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2012 Winter NAMM Show Recap

The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) announced the final registration and exhibitor numbers for the 2012 NAMM Show, the largest and longest-running musical instruments and products trade show in the United States. At show close, NAMM reported 95,709 registered attendees, a six percent increase from last year and representing a new record for the 110-year-old show. International registration also experienced a 15 percent increase from

last year to 11,981. The association previously reported strong exhibitor numbers, with 1,441 exhibitors at this year’s show, including 236 new exhibitors. NAMM has also signed a new 17-year agreement with the Anaheim Convention Center with the stipulation that the Convention Center be expanded to accommodate projected continued growth in the industry as this year's show was almost at full capacity. NAMM estimates that the organization would outgrow the current facility in the next two years.

In response to the new agreement, the Anaheim Convention Center announced that it is expanding its outdoor and special event space by 100,000 square feet. The new multi-use venue area called the Anaheim Convention Center GRAND PLAZA has been strategically planned to provide meeting and event planners and attendees with plenty of open and multi-functional outdoor space that can be used year-round. Development of the Anaheim Convention Center Grand Plaza begins in the spring of 2012 and concludes by the end of the year. Other future developments include addition of a new building on the north side where a parking structure currently resides. The expansion is being funded by hotel tax that has already raised $9 million in revenue in 2011.

Bourns® Pro Audio Product Line continues to gain momentum and establish a strong presence in the industry with the release of several new products including: • PDB241-GNL “No-Load” Guitar

Potentiometer – This guitar potentiometer is used as a tone control and features an open wiper condition at the extreme clockwise end of travel, allowing the potentiometer to drop out of the circuit. By removing the load on the pickup, there is a noticeable increase in brightness at the “full on” setting as the high frequency bleed-off is reduced.

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• PDB241-GTR “Left-Handed” Guitar

Potentiometer — This is a new option for our standard PDB241-GTR guitar potentiometer that features a reverse audio taper specifically for use in left-handed guitars. It is available in knurled and plain shaft configurations and in 250k or 500k resistance values. It is also available in a short bushing version for mounting in pick guards, and in along bushing version for mounting into the guitar body.

• PDB181-GTR “Left-Handed” and “Long Bushing” Mini-Guitar Potentiometers — Two new options available for our standard PDB181-GTR mini-guitar potentiometer were released. The “left-handed” option features a reverse audio taper specifically for use in left-handed guitars. The “long bushing” version is specifically for use in guitars where the potentiometer is mounted through the body.

• PDB183-GTR “Long Bushing” Guitar Potentiometer —

This is a new option for our standard PDB183-GTR guitar potentiometer with push-pull switch and features a long bushing specifically for use in guitars where the potentiometer is mounted through the body. It is available in knurled and plain shaft configurations and in 250k or 500k resistance values.

As our portfolio of guitar potentiometers continues to grow, more customers are switching to Bourns for better quality components. Many of the customers who visited our booth expressed their gratitude for our commitment to quality, service and technical support. Our growing Pro Audio video library has been a valuable technical tool for many customers who are unable find support with our competitors. Our ability to provide technical support is priceless to our customers and gives us an edge over the competition. We were approached by three new resellers who would like to carry the Bourns® Pro Audio product line: Trinity Components located in San Clemente, CA; ESP Company located in Saitama, Japan; and South Pacific Music Distributors located in Auckland, New Zealand. They are all eager to work with Bourns and know about our reputation for quality and reliable components. Sales will look into the possibility of adding them as authorized resellers, further expanding our presence in the industry.

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Major opportunities coming our way: • Seymour Duncan, manufacturer of pick-ups, guitar effect boxes, and guitar

accessories, will offer Bourns the opportunity to quote all the potentiometer business as they reduce their supplier base. The total value is estimated at $1M.

• Avalon Design, manufacturer of sound processing equipment, is offering Bourns the opportunity to quote all of the panel controls currently supplied by Clarostat. Currently, Avalon Design purchases $250k of potentiometers per year with their sales projected to double in 2012

• QSC Audio Products, LLC, a leading manufacturer of power amplifiers, sound processing equipment, and digital signal transport for audio and broadcast studios, is offering Bourns the opportunity to quote sealed panel controls that the competitor is not able to provide. Total value of this opportunity is approximately $300k.

