We did it, survived another National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) tradeshow. Maybe survived is a little dramatic. While it is certainly a lot of hard work for our trade show team, it is also one of the highlights of our year. Each summer, a small group of our Breedlove staff gets the opportunity to pack up the “best of the best” of our instruments, take them to Nashville, and show them off to the music industry. It’s an honor we don’t take lightly. For our NAMM team, we feel like we’re representing not only our instruments – but also all of our talented and dedicated craftsmen in Bend, OR. It’s our time to take our passion and love of guitars on the road. That said, while we’re thankful to be back home in beautiful Bend, OR – this year did not disappoint!
This year we were honored to win Best in Show for our USA guitar series. The USA series is made with combinations of Sitka Spruce and Honduran Mahogany (two models are all mahogany, two are combination Sitka spruce / mahogany), and represent the lightest guitars we have ever built. They are built with our thinnest finish to date, to allow sound frequency to travel most efficiently. We were also pleased to have one of our most successful overall shows ever at Summer NAMM.
Summer NAMM is one of our favorite tradeshows because it takes place in the relaxed music city of Nashville. We come to experience the music and see the manufacturers. We love that it takes place in the heart of our industry. It highlights why we do what we do.
This year our favorite day of NAMM was public day, where local Nashville artists, up and comers, get to tour the show. It allows us to make connections with future artists and share our passion for music.
“We are a little spoiled,” explains Breedlove’s Marketing / Media manager RA Beattie. “We are constantly surrounded by some of the most amazing instruments at the shop in Bend, OR. You never take them for granted, but you get used to being around them. Then, you get the opportunity to show them off in Nashville – and it reminds you just how remarkable these instruments really are. You see the way people react when they see a really stunning exotic tonewood, or how the sound and tone cuts through the noise of the show – and their eyes grow larger or they utter a “wow!” That reminds you how lucky we are to be working in the best industry on the planet.”
While summer NAMM is only a 3-day show, it takes us about a week of set up and take down. We transport around 30 guitars from our acoustic guitar shop in Bend, OR. We’ve been going to NAMM since winter of 1995, so we have our transportation system down. All of our industry peers head to NAMM, and it’s wonderful to connect with the local Breedlove retailers.
We love heading to Nashville; to experience the sights, sounds, tastes and more. While we were there primarily to work, we did make time to sample the best of Nashville culture; hush puppies, collard greens, mac ‘n’ cheese and, of course, shrimp and grits. And of course, we caught plenty of live music while we were there. Now to start planning for winter NAMM 2018! We can’t wait to show the world what we’re working on next!
-The Breedlove Team
