I had a great time at Guitar Summit in Mannheim this year. It was lovely to catch up with old friends and meet so many new people who share the same love for guitars and amps. What made this year especially enjoyable for me was having my friend and now collaborator Krum Yankov alongside me. For the first time, N-audio had a stronger team at the show, and it felt great to share the experience and have his support. Krum also gave a fantastic presentation during the Summit, which was another highlight for me.
It was an honour to finally meet Dave Friedman and Steve Fryette in person and have time for a good, long chat. After so many years of working on guitar equipment myself, I really enjoyed the chance to talk with them and exchange ideas.
Meeting Fredrik Åkesson from Opeth was something I was particularly excited about! We got to talk about amps, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Such a great guy, friendly and easy to talk to. That meeting alone would have made the trip worthwhile.
It was also a pleasure to see Martin ‘Ace’ Kent from Skunk Anansie, Jack Gardiner, Mattias IA Eklundh, Carsten Stepanowicz, Jon Symons, Thomas Blug, Mario from TWS, Glenn Fricker, Dominik Hellmuth, Baskim Zuta, Bo from EBS, Gundy Keller, Erick Coleman from StewMac and many others! Between catching up with friends and getting into conversations with people I’d just met, there was hardly a quiet moment.
Away from the show, I spent a lovely evening at a German restaurant with my friend Emo from Djerjinski Guitars and other friends. A few hours of good food, good company and conversation were a great way to end a busy day.
Here are a few photos from my time in Mannheim.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the N-audio booth, tried the switchers, asked questions, interviewed me for their YouTube channels, or just came over to say hello. It’s always a pleasure to meet the people who use my equipment and hear about their setups in person. I came home with plenty of good memories and a few new friendships, and I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone again.
Niki Hristov