In a'Italy in which there are also fairs for the Peperone di Carmagnola (which we adore, mind you), for years there has been no fair for the musical instrument market that is truly all-encompassing.
Some of you will remember the Pesaro, Rimini and Milan fairs. And then Bologna in 2010, the last noteworthy, repeated a few years later with an unfortunate outcome. We still remember the phone call from one of you who went ahead: “Guys, don't come because there is more stuff in your shop than in the whole fair”. And we also remember those poor people who had to perform in a hot concrete square (40 ° in the shade) that there were not even sound engineers to look at them. It seems that after visiting the fair some parents have withdrawn their children from guitar lessons to send them to judo.
Even Frankfurt is not in great shape, as soon as it is named one of the operators in the sector everyone rolls their eyes and someone scratches himself nonchalantly.
So, we said to ourselves, if she has to be proud, how proud she is: e Los Angeles is the goal. And then running away from the cold of Turin never hurts.
The Namm Show was born in 1901 and has always been the reference point of the music industry. It is held in Anaheim, a city known for its Disneyland park, south of Los Angeles and annually attracts an average of 120,000 operators in the sector, from almost 130 countries.
We have been there several times over the years and have seen sparkling editions and others in a lesser tone. In our opinion, the 2019 edition is on the rise: the enthusiasm is there and it is a good sign. Because everything can be said about the Americans, but not that they don't spark enthusiasm and positivity, at least when it comes to business: and we returned to Italy absorbing all the positive vibes accumulated in California. This is perhaps the best sign for our sector.
The structure that houses the fair, theAnaheim Convention Center, it is very large but easy to get around: it is equipped with an internal arena for shows and different levels dedicated to companies that want to stay away from the chaos. Needless to tell you that the pavilion of our interest, that of drums and percussion, was the noisiest, so much so that we had to take a break every now and then and visit the one of guitars (of which we understand little) or the Chinese one (and also of Chinese not we understand a lot).
Having said that the drums of the batteries continue to be cylindrical and the cymbals for the vast majority continue to be round, there are no epochal innovations for our sector and even the companies that no longer come out with proclamations from "new Truths revealed to the world ”but they churn out new models, new woods, new designs, but fortunately remaining faithful to the line. It is natural, an instrument built in 2019 has different technical characteristics from one built twenty years earlier, but the soul is the same. And thank goodness.
We summarize our impressions, more specific on some brands and more general on others. Of course, we are always at your disposal for other questions or for a comparison on any topic.
DISHES: between new logos and Chinese boarding
The rumors about SABIAN they were well founded. The font has changed and the logo has changed. The logo is more beautiful than the previous one, the font leaves us a bit perplexed (note: font = the font with which the word Sabian is written). On the immense wall of their stand it still has a nice effect, but on the dishes the judgment is almost unanimous. We talked to numerous colleagues and almost all of them were incredulous like "but do they really do?". The criticisms on Sabian's social channels have been fierce but the company is strenuously defending its choice and the new course: we acknowledge this and we are sure that time will prove them right. We hope the numbers do too.
The stand is, as usual, mammoth: an immense wall of plates at the foot of which a cymbal master hammers rough plates: an excellent association between the modern image and the work that always remains artisanal. A few new entries in the AAX line and some out-of-catalog models: Sabian's focus for 2019 is obviously a change of image that pushes towards modernity.
ZILDJIAN it is the exact opposite: it takes care of the essentials with an equally impressive but very clean and sober stand. The new FX Stacks are presented (already available from us in the shop and on the website, so buy them!) Which are the main attraction together with some new entries in the K range with the expansion of the Sweet and the new Cluster Crash, really fabulous. We had the opportunity to see everything last October in Boston, during our visit to the company, but the day before the start of the Namm Show we were invited to an event reserved for the most important world retailers and we saw other news such as the new ear monitors by Zildjian, available in Italy from March.
At the stand a few dishes from other series, on the other hand they all know their best sellers and do not need to consolidate a brand that is always at the top. Guarantee, as always.
PAISTE it's Europe. So let's play a little indoors, a little bit like finding the Nutella jar in a drugstore in Kentucky. Had it not been for the Danny Carey set with its grandeur and opulence (so much so that it is the second most visited attraction at the fair after the stand where they gave away sandwiches), the Paiste one would have been a pretty sad stand. The novelties thrown into a deserted corner with a laconic “New Models” sign and the rest of the range on exhibitors delimiting the stand. Stand that was very respectable as a surface, so they must have spent two pennies: ok, Paiste has to think about doing the dishes and the preparations are perhaps not their forte. But a precarious architect, just to give two tips, right? However, the presence of Vinnie Colaiuta at the stand was a ray of light for the whole fair: everyone queues for him, and he puts everyone in line. Vinnie and Danny, not spotted, save the stand in short.
