annual pilgrimage

This week was my annual pilgrimage to the NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA.  NAMM is a huge conference for dealers of musical instruments (and everything you can imagine might be tied to them) and manufacturers.  It is a big deal in that business and many of the manufacturers essentially do their entire years sales in the Anaheim convention center so they all trot out their newest and slickest.

I first attended about 5 years ago and was struck first by the booth babes... you've seen photos of them at auto shows.  They were exactly the same.  6 foot tall women wearing very little clothing and more often than not, surgically enhanced in multiple ways.  As the economy went down over the last few years, the booth babes were the first expenditure to be cut and very, very few displays had them this year.  Business seems to be on the way back up and attendance seemed higher than the last few years although there were some obvious manufacturers who were absent.

It is a convention only for people who are in the business so if you don't have a tie with a manufacturer, a retailer who will send you to the event, or are a big enough star to be able to get in for publicity's sake, you can't attend.  I get in on a visitor's pass with Lowden Guitars and really enjoy getting to spend some time with George and his family, seeing their primary demonstrator at the booth, Thomas Leeb, and getting to see the newest and slickest that George and company have produced this year.

For those of you who don't know,  Lowden is a small Irish family run company that builds what I consider to be the finest guitars in the world.  They build about 500 guitars a year and are played by some of the finest guitar players in the world including Pierre Bensusan, Alex DeGrassi, Richard Thompson, and Thomas Leeb.  Many other famous players have played Lowdens at one time or another in their careers and there are scores of wonderful players around the world who love these amazing guitars.  I've been playing them since about '86 or '87 and currently own two.  My primary guitar is an O25C Custom built in 2000 after my first Lowden, an L25C built in early '86, was stolen in Philadelphia in August of 1999.  My second is a recently acquired S10P built in '87.  It is old, beaten, abused, and scarred.  The two guitars have slightly different voices but they clearly come from the same gene pool and both really sing.  They are not inexpensive guitars, but at this quality one would never expect them to be.  That said, I have not played any guitars at any price that I would choose over a Lowden and I have played some very expensive guitars.

African Blackwood F50

Lowden had a bunch of gorgeous guitars in their booth but was really getting buzz about three of them.  One was a medium size guitar with a redwood top, very elegant appointments including a bevel on the lower bout that makes the guitar more comfortable to pay, and back and sides of a very rare and expensive wood (at least in sizes needed for guitars) called African Blackwood.  The wood has all of te characteristics needed for an excellent guitar and this one is.  It was also the most expensive guitar at the booth.

The real buzz came from two prototype fan fret guitars.  Let me explain the concept behind these guitars.  Longer strings work better for lower pitches and shorter strings work better for higher pitches.  This is called scale length and tells you the distance between the nut (the piece of bone near the top of the guitars neck) and the saddle (the piece of bone in the bridge).  The vast majority of guitars have a single scale length for all six strings which like many issues in guitar design, represents a compromise.  Once you've chosen your scale length, there are formulas that tell you where to put the frets so the guitar can play in a well tempered scale (another compromise to tuning).  What would happen if you had multiple scale lengths so the lowest strings were longer and the highest strings shorter?  Theoretically the low pitches would be richer and deeper and the high ones clearer and more bell like.  This is especially noticeable for folk who do lots of altered tunings.  Of course, it requires some voodoo with the frets, nut, bridge, and braces to make it all work.  Most visible is the arrangement of the frets... like a fan.  A few individual builders have been producing guitars with these multiple scale lengths but they are often incredibly expensive and beyond the experience of almost all guitarists.  George produced two prototypes of fan fret guitars and every player who visited the booth wanted to try them.  The high point of my time there was when Colin Hay, known to many from his days in the 80's band Men at Work, and a friend of his played a gorgeous duet on the two fan frets in the quiet room at the Lowden display.  Just sublime.  The sound of the guitars was really beautiful and they fit together, hand in glove.

fan fret guitars

I forget what the actual string lengths were, but, if I remember correctly, the lowest string is more than 1.5 inches longer than the highest one. Notice in the photo that the frets are arranged in a fan.  The slanted bridge on the right hand guitar is the logical way to get a slanted saddle but the interior bracing of the guitar must be changed to accommodate the different placement of the bridge.  The guitar on the left uses George's normal bridge with what struck me as a Salvador Dali'esque extension for the slanted saddle.  This allows George to retain his signature bracing pattern.  Some who looked at the guitar asked whether that additional wood would deaden the sound or lessen sustain.  I certainly couldn't hear any deficits. 

