We arrived yesterday afternoon (Wed.)at NAMM 2012.

Unfortunately my allergies (which I never had before moving to Florida) were in high gear so we didn't do much.

However we did put in an appearance on the 3rd floor where many of the piano companies have their exhibits.

I had the pleasure of meeting Robbie Gennet from Keyboard Magazine (if you follow Keyboard you've probably seen his videos or read his articles). Great guy to talk to, hoping we can work together more in the future. Oh, and Robbie, don't forget you're going to join our forums.

Also met Randy Potter of Randy Potter School of Piano Technology. We've know of each other for years but this was the first time we'd met.

We did notice there was a piano that looks like a military jet (I kid you not)over at the QRS booth, will have to get pictures and details today.

Typical of any NAMM show there are a crazy number of very talented musicians wandering the halls. We heard some monster jazz pianist yesterday, along with some heavy duty classical players. I will of course throw down some of my own brand of rock and hope they don't make fun of me.

There appear to be a number of new exhibitors this year, something we will check out in more detail over the next couple of days. Unfortunately there are also some exhibitors missing.

Congratulations to Steve Cohen of Jason's Music on 75 years in the business! Steve accepted the award for Jason's at the NAMM breakfast session this morning. Steve is a loooong time member of the forums.

It is approaching 9:00 a.m. here now, Kathy and I are getting ready so we can be in the show first thing (the sections with the piano open at 10:00).

If you are at the show and would like to meet up, please let me know, we love meeting members.

And by all means, please post your own thoughts, pictures, videos etc. from NAMM 2012!

More later...

P.S.
Piano Dealers and Manufacturers, don't forget about our
NAMM Show Specials!

This young lady was giving a Shigeru Kawai a good workout at the NAMM show...




An interesting new concept...



I told you there was a piano that looks like a jet...





Wow what a handsome trio...

Is that Glenn from Hollywood Piano in the middle?

You mean the guy from Storage Wars? :-)

Yes, that is Glenn.

See what you can find out about Dongbei.

Regarding what? Baldwin?

No...I think he wants to know where to get the best Chinese food.

Hey Frank,

Stop by Hailun and meet my friend Joe D. and hear Bram Wijnands play stride. They are having a reception tonight and I wish I were there, but alas, I am back in Kansas City, playing for Bram at the Majestic Restaurant.

Hey Craig,

Sorry you weren't here although I hear rumors we may see you around again :-)
We are planning to visit Hailun again today, will definitely look for Joe and Bram.

Best,

Frank B.

Indrek Laul and his younger son Bruno playing a duet together in the Estonia booth at NAMM...



And Indrek's older son, Jakob playing solo...

Frank,

Instinctively one could say 'succession guaranteed' with Bruno for Estonia Pianos!
Very nice; thank you for sharing.

And by double clicking on this video I arrived at the PianoWorldDotCom Youtube channel, a channel I did not know off (presumably 'shame on me'? )

However this was also the first time I saw Frank Baxter in a musical trance with his video 'Frank lost in his Music?'.

schwammerl.

Bruno is as cute as can be!

Great pictures and videos, Frank!!

Thanks for sharing, and we hope you and Kathy continue to have a wonderful time!!

Rick

I couldn't make it this year, I'm on the road, but I saw this photo via Gibson Guitar



I've seen a lot of "concept pianos" but this Story and Clark is just plain weird.

(Edit: Someone pointed out that this piano appeared at the Shanghai show with the Mendelssohn name:

It'd be different if you're sitting like near the cockpit region.. but behind the tail?

Don’t let Frank fool you—he knows his way around the keyboard pretty well. He stopped by the Young Chang room this afternoon and put on a pretty good show despite his protestations to the contrary.

ddf

Freddy Ravel performs on the new Brodmann concert grand.

Bram Wijands plays some monster stride piano on the new Sauter concert grand at NAMM

Glen Stewart burns up the keyboard in the Estonia booth...



Then he is joined by Adrian Crutchfield on Sax.
By the way, they just started working on this tune together today, in the booth :-)



I hope to find some video of the 3 of them later, will post when I have it.