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• George Massenburg Labs (by Manley Laboratories), manufacturer of sound processing equipment for audio and broadcast studios, is offering Bourns the opportunity to quote all of the panel controls currently supplied by Clarostat. Total value of this opportunity is under investigation.

• 2JW Design is a design team composed of engineers, product, and marketing

managers with experience from companies including EAW, Euphonix, HP, Mackie, Microsoft, NSC, Solid State Logic, Sony, and TI. They have been working with The Guitar Center, a $2B online and retail store selling musical instruments and accessories with 219 store locations. 2JW Design is providing each store with speaker switching solutions for their demo rooms including hardware such as their SS08HP and SS16HD. They are using the Bourns® Model SRU1038 shielded SMD power inductors and PEC11 12 mm incremental encoders in their solution for The Guitar Center.

Other notable opportunities include Zon Guitars, Nik Huber Guitars, JJ Guitars Ltd, Guitar Works, Line 6, PMI Audio, Empress Effects, XP Audio, Mellotron Keyboards and Freyette Amplification. Design Kits or samples were given to these companies for evaluation and design work. We expect new opportunities from these companies who are looking to upgrade their components on existing production and new platforms.

Our latest Pro Audio Application Videos were played on a large flat screen TV on a continuous loop. Many people stopped and watched the videos, and took copies that we had available on DVD. Many guitar hobbyists told us that our videos and application notes make it easy to understand changing and upgrading potentiometers in guitars.

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Below are some photos of the booth with product and equipment displayed.

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We had some local area performers back to the Bourns booth to perform and demonstrate equipment with Bourns® components. Some of the performers brought their personal instruments that are loaded with Bourns® components. They are all endorsers of Bourns® Pro Audio components. The guest performers included:

• Anthony Mancini & Drew Allsbrook – Anthony is a session guitarist originally from Buffalo, NY, now residing in LA. Anthony draws inspiration from the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Albert King. Drew is also a session guitarist and bassist. Drew is an all-around musician, producer, sound engineer, and songwriter with his own studio.

• Marvin Sperling & Iain Hersey – A seasoned bassist who has recorded with Ritchie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Keith Emerson (ELP), and other artists. Marvin is also a producer and has his own recording studio. Iain Hersey is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston and a former instructor at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. Iain is a recording artist with five internationally released CDs to his credit.

• Sean Silas & Aaron Ingram – A seasoned guitarist and prolific songwriter, Sean fuses various styles to create his own unique style. He is currently a guitarist with the rock band HOUR:11 and works as a guitar technician at the Fender/Jackson Custom Guitar Shop in Corona. Aaron is also a prolific guitarist with the band HOUR:11. Together with Sean, the duo creates harmonic guitar riffs that truly define the band.

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• Magnus Tveiten – Back for a second year, Magnus hails from Blyke, Norway, and travels with Aristides Instruments as a regular performer at shows. Magnus has a unique “lap playing” guitar style where he hammers the strings along the neck of the guitar. He credits his playing style to the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Greg Howe, Eric Roche, Andy McKee and Erik Mongrain.

Below are some photos of our performers as they showcased their talents.

Anthony Mancini & Drew Allsbrook Iain Hersey & Marvin Sperling

Aaron Ingram & Sean Silas Magnus Tveiten Lee Dickson, former guitar technician for Eric Clapton and other rock guitarists, was also on hand for two question and answer sessions. He spoke of his experiences on the road and challenges he faced as a guitar technician. He expressed his views on the importance of using good reliable components in your instruments and his good fortune with Bourns® potentiometers. Lee also gave our guests some tips on their guitars.

