Well, I can honestly say that I have not been in a Walmart in over ten years, probably more than 15 years. But I have seen children's toy guitars at Home Depot. Big Box margeting is so annoying when one is trying to find quality and service.
I've been doing some research on the web on custom EBG builders. I was really surprised at how many are out there. It would seem that the emergence of the internet has made getting a toe into the business easier. I know not all of these guys are accomplished builders, and if you took a poll on how many actually make a living doing it, probably it wouldn't be that many.
It was a lot different back when you started out Ken. I remember seeing some full page magazine adds in Guitar Player (I don't think Bass Player existed) and I know it must have been a real battle getting the word out about your instruments then. These days with the internet, NAMM is less relevant. Here in Atlanta we finally have Jim Rubio's Bass Gallery, and he is keen to keep an eye out for emerging talent and generally has a good number of basses by recognized individual makers including you. So Atlanta is lucky in that Jim is our "NAMM".
I really don't blame you for skipping NAMM. I do think smaller trade shows would be interesting that would feature authentic individual custom maker's instruments. That would be a pleasure. I would hate to be Jim Rubio and have to go through what you describe just to see the latest Ken Smiths, Jens Ritters, Eshenbaughs, etc. It might be interesting to see what some of these other makers think of NAMM. The American market is so important that most of them feel obliged to participate, but I can't help but thinking that many of them would feel the same as you do and would prefer a trade show that showcased the custom made basses.
There are some makers that are so disenchanted with the dealership/distributor situation that they only deal directly with customers. That is, to me, not the best situation for either the maker or the customer. At some point it is necessary for a customer to be able to compare. But if you go to GC to compare, you are comparing one company's Asian mass production method to another's. Not really much to compare. There was a time when the American factory made bass was not so different from the way your basses are made. True, there was not always a strong central figure or "founder" always there matching the wood and doing the final set-up and inspection, but in the days when Roger Rossmeisl worked for Rickenbacker, you had a sense that those instruments were being built to a higher standard. More than the Asian manufacture, it is the corporatizing of everything that has resulted in the current situation. If you aren't going to NAMM, that says a lot about what is there.
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