NAMM 2018

NAMM 2018 is finished and there is ton of new stuff that is out there. There is still a load of stuff that is yet to be released. Digitech was a big hold out this year. They didn't show us anything new, but they have promised much more stuff later this year. Several other companies showed some pretty exciting working prototypes, so we still have a lot to look forward to in 2018.

There is so much stuff out there that I can't wait to dive into. Milkman came out with a pedal based amp as did Victory. Vox expanded their MV series to include a 150 watt head. Line6 gave the HX multi effect pedal. There are more new guitars from major bands than I know what to do with. Marshall showed us the Origin series. I'm really looking forward to taking a much closer look at a lot of the stuff that has been announced as well as the stuff the I just mentioned.


NAMM is a super busy time, and I've been trying to cover most of the stuff that I've found interesting, but if there is something that you've seen from NAMM and I haven't mentioned it, then let me know in the comments. I'll try to check it out and be sure to let you know what I think.

Pretty Guitars From Ibanez At Summer NAMM 2016

Looking at Ibanez at Summer NAMM we see some nice looking offerings. Starting with a offset body shape with a P-90 in the neck. Amongst the other guitars in Ibanez's showing, this one stands out in a big way. The large cream P-90 serves as contrast to the flat black body. Matching cream pickup ring and binding together with a maple neck and board make this thing classy. Get all that under 7 bills and it starts to look very attractive.

 The next guitar that caught my eye was one from the Talman series. Here is a offset single-ish cut blonde. Like it or hate it, the Talman series is a mashup of Strat and Tele pieces that almost make you think you're looking at something familiar. This one is a signature model that comes in over $1,700. That's a lot considering the only other thing I can think of sporting Talman of the headstock was some very underwhelming acoustics.

 Next is something A little more fitting. It's a standard Talman Tele style in Sea Foam Green. If you are a tele fan with a thing for the weird, then this might be your thing. I like these guitars, but I've yet to play one. The fact that listed for what a Fender Standard Telecaster sales for has got me a little confused. When I was introduced to Ibanez they were just shaking off their "cheap" stigma and picking up some metal-cred. To me, this is a step backward. This isn't metal, but not affordable enough to sway me away from a Fender.

Support the blog by shopping on Amazon by using my link!

There should be an ad below:

Jackson Unveils Some Pretty Guitars At NAMM

Summer NAMM is upon us and we are getting our first looks of some interesting guitars. There are many special finishes and strange shapes at the Jackson booth this year, but some of the tamer guitar have caught my eye. While the wild shapes and pointy edges might make you stand out, there are some here that might contend for a spot in my guitar stable.

 Not as edgy as some of the other offering from Jackson, the F-Bird (a little on the nose there) takes cues from an icon shape and add some interest control configurations and floating tremolo. In an elegant white and gold motif, this guitar stands out without being a safety hazard.

Here's a guitar that can't make its mind up. It looks an awful lot like the Fender Pawn Shop series that someone has make some seriously question mistakes with. It seems to have three single coils and a floating tremolo. Seen here hanging in front of a very appropriate 80's background. This Custom Soloist is too ugly not to like. Like a pug. Let's just hope it doesn't share the repertory issue as well.

Perhaps my favorite in the lineup. The TL-7 is a seven string single cut-away 't-style' guitar. I have a weakness for Telecaster and this on is pretty. Seven string guitars aren't something I usually go for, but this one is so curvy and sleek, I'd learn to love playing a 7. Beside it is pretty LP style Single Cut with a gold top. Jackson was careful not to tread to close to ESP territory with this one. Instead they went with a more traditional shape and I happy they did. It's something I'd be proud to play.

Support the blog by shopping on Amazon by using my link!

There should be an ad below:

Ugly Truth: Evolution Guitars; Modular Guitars

There have been a lot of people that seek to improve the guitar. Many attempts have been embraced by small groups of people. Some like the 'silent' guitars that are composed of just the bare essentials to qualify as a guitar. Then you have headless guitars like the Steinberg. These designs have their fans, but they don't have the following that traditional guitar have. So Where does Evolution guitar fall? Will they be embraced by the masses, or will they find the niche and nothing more. Let's look at what we know.

The video shows us several examples of their guitar. The guitars appear to be your regular fair. Most if not all of these guitars look to be chambered, and for the most part, equipped with humbuckers. So their biggest innovating feature is the faceplate system. The neck and the body stay put and the faceplate can be swapped out. This allows you to change pickups, wiring, finish just as fast as you can unscrew and rescrew the 15 or so exposed pieces hardware. The face plates are made from laminate, so you can fuss about how "solid wood is better", but lets be honest, when your guitar is held together by a bunch of screws it's not going to make much of a difference.

I think these guitar look cool. I actually like the idea. But the final nail in the coffin is the pricing. Small guitar builder usually have larger prices. Unless they take manufacturing over seas, then you looking around a grand to get set up and a few hundred to swap faceplates. I'm a firm believer that your pickups are the largest contribution to the way your guitar sounds. I also think how your guitar is put together has a lot to do with it as well. While I think what these guys are doing is neat, I also think it's rather novel. Cool Idea guys.