NAMM Show 2012
Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA 1/12
By Jeffrey Easton
I keep hearing that the music industry is on its last legs, nobody plays real music anymore, everything is done in software etc etc etc. For those who have made those comments, you are dead wrong and the NAMM show 2012 is solid proof of that. This year it seems as if the attendance went through the roof and the exhibitors were wall to wall as if the recession was nonexistent. Deals were being made, more new models were present than it seems in ages and anniversary concerts were wall to wall in Anaheim this weekend. One thing I did notice amongst the new hardware was the need to go vintage with many amps and guitars which I will get into but it is amazing that Gibson and Ampeg, to name a couple, can manufacture to exact specs an amp produced years ago and have it look like it was taken out of a long lost warehouse find. Whereas I was attracted to so many booths, it was my duty to bring my metal and hard rock readers the firsthand look into what I thought you would want to know concerning what your needful artists are playing right now.
One of my first stops was the ESP booth, a mandatory stop every year at NAMM if metal guitarists are your thing. They have THE stable of who’s who in the metal field which include Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, James Hetfield, Silenoz and Will Adler to name a few. One of the new models they have this year that made me look twice was the Jeff Hanneman Slayer 2012 model. Again, going on vintage, the artwork centers on the South Of Heaven artwork. The best looking guitar in their booth and the tone is sinister. If it has Slayer on it, you know what it is capable of producing. Jeff also has two other models, the EC and JH- 600 EC, two amazing guitars for the insatiable metal guitarist. Warwick, what more can I saw. They have the Best Basses out there and their guitar line is amazing as well. Earl Slick was on hand showing off his Earl Slick series. The Swamp Ash body mixed with those DiMarzio p90 pickups can ignite any amp and spread musical fire across any stage. They have that classic guitar look and can complement any sound. Robert Trujillo has his own line of Warwick basses and if you saw Metallica live recently you know his bass sound is second to none. The standard maple body and Active EMGs push Metallica’s sound to the limit and you can blow your own sound away with this line. Remember the Gibson connection to vintage? Their reissue of Ace Frehley’s Les Paul from his Budokan Show is a replica of his 1974 3 Pickup custom Les Paul down to how the paint looked. It has that classic KISS sound and it was personally authorized by Ace himself. This will be their top guitar this year so I suggest buying it, plugging it into a Marshall and piss off your neighbors. One last guitar I want to touch on is this Jeff Loomis Schecter 7 FR. Jeff is one of my favorite guitarists out there and his sound with Nevermore and his solo outings has always blown me away and he was there promoting his massive guitar line. Active EMG 707’s along with an Ash body and his abilities makes for a monstrous sound. You want his sound, you need this guitar. By the way, Grover Jackson is back with a new line of guitars under GJ2. If he can continue what he originally did with Jackson guitars he will certainly retake the world.
Drums, the soul and feel of any song, are a needful thing. Who has the best all-around drums in my opinion? Roland, that’s who. What’s that, what happened to Pearl, DW etc? They are great but Roland has the entire package in their V-Tour series. Imagine wanting to practice your drums with amazing precise sound and doing it so nobody knows your playing? Their TD-9 sound module has a wide mixture of sounds and of course the ability to practice with your Ultimate Ears monitors and have the sound to yourself, not to disturb or piss off your girlfriend. The heads are what stands out. I have tried many electronic kits and the problem I have is is that only a portion of the heads are live, with Roland, the entire head is live so you do not miss a beat, literally. Now after I slighted Pearl it must be said that as far as traditional drums, nobody stands above Pearl. Just ask the likes of Tommy Lee, Joey Jordison and Mike Mangini. Having recently witnessed the power of Dream Theater with Mike and his amazing Pearl kit live, I can take it to the bank that to have a full kit live you need Pearl. His MMP Masters series was THE Show stopper in the drum area and it was only the fact that Tommy Lee’s Kit was on its side in the air that took you away from Mike’s kit. One of the oddest drum kits I came across was during media day, it was the Molecules Drum set. The body of each drum was in the shape of a bubble, certainly a first and made of Acrylic for a dynamic sound. You may think that odd doesn’t make it these days but this Kit will make heads turn if not for its looks but its sound will floor you. Part of being a drummer is making sure your kit looks great and that is where Cymbal Shield comes in. This product to me is number one when it comes to restoring your cymbals original luster and it will not corrode the logo nor the finish. You take time to practice, take time to keep the kit looking great.
