Barry Wood's NAMM Oddities 2018 Edition

 Packrat Barry

Instruments

Off to an Auspicious Start

The very first booth I visited had this lovely four-neck Soup Uke. The classic lunch box ukes were a welcome bonus.

Rockin The Clock

Another Kind of 12-String

I don't see many electric harp guitars, let alone ones with unusual body shapes like this.

Steve Klein Guitars

Ancient Meets Modern

The Astral Whip isn't technically a bullroarer but calling it by one of the more accurate names like whirly tube, corrugaphone, or bloogle resonator wouldn't have the same gravitas.

For Outlaw Jug Bands

The 1/4" output jack and the skull are big clues that this isn't your ordinary washboard.

Traginer Washboards

A Different Sort of Slide Guitar

As you slide the fretboard in and out you change the fret position of the chord that you're fingering so you only need to learn a few chord shapes and you're ready to, uh, rock.

Jammy

Midget Bass

I think the Stinger would prefer it if you called it a "little bass." Even "dwarf bass" would be more acceptable.

Stonefield Musical Instrument Company

While My Banjo Gently Weeps

This is targeted at that elusive demographic, the banjo playing Beatlemaniac.

Recording King

Circulele

I would have had a stellar career in marketing coming up with pure gold like Circulele.

Eddy Finn Ukulele Company

Laminated Laminates

Prisma takes used skateboard decks, pulls off the grip tape, glues and clamps them together to form chunks of wood to make instruments from. These are similar to the Skate Guitars I saw a few years back but these guys do more contouring to bring out different colors in the underlying layers.

Prisma Guitars

The Littlest Giant

The Little Dragon travel tuba is merely large, rather than enormous like a normal tuba.

Hebei Zhengou Industrial Co., Ltd.

Domo-kun

If you lay an egg on stage while playing this ukulele, you can blame it on Domo.

Mitsuba Gakki Hawaii, Corp.

End the Tyranny of Recorders

In 2013 I saw WindStars' full-featured woodwinds. This year they were showing instruments meant as easy-to-play starters that would help you develop the skills to eventually play the real thing.

WindStars

Shocking Case

Never go home with someone else's instrument again.

Jupiter Band Instruments, Inc.

Violins Don't Heal, You Will

This appears to provide nice protection for your instrument, but possibly at the expense of your back.

Bam Cases

Like Wrapping a Buick

I'm not quite sure what demographic these are targeting.

Shanghai Kinglos Musical Instrument Co., Ltd.

High Performance Squeeze Boxes

Some serious engineering when into these accordions, inside and out.

Maestro Accordions

The Flamingo of Pianos

The M. Liminal model seems to be standing on one leg. I wish they would have brought one of these to NAMM.

Fazioli

Butterfly Effect

While the paint job on this piano grabbed my attention, their website has some other truly strange pianos.

Mendelssohn Pianos

Footnotes

The Music Pads come as an 8-note diatonic scale set.

Next Up: Techno Geek Toys

©2018 Barry Wood