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.

In virtually every room you step into at NAMM, including the main floor, there are signs advising you that by walking into the room you are agreeing to be photographed and or video taped and that they may be used as seen fit by those who take the photos or videos. This is mainly meant to protect the NAMM show presenter or manufacturers from privacy or promotional compensation claims. I know this may not apply to the Schimmel situation. I address that in the next paragraph.

I've been treated poorly, made to feel unwelcome or ignored at several of the acoustic piano booths/rooms. Not just one or two but many. About half the booths I stopped at, I wasn't even greeted after several minutes. Only at Petrof and Walters did I get anything past "let me know if you have any questions" Really? Don't any of these people get any sales training? Or is piano sales training about where to take dealers for lunch? Roland gets it. Taylor gets it. Most of the booths on the main floor get it. NAMM is too expensive to miss a chance to create a good feeling for your brand. In fact, it seems like the bigger the brand, the more they seem to understand that you market to everyone who stops by. I don't mean treat me like a VIP but at least don't make me feel like a pest before I've even uttered a word or asked to play a piano.

It was an honor to chat with Charles Walters who is a hero of mine and as usual they were lovely at the PTG booth. The woman who answered my questions so patiently probably earned herself a regulation job. She gets it; the piano industry should figure it out as well.


Kurt

These policies vary from one manufacturer to the next. Ironically those having the least in the way of new innovation often seem to have the most strict “no photograph” policies.

I spent most of the NAMM show at the Young Chang booth showing and discussing the new design changes being introduced. On display was a strung skeleton assembly on which most of the new features were clearly visible. Many people with direct ties to competitive companies came by with cameras in hand and were freely allowed to photograph anything they wanted. In at least one case I was asked to give a full explanation of the new design features to a technical representative from one of these companies.

And why not? Once a piano is in production there is little any manufacturer can do to prevent a competitor from reverse engineering the basic design. If the pianos are not photographed at the NAMM show it is an easy matter for a manufacturer to arrange to borrow—or buy, if necessary—any piano of interest and photograph and measure to their heart’s content. Most of us know that it takes more than a few pictures of the visible design features to put together a whole, unified piano design.

Back when we were building our vertical piano and showing them at the NAMM show on several occasions I found engineers and technical representations from other manufacturers at our booth early in the morning before the show was open to the public with panels off and with cameras and tape measures in hand.

Because of my position as an independent piano designer and manufacturing consultant having done work for several different piano builders I always identify myself and ask permission before taking photographs of pianos on display. But were I a dealer or a non-industry visitor to the show I think I’d just take the pictures I wanted as unobtrusively as possible. If the company representatives at the display didn’t want me to do this they could always ask me to stop.

ddf

Hi Robert 45- nice to see a Kiwi on Piano World!

Rick - it's one thing to have a policy and another to be mean about it. I still don't think the policy was there, the guy just made it his job to be as unfriendly as possible.

jazzyprof - I asked out of politeness, never thought it would be a problem, and other brands gave me permission

I think Schimmel should just either not participate in NAMM (if they indeed have a no photo policy, since people obviously are taking photos without permission), or hire more friendly staff who is not rude to people who kindly ask for permission to take pictures

frank, the videos are just wonderful. i am really enjoying them. especially the ones of indrek's boys. thanks for sharing them.

Thanks piqué,
I will post some more pictures and videos soon.

I was chatting with a friend of yours at the show.
I mentioned to Burkhard that we were hoping to put together another European Piano Tour in 2013. He has invited us to visit Grotrian.

I hope all is well in MT. If you ever get down our way please plan a visit.

If you were wondering about the numbers from the show...

( from the NAMM © web site).

110th NAMM Show Reaches New Record Number of Registrants; Industry Primed for Growth in 2012


Innovation, Increased Optimism and Hope for the Future Surface as Key Show Themes As Industry Gathers for Biggest and Busiest NAMM Show Ever

Anaheim, Calif, January 22, 2012—The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) today announced the final registration and exhibitor numbers for the 2012 NAMM Show, the largest and longest-running musical instruments and products trade show in the United States.

At show close, NAMM reported 95,709 registered attendees, a six percent increase from last year and representing a new record for the 110-year-old show. International registration also experienced a 15 percent increase from last year to 11,981. The association previously reported strong exhibitor numbers, with 1,441 exhibitors at this year’s show, including 236 new exhibitors.

"Once again the NAMM Show served as the crossroads for musical instrument and live sound products manufacturers, retailers and their guests from all over the world,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. "We are extremely grateful to all of the NAMM Members, music educators, artists, partners and media who made this 110th NAMM Show a resounding success for the industry and a great start to 2012."

The annual trade show is the place where music products retailers meet face-to-face with manufacturers to make their biggest purchases and gain product knowledge for their stores in the year ahead. Throughout the four days of business deals, educational sessions and live music performances, the mood of the show was energetic and positive.

Montage of pianist who stopped at the Estonia booth...



And yes, I did spend a good deal of time at Indrek's booth.
His hospitality is wonderful, he has the most comfortable chairs in the place, and sooner or later practically everyone comes through his corner.

That's a great montage! What a lucky piano.

How come only the guy at around 1:20 seemed to know the camera was there?

Since I'm just a consumer and can't go to NAMM in the winter, did anyone get to try the new Yamaha C7XA or the C3XA's? I heard Yamaha brought them to the show. I did just try the C3XA at my dealer and was really impressed with it's sound and how "expressive" it was. I think Yamaha Piano has a big hit on it's hands, but I would really appreciate hearing what the experts think.

j&j, I'm just pointin out a little thing... The new C-XA series pianos are the C6XA and C3XA, not the C7XA. From what I hear (there was another relatively recent thread on these pianos) they were very, very nice (the piano in question was i think the C6XA or the CF6).

Rotom,

Thanks for the correction and the info. It's wonderful to hear that piano makers are still working to bring new innovations to their acoustic pianos. I will hunt for that thread.

Yamaha showed the C3XA, C6XA and the CF4 and CF6 in their Premium Piano room which also held the Bosendorfer models on display. My understanding is that the C3XA and C6XA are enhanced versions of the C3 and C6. The CF4 and CF6 are extensions of the CFX concert grand line.

The CF4 and CF6 are quite nice, with open window pinblocks and the arm profile and pedal lyre design of the CFX. These pianos do show tonal color range similar to the concert grand.

However they were not displayed very well. The whole Premium Piano room was cramped and quite dead acoustically and had these awful LED spotlights that pierced your eyes like an icepick!

Edited by moderator... SPAM

So it goes. Not much can be done. At our Lomence booth we too had brand competitors at our booth eagerly taking photos of the new Lomence designs: pink piano, red piano, white piano.
They must really be hurting for creativity.

Frank B. thanks, nice to see all these faces playing the music that they like (at least, that's what I suppose )