It's NAMM Time! Here's Your Official Mike Greene Guide!

[Mike Greene]

It's that time of year! Are you in the NAMM spirit yet? How can you not be? Especially after they aired "It's a Charlie Brown NAMM Show!" last week. And all the office NAMM parties. And the NAMM carolers going door to door . . . it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Are you comin'? Great! Are you wondering what to expect? Maybe even a little nervous? Well, don't you worry, cowboy, because your good buddy, Mike Greene, is gonna tell you all the stuff you need to know. Ready? Okay!

Orange Is the New Black - Back in the days when Antonio Stradivarius had his first booth at NAMM, times were simpler than they are now. People would come to his booth and ask, "Hey Tony, can I get this violin in sunburst? And how smooth is the legato? It does have legato, doesn't it???" So Antonio would hand the guy a catalog, or maybe a flyer, and the guy would take that home and study all the information that night by candlelight.

Of course, this guy would also get catalogs from all the other booths, too, so quicker than he could say "23 skidoo" he would have more flyers and catalogs and free quills than he could carry. So some companies got the bright idea that they could give away paper bags with their logos printed on them. (Or I guess it was parchment bags back in those days.) Free advertising! Well, not free, since they had to get the bags printed, but darn cheap. (Way cheaper than those Realitone flash drives I gave away last year.)

Fast forward to 2015. Nobody wants flyers anymore. They take a picture with their cell phone instead. So there's no longer a need for those paper bags with Ilio printed on the side. But you know what you will see? Everywhere you go, you're going to see people carrying bright orange cloth bags. Cloth bags are cool, because you can use them at the grocery store. (In Los Angeles, you have to bring your own bags.) And an orange bag is even cooler, because it has the "Orange Amplifiers" logo on the side. It's brilliant. Be sure to snag at least one. They're in the back of Hall C, booth 4890.

But Mike! What About Realitone? - What was I thinking??? Usually I start with Realitone in these little writeups, but I like those orange bags so much, I got a little carried away. Anyway, of course Realitone will there. We've moved to booth 6432. Across the aisle and slightly down from our good friend, Hans Adamson at Art Vista. I'd make bold claims about what we'll be showing, but I'm not so sure I'll be showing anything if I can get these last few bugs out of my code. Oh, who am I kidding? It's gonna be amazing! Amazing, I tell ya!

While you're at our booth, be sure to get a bottle of water, and one of my wife's world famous brownies. (Featured in multiple Sonic State videos!)

Wait a minute! That's Not Mike! - If you show up on Thursday or Friday at 3:00, you'll see George Gabriel of ZapZorn, and if you come at 1:00 on Saturday, you'll see Alex Davis and Jonathan Churchill of Embertone. Admittedly, they're not the eye candy that is Mike Greene, so there won't be as many ladies rubbing against you, trying to get closer to the booth, but they'll be showing some very cool stuff.

Bring Your Bike! - Every year I say this, but nobody ever . . . oh, forget it.

Where Should I Park? - Well, you have to have a special pass for the close lots, so just go ahead and accept that you'll be parking at the far lots. See? You should have listened to me when I told you to bring your bike!

Where Should I Stay? - Heck if I know. A lot of people cancel during these last few days, so keep trying if you have a favorite hotel. If you don't mind being a mile or so away, those farther hotels usually aren't full, since they're not actually considered "Convention Center hotels." But they're an easy bike ride away!

Where Should I Eat? - Where do I begin? First, I'd avoid the Convention Center eateries. They're better than they used to be, but . . . well, no they're not. So assuming you brought your bike, then head over to the corner of Harbor and Katella (it's only a quarter mile walk if you didn't bring your bike) where there's a little mini-mall with a placed imaginatively named "Pizza." Don't let the name fool you. They also have salads. Although my food snob wife said, "That's not a salad." But you know what? My wife's not here, so I'm not even gonna have the salad. I'll have an extra slice of pizza instead. Make that two extra slices.

If you like Mexican food and don't mind a drive for dinner, head a couple miles south to Los Sanchez on Garden Grove Blvd. (Kind of a long bike ride, but doable.) This place is great. This is where the locals go. It's not a traditional Mexican Restaurant with booths, though. You order at the counter, then take your food to a table, or if you're like me, back to your hotel room where you pig out as you try in vain to find anything decent on TV and eventually realize Dog the Bounty Hunter is as good as it's gonna get. Which brings me to . . .

Bring Your TIVO - I've never done this, but every year I tell myself I should. I wonder if the Stovall Inn's internet is fast enough to stream TIVO? Dang, I knew I should have saved a few of those Academy screeners for later . . .

Spitfire Is In the Hizzouse! - This should be exciting. Spitfire is one of my favorite companies. They have a 20 by 20 booth (that's pretty big) downstairs in Hall E, booth 1765. I'm really looking forward to meeting Paul and Christian, and they tell me they have big stuff brewing.

Speaking of Hall E - This is most people's favorite place. At least for the people who really love NAMM because this is where the hidden gems are. All companies have to start here, so if something is truly new, this is where it will be.

