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New instruments and software coming to some northeast Ohio stores
The 110th National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show took place in Anaheim, California in January, with manufacturers of musical instruments and music-making technologlies unveiling their latest products, a number of which will make their way to music stores in northeast Ohio. Paul Braden, who owns Woodsy's Music in Kent, attended the show this year. (Photo courtesy of Woodsy’s Music).
Roetzel & Andress associate David Oeschger, Jr., did not attend, but viewed the offerings online. Oeschger plays in the local band, "Clemens." He was impressed with a number of items, including the Mackie DL 1608.
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 1, 2012
Where do music stores go to shop for the latest gear and music-making technologies? In some cases, they head to Anaheim, California to attend the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show.
The owner of Woodsy’s Music in Kent and the sales manager from The Music Farm in Orrville both attended the 110th NAMM show, which took place between Jan. 19 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center, drawing 95,709 registered attendees.
Based in Carlsbad, California, the nonprofit organization was founded in 1901 to help strengthen the music products industry and promote the benefits of making music. Today there are over 9,000 member companies in the United States and more than 100 other countries.
Woodsy’s Music owner, Paul Braden, said he has gone to NAMM for over 30 years.
It’s one of a number of trade shows that we go to,” said Braden. “This year we saw a lot of cool items from companies whose products we already carry.”
He said some of those products include professional horns and brass and woodwinds, including custom-made trumpets and trombones that are produced by B.A.C. (Best American Craftsman), and Courtois Brass, as well as hand built saxophones by MACSAX, Keilwerth and vintage saxophones by King and Conn.
“We’ll also be carrying the Legend series of mouthpieces made by Aaron Drake. These saxophone mouthpieces are made from molds of original mouthpieces used by Charlie Parker and Stan Getz.”
Braden said he was also very impressed with some of the small, handheld recorders, including a new interface for IPhones and iPads by Tascam: the iXZ.
“It’s a slick $50 interface that you plug in, and it lets you record sounds from a microphone, keyboard or guitar directly into your iPhone or iPad. PreSonus also came out with network software called QMix for the StudioLive mixers that lets each person in the band do his own mixing and setting up on an iPhone.”
While many guitar companies displayed their wares at the show, Braden said he plans to carry some of the new custom-designed models made by Martin and Taylor, two big American guitar builders.
He will also be carrying amplifiers made by Cleveland-based Dr. Z, which are featured in a new Toyota Prius commercial. “The newest models are the MAZ-8 and a redesign of the Monza. Guitarists love that tube amp tone, and we are really pleased to be able to support a great local company like Dr. Z.”
Other items on Braden’s potential ordering list include new digital mixing boards, and interfaces that allow users to plug into the iPad and iPhone. “Recording directly into the iPad is becoming a trend, and there is a lot of new software out there to help musicians do it.
“One of the big highlights for me was a new Turkish cymbal company. Amedia Cymbals are a sophisticated line that run the gamut in tonal characteristics, and are very reasonably priced,” said Braden.
Todd Mobley, sales manager at The Music Farm in Orrville also goes to the NAMM show on an annual basis. Born in Springfield Township, Mobley has been in and out of bands since he was 12, and is a singer and guitar player.
While a number of things caught his attention at the show, he said the Parker/Antares ATDF842 MaxxFly Guitar topped his list because it combines the power of Antares Auto-Tune in a string instrument.
“My first thought, wow! As a singer and guitar player I have worked with Antares products in the past for studio recordings,” said Mobley. “But, the idea of having that power ‘in your axe’ is unreal. It may catch some flack upfront, for example, ‘you don't even have to play the right note, and it will correct your bad guitar playing.’
“But when you dive deeper into the specifics of what the Antares product will do for the guitar itself, you can't help but respect what they've done. One common problem for most guitar players is bad intonation, which basically means that when you play a note on the bottom of the fretboard, the octave of that note played higher on the fretboard is out of tune. To my understanding, the Parker Antares guitar will automatically correct intonation. That in and of itself will warrant the hefty price tag. The Parker Antares model will retail for almost $8,000.”
While he gave the guitar rave reviews, he said he probably won’t order the Parker/Antares until there is an expressed interest from customers. However, he will most likely advertise the guitars on the store’s website.
