As newly appointed editor of the informative online magazine, MACNEWSWEB, I had the privileged opportunity to attend this years NAMM show. I was curious what the industry was like, that is, since I had played music and performed, almost twenty-five years ago. Was I in for a surprise? Oh Yes!

    Upon entering, a rock concert was in progress by Mark Woods Trans-Siberian Orchestra, playing a Led Zeppelin cover tune with high energy, raw, and welcoming all music lovers into the Anaheim Convention Center for the annual music merchants dreamland event. That old spirit of playing the violin and composing that lay dormant, now was emerging like a risen phoenix and I could no longer resist, I knew I had to play music again, somehow.

    The environment was that of sharing, informing, networking, experiencing, and a genuine caring, human feel. Music is, as we know, the universal language, as is a smile.

Hundreds upon hundreds of booths and displays showcased the best and latest instrument manufacturing to state-of-the-art technology.
Newly designed musical instruments with New Age sound yet also hand-crafted old world instruments perfected craftsmanship with beautifully aged and resonant quality.  Electric and acoustic guitars, electronic drums, other percussion, pianos, woodwinds, ukuleles, mandolins, harps, stand up basses, brass, cellos, violins, violas, saxophones, you name it, if it made music, it was at NAMM.

Appearances alone were reason to attend: Joe Satriani at Korgs booth, David Benoit at Rolands,  and Kenny G with his newly introduced line saxophones, just to name a few.  

Amplifiers, patch cords, recording equipment, pick-ups, microphones, music editing software,  mixing equipment, digital enhancers, lighting, even eco-friendly picks and drumsticks made entirely from wheat!  (See this site for interesting music tech ads) My mind was boggled by all the technology that is available for todays serious professional musician to the beginning, amateur student.

    After walking around in an overwhelming, hypnotic daze of musical industry I was finally able to focus. First stop of interest: Scott Cao Violins. My boss pointed out Jerry Yu and told me to ask him to play. Jerry played a very soft, soothing and ancient Chinese piece that was slow and easy. I was amazed at the rich, warm resonance from these handcrafted instruments. I could hear it truly sing and feel it deep within my understanding of quality craftsmanship. I have perfect pitch and a highly sensitive ear, so I am not easily fooled by less than perfection. An example: just across the way was a highly accomplished violinist playing a cheaply constructed/crafted instrument. As the man played furiously fast and complicated pieces to a trained ear his instrument was no match for Jerrys very simple playing of a truly masterfully-made violin. Scott Shu-Kun Cao, the manufacturer himself, was present at the booth and I wasted no time congratulating him on his talent and his gift to serious violinists. I later learned Itzak Pearlman, one of the greatest violinists in the world, praised Scott Cao as one of the best makers I have met.Ó Pearlman also plays and collects Caos violins. After learning this, I knew my ear was true and had lead me to a master, and the maker of my next violin! (check our site for ad info.)

    Another interesting guitar manufacturer is Stonebridge (handcrafted guitars and mandolins) who has a patent-pending on an aging process for their wood. Micro organisms, bacteria of sorts, that feed on the woods resins actually speeding up the aging process thus subtracting years of waiting. Very interesting and organic!  Another newly designed, state-of-the-art guitar was from Blackbird. Joseph Luttwak, the designer demonstrated its carbon unibody, with a hollow neck and sound scoop at 10^th fret gem. It is lightweight (3 lb.), 2/3 size of a standard guitar, weatherproof, virtually indestructible guitar that is as good sounding as it is portable. It also has a deep cut away for high frets and an ultra-thin sound board that is quite resonant.