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Here is the summary of the first Winter NAMM show covered for The Guitar Channel. I went several times the Musikmesse, so going to the NAMM was a logical step in the development of The Guitar Channel. I have not been disappointed with this trip to Anaheim: plenty of cool meetings, 20 interviews (see below), photos by the hundred (to be found on the private community), and a good dose of decibels every day!

Full list of interviews

Here's the list of the 20 interviews done during this 2015 Winter NAMM. Most of them are in English.

Summary of Day 1

Perhaps the quietest day proportionately at NAMM since all exhibitors are fresh and that the volume is not yet entirely delusional. I focused for the first day on the hall E which includes the "small" manufacturers (such as the luthier Doug Kauer) and level 2 of the convention center where there were for example the guys from the Premier Builders Guild. Interviews of the day The selection of pictures of the day [caption id="attachment_4677" align="aligncenter" width="500"]ESPangel A 75k$ angel guitar by ESP[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4678" align="aligncenter" width="500"]PRS30 A gorgeous dragon 30th anniversary guitar from PRS[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4679" align="aligncenter" width="500"]GodinP90 A cool douple P90 single cut design guitar from Godin[/caption] Backstage Pass bonus: a 205 photo album for the full story of that first day back on the private community.

Day 2

I'm beginning to get the measure of the immensity of the NAMM. I knew this show was huge but it's true that it takes a lot of walking to get from one end to the other of the different halls. Some interviews were planned weeks ahead while others were completly improvised on the spot such as the ones with the Country guitar living Albert Lee Country and with Pascal Mulot, a leading French bass players. The selection of pictures of the day [caption id="attachment_4686" align="aligncenter" width="500"]SelfieLeePJ A selfie with Albert Lee[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4675" align="aligncenter" width="500"]TeleGib A Telegib replica by Seymour Duncan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4674" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Luke A gorgeous Luke guitar from Ernie Ball Music Man[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4676" align="aligncenter" width="500"]WashburnSwedish One of the Ola Englund signature model with Washburn[/caption] Backstage Pass bonus: an album of 40 photographs for the full report of the second day found on the private community. Interviews of the day

Day 3

Here we start to get into the core part of the show because it is Saturday with a huge number of people in the aisles. NAMM is normally a trade only show but the weekend is a like a big party for all of Los Angeles. So we have an incredible crowd which sometimes makes it difficult to move around. A beautiful harvest of interviews for that day, however with no less than six interviews conducted. The selection of pictures of the day [caption id="attachment_4680" align="aligncenter" width="500"]TripleNeck You get to see all kind of guitars during the NAMM![/caption] [caption id="attachment_4673" align="aligncenter" width="500"]BcRich A cool pair of BC Rich guitars[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4672" align="aligncenter" width="500"]ZakkWylde Zakk Wylde in front of the line of gear he was introducing with Wyldeaudio[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4685" align="aligncenter" width="500"]JamesTrussartselfie Selfie with James Trussart[/caption] Backstage Pass bonus: an album of 110 photos for the full report of the third day to recover the private community. Interviews of the day

Day 4

Always a great weather to start this last day of show. I must admit that it's nice to enjoy the winter sun. 5 interviews that day with a special mention for the visit of Grover Jackson workshop in Orange County thanks to Eric Labire from Music & Sons. I had already made an audio interview with Grover but to meet him and to visit his shop to make a new video interview over 20min and try some guitars is one of my best memories of this trip. The selection of pictures of the day [caption id="attachment_4681" align="aligncenter" width="500"]DevinTwoNotes Nice group photo from left to right: Simon Depys (Two-Notes), Guillaume Pille (Two Notes), Devin Townsend, Renaud Louis-Servais and yours truly[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4682" align="aligncenter" width="500"]SelfieGroverPJ Selfie with Grover Jackson[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4683" align="aligncenter" width="500"]SelfieGuillaumePJ Selfie with Guillaume Pille, CEO for Two Notes[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4684" align="aligncenter" width="500"]TomAndersonRenaud Tom Anderson with Renaud Louis-Servais[/caption] Backstage Pass bonus: a photo album 45 for the full story of that day up on the private community. Interviews of the day

Thanks

Before concluding I would like to especially thank Guillaume Pille from Two-Notes who gave me lots of good information to prepare my first Californian expedition. His information were invaluable throughout the show. He also introduced me to some stars of the guitar such as Devin Townsend or Tom Quayle. A big thank you to Julien Bitoun which also gave me a lot of good tips to make the most of this NAMM making me enjoy the experience of seasoned journalist used to cover this kind of event.

