copyRAFTER

Ashdown marketing of Ashdown MiBass part 3

2012-01-14T20:25:00.002+01:00

We have to be correct when we do our little investigation of specific online marketing tools.

A while ago I noticed that Ashdown wasn't really hitting bulls eye when it came to the use of SEO. They launched their newest lightweight amp, the MiBass.
We had a youtube first view, there were rumours on the internet and you could find a very basic page on the Ashdown corporate website.

You could say that's good enough to get the hype started. As we don't get hold of bass magazines in Belgium very easy, I can't relate to any 'first preview' articles. Be that my bad.
But, I also found various e-commerce websites which showed the Mibass amps (mostly the 220 version). So the product was already for sale.

Having worked for web companies for 4 years now, and being a magazine editor for almost 12 years before that time, I couldn't help missing some important pieces. First of all, create a plan and follow that. I can't imagine a new and truly important product shows itself on the digital highway at random. Hey guys, here I am! What? You don't see me? How come? Oh, you've missed the signs.

Anyway, there's more to market a product than just using some - sometimes - old school SEO. Still, you want to score high when it comes to Google search engine ranking, no?

And look what happened on our beloved internet!

Ashdown has done the trick. When they didn't even show on the first results page in Google, they now stand tall on the highest ranking. Congratz guys, you did it. Makes me happy, a better sleeper too.
So when you enter 'Ashdown Mibass' in Google, the first hit is reserved for Ashdown with the smart combination 'MiBass - Ashdown Engineering'. And then come the forums and online stores. And thanks to Google, the images are there too on place 3, which gives you a direct idea of what you were looking for.

When you hit the first result, you still get a rather dull page which gives you two optional widgets, one being the 220, the other the 550 amp. Clicking either one leads to a page with some more copy, no extra images or other content. But it's something and maybe after the NAMM show, we get to see an update of that particular section.

I have no clue of what happens behind the Ashdown scenes. I really want to but hey, you can't have it all. I'm already glad they keep creating and building that superb gear. And when I look for more info of the MiBass on the internet, I usually get to see the company website first. And I might want to explore the rest of that site to discover what else they have in store.

Cheers,
copyRAFter

Mayones basses are it!

2012-01-09T18:55:00.002+01:00

Some time ago, I was referring to my Fame and Mayones basses. At this moment, I've played the Mayones Jabba Custom for over a year on an almost daily basis. Solo or in a band setting. Through Ashdown amps as well as MarkBass gear.

This bass continues to impress me.
First of all, I like 5 strings. It feels comfortable and natural. Is this due to the quality of my bassguitar?
Second, I still like 4 strings. To avoid complicated brain patterns, struggles composing songs and the what is better- question I now play the 5 string fingerstyle only, and the 4 string with a pick. Only.

I've been to many GC's over yhe last year and played Squier, Fender, Lakland, Ibanez, Music Man and oh cliché, not one regret buying the Mayones. It is somewhat heavy and suffers little neck dive when playing without a strap.
I also wonder if the neck relief is normal, but when checking a MM Stingray and a G&L L2500 fiver, they both had similar relief. So I guess this is normal for a five. Fender always has dead straight necks. Which I think is cool.

Will this be my last bass?
Not if I can't help it. Still gassing for a Warwick Streamer Stage I, Warwick Corvette $$, Fender Pbass American Deluxe, Squier 50's Classic Vibe P, Spector Euro LX, Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor and Sandberg PM 4, Mayones Jabba Special PBH, G&L Asat bass and many, many more.

What does Mayones have that others don't?
It looks so good. The rosewood fretboard with pearl inlays and one-piece maple neck is and plays beautiful.
The Eye poplar top does have that Butterscotch Blonde feel but those details in the wood upgrade the look.
The matching headstock is what I must have. Unless it's a maple fretboard, but I don't own that.
The solid 3D bridge which keeps pushing the tone.
Those Delano J-style pickups. These are the big poles and I do believe they impact the sound. From a deep growl to a fat jazzy burpy sound. No, it's not Fodera but it has charachter.
The one-piece maple body with deep cutaway to get to the 24th fret. If you want to go there anyway.
The battery compartment, it takes you three seconds to change the battery.
The overall craftsmanship. Check out the white binding, it looks like it grew on the White Binding tree. Or the neck pocket and how the pups fit. Nice work. No complaints.

Is it the bass?
Probably not. The passive switch is nice but this bass sounds so much better active.
The maple top is very touchy, it scratches easily. The Fame is made out of natural wood, scratches don't get a chance.
The bridge doesn't make it easy to get the fretbuzz out. So now I like some buzz. Adapt.
I'm not fond of the tuners. The bass is a Fender Jazz 'copy' so also has similar tuners. I just think they lack precision. Must be the new strings then.

But I like it. And it plays and sounds great.

Ashdown marketing of Ashdown MiBass part 2

2011-11-23T12:43:00.001+01:00

Where were we? Oh yes. Ashdown. Why do I seem to have a grudge against it? I don't. I'm kinda unhappy with how a new product is launched on the internet. F.e. drop the name 'Ashdown Mibass' in Google and you get scores, obviously. But what are they? Stores, shops, online sales points, crawler sites, write the first review-shit. And then some forums like talkbass, mostly covering GenzBenz, Aguilar and other American brands. No offence and some good talk about Markbass as well. But it takes ages to read a review about new Ashdown gear, must be that Europe gets first delivery. Or am I an ignorant fool?
Meh.

