Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Because I'm exploring every avenue I can think of, and I thought I actually may have a shot at it here - does anyone have any spare tickets to the NAMM show here in Los Angeles later this month?
It's been a few years since I've been there, and I'd really like to go if possible. I promise to take plenty of pics at the Ric booth!

Contact me off list ... thanks!

Good luck Jim, I wish I could go myself. I was able to get into a NAMM show once a few years ago. It was fun.

I didn't even know it was open to the general public - does anyone know if tickets are available?

It's not open to the general public. The times I have been able to go, I knew someone with ties to the industry who could get admission badges.

I will be going this year. I've gone to the last two and they are a hoot. Like everyone else, I have a buddy that gets me in. If you've never been -- you need to go!

Wish I could go.

Heard advice from someone in another forum. Bring earplugs.

Not only is it not open to the public, it's a show for makers to show their goods to dealers and the badge cutoff date was in early December. That doesn't stop many people from using badges with the wrong name on them but this year they swear they have a new system for checking ID's and taking away badge privileges from whoever ordered the badge in the first place.

Oh Oh, who farted??!!

Forgive my sour grapes about non-industry visitors; it's not personal.

I have no objection to visitor badges issued by manufacturers; after all we all paid for this show. The dealers, on the other hand, paid nothing toward the cost of these shows, even though NAMM is for the most part a dealer run entity.

The rules currently are that this show is for wholesale business only. If they decide to open it to the public sometime in the future, I have no problem with it, because then we can plan for appropriate materials, staff, and security, as well as take advantage of the business opportunity that presents. But right now today, because this is organized as a business-to-business show, our hands are tied in many ways toward recouping the approx. $50,000 per day we'll spend.

Mr. Hall: Got any spare tickets? Just asking...

Nice try. Last day for manufacturer visitor badges was December 9th, 2005.

Mr Hall..Got Any New Guitars???

Sure, there'll be 48 of them out on the floor to see!

Just out of interest, what happens to display guitars from NAMM and other shows ? Do companies sell them afterward, or are some concept models only, like in car shows which are either put in storage, company museums or possibly destroyed after the show circuit is finished ? Sometimes I see vendors actually advertising NAMM guitars (haven't seen any Ricks advertised as such), and I wonder how they happen to acquire them.