My beautiful fiance, Lauren, and I drove up to Fort Wayne today to see just what GearFest 2012 at SweetWater was all about. I don’t think they could have picked a more appropriate name. This place was gear crazy. A small town of tents were erected so that companies from all over could show off the latest and greatest of modern audio gadgets. Oh, and don’t let me forget to mention the deals. There were all sorts of crazy sales going on! They were selling SM57’s for $57!!! That’s just ridiculous. I have to mention that Sweetwater is an exceptionally good host. They provided air-conditioned tents, free water, and they didn’t even mark up the food prices at the cafeteria. There are a lot of companies out there that would not think twice about trying to make an butt-load of money just by capitalizing on the basic needs of their customers. Hats off to Sweetwater for putting their customers needs first.
While I was there I managed to procure a few much-needed items for my mobile recording studio at incredibly low prices. I purchased a new 16-track digital mixer along with a sweet and sturdy road case that will protect the mixer while also providing me with plenty of storage space and functionality. I couldn’t be more pleased with my purchases. Oh, and I think I made a good impression with the head of global marketing for Rode Microphones! An excellent contact to have… especially going into this new mobile production that I am putting together.