I was wondering what role the company plays in all of this. Did we see a high score when entering 'Ashdown Mibass' in Google?
No, these are the frightening results:
First place: Talkbass
Second place: Musikschmidt (online store and shop in Germany)
Third place: Copyrafter - this blogsite - the unbeatable WordGroover.
And then some youtube stuff and more online stores and forums.

Oh my god!

Where is Ashdown the Company? Are they even on the internet? Yes they are. They appear to be on the second Google results page, second in line and when you hit that url, you get a page that looks like it was made after hours by a student. Where is the info? Not even a mini site?

What does Markbass do?
Enter 'markbass little mark III' in Google. What do you get? Markbass Italy corporate website on places 1 and 2. And then come the online stores. Good marketing, good thinking. Not?

I have the next list of things on my mind and now on the internet:
1. Ashdown has issues. If the new product is that good and warm sounding for a solid state, then why is the biggest feature the switchable front panel?
2. Ashdown still thinks the product will sell itself.
3. Where can we find an official testing vid on the website? Tested by a famous bass player.
4. What special conditions do first buyers get? Maybe a free ticket to an event. Or a meet&greet.
5. What happens to the older amps? Do they stay in the range? Are they discontinued? What? Is the MiBass an extra in the lightweight class then?
6. Quality, what's with that? The former lightweight stuff - remember the Giants - wasn't that convincing in terms of reliability. The new Giant aka MiBass looks sturdy but that's just the housing. Can Ashdown convince us beforehand, so before we do a user test after buying the product?
7. More thoughts
8. Even more thoughts
9 Even +1 more thoughts

Ashdown marketing of Ashdown MiBass amps

2011-11-22T13:23:00.001+01:00

* Who is waiting for the new Ashdown Mibass 220 or 550 to hit the stores? You shouldn't as most stores have at least a demo model ready for testing.
* Who has already read the first reviews on the internet? Few I guess since there's only one review I can think of. And it wasn't even that subjective.
* Who saw that lame video from a music show where an Ashdown dude produced a blurry explanation of the new MiBass? Probably every bass gear fan in the world. Because there was nothing else.

Am I against Ashdown? Not even by far. I love their product and still cherish my UK made ABM stack because of its superb tone and build quality. Would I buy another Ashdown if this one... well... wouldn't make it?
Mmm, not sure. Although I have looked at the Mibass multiple times. Nice design, about the same features and layout as my ABM Evo II. But so much smaller and lighter. And for a reasonable price. Made in...? No idea. I do prefer if it said in the UK but that's false hope.

Why?
Who calls its product Mibass unles you only want to address youngsters, say 15 to 22 in year turns. The marketing talk from Ashdown says it has something to do with My bass, it's my bass, it's your bass... so we named our newborn Mibass.
????

???

What? Repeating mode: why? That's just stupid. Even more when you 'are able to switch the front' of the amp. It comes in a standard colour but you can switch the front panel. Woww??? How about that. That's something you find inside your Kinderchocolade eggs. No?

What do we want?
1. A thorough review from an independant source.
2. A marketing strategy that was set up before the thing was shown on a large event.
3. A feature that is more than the fact that Bang&Olufsen where responsable for the sound circuits. Ok, it does give confidence but is that necessary? That it was B&O? Sounds really hifi to me. I want my amp old school, or at least not having a sound that comes from a stereo set. Did that influence the price by any means?
4. Matching cabs, neo maybe. Or people might grab that MarkBass amp after all. Or maybe even inferior Gallien Krueger stuff.
5. To test one, as where I live, people call it Belgium, no store in the area was even planning on getting a demo model. And I quote: 'We've lost confidence in Ashdown. Build quality went down and the price drop in Germany killed it for us. We're welcoming Ampeg again, and Genz Benz, Gallien, Markbass, Ibanez or even Aguilar.
6. Why do I see a demo amp with beautiful silver (metal) knobs installed when the amp you can buy has black plastic ones? Wrong! I want the one with the non-plastic knobs.

Come on Ashdown, you can do better than that, kick ass and start working on becoming a leading amp manufacturer like you were less than a decade ago.

Aguilar Agro

2011-11-20T21:30:00.001+01:00

I have to admit, my dreams were haunted by a black Fender Precision. It was there, coming out of the mist towards me. Couldn't see it very clearly though. Is that you, black Fender? Or is that a giant squid, sent to the mainland to become a cow? I pulled out a Fender Pbass with natural body and smacked the squid on one of its left arms. Or right. Well, I hit it.
Black is very sensitive to fingerprints, if I get me a P, it'll be with no colour, just the wood grain visible. Or it will be a Sandberg California for less money and probably better tone versatility.

Mmmh, black again. What the...

So yesterday I bought the Agro and today it got used, a lot. To forget about the Fender I first played the Mayones. Yummie, nice. And then put the Baphomet in place. Plectrum, bass, Aguilar pedal. ENGAGE. My god, this must be the overdrive sound created from heavenly orgasms coming from angels with slightly pervers thoughts about fluffy clouds and buckets full of stars. Euhm... yes, the Agro.

To make it mine, I do what I always do, I put battle scars on it. The Jabba has a dent, small but it's there. How? By throwing the strap over my shoulder, forgetting it has part of the Schaller lock installed. Tack, dent. The Baphomet has two scratches on the lowside of the body. How? No idea but probably caused in a way too small rehearsal room when playing post metal. And the Agro? In less than a day? Yes, that's me. There was a price sticker on it. And it didn't come off completely. Instead of asking my wife to remove the remains of what once was a sticker I pulled out the 'Sticker remover'. Took a cloth, put remover on it and pushed it against the sticker remains on the pedal. Left it there for 30 seconds. And wiped it off. So off came the sticker remains... and that beautiful painted white line, surrounding the grey surface. I call it Roadworn. Just like Fender does. So it is really mine now, don't bother a future secondhand selling price. Never say never but when this thing ever has to leave me, it will not be looking that good anyway.