The orientation of the frets did cause many of the players to scratch their heads.  Some reported that once they ignored what their eyes were telling them, they didn't feel any difference in playing.  Others said that it would require some small adjustments to technique.  I was in the second group.  Given the depth and balance of George's "regular" guitars, I'm not sure I see the need need for the fan frets and so I can't see a situation where I'd feel the need to adjust.  Others, especially some fingerstyle players who often play with the lower strings dropped a step or more, may see the design as a wonderful thing.

I didn't see much of the rest of the show... I walked through the entire center once and I did look at cases and gig bags since I need a new one for my S10P, but other than that, I stayed pretty close to the Lowden booth.

doing the thing I don't want to do

I began this blog as a place to write about topics slightly outside the scope of my normal public presentations - i.e. sermons. Certainly a sermon is a place where I raise the concerns that the culture is impressing on me and my hopes and dreams for the congregation in response to the witness of scripture... but... and it is a big but... sermons walk the fine line of speaking what I see and feel while respecting the views and experiences of the congregation. There are times when I must push this over the line, but I have to be careful there. For example, as I understand the words of Jesus, a Christian must be a pacifist. Members of my congregation have come to different conclusions than I have. So, I can preach about peace without requiring people to become total pacifists and allow them to struggle with what that means when their theology allows for war/violence under some circumstances. So, I envisioned the blog as a place where I could let loose without those constraints. I envisioned most of my topics as being theological or related to my therapy - music and guitars.

It feels as if I write most often about politics. I don't like that. I know that politics, as the way that groups of people make collective decisions, is by definition theological. How we live together says something about what we believe and what we believe says something about the ways we live together. So my understanding of God's yearnings for us is always reflected in my political acts and writings... and that is rarely material that makes it into my sermons because there is considerable diversity even in my little congregation with regards to any of these questions. So, I know where it is coming from... I write it here because I don't feel it is appropriate to say there... And it often comes across as more hard line than I really see myself.

So I'd like to write a bit about something less contentious... and this week I will. In two days I go to NAMM, the biggest trade show for the music industry. I go as a guest of Lowden Guitars, get to see George and some of the other folk from Lowden, connect with my friend Thomas Leeb, get to check out all of the newest doodads available for musicians to purchase, and see some of the bizarreness that is the LA commercial music scene. This year things will be a bit more serious for me as I'll be thinking about equipment etc. for use at the Cambridge Drive Concert Series but it will still be a fun couple of days. And I am soooo looking forward to not thinking about or writing about Sarah Palin, Sharon Angle, or any of the rest of that bunch. Instead, I'll get to think about things that are important to me - strings, pickups, guitar builders, microphones, etc. - but which make little difference in the grand scheme of things.

NAMM

I get to go to NAMM as a guest of Lowden Guitars and went for a day this year...

It is always an interesting experience as it reflects all of the best (some amazing gear, wonderful musicians, and some really great people) and the worst (talk about surgically enhanced women, self-obsessed musicians, and smarmy business people) in the music business.

This year, I didn't spend much time checking out electric stuff but it looked as if there were lots of new very simple circuit guitar amps with just volume and tone controls. That is the way I like them.

This year, like the the last couple of years there have been amazing basses with a bajillion strings and monster players demoing them.

But I was there to see some of the acoustics...

This is part of George Lowden's booth. Notice the new Pierre Bensusan signature model on the right - the guitar you can only see part of, sorry. George built two prototypes - one with a Adirondack top and one with cedar. Pierre took the Adirondack top guitar and the cedar one was at NAMM and up for grabs. Some dealer purchased it. I did play it. It was difficult to tell what it sounded like through the noise, but the fingerboard was a little wide for me. George said that "the devil is in the bevel" and that little design piece on the lower bout is very tricky. The two darker top guitars are redwood tops. George really likes redwood.



One of the fun points at NAMM is watching my friend Thomas demo his Lowden F35C. He is an amazing player and even in the din of NAMM, always draws a crowd of on-lookers who are amazed at what he can do with a guitar. Boy, does he beat that guitar...



I've attended NAMM 4 times I think and this was the first time that I saw empty booth spaces. Also, there was a lot of talk about different companies cutting back on staff and on distribution of their products. The economy is having a real impact. Still, there were some amazing instruments and some of the companies, including Lowden, are still doing well.