I have been looking for a great practice amp and this year I finally found it. I share a 1500 square foot space and unless I want to go into my garage I need something small but with some power and that is in the form of the Yamaha THR10. This small amp packs 5 amps with 8 nasty sounding effects. This amp has to be played to gain the respect it deserves but once you plug in you will not practice through another amp. As an interviewer for print and sometimes TV the ultimate resources for combining the recording of either has been elusive but Zoom has finally put that search to rest. Their Q3HD records in full HD with three dimensional sounds. After seeing visual proof that this can do what it claims to do I was won over. With two small mics and a small camera, you would not expect it to do what it claims to do but the clarity is stunning. While I am there their Zoom H2n handy recorder will replace and make any sound recorder obsolete. With is capacity at a 32 GB SDHC and 20 hours of battery life, you will not be short of words in exclaiming that this is a singers or journalists best friend.
Ear Phones, everybody makes them but are they the same? No, no they are not. I have had the pleasure of testing some of the best in the world and hearing some of the worst. Price is also a factor with some lines going into the upper hundreds but finally affordability and dynamics have found the same home. I am talking about Ear Bombz and their entrance into the crowded field of private musical devices. After a great spiel on how great they are I was give the test and with the noise cancellation ( I was at NAMM, noisy as hell and with these ear buds in it was silent) along with the supreme sound delivery I was floored. The music was crisp, every note was perfectly delivered and the cost is unbelievable. The EB Pro Series MAP’s at below 40. Try them for yourself, you will be blown away. On the other end of that spectrum is Ultimate Ears, the world’s foremost in professional in custom earphone monitors. Whether you are a touring musician looking for perfection in inner ear stage monitors or the music connoisseur, you demand these pristine earphones. The UE 18 Pro features six speakers in each earphone and the ultimate in listening experience. Featuring Seven different models for the Audiophile to the studio engineer you will find something that will truly deliver Your music.
Now, the NAMM show is not just exhibitors, it’s the artists that they feature that endorse their product. This year’s show featured many elite musicians that were on hand to sign autographs for fans with the likes of Nicko McBrain, Tommy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Earl Slick, Alice Cooper, Rob Halford, Anthrax amongst many others. Dean guitars had their NAMM Jam with Testament and Wayne Static, Schecter had their Tenth Anniversary party and Ernie Ball Celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a huge party as well. The companies went all out with parties, massive booths, great new products, major artist’s signings and an all-around great atmosphere for the musical scene. Like I said, who said the ability to make great live music is dead, the 2012 edition of the NAMM show put that notion to rest. NAMM, BELIEVE in Music!!
Official NAMM site
Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, CA 1/12
By Jeffrey Easton
I keep hearing that the music industry is on its last legs, nobody plays real music anymore, everything is done in software etc etc etc. For those who have made those comments, you are dead wrong and the NAMM show 2012 is solid proof of that. This year it seems as if the attendance went through the roof and the exhibitors were wall to wall as if the recession was nonexistent. Deals were being made, more new models were present than it seems in ages and anniversary concerts were wall to wall in Anaheim this weekend. One thing I did notice amongst the new hardware was the need to go vintage with many amps and guitars which I will get into but it is amazing that Gibson and Ampeg, to name a couple, can manufacture to exact specs an amp produced years ago and have it look like it was taken out of a long lost warehouse find. Whereas I was attracted to so many booths, it was my duty to bring my metal and hard rock readers the firsthand look into what I thought you would want to know concerning what your needful artists are playing right now.
One of my first stops was the ESP booth, a mandatory stop every year at NAMM if metal guitarists are your thing. They have THE stable of who’s who in the metal field which include Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman, James Hetfield, Silenoz and Will Adler to name a few. One of the new models they have this year that made me look twice was the Jeff Hanneman Slayer 2012 model. Again, going on vintage, the artwork centers on the South Of Heaven artwork. The best looking guitar in their booth and the tone is sinister. If it has Slayer on it, you know what it is capable of producing. Jeff also has two other models, the EC and JH- 600 EC, two amazing guitars for the insatiable metal guitarist. Warwick, what more can I saw. They have the Best Basses out there and their guitar line is amazing as well. Earl Slick was on hand showing off his Earl Slick series. The Swamp Ash body mixed with those DiMarzio p90 pickups can ignite any amp and spread musical fire across any stage. They have that classic guitar look and can complement any sound. Robert Trujillo has his own line of Warwick basses and if you saw Metallica live recently you know his bass sound is second to none. The standard maple body and Active EMGs push Metallica’s sound to the limit and you can blow your own sound away with this line. Remember the Gibson connection to vintage? Their reissue of Ace Frehley’s Les Paul from his Budokan Show is a replica of his 1974 3 Pickup custom Les Paul down to how the paint looked. It has that classic KISS sound and it was personally authorized by Ace himself. This will be their top guitar this year so I suggest buying it, plugging it into a Marshall and piss off your neighbors. One last guitar I want to touch on is this Jeff Loomis Schecter 7 FR. Jeff is one of my favorite guitarists out there and his sound with Nevermore and his solo outings has always blown me away and he was there promoting his massive guitar line. Active EMG 707’s along with an Ash body and his abilities makes for a monstrous sound. You want his sound, you need this guitar. By the way, Grover Jackson is back with a new line of guitars under GJ2. If he can continue what he originally did with Jackson guitars he will certainly retake the world.