Agro is saturation.
Agro is saturation.
Never mind the other three tone knobs.
Agro is saturation. Worship.

And listen to Bongripper and Dub trio.

Fender USA Precision Deluxe Black/ Maple

2011-11-19T20:10:00.001+01:00

What did I say about Fender? Nothing too harsh I hope ;) Anyway, after a heavy working week, today was music shop day. I had 2 spare hours and went to a shop not far from home. See if they had a bass overdrive pedal. One that was better than my Russian Big Muff. Yes the Muff is in a wooden box, yes it's black and yes the thing looks the part. But, it sounds overall too fuzzy and lost in the mix. So I entered the shop and went to the bass area. And before I even tried finding the pedal cabinet, there it was. Hello Fender American Pbass Deluxe!!!! Say hi. Wowza, how' you doin'... Hanging against the wall, all black body and pickguard, maple neck. Man, that is one fine looking bass.

Especially since I really like that combination. Anyone familiar with Mayones basses. Check out the Mayones Jabba Special PBH. What a mighty fine piece of tonewood that is. Black body, maple neck, matching black headstock. WANT VERY MUCH.

That does mean I'm looking for a Pbass kinda setup since forever - jazz pup and P pup. So when I saw that black P I had to play it. And my dear god, it played like a dream. Very fast neck, nice fretboard, lightweight overall and very bright tone. It was a demo model, or in other words, an almost new bass someone returned to the store because he wanted to start playing guitar. And bought a Gibson Les Paul on the go. Strange folk. If a Pbass causes people to stop playing bass, maybe I shouldn't test it...Well, there I was playing the bass. On an Aguilar 2x12 double stack with an outstanding amp attached to it. And me drooling over a Fender Pbass. Mind you, it's an active axe. So that means blending the tone until you find the sweet spot. That's were it hurts. It had two nice tones, almost there. One was the bridge pickup playing fingerstyle. Quite funky typical Fender tone but it lacked bottom. Still, the bass kept playing like butter. The other tone was not a clean tone. More on that later. So I was in fact convincing myself why this bass wasn't it. Great look, super easy playing but not the deep P-tone I looked for. Time for comparison, in came a USA Standard P. Sounded nice but I was struggling with the one split coil. I'm used to putting my thumb on the bridge pup, and because there was only one tone which could be coloured bright or 'dusty'. Meh. But it was the original P tone, I'll give you that.Back to the active Deluxe. Like. No, don't like. Like: the looks - the playability - it's a Fender. No like: The plastic feeling tone knobs - The serious level drop when switching to passive - The lack of frets (I need 24. Not 20) - The price. Even if it was demo priced, it still costed almost 1450 euro. Do I want it? Yes. Do I want the Mayones Jabba Special even more? Yes, even at 1.999 euro. Or do I want that Spector Euro LX in buckeye?

Now, I went there to test some pedals. In all honesty, I hoped they had the Aguilar Agro. That thing rips, thunders, wounds. And there it was. In the cabinet, between all sorts of pedals with exotic sounding or known names. T-Rex, fulltone, MXR, Boss, Ashdown, Keeley electronics, Blackstar and what have you. Test. Aguilar vs 'Chinese' vs MXR (not the Blowtorch) vs Blackstar. While I sat on a bar stool, the Agro was hooked up to the Aguilar bass stack on one end, and to that black beauty on the other side. Fender time. And there it was. The tone. Not only from the Agro but for sure from the Pbass as well. With pick, all of the sound towards the split coil and go for it. A sound I couldn't get from my Jabba Custom. Could the rosewoord fretboard be the reason? And the Agro?

It's with me, safe. And it is by far the best overdrive I've heard in years. Not cheap though at 199 euro. But hey, I can't wipe that smile of my face anymore. And the Fender? The store owner had to rip it out of my hands, or I was still there playing it, despite other appointments. Wishing I could convince myself to buy yet another bass. Agro time, I'll have an update when I've played it more often. It's very versatile and therefore needs 'knob-turning-exercise'.Cheers.

Fame Baphomet battery

2011-11-09T13:06:00.000+01:00

Last week playing the Baphomet the signal just went. From a heavily distorted sound to a distant scream. I had the bass plugged in the Ashdown ABM 500 Evo II.First thought: Oh god, it's true what they say about Ashdown. Even when mine is UK made, it might have been influenced by all negative rumours since production moved to China or Korea or wherever people don't really remember the Iron Lady. Maybe my Ashdown is sensitive for these reports and not weaponed to what people say in the press, on forums or in stores. So master and gain went to Zero, and up again. Unplugged the bass and plugged it in again. Everything fine. Back to some sweet R&R. And the signal went distorted again. Off button. On button. Signal. 3 minutes and off signal.New cable then, and directly from bass to amp, because the MXR Super comp might have been the issue. Not! No signal. Took the other bass out, plugged it in and yes, all good. Full sound, no distortion. So what could it be? Of course, the battery. Pulled the active/ passive switch but hey, a Fame don't play when put passive on a dead battery. So I changed the battery, 1 minute fix and plugged the Fame back in. And oh boy, wall of sound, yes. So sorry sweet Ashdown, you still rock. It was me not changing batteries in time, still it's strange how you can get a sound that is still there but seems directly related to the last juices being pulled out of the battery.