NAMM 3

In my first post about NAMM, I showed some photos of the Lowden booth and a photo of my friend Thomas Leeb, who is both an amazing player and an endorser of Lowden Guitars (and a great guy too). Now NAMM is not a place for subtlety. It is all about flash, about catching your attention and grabbing you as you walk by. Add to that the fact that the volume police are always around to be sure that nothing rises above the general din of the place. Demonstrators have a fraction of a second to catch someone's attention above all the flashing lights, skin, noise, crazy hair, tattoos, and more skin. Thomas can play with as much beauty, grace, and subtlety as anyone out there but if he did at NAMM, nobody would stop to listen. Thomas can also do the flash thing better than just about anyone on an acoustic guitar. The video below is of a performance at Tone Merchants with Thomas playing a piece that was very popular at NAMM and always gathered a huge crowd which blocked the walkway. Talk about flashy playing.



For anyone who cares, he is playing a Lowden F35 with maple sides and back and spruce top. And yes, there is an added piece of wood there at the cutaway to help stop him from wearing through the top of the guitar.

NAMM 2

Toni asked whether I got to see the rest of NAMM or if I spent the entire time at the Lowden Booth... I did get to see the whole deal (I even think I saw Bono at one point). I didn't take any photos of people other than the one of Thomas and maybe two of some very strange looking folk...

This year, NAMM didn't seem have as many innovative products as some other years but there were some interesting products and some changes. It seemed there were more ethnic instruments with lots of ukulele companies that I don't remember seeing before. Also, every year there are some wood dealers but it seemed there were more of those too. There were a few small products that looked cool such as a new Kyser capo.

I played a few guitars and one amp and looked at a few that gave me GAS... The one product that is getting attention from me is an electric guitar that also can produce accurate acoustic sounds. Thus far, every one that I have played seems to compromise one or both of the sounds so we aren't there yet... but when we get there, I'll be ready with my wallet open. I also have some interest in solid body midi/acoustic guitars... Those have arrived and some look amazing (see the Rolf Spuler below). One of these days, I'll either buy one or build one. Here are a couple of guitars that caught my eye.

This guitar by Rolf Spuler was the coolest design. Unfortunately I didn't get to play it... but from looks alone as well as a well thought out design, it gives me serious GAS.



I played this guitar from XOX Audio Tools. It played great and sounded good (as much as one can tell at NAMM). It gave me a little GAS... but not enough to worry my wife.



For any shredders out there, Gary Kramer has some cool looking designs aimed just at you. I'm not into shredding but the design seems to well though out...



For the purest, Nik Huber builds some amazing guitars... the woods and the workmanship in these guitars is awesome



A number of acoustic companies have entered the electric market - Taylor and Collings are both building fairly traditional looking electrics. Breedlove never built traditional looking acoustics and their entries into the electric market looks equally unique. Again, I didn't get to play this guitar but the design really caught my attention.



There were scores of great acoustic guitars around but unless you really are into them, the photos don't tell much... This one however deserves a look. Every NAMM, Martin brings a few incredibly garish guitars with WAY too much inlay to show that they can put more pearl and abalone into a plate of wood than anyone. The workmanship is stunning. The guitar is just ugly and incredibly expensive.

NAMM

Every January, the world's largest music merchandiser's conference takes place in Anaheim called NAMM. It is a big deal in that world and every year includes all of the new products from major manufacturers and many small ones. The halls of the Anaheim Convention Center are filled with an odd mix of Asian business people representing huge manufacturers, American companies large and small, representatives of music stores, old rockstars living off past glory, a few current rockstars checking out the new gear or signing autographs at booths where they endorse gear, lots of lookers with tenuous ties with various of the above, and "product placement specialists" i.e. attractive women with very little clothing at the vendors who aim at young male wannabe rockstars. And all of those people are moving to the cacophony of sound coming from thousands of drums, guitars, keyboards, wind, and string instruments being demonstrated or examined.

The last few years, I got to attend as a guest of Lowden Guitars. Again this year, George outdid himself with some amazing instruments.

This O50 made me drool... look at the gorgeous koa... and the sound and playability was just as wonderful as the craftsmanship.





and one more... a Brazilian rosewood S38...



All the while, Thomas Leeb was dazzling the crowds with his amazing playing on his Lowden F35C.


The baritone that appears on the new Lowden website was also there and was just stunning. Another player friend who was present referred to it as "the best baritone he has ever played or heard." Thomas just said, "it is MINE."

I also got to see and hear lots of other guitars and amps and I think I even saw Bono walking by but the best part was getting to spend a few minutes with George and Florence Lowden (such incredibly gracious people), seeing Thomas again, meeting Aaron Lowden (the youngest Lowden working for the company), and connecting with a few of the other folk who work with Lowden.