2006 Winter NAMM Report
by Lane Baldwin 		Print This Article
Tue. 1/17 | Wed. 1/18 | Thur. 1/19 | Fri. 1/20 | Sat. 1/21 | Sun. 1/22 | Wrap up
The NAMM Show and What it Can Do for You - by Steve Cook

Friday, January 20 - If it's Friday, I must be tired!

Today started shortly after six, preparing yesterday's report and sending it all in to be loaded by the handsome and talented Bill Henshell. Many thanks, by the way, to Bill for all his hard work to make these daily reports happen - including working at home over the weekend to get this report (and tomorrow's) up on the web. It's now 11PM and I'm still not done!

David and I did another presentation to the sales team, going over more in-depth info on the new products and demoing several of them. Finishing that, we "coffeed-up" and prepared for the day.

And it was NUTS! Tons of dealers, tons of users (where do they get the badges?). We went non-stop almost the entire day. Once I even had a guy start asking me questions in the restroom! Hey, do you mind? I'm sorta busy here... There was a lot of interest in many different models, but the real biggies were:

  • The New Thunder Rig - the WT1205 and D610XLT cabinet. I can tell you: No one is complaining about lack of gain and they're all raving about the tone and features.
  • The D810RP - Rocco's cabinet. Lots of folks interested in this - amazed at the sound as well as the compact size (for an 810 cab, anyway).
  • The DC112XLT as the foundation of a scalable rig. This three-twelve stack sounds incredible!
  • The Nemesis RS series has a lot of people nodding their heads enthusiastically and saying "thank you"! the new look has been very well received, as have the new features.
  • The monitors (both versions). We had the 3.5" woofer set mated to my laptop playing the Greavedigger Jones MP3 and the 5" pair running a CD player through a SoundTech mixer playing CDs from Al Turner, and Cold Truth featuring Abe White. Both pairs sound great and will compete well with monitors in their class. The 5" version is virtually flat down to 100HZ and only rolls off slightly after that and on down to the bottom. Several endorsers have already pre-ordered a pair for their home studios.
  • The N8 is surprising a LOT of dealers. From the response, I can see these moving into numerous dealers very quickly.

We have a lot of friends drop in to say hi. Unfortunately, we couldn't always take pictures. A perfect example is Reggie Hamilton, who stopped in to pay his respects to David. I was in the middle of a talk with a group of folks and couldn't tear away for a photo. Be that as it may, we still have some cool stuff to show you. Take a look below.

Oh! Wait! Before we go on to that -- just a tease of a rumor. There's about a 75% chance of scattered Rocco at the booth tomorrow. We're not sure, but Rocco's going to do his best to drop in and check out the production version of his new 810RP cabinet. Check us out here Sunday morning for pictures if he does show.<crosses fingers>

OK. Now check out some pictures from today...er, yesterday. Whatever.

David talks to Carlos and Eric from Zieglar's Music (Louisiana) about upcoming proejcts.
David talks to Carlos and Eric from
Zieglar's Music (Louisiana) about upcoming proejcts.

Rev listens (as does Bill) as Lane tells him how cool his Warr is...and how confusing!
Rev listens (as does Bill) as Lane tells him
how cool his Warr is...and how confusing!

Bass Player Magazine editor Jonathan Herrera checks out the New Thunder Rig.
Bass Player Magazine editor Jonathan Herrera
checks out the New Thunder Rig.

Brother Matt (a new Eden endorser) hangs with Lane, David, April and Don, the latter two from Low Down Sound (Michigan).
Brother Matt (a new Eden endorser) hangs with Lane,
David, April and Don, the latter two from
Low Down Sound (Michigan).

Benny hangs with the Big Boss Man.
"So, what do you think, man? Do I pass the audition?"
Benny hangs with the Big Boss Man.
The two go way back. Benny's got chops to die for,
by the way. It's enough to make you woodshed
eight days a week. For a year. Maybe two.

David chats with Scott Ambush, a long-time Eden endorser.
David chats with Scott Ambush,
a long-time Eden endorser.

Another shot of Bill doing his thing.
Another shot of Bill doing his thing.

A Detroit native and long-time friend of Low Down Sound, Bill poses with April, a close friend of the family of LDS owner Don.
A Detroit native and long-time friend of
Low Down Sound, Bill poses with April, a close
friend of the family of LDS owner Don.

Bill Clements and Lane check out Rev Jones' cool Warr Guitar, a double bass touch guitar, featuring fretted and fretless string sets.
Bill Clements and Lane check out Rev Jones'
cool Warr Guitar, a double bass touch guitar,
featuring fretted and fretless string sets.

A three-form jam.
A three-form jam - Bill and Rev pull off
some three-handed tapping.
Musicaly, the duo really clicked.
In fact, they were both so excited that they talked
about the possibility of writing something together.

David shares a minute with Jonathan and Mike Montgomery also of BP Magazine.
David shares a minute with Jonathan and
Mike Montgomery also of BP Magazine.

Endorser Benny Rietveld (Santana) with the WT1205 and 610XLT. Benny really dug the two channel set up, as well as the Dynamic Boost.
Endorser Benny Rietveld (Santana) with the
WT1205 and 610XLT. Benny really dug the
two channel set up, as well as the Dynamic Boost.

Bill Clements and Benny talked technique and hung out for quite a while.
Bill Clements and Benny talked technique
and hung out for quite a while.

Bill Clements wows the crowd again with his "sound of one hand tapping." This guy's got the coolest 16th-note grooves this side of Rocco.
Bill Clements wows the crowd again with his
"sound of one hand tapping."
This guy's got the coolest 16th-note grooves
this side of Rocco.

You can see that Bill drew quite a crowd. Numerous viewers took video as they stood with mouths agape.
You can see that Bill drew quite a crowd.
Numerous viewers took video as they
stood with mouths agape.

Bill takes a moment to sign yet another picture for a new admirer.
Bill takes a moment to sign yet
another picture for a new admirer.

Tue. 1/17 | Wed. 1/18 | Thur. 1/19 | Fri. 1/20 | Sat. 1/21 | Sun. 1/22 | Wrap up
The NAMM Show and What it Can Do for You - by Steve Cook

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