Dispatch
Member
I've never been to one but I always wondered what it was like and if it was even worth going to the show. 
J
jcj
Well-known member
Dispatch":1g4jnnxo said:I've never been to one but I always wondered what it was like and if it was even worth going to the show.
Crowded and loud.
It’s fun for a bit, but it wears on you; I can take one day.
You’ll also likely leave with NAMMthrax.
alan67
Well-known member
I went for the first time this year - definitely an experience worth having. 
That said, once was enough for me, it's pretty chaotic. I can't imagine how a dealer can effectively make decisions on gear with all the freaking noise going on. There are sound isolation demo rooms and some of the manufacturers were restricted to dealers only the first couple of days but the main floor was kinda crazy.
I was checking out a Composite Acoustics guitar in the Peavey room and I had to hold it right up to my ear to get a good idea of what it sounded like!
That said, once was enough for me, it's pretty chaotic. I can't imagine how a dealer can effectively make decisions on gear with all the freaking noise going on. There are sound isolation demo rooms and some of the manufacturers were restricted to dealers only the first couple of days but the main floor was kinda crazy. I was checking out a Composite Acoustics guitar in the Peavey room and I had to hold it right up to my ear to get a good idea of what it sounded like!
alan67
Well-known member
jcj":377yvb2r said:Dispatch":377yvb2r said:I've never been to one but I always wondered what it was like and if it was even worth going to the show.
Crowded and loud.
It’s fun for a bit, but it wears on you; I can take one day.
You’ll also likely leave with NAMMthrax.
Agreed. I spent about 5 hours there on Friday and that kind of gave me ear fatigue.....went back on Saturday for about an hour and a half and tapped out. Got to see Eric Johnson Friday night at the Fender VIP thing....that was definitely the highlight
slaveunit
Member
I honestly find that it gets boring very quickly. I haven't been in at least 10 years. It's very difficult to actually hear a decent demo because of all the chaos.
Dispatch
Member
Will they let you buy the demo guitars and stuff on display right off the showroom floor, if you see something you really like? 
Chubtone
Well-known member
You know all the super cool rocker dudes with their really hot rocker chicks that made NAMM an amazing thing to experience back in the 80's? Yeah, well those are the exact same people who are attending NAMM still and they have not been replaced by very many people from the following generations.
Namm tips: Start taking a ton of vitamin C the full week before. Overdose on vitamin C throughout the entire NAMM days. Bring tons of gum, you and everyone you talk to will have the worst breath ever. Wash your hands every time you pass a bathroom. Pull a 55 gallon drum of hand sanitizer behind you and use it every time you shake hands with someone. You will shake a million hands and the next hand you shake will always be 3 seconds after you just used the damn hand sanitizer. Well, use it again! Did I mention take a ton of vitamin C and wash your hands constantly and use hand sanitizer constantly? Yeah, it doesn't matter. You are guaranteed to be sick as a dog the week after as the flus from 93 different countries represented at NAMM all battle it out in your system for dominance.
NAMM yay!
Namm tips: Start taking a ton of vitamin C the full week before. Overdose on vitamin C throughout the entire NAMM days. Bring tons of gum, you and everyone you talk to will have the worst breath ever. Wash your hands every time you pass a bathroom. Pull a 55 gallon drum of hand sanitizer behind you and use it every time you shake hands with someone. You will shake a million hands and the next hand you shake will always be 3 seconds after you just used the damn hand sanitizer. Well, use it again! Did I mention take a ton of vitamin C and wash your hands constantly and use hand sanitizer constantly? Yeah, it doesn't matter. You are guaranteed to be sick as a dog the week after as the flus from 93 different countries represented at NAMM all battle it out in your system for dominance.
NAMM yay!
Chubtone
Well-known member
Dispatch":yv1je92l said:Will they let you buy the demo guitars and stuff on display right off the showroom floor, if you see something you really like?
Some of the small companies may let you do that and come and pick it up at the end of the show Sunday afternoon. The medium and major companies are using this show to sell products dealers.
mchn13
Well-known member
Chubtone":9liioxl8 said:
Hahahah; I envisioned a ghost busters back pack full of sanitizer. Thanks.
USofguitars
Member
Chubtone":1qldc8r8 said:
Haha That comment made my day, mate!
But have you seriously been there before?
JerEvil
Well-known member
Yeah like already stated, loud, crowded and I’ll add frustrating to navigate. I stayed 2.5 days but I was interviewing folks/builders.
Stealthtastic
Active member
As a dealer/brand it's kind of frustrating trying to get deals done when there are 39293293293 people there that should not be there. I think NAMM should make a few days for the public and then some restricted to people that should actually be there. Would make getting things done a million times easier.
neilli777
Member
I went for the first time this year, and as far as the show itself goes, one day was enough. But meeting up with people I've internet 'known' for years made it well worth while. We went to Wild West Guitars on the Sunday after the show, and that was the first time in 5 days I really heard a guitar I was playing, which was kind of odd given I'd spent 4 days at a music show..
rottingcorpse
Well-known member
I went one year just to try a specific product I would have never got my hands on unless I bought one sight unseen. Have not been back since. I have a bro who goes every year.
