We’re back from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Conference 2019, and here’s our initial thoughts…

Celebrating it’s 110th Anniversary, Ludwig is going in the direction of what worked well in the past, while still keeping things fresh and new. The’ve definitely made some changes. They are still selling the most affordable USA kits by far. It’s back to the basics, but with focus on craftsmanship. It seemed like it was the busiest booth at NAMM. There’s a young energy to the company, with an exciting feel.

The new Ludwig Jazz Festival Snare Drums are slick. Modern classic 3-ply Mahogany. Re-issue of the ’64 line – one of the most famous drums ever released.

Inde and Headhunter were sleeper companies to keep an eye on. Boutique drum shell company Nordic Shells based out of Minneapolis is another up and comer along with Tackle out there in Minnesota.

The new Mienl Foundry Reserve cymbals are killer, and sound/look very much like the Constantinople line from Zildjian. They are another dry and flashy addition to the epic Turkish-made Byzance line. Their branding on these is really cool. We have a complete set of these on order, and expect to be the only dealer in Oregon with these cymbals. PM or email us if you want to be called as soon as these come in  – our forecast is that they sell out quickly and will be scarce throughout most of 2019.

The Zildjian Cluster Crashes sounded very cool; they felt like a nice compliment to the K Sweet Line introduced last year at NAMM. Zildjian also broke into a new market, as they released professional in-ear monitors. They have 2 drivers in each side, while most in-ears at this price point only have 1.

Many of the “Heavy Hitter” Booths (DW, LP, Meinl) had a much different or pared-down vibe this year. There were two main topics of discussion among drummers in attendance #1) The new SABIAN logo and #2) the new Mapex MAATS tom mount… All we can say is both may take some time to get used to.

Most folks either came out with new finishes for old gear or like Sonor and the Jo Jo Meyer pedal, they just tweaked an old product.

We also liked another kick pedal. The Yamaha FP9 Series pedal is hot. Extremely smooth with tons of conveniently located adjustments. In our opinion, it’s the current pedal to beat. The release of the Yamaha lightweight hardware is official: super light while still remaining solid. Comes with individual cases for each piece, as well as a durable case for everything. For us, Yamaha made the biggest impression.

One of the take-away’s from this year’s NAMM is the changing nature of some of the most sonic woods we know and love. Bubinga has become increasingly endangered, and many companies are phasing it out. Take Tama for example – the new 2019 kit lineup only had Bubinga in their premier Star line, while they’ve gone deep in their other wood lineups with Spruce, Walnut, and Kapur – in addition to the meat & potatoes of  the drum industry: Maple and Birch.

Translation? If you see a Bubinga kit, especially anything under about $4000 in your local music store, BUY IT! We do have some of the last Tama Birch Bubinga kits on order. These kits are going to be very difficult to get down the line. We also saw a lot of Oak thanks to Yamaha, and in celebration of it’s 110th anniversary, Ludwig had a lot of killer sounding Mahogany kits.

But, it isn’t just drum set construction that is adapting to a changing environment, it’s congas too. Ninety-Five percent of congas are made in Thailand from a wood that is known by various names such as Thai Oak, Asian Oak, Para wood, Rubber wood, and it’s scientific name hevea brasiliensis.  It’s been very prevalent in Thailand because after its effective life as a latex bearing tree is over, it is considered surplus. That’s why there was so much of it for congas and bongos… even furniture, cutting boards, and beyond. Well, the word on the street is that the latex producers in Thailand are switching to palm oil production, and this means a scarcity of material for congas.

Our take away? It’s GOOD NEWS! We’ve already seen Durian used in Gon Bops congas, and now this year LP has introduced congas in Pine, Ash, Oak, and even Mango. This means news sonic possibilities for drummers, with more diversity in finishes and textures. Check out the new Pedrito Martinez deep cut Mango congas here.

And speaking of woods and conga designs, we were lucky to run into Jesus Diaz at the Pearl booth to check out his new signature congas. The cool thing? They have a hole near the bottom that lets the sound out. You know how your congas used to sound like a basketball if they weren’t tipped at an angle or up on a stand?? Those days are OVER! 

Lot’s of great stuff will be streaming in this Spring over here at Rhythm Traders. Shoot us a message if you’d like us to special order something or put you at the top of our call list when some of these suckers come in!! Questions? Comments? send us an email at info@rhythmtraders.com