It’s been two and a half long years since the world’s music product industry gathered in Anaheim to celebrate new product innovation at the NAMM Show and attendees were keen to get back into the flow of things. While several major players were no shows this year such as Fender, Gibson, PRS and Roland to name a few, there was still plenty of great new gear to be seen and amazing talent to be heard. This time the show was held on the brink of the American summer, as opposed to the middle of winter, not that you’d ever notice in sunny California but still, a nice little bonus for those travelling from overseas or outside of the state.
This year the show welcomed over 1,000 exhibiting members representing 3,500 brands across the campus of the Anaheim Convention Center. As a smaller yet truly global affair, the mix of 46,627 registered attendees represented 111 countries and territories.
“Looking back to the 2020 NAMM Show, I don’t think anyone could have predicted just how transformative the start of this next decade would be,” said Joe Lamond, NAMM President and CEO. “But as we have weathered the uncertainty and loss over the past two years, we again stand at the crossroads of opportunity. The NAMM Show serves as that platform for the next generation of technologies, products, and services, and sets the stage for NAMM Members to discover their own opportunities to advance their businesses, skills, and market opportunities.”
THE GEAR
IBANEZ GUITARS
With no shows this year from some of the other big guitar companies, the Ibanez stand attracted even more interest than usual. Most attention was focussed on the amazing creation which is the Steve Vai three-neck, multi-instrument they call Hydra, as seen in Vai’s recent video Teeth of the Hydra
Ibanez also released a new Blue Power finish, with chrome hardware on Vai’s PIA3761C and displayed the prototype PIA35TH 35 year anniversary signature model, celebrating 35 years of the JEM.
NAMM attendees were also keen to check out the new signature models for Joe Satriani, Nita Strauss and George Benson. Ibanez dispalyed Nita’s new version of her JIVA10, now with a Ghost finish and a five-piece maple/wenge neck in the shape of the JIVAX2. Recently in Australia for Bluesfest, George Benson was honoured with a new GBSP10 featuring special ebony bridge and a GBSP10 special tailpiece. Also attracting plenty of buzz was Satriani’s new JS2GD with Jescar EVOgold frets and an Edge tremolo to match. Metal fans were licking their lips at the new Ibanez Kiko Loureiro KIKO100-TRR in Transparent Ruby Red and the Ibanez Jake Bowen JBM9999-AMM, a 27-fret Azure Metallic Matte guitar with a new HS pickup configuration. Additionally, four new finishes were released on the Ibanez Altstar acoustic electric range of guitars.
YAMAHA MUSIC
Yamaha introduced the elegant black and white versions of the THR30II Wireless guitar amplifier—available in addition to the classic cream version. Now available in three colours, the 30-watt Yamaha THR30II Wireless amplifier brings realistic tube amp tone and feel to your desktop—and beyond. Yamaha originated the “desktop amplifier” category and the THR30II Wireless takes the concept to new heights. Amp models for electric guitar and bass, microphone models for acoustic-electrics, and flat voicings for everything else let you cover any genre, while the redesigned enclosure increases bass response. Bluetooth support, a Line 6 Relay wireless receiver, a built-in rechargeable battery, and stereo line outputs enable you to play anywhere your music takes you.
The new REVSTAR series comprises three tiers—Element, Standard, and the made-in-Japan Professional—with new sounds, new construction, and new racing-themed features to inspire players of any style. All the guitars feature chambered bodies developed with Yamaha’s Acoustic Design process to shape tone and resonance, and a comfortable new neck profile. With two pickup options and new switching circuits for versatility, they are certainly worth a look.
Distributed in Australia by Yamaha, STEINBERG presented the soon to be available UR12 PODCAST STARTER PACK. The easy-to-use production toolkit to get you creating podcasts quickly and in great quality on your computer or iOS device. The UR12 Podcast Starter Pack combines a dual-channel USB 2.0 audio interface, quality condenser microphone and all mic accessories with a full software suite. It’s a complete, studio-grade social media production package.
BLUGUITAR
Thomas Blug of BluGuitar was quick to launch his fabulous new product, the AMPX in a livestream the day before the 2022 NAMM Show had officially opened. From the creator of Bluguitar AMP1, AMP1 Mercury, AMP1 Iridium now comes the most innovative of all the AMPX. With four decades of being a sound designer, BluGuitar owner Thomas Blug came up with the idea of creating an all analog Nanotube™ guitar amp design that is flexible enough to (re)-create any amp that he could think of – those that have excited us in the past as well as any ideas that might come in the future. With this in mind, Thomas and his team developed the ground-breaking Neural Analog Amp™ design, which offers the capability to edit and save analog circuit parameters at a component level – like a “virtual soldering iron“ for analog amp tuning. Bluguitar distributed in Australia by EGM.net.au
TAYLOR GUITARS
Taylor Guitars released their all-new Hawaiian koa 700 Series guitars. Beautifully grained sets of Hawaiian koa inspired Taylor to offer players a whole new koa experience — in look, feel and sound. Barely-there finish allows you to feel the warm wood texture and enhances the acoustic resonance. Powered by a new V-Class voicing recipe, koa’s sweet midrange sings out more vividly, and with a punchier response, than ever before. Choose from the Grand Auditorium 724ce and Grand Concert 722ce.