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Lee on the Bourns® ProAudio Stage Lee looking over Anthony Mancini’s “Cherry” Stratocaster

Lee working with Eric Clapton Lee tuning Eric’s famous “Blackie” before a gig

Lee is working on several projects these days including his own Signature Series Stratocaster pickups he designed after Eric Clapton’s “Blackie” and “Brownie” infamous Stratocasters that Lee kept in playing condition over the 30 years he worked as Eric’s personal guitar technician. These pickups are being distributed exclusively by Mojo Musical Supply from Burgaw, NC. Mojo recently provided two pre-wired Stratocaster pickguards with Lee’s new pickups and Bourns® Model 95 premium guitar potentiometers. The Model 95s were added at Lee’s insistence for high quality components. As a result of this venture, Bourns is pleased to welcome Mojo Musical Supply as our newest Pro Audio reseller. Mojo will begin stocking Model 82 Vintage and Model 95 Premium Guitar Potentiometers and expand their offering thereafter.

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The performances were captured on video and will be posted on the Bourns® Pro Audio webpage and Bourns® Pro Audio YouTube Channel soon. Jim Lawson surprised us with a guitar and potentiometer demonstration box that he devised over the Holidays. The demonstration set up consists of a Fender Squire Stratocaster that had all of the controls removed and was fitted with Seymour Duncan Hot for Strat and SH11 Custom Custom pickups. The guitar was wired with a special cable to a demonstration unit that had several potentiometers with different resistance values and tapers. With the selector switches, different combinations of resistances and tapers could be selected to see how the values affected the tone on the guitar. Jim held a daily demonstration for all those customers who were interested.

We will be producing additional guitar/demonstration boxes so that we can set up stations at next year’s NAMM Show for our customers to try. Each demo station will be fitted with a demo box, a guitar and a set of headphones so that the sound will be isolated from the ambient show noise.

Gordon Bourns was also on hand to support our efforts. He brought along a photo of Marlon Bourns holding our Les Paul guitar to display at the booth. Gordon spoke with many of our visitors including Paul Raley from PRA Audio Systems. Paul has recently developed a proprietary code digital wireless system for guitars and amplifiers. He showed Gordon the prototype modules and shared that he had meetings with several key amplifier manufacturers where he would like to form partnerships. Gordon suggested that we take a look at building the circuit board in our SEMs facility.

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Noted releases with Bourns® Pro Audio Components: Seymour Duncan released a new Triple Rails Fully Loaded Liberator™ Pickguard with Bourns® Pro Audio Components. The assembly features three SD Hot Rail pickups the Liberator™ Solderless Pickup Change System for volume, and two PDB241-SYD02 potentiometers for tone. This product includes our PDB181-GTR series guitar potentiometer. Vice President of Engineering, Frank Falbo, was pleased with the positive feedback from the dealers and expects this product to be another winner.

gPad Music released an innovative guitar for the iPad. This guitar is a solid body guitar with a cavity to fit an iPad. The rear compartment of the guitar opens up to allow the iPad to be installed and plugged in. The compartment is then closed up and the guitar is plugged in like a regular electric guitar. The volume control is our PDB182 dual gang potentiometer. There is already an app at the Apple store available for download. Randy Lester, designer of the gPad Guitar, was extremely happy with the market response and reception at the show. Randy noted that all the film crews and photographers (including KTLA Channel 5 News) were at his booth to video the demonstration of this most innovative instrument. He expects several distributors to sign on with him, and expects to be in full production by mid-summer. You can see a demo video at gpadmusic.com.

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Photographers from Premier Guitar Magazine and MMR Magazine were on hand early Saturday morning and requested a photo of our booth and our team for a write up about our newest product releases. Both publications ran a Bourns advertisement in their NAMM Show issues that were on hand and available to all 95,000 show attendees.

This year’s NAMM Show was extremely upbeat and the most successful to date, as we continue to gain momentum. Thanks to all those who participated in this year’s Winter NAMM Show in working in the booth, and for assistance with set-up and tear-down. Thanks to our Marcom group for the press releases, the awesome new booth graphics, and for mixing down the videos. A special thanks to Jim Lawson for introducing our guest performers and for the guitar/potentiometer demonstrations. Last but not least, thanks to our guests for great performances and to the companies who loaned us equipment for our demo/performances that included Grammatico Amplifiers, Peavey and Fender/EVH. Everyone’s support is critical and appreciated as we continue to expand our portfolio of Pro Audio products, and continue to gain momentum and recognition in the industry.