Guitar Gear

Ho-hum… Not going yet again… And probably won’t make Summer NAMM this year – again…

I’m not pouting, though… Unfortunately, I’m just not much of a convention-goer. Yeah, there’s really cool stuff, and yeah, several manufacturers have offered me passes and asked if I’d come by their booths or rooms to do interviews and try out gear. Then there’s all the SWAG, the concerts, etc., etc…. Gear slut like me pass that up? Unfortunately, my sense of duty outweighs my sense of fun, and I’m right in the middle of a huge project at work, building the UI for the first release of a completely brand-new product.

But then again, while I love gear, I’ve never been all that compelled to go to the biggest gear convention in the world (or is Musikmesse bigger – dunno). I used to go to tech conventions all the time; the funnest being the Borland Developer Conferences. Phillipe Kahn, Borland’s founder, was an avid musician, and would always have a jazz band playing, and you could jam with them at night in the bar. That was pretty fun.

But I have to admit that conventions have always been information overload for me. I come back exhausted and drained. Yeah, I’ve had a lot of fun at conventions, but frankly, at my age, my idea of a good time is much more mundane: Sipping on a glass of fine wine, retreating to my “man cave” to mess around with gear, going to a nice dinner with the wifey, playing with the kids. Damn! I’m getting old!

I’ll probably eat my words, and eventually I’ll make it to a NAMM in the future. But at least for now, I’m content reading the manufacturer announcements…