What others might see as a boom - the seemingly endless line of dealers showcasing instruments - Gruhn sees as two trains on a collision course. There is great love for the product and great skepticism. Walking through NAMM with Gruhn is like shadowing Bill Belichick at the NFL Scouting Combine. The 71-year-old Nashville dealer has sold guitars to Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift. Standing in the center of the biggest, six-string candy store in the United States, you can almost believe all is well within the guitar world.Įxcept if, like George Gruhn, you know better. But when the doors open at the Anaheim Convention Center, people stream in to scour rows of Fenders, Les Pauls and the oddball, custom-built creations such as the 5-foot-4-inch mermaid guitar crafted of 15 kinds of wood.
The convention couldn’t sound less rock ‘n’ roll - the National Association of Music Merchants Show.
