out the NDX800 in action:
Too Cool guys! Glad to see the blog. I wanted to let everyone know to check out the Michael Kelly Mandolins that just showed up at BAM. They are highly underated mandolins. They are made with ALL SOLID WOODS, feature solid cast tail pieces which really add to the attack and tambre of the sound. Grover tuners and radius fingerboards are standard too. If you know someone looking for a higher end sounding mandolin but wanting to stay inside of a budget make sure to sample these.
Hello,
My name is Phil and I run the Keyboard & Recording departments at BAM.
I’ve got some great projects in store for you within the upcoming months.
Currently, we’re working on a series of informative video clips for your viewing pleasure. 🙂
Here’s a little clip showing the StudioLogic “NumaOrgan”
Click below:
Hey Folks,
It’s Geoffrey Wilson. I give music lessons at Bellevue American Music in Bellevue Washington. I teach in a very nice atmosphere with friendly, knowledgeable staff around that are always eager to help. There is also an extensive catalog of music books here to choose from.
If you are interested in guitar lessons I teach beginning to advanced classical, flamenco, modern acoustic, jazz, rock, blues, folk, country and other finger picking and flat picking styles. I also give bass lessons, music theory lessons, and music composition lessons. The rates are $37.50 an hour/lesson and I have both weekly and biweekly spots available. If you are interested hit me up.
If you would like more info on me go to: http://www.bellevueamericanmusic.com/g_wilson.htm.
Cheers
This is Nick with Bellevue American Music. I just got done shooting a new lighting video. Here is a sneak peak of some of the lights we carry in our store.
We just received our first shipment of the new Yamaha Guitalele and it is way cool. It is a 6 string nylon stringed instrument about the size of a concert ukulele tuned A-A. This is ideal for those of us who have thought about getting a uke but don’t want to learn a new instrument and it is also a great introduction to guitar for kids. Because of the small size and Yamaha quality the Guitalele also makes a great travel guitar. This is a must have, so the next time you are in the area make sure you check one of these out
More new toys to let you know about. We just received our first shipment of the all new TC Electronic Compact guitar pedals. They have a starting price of $129 and sound fantastic. My favorite so far is the Vortex Flanger which sounds great, from a little bit of shimmer to fat huge swell to a way cool pulse it covers all your flanger needs. Johnny has taken a Flash Back Delay (just $169) home and put it through the paces and say it’s the real deal and might end up on his pedal board. We also have the Corona Chorus and Shaker Vibrato and hope to see some of the new overdrive, distortion and reverb pedals soon. If singing is your thing we also have the new TC Voice Tone Single’s as well. These are a way cool single vocal effect in a DI box with a foot switch. There are hard tune & correction , voice doubling and detune, reverb and tone and dynamics pedals. And don’t forget the Voice Live Touch as I think this is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time, it adds harmony, verb, pitch correction a looper and more.
Can’t believe how sweet the new Bogner Ecstacy looks with the cane grill and designed vinyl! It’s always been one of the best sounding guitar amps, now you gotta SEE how sweet this thing SOUNDS!?!
Moody guitar straps are back at BAM. Moody straps are made from exquisite Italian leather and made with the player and instrument in mind. These straps are incredibly soft and comfortable. Don’t hang your beloved guitar or bass on an inferior strap, it’s what holds the instrument that makes your music! If you haven’t seen these yet you need to come to BAM and check them out for yourself.
Just got in the new Peavey Triflex II sound system and it sounds AMAZING!
It has 1000 watts of POWER! It comes with two 10 inch satellite speakers (250 watts per side) and a 15 inch subwoofer (500 watts).
Come in and check it out!
The Triflex II is priced to move and will sell quick.
New acoustics have arrived at BAM recently. Taylor 914CE and a PS14CE Presentation. along with 2 fantastic PRS acoustics, new arrivals a Tonare Grand and a hand made Tony McManus Angelus are 4 guitars to behold. Nowhere can you see these othern than BAM. Come on down and strum a taste.
I am excited to say we have 2 more lighting videos up on youtube! They may not have the greatest camera work, but we made it work! The first one is more for the church guy looking to change the dynamic of their churches music.
The second video is more for the rock show! It’s got strobe lights as well as lasers and standard stage lighting!
Check them out and let me know what you think!
We just got in two new Duesenberg starplayer tv’s. Come in and check them out!
Come check out our selection of Roland V-Drum sets. Whether you’re looking to do some top quality studio work, or just wanting a quality kit to learn on at home, Roland’s V-Drum series has a kit that’ll meet your expectations and probably exceed them.
These V-Drum kits feature Roland’s renown sound modeling technology and their patented kevlar mesh multi-trigger pads -even the cymbals have zone-specific response. Each set has dozens of well thought-out preset kits as well as a ton of user-programmable options.
APC40 AS A 64 STEP SEQUENCER…
Hi my name is Jason and I’m one of the newest members of the Bellevue American Music Team!
