visiting the Guitar Summit 2022

On Saturday Sept. 10th, 2002, Rockstar Studios visited the Guitar Summit in Mannheim.

Here's a summary of impressions gathered together during the visit.

Test Area

Gone straight down the basement, where a huge test area with several dozen of amps for guitar and bass were available for the visitors to be tested. Screaming sound of guitars and thundering basses were pretty clear audible... oh my poor audio engineer ears...

Cort

Had a relatively quick look at Cort Guitars.

They were presenting a lot of guitars, but honestly I did not see anything exciting... possibly my head was still full of the loudness from the basement...

Aguilar

Moving on (I wanted to get to Vox) I stuck at Aguilar.

I really like this company, and I had the chance to have a look at their new amps.

Nice and honest machines, they do definitely the job... and are not so heavy ;-) at least the heads.

VOX

Finally at VOX

You guys are impressive.

I had the chance to talk quite long with the VOX people, they introduced my to the MV50 series.

An amazing amplifier, 50 Watt of tube-similar power, weighting just half a Kg.

They say, connecting this amp to a 2x12 box will tear your walls down.

It comes in 4 flavors, from classic clean to high end crunch.

And it can be combined into your own pedal board, as main or spare amp.

Folks: get your chance to test one!

In my opinion this nutube technology is really interesting and can be really a solution for live or studio applications. Just test it.

Thank you VOX!

But... Next time sell your gear at the fair. I would have been a customer. For sure! See Nobels :-)

Nobels

Loads of guitars and basses behind me... I reached Nobels.

This is in my opinion one of the best German company for pedal effects.

I always wanted to be a proud owner of a Nobels Overdrive.

And honestly: this was the most intensive and at the same time funniest talk I had at the Summit. Crazy Nobels guys :-) !!!

They introduced me to the new pedals: the ODR-1 natural overdrive and the ODR-mini.

They took their time explaining me each and every detail about these pedals, assisting me in testing and checking. Their knowledge and (yes!) patience with me was immense. Thank you for everything!

And then it happened... Ok they reached their goal (so to say).

I could not decide between the two pedals. So what would you do in this situation?

Yes, exactly: you buy both

And that's what I did !!!

Again: thank you guys! You're amazing!

Rodriguez

Folks! If you have the chance test a Rodriguez guitar! It will flash your mind!

I had the chance, and it is a blast.

I could talk intensively together with Manuel himself!

And he gave me an impressive view about the history, the philosophy and the vision of the company.

Don't be scared. They have guitars for all the segments, from 300 Eur to 20K :-)

Again: check them out!

It was the most pleasant talk I had.

Thank you Manuel!

Conclusion

I came to the Summit (I admit: my first time) full of expectations, having been visiting Musikmesse a few times.

I found a somehow pleasant atmosphere, but I missed the WOW effect.

A contained mood, not really spreading happiness.

I mean: we create music, we thrill feelings, we agitate people.

This was not the case at the Summit.

Tons and loads of guitars. Yes that's true.

But no show feeling at the fair.

Few chances to test instruments and gear (besides some stands with headphone and the very loud basement rooms).

The overall silence had anyway a very positive aspect: you could concentrate in talking and exchanging with the guys at the stands without yelling and shouting.

Another aspect: very low presentation of instruments and gear for the budget.

I saw guitars with exploding prices. I understand that there were a lot of guitar builder, master builder, handcrafted guitars. But the audience and the visitor is not only the high money maker of this planet.

A fair should also consider the interested persons and give them the chance to find out a way to get into this wonderful world called music and arts, on a budget. And then show them the way to get better and better. Eventually affording more expensive workhorses over time. Here: creating a customer relationship and customer loyalty.

And: if you have an absolute game changer, why do you not sell it directly at the fair? I mean: we're full of testosterone after your presentation of your product, and you tell me I cannot buy it directly? Wow...

I think I'll come back next year and check it out again.

Be prepared: I'll talk to you!

Matteo

Rockstar Studios

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