Fame Baphomet IV

2011-11-06T11:01:00.000+01:00

Before giving more details on the Mayones Jabba Custom I'd first have to go through some features of the Fame Baphomet. First of, it's a great bass guitar. Yes it is. Ovangkol body, mahogany 5 piece neck, palisander fretboard, sculpted body, or carved or how do you name such feature. 6 bolt neck attachment. It's not very heavy, I'd say average weight for gigs up to 2 hours. If your band has enough punch to last for two ours that is.When testing the Fame in the store, it was compared with a Fender 60's Classic Vibe (around 700 euro), an Ibanez ATK 300 (around 500 euro), a Warwick Rockbass Corvette (700 euro) and maybe one more brand I've forgotten about.Anyway, each of those guitars were... well...ok. Until I grabbed the Baphomet and played it. OK with capitals first, very much fantastic after that and 'I think I know which bass is coming home with me tonight'. Someone had to ask me gently to step away from the amp after more than an hour, as more customers wanted to test a guitar that day.Fame claims their guitars are handmade. I'm not 100% convinced they are but I've never seen a guitar this good for only, say 630 euro. Compared to the Warwicks, the first one to have the same construction quality was a Corvette $$ that could be owned for 1500 euro. Some difference.The Fame uses active MEC pickups. That doesn't mean it sounds as deep and woody as a Warwick. But it sounds good, wide tone range possible with the active/ passive push/ pull, the two band eq section and a very accurate working high/ low tone knob.

I've been playing this bass for almost two years now and haven't missed the Ibanez SR1500 for a second. The Ibby had the faster neck, the wenge fretboard (great) and it just was easy to get along with. But it was heavy, 5,6kg heavy f.e., and although it had a P/J set up, there was no way you could get a characteristic sound out of it. I bought it second hand (model year 1990) in 2004 or 2005 for 620 euro. They were once a premium model for Ibanez and the little information I could find stated that they were sold for 1700 to 1900 euro (something like that as the euro was only an idea in progression) in 1990. Made in Japan which means something, or at least I thought so. Anyway, the Fame instantly replaced the Japanese soundgear I had played for at least 5 years. So the Ibby stayed in its case although it came out every couple of weeks, to compare to the Baphomet or just to look at the nice woods.

Baphomet time: 24 frets without dead spots up to the highest note. No fret buzz unless you play pick or use fingers on the bridge pickup. Especially when using the pick there is some buzz, for sure with my low-action settings but the buzz never comes through the amp and speakers (Ashdown ABM EVO II/ ABM 410 and Markbass CMD 121P with NY121 extension).The bass is well balanced, no neckdive and the sculpted body fits just right. I usually play fingerstyle (jazzy) but in a band setting, a pick is used. In that case the style is dirty rock or even post-rock and post-metal. The tone is perfect, a growling deep drive that is always present, very clear highs and even some nice mids to push through the Marshall or Fender walls of sound. This bass doesn't sound muddy or undefined. It is a bass that begs for detail. Using only the neck pickup might give a 'Fender' sound but never boomy, never somewhere in the mix. It could very well be that a Fender is the standard, I just want something different. Using only the bridge pickup, you get that trumpet-like sound, jazzy mids, dry lows. No, it's not a Ken Smith Burner. It's just nice. My preference in this case is using both pickups with slightly more 'bridge' when playing fingerstyle or more 'neck' with the plectrum. Sometimes with the band, it's only the neck pickup that's used. Enough for now. I'm still happy with this Polish gear, are parts of it made in China or Korea? No idea but they must have been using the best luthiers then. Is the bass falling apart after two years of heavy use? Not at all, not one gripe. Oh yes, there is one, when scratching the body, the surface is easily damaged and a lighter color comes through. One big plus is that you almost never have to tune the guitar, it keeps its correct tuning very long, even with humidity changes. Would I change the name if I could? Hell yeah, come on, Fame Baphomet, only Germans can think of such a name. And yes, they did. The Musicstore in Cologne is the only importer and seller of Fame gear. If I understood correctly, it was one of the MS coworkers who invented the name of the guitars and basses. Maybe he's also responsible for the invention of another great name: Fame Forum. Really, are you serious????? Forum, what kinda name is that for an otherwise superb guitar? And one more note to the Musicstore, please correct your data for all Fame basses, the print catalogue and the website show info that isn't very reliable.

Mayones

2011-11-01T20:59:00.000+01:00

October 2009. After years of playing an Ibanez SR1500, the time had come to buy a new bass. The Ibanez was a nice guitar but there was no way you could dial in a sound that had it all. And the thing was heavy, really heavy. Nice woods though: mahogany, bubinga, wenge. Half the African continent was used to build this bass. Anyway, all posibilities for a new bass were checked, in stores, on the internet. No Fender, 90% plays one or has one in a glass cabinet and more important, I don't like the popping sound they make. I needed something different for reasonable money.

When scrolling through the site of a huge German store, I came along a brand I had never heard of before. Fame. Oh my. Then Fender sounds better, no?

November 2009. I was the proud owner of a Fame Baphomet 4. 600 and some euro of pure craftsmanship. Not made in Korea or PRC (is that still the Peoples Republic of ChingChong?) but built in Gdansk, Poland. I spent many hours with the Fame and didn't really pay attention to the somewhat dafty name. The thing just plays great, do we care about a brand name? How about Fodera, Sadowsky, Spector, Pedulla, Warwick, Lakland, Sandberg, Human Base, Collier, Overwater? If you don't know any of these brands, you might find that the Fame logo is far worse anyway, being the name of a really ridiculous movie, or a musical, or something George Michael is still aiming for.
So I surfed the net searching for the Fame background. Fame seemed to be the budget series of a company named Mayones. Yes, if you think Fame is a tricky name, check out Mayones. So these Mayones dudes didn't even use the Fame name. They used the Mayones name. The name 'Fame' was invented by the German store since they're the only importer and seller of these basses and guitars. And amplifiers. And drum kits. And pedals. And microphones. And speakers. And so on... So when Mayones started building budget instruments they wiped the Mayones logo off the guitar and basses headstocks and replaced them with Fame. The image shows that the well crafted Fame Baphomet used to be a Mayones BE-4 in a previous life. Wow. No wow? Yes wow.