TAKAMINE GUITARS
Takamine’s 60TH limited edition 60th anniversary guitar will be made available at select Takamine dealers later this year, with only 60 individually numbered units up for purchase worldwide. The 60TH is based on an early design that was adapted with a classical body to an x-braced concert steel string, and features a distinctive cutaway. The top, back, and sides are made of highly-figured Hawaiian koa with a unique three-piece bracing made of ebony sandwiched with spruce that was hand-shaped and shaved by Takamine master luthiers Noriharu Sakurai and Toru Hirokawa.
Takamine has also extended its range of affordable G Series strummers by introducing four all-new acoustic guitars. Offering okoume- and spruce-top six-string models, as well as a freshly appointed Pearl White 12-string acoustic, the new G Series boasts two dreadnoughts, two NEX “mini-jumbos” and two single-cutaway models. Each guitar also comes packed with Takamine’s TP-3G electronics – which feature a three-band EQ and onboard chromatic tuner – supplied in an effort to offer a seamless studio-to-stage playing experience.
ARIA GUITARS
There was much happening with ARIA guitars this year. ARIA Pro II 212 – MK2 is a gorgeous looking guitar, a Bowery Semi-hollow body electric, available in black, cadillac pink and phantom blue. With a huge nod to Kurt Cobain’s 1960s Univox Hi-Flier Custom, the DM 206 3TS retro classic is sure to be a winner for ARIA too. New in the Prodigy series acoustics are the ARAFN15 acoustic folk body guitar in black, natural gloss, ornage gloss, tobacco sunburst gloss. Also available in dreadnought and cutaway body shapes.
NU-X PEDALS
Products from NU-X continue to gain praise for their design, build and affordability. New from NU-X is the Amp Academy, a complete valve amp modelling rig in a compact stomp box format. It features 3 storable scenes with 2 channels, selectable from 6 separate classic amplifier models. Each patch has Gain, Master and Boost for overdriven tones and 3-band EQ + Presence control. As with a real professional tube amp, there is an effects loop and internal reverb effect. The addition of a noise gate helps to keep everything silent when no notes are played. The NU-X Tape Echo is a tribute to the Japanese-made Space Echo from 1974. Analogue tape echo devices record incoming audio to a loop of magnetic tape, then replays the continuous loop over the playback head before it is erased again by new incoming audio. NU-X is distributed in Australia by Pro Music Australia.
TWO NOTES
Two Notes revealed its all-new Revolt Series, showcasing two new analogue amp simulators for guitar and bass. ReVolt Guitar and ReVolt Bass feature 3 channel all-analog guitar and bass amp simulators engineered with a singular mission: to empower you with the pinnacle in foundation tone.The ReVolt Series’ 12AX7 preamp tube running at 200V has been expertly tuned to enrich your tone with undeniable tube mojo. You retain all the convenience of a DI signal, now with the warmth, the bite, the all-important response only tubes can provide. Two Notes distributed in Australia by Innovative Music Australia
GODIN GUITARS
Popular on booth 5610 for Godin Guitars was their new Session R-HT PRO models. At first glance — with its reversed headstock, fixed bridge, and iconic Humbucker — you might assume that the Godin Session R-HT PRO is only suited for flat-out rock or metal! However, at Godin, we are passionate about designing versatile guitars to ELEVATE your PERFORMANCE! Made entirely in Canada, the Godin Session R-HT PRO features a basswood body and hard maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Our “acoustically tuned” matte finish and the use of a fixed bridge with through holes allows the strings to vibrate more freely, improving both the sustain and natural resonance of the guitar. To top it all off, the headstock features our “vintage” Godin logo. Godin distributed in Australia by Dynamic Music.
GUILD GUITARS
Guild Guitars on the Cordoba stand displayed their new Surfliner electrics. Influenced by the iconic heritage and eccentric shapes of vintage Guilds, the all-new Guild Surfliner compliments the brand lineage by combining classic styling with modern features in an offset, solid-body electric. Available in Sunset Orange, Catalina Blue, and White Sage, the Surfliner features an entirely new solid body platform that crosses subtle offset styling with the vintage lines of 1960s and 1970s Guilds.
