Winter NAMM 2004 Brings Out the Best

BUENA PARK, CA (January 30, 2004) — Yamaha Corporation of America joined with other manufacturers to bring out their best products and performances at Winter NAMM 2004 in Anaheim, California, strengthening the comeback of the music products industry and affirming the show theme of "Believe in Music."

"Winter NAMM is a strong indicator of future success, and based on this year's show it's clear that our new products, new programs and artistic partnerships are meeting the ambitious expectations we set," said Terry Lewis, senior vice president, Music Marketing Group, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Nothing is more gratifying than to see retailers get excited about our new offerings, and to receive top honors from the industry press."

Those honors included the trade publication Musical Merchandise Review's recognition of Yamaha as Best Band & Orchestra Line of the Year for 2003, the Clavinova as Home Digital Piano Line of the Year, the Yamaha P Series as Professional Digital Piano Line of the Year and the Disklavier Series as overall Product of the Year. In addition, Music and Sound Retailer magazine chose the Yamaha AES620 as Best New Guitar, and named the MG32/14FX Best New Mixer/Console.

Top musical artists participated in special events during Winter NAMM. On Saturday and Sunday, Yamaha Guitars hosted a signing with Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Frank Gambale, Billy Sheehan, Lee Ritenour, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Mazur of Our Lady Peace, plus members of Orgy, Spineshank, Twisted Method and others. Yamaha Guitars also co-sponsored the Acoustic Café showcase on Friday with an appearance by Brazilian virtuoso Sandro Albert.

Top musical artists participated in special events during Winter NAMM. On Saturday and Sunday, Yamaha Guitars hosted a signing with Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Frank Gambale, Billy Sheehan, Lee Ritenour, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Mazur of Our Lady Peace, plus members of Orgy, Spineshank, Twisted Method and others. Yamaha Guitars also co-sponsored the Acoustic Café showcase on Friday with an appearance by Brazilian virtuoso Sandro Albert.

Friday and Saturday afternoons found young musicians from the Yamaha Junior Original Concert program offering live performances of their own original compositions in a pair of concerts emceed by noted artist and Yamaha piano division specialist Linda Martinez.

On Saturday evening, Yamaha Drums presented the "Annual Legendary Groove Night 5" concert at Santa Ana's Galaxy Theater. Hosted by Rick Marotta and Yamaha's Joe Testa, the evening showcased a roster of international and American drummers that included Akira Jimbo, Jimmy Chamberlin, Peter Erskine, Anton Fig, Dave Weckl and special guests Al Foster, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes and Earl Palmer.

This year's Groove Night held special significance as a celebration of the contributions of Yamaha Drums' own legend – Takahashi –Hagi– Hagiwara, who will retire in early 2004 from a career that has spanned more than 40 years of significant design innovations, new products and important artist signings. Many of the Groove Night participants signed autographs in the Yamaha booth the following day.

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest bus, recently refurbished with all new Yamaha instruments and professional audio products, was on display outside the Marriott. The Bacon Brothers gave a special performance outside the bus on Thursday evening, after which Kevin and his brother Michael were treated to a special tour of the Yamaha booth, where they were given an overview of new Yamaha products. Kevin was particularly wowed by the new DTXPRESS electronic drum kits on display there.

Visitors were able to view new products from the Piano, Pro Audio & Combo, and Band & Orchestral divisions at the Yamaha booth. The Piano Division gave NAMM show attendees a preview of its newest innovation – a music-making and wellness program called "The Clavinova Connection." Yamaha VIP dealers were treated to a special performance by newly signed piano artist Taylor Eigsti.

"The Clavinova Connection" features a totally new and revolutionary approach to playing a musical instrument. Designed for adult users, it promises to change the way that people make music, transforming it into a total life-enhancing experience. In Anaheim, Yamaha offered interactive demonstrations of the program.

The Clavinova Connection uses the Clavinova digital piano, an ingenious overlay mat to simplify the control panel, and a scientifically designed program of music and wellness exercises to unlock the vast wellness benefits of piano playing for adults of any age or skill level. Members of a session group use Yamaha Clavinovas, all of which are linked to another Clavinova used by the group facilitator; in a technological breakthrough, the facilitator can activate Clavinova's new SmartLIGHTS™ technology and transmit lighted notes from the facilitator unit directly to each student unit in the classroom.

"My feeling is that the Clavinova Connection is going to open up a whole new avenue to expose music to individuals who have always wanted to play but never took the time or put forth the effort to do so," says owner Brian Henderson of Henderson Music in Covington, KY, who took part in one of the demonstrations.

Digital Musical Instruments showcased the O.N.E. System, a computer recording system using the mLAN protocol from Yamaha and its licensees. Also drawing interest were the i88X Interface and the 01X mLAN Digital Mixing Studio, which are available either separately or as components of the O.N.E. System. Yamaha Accessory Products showcased a revamped clothing line, available at www.yamahagear.com.

Electronic kits were the highlight of the Yamaha Drum exhibit, with the DTXTREME IIS, DTXPRESS III and DTXPRESS III Special Edition making their NAMM debuts. Each of the new models features physical and electronic improvements on its original edition, with an emphasis on improved sound, natural feel and user-friendliness.

Yamaha Guitars unveiled the Lotus Series handcrafted line, with 15 models from entry to luxury level that will be released throughout 2004. Yamaha also expanded on the award-winning AES Series with the Winter NAMM introduction of three new models, developed in conjunction with Yamaha Guitar Development: the AES420, AES720 and AES920 electrics.

The Portable Keyboard division debuted significant upgrades to the Yamaha PSR line with the PSR1500 and PSR3000 – the first arranger workstations to offer USB "To Device" connections that will allow users to connect peripheral devices to their keyboards, and broadband 10Base-T, which facilitates direct connection to the Internet and downloadable content. Also drawing a large amount of attention was Yamaha's Digital Music Notebook, a multimedia platform offering digital delivery of sheet music and a wide selection of music tools for playback and synchronization.

Yamaha Professional Audio introduced the new BR Series loudspeakers, plus Version Two (V2) software and five add-on effects packages for the 02R96 digital mixing console. Compatible for both Mac OS X and Windows 2000/XP platforms, both V2 and the effects packages represent significant upgrades for the preconfigured internal and Studio Manager software of the 02R96.

The Band & Orchestral Division expanded on its popular Xeno line with the addition of Xeno orchestral trombones, designed with the assistance of Peter Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Trumpeter Bobby Shew made daily booth appearances to discuss the new YTR-8310Z, which he helped design. Yamaha also added to its well-received TP-9000 line of timpani, introducing the Berlin Ratchet locking pedal mechanism.

Perhaps the most popular Band & Orchestral product was the Upright Electric Bass, which improves upon the original design of the most unique electric upright by making it more portable. The bass is shorter in length without sacrificing string length, and the detachable frame is smaller and more compact than the original.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.