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Conn Double Bell Euphonium Even NAMM is joining in the Oddities. I found this in a clear display case at the entrance to hall E. This double bell 5-valve euphonium was made in 1917. The fifth valve is used to open the second bell that sounds the same note as the main bell. |
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The Continuum Fingerboard I've seen my share of odd controllers in the years I've been prowling NAMM and many of them are only playable by the person who invented it. This is not one of those. This is a soft keyboard-like controller that will track pitch, velocity, pressure, front to back position and side to side position for each note. This opens up huge expressive possibilities. Haken audio |
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Universal Bass If Calista Flockhart were an acoustic bass, this would be her. Universal Music |
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Barker Vertical Bass As long as we're looking at tall, skinny basses, here is the Barker. In this case it's an electric, upright, fretted bass. It uses a 34" Fender Jazz Bass style neck so it ought to feel fairly comfortable for normal electric bass players. Barker Musical Intruments |
Double-neck Ztar I think that this instrument has been around for a while but it's first time I've seen it so here it is. One of the necks has a normal guitar neck with strings and pickups. The upper neck has the Ztar switches. If you're good at tapping you could play both simultaneously. You can order this with a Roland MIDI pickup but that seems a bit redundant to me. Starr Labs |
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Joey G Basses This outfit represents about a dozen high end luthiers. There were some very striking instrument in their booth. Joey G Music |
Short Bone I spotted this at the Kelly Mouthpieces booth. It's essentially a valve trombone that's been twisted up to make it shorter. They might want to come up with a new name though, I can't imagine someone admitting that they play the short bone. Superior Solutions Corp. |
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Conklin Bass This is an interesting hollow body electric bass that extends the body a fair distance up the neck. Conklin Guitars & Basses |
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Jisheng Musical Instruments Many of the Chinese and Korean companies showing at NAMM generally produce knock-offs of existing gear. It was a pleasant surprise to see some innovative going on. This company has a series of electric instruments with imaginative designs. I also liked the case with the built-in amplifier. Jisheng Musical Instruments |
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Bee Basses This year it seemed like half of the bass manufacturers were adding the large piece of wood over the top of the neck. I thought that combined with seven strings and fanned frets deserved and honorable mention in the Oddities. Bee Basses |
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Moog Theremin Moog has come up with what's probably the most stylish Theremin I've ever seen. Quite an improvement over their earlier models. This would make a beautiful addition to any room in the house. Moog Music, Inc. |
CMG b. genius 2 pro This is the midpoint between an acoustic and electric upright. It still uses a piezo pickup system but the bass will generate more complex harmonics being a hollow body. CMGuitars |
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Adler Single Cut I saw several 11-string basses this year, this one was tuned in 4ths starting at a very low C# (17hz). At that frequency you don't need a tuner, you can just count the cycles as you watch the string vibrate. Adler Guitars |
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NAMM Oddities '04 Home | Guitars |
Other Goodies | Percussion |
| Don't be surprised if you find that the product or the company you see
on these pages has ceased to exist, particularly as the pages get older.
One function of the NAMM Oddities is that of a historical archive of
attempted products. These web pages are not associated with or sponsored by NAMM |
Send your suggestions, clarifications, rants or praise to oddinfo@otheroom.com
©2004 Barry Wood