If you’re into gear this is the place to be my friend!
The National Association of Music Manufacturers Conference and Expo. For 4 days, thousands of people descend on the Anaheim Convention Center with music in mind. There are over 500 events, 200 performances, 3,000 brands, and 101 countries coming together in one place for the same reason. It’s an exciting and intense cacophony of sound, light, and sights. It is Disneyland for musicians. And now that you’re dying to go, I have to tell you that it’s not open to the public! Only NAMM members can attend. Lucky us, our ticket in the door came compliments of our involvement with She Rocks Awards.
After walking miles on the Expo floor, networking with anyone and everyone we could talk to, and seeing as much as physically possible, here are a few highlights. (See our photo gallery for all the pictures)
From Brian:
-Hozen guitars from Singapore were fantastic- made from Brazilian rosewood (impossible to get in the US without special permits) and multiple other types of wood. It was beautiful and played amazingly. Best tone woods I`ve ever seen on a guitar.
-It was cool to see Lee Anderton (Andertons Music Company) of Youtube fame.
-The EV battery powered 8’ speaker is super cool.
-Found these great guitar picks from a Czechoslovakian company, Janicek Picks
From Amanda:
-Saw Stevie Wonder with Bob Moog in the Moog booth!
-Stood front row to see guitarist Larry Carlton play a set
-Found this cool Pocket Piano from Spain. 88 full size weighted keys that break down into octave size cards that all fit into a lunch box size carrying case. Sounded great.
-Bought a rehearsal piano from Fesley to use for the week. Great starter piano for beginners. But I sold it so I didn’t have to ship it home.
-Solo Dome chairs are super fun egg chairs with speakers that make a great listening and VR experience.
From Nicohl:
-Got to meet my hero bassist Tonya O’Callaghan! (picture here)
-Cool to see FreekBass play at the Positive Grid booth and reconnect after meeting at Bass Boot Camp last spring
-Got meet and talk with bad ass Brazilian bassist Julia Lage
-Caught up with Dale Titus who sold me my first Aguilar
-Got an endorsement with Aurora strings thanks to Jake Pelletier
From Jared:
-Got an endorsement with Scorpion Percussion and their Immortal Series drumsticks (In photo with Scorpion percussion)
-Got another endorsement with T Cymbals, a turkish cymbal company
-Gruv Gear drum cases are awesome. They open frm the front instead of the top for easy storage.
-Shure gave us an endorsement thanks to Laura Clamp
-Saw Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath fame!
-Found this amazing software called Highnote which allows for easy music collaboration
-Met with Kicktone and shared with them how we recorded our EP with it