So, I was at the winter NAMM Show (Aniheim, California) on Friday and I was really looking forward to meeting some Neuralites and seeing if there were any new products being introduced. Unfortunately, the rather sizable space reserved for Neural was empty. 
Iād really like to see NDSP expand their dealer base so they could offer more direct/local support in the US. This seems like a missed opportunity. Does anyone know what happened?
I doubt they would need NAMM to expand their dealer base
Good point, limiting the number of dealers may be a conscious decision. The no-show at NAMM is puzzling though. Those booths arenāt cheap. 
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But also how is NAMM the only way they would get dealers for a product thatās multiple years old? The actual need for NAMM over the years has lessened. Same reason why the similar video game conventions are barely a thing anymore
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Weird! Pictures of those large āSOONā letters they had in place at their NAMM booth floating around on a couple of sites. Read on Reddit from one poster that they had problems getting the booth set up and it never happened.
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Speculation until NDSP states why they did what they did.
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Absolutely. As far as I know that Reddit poster is not an authoritative source. Shows a wry sense of humor on Neuralās part although I think a fair share of their customers would have preferred to see āNOWā and a glimpse into upcoming new product or an upcoming CoreOS revision 
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We can agree to disagree as to whether it was humorous or insulting to their customers. Lolol
I think it was intended to be humorous and a teaser and hint of things to come. I doubt it was intended to be insulting. That would be counterproductive and Iām pretty sure not part of Marketing 101.
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Not sure if the people at neural have a sense of humor or not, but every time I see/read/hear the word āsoonā i think of thisā¦
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Now see??? THATāS funny!!! Lololol
I think you guys have enough humor to go around. As much as I love my Quad Cortex, I have to agree, āsoonā has taken on a different meaning for me.
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I went to NAMM specifically to meet them, say thanks for the great product, and ask some questions. I found their sales rep there and their sound test room, but their booth was not there. I asked him where their booth was and he said that management couldnāt pull it together to make it. So, I donāt think it was a joke - I just think they are having their internal struggles with huge growth. I know from personal experience (I own Moody Guitar Straps) that having a booth at NAMM is a lot of work - and Iām based in California and we did not have a booth this year. Even more difficult if you arenāt even in the U.S.
I donāt know this for sure but the āSOONā lettering that was placed in their booth could have been done by the NAMM show itself. If you donāt show up with a carpet for your booth for instance, they will put one down in your spot so that it doesnāt look strange to have an empty booth. If you donāt show up with your booth, they usually put something else there to cover up the emptiness. That is my experience in Anaheim. In Nashville, they just let it go empty without covering things up. But NAMM is located in SoCal so I think they have more involved folks at their largest event of the year.
Speaking of emptiness, I have been going to NAMM since 1988 and 2 of the 5 large halls were essentially empty/gone. The whole basement was closed off - that is where you usually found the international manufacturers and strange new products, and more than half of Hall C was a food court/dining area. That used to be full of guitar and drum gear in years past. Things are changingā¦
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This is the best write-up Iāve seen on NDSPās lack of a booth at NAMM. Thank you.
Thanks for your insight, Jack. Would you mind sharing why you chose not to have a booth this year?
Everyone I know, who ownās or works for an MI store has become pretty disillusioned with the NAMM Show. I suspect that some manufacturers may be feeling the same way. NAMM used to be for manufacturers to show their products to retailers but NAMM has become very loose about who they alow in which has really changed the whole vibe of the show. Since online sales have increased and the number of brick-and-morter retailers has dropped, there has been an even larger shift in the number of retailers vs end-users in attendance.
This was my first time attending and I found it to be SO busy and noisy, it was almost impossible to learn about, let alone try any of the products. The guitar, amp and pedal section was a wank-fest of wannabe shredders showing off how many notes they could cram into a bar, not many players really listening to the products. Itās not like you could hear any nuances over the 95db+ din. Anyway, maybe the dwindling number of retailers in attendance has some manufacturers deciding that itās not worth the time and expense.
As a looky-loo, Iām glad I went but Iām in no hurry to return.
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I stopped doing NAMM every year several years ago when we changed our business model. 15 years ago and earlier, we used to sell through Guitar Center, Musicianās Friend, Amazon and several boutique stores. The 2008 financial crisis wiped out a lot of our small store customers and that left us with GC, MF and AMZN. After a couple of years selling through those platforms, we found that we were not making any $. I call revenues on those platforms āprofitless revenuesā. They take so much of a cut off of what they pay you on your invoices that you end up essentially operating at break even. At best, it can be seen as marketing outreach. When we decided to stop selling through anyone else in the U.S. in 2010 or so and convert everything to our own online store, things turned around for us. But that also meant we didnāt need to go to NAMM anymore. We didnāt have any store customers to come through the booth and our relationships with our international distributors has been going on so long they donāt even come to NAMM. That part of the business has been on autopilot for more than 10 years now too. Out of all the countries we do business in, we only had one store from Thailand show up to NAMM (and they are a small customer for us). So, the business has evolved a lot for our company and many others. Those that have not made the transition struggle along (Iām not going to mention names but I know a lot of folks in this business who still sell through stores and big box in the U.S. and make no money - heck just look at the listing that Fender did approximately 10 years or so ago to try to go public and ultimately couldnāt raise any money - their S-1 specifically pointed out the challenging business environment because they were so dependent on one major retailer). Those that made the transition are likely doing better as per my own experience. When I do NAMM now, which is maybe once in every 3rd year, it mostly is just to visit with the artists who use our products. It is a social event - not business.
In terms of the show itself, I remember once going to summer NAMM in Nashville and running into one of our artists (Guthrie Trapp) whoās playing I really enjoy. I asked him if we could sit down in a booth and jam one of his originals. He said, āno, this is the least musical environment to play guitar inā. I think that comment really sums up the NAMM experience. I didnāt pick up one guitar this trip. I didnāt try any piece of gear at all. I didnāt see anything at all of interest. And Iām a gear junky (just look at my Reverb listings). Didnāt bring anything home with me this year and I specifically budgeted for one new guitar. You are correct that the old hair metal crowd from from L.A. in the 80ās squeeze in to their old leather pants and show up at NAMM for the wank fest that it is - it has been that from the 80s and that never changed. We all just look old, overweight and silly in our 1980s styled rock clothing. And I was there on Sunset Strip in the 80s - so guilty as charged but I did buy some new clothes along the way. If you want good guitar playing, go to Summer NAMM in Nashville. Thatās what I do. Guitar players at NAMM there are great, you are right there off of Broadway so you could catch great guitar music in any of the 20 or so live entertainment venues, and the after parties that I have gone to there are usually just jam sessions at a studio nearby with good food. My kind of hang.
Iām happy to share my response but in fact, you already answered your own question about why I chose not to have a booth this year. After 20 plus years in this business, the reasons I shared are the same as what you observed in only 1 visit. Iām a little slow and it just took me longer to arrive at the same conclusion as you Pete.
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As I expected and itās too bad. Glad to hear that you and your beautiful, hand crafted products have found a way to make a living in a world of big-box retail and cheap import products. Itās a truly strange time to be a human.