Anyone going to Sweetwater's Gear Fest?

[romanianreaper]

I have never been to this before but wondering if anyone is going to Sweetwater's Gear Fest in Ft. Wayne in a few weeks? Looks like a much smaller version of NAMM or something like that (which I've never been able to go to as well). :0 Sweetwater says to register but it is a free event so wasn't sure if I needed to do that. Don't want to drive there and find out I needed to register.

As some of you old timers here on the forum know, me a Robert Keeley go way back to high school and have stayed in touch. I got a text from him and he is going to be there so a few of us military brats that graduated with him are going to go see him "in his element". I'm not sure if you guys have seen some of his latest creations but he is really coming out with some killer stuff. His "Filaments" pedal is the one I'm really curious about. Looks like a great hard rock pedal.

Anyway, let me know if it is cool or if there is anything I need to know like "pants are optional", etc.

 

[brianiac5150]

Registering just gets you in a bit quicker, however, is not necessary.

I've been a few times and am on the fence about going this year...as I'm afraid for my credit card.

Well worth going. Last time I was there Dave Friedman and crew, Dan Boul and Joe Morgan were all together in one section. Albeit it was just another day for them...I was completely intimidated upon walking into that area. All super, super cool guys and very happy to talk gear with you. Dan Boul is a tremendous player, too. This, alone, made it worth the trip.

Since you've never been...I highly recommend going.

 

[IndyWS6]

I'm going both days. It's reasonably close. The line-up looks awesome and I want a J200

 

[ed_Sped2]

I wish I could go. Airfare plus hotels.....or just spend the money on gear....?

 

[moltenmetalburn]

As I now live ten minutes away Ill head up there.

 

[IndyWS6]

As I now live ten minutes away Ill head up there.

Want to meet up? Would be cool to meet forum peeps

 

[romanianreaper]

That's cool! Yeah, I'm afraid for my wallet. All of us musicians struggle with that unfortunately.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

As I now live ten minutes away Ill head up there.

Want to meet up? Would be cool to meet forum peeps

That sounds cool but i dont want to make concrete plans and thne insult anyone in case i decide to skip it for some reason.

Let keep this thread going until the fest and we can keep,in touch about it.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Well Friedman will be there again. See you guys there.

 

[Hartattack1090]

I'll be up there on Saturday. I'll be bringing a Sweetwater gift card, special father's day edition with the added 10%, with me to spend a good chunk of change, and hopefully protect me from whipping out the credit card haha. I've never been myself, so it should be a fun time!

 

[IndyWS6]

I got the email about the "Father's Day Gift Card" special yesterday. I'll do like I did the last couple of years and buy one to spend at Gear Fest. Why not? 10% bonus on a $2,000 card gives me a "free" $200. If I buy it with my credit card (and immediately pay it off) I get 1.5% cash back - that's another $30. Plus, anything I buy at Gear Fest should be on sale. Win - Win - Win...

 

[mentoneman]

anything is better than gc
i got a kick out of this guy's comments on his local gc while discussing the new boss multi/fx loop deal:

"The Guitar Center employees in Virginia Beach are the largest assemblage of knuckle dragging retards I have ever witnessed. They should seriously consider covering the floor with wood chips and hanging up some tires. Then they can call it a zoo and charge admission....I'll buy the Boss online but I won't set foot in a guitar center"

ironically i was in cali for my son's wedding and bought a used friedman be od at gc

 

[IndyWS6]

 

[IndyWS6]

If the forecast holds, Friday is going to be a friggin' washout . Not a great day to shop for an ES-335, J200 or Les Paul. Saturday still looks reasonably good...

 

[IndyWS6]

Saturday was awesome. Epic NGD for me (YMMV...). I have two AWESOME Taylor acoustics (416CE / 456CE), but I have always wanted a J200. So. I bought one. It's friggin' beautiful. It projects for days. 30 feet out? No need for an acoustic amp. Plus, it's a beautiful instrument...

 

[LP Freak]

Wish I would of gone. Oh well, there's next year I guess.

 

[romanianreaper]

Saturday was awesome. Epic NGD for me (YMMV...). I have two AWESOME Taylor acoustics (416CE / 456CE), but I have always wanted a J200. So. I bought one. It's friggin' beautiful. It projects for days. 30 feet out? No need for an acoustic amp. Plus, it's a beautiful instrument...

Wow! That's nice man.

I didn't realize they had a swap meet and all that other stuff so now I know if I go back what to expect. It was a really cool day. A tad hot but could have been way worse.

 

[Hartattack1090]

Little delayed, but for my 1st time at Gear Fest, it was awesome! Went on Saturday. Came home with a PRS SE Custom 24 and an Ibanez RG7421 (1st 7-string). Also go to meet the legend that is Paul Reed Smith himself. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I'm going to try and start going every year.

 

[romanianreaper]

Little delayed, but for my 1st time at Gear Fest, it was awesome! Went on Saturday. Came home with a PRS SE Custom 24 and an Ibanez RG7421 (1st 7-string). Also go to meet the legend that is Paul Reed Smith himself. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I'm going to try and start going every year.

Badass!!! Yeah, I was overwhelmed a bit because I expected it to be a "typical" event where there is a lot of hype but doesn't deliver. Much bigger location than I expected and had a great combination of vendors, private sales, etc., etc. I actually liked the friendly environment the most. All of the Sweetwater folks were great!

I didn't go prepared this year. If I go next year, I need to have some money and an idea of what I'm looking for.