NAMM 2018: See Today's Finds, WARNING COOL GEAR INSIDE
NAMM is one of those conventions that is far beyond just simply business. The people attending and exhibiting are music lovers, the convention is 100% fun, and people are there for the sole purpose improving music creation in one way or another.
If you didn't see my previous post about NAMM 2018, check it out here!
The Arrival
Arriving at NAMM is a highly anticipated moment for me. I parked at the Anaheim Gardenwalk mall's parking and took the bus there. Arriving just a little after opening means the bus was basically empty. Today, it was partly cloudy and very windy. Walking to the badge will call tent worked out really well and only took a few minutes to be in and out. Once I got through the tent I proceeded through flocks and flocks of music lovers to the front of the convention center.
As soon as I got inside, I checked out a map to see the general layout of the show.
For the first day, I decided I just wanted to explore and see where the show took me. Turns out it took me to the drum and percussion part of the show.
Sabian: The Magnificent Wall of Cymbals
Sabian has a really outstanding booth with a cymbal wall? I wonder what that thing actually weights. This was really cool how they had an art installation with the cymbal wall, and interactivity by allowing people to walk around and play their cymbals as well. Anyways, this was the best shot I was able to get before it started getting photobombed.
The WalkaBout
This is an instrument that looked pretty unique. They took the body of a guitar, and made it into solely an acoustic/electric percussion instrument.
Sonor
Admittedly, I don't know a ton about percussion instruments, especially drum sets. I came across this one and thought it was designed exceptionally well. Aesthetically this is one of the big beauties of NAMM thus far.
Well done, Sonor.
ATV
ATV makes this amazingly malleable percussive instrument called the A-Frame. The A-frame is like MPE for percussion. It holds sound manipulation using similar techniques as conga playing, but with electronic sounds. They have "Adaptive Timbre Technology" meaning you can bend the digital drum head and it makes incredible sounds.
Pioneer DJ
They had really cool stuff, I always check them out. In fact, I also checked them out at CES this year. Their NAMM booth was too busy to check out today. I'll be keeping my eye out for these guys soon.
Arturia
All I can say about Arturia this year is WOW they have a lot of really cool stuff. Seriously, I listened to all the instruments that were available and they sounded amazing. I noticed that their kick drums really punch the woofer of their little speakers.
Countryman Microphones
They make seriously good microphones especially for film and for live speaking. The B6 microphones that I have are able to be submerged in water, taken out and they work perfectly fine. For such a small capsule as the B6 has, this is a remarkable piece.
Look Solutions
This is pretty cool. This company makes battery-powered fog machines. Check out how this little guy works. But remember it comes at a steep price.
VOID - The Coolest Looking Speakers at NAMM 2018
I already know it, VOID wins my award for the COOLEST looking speakers of NAMM 2018. They all looked so sleek and futuristic.
Raffles at UAD
Universal Audio is a company that makes the analog to digital interfaces, plugins, and everything else to save a modern producer's life. They have changed my life in so many ways in 2017 by using their plugins and interface to enhance my music beyond what I knew was possible before that. That's saying a lot because I've been around a lot of music gear.
Oh, and I didn't win the raffle for the UAD Arrow interface, but that's okay! There's always tomorrow! I'll do the producer's challenge tomorrow to try and guess what sound is software recreation that they make and what sound is the hardware.
Soundbrenner
This is the first piece of wearable tech for musicians.
Soundbrenner has the metronome called Pulse. It does just that, instead of having to listen to that maddening click, you can just feel it now. It's a way for bands to be in sync without having to hear clicks.
Synths
So, there are tons of different synth companies at NAMM. They are basically all really great too.
This Mixing Board Was Having a Good Time
Apogee
Apogee had a great booth today demonstrating those cool new mics and interfaces of theirs. Also, their instruments are great.
Their mic and voice changers are really neat.
Roland
For Day 1, Roland wins the coolest booth award. Their products are incredible this year.
They had a Roland SPD One Drum Pad climbing wall. It sounded great too.
Their DJ-202 Rig was pretty cool. I probably should learn how to work it a little better though. I bet 
The Great Wall of Treats! Here I was testing out a few of their new rackmount synthesizers and the revamped 808. The Roland TR-08. Seriously affordable at $350 and seriously amazing sounding.
Looking Forward
I have quite a line list of items I need to cover for the next few days including a few meetings. I'm greatly looking forward to sharing the rest of this journey with my fellow Steemians.