Lovers and sellers of musical equipment flocked to a more rocking NAMM show this year to hear about the industry’s latest products.
Buena Park-based Yamaha Corporation of America introduced 35 musical products, including its CF Series piano, at the International Music Products Association’s annual show at the Anaheim Convention Center, which ran Thursday through Sunday.
“We’re still focused on doing the things that are the right thing to do,” said Kurt Witt, marketing manager for wind instruments, part of Yamaha’s band & orchestral division, the company’s largest. “Yamaha is focused on building really good band instruments. Now is not the time to be cutting back.”
Many of Yamaha’s bigwigs were on hand for the announcement, including President Mit-suru Umemura and Senior Vice President Rick Young. The company is part of Japan’s Yamaha Corp.
NAMM drew about 85,000 people. The show is for musical instrument makers and buyers to meet. Registration was up about 1% this year with about 1,500 exhibitors.
Most of the companies representing Orange County were guitar companies.
“OC is insane for guitars,” said Wally Marx of Irvine-based Kay Guitar Co., which originally was founded in 1890 in Chicago by Henry Kuhrmeyer.
The county has a rich guitar history. The legendary Leo Fender got his start making guitars in Fullerton and later founded Fullerton-based G&L Gui-tars, now part of BBE Sound in Huntington Beach.
Other companies on hand included Anaheim-based Kantsul Musical Instru-ments, which makes brass instruments by hand, and Rickenbacker International Corp., which makes guitars in Santa Ana.
At the show, Brian Mar-tin and Kris Twomey officially kicked off their first business venture, Guitar Connection, a guitar designer and maker in Newport Beach.
“This is our jumping into the deep end,” Martin said.
Martin and Twomey started the guitar company in October with two lines: the Cold Creek acoustic line and Cobra electric line.
Martin designs the guitars, which are made in China, where most guitars are made these days.
—Sherri Cruz
