By George Petersen
There’s something magic about Winter NAMM, which kicks off this Thursday. Maybe its the idea of getting out of your frosty environment and going to sunny So Cal and Disneyland for a break. Or maybe it’s just the feeling you get from walking though NAMM’s six-plus exhibit halls filled with guitars, drums, clarinets and every manner of pro audio device. It’s a music show, but you’ll find Avalon, Manley, Neumann, Rupert Neve Designs, Millennia, Summit, API, Studer and SSL—to name a few of the major league pro players—scattered among the aisles of instruments and musical accoutrements. The latter is what really gets me—the leagues of sellers hawking clocks, ties, mugs and scarves with musical symbols and notes on them. But I guess somebody actually buys all that stuff, because they’re here year after year.
This year, Fender and Gibson are unveiling yet more models of Strats and Les Pauls—who buys all this stuff??? But what’s even more ridiculous are the hordes (an appropriate term) of no-name knockoffs of everything imaginable. If you can buy an entry level Fender Strat or Gibson Les Paul for $99 or $149, then what’s the point of anyone buying some ridiculous garbage quality copy for $79? Usually the argument is well, it’s the kid’s first guitar so we don’t want to put too much money into it anyway. There are two problems with this. If the crap guitar plays like crap, then it discourages the kid from ever wanting to play–maybe ever! And the other downside of the no-name crap is that the resale value of that no-name piece of junk is essentially zero, whereas the used price on the $149 Strat will still be around $100.
That said, one of the industry’s real secrets is all about consistency. If you buy a higher-end (like custom shop-level) guitar, it oughta play great. If you go through 100 no-name guitars, there might be one or two that play decently, simply through happenstance or luck. If you go through 100 of those $149 Fenders or Gibsons, you’ll probably encounter about 90 that are OK and 10 that are great. In the $500 range, the ratio of OK to great might be 80/20, and so on. But it is possible to find a cheap guitar that plays great or a $$$ model that’s just so-so.
The good thing is, the quality of some of cheaper imports is definitely on the rise and there are some amazing low-cost instruments on the market now. You just have to play LOTS of them to find the one that’s right for you.
I’ve played a lot of guitars at NAMM over the years and what really floors me is the fact that a lot of companies don’t even seem to cherry-pick (or even bother to do a set-up adjustment on) the models they put on display. Maybe it’ll be different this year. Or maybe not. Either way, I’m packing outta here now.
In the meantime, check into www.mixonline.com this week for some NAMM-filled fun with blogging, podcasts, video highlights, product news and more–all from the show floor.
If you’re at NAMM drop by booth #5715 to say hello and maybe upload some of your comments. See ya there!
When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.
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