Akai Booth Closed To Public

rookie wrote:

**** wrote:

ah this picture is to funny somehow

i can't stop laughing

marctronixx wrote:OH! Got to meet nick blatt too! I was talking to Mr. Linn and nick came down and gave him a "best chap" ribbon, so Mr. Linn was wearing this big old green ribbon on his shirt.

oh nice.. i wondered who would win that.. cool you got to see it in person. And RL deserves it.

JDM2 wrote:From the outside looking in I was only able to see a few people standing around. All wearing suits and ties. I can attest to what you said there was nothing visible from the outside but the few folks I saw standing around inside the room.

I know someone from another major music instrument manufacturer and he was telling me that all of the upper management from his company attends NAMM. The company he works for is also on the second floor where Akai had their room. He said all of those rooms have private rooms attached so that the owner/upper management can meet privately to discuss deals.

He was telling me for his company to go they spend major dollars because they know at NAMM they will be making big bucks.

For whatever reason Akai chose to do it this way it would have been neat just to have a little place to show off their stuff to anyone interested.

At least I got to see the Teenage Engineering booth which was super small.

bummer you drove an hour and half for a let down.. how was the Teenage Engineer booth? those guys are doing really cool stuff. id like to hear that new wireless speaker. not sure if you got my msgs. phone has been total crap lately.

**** wrote:

Gotta say, if they showed nothing to the public, that is a bit crappy.
If I had bought a ticket, the MPCs would've been my biggest reason for it. Would've been pissed off TBH.

pk1 wrote:

JDM2 wrote:From the outside looking in I was only able to see a few people standing around. All wearing suits and ties. I can attest to what you said there was nothing visible from the outside but the few folks I saw standing around inside the room.

I know someone from another major music instrument manufacturer and he was telling me that all of the upper management from his company attends NAMM. The company he works for is also on the second floor where Akai had their room. He said all of those rooms have private rooms attached so that the owner/upper management can meet privately to discuss deals.

He was telling me for his company to go they spend major dollars because they know at NAMM they will be making big bucks.

For whatever reason Akai chose to do it this way it would have been neat just to have a little place to show off their stuff to anyone interested.

At least I got to see the Teenage Engineering booth which was super small.

bummer you drove an hour and half for a let down.. how was the Teenage Engineer booth? those guys are doing really cool stuff. id like to hear that new wireless speaker. not sure if you got my msgs. phone has been total **** lately.

Actually I live about 20 minutes from the Anaheim Convention center. So the drive there was no big deal.

The Teenage Engineering booth was so small man. They had like 2 OP-1's on display and one OP-Z.
They also had a small rack that contained their various Pocket Operators on it. It looked like they were selling them there. Not sure though as I was unable to ask.

There were so many people crammed into that tiny area that I was unable to see a whole lot. I did not even get a chance to pick up one of the OP-1's to see how sturdy it felt. I have read they are pretty well built and I wanted to see that for myself.

I am not sure if they had one of those wireless speakers there. I just could not get into that area. There were a lot of folks crammed into their spot.

While I was walking around I found the Herrmutt Lobby booth. Those guys are awesome! Do you know who they are?

I was bummed about Akai but what can you do? I remember seeing videos that someone took last year and it seemed like the guy that was being asked questions looked annoyed after a while. So maybe he told the guys back at Akai that he was bothered and did not want to go through that again. Who knows?!

I got one text message from you. You answered my question about the High and Low pass filters in the MPC software. That was all I got from you. I sent you a few the day I was at NAMM but I never received a reply.

I have a buddy with one of the OP-1's -- it's a really cool synth, lots of sounds and options. Ijust have a problem with the price. The Roland Boutique line has got my interest big time -- one of those, an MPC Live, and you could be doing some damage. Add a few more Korgs, etc, things could get interesting. Lots of wires to deal with, but......

First day went and checked out the inmusic booth and some bimbo at the door said they were not opening it up to the public till sunday. I was pissed. I work for another music manufacturer way way bigger than akai and we would never pull that shit. I am also a former employee of what is now sonivox. Still nothing. Showed up sunday and she said they decided not to open it up the public at all. It really shows where akai's heads are at. Take the money and run. Don't support the products, don't support the fans who love your products. If you don't have people asking for the products you are not going to create customers going to the stores to get them. New products come and go but a companies attitude towards its customers is long lasting. I talked to dave smith, roger linn and Tom Oberheim about their new gear face to face. The whole experience turned me off from akai and inmusic in general.

Isn't NAMM a trade show, it's not officially open to the public in the first place? They say on their web site:

NAMM web site wrote:Attendance at NAMM trade shows is restricted to owners, suppliers, employees, endorsed artists and guests of NAMM member companies. NAMM's membership is comprised of companies that make, buy and/or sell musical instruments and products. I

So wouldn't it be more accurate to say the Akai booth was only open to invited NAMM members, rather than suggesting that it was 'closed to the public'? The whole show was closed to the public.

Akai wanted to be there to network and show off their up coming products to potential distributors, the press and artists (for endorsement & promotion). That's what a trade show is all about isn't it? It isn't intended for the public or other manufacturers' employees to have a look-see and mess about with the gear (although it sounds like that's what often happens).

Andy states in one of the videos that he's going on the road soon to demo the products to the public, so that will be a chance for everyone to get a closer look.

ya heads think NAMM is for all. And that is not the case. Namm and all of its venders are not there for the public. That is a international music convention to showcase new product to people that are going to sell them not buy them. those "public" places for us regular people. {some with all to much ego and self entitlement} Are places called guitar center. sam ash! that where you go to "check out the new gear"

I think its weird when grown men act like they expect someone or some company to cater to them, or their opinions. Its this self entitlement generation. But when tables are turned. And the world expects something from "you". Its "this my life", "i can do what i want ", "Nah i aint feeling dat shit man!" Anybody who thinks any corporation, actually gives two shitts what any average joe is spitting online in regards to expectations is just been raised wrong. suckers is the term id use. Twitter and Facebook has to many people thinking that what they say or think really matters.

oh yeah. and I'm probably a racist for saying this too......

This thread needs a tall glass of ****. Stay the **** outta booth!

indeed
"there are no guest lists toniiiight!"

NAMM is attended by more than 100,000 people and is intended for manufacturers to show off their gear to dealers, press , educators, students, other exhibitors and any other member of namm. Over the years more and more "public " have been coming in. About half or more is "public" whether they admit it or not. Showing only to dealers and press is shooting themselves in the foot. That kind of elitist bullshit attitude is what is killing the company. I get not wanting to get mobbed on the first day about 2.0 but not opening the doors to the "public" is bullshit. All other companies want the free press and loves interacting with the public but akai has acted so poorly in the past and pissed off their "fans" that they didn't wanna face them. This was chance to turn around the image and do some good pr. Their loss.....

cmackg wrote:I have a buddy with one of the OP-1's -- it's a really cool synth, lots of sounds and options. Ijust have a problem with the price. The Roland Boutique line has got my interest big time -- one of those, an MPC Live, and you could be doing some damage. Add a few more Korgs, etc, things could get interesting. Lots of wires to deal with, but......

Yeah I hear you man. The $850 price tag seems insane for that thing. I would love to have one but man oh man $850??? My MPC Ren cost me less than that I got it brand new!

The thing I like about the OP-1 is the portability. For that price you might as well get an MPC Live.

JDM2 wrote:... For that price you might as well get an MPC Live...

Not the same portability. Not the same concept.
OP1 is boss.