These sound good enough to mic in the studio for some cool sounds. I played a bunch and they all felt and sounded great, especially for their reasonable price-point.ĮlectroPhonic Innovations has upped the ante on “amp-in-the-guitar” models. These fiberglass guitars were modern when they were originally made and now that Pigtronix owns the brand they are being reissued in original plastic and current wood versions. In the “retro-future” department are the reissue Supro guitars. He has taken whatever lessons he learned there, added his own magic and made these true objects of desire.Ĭongrats to Reverend, who showcased instruments commemorating their 20 th Anniversary.Ī rare sighting of Rick Turner, a godfather of modern guitar design. I recognized Izzy Lugo from his days at Rudy’s repair shop in NYC. This NAMM heralded my first chance to play some Ronin guitars. Titan is a more affordable instrument line by the maker of the upscale Kauer Guitars. The always cool looking DiPinto guitars are now made in USA. Though the Viennese builder also makes less radical road-worthy instruments, the guitars at the show seemed more suitable for collectors and/or museums. When it comes to “art” guitars, Michael Spalt brought his A-game. If Malinoski’s work was Miro, Michihiro Matsuda’s spectacular instruments were Picasso.ĭespite the Asian name, Tao guitars originate in Brussels, Belgium. The guitars Peter Malinoski showed at the Nashville guitar and amp show were unusual, but for this show he brought some of his more extreme “art” guitar models. Jersey Girl’s bespoke Japanese guitars come with an enormous amount of hand crafting. The DiDonato instruments from Italy were gorgeous, with slim bodies made possible by mounting the electronics on the outside-masterpieces of design. Teuffel, the designer of our masthead guitar, who showed this Birdfish model in leopard. New to this show was a booth dedicated to boutique guitars that push the envelope rather than rehashing vintage favorites. As usual, NAMM often stands for “Not Available, Maybe May,” so stay tuned to the manufactures’ sites and for updates, and, if you would like to hear me talk about this year’s winter NAMM, check out Matt Wakeling’s Guitar Speak podcast featuring yours truly. Other than the upward trajectory of the business evidenced by the crowd, the only trend I noticed was the invasion of the pedal market by Greece and Brazil. It opened with a terrific concert band doing a modern composition that incorporated either recorded or live recitations from young people (I couldn’t see from my vantage point) about the difficulties of growing up. This boded well for a forward-thinking show and, in fact, there were ample examples of manufacturers leaving the traditional behind to explore new territory. Three full days was barely enough to cover all the cool stuff. I came home with ears ringing and NAMMthrax. The noise floor was non-stop jet-engine level. This year’s winter NAMM was INSANE! Thursday was as crowded as a typical Saturday and it escalated from there.
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