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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | For those fortunate to have been able to attend, is there anything interesting or newsworthy to report? I couldn't attend this year, but hope to get back next year. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | The show is tomorrow through Sunday I believe. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Correct, Weaser, Jan 19-22. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Most newsworthy is that Weaser won't be there. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | That is correct but that would have been correct every other year as well.
I will get there one of these days though...Bucket List item. |
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Location: south east Michigan | I hope to do the NAMM thing someday mayself.
Wease... let's make sure we do it the same year. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | It's a date. |
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Location: south east Michigan | Can we please call it something... anything.. other than a "date"? |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Sure. How's rendezvous? |
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Location: sitting at my computer | Originally posted by Weaser P:
I will get there one of these days though...Bucket List item. +1
Mothership factory tour is on my list too. Sure hope they don't kick the bucket before I can get there! |
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Location: Newington, CT | On my bucket list too. |
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Location: SoCal | Just got back from my 2nd day at NAMM...(Sat and a couple of hours Sunday).
Finally got to meet David Vincent (Artist Relations in Nashville). Had discussions with him several years ago. Older Custom Legend will be visible in next Tom Cruise movie (next year).
Takamine 2012 Ltd (steel and nylon string) were a nice understated appearance (black) yet if you held them under the nut, absolutely sang just from the ambient noise...a couple of years ago, the TVN 360, 2010 Ltd, and 2011 Ltd were like that which was why I ordered them from Al...you can feel it, stands out over other guitars such as Martin, etc. Both 2012 Ltd's (steel and nylon) are gorgeous guitars and worthy of praise as outstanding Takamine offerings.
50th Anniversary, glass encased. The 50th, based on earlier pictures was not high on my list. In person, excellent. I can only assume (IMHO) that it is a superior player as was the 40th and 45th.
Both displays for Takamine and Ovation were excellent. Well staffed by our local rep, Mike, and other KMC staff. Some US made O's such as the Glen Campbell reissue. Interesting was the scalloped fret board for at least one of the Viper models, etc. Maybe I missed it but I didn't see any Adamas...remember, other than a limited issue (50 for Glen Campbell), my understanding is that US made O's and A's are really made out of the custom shop and very limited in number.
Still not as busy as several years ago (used to be so noisy that you couldn't have a conversation or get a parking space) but the exhibitors said they were taking a lot of orders...might be BS but, if true, it reflects that stores are anticipating a good 3, 6, 9 month economy.
Sorry, didn't get a chance to check out Guild.
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Location: Scotland | From a business standpoint ths has been the most productive NAMM for me for several years. From an Ovation standpoint it was pretty depressing. Lots of mediocre import Ovations but only 4 USA models (YM vipers, GC and 1617) and no Adamas. Saw some "secret" Guild stuff that was amazingly cool. |
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Location: Flahdaw | There's already Youtube stuff posted on NAMM2012. |
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Location: Tennessee | The big thing at Ovation seemed to be the new "Vintage Lyracord" bowls. They've reformulated the glass/resin composition from 60/40 to 90/10. I'm told it's way lighter with much better sound. What really blew my hair back was that you could press on the bowl and it would "give" - Moody ought to have a picture of me pushing in the bowl about an inch with my thumb. Very weird for this old timer! These guitars have a VL designation. FWIW, I had someone tell me that the bowls for the Asian guitars are made in Asia ... but ... there will be some new USA stuff coming later this year that inludes VL bowls that are hand-laid using the original molds and made in Ashbula.
No Adamas guitars were on display. The Yngwie guitars were pretty nice in person ... I liked the f-holes and the colors but I've have to play it for a bit where I can hear it to know if I like the scalloped fretboards.
With just a couple of exceptions, all of the guitars are Asian. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Really pretty crowded this year as opposed to past years but the overall noise level was lower. Lots of NAMM "sound patrol" personnel roaming around with dB meters and telling booths to turn down if the sound exceeded the approved levels.
Saw some absolutely awesome digital mixer products from Line6 and Mackie. I am pretty sure the Mackie will be on my "to buy" list sometime in the next year.
Like Paul mentioned, Guild has some AMAZING secret products that will blow back the hair on many. Too cool. They also had an INCREDIBLE Cocobola guitar that made me forget my pledge not to buy any more guitars in 2012. Stunning limited edition of 20 that not only looked fantastic but played and sounded amazing as well.
Taks were really cool but did not blow me away for the money.
Ovation's new bowls were crazy like Bobbo said but nothing really exciting to me except the potential new models coming out later this year.
As in prior years I spent the vast majority of my time in the section that catered to the recording enthusiasts and many of the seminars I sat in on were definitely enlightening and will hopefully improve my recording/mixing abilities
Saw and chatted with Matt Smith.
Also met Colin Hay, Peter Case, and Leland Sklar. All were extremely friendly and nice guys.
Also saw many of our OFC breathern at the show.
