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Harpsicle With a name like Harpsicle how could you go wrong? It's my civic duty to proudly display the products from brave companies such as these. Harpsicle Harp Co. |
The Truth is Out There Then again, maybe it's embedded in your bass. Even without the little alien, this bass would have made the Oddities. I could see this being used as an obscure martial arts weapon for a ninja rock band. Spalt Instruments |
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Beaded Bajo Sexto & Guitar These were simply stunning when you got up close enough to realize you were looking at a design composed of individual beads. It's difficult to imagine the amount of detailed work required. Hermes Trading Co. Inc. |
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Vivo2 Violin I've recorded a few bodiless electric violins and every one sounded awful, but this one got very close to sounding like the real thing. You've got to give the manufacturer points for making them out of different colors of translucent plastic. It wouldn't be a NAMM show without some old-iMac-looking stuff. Ted Brewer Violins |
Pocket Sax You can squeeze two full octaves out of these little guys and they didn't sound half bad, either. The fingering is similar to a recorder, but not quite identical, so it'll take a little getting used to regardless of what wind instrument you play. Maui Xaphoon |
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What Part Do You Play? This was designed to be more similar in tone to an acoustic bass than an electric bass. It uses piezo pickups and sports a snazzy F-clef-shaped sound hole, just in case you weren't sure what range it played in. DeMars Guitars, LLC |
Holy Violins Batman! I know, that was kind of a lame title, but give me a break! I've got a hundred or so items to write up and they all can't be works of literary brilliance. Great Wall Musical Instruments Co., Ltd |
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High Tech Contra Bass I loved the look of the grey carbon fiber bass. It would be the perfect bass for Ministry to use if they ever do an Unplugged show. And for those players that want a carbon fiber bass but still want to be conformists, you can get one with a paint job that looks quite like wood. ATN international |
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Inside Out Resonator Guitar When you think "resonator," the next work that comes to mind is not likely to be "innovative," but the people at Beard Guitars have pulled it off. Beard Guitars |
Goin' Electric While going electric won't generate the controversy that it did for Bob Dylan, it will guarantee McNally Instruments a renewed spot in the Oddities. I'll bet Mark Sandman would have enjoyed one of these if he were still with us. McNally Instruments
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Koyabu Symmetric Board This is a tapping instrument much like a shorter version of the Chapman Stick. While Koyabu's literature says this is the first instrument to use an "uncrossed system," it appears to use same tuning as a Stick with the bass and melody strings swapped. While this is not a normal tuning for a Stick it's been done before. Deviser IM Devision |
Southern Hemisphere Tapping Another entry into the tapping field is the Box Guitar from Australia. This instrument is set up more like two guitars on one neck rather than putting both guitar and bass together. Box Musical Enterprises |
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Crisp & Clean These basses were only odd in that their ultra-clean design made them stand out like a Ferrari at a monster truck rally. Henmanbevilacqua Guitars |
Ukulele's Everywhere I've always seen Uke's at the show in past years and I've even featured them in the Oddities. But this year, I couldn't go more than 20 feet without seeing another friggin' booth displaying ukuleles. I was originally drawn to this booth because its company must have flown out every single employee they had, putting about 15 people in a 10'x10' space. Since they were the first Uke's I saw, they made the cut. GString Ukuleles |
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Fleenalele I know I said that I was sick of seeing Ukulele's at the show, but technically this isn't a Ukulele, it's a Fleenalele. It's named after Mary Fleener who did the very cool artwork. Turner Renaissance |
Oooooh, Sparkly! This orange metal-flake paint job caught my eye. Don't be fooled by that flashy exterior, underneath it is 30 to 40 year-old wood. Alleva-Coppolo |
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Extreme F-Holes Hmmm, that sounds kinda like a character judgement. Eastwood is building new versions of instruments from long-dead companies. In this case the old Ampeg AEB from the '60s has been reincarnated. Eastwood Guitars |
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NAMM Oddities '07 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
©2007 Barry Wood