… and Rich Galassini (who knows just where to go for the best dinner in town) on the right! Thanks again for a wonderful time at the Amazon Brazilian Steak House. Great dinner, good friends and interesting conversation. What more could anyone ask for after a day at NAMM?.

ddf

There are other great pictures and comments from the 2012 NAMM show in
This Thread

So I was at NAMM today - first time! Very excited and took a bunch of pictures everywhere, and then I went into the Schimmel showroom. There was hardly anyone, I took out my phone, and courteously asked the guy if I could take pictures, and he said "who are you with?" I said "no one, I am here by myself", then he said "no, no pictures." What's up with that?! Then I asked if I could play the pianos, he said yes you can play, but no pictures! I am mad because I see pictures of Schimmel pianos from NAMM on Piano World! Schimmel makes good pianos, but they sure do not have friendly staff! I will not ever want to buy their pianos or recommend anyone to buy their pianos!

Yiyi Ku
www.yiyiku.com
Proud owner of Mason & Hamlin BB (2011) & Kawai RX 2 (2000)

Yiyi, may I ask where you saw the photos of Schimmel pianos at NAMM 2012 on Piano world?

There is a photo of Schimmel pianos under the topic "Photos at NAMM 2012". It does seem an odd reaction about not taking photos at a musical instrument show as there seems to be no problem at all with the other piano exhibitors.

Kind regards,
Robert.

Yiyi,
The whole point of exhibiting at NAMM is to be seen and have a presence. Part of that is to have people take photographs of your products and post them online. The "no photos" policy makes no sense. It's not like we were touring the factory, where such a policy would be understandable. I will bring this up with my local Schimmel dealer when I see him this weekend. I actually took a number of photos, and nobody said anything. But then, I was completely ignored both times I went into the Schimmel room, as if I were invisible. I probably could have set myself on fire and not been noticed - it was very strange.

It's a great company that makes great pianos, and I'm glad to own one of them. But this wasn't reflected in either of our experiences this year at NAMM. In the past, they were very friendly to me. I was even invited to spend a few days in the factory in Germany, which I'd very much like to do someday.

I thought it totally weird that he said I couldn't take pictures, but what bothered me most was his wole tone and attitude. I mean, why ask me who I was with? So if I was with someone he deemed "important" it would be ok? So the average potential customer is not important? His tone was unfriendly and I did not feel welcomed. I would not even have asked for permission if there wasn't so few people and the atmosphere in there so cold that I felt perhaps I should ask first. After that, I asked several other brands before I took pictures, whenever there's a sales rep around, and no one had a problem with pictures!

Mark - thanks for telling me you felt weird in there, too, makes me feel a little better that it wasn't just me!

Wow what a handsome trio...





[/quote]


Frank always great to see you! Rich thanks for stopping by Burbank yesterday. Hope you enjoyed Dukes.

Yiyi,
Hi from Auckland and I see that you studied piano and composition at Canterbury University in Christchurch.
It is disappointing that you were treated in an off-hand, unwelcoming way at the Schimmel booth at NAMM 2012 and it seemed that Mark had a similar experience. Not a very good PR profile for Schimmel.

Kind regards,

Robert.

Yiyi,

Actually, there are some companies that wish to change their products by sending people out at a show like this one and gathering as much information as possible. Photos can help them do this and in certain marketplaces it is acceptable to blatantly copy a design from another company.

I do not know why the folks there were concerned with that, but I hope that explains their reaction in some way.

Glenn,

Very nice to see your place. Thank you for the hospitality and the recommendation to Duke's. It was a great place and a beautiful drive down Pacific Coast highway afterwards.

Ah, big mistake! In situations like these always remember that "it’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." So, you just walk in and play pianos and take pictures with quiet authority and total confidence. The odds of someone stopping you are close to nil. If you ask first, the attendant, whose job is to sell pianos to dealers may think "hmm, this is not part of my job description...giving permission to take pictures. Maybe I'll get into trouble with the boss. I'll just say no, to be on the safe side."

I doubt that they have a "no photos" policy since I took photos and made video recordings there...without asking. The guy you spoke to was just improvising a response.