ISTANBUL MEHMET. They welcome us with good news: we are their best resellers in Italy. While we search on our smartphones for “phrases of thanks in Turkish” we are once again surprised by how many lines of dishes they are able to create and put in the catalog, just to make it easier for us to order and clarify our ideas. We try to explain to them that perhaps simplifying would be more appropriate, but if we have not already been able to thank them in Turkish, let alone this. The stand is large, there is a beautiful wall celebrating the Tony Williams set (in the meantime it has become a prayer corner for devotees who went on a silent pilgrimage flagellating themselves with sackcloth) and there are new lines including the micro-perforated plates of the X series which however are not the classic copies of Zildjian's Low Volume, but are cymbals in noble bronze alloy and really sound, albeit with contained volume. In short, more like a small live club than a home workout. Mr. Mehmet really exists, is very courteous and does not speak English. We don't speak Turkish. It was all a game of looks and we hope he did not misunderstand. The names of some of those present at the stand are those of some of the series in the catalog: there were Hamer, Murathan and Sahra. Traditional no, he is one who prefers to stay out of the spotlight. And Nostalgia was not even there because obviously they prefer not to carry it with them since it is a whiner.
MEINL. Away from the crowd. They are on the first floor, in a room that, looking at it from the outside, suggests wonders, but then you enter and everything is too tidy. A square room with percussion on two sides and plates on the other two: it looks like a rendering. In between, the Byzance Foundry Reserve, made in Turkey and inspired by Turkish dishes (the opposite would have been strange, on the other hand): in the wake of Zildjian Constantinople and Sabian Artisan, because that is now the line drawn. From a company like Meinl, which in recent years pushed on the accelerator and seemed to be in the fast lane, we would have expected something really great. Instead the only pedal he pushed on was the double cajon pedal which, frankly, nobody missed.
UFIP present with an exhibition of its flagship lines and the fabulous Est. 1931, hosted by their American distributor.
The Turks, the others. There were so many that we will surely forget someone. Our soft spot is for MASTERWORK, which we dealt with years ago but which did not have the commercial success it deserved, but we have resumed contact: maybe we will give you some news in the coming weeks. ISTANBUL AGOP it had a very classy stand, really super and the quality of the dishes is unquestionable but we consider them out of price compared to the competition. TURKISH, AMEDIA, BOSPHORUS, TRX, DOMINION, SOULTONE, 7TH HILL, T-CYMBALS, MURAT DIRIL and others that escape us: all super, no one excluded. The Turks know how to make dishes, and how! And often the prices are so low that you suspect they are made in China.
And speaking of China: the dishes, too, are starting to do them. And well as well. We anticipate that soon when some of you ask us for a china plate, we will ask them if they mean splash, crash or laugh. We tried a $ 40 hi-hat that literally rolled our eyes. But don't tell anyone!
DRUMS: in a changing world, they always remain cylindrical. Luckily.
LUDWIG above all. The American giant, a little in trouble in Europe but who in his country is still big, very big. The stand is mammoth, exhibiting so many snare drums that two eyes are not enough to look at them all together. They show up at the fair with the aircraft carrier and the parade is of the highest level: all metals, with CopperPhonic and Black Beauty above all, the new line for the 110th anniversary and new finishes on the sets among which the white mother of pearl stands out with rhomboidal inserts on Legacy and an Aged Exotic Collection with pure briar inside the barrel that was just like super sboroni, exaggerated. There was the whole range, from Breakbeats to Vistalite: it is one of the iconic brands in our sector, the great pity is that sometimes they seem to be sitting on their laurels and some of the latest models, such as the Neusonic, are a bit disappointing. They had an endorser like John Bonham, who still continues to sell like crazy and if only they pushed a little bit on marketing and a (small) revolution of the look at least on some lines, they would make a bang and the competition would be watching. . Instead, the others are often already ahead.
Note of merit: made in China they carry only the Breakbeats and spare our eyes the sight of the Accent range. You can't help but love Ludwig, however: a bit like first love, even if it's been a long time, a corner of your heart is for them.
TAMA. No one like them has been able to propose innovations in every segment, from the hardware with the new Dyna-Sync direct drive pedal (which we will discuss more later) to the new queens of the professional range, the Starclassic Walnut Birch, with the walnut that replaces the bubinga in a combination that made the Japanese company grind crazy numbers. The bubinga is unfortunately a wood in danger of extinction and therefore its processing now involves high costs and a handling of bureaucratic practices that make processing disadvantageous. But the new walnut / birch sounds great and, we confess, at the fair we hardly even noticed the change. Ah, anyway you can continue to order the single shells of the Starclassic Bubinga and Birch / bubinga, no problem: we'll take care of it! The Star Bubinga remains in regular production.