Once again a good time and I look forward to next year. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Ovation booth at NAMM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNHaSfBXR_w |
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Location: Texas | Can someone help me with the "Vintage Lyracord" bowl? "We've gone back to..." I guess I missed them back in the vintage days. |
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Location: SoCal | The vintage bowls that I saw in the past, once attached to the tops, were rigid. Not like the current ones.
I suspect that what they are referring to is making the bowls out of fiberglass again. In the early 80's the bowls were all uniformly made of another material (drawing a blank as to what). I would guess that the newer guitars are going to have this new mixture while higher end guitars (like the GC reissue) have handlaid fiberglass bowls with the original mixture... |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | The APPLE IPAD2 has also become the de facto standard for all things musical. Seeing some of the products and apps designed to take advantage, I find myself forced to considered purchasing an IPAD sooner rather than later. As a matter of fact, I am heading over to the Apple Store this afternoon to check them out and will probably walk out of the door with one......(this from an apple hater of 30 years!)
Overall the live music at this years show was a disappointment for me. Seems as though most of the groups playing were average at best and some were downright horrible. Paul and I were shocked at some of the mediocrity that we saw.
There was one band that played at the Sennheiser booth that was just absolutely OUTSTANDING. They had clever melodies, mind blowing 4 part harmonies, and understated but extremely good chops that accented the music and songs instead of dominating and distracting from the music. I would tell you the name but I can't think of it offhand. I did get a promo CD (coming out late spring)of some of their tunes so when I finish unpacking and locate it, I will post up a link. |
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Location: Texas | Paul...So this "vintage" label insinuates that these have seen the light of day before...My cynical side says marketing gimmick to the unknowing, so that they can put a bowl on there that doesn't cost as much (guessing). Vintage = Good Old Days = some degree of the cool factor. All for the sake of margins. I would think it would affect resonance (on the - side).
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Location: Tennessee | This is not your father's lyracord. |
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Location: SoCal | Maybe vintage means old style profit margins..... |
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Location: Orlando, FL | Thanks to everyone for posting your experiences and cool finds! This sounds like a blast.
Now I'm going to have to check out some of those youtube links. |
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Location: Scotland | Steve, the band at the Sennheiser booth was King Washington, and you were right they were killer. It was good to reconnect with Colin Hay after so long. And scoring a guitar endorsement deal for Peter Case was cool. He's a good friend and I'm glad I could make that happen.
The highlight for me was Shaun Hopper. He's going to be the next big name in fingerstyle guitar. His solo arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody was amazing, and to have close to a thousand people singing it for him was amazing. The standing ovation he got was deserved |
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Location: Central Massachusetts | stephent28 wrote:
The APPLE IPAD2 has also become the de facto standard for all things musical. Seeing some of the products and apps designed to take advantage, I find myself forced to considered purchasing an IPAD sooner rather than later. As a matter of fact, I am heading over to the Apple Store this afternoon to check them out and will probably walk out of the door with one......(this from an apple hater of 30 years!)
If you can, hold out for the next iPad, almost certainly out in March. Faster, better resolution display, probably same price. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | hah...good advice DVD but I always buy late and pay to much.
Probably won't be any different this time.
Yes Paul...King Washington. Got them on my radar to follow.
Also sent you an email about the songwriting hall of fame dad.
Also Shaun Hopper was absolutely AMAZING.....
Those two made the trip worth while! |
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Location: NJ | bootsy collins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | dvd wrote: stephent28 wrote:
The APPLE IPAD2 has also become the de facto standard for all things musical. Seeing some of the products and apps designed to take advantage, I find myself forced to considered purchasing an IPAD sooner rather than later. As a matter of fact, I am heading over to the Apple Store this afternoon to check them out and will probably walk out of the door with one......(this from an apple hater of 30 years!)
In all likelihood, I'll be using an iPad later this year as well. The keyboardist and I are the only two left in the band using paper sheets.
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | "The APPLE IPAD2 has also become the de facto standard for all things musical."
Could you list some things? My experience with Apple is they pay good money for marketing. I think they are fantastic, but I just happen to use Android devices and in general find the equivalent app for Android, I just have to search for it because there isn't a marketing machine pushing it. And... 9 times out of 10, it's a free App. I don't want to get into the "which is better" cause honestly I like them both... I just chose Android.
So I'm looking for Iphone App names and their function.
FWIW I have the Ultimate Guitar TABS app... It's just freaking awesome !!!! also Chords and a Tuner and an SPL meter. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Just going by what I saw at NAMM Miles.
Almost every booth either had iPads or some iPad app or iPad accessory. I saw a few Android items but they were typically pushed to the rear of the display without much fanfare.
I would say the ratio was probably 50-1 in the iPad favor.
Lots of new hardware integration using the iPad but none that I saw using the Android.
The new Mackie mixer was a perfect example and here is a clever video touting the product...
Mackie Commercial
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Location: Jet City | Aside from the old saying "you get what you pay for", there's more available on iOS for one, and though many things are available on Android, I've seen things come out on iOS then finally ANdroid gets a "ported" and sometimes even limited version of it at a much later date.
The best app I've found useful so far is Guitar Toolkit... not on Android.
