To go or not to go, and the perils of the no-show.
“The NAMM Show is quickly approaching!”
That’s either a battle cry or a warning, depending on your perspective, heard biannually in the music industry. (At least in non-pandemic years.) The most universal analogy I use for NAMM is: “Think of it as Comic-Con for music gear.” For many of us in the instrument business, the trade show seems to be constantly looming. In addition to convention preparations always occupying the back of our minds, I feel it has also created pressure for companies to release products around its schedule, if not almost dictated it.
I have lived on both sides of the curtain. I used to be in the audience, wondering how I could gain access to the show as an exhibitor. I have also been backstage, directly involved with most of the aspects of presenting Coppersound’s pedals. So, I’ve got a perspective of NAMM from both viewpoints. And with the latest NAMM show just behind us, that perspective is the catalyst for this month’s column.
As an outsider looking in, a big attraction to attending the event is seeing what new products are going to be released by some of my favorite companies. That hunt rarely requires clues because exhibitors typically plaster their booths with media and signage that promotes their newest releases. For us manufacturers, that also raises a big question: “Should a company present at NAMM without a new release?” That query naturally does a cannonball into the pool of philosophy. But for the sake of this article, I would prefer to keep the focus more in the pool of psychology—most notably appearances and perception.
As an insider looking out, I have had many conversations in the past with industry colleagues about all aspects of attending NAMM. We often discuss booth layout, travel plans, shipment logistics, costs, and more. There is also a specific day that we all wait for: the day the show map is made public, and each exhibitor can see the upcoming floor plan. We can see who our booth neighbors are going to be and take stock of what other companies will be attending. And therein lies the root of the most speculation, along with possible concerns.
The showroom floor is filled with many types of companies within the industry, big and small—from single-owner outfits with a small table-top booth to medium operations with five to 10 employees to large household names occupying a booth the size of a mall food court.
Everybody, regardless of size, attracts attention in one way or another. However, it is not uncommon to worry about a lack of attendance if we see large companies—who tend to attract lots of music-store order writers—not attending the event. That’s especially troublesome if there is a lack of big presenters within our own line of business.
If a large, established company does not attend the show, people will notice and ask themselves, “Do they know something we don’t?” If a small, younger company does not attend, it’s quite possible those who are used to seeing that company’s booth will ask, “Are they not around anymore?” Especially in our Covid-tinted world.
I also wonder if attending the NAMM show is the perceived benchmark of determining if one has “made it.” I often define success by the act of achieving a premeditated goal. For those that do not know, registration for NAMM is many months before the show dates. If you are a company that has presented at these shows in the past, you will most likely not want to attend again without a new product. After all, new products are the big attraction. This brings us back to the release schedule for new products. NAMM is traditionally held twice a year: during winter in Anaheim and summer in Nashville. These shows are about six months apart. If a company decides to present at both shows, that entails a pretty intense product-release schedule—especially for small outfits. For larger companies, that’s typically not as difficult. But for even a medium-sized company looking to place and/or keep their flag in the ground, it can still be very tough.
I am a big proponent of the belief that deadlines create productivity. So, the NAMM release schedule may actually be a good thing for companies like ours. However, I feel that what should drive new products is the excitement of innovation and not the notion of releasing something just to release something.
So, while I deliberate our future NAMM events, here’s another thing that’s under my skin: Does anyone else find that the word biannually meaning both twice a year and once every two years is confusing?
Dr. Z releases the Z-28 Mk. II, a new take on his EF-86 design, and designed to hold its own amongst the classics of the Z Amp lineup.
Two-plus years in the making, the Z-28 Mk. II builds upon the original Z-28 by revamping the power section to two robust 5881 tubes pushing a Celestion Creamback M65 in a specially-designed 1x12 cabinet draped in muscle car red tolex. Dr. Z included his Mk. II master volume control circuit, as seen in the flagship MAZ series, to achieve full control over the volume and dynamics this high-headroom amp is capable of, be it at home at practice, or on stage.
The Z-28 Mk. II 1x12 Combo retails for $2049, and the head version for $1899. The Z-28 Mk. II is available for sale at authorized Dr. Z dealers.
For more information, please visit drzamps.com
These compact amps are designed for home practice and jamming and have custom-designed stereo speakers.
Boss announces the Dual Cube LX and Dual Cube Bass LX, the latest members of the acclaimed CUBE amplifier family from Boss and its parent company Roland. For over four decades, Cube amplifiers have brought exceptional value to musicians everywhere, offering great sound and versatile features in portable, go-everywhere designs. These new guitar and bass amplifiers carry on this long tradition, evolved with the latest Boss advancements for unmatched flexibility.
The Dual Cube LX Guitar amp produces full, punchy guitar tones that belie the amp’s compact size. There are eight versatile amp types to choose from, all with natural feel and organic response honed with decades of BOSS amp development. There’s also a mic preamp type for using the amp as a portable vocal PA system. DUAL CUBE LX The DUAL CUBE LX includes a variety of BOSS stereo and mono effects to enhance the sound. Each amp type features three user memories, allowing users to store gain, EQ, and effect settings for quick recall. Dedicated editor software opens up even more creative power, providing access to different amp and effect variations, detailed parameter adjustments, and more. The DUAL CUBE LX also features a special Stereo In amp type for connecting stereo devices, complete with advanced spatial processing for even more expansive sound. By default, it provides a full-range platform for an amp/effects processor such as the GT-1000, GT-1000CORE, GX-100, GT-1, or IR-200. With the editor, it’s possible to choose a neutral guitar amp tone inspired by the famous Roland JC-120, providing an ideal platform for stereo pedals like the BOSS 500 and 200 series.
This amp delivers big, refined bass tones from an amazingly small footprint. Five different preamp types are available, offering uncolored sounds for studio and slap playing, vintage sounds for classic styles, and aggressive modern tones for heavy genres. A variety of bass-tuned effects are also included. Like the DUAL CUBE LX, the amp features onboard memories for storing sounds and support for deeper editing via dedicated software.
The Dual Cube LX and Dual Cube Bass LX amplifiers will be available in the U.S. in September for $299.99 and $359.99 respectively. To learn more about Dual Cube LX and Dual Cube Bass LX amplifiers, visit boss.info.
Made with a super light Neodyme magnet, these custom guitar cabinets can be driven by the power amp of a Profiler PowerHead or PowerRack, as well as by utilizing any external solid-state power amp.
The Kemper Kone is a 12“ full-range speaker which is exclusively designed in cooperation with Celestion for Kemper. The Kone is controlled and driven by the Kemper Profiler’s processor to an ultra-linear (full range) frequency response, using a dedicated algorithm. In contrast to the conventional idea of a full-range system, the radiation pattern of the Kemper Kone has been narrowed towards the physics of a classic guitar speaker chassis, so that even the full-range sound carries a distinct guitar speaker character, unlike regular PA speakers or monitor speakers. To season the speaker behavior to the player’s individual taste Kemper offers the unique Sweetening“ and Directivity Parameters for detailed adjustment.
The 19 included speaker imprints offer the finest choice of well-known guitar speakers from Celestion, and many renowned other classic brands, and even rare and particular speakers. More speaker imprints may be added via future software updates.
The KEMPER Kone replacement speaker is available exclusively from the Kemper Online Store for Euro 150,- USD 180,- GBP 128,-. The prices for multi-speaker Sets below:
2x12 Set: 270,00€ 191,00 GBP 31.280 JPY 545,00 CAD
4x12 Set: 480,00€ 337,95 GBP 55.609 JPY 1.040,00 CAD
More information at:www.kemper-amps.com.