Made%20In%20NZ

With a name that reeks of country almost as much as Kenny Rogers’, it figures that Waylon McPherson and his two brothers were raised on a Taranaki farm. Waylon started on guitar at 10, playing in various school bands before moving to Auckland after the end of high school. He says it is obvious now that music is what he should have been doing the whole time since, but when you are young it’s hard to consider it as an option. ...more

Amongst all the high-end sound equipment and flashing lights at The MUSIC EXPO sound:vision 2004, held in Auckland this August, was a particularly modest little stand which seemed to be attracting a steady stream of interested onlookers. ...more

Lyttelton instrument maker Peter Stephen tells me he is one of only half a dozen people in New Zealand who make and repair acoustic stringed instruments, a craft he sees as a changing one rather than a dying art. ...more

True musicians are drawn to their craft because they have an undeniable passion for it. Grant Knowles discovered his passion – hand drumming – just over a decade ago in Golden Bay, near Nelson, and since then has been making his own unique range of instruments that he calls Tribull Drums. ...more

Sandy Sanderson is a patient man. I’m not just saying that because he has to teach woodwork and metalwork to secondary school kids. I say that because he has no problems waiting four whole years for wood to dry. It’s no ordinary wood mind; this is 2,500-year-old swamp kauri, from which Sandy shapes and carves unique electric instruments. ...more

Any guitar teacher will tell you that the key to learning is practice. The key to practising when the guitar teacher isn't living on your couch? ...motivation. And for some beginners, who've only had a few lessons (can't yet move left fingers in sync with the right hand), that motivation can falter quickly. ...more

Scratching an itch is a term that persistently comes up with the various inventors, builders and developers we have featured in this column. These clever people have all seen the need to improve upon an existing invention, or to develop a new item where they saw a gap in the market. ...more