AcousticDreams |
01-19-2020 01:14 PM |
NAMM REPORT
As I mentioned, I was a bit under the weather for my Thursday NAMM stay. I was still able to see and do most everything I wanted. 1. G7th: I had never held a G7th Heritage before. Heard lots of wonderful reports just the week before in a G7th Heritage Thread here on AGF.
It was true love upon my first feel. Everything people are saying about these Capo's is seeming true. I purchased one in their classy gold finish and it matches my Gotoh Xfinish tuners nicely. I can not believe just how perfectly and easily it tightens up even using my slightly heavier custom Medium gauge strings. Very Happy. 2. Most Everyone knows that I am a huge-huge Larrivee Fan. I always enjoy Seeing Sean, John & Matt and their lovely creations. I am never disappointed with their latest offerings. Simply one of the greatest values in the Acoustic Guitar Market. Rich, sustaining tone and always super consistent. 3. I have also never used a Blue Chip Thumpick. I was excited as Blue Chip told me that we would leave some thumbpicks at the Preston Thompson Booth. I had a hard time finding Preston Thompson's booth and wound up getting to their booth late in the day around 5:00 p.m. That actually worked out pretty good as It was a tad quieter in Hall E at that time. Especially since Preston Thompson was against a far wall. However much to my dismay, They only had Blue chip picks...so I did not get to try out their thumbpicks. But while I was their I gave a listen to Preston Thompson guitars. I am SUPER impressed with all of their guitars. All of them had a great openness to their sound. Very responsive. One guitar in particular caught my attention a dread made with Granadillo back and sides. It has the shimmer of Rosewood...yet some of the solid clear trebles of a good Maple. 4. Guild F55 Maple.
I have always had a deep fascination with the Iconic Gibson SJ200 maple. So many great recordings have been made with that guitar. Penetrating trebles that cut through in such recordings as Pinball wizard and Behind Blue eyes. However, I still felt like a little something is missing. The Dynamic range always seems a bit muted for my tastes. Love the way it cuts through...just wished for a little more. In the last couple of months there were some threads showcasing the New American Made Guilds and the jumbo Body. Guild had made some great recordings showcasing these new guitars. On the recording they sounded great...but? still those are recordings...Always nice to have verification of how it sound live. And Glen Willow has purchased a lovely 12 string and showcased a few songs. So it was nice to get my hands on a six string jumbo Guild maple. I super impressed with the Guild F55 Maple! Strange, I believe it is a laminated arched back...But the sound was Open-Alive-dynamic and responsive. Everything I always thought was missing from Maple...this one has it. I am a rosewood guy...and I liked the Guild Maple better than the Guild Rosewood! 5. Craneborne Audio:
This company has won awards for its great sounding preamps at a super affordable cost. I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that their Tech rep could really explain in great detail all the things that make this preamp a little bit unique and so good sounding. Plus...he is a Larrivee lover as well! 6. Schoeps new CMC1 body.
Foolishly, I missed a great opportunity to converse with Schoeps about their new body. I am about to pull the trigger and I did not know they came up with a new body until the day after I was there. Darn! 7. Music Nomad:
I love all Music Nomad products. The Winder has such a positive grip. Their Fret Oil sinks in with ease, and I love their neck rest and matt. It really makes working on my guitars a pleasure. So I am always excited to see what new products they may have introduced.
This year they brought forth a fret polishing kit. I have never given much thought to fret polishing. Luckily one of my dearest and oldest friends, a rather famous Guitar Tech, Told me that Fret Polishing can really make a difference in how smoothly the guitar plays. So I am really looking forward to learning this on my next string change. **While seeing all the new products is great...NAMM holds a special place for myself as it is often the one time of the year where I get to see many of my great friends.
I got to go out to dinner with, Tom Anderson and all of his crew(one of the very finest Electric Tele and Strat guitar makers) & any great friend Benny Rodriquez of BJR Guitars. Two of the nicest-most humble -knowledgeable guitar people on the planet!
I missed seeing Two of my great friends, Michael & Daniel Tobias of MTD basses...I was just a bit too under the weather....Hopefully I will be meeting up for dinner with him in the next few days...an after show get together.
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