SOUND CHECK
IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE …
Welcome to the NAMM Show issue of WM. The National Association of Music Merchants turns 125 years old this year. That is quite the milestone! We had many meetings with manufacturers at the convention who make the wide variety of musical instruments … both editorially and for advertising. It was an amazing time again. Some meetings were at their exhibit booths, and some were in the comfort of our own WM booth. One meeting stood out from among the others, and it was the only one with an actual music merchant( music store). And they weren’ t any regular retailer. Kraft Music has been around since 1984, located just outside of Milwaukee in Franklin, Wisconsin. That is the same time I was managing a music store in Los Angeles. It was the height of the synthesizer boom, and Roger Kraft was a pioneer in retailing synths to the musician community.
My son Drew and I meet with Ben Kraft( Roger’ s son who now runs the business) and their marketing manager Jamie Medina at our booth. I immediately felt comfortable with them as I heard their retail story. These folks got it. They have strong product lines( brands that you are using … NORD, Roland, Yamaha, Moog, KORG, Kurzweil, and more) and the knowledge to serve our worship musician readers well. 30 % of all new synths and stage pianos are sold to the modern worship musicplaying churches. Why? Because we love not only great piano and string batches but also those wonderful ambient pad sounds( I guess the electric guitar players can’ t have all the fun). Ben told us about another company— Viscount— that is making waves in the organ world. I love me a good B3 sound, so I was all ears.
Besides synths and stage pianos, Kraft Music has been selling digital drums since the beginning as well. 50 % of all digital drums are bought by our folks. This was another topic that we clicked well with. I tell you this NAMM story to introduce you to Kraft Music as one of our new advertisers. You will see their ads in the magazine, and I wanted you to know
a bit about them. They serve churches small and large not only in Wisconsin but also online across the country.
I worked hard to be a good retailer in my store in Los Angeles, and I can see why these nice folks at Kraft Music have won so many industry retailer awards … it takes one to know one.
Check them out at www. kraftmusic. com.
Lord Bless You as You Follow Him! Bruce & Judy
Backstage at NAMM:)
The Cast The Details
Publisher + Editor: Vice President:
Bruce Adolph
Judy Adolph Editorial Gear Director: Doug Doppler Associate Gear Editor: Associate Gear Editor: Ad Sales Manager: Business Dev. Dir.: Higher Ed Acct Exec: Production Manager: Layout + Design: Customer Experience:
Michael Hodge Eric Dahl Andrew Adolph Steve Sattler Alex MacDougall Mike Adolph Matt Kees Brian Felix
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© 2026 Worship Musician published by Adolph Agency, Inc.
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ProfessorMacBNA @ gmail. com Mike @ AdolphAgency. com Matt @ AdolphAgency. com Brian @ AdolphAgency. com
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