Winter NAMM 2018 (ultra Pic-heavy)

[wintremute]

Back at the KALA booth, I was able to get a better shot of the purple beauty.

 

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I headed to the Marco Bass booth to talk to @Passinwind, and I saw Nalani and Taylor (a guitarist, but he's cool). It turns out that I had just missed a slap bass battle. Nalani felt bad for me, so she sang a song.

 

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Nalani's favorite color is orange, so I took her to the Hammersmith booth to check out the Orange bass that should have been given to me. She was impressed with the lightness, and asked me if I had checked out DNA Basses to see how light they were. I said I never saw their booth. She told me they're at the Hipshot booth. I said I wanted to go there to try to find Pete Hilton, so let's go!

We made it to the booth, and yes - these basses are light. Anybody know anything about this company? She said they're based in Sacramento (I believe). Link Removed

These were not in the Hipshot booth on Thursday.

 

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Random bass!

While I'm at the Hipshot booth looking at the DNA basses, this guy is just walking around insisting people see how light his bass is.

 

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Huzzah! Pete Hilton was at the booth. So I got some more pics of his basses, and then I had a very lengthy conversation about wood. Pete is one interesting dude! One big takeaway changed my perspective. I think his basses are beautiful, and so I assumed that most of his time was spent on the aesthetics of the bass. Instead, how a bass looks is the last thing he tackles, and is some of the least time spent on the bass. It is far more important to him to have a balanced and functioning instrument than it is to have a pretty instrument.



Check out this floating adjustable bridge.

And then @TonyP- showed up and wanted to give it a quick test run.

 

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@TonyP- then asked me if I've met the owner of A-Designs (and because I'm horrible with names I'm blanking on this). I said, no - FIELD TRIP!

We had to leave the comfort of Hall D, exit the convention center, and go into another building in the convention center. In this faraway land I met the man who designed and makes the REDDI D.I. box and the KGB preamps...and had some delicious chocolate candy.

A Designs Audio | Analog Pro Audio Recording Gear

 

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The rest of the Wena videos are uploaded.

Winter NAMM 2018 (ultra Pic-heavy)

 

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As I was walking by the Cort booth I noticed some basses on a wall I don't remember seeing. If you've already seen these, I apologize.

 

[Passinwind]

I headed to the Markobass booth to talk to @Passinwind, and I saw Nalani and Taylor (a guitarist, but he's cool). It turns out that I had just missed a slap bass battle. Nalani felt bad for me, so she sang a song.

(video is uploading).

View attachment 2895833

Those guys hung out with me before the show opened on Sunday, listening to a great Indian band on the main stage in front of the food cart where I had my only repeat meal of the 4 days I was in Anaheim. No bonus points for guessing what I ordered, but bacon may have been involved.

For those who may not know, that's Nalani Clisset. She drew a very stout and enthusiastic crowd for an impromptu early Sunday morning set at the Marco Bass booth. When you see a bunch of the show staff checking someone out in a semi-obscure booth, you know something's up. Really good people too.

BTW, I'm amazed at how much stuff you shot that I completely missed seeing. I walked around a LOT this year too.

 

[JIO]

[ATTACH=full]2895868[/ATTACH]

Pacifica?

 

[Passinwind]

So let's make a list:
Of all the basses shown, you want a?

Not sure if it made it to print in this thread, but one of the German carved uprights right behind the Hofner booth. One of the Hofner reps is a long time friend, but even the Bro Deal is way out of my reach, sadly.

The silver Hammersmith bass with the Darkstar pickup was surprisingly compelling too though.

 

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Paoletti

 

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Random basses at the Darkglass booth.

 

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Hammersmith was really close to the Darkglass booth, and I spot a dude with a coooooool lookin' bass. It's Bobby Vega!

 

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@TonyP- was saying his goodbyes. He's the best!

 

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Walrus Audio said all of the pedals could be used with a bass, but these in particular were preferred by bassists.

Their pedals.

 

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TMG was right next to James Trussart's booth, and they both had a rustic western look, so that may be why I passed by them multiple times without realizing they were there.

 

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I was planning on leaving around 1pm to head back to Vegas, but Nalani told me she was going to be playing at 2pm at the Stageclix booth. In a strange coincidence, 4 people I know from Vegas just happened to be walking by at that time.

Here's the Stageclix stuff.

Let me just say that Nalani is FEARLESS! She got set up, and without a mic just started shouting to the people nearby about what was going to go down. First she touted the wireless systems at Stageclix, and then to prove how well they worked, she asked people to follow her around NAMM while she played. She kicked into a funky Superstition on the bass, and then started singing at the top of her lungs. She's walking a circuitous route around the NAMM booths, singing, playing, dancing, and engaging with whoever was walking by. A damn fine demonstration of how well the wireless works. I thought I was recording all of it, but my battery was dead. I popped in a fresh one to get these last pics.

 

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And that's it. I floored it all the way back to Vegas in pretty clear traffic. I hope you enjoyed checking out all of these pictures and listening to my rambling, because I sure as hell had some of the best 4 days of my life.

I still have videos uploading, and I'll notify when they're done.

Peace out!

 

[wintremute]

Hi @wintremute,

When you're not looking at basses, you can pass the time with this.

View attachment 2889070


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Oh honey, you're too old for those shorts: YES

Studded Cowboy Hat: YES

Day Drinking: YES

Disinterested Booth Babe: YES

Direct import electronics company in Hall E: YES

Poorly tailored suit with dandruff on the shoulders: NO

"Where are you working these days?": YES

Guy carrying a guitar on his back: Only yes if a gig-bag counts

Metallica riff being played anywhere: NO

Not sure if dude or chick: YES

Scantily clad female looking annoyed that people are gawking: NO

Over 50 wearing a tank top: YES

Leather vest covered with patches: YES

Dress shirt unbuttoned way too far w/chest hair and chains: NO

Audio Engineer with ponytail: Probably

Non important conversation blocking aisle: YES (it was probably me)

Dude with rings on every single finger: NO

"Game changing" product that is not changing he game: YES

Sick person still shaking everyone's hand: NO

Nikki Sixx (or doppleganger)" NO

Product that will never get released: YES

ZZ Top length beard: NO

Tattoo of a musical instrument: YES