Conclusion

Difficult to summarize in a few lines such a rich experience. I went to NAMM in observation mode for the first time, the results have far exceeded my expectations, 20 interviews top quality (yes, I said this out loud!) : I really did not expect to be able to do that many. The proliferation of stars in all corners of the aisle is really striking. As said Julien Bitoun nicely when you think you recognize a star at NAMM, it is probably that very star. And always very accessible. I was able to do totally improvised interviews with Albert Lee, Tom Anderson or Grover Jackson. I had a blast to bathe in this whirlwind of decibels and guitar for 4 days! NAMM is a beautiful well-oiled marketing machine. The organization is top notch. From the excellent mobile app, to areas well equipped for the Press or even the free WiFi available on much of the convention center, it is high class stuff and it allows to work in very good conditions. So will I go back next year? Most likely. Pierre. SelfieNAMM_PJ [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level0)]
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Summary of my the 2015 Winter NAMM
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Well, here we are, the American adventure of The Guitar Channel starts in a few hours! The NAMM show means a lot for musicians in general and especially for guitarists as it is a major event that has strong impact, especially on our respective gear fantasies! Indeed it is often during this event dedicated to the music industry in Los Angeles, California in January that are launched instruments, amps, effects, accessories, etc. that will make us dream throughout the year.

Logistics and planing

For me beeing present at the NAMM is the opportunity to meet musicians, luthiers and manufacturers impossible to interview otherwise because they do not come to France. As for the Musikmesse where I go every year, I tried to optimize my time on setting up of a maximum of appointments while keeping some availability for what is difficult to predict: an impromptu interview with star, a cool demo to shoot, the discussions with the countless pros of the music business that will be on site, etc. The airfare and hotel are booked long time. Wanting absolutely to limit the budget, I opted to avoid to rent a car, so I took a relatively hotel near the Convention Center allowing me to go on foot. MapNAMM

The interviews planned

I will not list here the appointments already set because I know how that can change at the last moment. Suffice it to say that there will be big names of the six (and four!) strings, great guitar manufacturers and effects and instrument makers. I also intend to shoot some video chronicle with my "special envoys" on the spot: they are musicians I've interviewed in the past and who are on site. This is an opportunity to have multiple views of the same event. As this is my first NAMM, I'm also going there in observation mode. Indeed although my past experience during several Musikmesse allow me to anticipate in part how it will happen, everyone agrees that the Winter NAMM (as opposed to Summer NAMM being held in Nashville summer) is a whole other planet. We'll see.

How to have the latest news from The Guitar Channel

Depending on the data connection I will have on my iPhone, I'll do a live coverage on Twitter on @theguitarchnnl and on my Instagram account theguitarchnnl. InstagramTheguitarchnnl Every day I will also upload my harvest of images on a photo albums reserved for the Backstage Pass owners on the Google+ private community. I will be your eyes on site! Here's an example with pictures taken in Berlin during the Holy Grail Guitar Show: ExemplesPhotosHGGS

Get the Backstage Pass

A 6-day stay in Los Angeles is a budget of about US$ 2,300. This is a big financial gamble that I took so if you are on the verge of taking a Backstage Pass or supporting the show on the Patreon page, now would be a great time! :-) Don't forget that The Guitar Channel is completely independent, 100% passion and 0% ads with the only revenues coming from the Backstage Pass owners and backers on Patreon. Until I see you among the backstagers, I go back to the final preparations for this week which promises to be exciting. Pierre. PS: if you are onsite ping me on Twitter @theguitarchnnl or on the Facebook page!

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NAMM show: D-day minus 1