Trade Show gig

Matt Ross grabbed the neck of an upright bass, hopped up on the side of it and plucked a rockabilly tune.

The display was aimed at drawing attention to the booth of Santa Ana’s King Doublebass at NAMM, the music industry’s yearly trade show held earlier this month at the Anaheim Convention Center.

King Doublebass makes custom upright basses with racing flames and other designs.

It was one of several local music companies, big and small, at NAMM. The show not only is big for the industry but big for Anaheim, too. It’s the largest convention held in the city and draws big-name musicians.

John Hatton, bass player with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, also lent his chops to King Doublebass’ exhibit. It’s the cool factor the bass maker is after, said Brad Johnson, King Doublebass’ vice president.

Playing an upright lends itself to showmanship, he said. Upright basses also have a “big warm sound,” he said.

All of King Doublebass’ six workers play the upright bass, Ross said. They hail from bands Skeeter Truck, Sugar Daddies, C.C. Adcock and The Road Kings.

King Doublebass recently landed a distribution deal with Fender Musical Instruments Corp. of Scottsdale.

Jason Burns started the company in his back yard six years ago. In his first year, he sold 35 basses. It’s grown each year since, according to Johnson.

At the other end of the scale, Buena Park-based Yamaha Corporation of America,the largest music and audio company according to Music Trades magazine,showed off a Product of the Year award for its YPG-625 portable keyboard.

“It’s an absolute runaway product,” Yamaha’s Mark Anderson said.

The keyboard sells for about $1,000 and has 88 “weighted” keys, so it feels like a piano, he said.

Tom Sumner, vice president of Yamaha’s pro audio & combo division, talked up the Motif XS, a synthesizer Yamaha debuted at NAMM.

“If you have music in your head but are not a trained musician you can still make music,” he said.

Yamaha, part of Japan’s Yamaha Corp., is looking to the Motif and other consumer friendly gear to offset slowing sales of instruments to the pros.

Sales of guitars and pianos are down, Sumner said. Gear like the Motif to produce music is where the growth is, he said.

Rickenbacker International Corp., a Santa Ana maker of guitars made famous by The Beatles, plans to spend 2007 catching up with orders, sales manager Kenny Howes said.

Some people have been waiting for more than a year for their guitars, he said.

“We don’t want to compromise quality for quantity,” Howes said.

Founder Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp have been credited with the invention of the first electric guitar, dubbed The Frying Pan in 1931.

Fullerton’s G & L; Guitars, part of Huntington Beach-based BBE Sound Inc., was started by another guitar pioneer, Leo Fender, who started his namesake company in downtown Fullerton.

Franki Mattson, a petite punk rocker who displayed a line of custom band clocks at NAMM, offered an update on her other venture.

The Huntington Beach mother of three said she signed a recording deal with small indie label Long Live Crime Records. The punk label with the surly name is based in posh Beverly Hills. Right now, Mattson said she’s sharing a recording studio with Rick Springfield.

Mattson said she’s still looking for a major distributor for her customized clocks. For now, they are purchased by bands, which sell them on tour. Mattson also hosts an Internet radio show at Flashrock.com, which features signed and unsigned band performances and interviews.