Mayones is something different. A name that has made its fame because of the extremely well built guitars and basses. Eye for detail, the finest woods, the better hardware and a playability that far exceeds Fender basses which are way more expensive in a comparable version.

Mayones. MAYONES. Mayooonesss. Ok. Where does that name come from? It sounds rather stupid, in Spanish it means something like 'mayonaise'. I like it on my fries, not on my guitar. So the search continued, now for the Mayones background.
The legend goes that the father of the family company was building instruments for local musicians. Because they couldn't afford American or German instruments, or from any other country for that matter. So daddy started a little shop in the backroom. And he was kind of very good in what he did and more orders came. So he had to expand to get everybody happy. He hired a helper and prices went up. I have no clue what name they used then but the company grew...and grew... and they went international. So they had to come with a name that sounded international.
In their search of a great sounding name someone raised his hand.
Hand raiser: 'I found a name.'
Father: 'Yes?'
Hand raiser: 'Mayones.'
Father: 'Of course. Why?'
Hand raiser: 'Because this is the nickname of the second person ever to work here. And it sounds great.'
Father: 'So Mayones it is.'

The name was chosen. Mayones was the nickname of the guy daddy hired to help him out years back. And he still worked there. With that story in mind, the name already fits the bill better. And the logo is great.

At that moment I knew I had to have a Mayones. Triple the price of a Fame but what a history. Ok, Fender also has a history but then again, I don't like to play them. And if the Fame is that good, what kind of heavenly playability must a Mayones have?

De kade

2011-09-27T23:18:00.000+02:00

Excuseer, kwam u eerder al in aanvaring met de kade?De klinknagel wilde betrapt worden.Het spijt me, ik zal u een taalmaning moeten geven.

Aanwezigheidsverschijnselen

2011-09-21T22:57:00.001+02:00

Twee weekjes + 1dag. Dat is twee weken verlof en een zeer belangrijke extra dag. Niet om de daaropvolgende werkweek te breken, niet omdat maandag per definitie een dag om niet te beleven is. Wel omdat je dan een geweldig gevoel van schuldige aanwezigheid hebt. Je steelt de kop van de week, en je bent aanwezig waar men het niet verwacht.

Hoe ga je met zo'n dag om? Deze vraag verbleekt in het schijnsel van het zijn. Op zo'n dag ben je er, ergens...nergens. Maakt niet uit waar of hoe. Als je er maar bent. Op de motor in de Ardennen? Aanwezig. Het uitgraven, verplaatsen en weer ingraven van bamboe? Aanwezig. Het zich verbergen achter een Latte Macchiato? Aanwezig. Op het werk? Niet aanwezig. Dat zou geen verschijnsel meer zijn, integendeel. Waar je niet was versterkt de mythe. Waar je wel was ontkracht de legende. Je verschijnt hier en daar waar men je kan zien.

Je zoekt bijvoorbeeld een bakker die op maandag werkt. Dat duurt een tijdje. Je vindt eindelijk een winkel, de bakker slaapt, de vrouw of de dochter staat achter de overblijfselen van een halve nacht bakgenot. Het is voorbij 10.00u. 's Morgens laat. Je vraagt of er nog croissants zijn, want die zijn er meestal niet meer halverwege de voormiddag.
'Goeiendag, zijn er nog croissants?'
- 'Neen, die zijn op.'
'Aah, euhm...'
Je denkt lang na. Te lang. De dame staart je aan. Bingo. Je bent aanwezig.
'Doe dan maar twee chocoladekoeken en wa's dat?'
-'Da's een brioche.'
'Aah, euhm'

Enzovoort, enzoverder. Je kan dit gesprek lange tijd volhouden maar het is niet de bedoeling de medemens te irriteren of te vervelen, wel om aanwezig te zijn met getuigen. Simpel, doeltreffend. Het gewicht van de nakende dinsdag weegt natuurlijk wel. Dat hoort zo, om het effect te verzwaren. Na zo'n extra maandag kan je voldaan terugkijken op een of meerdere aanwezigheden. Met getuigen. Sporen. Verschijnselen. Gewoon.

DR bass strings

2011-09-19T22:44:00.006+02:00

De Fame Baphomet 4, rots in de Poolse handwerkbranding. De naam bedacht door een werknemer bij een bekende Duitse muziekwinkel, tevens enige Europese invoerder en verkoper. Anyways, deze leuke basgitaar klinkt en speelt beter dan de naam doet vermoeden. Voor een prijsje. Als je tenminste de snaren ook eens vervangt.
Na anderhalf jaar full play brak het snaar-moment aan. Bassnaren breken niet snel, ze doven uit, ze sterven. Maar, een bas klinkt nochtans beter met een ietwat doffe snaar. Vind ik, en velen met mij. Snaren vervangen is tof, het resultaat meestal niet zo. En het gaat als volgt:

DR hi-beam, the handmade string.
.
Switch
.
Oh nooooo!!!
.
Done

Ik hou niet van nieuwe snaren. Te steriel, te zuiver, te scherpe klank. DR's klinken nochtans subliem. Ik kan het niet verdragen. Resultaat, nog meer spelen om de snaren snel vuiler te doen worden. En daarom ook wat doffer te klinken. Lees: Mooier, voller, ronder. Eelt is vooruitgang. Ook op de ziel.