What we expect to be the bestseller for 2019 is the new SLP Big Black Steel all-steel, 22-13-16 and pedaling: how beautiful the tools are, where there is no choice and we do not have to brainstorm in search of color and the measures to order (will like / will not like). Crazy look and to play it everything you would say except that it is a metal set. We have already ordered them even before the fair and we will be among the first to have them in Italy. Also noteworthy are the new finishes on Superstar Maple, with the compact Neo Mod configuration with 20 × 10 ”case coming to us this spring. Top range of snare drums, with the new entry in the Starphonic family of the copper model, which we expect will be a success, and two new Signatures for Abe Cunningham (3mm brass that will make the fortune of physiotherapists) and Ronald Bruner Jr. (external in steel with seamless bent walnut interior).
Tama once again puts the competition in line, with an imposing but highly elegant stand. Perhaps the only brand that really had something new to offer. Always at the top.
YAMAHA and we stay on the Japanese brands. They are a fully-fledged multinational and do not mix with others: for them an entire section of the Marriott Hotel, opposite the Convention Center. Luxury a go-go, cute and very kind hostesses, concerts with crazy artists, carpets and plays of lights in a room as large as a football field: these always mean business. The big news for us is the new Oak Custom Hybrid, which replaces the Live Custom. There are three main innovations: the stem is no longer entirely in oak but has a phenolic layer inside; the YESS system has been redesigned with a larger plate; inside the case some blocks are mounted in correspondence with the external ones, to accentuate the low frequencies. It is a set that will be positioned in the price range of the Maple Custom Hybrid, so far from the figures we were used to with the Live Custom and we are curious to see how it will be received by the market. Noteworthy is the entry of wooden snare drums into the Recording Custom range (finally!).
No relevant news on the electronics front: the DTX482K is the latest born and the EAD10 continues to make havoc. And we have everything at home, as usual.
PEARL: the last Japanese. Upstairs, far from the chaos, with a stand at the entrance of which stands a Masterworks for whose construction a territory as large as Emilia Romagna has probably been cleared. But inside, to put it like Mariottide, sadness in spades. Really bare, sparse, colors of the sets in our opinion not very well chosen when the Pearl finishes are almost always to take your breath away. There is no question of quality, Pearl is a brand of absolute excellence but for this reason you expect fireworks from them. They feature the new Masters Maple / Gum and little else on the acoustic front. Stage of honor for the new electronics in collaboration with Korg, the E-Merge which should retire the very unfortunate E-Pro Live. We expect the best from Pearl, they do not deserve a stand like this and the public does not deserve it. A bit like the head of the class who, when called to the blackboard, makes a silent scene. No, you expect that from the last of the asses, not from Pearl. Heck.
MAPEX is I'M R: many of you may not know it, but they are part of the same large KHS group and share a very beautiful, essential, clean and very elegant stand. Germans Sonor they pull Steve Smith's SQ2 out of the hat, white with black hardware that is a fairy tale to look at but not touch, together with the SQ1, the beauty that is Vintage and the Prolite that even today we have not understood if it will remain in production for the 'Europe or for the American market only. This is a mystery that we have been trying to unravel for at least a year and the answers are as evasive as when you leave your curriculum vitae to a possible employer: "we will let you know". So know that if when you ask us for info on Prolite we go away whistling, there is a valid reason: we do not know how to give you information. And the fault is not ours.
The only pity: the total absence of a brochure, a tag or even a note written in pen which explains the characteristics and materials of the instruments on display. Sin.
The business card of Mapex is the minimal set of rare sobriety presented by Aquiles Priester, which occupies the space in which another producer would cram a staff of 20 people with a family in tow and perhaps even a couple of vans, so as to be the second work built by man visible from space after the Great Wall of China. Meanwhile, the Brazilian drummer has assembled almost all by himself, it seems he was there at Namm from the previous year to screw bolts. But, guys, your Saturn V is a joy for the eyes: magnificent. Playing it must be splendid also because, as big as it is, wherever you touch something you hit so the risk of failing is never there. Munch's stunning finish. Armory another workhorse in great shape: the new Chestnut Red Burst finish (or something similar) is presented which is so beautiful and well finished that from the look you would not say it is a 700 Euro instrument or so. Then, like all brands, Mapex also presents its flagship, a fully customizable set: the new Black Panther Design Lab Versatus in maple and mahogany and the Cherry Bomb in cherry. Curious are the new aluminum tom holders, light but bulky and a bit cumbersome: they did not convince us.
