In 2016, First Act was acquired by toy manufacturer Jazwares.[2]
Founding management team
First Act was largely an unrelated result of the successful sale of Duracraft to the Consumer Products division of Honeywell in 1996. Bernard Chiu, the founder of Duracraft, was offered a leadership role at First Act Inc. after selling his company, he accepted thus establishing the companies leadership hierarchy.[3] As a significant portion of First Act Inc. leadership were previous Duracraft employees there were no dedicated musicians, instead they would rely on their experience with generic commodity-level small appliances.[4]
Bernard Chiu, chairman of the Board — previously co-founder (with Tim Chen and Ronald Izen) and CEO of Duracraft, as well as president and Chairman
Ronald Izen, Vice Chairman of the Board — previously Executive Vice President of Sales for Duracraft, from its founding in 1989 through 1998
Mark Izen, President and CEO — Prior to starting First Act Inc. in 1995, Mark founded CMI Enterprises, Inc., a manufacturer's representative firm that sold, high-profile consumer products lines to national and regional retailers.[5]
Mary Hassan, Vice President, Human Resources — former Vice President of Human Resources for Duracraft and then Honeywell Consumer Products, and Director of Staffing and Employee Relations for Reebok International.
Tony Natale, Vice President, Finance and Operations — eleven years at Duracraft then Honeywell in various financial and operational positions, including Director of Materials Management and Assistant Controller.
Kelly Butler, Chief Luthier, Custom Shop Manager and Designer - seven years at Gibson Guitars Custom Shop as a custom builder and designer. Currently produces instruments under the K. Butler Guitars brand name.
Product lines
The company's products were divided into two lines, with very similar entries but sold toward different audiences. They were marketed through large retail chains, particularly Toys "R" Us and Target, as well as Amazon.com.
First Act proper was shaped toward inexpensive "beginner" instruments intended for children and adults. The small range was primarily a basic three-piece drum kit, a soprano ukulele, three dynamic-type microphones, and five guitars, both full-size (acoustic and electric) and short-scale (marketed both as "sized for kids" and as a travel guitar).[6]
Paralleling this line was First Act Discovery[7] (sometimes just Discovery), musical products for children ages 3 to 9. This line included acoustic guitars, ukuleles, drums, electronic percussion pads, tambourines, recorders, keyboards, and electronic button-controlled "guitars." There was also a series of plastic microphone-like products, largely with sounds and graphics licensed from Disney, including Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and Marvel properties. More recently, to maximize the ukulele fad, a series of Disney-graphic instruments (albeit marketed as "mini guitars") was released, such as the AV285 Avengers uke.
An ambitious series of projects and products was eliminated after First Act's 2012 peak.
First Act Instruments — the original retail line of entry-level instruments for teens and adults, including guitars, drums, hand percussion, and accessories.
Mark II — intended in First Act's early years to become the quality line. The name isn't mentioned after 2003.
Concert Series — a range of inexpensive band instruments marketed to grade-school students.
222 — in 2008, First Act partnered with Adam Levine (lead vocalist and guitarist of Maroon 5) to produce 222 by First Act,[8] a line of 22 music products, including an acoustic guitar and a "signature" model of electric guitar designed by Levine, branded "222" (his lucky number).[9] The line was sold through Target stores.[10]
Fuel — successor to First Act Instruments, intended to distance this chain store presence (largely Walmart and Target) from the company's expanding quality lines.
Studio For Artists (SFA) — designed and built custom guitars and violins for professional musicians. Each instrument was handcrafted, and finished in First Act's Boston studio.
SFA Edition Guitars — standard First Act guitars with added custom appointments, such as premium pickups, upgraded machine heads, and unique pickguards.
Limited Edition Guitars — three Limited Edition models were created in the SFA facility: the "Lola", "Sheena", and "Delia." Guitar Player magazine praised the instruments for their stylistic innovation, unique appearance and excellent workmanship.[citation needed]
Related facilities
First Act Guitar Studio was a real-world storefront at 745 Boylston Street, Boston, offering various First Act Custom, Limited Edition, SFA Edition, and First Act series electric and acoustic guitars, and accessories. Customers could play the guitars, watch a luthier crafting custom guitars, see a live show, or have their guitar serviced.
First Act distributed branded calendars to Guitar Player subscribers in 2006 and 2007. The 2006 edition highlighted Studio for Artists guitars, including custom and limited-edition models.
First Act collaborated with two Red Sox players as a charity fund-raiser. Guitars were designed for pitchers Curt Schilling and Jonathan Papelbon after the players sketched their rough ideas, and First Act's design and custom shop teams brought the guitars to life. The customized guitars were auctioned off at a "Hot Stove Cool Music" concert fund-raiser at Fenway Park. The two guitars raised a total of $12,000 for Theo Epstein's charity.[12]
In 2007, First Act introduced a Paul Westerberg signature guitar called the PW58,[13] featuring a plaid pickguard and a custom body shape designed in the Studio for Artists facility.
First Act partnered with automaker Volkswagen for a 2006 promotional campaign to distribute "GarageMaster" guitars with selected vehicle models through the end of the year. The campaign ran from October 3 through December 31. GarageMaster guitars were available in white, red, and blue to those who purchased a VW. The stereos in these Volkswagens could be used as an amplifier for the guitar. Accompanying advertisements featured guitarists Slash, John Mayer, and Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap playing First Act guitars through the sound systems of Volkswagens.[14][15][16] The GarageMaster model featured a battery-powered on-board preamp, knobs decorated with the "VW" logo, pickguards matching the vehicle's color, a metal plate inscribed with the corresponding vehicle's VIN, and could be plugged directly into the vehicles' audio systems using a minijack cable.
