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One of the best parts about attending conventions and trade shows is filling those free shopping bags full of free booth goodies. You know, those promotional items with the exhibitor’’s logo printed on it.

Well this year’’s NAMM show exhibitors had a wide range of freebies for the taking. Of course there were plenty of pens, matches, and keychains. That stuff usually ends up in a junk drawer or glove box. And there were also industry-appropriate items like guitar picks. But the best freebies are when the exhibitor gives away the actual product they are promoting. And if that product is earplugs, it’’s a very inexpensive and effective way to advertise.

That was the case with Mack’’s booth. Mack’’s Earplugs was giving away three of their best products and I took one of each. I”ll probably never actually use a branded keychain, but I will definitely use some free earplugs. So I was excited to try them out.

I can”t remember actually ever buying any earplugs. It always seems that someone gives me a pair or I just grab some out of a box. But after trying these, I will now be purchasing Mack’’s to throw in my toolbag.

As I mentioned, there were three different types of earplugs that Mack’’s was giving away. The first type I tried was Mack’’s Ultra SafeSound Soft Foam Earplugs. These were packaged in a simple square plastic bag and looked like typical foam earplugs. The package claimed a noise reduction rating of 32 decibels. After opening the package, I immediately noticed these “foam” earplugs were different than most. They definitely felt different as I rolled them in preperation to put into my ears. Once I place the earplugs in my ear canal, they slowly expanded to create a solid, yet comfortable seal. It is common to have to frequently adjust this type of simple foam earplugs, but these Mack’’s stayed in place and maintained a seal without any irritation or adjustment. I was already sold, but still had two more types to try.

The second type I tried were the Pillow Soft Earplugs. The box contained 2 pair and claimed to be “#1 Selling” as well as “Snore Proof” and “Water Proof”. The noise reduction rating for these were 22 decibels. Unlike common foam earplugs, these looked and felt just like a plug of silly putty. The directions on the box said to roll the plug into a ball and place the plug over the ear opening and flatten to form an airtight seal. It felt a little awkward flattening the ball of putty over my ear openings. I was very careful not to push the putty into my ear canal. I did take quite a bit of molding to create a tight seal, but once the plug was in place it did not move at all.

I didn”t give these Pillow Soft Earplugs a water test, but I could see how they might be useful in the pool. But other than in possibly a water-proofing situation, I can”t see any advantage over the simpler Ultra SafeSound Soft Foam Earplugs.

The third type of Mack’’s I tried was their High Fidelity Hear Plugs. These were the “high-end” type earplugs with a removable cord that can connect the two plugs and you can hang around your neck or tie onto a credential lanyard. They were packaged in a hard plastic carrying/storage case. These Hear Plugs claimed only 12 decibels of noise reduction, but they were very simple to insert and kept a solid seal. I could see using these to take the edge of the high end at a concert or to just reduce the ambient noise while still being able to communicate with others. And the removable cord does come in handy in lots of situations.

Overall, I was very glad I happend upon the Mack’’s booth and even more glad I snagged these earplug samples. Of the three types I tried, I really preferred the simple Soft Foam Earplugs. Although I don”t know what any of these models retail for, I have no doubt the foam ones are the cheapest. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these Mack’’s Ultra Safe Sound Soft Foam Earplugs the next time I”m at a music store. I highly recommend getting some for your bag too.

Have you ever used Mack’’s Earplugs? What kind of earplugs are your favorite? What is the best freebie you”ve ever gotten at a trade show? Leave a comment and let me know.

Since the Summer NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show moved back to my home town of Nashville this year, I decided to check it out and see all the newest gear in the world of MI (Musical Instrument) retailers.

With most of my recent projects being more in the pro audio and installation side of the music industry, it had been a while since I had spent any time just browsing in a music store.

When I was a young lad with dreams of rock stardom, I would spend every saturday in one of the local music stores. My mom would drop me off and go do her shopping while I spent hours and hours playing with all the newest keyboards and guitars.

I”ve long since given up on being a rock star, but I do still like playing with all the toys. And the NAMM show is like the worlds biggest music store. So I had a lot of fun walking through.

If you”ve never been to a NAMM show, it’’s just like any busy music store x100. Drums here, guitars there, more drums over there. “Step right up and see the latest newest coolest guitar string winders. Or how about these slick new guitar strap pick holders?” And it sounds like a 500-piece orchestra tuning before the start of a symphony, except they never quite get to that A above middle C.

Now I”m only good for about two hours at any convention or trade show. And NAMM was no exception. But it was neat to see some new stuff. And not once did I hear a butchered version of Stairway To Heaven.

It helps to have a certain type of product you”re looking for when walking though the endless maze of booths. My focus was on tech stuff…cables, connectors, tools, etc. When it came to cables, there were plenty to look at. And if you”re an exibitor at one of these massive trade shows you”d better have a darn good gimmick because after a while unless that cable could pull a locamotive or was wrapped around a bikini-clad booth babe, I wasn”t going to stop and look. There was just too much to see.

The common theme for connectors at this year’’s show seemed to be “fix-it-in-a-hurry” solderless connectors for all those times a forklift runs over you guitar cable or rips the connector out of the jack. Most everything was crimp-type connections and I even saw one 1/4″ connector that was held together with a magnet!

I”ve got nothing against crimped connections. In fact a well-crimped connector is sonically and mechanically more sound than a soldered connector. When done properly, crimping actually fuses the two surfaces together at the molecular level.

All that being said, I could still fire up a butane soldering iron and repair a cable faster than anyone could prep and crimp a connector. And I wouldn”t think twice about my soldered connection, but any of those crimp connectors I saw at the show would make me nervous if a live performance or recording was dependant on it.

Granted I”ve mad a living for years with my soldering skills, but if you”re not good with a soldering iron how proficient are you going to be at properly crimping a connector?

If you take the time and practice your crimps and work at doing it right, then I have no problem with anyone using crimped connectors. Buy you”ve got to use quality connectors and quality tools. Just as with soldering, if you use cheap connectors or don”t have the skills then you”re always going to have problems with your connections. And usually at the worst possible time.

So invest some time in your skills, some money in your tools, and do the job right. You won”t ever have to wonder “will it work?”.

Aside from the tech products, I also looked for studio-related products such as acoustic panels, bass traps, cue systems, etc. There were some nice recorders and outboard gear as well as all the latest software and plugins, but I couldn”t find any acoustic products. I did see a lot of stage equipment like snakes, mic stand attachments, and other performance-related gear.

So if you have the chance to go to a future NAMM show, it’’s probably worth walking through. It can be a great networking opportunity. And the exibitors are usually willing to give great deals on demo equipment if you find something you really like. But don”t expect to find much for your studio. The NAMM show is geared more toward the performing musician.

Have you ever been to a NAMM show or did you go this year? Reply and tell me what you thought of it. What type of products were you looking for?