SOLID STATE LOGIC
Solid State Logic presented its latest solutions for music and audio professionals at the 2022 NAMM Show, including its ORIGIN, a 32-channel, fully analogue in-line console, SSL Live L550 Plus console with new V5.1 software, and UC1, UF8, BiG SiX and THE BUS+ making their NAMM debuts. SSL distributed in Australia by Amber Technology
DPA MICROPHONES
DPA Microphones unveiled the 4055 Kick Drum Microphone, a specialized kick drum mic for the low-frequency, high-SPL instrument. Different from traditional kick drum mics, this new addition to the DPA product lineup is a durable mic solution that is not pre-tailored to any specific sound, allowing sound engineers to shape the sound exactly as desired. The mic has been rigorously tested to perform in a variety of applications―like pop, rock, jazz, folk and other genres. It is built to withstand the rigors of life on the road and performs equally well in the studio. DPA distributed in Australia by Amber Technology
EASTMAN GUITARS
Eastman Guitars delivered a beautiful new series of guitars named the Juliet. A trio of uniquely Eastman solid body guitars, Juliet is an evolution of Romeo’s ergonomic carves and graceful curves, sculpted for maximum comfort. Her striking features include an offset body with raised center bar and laid-in pickguard, making her stand out in any player’s rig, on any player’s stage. Juliet is available in Pomona Blonde, Vintage Red and Antique Black Varnish.
BLACKSTAR AMPS
In one of the early NAMM Show related releases, Blackstar introduced its new St. James Amplifiers, created to meet market demand for truly lightweight and portable valve amplifiers. Developed after months of forensic examination of vintage valve amps, the St. James series offers amps in two formats: an EL34 design creating classic British rock tones and a 6L6 model with crystal clean tones and higher gain, both available as Celestion-equipped combo or amplifier head with matching vertical 212 cabinet. Simple to use but highly versatile, these amps offer an intuitive two-channel setup that delivers Blackstar’s best-ever clean and overdrive tones. Distributed in Australia CMI Music & Audio, a division of Australis Music Group.
KAWAI
Piano company Kawai exhibited a number of grand pianos, upright pianos and digital pianos including the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano, the new “AURES AR2” and “ANYTIME ATX4” grand and upright pianos, and the highly popular hybrid pianos “NOVUS NV5S” and “NOVUS NV10S”. As for digital pianos the “ES120”, the latest addition to Kawai’s ES series of portable digital pianos, the “CN201” and “CN301”, the latest models in the CN series of digital pianos, made their debut at this show.
CASIO
Casio launched of a new limited edition CT-S1 digital keyboard, called the CT-S1FH. The limited-edition digital keyboard has had a revamp and sports a brand new look, thanks to artist Romero Britto. Britto, dubbed as the “modern-day Picasso” is a huge name in the pop art scene, combining Cubism and Pop art styles in a bright, colourful way. This style can be instantly recognisable on the CT-S1FH, which looks trendy in its off white casing with Britto’s signature design behind the keys.
SHURE
Shure has announced the introduction of the KSM11, a new wireless condenser microphone capsule for vocal applications that’s designed to provide low- and mid-range clarity and high-end detail joined by a high level of off-axis rejection and shock isolation along with plosive protection.
Available in black and brushed nickel finishes for use on Shure wireless handheld transmitters, this next- generation model in the KSM line offers a lighter, streamlined design. The transducer is outfitted with a 3/4-inch gold diaphragm and high-end electronics to enhance dynamic range. Advanced suspended isolation is designed to eliminate handling noise, while the dent-resistant hardened steel grille employs 3-stage plosive reduction pop filtering.
TAMA DRUMS
The folks on the Tama drums booth were keen to present new offerings in their Starclassic and Star series as well as the innovative True Touch training kit. Also garnering interest was their STAR Reserve Stave Ash snare and limited edition S.L.P. G-Maple snare featuring a 14”x7” Maple shell with a spectacular Zebrawood outer ply. “The Starclassic series continues to be a representation of our collective drum-making passion, wisdom and pursuit to offer refined and differentiated sounds,” Tama tells us. “For more than forty years, the Superstar name has stood for groundbreaking design, superior build quality, sterling tone, and clear projection. Superstar Classic once again upholds tradition by raising the bar for discerning drummers—and remarkably—does it at an extremely competitive price.”