As you may or may not have heard we’re now carrying the Akai APC40 Ableton Live controller right here at BAM. Right out the box it’s an excellent piece for controlling Ableton either on stage or in the studio. However with a little tweaking you can make it do some really cool things that it is not initially set up to do. One of the things I find the most useful is this awesome 64 step sequencer written by Hanz Petrov.
Here is the link to his blog,
(http://remotescripts.blogspot.com/p/apc-64-40.html)
There you’ll find the midi remote script file, plus instructions on how to install and use it. Be sure to read and follow the directions carefully to avoid any frustration!
Hope this was useful for some of you. I will be posting tips, tricks, reviews personal opinions or just anything I find interesting in the world of PA and recording, so be sure to check back often! Thanks!
Jason @ BAM
jason@bellevueamericanmusic.com
THE DUAL 18 INCH SUBS HAVE RETURNED!!!
Peavey’s SP218 subwoofer hits hard with a peak power rating of 4,800 watts! The SP218 has Two 18 inch Pro Rider Black Widow woofers with Kevlar carbon fiber cones, field-replaceable baskets, flat-wound 4 inch voice coils, and cast-frame baskets. These Subs sound amazing! Come on in and check them out along with our other speakers.
Nick @ Bellevue American Music
nick@bellevueamericanmusic.com
Hello my Friends!
Well there’s a lot happening down here at Bellevue American Music. If you love the warm and silky sound of analog sythesis, you owe it to yourself to come down and play the Arturia keyboards and plug-ins.
We have the Arturia keyboard controllers in stock and they offer a lot of bang for your buck!
I have personally used the Arturia Analog Factory on several studio sessions and I’ve been totally thrilled with the results.
The keyboard controllers come in three flavors.
First, there’s the Analog Experience 25 “The Player”
A 25 key controller with velocity and 3500 incredible sounds.
Next, there’s the Analog Experience 32 “The Factory”
This is a 32 key controller with velocity and channel aftertouch.
The Factory also comes with 3500 synth sounds.
Finally, there’s the Analog Experience 49 “The Laboratory”
This package comes with 3500 synth sounds and includes 200 scenes.
The 200 Scenes are organized by musical genres and offer complete live sets, including : loops assignation to pads, splitting and layering of two synths and advanced arpeggiation melodies.
So come on by and see me for an Analog Experience
Phil “Lil’Spice” Curry
The TC Electronic Flashback digital delay pedal is back in stock here at BAM! This pedal is not your standard three-knob stomp box. It has an awesome array of controls, and it’s crammed with features. The Flashback has ten delay types, three independently adjustable delay modes, and dozens of tweakable aspects you can layer on top of those. This pedal has been a HOT item since its release. Stop by and play one while we still have some left!
terrific info on a great new item
Check out what’s new in the software department at Bellevue American Music
We just received the last addition to the Propellerheads software lineup.Â
Propellerheads Reason 6
Wow, this upgrade is amazing. Reason, version 6, has some really nice improvements over the earlier installment.
With version 6 Reason reclaims the spotlight. Combining all the features from Record, version 6 adds audio recording and editing into Reason, along with Propellerhead’s acclaimed mixing console with masterfully modeled EQ and dynamics on every channel, multiple parallel racks, all the effects you know and love plus new ones to fall in love with, and much more of what you’ve always wanted in Reason.Â
We also have the new dual channel interface in stock. Come by and check out “Balance”.
Balance is perfectly integrated with Reason and Reason Essentials. With Clip Safe you’ll never lose a good take to distortion again. Big Meter lets you tune your guitar and set the levels from across the room. Use it with our software, other pro audio apps, or even iTunesâ„¢ — Balance works with everything.
For additional information, check out this site:
http://www.propellerheads.se/reason6/index.cfm
Phil C
If you still need to get your school books for band, come get ’em at BAM. We stock Accent on Achievement, Essential Elements and Standards of Excellence. Feel free to call ahead so we can put your book aside for you! (425) 641-5005
Lots of cool new and used gear in the store recently. If you follow our Facebook page you will have seen some beautiful new Duesenberg guitars and some serious Fender love in the form of a used Fender Custom Shop Tone Master half stack and 60th Anv. Telecaster. New and used guitars, amps and more arrive daily so keep checking in.
Just got in a bunch of cool new lighting from Chauvet! We have the new Scorpion RVM (Red, Violet, Maroon) laser, the Scorpion RGY (Red, Green, Yellow) laser, the new LED Rotosphere and the coolest new LED Drape… The Motion Drape LED! Come Check out these fantastic new lights in our showroom. I am Creating new light shows with these incredible lights! Come in and see it for your self live!!!
Hey, its Cody from BAM, and i just wanted to tell you about the Boss Harmonist (PS-6). This harmony pedal is perfect for all of your harmony and pitch shifting needs. It does everything from you standard major and minor thirds and fifths, to one octave up or down. It has stereo outputs on so you can make your guitar sound like two guitars doing a harmony. You can also run your guitar through two amps at once! This pedal is amazing so come on in and check it out!
