Barry Wood's NAMM Oddities 2012 Edition

Packrat Barry

Other Goodies

Caught Red Handed

Here's a slide that doesn't preclude you from using any of your fingers.

This looks like a more manageable solution than the Spinslide that I saw at NAMM in 2005.

Thimbleslide

A Mic Stand for Dr. Horrible

These internally-lighted stands have a certain mad scientist aesthetic to them. The sparkly metalflake stands aren't bad either.

Larger Than Life RockStar Supply

I'm a Dapper Dan Man

This analog delay is built into a can of Murray's Hair Grease, which I presume no longer contains the original hair grease.

Those wooden bass pickup preamps are very stylish too.

Blast Cult

Geometry Extra Credit

I'm glad I was never presented with the shape and asked to determine its volume.

High School flashback aside, this is a nice little 8 lb., 5 watt, class A amplifier.

Four Force amp

Advanced Security Measures

When I see 2x4's and wires at NAMM, I'm naturally intrigued.

This guitar hanger is spring-loaded and has a sensor that triggers when the guitar is removed. When that happens an e-mail and/or text message alert is sent out so you know your guitar has been moved.

I imagine that the Indiana Jones "idol snatch move" would likely be effective in thwarting this.

My Guitar Guard

Same Same But Different

These Catalinbread custom shop pedals are all very attractive but it's awfully difficult to tell them apart.

Catalinbread pedals

From Raphael to Mondrian to Nagel

You wouldn't have any trouble distinguishing between these pedals. They provide a veritable art history tour.

Jam Pedals

Peter Max's Palette

Not only do these pedals sport a psychedelic look, they're very trippy-sounding as well.

SNAZZYFX pedals

Ed Roth Would Be Proud

I took one look at these pedals and was instantly transported back to my childhood–reading issues of CARtoons and admiring Rat Fink drawings.

Richtone pedals

Crouch End

With the Kick Disk you can make effect-knob changes from the comfort of an upright position.

The extender to which the disc attaches is somewhat flexible so you don't have to worry about snapping the shaft of the potentiometer.

KickDisk

Petit Pedals

The Pedal Board Tamer is aimed at the looper who doesn't want to drag around a big rig but still wants to use specific effects. It's designed to work with these small form-factor pedals that don't include any bypass controls. The routing in the pedalboard handles all that.

Stylish shoes not included.

Pedal Board Tamer

Managed Mutagenesis

Digitech's iStomp is a DSP-based effects pedal. You use your iOS device to purchase different software "pedals" and download them (one at a time) to the iStomp.

iStomp

If Liberace Was a Guitar Player

I suppose there's got to be someone out there who has lamented the fact that they just couldn't find a Swarovski-crystal-encrusted capo.

G7th capos

Change Key, Check Pitch

If you want a capo that's more James Doohan and less Paris Hilton, this combination capo/tuner is probably right for you.

On Board Research capo tuner

Never Miss a Tweet

Sure, some people will use this for things like lyrics and chord charts, but I suspect that most will look at it as a way to monitor their social network updates during a gig.

Strumbuddy

Resistance is Useful

This is a clever little magnet that drops into your tremolo system. The magnet keeps the bridge locked in place (and in tune) but as soon you lean on the whammy bar it breaks loose.

It's just strong enough to lock the bridge, yet weak enough that you don't really notice it.

Super-Vee

Branching Out

Not content with just using wood to fashion their picks, Timber Tones is now making picks out of bone and shells.

Maybe they should rename their company to "Timbre Tones." Then again, that would be like saying "Tone Tones" so it may not be a very good idea after all.

Timber Tones picks

Chord Dice

I'm a sucker for polyhedral dice, as is evidenced by my affection for the Muzundrum I saw at NAMM a couple of years back.

Chord Dice

Applied Physics

On one hand you've got Riff Bands to provide resistance and on the other you've got Riff Grips to provide friction.

Riff Bands and Riff Grips

Never Be Pickless

I never realized that if you take an "s" away from the word "Pickless" you get "Pickles."

I suppose I've never realized that because "pickless" isn't really a word.

Pick Grips

Pursuit of Desiccation

The Hornblower is a little device that pulls air through your horn to keep it dry so you don't develop the wrong kind of funk.

If I had one of these, I would have no choice but to nickname it "Horatio."

The Hornblower

Paint By Numbers, Play By Colors

Color coding each chord makes it easier for beginning guitar players to figure out where to put their fingers.

The little colored dots go under a clear plastic sheet that leaves the fret free for, well, fretting.

Ez Guitar Trainer

Scales of a Different Stripe

It may seem obvious, really, but like those triangular rulers with different scales for architects, these rulers have different scales for piano players.

Pianowand
Next Up: Percussion

©2012 Barry Wood