NAMM 2007

Anaheim, CA:  As always, Voxonline returned again to the self-dubbed “gearvana” -- the 105th NAMM convention January 18-21, 2007. For those who may have missed our past Voxonline annual show review articles that began in 2003, the International Music Products Association (formerly the National Association of Music Merchants, a not-for-profit group) is a twice-yearly private trade show of every imaginable type of music product in the world. With well over 1,200 exhibitors this year, the amount of merchandise is staggering. Just as impressive are the sheer number of musical celebrities checking out the latest gear (sometimes incognito), performing for their respective endorsee companies, or signing autographs.

NAMM is a sneak preview of all the newest music merchandise, most of which is not yet commercially available. Retailers come in droves to decide which products to put on their music store shelves, manufacturers come to network and display their newest creations, and performers come to check out the latest gadgets, perform, network and hang out. As you might imagine, NAMM is a tremendous opportunity to star-search, and this year such notables as Bono, Eddie Van Halen, Lisa Loeb, guitarist Kerry King (Slayer), legendary jazz drummer Louie Bellson, bassist extraordinaire Leeland Sklar, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (Living Colour) were seen mingling among the common folk. Elsewhere, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Yellowcard, KISS’ Paul Stanley, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) and Joe Satriani had signing sessions, Stevie Wonder reportedly followed his entourage while cameras snapped away, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performed for ponytailed neo-hippie admirers.

Attending NAMM is a completely immersive experience. There are literally thousands of products at every turn, live performances inside product booths and in halls -- even outdoors in the lunch courtyard. There is an annual “all industry” drum circle in front of the convention center, along with non-musicians and musicians of all levels of expertise enjoying the scene and networking with one another. This year’s NAMM show (the largest annual convention held at the Anaheim Convention Center) saw an estimated record number 87,500 attendants. It is an immense, joyous celebration of the power, beauty and majesty of music. And one that is best enjoyed with earplugs.

We at Vox are NAMM veterans, since we attended our first NAMM about 1986 or so and began reporting on the annual Winter NAMM Anaheim show for Voxonline 4 years ago. Therefore, it was very apparent upon our arrival that this show had a different flavor. This year had a very professional, serious undertone. Gone were the scores of scantily clad rockstar-girlfriend-arm candy, masses of mulleted burnouts, and adolescent wannabe musicians of NAMMs past. Although several “NAMMpyres” (the musical undead; see Voxonline’s 2005’s NAMM review) were spotted, there were considerably fewer than in past years. Perhaps this increase in crowd quality can be attributed to the increased security every year. In decades past, anyone who could borrow a friend’s NAMM badge long enough to get past security could stroll right in. Now that is an impossibility – given the strict control of badge recipients and the guards checking photo ID’s at each show entrance.

Besides the serious tone of the show, we also noted how each year manufacturers try crazier ways to attract passersby – including decorating their booths with enormous mounted buck heads and horns (Zuni music uses deer and elk antler in the making of their guitar knobs and tuners – see photo below), having multiple scantily clad women entice buyers in, (Schecter guitars), present live music performances, set out dishes of candy and snacks, and giveaway swag from guitar picks to t-shirts.

Being that NAMM is “gearvana” -- in addition to the people-watching, NAMMpyre hunting and star-searching -- we were truly excited to see the new and notable music products. One of the most head-turning new items was Fender’s replica of Eddie Van Halen’s famous “Frankenstein” guitar. Eddie has teamed up with the master builders of the Fender Custom Shop to introduce EVH brand guitars, amps and musical products set for Spring 2007. The line begins with a recreation of Van Halen's famous red-black-and-white striped "Frankenstein" guitar, reproduced down to the last cigarette burn, glued-on truck reflector, and electronic tweaking that Eddie soldered on his original. Priced at $25,000 each, the limited run of 300 (half in the US, half in Europe and abroad) reportedly sold out in 15 minutes!

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Another notable new guitar was Taylor’s T5 series. Taylor, a division of Fender, is known for its high quality acoustic guitars. This year they created a beautiful acoustic/electric hybrid whose distinct tone and look was featured in live performances in their display room.

As in past years, PickWorld had a very impressive display of custom order guitar picks and drumsticks. We at Vox are going to feature their custom picks and their new “Stagger pick” in our upcoming “Gear” section of product reviews.

In the drum world we expected to see more of the usual, since it is not often that the fundamental design of the drum changes. However, we were shocked to see insane new drum setups, finishes (see photo of the DW “pool ball” kit), new exotic woods, and custom artwork (see photo of John Dolmayan’s “comic art” Tama kit).

Remo also came out with an outstanding and innovative new product called “Sound Shapes” – geometric drums of various colors, sizes shapes that can be configured and re-configured in seconds. While they are aimed at the children’s percussion market, they sounded amazing and could easily be integrated into professional setups. (see photo below)

Several drum companies made incredible leaps in hardware design as well. For example, Gibraltar’s “Catapult Linear Motion Pedal” redefines the age old design of bass drum pedals. Rather than the classic spring, cam and chain (or strap) mechanism, this pedal has a steel wheel that rides up a curved shaft when the pedal is depressed. This in turn moves the beater (a large, flat round design) toward the head with smooth accuracy and feel. It is designed to reduce fatigue in the leg muscles, since it mimics a leg’s more natural movements.

Gibraltar also introduced amazingly versatile drum hardware with the “Ultra Adjust” stands. Most impressive was their new Ultra Adjust hi hat stand – which is designed to take the frustration and time out of setup by allowing the player to position the stand in a comfortable playing position and independently position the hi hat cymbals for best playing placement. With its two “gearless positioning points,” this revolutionary design allows up to eight inches of displacement for the upper stand section of the hi hat. This gives the player positioning for the leg base and independent positioning for hi hat cymbals. The design is also featured in cymbal boom arms.

Yet another surge forward in hi hat technology, Gibraltar has created the “Hot Hat” Hi Hat Off-Time attachment. Designed to add an additional layer of rhythm to a drummer’s sound, when attached to an existing hi hat stand (along with a second set of hi hats), a ‘chick’ sound is created on the off beat when keeping time with a drummer’s hi hat foot.

These are but a few of the amazing new products featured at NAMM 2007. We can’t wait until next year’s convention Jan. 17 - 20, 2008 to see what’s in store for the music community.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our new Voxonline product review section called “Gear” where we will post in depth product reviews.