2010 NAMM SHOW

The riot of sound that consumes you when you visit NAMM show
I would describe as a High School marching band on acid walking through your head.

NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) members are companies that manufacture, distribute and/or retail musical instruments/products. attendance at NAMM trade shows is restricted to "trade only" companies (not open to the public).
This year's NAMM Show is expected to draw more than 86,000 registered attendees who will display and view thousands of new products, ranging from string, percussion and band instruments to pianos, music accessories, pro audio and computer music equipment.

The 2010 show marks the 40th anniversary and was definatly leaner than the glitsy years past where you staggered out of the convention center with a suitcase spilling over with guitar strings, straps, Tshirts, gadgets...and sometimes a promotional model... (Hey it's Rock and Roll).

The 2010 show brought 1500 Manufacturer's most that I spoke with were greatful to simply be there and have 2009 behind them. Many admitted the previous year was so bad from a sales perspective they were SO happy to be standing there.
Most of these folks were seriously interested in having a conversation about creative ways to have business brought TO THEM.
I look forward to sharing (in upcoming blogs) some wonderful products that I recommend you add to your musical tool kit so you can be your best.

Sightings:

Yoko Ono- The John Lennon Educational tour bus was on display, (www.lennon bus.org) “The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit outreach program with the mission of giving kids a chance to express themselves through music and video productions,” and Yoko was there on Thursday along w/ Quincy Jones, Jackson Brown & the Cookie Monster all speaking in support of keeping music in young peoples lives.

Some of the "old people" keeping it rocking were:
A bespeckeled Rob Halford, Judas Priest front man- Sporting a big gold wedding band leather pants w/ matching vest perched on a stool autographing pics from mostly middle aged male groupies ...(Rob and I are old enough to remember a day when it was NOT cool to show off your wedding ring)-
Slash showing off Marshall's new AFD100 -Can you say LOUD, and the AFD is really the signature SLASH amp with out his name??? Slash? seriously... the Amp should say SLASH on it....

George Lynch (Dokken & Lynch Mob)- DJ Jazzy Jeff (w/o the Fresh Prince) Craig Chaquico Doyle Dykes, Michael Anthony- Michael has been spending some time in the gym and actually the healthest looking of all the other guys, and aside from Jeff the youngest of the old rockers....Dave Mustaine the founding member of Megadeath was 'guided' out to his signing stool at Dean Guitars- by two sales managers Can you say death warmed over? eeechhh!

Cool New Products:

FURMAN: www.furman.com
P-2300 IT E Balanced Power Conditioner for 220V-240V Regions

Designed for the most critical, ultra-low noise installations in 220V-240V regions, the P-2300 IT E supplies balanced and isolated AC power for recording studios, broadcast stations, video production facilities, or any environment requiring a studio quality signal-to-noise ratio.

The P-2300 IT E offers 14 balanced, GFCI-protected IEC C-13 outlets (12 rear panel, 2 front panel) with a total operating capacity of 10 A. A front-panel display features a switchable and dimmable digital voltmeter/ammeter with color-coded “Voltage Range,” “Protection OK,” and “Extreme Voltage” indicators for comprehensive power monitoring. A front-panel USB outlet allows the user to charge personal media devices and cell phones or power a USB lamp. The unit ships with 2.5-meter IEC C13 female-to-Schuko-male power cord.

The P-2300 IT E is available now through Furman’s regional distribution partners.

http://bit.ly/7w3uV9
P-1800 PF Power Conditioner

An update to Furman’s Power Factor Pro, the P-1800 PF is a floor version of the popular rackmount P-1800 PF R. Ideal for instrument amplifiers and guitar/bass heads, the P-1800 PF provides comprehensive protection with Furman’s exclusive Power Factor and Clear Tone Technologies for uncompromised performance from high-current gear. The P-1800 PF’s new design features a sleek black finish and high-current outlets for instantaneous, low-impedance current delivery. Its compact, rugged steel construction is ideal for stage or studio use.

SHURE: www.shure.com

Shure has had products I have used through out my career- SImply because they are the best, Excellent quality, dependability
AND durability- when your on the road touring they consistantly out perform anything. I recently added two PGX wireless products to my gear the PGX headset- & wireless guitar pack- Incredibly easy set up- flexibility to use in a variety of environments- and crystal clear sound!

BEHRINGER: www.behringer.com
With an unbelievable 50 new products Uri's team is introducing visitors to new loudspeakers, power amplifiers, a studio monitor range, and DJ mixers.
My Favorites were:
The Virtualizer PRO 3D, described as using “Real Sound Modeling technology to give 71 stereo algorithms the power to accurately emulate a wide range of acoustic environments”. The processor includes 12 reverb programs, modulation, amp simulation, distortion and effects, as well as dynamic and psychoacoustic processing.

The EuroLive range of loudspeakers is sitting at the top of the release list with a wealth of new cabinets being released. Among them are the EuroLive VP1220D and VP1520D enclosures, each delivering 550 Watts through 12″ and 15″ woofers respectively plus 1.75″ titanium compression drivers.


FISHMAN: www.fishman.com

I am the proud owner of Fishman's Loudbox 100 and LOVE their products.
Fishman is offering a acoustic imaging pedal-
The Aura Sixteen features an open architecture pre-loaded with 16 dreadnought images from the Aura Image Gallery. Using the Aura Image Gallery’s search and download tools, you can find your instrument and reprogram the unit with your choice of Images from a selection of about 800. The Aura Image Gallery is available as a download or for Aura Imaging Pedal owners for $29.95.

According to Fishman, the unit eliminates intrusive stage noise and expensive microphone setups while providing the most realistic acoustic sound available for stage or studio.

