AMAC 2014 eased into day 2, not with a whimper but a bang. Delegates attending the morning breakfast session not only got to experience a wonderful acoustic performance by Vince Contarino and were presented with valuable social media information by Tim Martin but additionally, were offered the chance to join a feisty drum circle.
At 10am the trade floor was open and retailers from around Australia had the opportunity to check out the latest music product and services. Australian Musician had a chat with Jacaranda Music’s Greg Cooper about the Kala Ubass, an impressive short form acoustic bass with pickup. The AMI/Musiclink exhibit received good traffic to their range of new Gibsons and Orange and Peavey amps. Cole Clark displayed an array of their new Redwood and Blackwood top acoustics, with blues guitar legend Lloyd Spiegel on hand for demos. Epoch Musical Instruments stand was hard to miss featuring an imposingly beautiful carbon fibre double bass. Galactic Music were promoting their Aguilar, Behringer and Rotosound brands an displayed their range of high quality Stagg cables. Innovative Music proudly displayed a wonderful Carl Martin custom amplifier, hand wired in Spain, as well as a range of Carl Martin pedals and Forte and Kurzweil keyboard technology. First exhibit inside the door is Kawai presenting the new MP7 and MP11 digital pianos, featuring wooden keys no less! A distinctively heavy rock atmosphere overtook the National Audio Systems stand whenever the Blackstar range of amps and pedals were in use. 
Over on the Casio stand, Amiel Warner and Sean Crossan as pop/rockduo Soda provided two vibrants sets of beats, samples and rock rhythms played on the latest Casio synth and DJ range. We’ll bring you more news on gear brands tomorrow including what’s happening on the Roland, Yamaha, National Music and Fender exhibits and much more.
In the session rooms, Jon Hammond ran through the pros and more pros of the latest Hammond organ range then paid a visit to the Electrovoice stand to plug in there too. Lloyd Spiegel put in another hour of blues pickin’ to plug the Cole Clark name and Barry Hunn from Deering Bros spoke banjo business. At 5pm special guest Larry Morton, current NAMM chairman donned his Hal Leonard CEO hat and spoke about the print music business from a global perspective. The show winds down for the day soon as delegates prepare for tonight’s Soiree and Smorgasbord in the AMAC marquee.