Mobley, who is also co-owner of the production company, Avalanche Audio Video, said the Washburn Bender Acoustic Guitar was also one of the “hits of the show” for him. “The fact that they've figured out how to build a bender within the acoustic body is fantastic.”
He called TC-Helicon, a company “to watch in the coming years. TC-Helicon has taken the idea that effects should only reside for guitar/bass players, and flipped the industry on its head. They exist for one reason, vocalists, and they’ve designed and manufactured a fleet of products specifically for singers. Essentially, you plug any microphone into a pedal, and plug that pedal into a sound system. From there, the options are endless. These pedals offer pitch correction, and real-time harmonies that sound great!”
The Music Farm sales manager said he plans to stock the new Mackie DL 1608, which he said “has combined the iPad craze, and live sound mixing into one unit. Using an Apple app, you can control the mixer from your iPad. What does that mean? That means that during a live performance, the sound engineer can leave his cramped little sound room, stumble his way to the middle of the dance floor and change the volume, correct EQ curves, and add effects, all with a touch or swipe of the finger. That’s huge and the street price is only $999.”
Many local musicians either attend or are familiar with NAMM, and often make it a point to see which items generated the most “buzz.”
David Oeschger Jr., an associate in the Akron office of Roetzel & Andress, plays in the local band “Clemens.” He is very familiar with NAMM since the band won a contest sponsored by Cakewalk, and the winners were announced at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California in 2010.
Although he did not attend this year’s show, he did visit the NAMM site, and was also impressed by the Mackie DL 1608.
“It allows multiple iPads to be connected wirelessly. This is advantageous, as each band member can independently control his levels during a live show without the need to communicate with a sound engineer.
“The gear this year is definitely leaning toward mobility,” said Oeschger. “There are a number of pedalboards that would be great for practicing on the go. I liked DigiTech’s new iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard, which lets you change effects using an iPad. Having these types of options on an iPad or iPhone is fantastic, as there are so many choices and it is exponentially cheaper than constantly buying new pieces of hardware. This makes it much easier to create solid demos and professional-sounding recordings anywhere you are.”
Although he said this is causing the market to become more saturated with music, Oeschger said he believes it will push artists “to become more creative, and take their music in different directions. This will set the bar higher for the artists, and ultimately provide the listeners with new music, unlike anything they have heard before.”
Kenmore attorney and musician Rik Williger said although he liked some of the new pedals and guitar accessories, it was the instruments that caught his eye.
“I’m more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy so I focus on the guitars and keyboards,” said Williger, who plays in two tribute bands as well as in Jonah Koslen’s Stage Pass Now. He attended the NAMM show a few years ago, but this year he, like Oeschger, checked out the offerings online.
“I like the new Paul Reed Smith P22 guitar. It has regular magnetic pickups as well as a piezo pickup, which, when selected, makes this guitar sound like an authentic acoustic guitar. It also has discrete outputs, so you can combine electric and acoustic sounds and discrete effects for a truly stunning sound.”
He said he would also like to test the Parker/Antares Auto-Tune MaxxFly guitar to see how it works. “My guitar does not have this feature, and it would make it a lot easier to stay in tune, which is cool.”
The guitars are expected to be available at some Guitar Centers in the near future.
Casio also set up a large booth at the exhibit, showcasing its new keyboards and synthesizers.
“For years, the company seemed to be out of the professional keyboard market, but apparently they are getting back into it,” said Williger who wants to take a closer look at the Casio XW-P1 61-Key Performance Synthesizer.
“Synthesizers have gone through a real evolution. When they first came out they were knob driven. Robert Moog used a point-to-point patch cord that allowed musicians to change the function by changing patch cords, turning knobs and pushing sliders. To create sounds you had to understand the interrelationship of the internal components; but as keyboards progressed they came with pre-programmed sounds that you could change and edit. The problem is you can’t do that live on stage.
“Some manufacturers have started including live controls that you can use live on stage, and the new Casio has a lot of options for editing on stage, and the basic sounds are quite good as well.”
Williger added that the Nord Piano 2 stood out because it has “incredible sound and a full keyboard.”
He said the NAMM show also offered something for harmonica players like himself, including the Suzuki OLIVE C-20 Diatonic Harmonica, which he said attempts “to make a Manji with stronger covers. The harmonica is a very tactile instrument, and it is one of the more difficult ones that I play. I’ll be checking this one out pretty soon because I’d like to get one.”