With well over 1,600 exhibitors showing off their new gear releases and more than 65,000 gear hungry audio professionals wearing their shoes thin trying to see everything, Winter NAMM 2003 proved once again to be a must-see event!
What was new and exciting this year? What new piece of music technology captured the collective imagination of all the audio professionals and musicians in attendance? As always, picking the one piece of gear that ruled above all others at NAMM is practically impossible, but a few trends emerged that we know many of you will be interested in. We heard 2003 Winter NAMM called “the Year of the Keyboard,” and just a glance at our NAMM Report will confirm the accuracy of that description. From mammoth, feature-packed SuperSynths to digital pianos brimming with a wealth of great sounds, the many, many keyboards on display at 2003 Winter NAMM boasted more power and more capabilities – for less money – than ever before. We also saw a lot of manufacturers ramping up their products to take advantage of Mac OS X. Of course, those are only a couple examples of the things we saw – Winter NAMM definitely had something for everybody. What you’ll find in the following report will amaze and inspire – as it does us each year.
As thorough as we try to be with our NAMM Report, we want to point out that this is by no means a complete guide of ALL things shown at the 2003 Winter NAMM show. While we do our best to report on the newest and coolest gear that catches our eye, there’s simply too much going on to report it all. As always, the key phrase here is “Subject to Change.” In many cases, manufacturers are still solidifying things like price, availability, and features on all new gear. We’ll update this information through our web store and publications the minute it becomes final.