Wall Township, NJ (April 7, 2020) -- AP International, manufacturer and distributor of Floyd Rose Tremolo Systems, is pleased to announce exclusive worldwide distribution of the new HexHider magnetic hex tool. This novel, affordable 3mm Allen key was created to conveniently address the need for a wrench to unlock a Floyd Rose-equipped guitar.
The patented HexHider design uses a powerful Neodymium magnet to hold the tool in place when in use and to store the wrench by magnetically gripping onto any metal tuning machine on the back of the headstock without permanent installation. The 3mm wrench works to unlock the nut for easier fine tuner resets, loosen the string lock screws at the bridge for quicker string changes, and make bridge post height adjustments on all authentic Floyd Rose Tremolos as well as many licensed versions.
“When I first saw the HexHider I was impressed by its simplicity and utility,” said Andy Papiccio of API. “I think it’s the perfect tool for quicker fine tuner resets and string changes. We are excited to bring this product to the Floyd Rose family of guitar manufacturers, resellers, and customers.”
The HexHider comes with a lifetime warranty and is available immediately for dealers, guitar manufacturers, and musicians from API. The product comes in single unit packs, two packs, and four packs for those looking to save and bundle.
With over forty years of experience in manufacturing and distribution, AP International has been a pillar in the music industry known for representing only quality product lines including Floyd Rose, Pure Tone Jacks, KTS Titanium, Ray Ross Saddle-less Bridges, and ProRockGear Cases, as well as many OEM products. Company president Andrew Papiccio, an original owner of Kramer Guitars and founder of Floyd Rose Marketing, continues to search for and bring to market new innovations that accompany the renowned tremolo system.
For more information: Hex Hider
Take it from Judas Priest and follow your dreams. Even if that includes golfing.
If you play guitar, you’re a musician. And if you also write your own music, you’re an artist. It doesn’t have anything to do with how much money you make or how famous you are. We live in a time that honors that title, which is a huge leap for our society. Since I was a kid, I’d heard tales of handwringing parents who, when confronted with their child’s desire to become an artist of any kind, advised against it—pleading with their children to get a “proper” education, or at least have a backup plan. Painters, poets, sculptors, and writers were often portrayed as starving, wretched outcasts who died penniless. The exceptions who succeeded financially were few, and not usually musicians.
So how did the perception of an artist’s life go from certain squalor to being a career path? My guess is that as the visibility and economics of artistry blossomed, artists took their careers more seriously, and the public’s perception of them shifted in kind.
The poet Arthur Rimbaud, admired by the likes of Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan, famously spoke of making himself a seer by breaking moral rules and societal norms, fostering a mental state in which he could create work that inspired his audience. This sort of idealized debauchery was a template for artists centuries before Charlie Parker or Hank Williams. Artists often say that they are driven to create, and of this I have no doubt. But there are those who live “the life” and those who also see art as a profession—and know the difference.
An illustration of this is the mythology of the heavy metal life. I first began working with the members of Judas Priest in the early 1980s. Despite more than a decade of playing music professionally and dealing with touring bands of all stripes, I approached my first meeting with them with some trepidation. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted by guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton attired in full costume—golf shirts and pastel trousers. As if in a parallel universe, these monsters of rock asked politely if I could secure a tee time for them at a local golf club. Later, when designing guitars for their Fuel for Life tour, I met with the band along with their set and costume designers to coordinate the group’s stage look. We pored over colorful leather swatches and dozens of metal stud samples. This is not to say that the band didn’t love their music, but that they realized the first word in the phrase show business is … well, you get the picture.
Many great artists are not recognized or remunerated in their own lifetime. But today, enough creators have become wealthy and fawned upon by the media, helping to offset the images of Rimbaud, William Faulkner, or Jackson Pollock surrounded by empty whiskey bottles. Similarly, as painters, writers, and musicians have become more famous for their net worth than their alcohol and drug consumption, the artist’s career choice has taken its place besides professional athletes and business entrepreneurs. Of course, the modern-day image of sober and respectable musicians like Keith Richards and his writing partner, Sir Mick, hasn’t hurt the shift in attitudes towards musicians. It’s not rare to hear chefs, actors, and quarterbacks referred to as rock stars. It wasn’t that long ago that athletes and musicians were in opposite political and lifestyle corners.
The push to legalize cannabis in America is another sign that previously taboo behaviors are now acceptably mainstream. Coded drug references used to be the musician’s bailiwick, but that too has gone mainstream. In 1968, Steppenwolf’s John Kay sang “the dealer is a man with the love grass in his hand,” but now you can just walk into the dispensary and use your Apple Pay. This takes the edge off a wide swath of the outlaw lyric pool.
Created with guitar phenomenon Marcus King, this signature Orange Amp is the first to be designed and built with Orange USA.
As Grammy Award-nominated artist, performer, and songwriter Marcus King logged thousands of miles on the road with “The Marcus King Band,” he established himself with performance prowess and a dynamic live show. During 2020, he cut his solo debut El Dorado, garnering a Grammy Award nomination in the category of “Best Americana Album.” King has used Orange amps for years and working together with Orange has created a signature amp with the sound to achieve his dream.
Representing a marriage of classic vintage American and British tonal sensibilities, the Marcus King MK Ultra is a completely unique design which offers a new approach to the definitive Orange sound. The 30 watt all-valve MK Ultra is the first Orange Amp to be collectively designed and built with Orange USA. The carefully tuned circuitry of the new amp is responsive to different volume and tone settings on a guitar and works with pedals to shape rather than sit on top of the tone. It uses the highest quality components including custom Heyboer transformers and a pair of 12AX7 preamp valves which drive into a power amp section made of a duo of cathode based 6L6GC power valves. This first for Orange brings out the harmonics and touch sensitivity King demands.
Available now, find out more about Orange Amplification Marcus King MK Ultra signature amp go to orangeamps.com/marcus-king-mk-ultra.