But How Do I Find Things??? - There's a free NAMM app which is pretty darn good. That's surprising, because as an exhibitor, I can tell you that whoever does the tech for NAMM is normally pretty inept. If this post wasn't already too long, I'd tell you a few stories. Anyway, this app has a very usable map, plus you can type in a company name and it will show you where they are.

Did you know there are two levels above the main floor where Gibson and Paul Reed Smith and all the piano makers are? Did you know Yamaha is in the Marriott? The app will tell you these things. Just search "NAMM Show" on the app store.

Now, Why Was It That I Got Into the Music Business . . . One aspect of NAMM that is overlooked is that there are some really great bands playing all over the place. It makes me love music all over again. Staring at a computer screen all day and orchestrating a box of dead guys can make you forget, but seeing great live music brings it all back again. The NAMM App can show you when and where.

Even without the app, head over to the Marriott and the Hilton after the show. (They're really close. Those are where the rich people stay. The poor folk stay at the Stovall Inn. Seriously, buy Realivox) so that I can stay with the big boys!

Anyway, they have bands playing non-stop at both hotels until past midnight. Each lobby has bands at either end, so when one band stops, the other starts. And they're all really good, so unlike Madame Wongs West (wow, I'm really dating myself here), at least one stage is going to have something you'll really like.

Proofread? What Proofread? - Okay, I gotta back to tracing bugs, otherwise this is going to be a very embarrassing show. So if some of the sentences didn't make sense, my apologies. I don't have time to edit. Oh wait, one more thing:

Live Video Feeds - I shouldn't promise anything, but I'm going to try to post videos on our Facebook page. (I really dislike Facebook, but YouTube is harder to upload to.) http://Facebook.com/Realitone

Spectrasonics News - Yeah, that will probably be the first video. I might sneak over to the Ilio booth on Wednesday night and see if the signage holds any clues . . .

[MachineClaw]

Mike awesome as usual.

I look forward to your NAMM reports each year and.....

yes I watch your videos featuring your products. great videos, funny and informative.

I wish I could go but another year another wish unfulfilled.

should be a great big show. lots of really cool booths and products going to be announced this year.

[Mike Greene]

Thanks MC!

For those coming to the show, here are some relevant booth locations:

Realitone - 6432
Orchestral Tools - 6698
Art Vista - 6427
Output (they make "Rev") - 6852
Spitfire - 1765 (Hall E)
Ilio (Spectrasonics and VSL) - 6724
Big Fish - 6514
Rob Papen - 6825
Arturia - 6314
Synful - 6226
MOTU - 6410
Avid - 6400
Slate Media - 6921
Izotope - 6920
Celemony - 6242
Waves - 6824
PSP - 6909
McDSP - 6405
Sony - 6112[/u]
Moog - 5300
Dave Smith (Prophet) - 5400

[bbaggins]

You left out: booth babes, wandering rock stars, guitars with built-in rocket launchers and microphone stands they won't allow on an airplane because they look like hand grenades.

I can't go this year, but your post reminded me of why it has been the highlight of many past years. I spent most of my time down in the lower hall because the noise level is a little better and you can actually chat with vendors there. I'm pretty sure that's where I first heard of Realitone, way down at the end of the second-to-last row, IIRC. I don't think you had brownies, else I'd have been back more than twice.

[rentboyrenton]

Thanks MC!

For those coming to the show, here are some relevant booth locations:

Realitone - 6432
Orchestral Tools - 6698
Art Vista - 6427
Output (they make "Rev") - 6852
Spitfire - 1765 (Hall E)
Ilio (Spectrasonics and VSL) - 6724
Big Fish - 6514
Rob Papen - 6825
Arturia - 6314
Synful - 6226
MOTU - 6410
Avid - 6400
Slate Media - 6921
Izotope - 6920
Celemony - 6242
Waves - 6824
PSP - 6909
McDSP - 6405
Sony - 6112[/u]
Moog - 5300
Dave Smith (Prophet) - 5400

will jordan rudess be playing at all those booths ?

[mandolarian]

Thanks MC!

For those coming to the show, here are some relevant booth locations:

Realitone - 6432
Orchestral Tools - 6698
Art Vista - 6427
Output (they make "Rev") - 6852
Spitfire - 1765 (Hall E)
Ilio (Spectrasonics and VSL) - 6724
Big Fish - 6514
Rob Papen - 6825
Arturia - 6314
Synful - 6226
MOTU - 6410
Avid - 6400
Slate Media - 6921
Izotope - 6920
Celemony - 6242
Waves - 6824
PSP - 6909
McDSP - 6405
Sony - 6112[/u]
Moog - 5300
Dave Smith (Prophet) - 5400

Always look forward to you 'special' coverage, Mike, more than the event itself. Thanks for going there, so we don't have to.

From a quick glance at the list, noticed that Camel Audio isn't on it, but Sony is. So are the Camels sharing a booth with the North Koreans/Apple? Or.....

[mutantdog]

There is an "Alchemy" booth though, # 3096 (Hall D)

Just sayin'.

[mandolarian]

There is an "Alchemy" booth though, # 3096 (Hall D)

Just sayin'.

Interesting...didn't see the South Korean connection. Until now.

[saxer]

any news from Synful at booth 6226?