And we're just talking apps here, you're not even talking hardware interfacing and how Apple has that one cornered too. If you've ever tried to find a speaker, clock radio, stereo, etc docking solution for Android devices, you know EXACTLY what I mean. THere are mixers, recorders, and a plethora of other iOS specific hardware solutions because the iPhone/iPad interface is all standardized. With Android you have hundreds of different sized units, all with their own proprietary interface.
My preference is to do it right the first time. I already went this route on a phone. I had a Google Android phone for 2 years, I haven't had one regret switching to iOS. |
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Location: Jet City | Stephen types faster. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | heheh.....but you play much faster! |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I'll just say that I don't agree. Apple fanboyz will always be Apple fanboyz.. They tend to be the people that would own a Mackie mixer too :).. ROFL..
Seriously doesn't surprise me about the lack of Andriod apps. It's hard to market "FREE"
Speaking of FREE, we won a FREE Ipad. Well it was a coupon Lisa won. We went to "The Store" and played with a couple. Upgraded to the one with more memory for another $100, brought it home, and within 4 hours of listing sold on eBay for $700. Went and bought 2 new Android phones. As far as iPad, I will take a Galaxy Tab please.
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Location: Indiana | That Mackie vid reminds me of some mushroom tea I had once. |
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| Damon67 wrote:
THere are mixers, recorders, and a plethora of other iOS specific hardware solutions because the iPhone/iPad interface is all standardized. With Android you have hundreds of different sized units, all with their own proprietary interface. With all due respect, and not jumping on either the iDevice or Android bandwagon (they both have their pros and cons), you have it exactly backward. The iDevice interface is the proprietary one - in actuality just a USB, but implemented with a proprietary connector design and available only under Apple license (thereby increasing the cost of other devices that want to interface with them). Android devices interface via standard USB and so can be connected to any generic (read: not paying a royalty to Apple) external device that has a USB jack (including my home audio pre-amp, my recording mixer, etc.)
Android Tools:
Musical Lite - metronome, tuner, 3-ocatve keyboard
Guitar Chordz
Hit It! - drum emulator
Tube Tempo - displays tempo based on screen taps
Full-fledged DAW controller: http://www.humatic.de/htools/touchdaw/
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| Oh yeah, there's significant chatter about a soon-to-be released port of Reaper to Honeycomb.
__________________
Sent via a pocket-size Linux-based computer over electromagnetic radiation |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Mr. Ovation wrote:
I'll just say that I don't agree. Apple fanboyz will always be Apple fanboyz.. They tend to be the people that would own a Mackie mixer too :).. ROFL..
well since I have NEVER owned an apple product I certainly don't fall into that category.
Guess you should have been there.....
Mackie was prominent while Behringer was pretty much relegated to the back of the room. I don't own either so don't care one way or the other. |
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Location: Tennessee | Mr. Ovation wrote:
:).. ROFL..
Whenever I see ROFL, I can't help but hearing Scooby-Doo say "waffle".
After walking the floor of NAMM, I have to agree with StephenT's assessment. However, anyone who has been to NAMM knows that it is a totally different world than the rest of us live in. |
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Location: Jet City | G8r wrote:
...you have it exactly backward. The iDevice interface is the proprietary one - in actuality just a USB, but implemented with a proprietary connector design and available only under Apple license (thereby increasing the cost of other devices that want to interface with them). Android devices interface via standard USB and so can be connected to any generic (read: not paying a royalty to Apple) external device that has a USB jack (including my home audio pre-amp, my recording mixer, etc.)
All of the devices are proprietary on the device end, iOS devices have USB cables too. But with iOS, there is 1 brand, and really only 2 products (OK there's iPod too). What I am referring to is the physical docking of the device for example that Mackie. Manufacturers are building peripherals SPECIFICALLY for iOS devices 9 outta 10 times. Many times these peripherals will have some sort of software controlling the iOS device through the interface as well (volume, tracks, files, etc). With an Android device, it basically shows up as a hard drive and not much more in most cases. |
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Location: Scotland | You can get into your geeky pissing matches about Apple versus Android or whatever, but the facts based on the past couple of NAMM shows appear to be simply this: industry giants such as Allen & Heath, Mackie, Presonus, Yamaha, Midas, Alesis, Digitech and a ton of others are getting behind ipad and producing serious professional hardware interfaces. Others are doing peripherals such as dedicated stands, clamps, audio connectors and pro-standard stereo mics. And then there's the Apps. Just tons of music-based Ipad apps. Apps that are so useful that non-software companies produce hardware for them. Nobody is showing anything approaching that kind of commitment for non-Apple tablet devices. That may change, but don't hold your breath.
And Miles, someone who has been a longtime supporter of the industry pariah that is Berhinger has no business dissing Mackie product. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Anybody see anything new and exciting in the way of acoustic stage amps or pedals designed more for acoustic electrics? |
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Location: Scotland | Phil Jones were showing their take on the Fishman Soloamp. B-Band had a new acoustic amp. |
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Any News From NAMM?