Wat nu? Draai iedere treble-knop dicht die je tegenkomt. Op de versterker maar vooral op je bas, zeker als die actief is. Geef een tikje low bij en versterk de mids. En speel. Veel. Heel veel. Tot ze weer lekker dof worden, die vier blinkende trilkabels. Kunnen de highs weer omhoog en de mids en bass omlaag.
Een uitdovende snaar is het beste en dat proces kan lang duren, gelukkig. De oude snaren kunnen intussen een nachtje weken in pure alcohol, liefst geen drinkbare, om als nieuw te worden. Bijna nieuw als in uitdovend, niet uitgedoofd.

Community sites, the name flavour.

2009-03-31T13:24:00.002+02:00

What’s in a name? Let’s talk about some of those famous community sites and their popular names. Just the name, not the fame. Fact is, all of these communities are highly popular, despite the incorrectness of the names. Language Pimp makes a selection:

1. Facebook.com (Sounds like ‘fees-boek’)
So: Great pitch, the book of faces. People easily remember this name and it can be used as a verb f.e. “I’m facebooking until vanishing point arises”. Even a print of your bum counts for a face.
Not so: facebook is not written with a capital ‘F’, or is it? The registration page is dubious, the logo is with a low-grade, tiny, undersized letter f. The text version is with a nice & tall big-o letter F. Who cares anyway, nobody writes about facebook, people are always on facebook.

2. NETLOG.com (Sounds like ‘net-loch’)
So: A transparent name, your log(files) on the net. No way you can write or spell this wrong. Well, some still can but they have that lobotomy alibi.
Not so: The name has a bit of a musty sound. ‘Netlog’ sounds a little too technical for an open community.

3. Orkut.com (Sounds like ‘Oor-koet’)
So: Strong and simple name. Comes from the first name of the developer, Orkut Büyükkökten. A wise decision not to use his family name…
Not so: This site is for some reason not very known in Belgium. Pimp does understand. It must have something to do with that infamous 2008 virus called W32/Scrapkut.worm. We don’t speak the language, now do we?

4. Hyves.nl (Sounds like ‘haaifs’)
So: Strong name. It comes from the word ‘beehive’ so the users are bees in a hive. The Dutch probably fancy this. The spelling of the name ‘hyves’ is wrong. It should be hives in English but that name was already taken. Which is good, ‘hyves’ is more abstract.
Not so: The Dutch only know about hyves so don’t go mentioning facebook or Netlog. As they would say: ‘Vat azzer saaits are zère dèn?

5. LinkedIn (Sounds like ‘linkt-in’)
So: You are the in-crowd, one of the guys networking your way to connectivity with the like-minded. You are linked in! Yeah! Pimp tries hard but throws a 50/50 on the canvas and stays indifferent towards the sound of this name.
Not so: Pimp always reads this as ‘Linkedel-n, with an ‘L’. WRONG!
Suggestion: Linkedin with ‘i’ reads easier. And the Flemish in-crowd keeps calling this ‘Linket-in’. STOP saying that! It hurts the ears and undermines my endless patience.

*Next time the Language Pimp honors the great Barry White with some L.O.V.E. copy.

Language Pimp* time!

2009-03-12T09:40:00.002+01:00

How come we add so little variety in such large amounts of internet copy? Language Pimp needs to know.
The answer is quite simple, the extremely hip internaut collective don’t want to be bothered too much. They look at 5 websites per minute. They read 17 words per second. So Pimp says: pimp your copy! Dare 2 be different, play hide & seek with the sheep. So the sheep still read your words.

Ni hao, ferocious spoof.
Pimp doesn’t write for the ‘Members of division 17 gathering outsourced siblings in touch with their inner selves’. For sure they will read all the copy one throws in the feed box. Pimp must write to gather click through rates. Fast and frugal copy. Booyakasha! Who’s looking up the word ‘frugal’ right now? Isn’t it scanty enough maybe?
Any hao, this being the first blog of the Language Pimp out in the open, here’s a question: Can we keep motivating people with numb copy? With all those ‘click here’ and ‘it’s your life’ messages? Or has the time come to motivate and inspire the mass with intelligent and interactive text haggis? Combine smart words with slim design maybe? Future proof will come…

Question:
1. Did you read every word of this blog?
2. Did question 1 make you read all of the content again?
3. Are you afraid you missed the part where it says: Win iPhone now?
4. Have you scanned the text again, even when you knew Pimp was playing games?

Until we meet again,
The Language Pimp.

Website Pimp likes
http://www.bash.org/?350939 Good copy, very accessible design, a little heavy on the header .

Website Pimp doesn’t like
http://www.havenworks.com/ – Inaccessible accessibility, superb combo of design and copy?

*Language Pimp is the alter ego of copyRAFTER aka strepieskode

Good web copy

2009-02-24T17:04:00.005+01:00

Funny, when you do a Google search on how to write good copy for internet, you always (well... almost always) end up at sites written by half brainless geezers who've copied all their impressive knowledge off other less chosen web sites.

They provide some special rules and warnings in the baddest written language ever.
Example: 'You never write a copy that's to long for readers to understanding. They have no more interest.'

Woooww!!!! And you can follow them on Twitter. Mighty Mo that's awesome. The freedom of internet, having to cope with these perfect losers who only want to score and make fast money. Hell, has it ever been different?

