Jammer Wows Musos

Busselton, Western Australia, 6th January 2006 – Thumtronics Ltd today announced that its new electronic musical instrument – the Thummer™-brand jammer – is gaining momentum even before it becomes commercially available.

After spending over two years and $1.5 million on its development, Thumtronics has defined a new kind of electronic musical instrument: the “jammer.” The size of a paperback book, a jammer combines a two-dimensional arrangement of note-controlling buttons with thumb-operated expressive controls.

At ThumFest™ 2005, held at the Perth Concert Hall, Thumtronics announced its Thummer™-brand jammer. With videos of supporting quotes from experts around Australia, Thumtronics showed that the jammer is more expressive, easier to learn, and expands musical horizons farther than any other musical instrument. Videos of the ThumFest, including demonstrations of the jammer, are now downloadable from [url=http://www.thummer.com]http://www.thummer.com. [/url] Additional demos are available from Google Video.

A dozen prototype jammers are in the hands of WA’s top musicians today, with hundreds of new prototypes becoming available this March/April.  The commercial model is expected to be globally available in September/October 2006.

The public will get its first chance to play the jammer in March. “At the inaugural Australian Music Expo (Perth, Burswood Dome, March 9th through 11th), we expect the jammer to be one of our star attractions,” said Mr Chris Osborne, Expo Director.

Gavin Healy, crowned “World’s Best Thummist™ 2005,” demonstrated the jammer’s expressive power at ThumFest 2005. “I’ve been a semi-professional musician for eight years,” he said. “Suddenly, I’m being asked to appear in music videos, play overseas, and more. Playing the jammer has given me the ‘big break’ I’ve been waiting for.”

Other musicians were impressed, too. Jason Namour of PerthBands.com stated that “It’s got massive potential, especially for touring.”

Phil Tripp of IMMEDIA! agreed, saying that “It’s very exciting from a performance point of view. I was quite surprised with the educational potential. Had I had one of those when I was a kid, I’d probably be a much better player than I turned out to be.”

Dr. Sam Leong, Director of Music Education at the University of Western Australia and Co-Director of the recently-completed National Review of School Music Education, said that “I have not seen any innovation with as much potential to revolutionize music education. The jammer could transform the musical landscape in the 21st century.”

Paul Bodlovich, Executive Director of the Western Australian Music Industry Association (WAM), said “What we heard from people today is that the possibilities are endless. I’d be inclined to suggest that that’s exactly the case.”

Graham Hoskins, a 30-year veteran of the musical-instrument retailing industry and former President of the Australian Music Association, said “I think it’s a very exciting instrument, and it could be huge.”

The potential of Thumtronics’ innovations has been recognized by the Australian Federal Government, which recently announced that Thumtronics has won a $355,000 grant under AusIndustry’s highly-competitive Commercial Ready Scheme.

“The enthusiasm shown by musicians for the jammer suggests that it’s the ‘winged keel’ of music,” said Jim Plamondon, Thumtronics’ CEO, “and it was born right here in Australia. Culturally, it’s ours. It belongs to us. Together, we can explore its limits, push its musical envelope, and use it to define a new and uniquely Australian musical style.”

“Thumtronics’ innovations have the capability of creating a ‘Creative Industries hub’ in Australia,” according to Anita Kelleher, Managing Director of Designer Futures, who spoke at ThumFest 2005. “In the UK, for example, the Creative Industries represent now over 8% of the national economy – that’s billions of pounds and millions of jobs.”

Dr. David Rooney, Senior Lecturer at UQ’s Business School and co-author of “Thumtronics Ltd: Reshaping the Music Technology Industry,” said that “Thumtronics and its innovations seem very likely to succeed in the global marketplace.  The question is: can Australia organise itself to take full advantage of the jammer? Will its music and music education industries embrace this opportunity to excel? Or will scepticism and a lingering cultural cringe let another tremendous opportunity slip through Australia’s fingers?”

To learn more about the Thummer™-brand jammer and the opportunity to invest in Thumtronics Ltd., see [url=http://www.thummer.com]http://www.thummer.com. [/url]