Annual NAMM Show Roundup
Let’s start my annual NAMM report right with this statement from John Mlynczak, NAMM President & CEO, “The 2025 NAMM Show will unite our global industry in support of those impacted in Los Angeles. We are coordinating relief efforts with our partners and are communicating with our members in L.A. on their needs. The NAMM Foundation has committed $50,000 to our L.A. Wildfires Relief Fund, and we are overwhelmed by the generosity of the many additional contributions.”
The energy was super-high this year with record breaking numbers of brands and attendees – a recorded 63,000 at the Marshall Amp booth alone, bringing in tons of celebrities on FOMO.
The keynote [pun intended] news was the return to the NAMM show of the top brands MIA for the past five years – The Marshall Group (formerly Marshall Amps & Sound), Fender/Jackson Guitars, Gibson, Roland,
and PRS.
The Brands celebrating anniversaries were ESP Guitars 50 years, Shure Corp 100 years and their CEO Christine Schyvinck who also won a She Rocks Award; and PRS Guitars at 40 years who put on a performance showcase with artist Orianthi.
I started my NAMM show rounds with Maricela “MJ” Juarez, Custom Shop Manager at Seymour Duncan, Santa Barbara, the company that designs and makes guitar and bass pickups. MJ has wound pickups for Eddie Van Halen, Billy Gibbons, Steve Miller, David Gilmour, Peter Frampton, Los Lobos, Slash, and Angus. The top booth artist this year was Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones who has his own line of bass guitars, “Jones Musical Instruments,” displayed at his first ever booth at NAMM. Jones did a presentation and signing at Duncan’s booth on his Stealth model bass which features Duncan’s Quarter Pound P-Bass pickup with its large mid-range presence and maximum output. Later, MJ took me to Jones’ booth to meet him directly, and I was indeed honored. And of course, did a photo of him with bass in hand and MJ.
At the DW Drums booth I talked with rep Jerry Zacarias of Santa Barbara. The company manufactures their world-renowned drums in Oxnard, CA. This year they showcased their limited (only 100 produced) bronze true-cast tone drum series with more bell-bronze in a 7×14 inch snare model.They awarded Sheila E with the 1st Annual Lifetime Achievement Award. At the booth were their limited editions of the Icon Snare Drum series, which pays tribute to some of rock history’s most legendary drummers. Each drum has a laser cut graphic specific to the iconic drummer represented, hand-inlaid over a 100% North American Maple shell. Artists included in the Icon series are Sheila E., Alex González, Hal Blaine, Jim Keltner, Mick Fleetwood, and Frank Zappa.
I had an appointment with “Metal” Joe Williams, the Master Builder at Jackson Guitars,in their private meeting room on the 2nd floor of the convention center, limited to dealers only this year. I’ve long known Joe and his mentor, Master Luthier Mike Shannon, who made my custom Jackson guitar. Williams and I talked shop. As this was Saturday, the Jackson team had taken the limited-edition guitars made by Williams back to their Corona, CA factory for safekeeping. Williams showed me a BTS photo of his “Siamese-Head King V,” the first of its kind, taken in process at his factory bench. We decided to have him do a video for our readers.
The Marshall Group (formerly Marshall Amplification and Sound) saw its return to NAMM to say, “Things Just Got Louder” and better for musicians. Marshall Group CEO Jeremy de Maillard said in his press about their return to NAMM, “Marshall amps have earned a special place in music history, and we’re excited about connecting with our fans and customers at this globally important event. We have some great plans for showcasing the best that Marshall has to offer in hand-built amps while introducing several new products to the Marshall portfolio.”