The same goes for a belgian communication company that gives fantastic tips on how to score in Google with good SEO-driven copy. This company - bSeen - can have my humble opinion for free:
When you're a serious communication company giving online advice, please act as if you care!

Key word

2009-02-18T19:58:00.002+01:00

This week I learned that you better not write 'keyword' but 'key word'!

I'm not a native english speaker nor do I share any bloodlines with english or american geezers. Still it does not take away the pain I've felt since this revelation.

In my beloved dutch language, most words are combined as long as you can still read them as two separate words. Not so in english.

This is how it works:

Website vs web site
Motorforum vs motorcycle forum
Verhuisparty vs housewarming party
...

It doesn't matter anyway. Write down as many words as possible, nothing can change the fact that a key word will never be a keyword. One more dream fallen to pieces...

Denkschrijven

2009-02-13T23:04:00.006+01:00

Er zijn van die dagen... Kranten, ondertitels, webcopy, blogs, magazines. Soms haal ik er zowat ieder schrijffoutje uit. Machtig gevoel. Ik ben beter!
Soms denk ik intens na over een tekst, schrijf hem neer, herlees driemaal. Foutloos!
Dan komt het moment dat je achteloos wat neerpent, tenminste, je schrijft wel wat maar eigenlijk zit je vooral het scenario te bedenken dat je wil volgen. Dat noem ik 'denkschrijven'.

Perfectionisme zit in het streven naar het allerhoogste. Maar ook in het gewoonweg goed willen doen. In mijn geval, foutloos schrijven. Ik heb dagenlang een bittere nasmaak als er fouten in mijn teksten staan. Copywriters schrijven geen fouten. Een slecht karakter, verslaafd aan dieseluitstoot, bergbeklimmen zonder hulpmiddelen...het kan allemaal, als je maar geen fouten schrijft.

www.schrijf.be is een site voor en door copywriters. Lijkt me de hel, ik heb er zelfs ooit een schrijffout ontdekt. Doet me goed, minder twijfels, meer wetenschap dat perfectie ook 70% kan zijn, niet 100%.

Ik maak regelmatig fouten. Nonchalant, teveel nadenken over het verloop van de tekst, typfout, hardnekkige fout, immerwederkerige fout van woorden die je gek genoeg weinig gebruikt, immerwederkerige fout van woorden die je veel gebruikt. Het gebeurt nu eenmaal dus ja, het is zo. Vervelend, dat wel.

Ik ben een denkschrijver. Ik zie beelden, vorm de woorden, bekijk het scenario, visualiseer mijn gedachten. Heel mooi maar met nadelen. Daarom is het steeds handig als een ander je teksten nog eens kan nalezen. Foutje hier, kommaatje daar, misschien wat bondiger zijn nog. Zo leer je bij en blijf je alert.

Copywriting tip van de dag: Laat je schrijffouten keihard blootleggen door een collega. Confronterend maar leerrijk.

It's your choice

2009-02-10T23:01:00.005+01:00

I've had it with some of the present slogans to seduce people with directive copy.

Have it your way (Burger King). Where do you want to go today? (Microsoft). Let your fingers do the walking (Yellow Pages).
These slogans sold the product. I'm fed up with it,
STOP PATRONIZING US!

It always was MY CHOICE. It always was MY LIFE!!! Did I miss something, did someone take control of me when I was sleeping. Was it their life in earlier days?

The last couple of years the tone of voice in publicity changed from 'This is the best car, made by mankind' to 'It fits in your garage' and 'Your dreams can come true'. So I wonder, what is wrong with a well made product? Is it really necessary to point in my direction all the time, or must I say, in the direction of every possible buyer of the product?

Nike says: Just do it.
That's ok cause they don't give a shit who does it, as long as it's done.

Volkswagen says: Think small.
It is directed to you but they avoid the horrible way of saying that 'It's your fucked up mind which gives you the impression everything has to be big'.

Heinz said: BEANZ MEANZ HEINZ
This was perfect, it was all about the product, never about you.

Thing is, everybody thinks they make the choices and decissions. Everybody feels important and that's what copywriters aim at.
I can't wait for the new era where publicity will be aiming directly to your leftover of a brain with slogans like:
* You already bought our car, now get used to it!
* Fear of money! Let us help you get rid of that too!
* Oh no, it's not you, it's us... but you're fucked anyway...

Short copy vs long copy

2009-02-06T23:50:00.004+01:00

Short copy:
'Most people scan internet copy, they don't read it.
In the glimpse of a second, they search through the words, looking for things of interest.
Short copy... message... cheap... free... do it now... sex...

What could this be about? Cheap sex is free, do it now?
No, it's just words you remember when they interest you. The only reason for using short copy is to bring the message fast and simple. This is quite technical. Most brands need to sell products, they really love this kind of copy. Since I write for the iternet, it's all about the short messages.

Long copy:
In my editor days, I had to write tons of long articles. Page fillers with lots of pictures. I liked that. You could balance your words, build a text, give detailed insights on stuff.
I did that a lot. I wrote articles about motorcycles and all things related. Very technical, very much based on knowledge of the product. Still, I never was Mr. technician and I never will be. I always tried to get the feel of the particular bike into the combination of words. Some said with success. I hope so.

Now that I work as a copywriter, things are totally different. No more long copy, but filtered sentences, powerful words, skinny texts. Do I like that? Well, more and more. Coming to the point in as little words as possible. Not easy but writing 5 page articles wasn't easy either. It took me some time to understand that copywriting isn't journalism.

Copywriting is technical. An article is all about feeling. I really thought it was the other way round. I'm going to try to change that. Why? Because!

