That electric buzz during a live show? That’s a feature, not a bug. A gritty chord that stretches on and on after a pick leaves the strings? It’s an intentional sound effect cooked up by a clever engineer’s effects pedals, and it comes in many flavors. After Rob Gray attended the National Association of Music Makers (NAMM) expo in Anaheim where he saw thousands of musicians browse hundreds of booths in search of the perfect sound, Gray knew he wanted to give Salt Lake’s music merchants a similar, if smaller, experience.
The first Salt Lake Association of Music Merchants Expo drew hundreds of music-making enthusiasts to Super Top Secret’s event space from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 18. SLAMM offered everyone a chance to meet the people behind the sound. People like Jordan Gale from Highwind or Shea Sterner and Mark Wursten from Transmutation Devices, who build a variety of effects pedals that modify an electric guitar’s sound. Or people like Justin Pearce from Joe’s Guitars and String Kings, who’s building guitars with custom shapes and scale lengths. Salt Lake’s music-maker scene operates offstage, and it provides local musicians with the precision-engineered tools they need to create the sounds they want. And when it’s time to strum a chord, Salt Lake’s Black Harbor Sound will carry that note with alloys perfected for metallic mayhem and optimized for minimal fret wear.
SLAMM drew enough people and generated enough interest that Gray intends to return next year, and he hopes to expand with more makers and more guests. For now, it sounds like Salt Lake’s music engineers and makers are hard at work crafting community with as much care as they put into their instruments and effects pedals.
Photo: John Barkiple
(L–R) Jerry Hoganson, Juvy Gray and Samantha Gray keep it in the family as they handle merch and front-end support for Rob Gray’s SLAMM.
(L–R) Rob and Alysse Gray took inspiration from NAMM—or National Association of Music Merchants— when they organized the first gathering of Salt Lake Association of Music Merchants, or SLAMM. Rob Gray saw that local musicians were getting a lot of attention, so he wanted to shine a light on Salt Lake’s under-recognized makers building performance-worthy gear.
(L–R) Randy Perea and Mireya Medina take a look at Rob Gray’s pointy guitars. After playing, what does Perea like? “The color, of course.” Gray builds multi-scale and extended-range seven- and eight-stringed guitars, and he likes ’em colorful and pointy.
(L-R) Jordan Gale, Chadwick Smith and Tamyra Nielsen from Highwind bring their pedals to market at SLAMM. Gale is a dirt junkie who loves distorted sound, and his fuzzes and overdrives are designed for anyone with high-gain metal tastes.
Effects pedals by Highwind.
(L–R) Brad Burnell and Mike Perez from DFX focus on custom music electronics, which they design, build and repair
“The Voices” effects pedal by DFX.
(L–R) DFX’s Brad Burnell points out features of the “F.M. Fuzz” effects pedal while Tyler Gipson takes it for a spin. Gipson plays in Esther Lane and has a solo project called Weasel Fever that’s pure metal.
(L–R) Lizzy Tanner, Cory Jensen and Drew Ehrgott bring Black Harbor’s strings to SLAMM. Jensen, a serial entrepreneur, designs his strings for better action at the pickups, and his custom blend of alloys prevents the additional fret wear that could occur. Find out more @blackharborsound.
(L–R) Ben Gabrielsen and Alec Stanczyk step outside to take a break from SLAMM’s heady buzz. Stanczyk bought Black Harbor strings, which he’ll use when he plays in his band, Hemwick, up in Ogden.
(L–R) Shea Sterner (second from right) and Mark Wursten (right) from Transmutation Devices brought a large selection of effects pedals to SLAMM. Their “Candlelight” pedal is similar to a “Range Master,” but it distorts more than just treble. They offer many pedal flavors in boosts, overdrives, fuzzes, distortions, delays and pre-amps. And with maker flair, they also etch their own boxes and operate from Sterner’s basement and Wursten’s kitchen.
A “Candlelight” effects pedal by Transmutation Devices
School of Rock’s Colton Bailey “can play anything, especially classic rock,” his dad, School of Rock owner Lamont Bailey, said.
A pair of effects pedals by Transmutation Devices.
(L–R) Justin and Daphne Pearce from String Kings and Joe’s Guitars filled their corner of SLAMM with beautiful guitars. Justin’s String Kings is a production line with a two-to-three-week lead time for manufacture, and his Joe’s Guitars line is fully customizable with a three-to-six-month lead time.
Mojave Jive’s Christian Phelps demos a String Kings SKG T-Bone. When he’s not playing in Mojave Jive, Phelps is helping to launch Summit Studios, which is just now opening.
This blue guitar from Joe’s Guitars at center has a 24-inch scale length, inspired by Kurt Cobain, who preferred to play this style of guitar tuned down.
(L–R) Marvin Jordan has his eye on Joe’s Guitars. He’s played on and off for 12 years, but he has been serious about playing for the last two years. With an Ibanez Destroyer at hand, he thinks his next guitar should be a Telecaster.
KSM Music’s Repair Technician, David Kirkham (right) builds guitars on the side for his Malyse Intende company. He refinishes, burns and airbrushes 100-percent custom guitars to order
Assistant Manager Courtney Morgan represents KSM Music from Logan, Utah. She’s holding her personal guitar that was customized by her KSM colleague, David Kirkham.
(L–R) Dylan and Rick Kreifeldt from ideaBench build custom pedalboards with a vintage–muscle car aesthetic. Rick saw what Rob Gray was doing with SLAMM on Facebook, so he decided to participate. He started ideaBench two years ago, after 21 years at Harmon Kardon as an engineer.
A fully-oaded pedalboard by ideaBench.
An open pedalboard by ideaBench.
SLAMM organizer Rob Gray and KRCL DJ Cody D. talk guitars at Gray’s booth. Cody D. co–hosts KRCL’s metal show, Maximum Distortion, Wednesdays from 10:30 p.m.–1 a.m. with John Forgach. Cody D. owns guitars, but he’s a drummer at heart
(L–R) Erin Stout, Trinity Perry, James Perry and Lucian Perry relax on Super Top Secret’s skate ramp during SLAMM’s inaugural event. James likes what he sees, but he would like to see more modular synths next year. Trinity sings for the Mona Lizards.
