Barry Wood's NAMM Oddities 2019 Edition

 Packrat Barry

Instruments

Sheer Harp Attack

An electric harp, shaped like an eighth note, with steel strings and guitar pickups. This is the sort of product that I come to NAMM for.

The maker of this instrument told me that he was inspired to pursue his dreams partly because of his following the NAMM Oddities over the years. I feel honored.

Galaxy Electric Harp

All Your Bass Are Belong to Us

This covers all the, if you'll excuse the pun, basses. There are 20 strings in total comprised of a 6-string fretless bass and a 14-string fretted bass.

10S Guitars

It Came From the Deep

Had I known that there would eventually be so many weird ukuleles at NAMM, I would have dedicated an entire section to the little beasties.

Koaloha ukulele

Several Flavors of Creepy

The soundholes on The Day of the Dead and the pirate ukuleles are interesting, but the eyeless dalmation puppy is the stuff of nightmares.

Mahalo ukuleles

Flashy McFlashface

Why not put sound-activated lights in a uke? Even I think that pairing this with the LED Guitar Strap would be too much.

Museum-Grade Ukes

The 100th anniversary Kiwaya ukuleles sell for a cool $2,235 each.

Takumi ukuleles

The Complete Package

Without the case, the ukulele itself would be fairly pedestrian. It's the set that really makes it work.

Enya Music ukulele and case

Proteus Syndrome Panda

I'm sure there's an intelligent and sensitive panda deep within this hideous creature.

Amahi panda ukulele

Pianda or Pandano?

This panda is just slightly less disturbing than the "Elephant Panda" above.

Seiler panda piano

A Challenge Lifelong It Is

A piano for those gigs where you have to play in a tawdry alien bar in a futuristic dystopia and Harrison Ford is going to bust in looking for a fugitive, shoot up the place, and leave freakish bodies lying everywhere. Your cheap tuxedo is slimed with purple blood and there are bits of alien brain in your hair which makes you desperately question your life choices. And then there are the bad gigs too.

Carl Rönisch piano

The Good Silver on Display

If you're going to have a piano with silver-plated hardware, it better damn well be transparent so you can see it.

Kayserburg piano

I Am Your Density

I feel that I was destined to meet The Little Gem transparent banjo ukulele seeing as it ticks several Oddities boxes. Fortunately time travel was not required.

Can You Smell That Smell

The Little Dragon travel tuba from last year is now available in colors. If they painted this to look like intenstines then the sound it makes would be wholly expected.

Little Dragon travel tuba

Sexy Saxes

These do an admirable job of straddling the line that divides classy and cheesy. I suppose it would come down to the context that you use them in.

Château painted saxes

The Bentley of Harmonicas

I would have said "Cadillac" but when a harmonica sells for $2,695, it's beyond any domestic car maker analogy.

Philharmonicas

In the Pocket

Usually that phrase is talking about the players' timing, not the place where you can store your bass.

Tiny Boy Bass

For Paul's Evil Twin

This is a very mean-looking take on the classic Hofner-style violin bass.

This is the bass that I would expect Crowley to play had he pursued a career in music.

SVS Designs bass

One Man's Trash

Cigar box guitars were originally budget homemade affairs, but now you've got high quality components and people making resonator versions. To paraphrase Dolly Parton, "You have to get rich in order to play as if you were poor."

Culebra Guitars cigar box resonator

More Me

The Deflector—available for trumpet, trombone, and straight soprano sax—is intended to allow the player to better hear themselves by reflecting some of the sound back toward the player.

Jazzlab Deflector

Ligature Green Men

Based on Orson Welles' famous radio play, "War of the Woodwinds."

Rovner Products

Aftermarket Add-Ons

It appears the Yamaha Venova is popular enough for a third-party ligature to thrive.

BG Franck Bichon

Like a Candle in the Wind

That would normally be the way to characterize a flutist playing in windy conditions, but the Win-d-Fender changes all that.

Win-D-Fender
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©2019 Barry Wood