Home > Around Town > Sweetwater Presents GearFest ’09

Sweetwater Presents GearFest ’09

Annual event features loads of guests, workshops, and fantastic deals on music gear and instruments

By Jim Fester

Fort Wayne Reader

2009-06-18


Sweetwater turns 30 this year, and to celebrate the music instrument and professional audio retailer presents GearFest ‘09, an indoor/outdoor festival featuring music, musicians, food, fun, and prizes.

This year's expo is bigger than ever, now expanded with two days full of dozens of workshops and seminars, scores of manufacturer exhibits, and special surprises. Part trade show, part entertainment event, part flea market, and part musicians’ toyland, GearFest offers something for everyone.

GearFest happens Friday, June 26th from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 27th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 5501 US Hwy 30 W. GearFest is free and open to the public. To pre-register online, visit www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest2009. For more information, call (260) 432-8176.

Last year, over 4,000 people took in GearFest's workshops, exhibits, and performances, and this year's expanded two-day event will provide even more opportunities for music lovers to participate in the festivities.

A full slate of seminars is scheduled to help musicians improve their performing and recording skills. This year's feature events include the Producer Forum, an all-star panel of producers in a wide-ranging discussion of recording topics, the story behind legendary Gretsch Guitars with Fred Gretsch and esteemed writer and producer Joe Carducci, and a special presentation by world-renowned acoustics expert Russ Berger on home studio acoustics. New York City producer and engineer Fab Dupont will also present a workshop on mixing.

GearFest will include more than 40 workshops and seminars on recording techniques and live sound, music creation with computers, recording studio acoustics, songwriting, and electronic instruments. Renowned guitar wizards Greg Koch and Nick Catanese and more than a dozen other nationally-known performing artists, will take the stage to perform on the latest new guitars, keyboards, and electronic drums. Plus, the amazing Guitar Gallery tent will feature hundreds of guitars and basses on display.

Local musicians will enjoy a free guitar setup and restringing service and a musicians’ flea market, where used equipment can be bought, sold, or traded. To pre-register to sell equipment at the flea market, call (260) 432-8176.

More than 150 manufacturers of musical instruments, music technology, and audio equipment will be on hand to give musicians a look at the latest gear. Some manufacturers will be providing sneak previews of new products that won’t be announced until the National Association of Music Merchants Summer Tradeshow later this summer.

Other attractions will include hourly giveaway drawings for thousands of dollars of equipment and instruments, plus tours of Sweetwater’s world-class recording studios and new headquarters. In addition, Sweetwater will be offering once-in-a-lifetime sale pricing on many products.

Once again, GearFest ’09 happens Friday, June 26th from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 27th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 5501 US Hwy 30 W. GearFest is free and open to the public. To pre-register online, visit www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest2009. For more information, call (260) 432-8176.

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