LUDWIG DRUMS
A highlight at the Ludwig Drums booth was the Ludwig Breakbeats by Questlove 4-piece shell pack with snare drum, designed in conjunction with the acclaimed drummer of the Roots, Questlove. Breakbeats was designed with the city in mind. Positioned on a riser for optimum reach, its compact 14×16″ bass drum, 7×10″ tom, and 13×13″ floor tom creates a set-up for sculpting grooves in tight spaces. It features Remo Pinstripe heads for pro-level tones, and comes with a multi-purpose bags for easy transport, and drum muting. Ludwig distributed in Australia by Dynamic Music.
OPUS PERCUSSION is a maker of quality percussion instruments out of China, from tambourines to glockenspiels, chimes, and gongs to drumkits. New releases include the Opus Percussion 8” and 10” tambourines with single and double row jingles in silver, black, blue and red. Opus Percussion is distributed in Australia by Pro Music Australia.
PIONEER DJ
Pioneer DJ offered up their DJM-S5 cratch-style 2-channel DJ mixer (gloss red). This new scratch-style 2-channel DJ mixer for Serato DJ Pro is ideal if you’ve experimented with battle mixing and scratching and want to expand your skills, or if you’re completely new to the scene and want to dive straight in.
AND …
At the more expensive end of the scale product-wise, on display were a $150,000 (US) Minarik 50th anniversary Haunted Mansion guitar, created in conjunction with Disney and Martin proudly revealed its 2.5 Millionth Guitar, which features 436 diamonds. It was also for sale, however no price was offered.
NAMM EVENTS
Event-wise, it was business as usual for NAMM, with the TEC Awards as always being one of the marquee events to see and be seen at. Presented annually by NAMM, the 37th annual TEC Awards took place on Saturday, June 4 hosted once again by comedian, actor and musician Fred Armisen. The event recognizes the exemplary achievements and innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multi-media. For only the second time in TEC history, three companies won two awards each in Outstanding Technical Achievement. They were Genelec (Loudspeaker Manager – GLM V4.0 in Production Essentials and FM Design in Studio Design Project); PreSonus (Sphere in Audio Education Technology and ATOM SQ in DJ Production Technology); and Universal Audio (UAFX Golden Reverberator in Musical Instrument Amplification and Effects and LUNA Recording System v1.1.8 in Workstation Technology). The evening recognized the timeless work and artistic innovation of Peter Asher, who was inducted and presented with the TEC Hall of Fame award. Throughout his decades-long career in the music industry, Asher has earned the reputation of being one of the industry’s most sought-after producers and performers. Pioneer and bassist extraordinaire Carol Kaye was honored with this year’s Les Paul Innovation Award, one of the night’s most anticipated honors from The Les Paul Foundation.
Each evening of the Show came alive on the Yamaha Grand Plaza stage with plenty of star power. At Thursday’s Yamaha Night of Worship, Fred Hammond and the Saddleback Worship Choir packed the Grand Plaza;Saturday’s Yamaha All-Star Concert on the Grand featured the likes of Kandace Springs, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Tank and the Bangas.
The She Rocks Awards, honouring women in the music industry is also a regular feature of the NAMM Show and this year was presented at The Ranch in Anaheim. Honourees this year included iconic singer, actress, television host and former UN Goodwill Ambassador Dionne Warwick, GRAMMY®-nominated guitarist and BONES UK co-founder Carmen Vandenberg, and multi-instrumentalist Yvette Young, the front-woman for the math rock band Covet. Other honorees included Leslie Gaston-Bird – mixer, sound editor, author and a champion of diversity in the audio industry; Sherri Chung, Award-winning film and TV composer and Governor of the Music Branch of the Television Academy; Kerry Fiero, Founder of the Girl Power! Women Working in the Music Industry Conference; EveAnna Manley, president, Manley Laboratories aka “The Tube Chick;” Lyndsey Parker, Yahoo Entertainment Music Editor, SiriusXM host and author; and Julie Robbins, CEO of effects pedal manufacturer Earthquaker Devices.
On the Thursday evening, the industry gathered to celebrate the spirit of the independent music retailer and to applaud their accomplishments, resilience, and commitment to serving music makers at the Top 100 Awards. Congratulations to the three Australian retailers who were honoured this year including Billy Hyde Music, SA, Logans Pianos and Artist Guitars, both from NSW.
In other NAMM news, as we reported last week, the show began under a cloud of sadness with news of the passing of synth design legend, Sequential’s Dave Smith, with many of the other tech companies sending tributes to the great man. Elsewhere, Kenny Loggins was presented with a Music For Life award by NAMM CEO Joe Lamond at the Breakfast of Champions, where we also met a couple of humanoid robots. And of course, a NAMM Show wouldn’t be the same without a visit from the legendary Stevie Wonder, who stopped by the Dixibell booth for a play.
The global crossroads of the music products, pro audio and entertainment technology industry will return to Anaheim April 13-15, 2023 and then again in January 2024.
