Is the NAMM Show Dying?

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00:00 - Hello
00:41 - Tonewood
04:24 - IR's v Factory Cabs
06:17 - Excalibur
07:17 Soundguy Stories
10:52 - NAMM

[Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

The concept of NAMM made 100% sense before super size chain stores and even more online sales. There were thousands of small family retail businesses that approach their stores as both musical instrument lessons and sales of all instruments with perhaps the Pop Rock instruments having a bit more floor space. NAMM provided a one stop place to see everything and to plan purchase for the year. Now on-line has even made the Super stores all but redundant. There is endless easy access to everything online. One can find experts in any niche and see every piece of equipment right down to the color choices of guitars etc. The only thing is the lose of the experience of a hands-on. I can see the day of warehouse like locations to try see and try the instruments but not to buy and leave with an instrument. They could be funded by both the companies displaying their gear and an admission fee. Even Guitar center is heading into redundancy. They only survive because their creditors are owed so much money that the courts keep them alive with endless failed plans to make the chain profitable. They are at most a year away from yet another Chapter 11. I expect NAMM will continue for years until it slowly evaporates and ends with an almost ignorable press release.

At 76 I have seen it all. Nothing lasts forever. Things that everyone thought would never die, vanished and were rapidly forgotten.
In the 1950's Rock was thought to be a fad. The electric guitar would all but disappear and young beginners would likely want a trumpet, trombone or sax. The electric guitar could indeed go the way of Jazz instruments. If you think I am crazy keep in mind that Fenders Tele literally flat block of wood with a neck bolted on broke every rule of what a guitar was. In 10 years it made thousands who play sax, trombones, sax etc. all but totally reduntant. It obscenely overdue to happen again. Goodbye 'horse and buggy' electric guitar and hello something that as a guitar player you would openly laugh at and unmercilessly ridicule, taking over.

[TaylorDanley]

Oh snap, Leon has his glasses on. This is going to be serious… *drinking coffee intensifies*

[J.Feliciano-FOREVER-JAM-N]

Oh yeah, I used to attend NAMM in the mid 80's and then early 1990's tons of manufactures and rock and jazz stars walking around super fun time, and some outrageous fantastic players! I've heard its changed so much that even my friends in the business aren't getting booths

[BrianVallotton]

Thank you Leon. I really enjoy listening to you and I also love your positive attitude! Rock on! God bless you and all you love.

[dive-bomb]

my favorite guitar youtube channel, genuine dude, great guitar player, and not constant sponsored content and clickbait. I’ve learned a lot of licks and riffs watching your videos man!

[billl.]

I've been to every NAMM from 1998 until before the pandemic. It is definitely dying out. At one time it was the way dealer's and customers would hear about new products. These days, everybody hears about a new product as soon as it's released via YT channels. It's infinitely cheaper to send out product to popular Youtube channels and even pay these channels than to have a booth at NAMM, which easily costs over $100k for a small, but decent size booth when it's all said and done.
NAMM is a party (and most important, the after parties are epic), but it's crazy expensive for manufacturers. More and more manufacturers will pull out because the cost/benefit is no longer there.

[DavidBeebee]

Last years was definitely different, coming back from the pandy. Smaller, less brands, covid stuff still in place. Strangely I think this made the experience quite pleasurable, with lower volume in both senses of the word and I think was actually better for some smaller brands getting things done. Of course long term this can’t be sustained at that venue or at that scale without the investment and attendance from the big dogs.

I think if this week isn’t moving in the direction of ‘back to normal’ then I think yea maybe it is on the way out. I know namm 2024 is going back to January dates, which may help make it slightly less expensive and also at the deader time of year for a lot brands and artists etc

The community aspect will be sad to lose for sure, as this extended beyond just the YouTube gear stuff but into events, concerts, education, everything musically orbiting around the vicinity of the show. Namm has historically been a good excuse for these things to happen.

I’ve never done a namm vlog, I’ve always been too busy, but you got me thinking might be nice to capture for posterity if it’s gonna be no more. Anyways, you should definitely book for Jan2024 and we can commiserate it’s demise with a beer and a jam 😂

[gojo]

I will attend NAMM next year, simply because I want to experience it before it is gone. NAMM has for my entire life been the mythical event where you see your heroes and more gear than you can imagine. A carnival of the things I'm passionate about. I'm sure it will be "ok now I can check that one off the list" but I have to see it just once

[federicoines]

Namm Show starts on April 13 2023 is already posted in Sweetwater Sound Company

[J.Feliciano-FOREVER-JAM-N]

Having trouble working my FC6, I would like to assign patches from all over the presets to each button then change the FC6 to another set of buttons for a different tune. so every song has like a different page on the FC6. is this possible? Also, I would love to download to my AXE FX3 your shared, Balls to the walls, chug'n, Ripp'n, Scream'n, SOARING beautifully in your face guitar patches so i can sound like you, and also look and see what your doing for me to make my own. also any special tunings you use? . do you have a regular email address that you can be contacted on instead of this public forum? one last question, did you get a new kitty cat? We got a new puppy after 3 months of losing our little Maggie.
Thanks for all the videos, and get your band out here to northern California... please

[modtvf]

"Feels and looks cool" - You are cool!! Your glasses match your Hamer axe, need to do a color coordinated "glasses & guitars" video!!

