Matt Blackett’s NAMM Musings The BadAlong with all the good and cool things about a NAMM show, innovative new products, talented musicians, and a community of manufacturers and dealers who give musicians stuff to play and writers stuff to write

Last Saturday evening, on day three of NAMM, I found myself in a crowded elevator at the Hilton with Ted Nugent standing next to me. I asked him if he was having a good time at the show, and he said, “Man, if was having any more fun I’d just explode right now and spray everyone in here with my guts.”

After months and months of depression and doom and disaster, the mood was quite sunny throughout the halls of NAMM 2010. The show certainly was bustling. Even early Thursday as the show started, it was difficult winging across the floor

The mood at this year’s show was decidedly upbeat, and nearly everyone I spoke with was more focused on the future than the economic challenges of 2009. 

Sunday is typically a bit of a “breath day” at NAMM. The crowds are sparser and more relaxed, so you can actually get through the pathways without squeezing through a million or so “slow walkers.” When your meetings are scheduled

A fun and anxious day for me, as I’m playing Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night for the first time. Not as an “all star,” of course, but as a little something different near the end of the show. Ol’

The  NAMM show has been a blast. I’ve seen tons of new guitars, amp, pedals, recording gear etc., and I’ve also had fun hanging out with folks at Bogner,  Dunlop, Egnater, Fender, Fryette, Guitar Hands,  Hagstrom,  Line 6, Martin, Matchless,  Studio Devil, Taylor, VooDoo Lab, and many, many others.

Gotta love those 8 00 am breakfast meetings after you've been up past 2 00 am posting videos and photos for the Web site, going to dinner with manufacturers, and meeting friends and music industry types in the Marriott and

The crew is here Art Thompson, Barry Cleveland, and Matt Blackett arrived today, and it's meetings, meetings, meetings. First up on my schedule are Loud Technologies, Muse, Peavey, PRS, Blackstar, Presonus, VHT, and Fender. So far, the big thrill is

The big pre NAMM parties included product previews from Marshall, Roland, and US Music. KEYBOARD's Stephen Fortner handled Roland, as it was the same time as the Marshall bash, and I visited US Music and Marshall. At the US Music