Musical Instruments

IK Multimedia makes a number of well-respected products for the pro-audio market, but has struck a chord, in a big way, by creating simple devices and apps for the iOS platform.    Their “i” line of hardware products allow musicians and music lovers to create, record and produce music on their iOS device in a way that is not intimidating, but also gives access to deep features.   They’ve come out with two new iOS products this year: the iRig Mic HD and the iRing.

While we’ve been at NAMM, we’ve been hearing about the dreaded Saturday crush from the vendors and NAMM ventrans we’ve talked to. Up until today, it’s been fairly easy to navigate the aisles between the booths. You might get the odd small crowd gathering around a performance, but nothing that would put you out.   Today, the artists showed up for their endorsement deals obligations and the crowds followed.

The Fender booth was a treat for us. Why wouldn’t anyone like strolling through a large room full of iconic guitars, basses and amps.    There are some new things from Fender that will please both their established clientelle as well as their new ones. We got treated to a look at a few of the treats that Fender has in store for Strat lovers.  

The Fender booth was a treat for us. Why wouldn’t anyone like strolling through a large room full of iconic guitars, basses and amps.    There are some new things from Fender that will please both their established clientelle as well as their new ones. We got treated to a look at a couple of the Fender Amps that will be carried by Best Buy.

We had the opportunity to take a look at some of the keyboards from Casio that will be appearing in Best Buy. We even got some killer video of two of their products being played ever so skillfully.

You never know what you’ll see at NAMM. Here’s a rag-tag collection of memories from Day 2 at NAMM.

In the midst of all the blinking lights and touch-screens, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find some really beautiful workmanship. Not just injection molded plastic and brushed metal, but wood and other natural materials crafted into instruments that I’d be extremely pleased to handle and play.   A stop by the Tanglewood booth prooved to be one of those times.

Shure Microphones are dependable and solid. They make arguably the most popular dynamic mics. Model Numbers like the SM7B, SM57 and SM58 are the bread and butter of any major studios’ microphone closet.   Shure has some great new offerings for not only the professional musician and studio owner, but the home studio owner and weekend warrior.

Yamaha’s got a lot to offer! In the last post, I talked about seeing the THR series of guitar amplifiers in action. I’ll cover off the rest of our stay at the Yamaha booth – digital pianos, analog mixers, studio monitors, bass guitars and electronic drums. Not too much to cover…

Yamaha has a LOT of instruments and gear in its catalog. I mean a LOT. When you take into consideration all the acoustic band, orchestral AND contemporary instruments and gear, it’s no wonder they book the entire ballroom at the Anaheim Marriott for themselves. We got a peak at some of the offerings that Yamaha has – we had a lot of fun doing it too.