Gibson Not Going to NAMM

[Anderton]

They said they'd be going, but apparently not. Rumor says they felt they wouldn't have enough setup time.

[Rene Asologuitar]

This is a bummer.

For such a solid outfit, and not be attending, there must be another reason.

Rene

[Anderton]

No, I think it makes sense. I was told that realistically, they'd have three days to set up a booth along the lines of what they usually do. That's just not enough time without driving the people doing the work insane.

 

Of course, there will be lower attendance anyway. June is (or at least was, in pre-covid times) the height of the concert season, so I wouldn't expect a strong pro audio component. It's also time for graduations and such. I already had made long-term commitments before the new dates were announced that make it impossible for me to go, and I NEVER miss NAMM shows - I always have January blocked out, and nothing can interfere with it. But, knowing now that it will be in April of 2023 means I can plan in advance for the change. I suspect the April 2023 show will be well-populated.

[Greg Mein]

It's odd that they've emailed me an invitation to attend, that's never happened before.

[Doerfler]

4 hours ago, Greg Mein said:

It's odd that they've emailed me an invitation to attend, that's never happened before.

NAMM or Gibson?

 

[Anderton]

I feel bad for NAMM, and for the industry. Covid really upended everything. I think people are starting to realize that high school and college graduation season in the US begins the first week in May, and ends the first week in June. May 15-22 is the sweet spot for universities, and the week before and after Memorial Day is the sweet spot for high school graduations. Given the incubation period, it's possible that millions of infected people will be gathering and travelling just before NAMM, and before we know whether that resulted in a covid surge.

 

United and American's largest hubs are in Texas, Delta uses Atlanta. Although Southwest doesn't use a hub system, many of their flights to LA go through Phoenix. These are all places with less-than-stellar vaccination rates, e.g., only around 60% of Texans and Arizonans, and 50% of Georgians, are fully vaccinated.

 

NAMM is following the Californian guidelines on health and safety to the letter, and then some. But what California thinks is safe can't protect it from the rest of the United States. Now, just to be clear, I'm vaccinated and don't spend my hours in total isolation from the rest of the world. However, a NAMM show has a somewhat aging demographic, and I think quite a few attendees are in the high-risk category. 

[Greg Mein]

3 hours ago, Doerfler said:

NAMM or Gibson?

 

NAMM, I've bought a lot of gear and played many gigs over the years but I've never actually been employed in the industry and have never attended.

 

It's interesting and not too far away for me to just drive now. Although we have ambitious motorcycle tour plans in June, that's not until later and this being the 3rd through 5th I could actually do it. I'm going to take a look and consider it. As a retiree with an electronics degree and 30 years of experience there may be some type of opportunity I could pursue, or perhaps get a couple ideas about something I could do part time.

[Anderton]

1 hour ago, Greg Mein said:

It's interesting and not too far away for me to just drive now. Although we have ambitious motorcycle tour plans in June, that's not until later and this being the 3rd through 5th I could actually do it. I'm going to take a look and consider it. As a retiree with an electronics degree and 30 years of experience there may be some type of opportunity I could pursue, or perhaps get a couple ideas about something I could do part time.

 

I'd recommend it. Even "NAMM Special Edition" is still a NAMM show. In some ways, this could be most painless point of entry...the deciBel level will probably be a lot more "non-hearing-loss-friendly' than in previous years  And the covid thing probably isn't an issue unless you're in a high-risk category. Even then, I know some people who got covid in the past couple weeks and were in the high-risk category, but were vaccinated. Although they had a horrible time and said it was the sickest they'd ever been, they didn't have to go to the hospital, and didn't die. Perhaps the new normal is "I got sick as hell, but I didn't have to go to the hospital, didn't die, and now I have some extra immunity."

 

Also FWIW I went to the 2021 Summer NAMM, and the Music City Center did all the precautions. There were also wider aisles and such, and as luck would have it, the show was between surges. Although plenty of attendees had horror stories of having gotten covid prior to the vaccine, and many were still dealing with the aftereffects (and sadly, some I expected to see had died), as far as I know it was not a super-spreader event by any means. 

