NAMM 2013 Hits Nashville

If you couldn’t make it to Nashville this past weekend for Summer NAMM 2013 (National Association of Music Merchants), you definitely missed out. As one of the music industries largest trade shows, Summer NAMM is the best way to find out about upcoming products, as well as to catch some celebrity appearances and great performances.

Fittingly hosted inside Nashville’s new Music City Center, this year’s Summer NAMM may just have been the most exciting yet. This year’s performances included the Billy Cox Band of Gypsies Experience, a Hendrix tribute band. The Hendrix theme was continued with appearances by Jimi’s sister, Janie Hendrix.

However, the true excitement of Summer NAMM is the revelations of new products. Famous amplifier company Vox announced a series of new mini amps; these modeling amps feature all sorts of new circuitry and effects to make their small size no obstacle for full sounding tones. Featuring the ability to accurately model 11 different types of amps, the new Vox Mini3 G2’s offer everything one could want in a miniature amp, even the classic Vox diamond grill cloth.

In the acoustic world, Martin released several new varieties of guitar, including several jumbo bodies. With the high standards Martin has set for themselves with previous releases, these new lines will have a tough time competing, but something tells me they will do just fine. Taking the spotlight of Martin’s new products is their signature Ed Sheeran model. The popular UK singer, who has since collaborated with American pop acts One Direction and Taylor Swift, basically released the Martin LX-E1 that he typically plays on but with a new sapele top and random logos from his album. As far as signature guitars go, this one isn’t too over the top, but you will have to deal with people asking why you bought the Ed Sheeran signature model.

Unsurprisingly, the Ed Sheeran signature model won Best in Show this year, but it shared the award with several other booths, including the Roland Cube mini amp and the Zoom H6 high quality portable recorder. Start getting geared up for the next big trade event, the NAMM show in January in Anaheim, by leaving us a comment about your favorite (or least favorite) parts of Summer NAMM.

About Dave Abrams

Dave has been eating, living, and breathing music since before he could talk. This makes Dave perfect for his role here at Guitar News Daily.