Barry Wood's NAMM Oddities 2024 Edition

 Packrat Barry

Instruments

Audio Agronomy

The Resonant Garden is made up of groups of wires that are signal generators, and three separate effects units. The wires can be brushed, strummed, flicked, etc. You can also tap on the panel. There are plenty of CV outputs so this can be integrated into your existing modular system.

folktek

Goodbye Black Key/White Key

Due to the layout of the buttons, once you know the shape of a chord you can play it in any key and it doesn't change. It can also be programed to light up the keys in the scale that you want to play in.

Cautionary Coloration

Nature often uses bright coloration for venomous creatures as a way of saying "stay away." It seems Hohner is doing the same.

hohner

Petite Piano

This accommodating gentleman agreed to provide a sense of scale for my photo of this 4 1/2 octave kids piano.

pearlriverusa

Bantam Weight

The X1 piano is a svelte 130 lbs. (or 59kg for those of you using a rational measurement system). There are options for pickups and MIDI as well.

keybird-instruments

Fit For a King

But made for a prince, the Prince actually. You can read about the origin and history of this piano on the Yamaha websites.

yamaha

Nothing Says "Class" Like Neon

I'm sure this is using LED lighting but the plexiglass housing provides a retro neon ambiance. I'm surprised there aren't integrated beverage holders.

bluethnerworld

Shruti Fruti, Hey Ruti

The gift for the Indian classical musician in your life that has everything, a very classy Shruti Box.

olddelhimusic

Vreeble

This electric sitar from Danelectro has a paint job that jogged some of my neurons that hadn't been active for probably half a century and I remembered the name of the custom paint that produces this effect.

danelectro

A Piece of History

This is the Minimoog that Patrick Moraz has owned since 1972. When I played it (of course I had to play it) I found that the pitch wheel didn't have a spring to return it to zero. That made me even more impressed with his playing.

moogseum

The Ocarina of Time

I would be sorely disappointed if this electric ocarina didn't come with Zelda sheet music.

fineassist2

Thereminiature

Like many offerings from the Stylophone folks, this Theremin is quite compact.

stylophone

All the Notes

The Hanago is tuned to a major scale but because it has what amounts to a single fret, you can get any note you need within a two-octave range.

koaura

Simply Adorable

This cute little Bb/F french horn has a bell diameter of less than 7".

tjmastermusic

The Unexamined Life…

While you do embouchure and finger training, you can make sure you aren't (or are) producing sufficient amounts of stink face when you're really in the groove.

pampetmusic

Quantitative Practice

The PCTS (Pocket Compression Training System) will produce hard data on your ability to produce consistent air pressure as you progress in your brass journey.

trumpetlegacy

Big Mouth

Although they do offer acrylic mouthpieces, it seems that this gargantuan 3D-printed mouthpiece was produced primarily to attract the likes of me.

pickettblackburn

Augmented Fiddle

This hybrid electric/acoustic violin has speakers for its built-in reverb and looper. It's also got a 1/4" audio output.

Breaking the Mold

The Novia electric violin looks more like an F1 car than a traditional violin, and for that, I salute them.

naomi

Houdini's Clarinet

I waited and waited but the clarinet was not able to loose it's bonds and escape the Chinese Water Torture Cell.

nuvoinstrumental

A Sax For Wonder Woman

At least it's easy to tell when you need to use the spit valve.

chateau-wind

Dude's Hammered

At $895 for a mouthpiece, you've either got a lot of disposable income, or you're deadly serious about your tone.

jodyjazz

Bellectomy

This might look like a sax that was in a horrible accident but it's actually a silent sax MIDI controller.

Gone Pear Shaped

The "Elesa" electronic sax has just let herself go, that, or she's become classier and has adopted the shape of a bottle of fine wine.

fineassist

One-Chord Wonders

These are essentially harmonicas that play single chords. The Accord Major (ACC-01) models come in C, F & G, and the Accord Minor (ACC-02) models play Am, D, and E major.

suzukimusic-global
Next Up: Techno Geek Toys

©2024 Barry Wood