Impressed with BandLab's Presence at NAMM!

[chamlin]

Spent some time with Mike Balzarini (great guy!) at the Cakewalk section of the BandLab booth (Noel was out walking around at the time). Walked away from this experience feeling really confident that Cakewalk is here to stay long-term. And while the Cakewalk section was moderate, it was given a key location, right out front at the BandLab booth.  And it was staffed! The overall BandLab booth was first rate. Large. High profile location. And with quite an impressive array of components. Best Cakewalk presence since...well...pre-Roland Era!

[BAKTRAK]

13 hours ago, chamlin said:

Spent some time with Mike Balzarini (great guy!) at the Cakewalk section of the BandLab booth (Noel was out walking around at the time). Walked away from this experience feeling really confident that Cakewalk is here to stay long-term. And while the Cakewalk section was moderate, it was given a key location, right out front at the BandLab booth.  And it was staffed! The overall BandLab booth was first rate. Large. High profile location. And with quite an impressive array of components. Best Cakewalk presence since...well...pre-Roland Era!

Thanks for the 'on the ground'  report Chamlin.

I'm down here in OZ, wishing I was up there.

I noticed on the site map that Bandlab appeared to be in a Ground level ... Entry area position.

Am I correct and if so,  did this  have positive effect / impact from your perspective?

Cheers

[chamlin]

Yes, their location is right where people walk in to the room. But there are dozens of other entry options to that main level gigantic room. But they had excellent visibility. BandLab isn't a household brand name, yet, and I'm sure their presence there served them.

[TerraSin]

Did they have any new news to share?

Edited January 28, 2019 by TerraSin

[chamlin]

Mike told me they're working on (or have completed?) a conversion/migration tool to bridge BandLab project files to Cakewalk project files so that they can help people evolve to higher level creation.

Got the sense that BandLab will continue to acquire/rescue/resuscitate worthy brands that fit with the vision of accessible available music creation for the masses.

And, not sure if it's mine to share the specifics, or if they've already shared this elsewhere, but I now have zero concern that should Command Center ever go down (which is not their intent), that we will have no problem with authorization.

[Grem]

Thanks for the updates Chamlin.

[InstrEd]

I was hoping to hear about the instruments, Rapture Pro etc that Bandlab acquire from Gibson.

Hey Chamlin how was the show otherwise.

[chamlin]

No updates yet on Rapture Pro, etc. With the new wing at the convention center completed last year it's much better. Quieter space for pro audio booths who choose to be away from the guitar/drum high-volume main area. BandLab chose the main floor, def the right move for them. Bigger presence.

Some incredible performances, got to briefly meet Santana, Nancy Wilson, Rick Nielsen. And, 134,999 other people swarming around.

Stark contrast: spending the day at NAMM and leaving in the evening to discover police in riot gear arresting protesters. The dichotomy of musical artists and industry folks walking down closed major streets going back to our hotels while hotel workers were protesting for a pay increase, more affordable healthcare, the implementation of panic buttons, increases to pensions and stronger protections for immigrants. Heartbreaking to see, and for all of us to be a part of, such imbalance in the world. 21 people arrested including an Anaheim city councilman. Wild.

Check out these guitars (zoom in on 'em).

[chamlin]

 

 

[chamlin]

This guy playing "Crossroads" on a Cigar Box body guitar. Sounded good!

[chamlin]

New wing photo

[InstrEd]

Thanks for the pics. One of these years?

[bitman]

Poor Noel.

[Starship Krupa]

Happy to hear about BandLab's robust presence as well as Anaheim Convention Center's adding a new wing. The last time I attended a NAMM Show, participation was falling off due to the rise of the www as a primary means of product introduction.

I was hoping that would be a temporary glitch and that participants would see that there are enough other benefits to appearing in the industry's largest trade show.

[Jim Fogle]

Chamlin,

Thanks for sharing your NAMM experience with us.  I'm very, very happy to learn BandLab is at the show and chose a prominent position.  Name recognition and business connections are so important to building a brand reputation.  The experience is also useful for spotting trends and laying the groundwork for business opportunities.

Did you happen to hear anything interesting about the other brands in the BandLab product like Harmony, Heritage Guitars or Teisco pedals?  Any rumors about the audio interfaces?

[chamlin]

Nothing on the interfaces, but, didn't ask. As you may see in the photo, they were displaying Harmony, Heritage, Teisco. Very cool to see them.

The one thing I would have done for better recognition: make a much larger CAKEWALK sign which would have caught more attention and offered greater credibility. The Cakewalk space was right in front, that was good though.

[Jim Fogle]

The October 19, 2018 BandLab press release includes a photograph of the BandLab booth display at the New York city Audio Engineering Society (AES) International Pro Audio Convention.  As you can see from the photograph the Cakewalk name is prominent in both the backdrop and pop-up display.  https://blog.bandlab.com/cakewalk-by-bandlab-at-aes-with-new-features-and-bright-future/

[chamlin]

That's good! They couldn't do that at NAMM due to the more open broad nature of the booth. I still give it a 5 thumbs up!

[InstrEd]

21 minutes ago, chamlin said:

That's good! They couldn't do that at NAMM due to the more open broad nature of the booth. I still give it a 5 thumbs up!

Wait you have 5 thumbs  
Glad Cakewalk name is back out in the limelight.

[chamlin]