Short copy? Or long copy?
There is no such thing as somewhere in between copy. Or is there? Sometimes the client wants short copy, sometimes they need lots of words to explain their product and vision. Sometimes I think longer copy is the best, sometimes I feel short copy is better.
In the end, the client decides. Or I try to direct their opinion. I want to, at least.

You can not draw a line. Copy needs to be to the point, clear, direct, message first.

These are my thougts on the matter:
- Analyse the product and keep the preferred tone of voice in mind.
- Does the product need lots of info, or does it only need teaser copy?
- What would you write for? A newsletter, mail template, a banner, what size?
- Can you get the right feel with bone dry words? Or does the text need more body?
- What kind of words would you use? Easy? Difficult?
- Neutral, positive, happy, informative message?

My point is: Short copy is the way to go! No. Long copy is how it's done! No. Decide on what you feel the subject needs, keep the wishes of the client in mind and don't forget to throw away 50% of your text in the second round. You'll see, it will work out fine in most cases. Just never write because you need to unleash your massive stash of undoubtedly lovely words.

Next time: 'It's all about you and your life' or why I'm fed up with the kind of 'let the client think he makes the choices' copy.

Copywriting teasers

2009-01-31T11:38:00.013+01:00

Drie dagen online met deze blog en evenveel keren heb ik de blognaam en de url aangepast.
Copywriting is kiezen, zoeken naar de beste vorm, verder denken dan de juiste schrijfwijze.

Informerend vs. teasing, verheerlijkend vs. beschrijvend, Nederlands vs. Engels, short copy vs. long copy, copy voor SEO vs. copy & concept, copywriter vs. copyRAFTER!

Copywriting is een vak apart.
Copywriting is moeilijk.
Copywriting is Killing your Darlings.
Copywriting is to the point komen.
Copywriting is knippen.

Elk van deze 5 punten is aan bod gekomen bij het bepalen van de juiste naam voor mijn blogspot.
1. Copywriter: Een vak apart verdient een aparte maar herkenbare naam. 'Copywriter' is naast 'copywriting' één van de meest voorkomende keywords bij Google en andere search engines. Dat is net hetzelfde als het zoveelste nieuwsbericht over een revolutionaire verbetering van de autoband. Boring! Zeg me liever dat een rubberen band oldschool is en opnieuw dient uitgevonden te worden.
2. De Schrijverij: Eerste keuze als url. Niet goed, te moeilijk. De halve Nederlandstalige wereld bestaat uit rommelige schrijfgeriefwinkeltjes met deze indrukwekkende naam. Ik wil op dit moment nog geen schrijfgeriefwinkeltje zijn.
3. PenDier: Eén van m'n geliefkoosde namen, het PenDier. Het combineert de kracht van het geschreven woord met de oerinstincten van het beest. Maar Kill Your Darlings is noodzaak want ook deze naam doet me steevast aan een kruising van een dierwinkel en een Bic store denken. Het ga je goed, PenDier. Jouw tijd komt nog.
4. strepie: Al meer to the point want één van m'n alter ego's. Strepieskode, strepie en strepie Fish kregen al een plaats in een vorige blog en het blijft een mooie klank. Dus die blijft. Maar niet als naam voor een copywriter.
5. copyRAFTER
copyRAFTER zegt het helemaal. Toch vanuit mijn eigen logika. De Strepieslogika. Copy, rafting, RAF! Qua zelfverheerlijking kan het tellen en ik ben er zeker van dat de search engines dit woord nog niet kennen. Slechte SEO maar bijzondere SEA, zeg ik dan. We zullen zien.

Zoo weten zij 't dan niet, die lage rijmerstoet,

Wat magt de Kunst heeft, om het zedelijk gemoed

Te ontreinigen, en hoe de grove pen dier slaven
Van de eeuw de voren dempt door 't hemelsch licht gegraven!

strepie

2009-01-28T23:51:00.000+01:00

Woorden met dubbele betekenis zijn funky. Neem nu bijvoorbeeld 'strepie'. Enerzijds afgeleid van het Zuid-Afrikaanse strepieskode wat zoveel betekent als barcode (streepjescode).
Betekenis nummer 2: de Afrikaanse Strepie Fish. Beroemd als filmacteur, wereldberoemd als Nemo de Clownvis.
In de Egyptische Rode Zee zie je ze dagelijks maar altijd zijn ze alleen. Gekke vis die Strepie Fish. Hangt zo'n beetje ter plekke te zweven boven een enorme anemoon, kijkt je steeds aan om het gevaar in te schatten en verdwijnt met één snelle beweging zodra je de veilige 2- metergrens binnendringt.
Maar ik vind het gewoon een prachtig woord. Strepie... klinkt vrolijk, smaakt juist en eindigt met een open lettergreep. Meer moet dat eigenlijk niet zijn. Alhoewel, strepie betekent gewoon streep, of het nu een code of een vis is. Blijft toch funky.

Quest for Q

2009-01-28T13:54:00.000+01:00

'Q' is de allereerste letter van mijn allereerste blog. In een gevecht op leven en dood zal je de letter Q beperkt gebruiken maar als toegevoegde waarde kan ze enigszins tellen. James Bond verbouwde legendarische locaties dankzij uitvindingen van Q (mijn held) en verder is er enkel nog het treurige en weinig creativiteit opwekkende hitzendertje Q-music. Ok, andere tags zijn Q-Force of Q-dance but still... not enough for me. So the quest for Q starts here!

Ga ik hier het hele alfabet in de mix duwen? Nope! Ik vraag alleen maar een opwaardering van deze opvallende letter. Mag het?