Two heavy names like GRETSCH is DW they present themselves with a stand of pure representation: lean and essential, practically open only to insiders. Brooklyn Micro Kit with 16 ”bass drum, a trio of LP conga and a DW Collector's Almond (almond tree, John Good's new ball): that's all. Having visited DW in the previous days our eyes were already satisfied with the amazing beauties the group is capable of, however many people came out of their stand visibly upset and disappointed. Honestly, we don't feel like blaming them since some news such as the new 5000 single-chain pedals haven't even been seen with binoculars. Sin. Honorable mention for the toasted almonds, distributed for free at the entrance: even John Good when we had a chat, even before asking for opinions on the new Collector's Almond, he asked us if we liked the almonds and, puzzled, we wondered if you didn't expect us to bite into a tom at that point.
Affiliated to the DW group la GEWA that, in collaboration with the American brand, presented its line of electronic drums in the USA with the G9 above all: we had seen them last year in Germany, they were expected last spring and their release has been postponed. The module is fantastic, a 10 and praise touchscreen that would be worth keeping at home even if you do not play, but in terms of the response of the pads we believe there is still a lot of work to be done: better to wait a little longer but have a perfect product than to go out on the market like this, in our opinion.
Europe still present with BRITISH DRUM COMPANY, a company that ideally collects the legacy of the era Premier: The instruments are fabulous, the finishes are very classy and they have a nice look. Prices are obviously important and although they are not yet distributed in Italy we wish them the best.
Italy, by the way, was represented by two brands: MUSE, a young Emilian company that made its debut at Namm with a set made from the oak used for the barrels of traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena (wood aged thirty years) at a price of 70,000 dollars and CVL, a Venetian company that in addition to building its own instruments supplies many noble American companies of which we will not give you the names but know that many of the brands that please you use their made in Italy drums. However, CVL's friends were unfortunate, with their pallet that was stuck in Paris for all the days of the fair and was never delivered, giving them an empty stand but which did not prevent them from concluding business and collecting the solidarity of many. Colleagues. We, in their place, would probably have hired a hitman to take out the top of Fedex. 10 and praise for self control. Admirable.
DIXON: it's a brand we don't deal with but the new logo and new font are great. Well done. It doesn't take much to change the image and they follow the excellent philosophy of less is more, which we have always supported. Good, good, good.
ROGERS: they come back, finally, albeit on a shelf inside a distributor's stand and not with its own space. New as a production but obviously in the wake of vintage the renewed DynaSonic: who knows when we will see them in Italy. We exchanged a few words with a manager but we were not able to understand each other much, it seems that the situation is in the making in the USA as well.
Among the minor brands many American custom: SJC which brought several endorsers including Jay Weinberg in disguise and Josh Dun but whose commercial line leaves us very perplexed, with the introduction of cheap sets of Chinese production that are quite ugly in a catalog that was born as proudly made in the USA. Belle, and we know you like them A&F: but do you like them because you have only seen them or because you have tried them? The prices are prohibitive and go hand in hand with the luxury hipster chic look: without a check shirt and a full beard you did not enter the stand. Q DRUM, of Los Angeles, which also has metal sets in its catalog, HENDRIX DRUMS in solid wood and another myriad of brands to which we will then dedicate a further study.
HARDWARE: more and more massive, more and more light
It is the edition of the pedals. YAMAHA FP9 and Tama Dyna Sync above all held the ground in discussions among the drummers. Yamaha with a very nice double chain / direct drive pedal, with blue metal inserts, stabilization anchor also on the second pedal and above all a great ease of adjustment of the cams. And then the ultra-light Crosstown hardware that has been so successful that the production is unable to meet the demands. And we have had reservations since last August, oh well.
TAMA instead it features a direct drive pedal with an all too linear look. Few frills, really ultra basic: smooth plate, Sync Coil (Cobra Coil, practically), cam with infinite adjustments and a very classic beater in the look that however has the advantage of not losing the "pat" when you play it to avoid what is historically one of the biggest flaws of direct drive pedals. However, it is a pedal that has a sworn enemy: the Pearl Demon Drive. It will be a good fight. Meanwhile, take home the award as the best accessory of Namm.
I'M R presents its new Perfect Balance Standard: economic but not very economical version of the most famous Perfect Balance by Jojo Mayer.
PEARL, queen of racks, brings to the fair a quantity of metal that Manowar is a party boy band by comparison. The whole range of mechanics and accessories, always of the highest caliber, is present in great coverage.
MISCELLANEOUS AND POSSIBLE
Americans abound with imagination. We have seen aluminum tuning keys, beautiful but at unreasonable prices, plastic cleats to contain spare parts that cost less than the accessory itself, wooden trainers (!), Thimbles to turn the sticks, knockers of all shapes and sizes including the new Ahead. We will dedicate a further study to this too.
The real attraction was the Drumeo stand, a real open studio in which many world-famous artists took turns, filmed live from a truly super control room: here, for once in a while, no brands were seen but only lots of groove.
The live report from Oxnard will follow in the coming days, visiting the DW Drum Workshop!