Marshall won NAMM’s coveted “BEST IN SHOW AWARD” for its JCM800 Modified 100-watt amplifier, “inspired by the legendary JCM800 that shaped rock and metal, popular since the late 1970s.” It features a tight switch which cuts the low frequencies when you add more gain; two levels of overdrive – OD 1 & 2 that add more clicking and gain; a mid-range switch to boost those killer solos and fill out your tone; and a low tone switch for a pure clean tone to complete the package. At the booth were Kiki Wong, Nova Twins, Ryan “Fluff” Bruce, Brett Papa, and Debbie Gough. Huge nods to its support of the L.A. fire victims by partnering with iconic DIY venue Chain Reaction to host an all-star benefit show during NAMM, with all proceeds going directly to MusiCares. Marshall also donated $10,000 to the same organization and pledged continued support for the L.A. music community as it begins rebuilding.
Ibanez Guitars global rep and guitarist Ryan Voelker showed me their new RG Axe Design Lab’s latest electric guitar model RGR52ET in black with Evertune bridge – yes an auto-tuner – Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker Pickup, and Fishman Fluence Voicing Switch on volume control. I took it for a spin and the neck-in body with Makassar Ebony fretboard made those high runs so smooth and easy, a must buy.
Holding its place in metal kingdom is Blackstar Amplificationwho debuted the Blackstar DA100 Ruby Doug Aldrich Signature Amp, with Aldrich at the booth. The amp has a 5-way footswitch Effects Loop with phone app to store your settings, an OD vintage voice, and a fine-tuned midrange for power chords, in a classic ruby red cabinet. Aldrich jammed with Blackstar artists Jared James Nichols and Marco Mendoza at the booth and had a photo op with fans.
Yamaha Corporation took its usual third of the convention center third floor, transforming it into a hands-on showcase of its various product lines. On display was the custom grand piano made for Alicia Keys’ 2023 tour. They were touting new products – the TAG3 C TransAcoustic Guitar, the YEV Pro Electric Violin, and the SEQTRAK designed for composing and performing electronic music from anywhere. I talked with Product Specialist Kramer Kurtz Ison about their all-in-one keyboard PSR-SX920 that has music clips from all genres of recorded songs. He said, “It lets you be your ultimate one-man band with cover songs, you can successfully get it going with a few button clicks. They are not the actual copyrighted songs, but it’s a playlist that uses the title of the song for reference of the style, so you are not playing the song that is copyrighted. The song chords are AI generated and the accompaniment is designed by Yamaha.”
Serious nods to the Eargasm Corp. for its generous donation of free earplugs and a tote bag to all NAMM registered attendees – a most appreciated move to protect your ears at NAMM and future live music performances. Not to be missed was the Boutique Guitar Booth curated by Jamie Gale.
The 13th Annual She Rocks Awardshad the NAMM Foundation as presenting sponsor. It was held in the Pacifica Ballroom at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel on Saturday, January 25. I did the red carpet and awards show. Highlights were A-List performances by Samantha Fish, and heavy metal band Stitched Up Heart. Winners were AIJIA, Paula Cole, Katie Daryl, Alecia “Mixi” Demner, Samantha Fish, Beth Heidt, Theresa Hoffman, Amanda Palmer, Chris Schyvinck, Nurit Siegel Smith, and Rozanna Weinberger. Event co-hosts with its founder Laura Whitmore were Lindsey Stirling and Jennifer Batten.
Jack White was awarded the 40th Annual TEC Innovation Award. Additional TEC Awards of note were Avid – Sibelius for Android & Chromebook; Mix with the Masters – Mix with the Masters; Universal Audio – Apollo Twin X USB; Solid State Logic – PURE DRIVE OCTO; AMS Neve – Genesys Black G3D; Sennheiser – HD 490 PRO; Earthworks Audio – DM6 SeisMic Kick Drum Microphone; Neumann – KK 104 U / KK 105 U; Moog Music – Mariana Bass Synth; Shure – SLX-D Portable Digital Wireless System; and Avid – Pro Tools 2024.
The 23rd Annual Parnelli Awards is all about the people that make it happen in the live events industry. This year theLifetime Achievement Award: Malcolm Weldon; Visionary Award: Roy Bickel; Audio Innovator Award: Dave Rat; and NextGen Award: Sarah Kufel. Full list here: https://parnelliawards.com/
411: www.namm.org
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