[KuruPrionz]

40 minutes ago, Anderton said:

 

I'd recommend it. Even "NAMM Special Edition" is still a NAMM show. In some ways, this could be most painless point of entry...the deciBel level will probably be a lot more "non-hearing-loss-friendly' than in previous years  And the covid thing probably isn't an issue unless you're in a high-risk category. Even then, I know some people who got covid in the past couple weeks and were in the high-risk category, but were vaccinated. Although they had a horrible time and said it was the sickest they'd ever been, they didn't have to go to the hospital, and didn't die. Perhaps the new normal is "I got sick as hell, but I didn't have to go to the hospital, didn't die, and now I have some extra immunity."

 

Also FWIW I went to the 2021 Summer NAMM, and the Music City Center did all the precautions. There were also wider aisles and such, and as luck would have it, the show was between surges. Although plenty of attendees had horror stories of having gotten covid prior to the vaccine, and many were still dealing with the aftereffects (and sadly, some I expected to see had died), as far as I know it was not a super-spreader event by any means. 

Way back in March, I had a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon regarding the reconstructive foot surgery he performed on my right foot in late May. 

I told him I'd had my second vaccine and he said. "You won't have to go to the hospital and you won't die but that doesn't mean you won't get Covid" Late August, I got Covid, tested positive for it. I felt like crap for 2 days and then was asymptomatic - that's pretty scary taken in context of humanity in general. I felt fine, had no symptoms and was probably contagious as hell. I stayed home and waited it out. Probably Delta, that was going around then. I think I might have had it again in November but I just stayed home and was not tested. It felt like a really bad cold (I NEVER get colds!) for about 4 days. I've had a third shot and will go in for a fourth in another week or two since I see in New York State that an Omicron varient is starting to get traction. 

 

Meanwhile, has Gibson done anything truly new and innovative lately? I don't pay much attention, can't afford a new Gibson anyway and I already have 2. 

It's seemed to me for some time that when they do try to introduce an innovation it fires up an internet contingent who are opposed to it. Their auto-tuning system got panned, they got crap for doing what everybody else has been doing for a long time - putting the frets over the top of the binding instead of trimming the binding around the edges of the frets ("nibs") and some of their attempts were skewered with good reason, like the hideous Firebird Zero series. Those were just plain not pretty. 

 

It's interesting to me that Fender is allowed to make all sorts of changes and you don't see much flak but Gibson is admonished for trying to grow and improve their products. 
I liked NAMM the 3 times I went in the 80's - Anaheim. Not sure I'd want to wander around and look at stuff now. 

[RABid]

I was hoping NAMM learned a few things about putting on an Internet based media event and would try it again, and not take it down so quick. 

[Dave Bryce]

1 hour ago, RABid said:

I was hoping NAMM learned a few things about putting on an Internet based media event and would try it again, and not take it down so quick. 

 

No one’s been able to even come close to pulling it off, iMO.  

 

Simply put, they can’t provide anything content-wise that’s not already on the ‘net (panels?  I’ll watch them when I want - no benefit there) and no matter what they do they can’t duplicate the whole interacting with people thing, nor the unexpected random discovery of cool gear - either physically or because of show buzz.

 

There are lots of meetings and business that gets done outside of show hours too - hard to duplicate that.

 

dB

 

[Anderton]

13 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

No one’s been able to even come close to pulling it off, iMO.  

 

This reminds me of when magazines were first confronted by the internet. They tried to translate print to the internet.

 

Where the online thing would work is doing all the things NAMM can't do - like engage huge portions of the public around the world, by aggregating all the important musical stuff in one place. Sure, maybe most of this material may be on the net...but there's a reason why aggregation sites do so well. And, NAMM could provide original content that's not on the web.

 

In other words, a National Association of Music Merchants will always be just that, and take care of those needs. It would be difficult to translate to virtual. The opportunity lies in creating a virtual spinoff by the National Association of Music Makers.

[Greg Mein]

What has been the cost of a show badge at times you've been there?

[Anderton]

3 hours ago, Greg Mein said:

What has been the cost of a show badge at times you've been there?

 

I almost always get a free Speaker badge because I'm usually doing a TEC Tracks talk, panel discussion, or whatever. I can't do it if they don't let me in  For the other occasions, I have a long history of covering NAMM shows, so I can get a media pass without too much trouble; or I might be doing something with a company like a demo or workshop, so they get me a guest badge. Hey, there are some benefits from my going to NAMM shows since it was card tables set up at the Disneyland hotel...