NAMM Report 2011 – “Take it to 11!”

The NAMM (National Association of Musical Merchants) show in Anaheim, CA is the big industry show for North America. This is a show where we as dealers get a chance to meet face to face with as many manufacturers as they can fit into the Anaheim Convention Center. This show is where all the manufacturers show the best of what they have in hopes of getting their product into stores and eventually into players’ hands.

Sadly, you as a player are not allowed in (unless a store gets you a pass). It is closed to the public. So every year, I generate my “NAMM Report” so that you the player can get a heads up on what I felt stood out from the rest at the show.

Disclaimer – As with previous years, I will NOT post anything negative about a vendor/supplier/manufacturer. I will only post things that I feel were positive influences and items for the consumer.

Disclaimer 2 – I worte this review rather quickly as I am slammed with several local events to prepare for. So if you find a grammatical error, let me know as I am sure that there are a few!

Smaller Show
I note first this year that the show was definitely smaller in vendor attendance than I can ever remember. This sadly speaks to the economic situation in this country. While I cannot speculate on the actual attendance, it just felt smaller than last year and than any other year I can remember since I started attending the show in 2000. I know many people in this industry on all sides of the coin and all can give stories about how they have been affected by the economy.

Year of the Jazz Reeds!
Some might not know but I have been harping on any reed manufacturer that would listen as to the quality of their reeds. This year, there are several good changes to report on.

Rico: Rico came out with their Reserve line a few years ago and recently, came out with the Reserve Classic line. With the Reserve reeds, Rico is using only lower internode cane. This cane is the densest fiber available. The Rico Reserve Classic (unfortunately for jazz players) is the best quality reed with a classical inspired cut. For months, I have been begging Rico to take this same cane & manufacturing process and put it through a jazz cut. While this has not exactly happened, it is still something that I am working on. However, I do have big news along this vein…

Rico has decided to change up their Rico Jazz Select reeds to using ONLY the same lower internode cane that the Reserve line uses. This should bring the quality and consistency on RJS reeds up to a whole new level. I do not yet have an exact time table on when this is fully in effect, I will keep on top of it.

UPDATE (1/24/11): In further talks with Rico, this change was made in production in 2010. Of course, if you have a store selling off older inventory, you might not get the new versions of the reeds. Any RJS made since about the 2nd quarter of 2010 are the better lower internode cane.

Gonzalez Jazz Alto Sax Reeds: Gonzalez now has available a new Jazz cut alto sax reed. We have not yet played these new reeds but I know personally one of their product testers and he raves about them. Gonzalez typically has some of the best cane so if they can come up with a good cut, this will be another product to keep on your radars!

Legere Signature Series: Legere’s new Signature Series reeds have been on the market for a little while but many are likely not familiar with this newer model. The saxophone models are based largely on a Vandoren V16 style cut. They are available in alto, tenor & now soprano sax. We have not played much with them but will be doing so VERY soon.

Backun Clarinets (not Leblanc) & Mouthpieces
Morrie Backun is known for his barrels, bells & custom clarinet work. He was contracted by Leblanc (Conn-Selmer) several years ago to re-design the entire Leblanc clarinet lineup. His models from student through professional (Leblanc Bliss – Leblanc designed by Backun) quickly became our best selling clarinets.

His contract with Conn-Selmer has now expired. This means 2 things:
1. Leblanc will be revising their professional lineup as they will eventually stop using Backun bells & barrels. They will also be losing the “designed by Backun” label. No word yet on exactly when that will happen.
2. Backun has released the first models in his own professional clarinets made 100% in Canada in his workshop.

This new Backun models (the Backun & the MoBa models) will redefine the professional clarinet market. They are not for the casual player as they boast a $7,000+ price tag on them. However, these are hands down the BEST professional clarinet that we have ever come across.

Backun also had prototypes of his new more affordable mouthpieces. His professional mouthpieces are some of the most impressive that you will find on clarinet but they also run $375. Morrie’s new line of mouthpieces will be in the $125-$150 price range. They are machined from a single rod of a yet un-revealed material. I THINK I know what it is, but I don’t want to publicly guess at this time. I did notice that the mouthpieces made from this material were noticeably heavier than the hard rubber professional models. Once these are released, they could quickly start replacing the market dominance of Vandoren in the semi-professional clarinet mouthpiece market.

What is also exciting is that Backun will also be releasing a $2,000 price range model sometime this year as well.

