What Is It Like Going To NAMM?

[kurtsstuff2003]

Imagine if you will..The worlds biggest guitar center on a Saturday afternoon during school break....That's what it's like and worse. I spent 25-30 years in music retail and we quit going. Near impossible to get any real business done with manufacture's
reps. And yes..You will be sick for a week or so afterwards..

 

[jabps]

I've been to most of the Nashville Namm shows except for the last several years. Smaller show. I would probably like to go the LA show just once to say I did though. As most have said...several hours and your done.

Frankly back in the day the first thing I did was hit the magazines racks. Free copies of GW, GP etc... Load up on that, walk it back to the car and then hit all the booths I dug.

Was in the ESP booth one time, jamming on one of their guitars playing some Kings X...oblivious to the person behind me which was Ty Tabor. I saw his feet but never really paid attention for a bit, finally looked up...I handed him the guitar and said you can play this better than I can. Cool guy. One year Peavey had all the advertising up for George Lynch's new amp...the XXX lol. Obviously that never made it out to the public as that all fell through. I remember when Ed was transitioning from Peavey to Fender...Peavey guys were bummed, Fender guys were assholes lol. One time Washburn had a killer shred style guitar...Charvelesque, great head stock, body lines...never made it to manufacturing. So you can see things like that. And on the last day, I've bought products right off the floor. Rare, but it can happen. Friend of mine bought a bass from Warrior when they first came out years ago. Traded licks with Guthrie Govan one time....well, was more like in awe lol. Nicest guy/builder I ever meet there - Stuart Spector. Just a fantastic nice guy.

It's worth going at least once. Some don't care if you pick up the goods, some do. I just always tried to respect the dealers who are there to work, not waste their time.

 

[Chubtone]

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experience back in the 80's? Yeah, well those are the exact same people who are attending NAMM still and they have not been replaced by very many people from the following generations.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!

Haha That comment made my day, mate! But have you seriously been there before?

Yeah, only about 25 times. I skipped it this year. I live 15 minutes from NAMM. Last year, when I got there, 10 minutes in I was like, I'm off work, my wife is at work, my kids are at school and all my cool gear I already have is sitting at home just wanting to be played. I was only there about 2 hours last year and this year I skipped. And all my gear sitting at home, did I play it? Probably not. I probably wasted the day playing Call of Duty.

 

[sefloval]

It's liking going to an enormous Guitar Center on steroids. I went once and it was fun...because you can drink beers and walk around and look at all the shit..the beer made it better. If Guitar Center had beer, I'd probably stop by there more lol.

 

[USofguitars]

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!

Haha That comment made my day, mate! But have you seriously been there before?

Yeah, only about 25 times. I skipped it this year. I live 15 minutes from NAMM. Last year, when I got there, 10 minutes in I was like, I'm off work, my wife is at work, my kids are at school and all my cool gear I already have is sitting at home just wanting to be played. I was only there about 2 hours last year and this year I skipped. And all my gear sitting at home, did I play it? Probably not. I probably wasted the day playing Call of Duty.

Wow. 25 times is a lot, mate. It's like you've seen it all I guess. You're like a living history book of the NAMM. Haha
But I feel you. I've never been there. But I'm naturally unattracted by such a concentration of people and marketed gear. I get the point, and to a certain extend, it's also interesting to know what's new and exciting to meet idols who made rock history, or fellow musicians. But man, they're still just guitars. It looks more like a fashion saloon to me. All you need is a couple of guitars and a couple of amps and pedals to make music. And that's already a lot for most people. I'd make a pretty bad salesman. Haha That's why I'm more of a teacher. I guess it's about making music a lifestyle and learning, rather than buying the stuff for me. Just my 2 cents.

 

[engage757]

It's miserable. Industry guys are trying to get stuff done, the only time we should be able to get things handled with buyers, manufacturers, dealers, artists, etc, and the entire time are being inundated by THOUSANDS of public people that truly should not be there, but their dog's hairdresser's second cousin twice removed works at a dealer and gave 35 passes to anyone they knew that had ever seen a guitar. Then you have the washed up rockers demanding endorsements, wasting more of your time and "journalists" or "media" guys wanting to interview you for their YouTube channel subscriber base of 12 while you are trying to show your product line to Guitar World magazine. Doubtless, those same people will be bitching about what a dick you are on forums before you get to pull your next breath.

Outside of that? It's constant overstimulation, insanely loud, bright, pulsing lights and you lose complete track of time. You will end up getting NAMMthrax, and the only thing to settle down your nerves is to go drink something, but you can't even get away from the noise at the hotels, so you sleep like absolute shit, wake up early and get to do it again. It takes me easily 1-2 weeks to recover from it.

Can't you tell I love it?

