Music marketplace. (Impromptu).

eCatalog Now Available from The Music Link

The Music Link Corporation recently released its eCatalog, an electronic version of its Counter Catalog.

The eCatalog is a complete guide to its entire product line that includes Johnson Guitars and Amps, Palatino Strings & Wind Instruments, CODA Drums and AXL guitars and amplifiers. It includes detailed information and helpful tips for musicians.

Available now in PDF format, the eCatalog can be used on most computer platforms. To view the catalog, log on to www.themusiclink.net.

NoteHeads Introduces Igor Engraver 1.5

NoteHeads USA, 178 Ledyard St., New London, CT 06320; [phone]; www.noteheads.com. $295; student/teacher price: $195.

NoteHeads Musical Expert Systems, a new music notation software company, has recently released Igor Engraver 1.5. As the first software of its kind to run on both Macintosh and Windows machines, users can now move documents between different machines.

With its staff suppression logic and increased drawing speed, the 1.5 version caters to beginners while giving experts advanced features such as lyrics input, colouring and tablature. The Igor Engraver also features built-in e-commerce support allowing portable cross-platform production and publication on the Internet.

The unique capabilities of "What You See Is What You Hear" gives users options such as viewing and listening to interpreting trills, arpeggios and glissando on several instruments.

Igor Engraver 1.5 can be downloaded and used for thirty days, before purchase becomes necessary.

For more information contact NoteHeads USA.

World Playground 2 Promotes Multicultural Experience

Putumayo World Music, 324 Lafayette St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10012; [phone]; Fax: [phone]. www.putumayo.com. CD $15.98, cassette $10.98.

Putumayo World Music has released its newest upbeat, kid-friendly world music CD and activity kit--World Playground 2. This groundbreaking venture features a multicultural experience to educate and entertain.

The CD features native land artists from twelve countries, spanning five continents and the Caribbean. Also included is a booklet with lyrics to each song, English translations and descriptive passages about the country or region where the music originates.

Provided in the activity kit is an activity guide for children to make connections between language, geography and history of the countries; a children's passport to chronicle their travels through coloring and writing activities; and a world playground map.

For more information contact Putumayo World Music.

Reinvented Workstations Offer More Flexibility

Wenger Corporation, P.O. Box 448, Owatonna, MN 55060; [phone]; Fax: [phone]; [e-mail]; www.wengercorp.com. $455-910.

Wenger Corporation has redesigned its Music Lab Workstations and Class Piano Workstations to offer more features and flexibility, while making them more suited for today's larger equipment. Each of the three workstations is designed to provide the user with easy, comfortable access to all components, with unobstructed sightlines to the front of the classroom.

The two Music Lab Workstations offer improved functionality and mobility. They are designed for sixty-one-key or eight-eight-key music keyboards, feature a computer keyboard shelf and locking casters and are available with adjustable-height frames.

The Expanded Workstation offers additional desk space and room for eight single-space rack components and fits an eighty-eight-key music keyboard. The Class Piano Workstation features a wider desk surface and fits seventy-six- and eighty-eight-key digital upright pianos with flat tops.

For more information contact Wenger Corporation.

ALRY Releases Christmas Flutes ENCORE!

ALRY Publications, P.O. Box 36542, Charlotte, NC 28236; [phone]; Fax: [phone]; [e-mail]; http://members.aol.co/alrypbl. $15.

Woodwind and chamber ensemble sheet music publisher ALRY Publications, Etc., Inc. presents Christmas Flutes ENCORE!, the fifth recording by the National Flute Choir, directed by Amy Rice Blumenthal.

Christmans Flutes ENCORE! includes a wide variety of Christmas pieces featuring all of the different flutes--Piccolo, E-flat, Bass--spanning five octaves. Some of the compositions are original, while others are arrangements.

For more information contact ALRY Publications.

Mathias Thoma Student Cello Presented by EMMC 

EMMC, 770-12 Grand Boulevard, Deer Park, NY 11729; [phone]; Fax: [phone]. [e-mail]; www.emmcmusic.com. $1,495.

Entertainment Music Marketing Corporation (EMMC) announces the arrival of the individually handcrafted Mathias Thoma MT-27 Cello.

Its fully carved Romanian spruce top resonates a richer, fuller tone than the traditional student cello. It features a laminated maple back and sides, as well as ebony fingerboards, pegs and a tailpiece with four runners. The MT-27 also comes with high-quality Supersensitive strings and German bridges.

The Mathias Thoma MT-27 Carved-Top Cello also is available as a complete outfit with a deluxe Cordura style nylon bag and Glasser horsehair bow.

For more information contact EMMC.

Shar Presents the Fischer Bass

Shat, P.O. Box 1411, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; (800) 2487427; Fax: [phone]; www.sharmusic.com. $3,900.

Shar Music has introduced the German-made Otto Ernst Fischer Double Bass, which accommodates any playing style from orchestral to jazz. This model delivers a resonant tone that provides players the ability to create unique, textured, open sounds with good projection.

Hand made, the Fischer Bass is customizable with your choice of any strings for no additional charge. The solid hand-carved spruce top, rounded maple ribs and back, and quality ebony fingerboard is molded into the classic "viol" shape. The adjustable Auburt bridge suits any playing style.

Although Custom outfits are available, the standard outfit includes a R.A. Meinel pernambuco bow, a Cushy Deluxe bass bag with 3/4-inch padding, a Carlsson Swedish Bass Rosen, a removable endpin and high-quality strings.

For more information contact Shar.