Drums, the soul and feel of any song, are a needful thing. Who has the best all-around drums in my opinion? Roland, that’s who. What’s that, what happened to Pearl, DW etc? They are great but Roland has the entire package in their V-Tour series. Imagine wanting to practice your drums with amazing precise sound and doing it so nobody knows your playing? Their TD-9 sound module has a wide mixture of sounds and of course the ability to practice with your Ultimate Ears monitors and have the sound to yourself, not to disturb or piss off your girlfriend. The heads are what stands out. I have tried many electronic kits and the problem I have is is that only a portion of the heads are live, with Roland, the entire head is live so you do not miss a beat, literally. Now after I slighted Pearl it must be said that as far as traditional drums, nobody stands above Pearl. Just ask the likes of Tommy Lee, Joey Jordison and Mike Mangini. Having recently witnessed the power of Dream Theater with Mike and his amazing Pearl kit live, I can take it to the bank that to have a full kit live you need Pearl. His MMP Masters series was THE Show stopper in the drum area and it was only the fact that Tommy Lee’s Kit was on its side in the air that took you away from Mike’s kit. One of the oddest drum kits I came across was during media day, it was the Molecules Drum set. The body of each drum was in the shape of a bubble, certainly a first and made of Acrylic for a dynamic sound. You may think that odd doesn’t make it these days but this Kit will make heads turn if not for its looks but its sound will floor you. Part of being a drummer is making sure your kit looks great and that is where Cymbal Shield comes in. This product to me is number one when it comes to restoring your cymbals original luster and it will not corrode the logo nor the finish. You take time to practice, take time to keep the kit looking great.
I have been looking for a great practice amp and this year I finally found it. I share a 1500 square foot space and unless I want to go into my garage I need something small but with some power and that is in the form of the Yamaha THR10. This small amp packs 5 amps with 8 nasty sounding effects. This amp has to be played to gain the respect it deserves but once you plug in you will not practice through another amp. As an interviewer for print and sometimes TV the ultimate resources for combining the recording of either has been elusive but Zoom has finally put that search to rest. Their Q3HD records in full HD with three dimensional sounds. After seeing visual proof that this can do what it claims to do I was won over. With two small mics and a small camera, you would not expect it to do what it claims to do but the clarity is stunning. While I am there their Zoom H2n handy recorder will replace and make any sound recorder obsolete. With is capacity at a 32 GB SDHC and 20 hours of battery life, you will not be short of words in exclaiming that this is a singers or journalists best friend.
Ear Phones, everybody makes them but are they the same? No, no they are not. I have had the pleasure of testing some of the best in the world and hearing some of the worst. Price is also a factor with some lines going into the upper hundreds but finally affordability and dynamics have found the same home. I am talking about Ear Bombz and their entrance into the crowded field of private musical devices. After a great spiel on how great they are I was give the test and with the noise cancellation ( I was at NAMM, noisy as hell and with these ear buds in it was silent) along with the supreme sound delivery I was floored. The music was crisp, every note was perfectly delivered and the cost is unbelievable. The EB Pro Series MAP’s at below 40. Try them for yourself, you will be blown away. On the other end of that spectrum is Ultimate Ears, the world’s foremost in professional in custom earphone monitors. Whether you are a touring musician looking for perfection in inner ear stage monitors or the music connoisseur, you demand these pristine earphones. The UE 18 Pro features six speakers in each earphone and the ultimate in listening experience. Featuring Seven different models for the Audiophile to the studio engineer you will find something that will truly deliver Your music.
Now, the NAMM show is not just exhibitors, it’s the artists that they feature that endorse their product. This year’s show featured many elite musicians that were on hand to sign autographs for fans with the likes of Nicko McBrain, Tommy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Earl Slick, Alice Cooper, Rob Halford, Anthrax amongst many others. Dean guitars had their NAMM Jam with Testament and Wayne Static, Schecter had their Tenth Anniversary party and Ernie Ball Celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a huge party as well. The companies went all out with parties, massive booths, great new products, major artist’s signings and an all-around great atmosphere for the musical scene. Like I said, who said the ability to make great live music is dead, the 2012 edition of the NAMM show put that notion to rest. NAMM, BELIEVE in Music!!
Official NAMM site
