Summer NAMM Gallery
“SMALL, BUT LIVELY” IS PERHAPS THE BESTWAYTO SUM UP THE 2009 SUMMER NAMM SHOW, held July 17-19, in Nashville, Tennessee. The economic doldrums—or rethinks of marketingand sales strategies—may be the reason some major players such as Fender, Gibson, and Korg decided not to exhibit, and it was strange having the action pretty much confined to the main floor (in past years, the second floor was also crammed with booths and tables, and, at times, the vendors even spilled into the arena across the street). It wasn’t quite a ghost town, but it was the first time I could walk out of the main show area and into a hallway of near silence.
However, it certainly wasn’t a temple of gloom and doom inside the main hall, where it was as loud and noisy as ever. There was a good amount of traffic, the overall vibe was upbeat, and one of the benefits of not having some of the biggies in attendance was that smaller manufacturers received more attention. We certainly weren’t at a loss for products to be covered, as you’ll see from the photos on the following pages that were taken on the NAMM show floor. And if you want even more Summer NAMM gear goodies, check out the August issue of GP2, Guitar Player’s online edition.
– Art Thompson and Michael Molenda
Reverend’s Joe Naylor shows off the new Reeves Gabrels Signature Model.
Randall’s Nuno Bettencourt amps combine killer tones and vintage hi-fi aesthetics.
Fab! The entire collection of Planet Waves’ Beatles straps and picks.
The Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube 25th Anniversary ($699 street) is built in Germany and includes a Celestion G12T- 100 speaker and NOS tubes.
The Hagstrom Viking IIP is a great-playing thinline guitar with a stop tail and two H90s.
Chrome Dome Audio’s beautiful Super Tweed is available in several wood and grille-cloth configurations, as well as with your choice of a polished copper or chrome-plated stainless-steel control head.
Yamaha’s new NX Series nylon-strings.
Egnater’s Rebel 30 1x12 combo ($899 street) has two channels and reverb, and it can blend between EL84 and 6V6 power tubes.
Larry Post’s NeverKink CableClip attaches to your guitar strap.
Kay’s Jazz II is a slickplaying remake of the model used by Eric Clapton in his first band, the Roosters.
Goodsell’s UniBox 10—a remake of a vintage Univox tube model—sounds cool and has great vibrato.
P3’s Phantom Powered Pedal System lets you power pedals through the audio connections.
Steve Skillings holds the JamHub, a monitor mixer that lets an entire band practice together through headphones.
The TomasZewicz 50-watt head features a highly innovative compression circuit.
Some Cole Clark acoustics have an innovative amplification system, in which the top brace is the pickup.
An awesome lineup of Collings electrics, including the City Limits Deluxe (second from right).
The Jay Turser JRP-24 ($199 retail) plays amazingly well and comes with a strap, a cable, a DVD, and a mini-amp.
The 45-watt Blackstar Series One 45 two-channel 2x12 combo retails for $2,249.
The 100-watt Bolt BHT-100 head features three channels, switchable power (50/100 watts), and three reverb selections.
Milbert Amplifiers showed this prototype 50-watt tube amp that weighs only three pounds.
Dana Bourgeois’ beautiful Anniversary model features a case made of solid woods.
Reunion Blues’ RB Continental Case ($169 street) was demoed (via video) by loading it with a guitar and throwing it off a roof.
G&L Jerry Cantrell Signature Models in ivory and black.
One of the neatest and simplest contraptions at Summer NAMM was the StageTrix Pedal Riser—an ergonomic wonder that raises individual pedals or the second row of stompboxes on your pedalboard.
The stunning Ibanez Limited Edition Paul Gilbert Signature Fireman goes for $9,333.
Guitarmaker Jason Schroeder—shown with a Shorty model—produces 50 guitars each year.
St. Blues Bluesmaster in walnut finish.
The Cort MR710FQB retails for $550.
Electro-Harmonix debuted a floor full of new pedals, including the 22 Caliber ($99), Memory Toy ($79), and Cathedral Stereo Reverb ($214).
There are always many ways to jam at the Ernie Ball/Music Man booth. New models include the Dargie Delight Limited Edition in carmel apple, Stealth-finished Sterlings and Petruccis, and a very limited 25th Anniversary Model.
News from the Missing
As you know, some major players didn’t make the Nashville scene this year, and, as a result, they’re not covered in our Summer NAMM gallery. But if you’re eager to discover what some of the MIAs have been up to since Winter NAMM, we’ve collected a few tidbits from recent press releases and Web fly-bys.
Charvel- San Dimas Style 1-2H
- So-Cal Style 1-2H
Epiphone
ESP
- James Hetfield Truckster (black)
- Eclipse-II Vibrato
Fender Amps
- ’57 Champ
- Blues Junior Emerald
Fender Guitars
- Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore Jazzmasters
- ’66 Classic Jaguar Limited Edition
Fender Custom Shop
- 1950 Telecaster Thinline Relic
- La Cabronita Especial
GHS Strings
- David Gilmour Signature Series
- John 5 Commemorative Set Boomers
Gibson Custom
- Inspired By Robbie Krieger SG
Gretsch
- G6196TSP Country Club
- G5120 Electromatic Hollow Body Limited Edition
Guild
Korg
- AW-2 and AW-2G Chromatic Tuners
Marshall
Peavey
PRS
Rocktron
- Banshee 2 Talk Box
- Utopia G200 and G300
Schecter
- Corsair Bigsby
- Hellraiser Solo-6 DSG Limited
Squier
- Classic Vibe Stratocasters
- J5 Telecaster
Vox