Consumer electronics
In 2010, a video game division of First Act, Seven45 Studios, released Power Gig: Rise of the SixString. Peripherals included a functional electric guitar with controller buttons, a microphone, and a motion sensor system to simulate drums. Seven45 subsequently produced a number of music-based iOS apps.
In 2011 First Act released an iOS app for iPad and iPhone for karaoke under the Disney license called "Disney Spotlight Karaoke." It includes sing-a-longs with songs from Disney Channel stars and the ability to record and upload a video. First Act also released a line of Disney-themed microphones designed to work with the app.
In 2012 First Act released an iOS app for iPhone and iPad called "Notes to Grow On" which is a companion educational app for the Discovery line of instruments.
In October 2012, First Act launched a line of consumer electronics including charging, music, and audio interfaces for iPods, iPads, and iPhones, under the name BlueFlame Technologies.
Criticism
The company received criticism from music educators who claimed that First Act band instruments, targeted at beginning students, were of low quality, often irreparable, and that replacement parts were difficult to acquire.[citation needed]
In 2003, First Act sued the music retailer Brook Mays for false advertising after the retailer distributed marketing materials to school band directors that criticized First Act's products as "instrument-shaped objects", which induced returns of First Act products. First Act was awarded $16.7 million to compensate for lost profits, a judgment that effectively bankrupted Brook Mays.[17]
Related Research Articles
The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961, following on from the 1952 Gibson Les Paul. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG Standard is Gibson's best-selling model of all time. SG stands for "solid guitar".
iLife is a discontinued software suite for macOS and iOS developed by Apple Inc. It consists of various programs for media creation, organization, editing and publishing. At various times, it included: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand. Only iMovie and GarageBand remain and are now freely available on Apple's Mac App Store. iDVD and iWeb have been discontinued while iTunes and iPhoto have been succeeded by Music and Photos respectively.
GarageBand is a software application by Apple for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand was originally released for macOS in 2004 and brought to iOS in 2011. The app's music and podcast creation system enables users to create multiple tracks with pre-made MIDI keyboards, pre-made loops, an array of various instrumental effects, and voice recordings.
The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is best known for its solid-body electric guitars and bass guitars, particularly the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The company was founded in Fullerton, California, by Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender in 1946. Andy Mooney has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) since June 2015.
Music Man is an American guitar and bass guitar manufacturer. Originally formed in 1971 by Forrest White and Tom Walker, along with Leo Fender as a silent partner, the company started manufacturing electric and bass guitars under the Music Man name in 1974. In 1984 it was acquired by Ernie Ball, the subsidiary of which is branded as Ernie Ball Music Man.
Dean Guitars, commonly referred to simply as Dean, is an American importer and maker of stringed instruments and musical products with its headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
Washburn Guitars is an American brand and importer of guitars, mandolins, and other string instruments, originally established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. The Washburn name is controlled by U.S. Music Corp., a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis|JAM.
Logic Pro is a proprietary digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform developed by Apple Inc. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by Emagic. Apple acquired Emagic in 2002 and renamed Logic to Logic Pro. It was the second most popular DAW – after Ableton Live – according to a survey conducted in 2015.
The Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton. It was the first signature model guitar released by Fender.
DiMarzio, Inc. is an American manufacturing company, best known for its direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces other accessories, such as hardware, guitar straps, and instrument cables.
One of the rarest instruments ever made by Fender was called the Marauder. The Marauder was intended to join the product line shortly before Leo Fender sold the company to CBS, but it never went into production. After introducing the Jazzmaster in 1958 and the Jaguar in 1962, between 1964 and 1965, Fender prototyped the Marauder. There were two "versions" made: Type I, with four pickups hidden underneath the pickguard and which are shown in the 1965 catalog, and Type II, with the pickups mounted in a more conventional fashion on the pickguard and never appeared in any catalog.
Jada Toys, Inc. is an American manufacturer of collectible scale model cars, figures, radio controlled model vehicles, and dolls. It was founded in 1999 by Jack and May Li. Jada's products are predominantly aimed at the collectible market, and are available and popular at retail outlets worldwide.
Kay Musical Instrument Company is an American musical instrument manufacturer established in 1931 by namesake Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer and based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed when Kuhrmeyer bought out his financial backers in the instrument manufacturer Stromberg-Voisinet. They produced guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and were known for their use of lamination in the construction of arched top instruments.
The Gibson Dove is a flattop steel-string acoustic guitar made by the Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1962.
Duesenberg is a brand for electric string instruments founded in 1986 and located in Hannover, Germany. The headquarter is in Hannover, Germany, they are known for using a Plek machine for the levelling of frets and setup. Duesenberg has uploaded a factory production video of how their guitars are made, revealing that most of the production of the guitars is done in Croatia, while the final setup and assembly is done in Germany.
MainStage is a music application developed by Apple Inc. designed for use in live performance.
The Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass is a model of electric bass manufactured by Höfner under several varieties. It was introduced in 1955 and gained celebrity status during the 1960s as the primary bass used by Paul McCartney of The Beatles.
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele, is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music.
The Fender Cabronita Telecaster is a class of guitars built by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation based on their Telecaster body shape. The name Cabronita is Spanish slang and roughly translates as little bastard or little devil. While retaining the shape and general feel of a Telecaster, they are a radical departure from the traditional electronics and sounds associated with the instrument. Like virtually all Telecaster submodels, they are labeled simply as a Fender Telecaster on the headstock logo, identifiable only by their features.
References
↑ Hoover's Company Records (2008-08-12). "First Act Inc. (FY 2007)". Hoover's Inc.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