[ampspedalspickups]

Funnily enough going to NAMM next year is one of my goals! I agree the networking aspect from a youtubers perspective is awesome. From a brands perspective its a bit keeping up with the jones's, can def see it continue to dwindle... all the more reason to go at least once!

[Skoora]

Best experience I had from 2-3 visits in the late 90’s was meeting Catherine Bell in the flesh. Christ on a cracker, she was as beautiful in person as you could imagine. Very nice lady in conversation. Who could have known visiting the Fender booth would have been so worthwhile…lol

[kahlrhoam]

Relevance!
As we know jam in the reality of Mail order music gear!
Here comes the 24 Jump Street gathering & sites/ channels, like Andertons & Todd’s, are running detailed gear reviews. 👏

[zxcvmjg]

Still an awesome event! I’ll b there this year too

[SteveWilliamsworld]

hey sir. when you can, can you comment on wah issue I am having on the AXE 3. My wahs, across the board, disappear after the 15th fret. They simply do not make any wah or sound. The EQ simply is not there. Fine under the 12th fret. After, its like its off. Adjusted the resonace, eq, etc. Nothing works. I have owned a 535Q and did not have this issue. Thanks!

[JesseN]

Went to NAMM in 2019. Have a friend who is an Ibanez dealer and used one of his tickets. Speaking strictly as a fan and not someone who is either a retailer or professional musician, it was a really fun time and something you should experience. The show itself was...interesting, although to your point by 2019 you could watch most gear demos online. Also, the show was not loud at all. My understanding is that there were too many complaints about noise so in most booths, you couldn't even plug guitars in and the ones where you could, everything was really quiet. In the Kemper booth, everything was using headphones.

But the great part wasn't the show, it was all the impromptu events that were announced at the last minute. For something like $20, got to see a show with Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, Nuno Bettencourt and Nili Brosh. Got to stand about three feet away from Jordan Rudess in the Korg booth and watch him demo gear. Met Nita Strauss, I could go on. And I met cool regular people, too. I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I'd gone there having a bunch of people I was expecting to meet up with. Definitely go, you'll enjoy it.

[rockstarjazzcat]

Wood, when acoustically coupled to loud amps becomes a factor, but a “tone wood” as used in an acoustic pump doesn’t necessarily sound better through pickups. I buy resonant instruments in spite of the highly questionable marketing claims made by “fancy” makers. Subject really brings out the pitchforks, doesn’t it. 😂 Glad Colorado treated you well, buddy!

[Chord_The_Seeker]

I went to NAMM twice. It was fun in a lot of ways, but I don’t think I’d go again. Just staying in one of the cheapest hotels available and eating cost me over $1, 000 for the three days. There are no deals to be had on gear. You might get a guitar cable for $5 less, if you’re lucky, but you’re not going to get a PRS for half price or any of the other things guitarists dream of. With what you pay just to be there you’re definitely not saving any money on anything. Even though the manufacturers have their new and upcoming gear on display you can’t try most of it. It’s just there on a stand to look at. You might get to hold a guitar in your hands, but there’s usually nowhere to plug it in and no way to actually hear it. Let’s say you come across one of the rare booths where you can actually plug a guitar into an amp. You can’t turn it up at all because of the noise restrictions, and despite those noise restrictions the ambient cacophony is so loud you can’t hear it much, even when amplified. I did get to meet and shake hands with several YouTube personalities I follow, and a few big stars, but was it worth thousands of dollars to do so? Only you can decide that. There’s nowhere to sit there, so you’re going to be on your feet for 12 hours or more. Overall it’s an experience that’s much better in your imagination than in reality. When the day ends the big names go off to parties and shows that you can’t go to unless you’re very well connected, or a big name yourself, so you go back to your lonely hotel room and try to recover for the next day of over 12 hours of standing and walking.

[chuckunderwood]

Leon...my question is in regards to presets at bedroom-volume levels. I can't think of anyone that has your ability to dial in such glorious tones so effortlessly in the AxeFx world. I'm assuming your presets are made for live playing volume levels? For those of us that are mere bedroom legends and usually play at bedroom volume levels, what changes, if any would you make on a preset? I understand The Fletcher Munson effect, but was just curious as to what eq, parameters, etc to possibly change to get a killer sound at a lower volume level. Thanks!