Barry Wood's NAMM Oddities 2015 Edition
Other Goodies
The Ultimate Electro-Mechanical Vibrato
Analog Outfitters continue their scavenging operations with this repurposing of Hammond vibrator scanners as guitar effects.
- Analog Outfitters
- 514 N. Neil Street
- Champaign IL 61820
- www.analogoutfitters.com
Is There a Dermatologist in the House?
This pick guards look like they're suffering from the plague or at least the heartbreak of psoriasis.
- Q-Parts
- (213) 674-7346
- www.qparts.com
Radio on the TV
Tone King is nailing the retro Magnavox/Zenith vibe with their vintage-inspired tube amps.
- Tone King Amplifier Company, Inc.
- Box 38 Bldg 45-2A
- 4401 Eastern Avenue
- Baltimore, MD 21224
- www.toneking.com
Set and Forget
If you use specific settings on your pedals or amp and worry about the knobs getting changed, here is the product for you. This replaced the original knob with one that cannot be accidentally changed. To make an adjustment you pull up on the knob to disengauge the teeth and then turn it.
- Loknob
- www.loknob.com
Pickup Smorgasbord
The Zexcoil pickups use a separate coil for each string and offer enough different pickup choices to paralyze the typical tone-obsessed guitarist.
- Lawing Musical Products, LLC
- P.O. Box 9924
- Newark, DE 19714
- www.zexcoil.com
Parametric Pickup
Like a parametric EQ, these pickups allow you to select the frequency and Q (bandwidth) of the pickup response. This goes way beyond traditional guitar tone controls.
- Dialtone Pickups, LLC
- 2324 Seconds St.
- Livermore, CA 94550
- www.dialtonepickups.com
No Witty Title Required
When a company named Cioks puts out a pedal power distribution accessory and they call it Pussy Power, it makes my job just that much easier.
- CIOKS ApS
- Brogaardsvej 102, 2
- DK-2820 Gentofte, Denmark
- www.cioks.com
Animal Magnetism
The SlideWinder is a ring with a magnetic bar that allows you to use a slide and still bend your finger when you want to form full chords, which is typically not possible with one of your fingers ensconced in a rigid tube.
- SlideWinder Co.
- 1072 Geneva Ave.
- San Francisco, CA 94112
- www.slidewinderring.com
Lumber Yard Core Samples
I'm sure there's some reason for this unusual construction method, most likely having something to do with suppressing resonant cabinet frequencies. I just thought they looked cool.
- Wathen Audiophile, LLC
- 2111 Hollow Reef
- League City, TX 77573
- www.wathenspeakers.com
The Sustain, Listen to it
"I don't hear anything."
"Well you would though, if it were playing."
At least that's what I would expect Nigel to say about this product, which mechanically couples the neck and bridge for improved sustain.
- Backbone Guitar Products
- 4125 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd.
- Suite 4A
- Durham, NC 27707
- www.get-a-backbone.com
Curse of the Mummy's Stompbox
Your descendants may rue the day you open up this to pedal to adjust a knob. I didn't want to risk it myself so I can't even tell you what it does.
- Ogre
- Seogeun-ri 205, Paltan-myeon,
- Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
- 445-914
- www.ogre.kr
Mooer Wahter
This sounds more like the plea from a dehydrated individual than the name of an ultra compact wah pedal.
- Shenzhen Mooer Audio Co., Ltd.
- 5F, Unit B, Jinghang Building
- Liuxian 3rd Road, Bao'an 71District
- Shenzhen, China
- www.mooeraudio.com
Positively Petite Pedals
My foot isn't really that big, these pedals are just that diminutive.
- Hotone Audio Co., Ltd
- www.hotoneaudio.com
Filled to the Brim
This is the latest weapon in the war on picklessness.
- Qickpick Headwear
- www.qickpick.com
Pick Leverage
The Pykmax fits in your hand and has a hinged pick attached to palm-fitting handle that presumably provides more control over the pick.
I think they're missing the boat in not promoting the anti-pick dropping characteristics inherent in the design.
- Pro Music Marketing, Inc.
- 421 7th Ave., Ste. 1200
- New York, NY 10001
- www.pykmax.com
A Mötley Crüe
A tuner for every occasion, just not any occasions that you might realistically encounter.
- iSupply Music Co., Ltd.
- 6F.-1, No.315, Sec. 5, Nanjing E. Rd.
- Taipei, Taiwan (10569)
- www.isupplymusic.com
Endorsed by the SPCR
Prevent cruelty to your roadie, especially if your are him. I particularly like that you can pull the fingertip back on these protective gloves to provide either fine finger work or more likely, access to your smartphone screen.
- Gig Gear, LLC
- www.gig-gear.com
This is a Good Place for a Stick Up
Except instead of freshening the air, this stick-on wireless X/Y touchpad smoothly crossfades between effects in the companion processor.
- GTC Sound Innovations
- P.O.Box 10567
- Haifa 26110, Israel
- www.gtcsound.com
Stand up to the Man
What really caught my eye at this booth was their vehement stance against Guitar Center.
The Z-Stand look like it would make nice "living room" guitar stand.
- Zither Music Company
- 1022 East Blue Bell Road
- Brenham, TX 77833
- www.zitherusa.com
Pickup Your Guitar
Yet another way to keep your guitar handy and open up floor space.
- Hang-That-Twang Custom Guitar Hangers
- www.hangthattwang.com
A NAMM Staple
It's just not a NAMM show without ostentatious guitar straps. Killer-Q stepped up to fill this much needed void.
- Killer-Q
- 3900 W. 1st Ave
- Eugene, OR 97402
- www.killer-q.com
For Unpredictable Weather
These little packets will either humidify or dehumidify depending on the current conditions.
- Boveda Inc.
- 17613 Minnetonka Blvd
- Wayzata, MN 55391
- www.bovedausa.com
©2015 Barry Wood