– Cody
Just got in a shipment of Chauvet lights that will amaze you! The new Rotosphere LED will get your room spinning with an RGB mirror ball effect. We also got the Slimpack 56 to start up-lighting your events. The NEW Minlaser RBX will amaze you with it’s BLUE and red laser beams. And finally, the NEW Intimidator Spot 150 LED will get the party started with these amazing new moving heads. Come on in and ask for a light show. We love showing off our new toys.
Thank you BAM! I’ve been a Fishman amp user for over 4 years now. When I lost my Loudbox 100 in a flood I was devestated. The new Loudbox Artist is as good if not better than my previous amp. 120 watts! I use the D.I. feature all the time, I plug my SM58 into one channel and my Takamine Garth Signature into the other. I send that mix to the front of house and nothing but compliments from all the sound guys. Here’s the best part, I paid $600 for my Loudbox 100 a few years ago and only $499.95 for the new Artist. Thanks for being a quality Fishman dealer and lettting me try all the amps. I will be back for sure to check out that Fishman Aura Spectrum D.I. again. It has some amazing features for the money. Can you say Tax Refund! Thanks again for your world class service.
-Kevin
Line 6 pro audio event coming up on Monday, April 16th! Line 6 is making its move in the PA world in a big way, with innovative new consoles featuring some killer interface visuals. You have to see this cutting edge technology to really grasp it, so come on down. Also on the up and up are Line 6’s brand new line of speaker arrays, monitors and sound systems. For further info, check out our events page on the website: http://www.bellevueamericanmusic.com/events.htm
We just got in the NEW LINE 6 L3T AND L3S speakers and let me tell you the truth about them… THEY SOUND AWESOME!!!! We took one L3T tower and one L3S subwoofer and cranked the hell out of them outside and they took every song we could throw at them. The L3S subwoofer has two 12 inch woofers and 1400 watts of power! The L3T has two 10 inch woofers with a center mounted horn and is very crisp on the high end and also has 1400 watts! You have got to come in and check these speakers out! They will be selling fast!!!
Hey this is Cody here at BAM and i just wanted to tell you about the new Zoom Guitar processors, The Zoom G1N, G3. The G1N comes loaded with awesome sounding presets modeled after artists and famous amp tones from guitar legends like Brian May from Queen and Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin. The G3 allows you to have up to 3 effects/amp models running at the same time. Weather it be a delay, a distortion and a Marshall model. Or just three of the same effect. The Zoom products have everything you will ever need built in. They both come with drum tracks and built in tuners! So why don’t you stop by BAM and check them out!
– Cody
We just got in three of the Limited Edition ’85 White Face Rat distortion pedals. These are the exact same as the ones made in the ’80’s and they are made in the US. They sound awesome! You can dial in any classic tone with these. After these three are gone thats it, we are not getting anymore! So hurry in and pick one up!
– Cody
Hello to all of my Keyboard friends,
We’ve got an exciting event coming to you on June the 27th at 5pm.
Dive into the Yamaha Motif with Blake Angelos. If you have any questions about this powerful workstation, or would like to see what this amazing keyboard can actually do, come on by Bellevue American Music.
We’re going to have a blast!
(Rumor has it, he’s bringing the new Chick Corea sample library with him)
🙂
See ya there!
Phil C
Thanks Phil! This user group will be the first meeting of the Motif User Group. Anyone who has ANY Motif (Motif, Motif ES, Motif XS, Motif XF, MO6/8, MOX6/8) or is interested in the Motif series I encourage to attend. We will talk about tips and tricks and look deeper into certain operational modes. In addition to this, we can discuss ALL aspects of home recording and music production from mixers and mixing, in the box recording vs. outside of the box recording, mic techniques, monitors, etc. Come by and check it out!
Hello everyone, It’s that time again… 🙂
Please save the date. August 1st, 5:00PM at Bellevue American Music. We’ll be hosting our next Yamaha Motif User’s Group and I’d like to extend a personal invitation to you. Come on out and explore this powerful keyboard with us.
Just got in the NEW TC Helicon VoiceTone Mic Mechanic vocal pedal. This thing sounds AMAZING!!!
It has 8 high quality Reverb and Echo presets, Dry/Wet mix, Correction amount, Adaptive Tone on/off, Mic Control on/off, Mic input gain level, Footswitch on/off. Check out this video!
http://www.tc-helicon.com/products/voicetone-mic-mechanic/#video=1
We just got in a few of the Voodoo Labs Wahzoo’s again. It has three diffrent kinds of wah settings; Vintage Wah, Auto Wah, and Step Wah. It sounds awesome, so come in and try it out!
Just got in a bunch of Fulltone pedals, including the new Secret Freq. Cool pedal if your looking for a mid range boost. Sounds great so come in and try it out.
Peavey’s amp the XXX II just one Guitar Player’s platinum award of excellence! Come on in and try it out!