 Times may be tough, but you’d never know it roaming the halls at NAMM. Not even the latest economic headlines could stop the entrepreneurial spirit as new companies made their way to the show, offering plenty of exciting things to look at and maybe even consider for your own stores. So let’s welcome this year’s NAMM freshmen, the class of 2009. Go ahead! Cue up “I Believe I Can Fly,” “You Raise Me Up,” or the Vitamin C song “Friends Forever;” whichever one you choose.
One such company was GlassTones LLC, which introduced a new technology that “purifies the vibration” of a sold body electric guitar’s strings. This is done with a patented system that includes a 21-fret fret board, top nut, and a glass inlay in the saddles. The strings then vibrate between two points of the glass material. The company, which plans to introduce more products at Summer NAMM, has artist testimonial videos from the show on its MySpace page.
Fibenare traveled a long way to debut its new guitars at NAMM. The company hails from Hungary in Eastern Europe and its offerings were inspired by the looks and sounds of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. The resulting Fibenare Regime Series includes the Basic Jazz, Globe bass and flagship Erotic models.
Also bringing some European flair was Fusion Products. The British company made its U.S. debut with gig bags available for guitar, cello, keyboard, brass and woodwind instruments. These hybrid soft cases “combine the functionality of a gig bag with the rigidity to protect an instrument,” the company said, and they employ the Fusion system, which lets the player join attachment bags to the main instrument bag.
Instrument protection was also on the minds of GuitarGuard, which introduced a skin that fits a guitar “with minimal surface coverage in only the places you really need it.” Available in two styles—Gibskin and Stratjacket—the GuitarGuard comes on and off without interfering with the instrument’s “look, sound or playability.” They’re made of eco-friendly materials and come in a choice of three colors—Classic Black, Obama Blue and Raging Red.
Madarozzo is the brainchild of Martin Ritter, whose 150-model gig bag and case line made its U.S. debut at the show. The cases are designed for fretted instruments and guitars of various sizes and shapes, ranging from standard models to Flying V, Explorer and Headless instruments. Some cases in the line can accommodate two electric guitars or basses, while additional models are available for keyboards, drums and percussion, stringed instruments and band instruments.
This year’s NAMM also brought a host of new instrument accessories to Anaheim for the first time. Among them was Jet Fretz. Founded by professional guitarist and luthier Jason Rivera, Jet Fretz offers frets in many different radiuses. They feature stabilization plates on each side of the fret, in addition to a specially-slotted fret board into which players can slide a dovetail base. According to the company, this allows for a 35 percent increase in sustain.
Pointless Picks offered stringed-instrument picks that were just that: pointless. Sporting a round shape, these picks are made from a highly-crystalline engineering polymer and come in three different thicknesses. According to the company, this unique shape is beneficial to players of all levels because “muscle memory is improved through elimination of points, while the raised grip ring eliminates dropping.”
Over at PuPSwitch’s booth, the company was showing off a new line of electronic guitar pickup switching systems. The four models were each “designed for ultra-low power consumption,” boasting an average battery life of two years, the company said. The first two models were based on a 12-position rotary switch and designed for players who didn’t want many switching options. The third model was made specifically for three-pickup guitars and features a five-way blade switch, while the fourth is based on a heavy duty three-way toggle, according to the company. It features DIP switches the player can use to “select a personal pickup wiring scheme.”
If technology is your speed, you may have also stopped by ZT Amplifiers. The company brought out its Lunchbox 2 guitar amp, which is compact enough to fit in a gig or carry-on bag. It offers 200 watts of power and 125 dB of sound, in addition to features like a headphone output, external speaker output and a line in.
Magus Innovations brought its Ultimate Tone Machine to NAMM. The handmade unit offers continuous high-fidelity guitar tube attenuation from 0 to -64 dB, the company said. It preserves the amp’s actual feel and offers a sweet spot tone at any level. A variety of options are available, such as a bedroom switch, plexi switch for accurate presence matching, and a 200-watt load for use with any size amp.
Of course not all of your customers are proficient at playing, yet. Some are just now taking the leap after playing games like “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band,” so Inspired Instruments introduced its You Rock Guitar to help bridge that gap. The You Rock Guitar not only works with popular music video games, but it’s compatible with programs like “Garage Band” and Cakewalk. It offers 50 internal sounds, doubles as a MIDI controller, and features a Rock 101 mode that teaches players the “20 chord progressions that changed the world.”
This list is not comprehensive and there are loads of new companies still left to discover, but here’s a gear switch to end things off—not something for you to sell, but rather a product that will help you sell. Invodo is offering a free service to manufacturers and retailers by which product videos are syndicated through your Web site. “We are working with music retailers to tap into our rich video library and improve their online sales,” said Gard Mayer, founder and vice president of sales at the company, which cites recent surveys that say “supporting products with online video can increase sales conversions between 30 and 40 percent.” More than 150 brands allowed Invodo to film products at the NAMM show, including Fender, Gibson, Moog, JBL, Ovation, ESP, Audio-Technica and Monster Cable.
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