 

[jape23]

For people trying to get business done, I'm sure NAMM is mostly a big pain in the ass. When you look at a lot of the people stuck at their booths for hours on end, they look like they'd rather be anywhere else but there. Can't blame them really. Too many people, too much noise... total sensory overload. For me, the most annoying part is always the same -- the endless stream of guitar players who seem intent on furiously shredding away for the benefit of some imaginary NAMM talent scouts. (All under the pretext of just trying out some amp, even though they never once touch a dial on the amp while they shred away for 30 minutes straight).

Overall though, there are plenty of cool people to meet and great gear to check out. Plus, it's California in January. And where else could you be strolling down the street and walk right into Jake E. Lee, or get a chance to chat up Grover Jackson, George Lynch or whoever, all on the same day.

A great NAMM tip that a buddy shared with me is: if you really want to check out some gear at NAMM (or in my case, really hear what an amp sounds like without all of the other noise going on around you) be there early on Sunday morning. I've definitely found this to be the best time to really test out an amp or guitar that you may have your eye on. Some of the best gear I've purchased in recent years is stuff that I just happened to stumble upon at NAMM, gear that probably wouldn't have even been on my radar otherwise.

 

[van hellion]

Its like Guitar Center but bigger..... Or Hell but smaller.

 

[van hellion]

kidding, so don't kill me! i actually love going to namm, great time to catch up with old friends.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I’ve never been, but from the videos I’ve seen, it looks like it’d get old real quick. I imagine the douche level there is very high. I have zero desire to go.

 

[Beyond Black]

Its like Guitar Center but bigger..... Or Hell but smaller.

This thread delivers...

 

[mentoneman]

wear comfortable shoes unless nerve damage is your thing and make the most of Thursday. if you have to go Saturday bring a shrink and one of these:

best plan ever was when i started smuggling in my own sandwiches and waters.

dumping shekels out for one of those crappy $14 grey "hot" dogs housed at room temperature since the cold war and $7 child size cups of ice with a splash of pepsi got real old, especially when trying to fuel a sleep deprived multi-day zombie jog through that vegas trading floor cacophony, just to experience the excitement of dick dale demoing a new pack of strings

worth going once to say you did it. who knows you may chance upon al dimeola frenching elton john on your way to the head.

 

[engage757]

THere really is some gold in this thread ahahaha

 

[romanianreaper]

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!

LOL!! Rob Keeley texted me when he got back from NAMM and one of the first things he said was "I can't believe I didn't get sick!!"

 

[romanianreaper]

Imagine if you will..The worlds biggest guitar center on a Saturday afternoon during school break....That's what it's like and worse. I spent 25-30 years in music retail and we quit going. Near impossible to get any real business done with manufacture's
reps. And yes..You will be sick for a week or so afterwards..

If I was around that would purposely grab a capacitor inside a tube amp. I can't be around crowds like I used to do. I start getting a mini panic attack. I can barely stand Guitar Center with five people inside.

 

[Rick Lee]

The comparisons to a giant GC are not accurate. The folks you hear at NAMM are some of the best players in the world. You won't hear any hacks there, trying to play Nirvana.

 

[thiswaythatway]

 

[van hellion]

The comparisons to a giant GC are not accurate. The folks you hear at NAMM are some of the best players in the world. You won't hear any hacks there, trying to play Nirvana.

its the noise floor thats like GC.

that said yes, some of the best in the world are there, and yes some of the not best are there as well.

 

[RevDrucifer]

The comparisons to a giant GC are not accurate. The folks you hear at NAMM are some of the best players in the world. You won't hear any hacks there, trying to play Nirvana.

its the noise floor thats like GC.

that said yes, some of the best in the world are there, and yes some of the not best are there as well.

I definitely heard some hacks while I was there. They were generally the ones who would play for a couple seconds as if they were checking out gear, but the only thing they were checking out was how many people were paying attention to them.

 

[Rick Lee]

I definitely heard some hacks while I was there. They were generally the ones who would play for a couple seconds as if they were checking out gear, but the only thing they were checking out was how many people were paying attention to them.

I don't even know why anyone would bother plugging in if checking out a guitar at NAMM. You can't crank it up and you really don't need to plug in to check out the feel and playability. I was there a few years ago watching Greg Howe just shred like nothing you've ever seen. I think he was using his signature DV Mark Marigold head. I was talking with him afterwards and said I could barely hear him. And I was about five feet away from him then. He said it was pretty pointless to even demo that amp at the volume you're allowed to have at NAMM. Same day I saw Akira Takasaki play at the ESP room. I think he was using a JCM800, but didn't get a good look at whether there was an attenuator or what he was using to tame the volume. The room was large and separate from the rest of the area, probably 300 people in there. Wasn't loud at all, but the amp still sounded pretty good. But mere mortals don't get to do that at NAMM.