Bob Savage
Well-known member
Chubtone":1rudrhp4 said:
A friend went this year for the first time and while he used different words, this is exactly what he described. Too funny...
Rick Lee
Well-known member
I've been eight years in a row and don't really care to go again. Too much of a cattle call. Thursday is ok, Friday is rough and Saturday is beyond insane. I make it a point to go to each of the manufacturers whose stuff I own and give them feedback and thank them for their usually great customer service. And since I really don't belong there, I also make it a point to tell exhibitors when I've bought something of theirs because I saw it at NAMM the previous year. Did that for AudioTechnica, Charvel, EVH, Mike Soldano, EMG and plenty more. They're always very thankful. Not a lot attitudes you'd expect around there.
RevDrucifer
Well-known member
After years of dreaming of going, I got to go in 2011. For the first 2-3 hours I was like a kid in a candy store. I don't know if things changed since then, but I didn't have a problem playing anything I wanted to. I bee-lined to the Ibanez booth and spent a good while there playing anything that caught my eye and that happened everywhere else I went.
I had a good sized group of friends from HRI who were meeting up, that ended up being a bigger highlight than the NAMM show itself. Actually, everything surrounding NAMM was cooler than NAMM itself; meeting up with internet buds, the Dean NAMM Jam that cost all of $25 to get into, meeting musicians who weren't sitting behind a table signing autographs in odd spots. I was on the same smoking schedule as Troy from Mastodon, so after our 3rd or 4th smoke, we just started shooting the shit in the rear smoking area. My fiance and I met Brann from Mastodon at the Ibanez booth, talked to him for a few minutes and told him, "I'm sure you've got stuff to do, we'll leave you alone.", to which he replied, "Nah man, I'm just chillin', you can't get rid of me that easy.", so we stood there and spoke for a while longer. The coolest NAMM event during the whole show was King's X tearing up the Mackie room to about 30 people in attendance.
I'm not big on crowds of people and at times, it's standing room only, even in open rooms. I was coming around the Dean booth when someone rushed passed me, slamming into my beer, I looked up, partially annoyed at the lack of an apology when a very star-struck woman goes, "Do you know who that was?!?!? That was KENNY G!!!" like I was supposed to be happy that Kenny G spilled me $10 Bud Light.
I'd go again if I knew all my buds were going, but it's definitely not something I'd want to do on a yearly basis.
I had a good sized group of friends from HRI who were meeting up, that ended up being a bigger highlight than the NAMM show itself. Actually, everything surrounding NAMM was cooler than NAMM itself; meeting up with internet buds, the Dean NAMM Jam that cost all of $25 to get into, meeting musicians who weren't sitting behind a table signing autographs in odd spots. I was on the same smoking schedule as Troy from Mastodon, so after our 3rd or 4th smoke, we just started shooting the shit in the rear smoking area. My fiance and I met Brann from Mastodon at the Ibanez booth, talked to him for a few minutes and told him, "I'm sure you've got stuff to do, we'll leave you alone.", to which he replied, "Nah man, I'm just chillin', you can't get rid of me that easy.", so we stood there and spoke for a while longer. The coolest NAMM event during the whole show was King's X tearing up the Mackie room to about 30 people in attendance.
I'm not big on crowds of people and at times, it's standing room only, even in open rooms. I was coming around the Dean booth when someone rushed passed me, slamming into my beer, I looked up, partially annoyed at the lack of an apology when a very star-struck woman goes, "Do you know who that was?!?!? That was KENNY G!!!" like I was supposed to be happy that Kenny G spilled me $10 Bud Light.
I'd go again if I knew all my buds were going, but it's definitely not something I'd want to do on a yearly basis.
4406cuda
Well-known member
I stopped going in the early 90's. Too crowded and loud.
MetalHeadMike
Well-known member
jcj":rnx34byf said:Dispatch":rnx34byf said:I've never been to one but I always wondered what it was like and if it was even worth going to the show.
Crowded and loud.
It’s fun for a bit, but it wears on you; I can take one day.
You’ll also likely leave with NAMMthrax.
Never been to one, but this is exactly how I envision it
JConstantineLV
Member
As someone whos been going for nearly 25 years. Nowadays its a shit show of musicians trying to impress people walking by. Namm was made for people IN THE BUSINESS to work together show off their new gear and work out deals to work together. Nowadays there is more public at the event than actual people in the business. Its a total wank fest with every musician just playing random gear and trying to get people to give them shit for free (which never happens). Plus 4 days of walking around in that noise will kill your ears, give you a headache and make you realize how shitty the state of the actual business is. I skipped 2018, probably gonna skip 2019 as well.