The Aura Sixteen features a USB interface for Image downloading from the Aura Image Gallery (software included); 16 pre-loaded Aura Images for dreadnought-style guitars; Image Select, Volume, and Blend controls; a Feedback-fighting Phase switch; a Bypass / Mute foot switch; Input Trim; a Clip / Low Battery indicator; and more.

ACOUSTIC GUITARS:
It is nearly impossible to properly demo an acoustic guitar at NAMM- But these were standouts!

TAYLOR: www.taylor.com
The 9-string is perfect for the player looking for 12-string shimmer without sacrificing a focused low-end. The guitar features mahogany back and sides, a Sitka spruce top, Taylor's Standard II soundboard bracing, a three-ring abalone rosette, a "35th Anniversary" logo between frets 11 and 12 and the Taylor Expression System® pickup and preamp.

It also comes with a hardshell case and a certificate of authenticity singed by co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug. The initial run of this instrument will be limited to 35 guitars and will be available in late fall/early winter. And as you might expect with such a limited edition instrument this guitar costs more than the blue book value of your car: $4998 USD.

ELECTRIC GUITARS:

JAMES TRUSSART http://www.jamestrussart.com/Steelcaster.htm

My Absoulute FAVORITE: Trussart is a musician-turned-luthier. The Parisian native began his career as a fiddler, accompanying Cajun singer-songwriter Zachary Richard in the late ’70s, before turning his attention to crafting violins and later guitars in 1980. From his current So-Cal home workshop (where he’s resided since 2000), Trussart crafts custom steel-bodied guitars, basses and violins in a dazzling array of finishes, reminiscent of shiny chrome resonator instruments and rusty, weathered or fossilized discarded machinery. And the tone is so distinctive that Trussart guitars have become ‘must-have’ instruments in the arsenals of influential artists including Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, Jack White, Charlie Sexton, Daniel Lanois, Marc Ribot, Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow), Rich Robinson (Black Crowes), Sonny Landreth, Joe Perry, Tom Morello, Billy Corgan, The Roots and many, many more.

DAISY ROCK: www.daisyrock.com
Daisy Rock is doing what ever it takes to help girls play guitar and enjoy music.
New for 2010 The debutant seranade Acousti Parlor Guitars & Rock Candy Extreme electric guitar.
Great for the entry level guitar players.


GUITAR ACCESSORIES:

LR BAGGS: www.lrbaggs.com

Venue DI: The Venue DI is a beautifully packaged roadworthy floor box that has everything you need to get the perfect acoustic tone from your guitar in any live venue. The Venue DI is designed with 100% discrete circuitry for the cleanest and sweetest sound possible and also features a transformer couple D.I for total ground loop elimination and a new chromatic tuner in an attractive and bulletproof foot pedal package.

Anthem: This is a mic that fits into the soundhole of your acoustic guitar and what you will experience is your guitar- loud with the fidelity and dynamics that come from a real microphone. The sound quality and feedback resistance of the Anthem Tru-Mic now allows the mic to be the primary sound source in a mic/pickup system with only the very lowest frequencies being augmented by our Element undersaddle pickup. VERY SWEET.

The Anthem’s feather-weight control unit contains all of the essentials: volume, mix and phase. It nestles securely inside of the soundhole for easy fingertip access.

TC ELECTRONICS: http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/namm-2010-see-tcs-polytune-tune-all-our-strings-at-once-232886 Polytune all string tuner- the only draw back is that it works only with standard tuning, so no good for you Micheal Hedges, Joni Mitchell fans....



VOCAL ACCESSORIES:

TC Electronics www.tcelectronics.com
Takes the prize with 2 cool products:
The Voicetone create XT- Brings your studio vocals right into your live show
Reverb, gender, modulation.... Amazing!
check out the demo at: HTTP://www.tc-helicon.com/voicetone-create-xt.asp#
Retail $349

And the big daddy of them all: The Voice Live 2 which gives you up to 8 harmony vocals- Gender, Adaptive Tone, Reverb, Delayed ducking... Very impressive, though I did find the Choir Setting sounding a bit compressed and robotic sounding.
Retail $995


OTHER OBSERVATIONS:

Panel discussion titles:

The Post Crisis Consumer
Stratagies for a changing retail world
7 ways to thrive in ANY economy

China: Just interesting to see the country itself so prominently displayed.

Though they argued to be a "developing nation" during the global summit in Copenhagen to avoid having to adhere to
restrictions on emissions. They had a large presence in the show, and for a developing nation are posting some pretty impressive sales numbers. It is projected they will have earned $315 million by 2011 in the digital music market & in recorded music their global value is approximately US$100 billion - three times the actual size of their retail sales.
Now this is a blip for a country of 1.3 billion people.

Experts indicate that China is the fastest growing market in music today: They are 7th currently in the world's music market (they were 20th in 2007) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125207664547286713.html


Saturday Afternoon, I emerged from the Anaheim Convention Center into a cloud of Cigerette smoke, the door closing behind me leaving me with the feeling of sensory deprevation, as if I had lost my hearing.... it takes a minute to ground yourself and realize it is the absence of the acid driven marching band marching around in your head.... you are stepping back out into the "real world".....& I drive to the airport with the radio off.... images and products swirling around in my head.

I am really happy to have seen some of my old buddies walking around the show, and very excited about new relationships that were developed, which I will share in more detail in upcoming blogs.

For now, mark your calendar for an upcoming Cougar Rock show www.tamraengle.com-and you can join me in creating a strong global music community to work with folks that make our world a better place,
Together we are "Bridging people and society through the power of music!"

Peace,


=Tamra Engle
www.tamraengle.com