Antigua Pro-One Saxophones – designed by Peter Ponzol
This was Antigua’s official unveiling of the new Pro One line of saxophones designed by Peter Ponzol. These horns were designed to compete with P. Mauriat market in my opinion. We had a chance to have the alto and tenor in our store for a week before the NAMM show so we were able to get more acquainted with them. I will be likely posting a more extensive review of them soon. For pictures, information and pricing, visit my new Pro One page at https://www.kesslermusic.com/html/antigua/proonesaxophones.htm

The saxophones themselves play quite well. Nice rich and full tone, good response and LOADED with features. Some will chalk up all of these features to marketing and hype. Honestly, I too will agree with that on some of the features. However, hype or not, the horns play VERY well and are worth considering for anyone looking in the $2k-$3k price range for a new horn.

One thing that is worth noting for prospective buyers of this horn: make sure that you have a tech who knows what they are doing. As the horns came setup to us prior to the show, we found the pitch on the tenor quite “squirrely” in the left hand palm keys. This was due to the palm keys opening too high. Once corrected, the pitch on the horn was quite solid. I didn’t stay around the booth for too long but one artist (Euge Groove) who was there testing them when I was seemed quite impressed and actually was commenting on the intonation and the mechanics of the horn in a very positive light.

These saxophones will be available starting in March of 2011.

Selmer Paris
Nothing really “new” from Selmer Paris on the saxophone front other than finishes. The real news from Selmer Paris as a company had to do with their trumpet production, or rather now lack there of. Selmer Paris has officially stopped producing brasswind instruments.

As for the saxophones, last year, Selmer released the new “Jubilee” variations of the Super 80 Series II & Series III saxophones. These changes were basically cosmetic changes but in my opinion were quite overdue. Their goal was to eventually make these changes the permanent changes replacing the previous versions of the Series II & III saxophones.

That transformation in their line is now complete. The Jubilee models have completely replaced the original II & III models. They have also now expanded the Jubilee models to include more finishes. One that REALLY impressed me was the Jubilee in black lacquer. Now those who know me know that I traditionally do not recommend or even like black lacquer. I have always found it to be rather dull and flat looking as well as not very durable. The new Jubilee black lacquered horns were some of the absolutely most stunning saxophones I have ever seen.

We have ordered up a set of alto & tenor Series II & III Jubilee models in black and hope to have photos to show you soon! Until then, basic information as well as pricing can be found on our site here: https://www.kesslermusic.com/SelmerLeblanc/jubilee.htm

Theo Wanne
Theo debuted his new Performance Line METAL tenor mouthpiece at the show. This was REALLY an impressive mouthpiece. The Performance line use the same manufacturing processes and quality as his more expensive models. The difference is in the baffle wall style. The Performance models feature a straightwall baffle chamber that then opens up into the “True Large Chamber” design. These pieces play a little edgier than the top end counterparts. The big benefit of these models though are the price…

The new Metal Performance Line tenor mouthpeice will run $395. This brings it into a price range that is more affordable to many players and in my opinion, has set a completely new quality bar for mouthpiece makers. We have the DATTA (higher baffle) model on order. We have the Hard Rubber versions in stock at $345. When we get the metal version in stock, we will have full pictures and information available on the site here: https://www.kesslermusic.com/theowanne/mouthpieces.html

Keilwerth
Contrary to MUCH misinformation out there, Keilwerth saxophones are still going to be made and will still be made in Germany. I met with Buffet (new owners of Keilwerth) and they admitted that they are definitely trimming down the model offerings but that production will continue in Germany.

The models that will be offered going forward are as follows:

Alto & Tenor: SX90R  in lacquer, black & Vintage finishes as well as the Shadow. All other models are now discontinued.
Soprano: SX90II in lacquer & black, SX90 Dave Liebman model
Baritone: SX90 with Low Bb in Lacquer, SX90R Shadow (Low A)
Bass: SX90 in lacquer

The new Dave Liebman model soprano sax will supposedly be hitting the USA around May 2011.

Final Thoughts…
Overall, I was under-impressed with the show this year. I am very glad to report the news I mentioned on the reed front and I will continue to work with Rico on getting more information and perhaps more product offerings as well. I felt that the show lacked a lot of what used to make it so special. There were so few products that really made me glad to be at the show.

However, on those few occasions where a company did impress me as mentioned above, they made the trip worth while… well, that and the fact that I got my annual visit to my favorite restaurant on the planet… The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. Absolutely AWESOME!!!