Year round, Nashville is Music City, but for one long weekend in July, it also carries the crown of music gear city as the industry descends on the Summer NAMM show. We're on the scene all weekend bringing you videos and news of latest releases. Take a look at the coolest gear we've seen so far below, and keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages for live updates from the floor.
Reverend Guitars
Reverend has always been one of our favorite brands, one that impossibly pairs high-quality craftsmanship and rad design with affordable price points. We caught up with Ken Haas to get a better look at the PA-1 Pete Anderson signature model and the Club King 290. Things that set the PA-1 apart: innovative hollowbody bracing and a killer contour knob. Enjoy the hoarse NAMM-voices!
Martin Guitars
As a guitar maker, Martin always does an amazing job honoring their 180 year legacy while embracing new designs and concepts. Take a look at this year's lineup of limited edition and Custom Shop masterworks featuring totally unique artwork, inlay styles and wood combinations.
Pittsburgh Modular
Pittsburgh Modular has been on forefront of the Eurorack, patch-bay revolution for years now, and always shows up to NAMM with a bevy of tweak-able toys and other worldly sounds. This year, at Summer NAMM, we got a sneak peak at the soon-to-be-game-changing patchbox system. This box is designed to open the vast world of modular synthesis to all guitarists.
3rd Power Amps
Easily one of the most exciting new amps we tested at Summer NAMM 2015 was the Dual Citizen from 3rd Power. This studio-friendly head combines the classic sounds of both Vox and Fender-esque circuits, and even lets you blend between the two. Expect amazing things from this company, and be sure to check out 3rd Power amps for sale on Reverb.
The Marshall Astoria Series
One of the stars of the 2015 Summer NAMM show in Nashville was the new Astoria series from Marshall which represent an entirely new design from the historic maker. These slick amps feature 12AX7s in the front with GC34 rectifier tube, a pair of KT66 power tubes, and are all hand-wired in the UK just like the original Marshall amps of the '50s and '60s.
Walrus Audio
We're always stoked to see our pals from Walrus Audio, and were especially delighted to get a preview of the forthcoming Messner overdrive. This pedal marks Walrus' foray into the transparent overdrive realm, and as Colt from Walrus puts it, it's an actual transparent boost, not just a clean gain overdrive that's labeled as such. The Walrus guys were also eager to show off the updated version of the newly released Bellwether delay.
Premier Builders Guild
In the past several years, the Premier Builders Guild has emerged as a true force in the waves of boutique guitar and amp design. It's no secret that certain members of Reverb staff are huge fans of Fano guitars and Tone King amps, not to mention other PBG brands like Two Rock, B3, and Koll. This year's booth showed off an updated take on the popular Falcon combo amp with onboard reverb and floor channel selection, as well as a new standard series of Fano's stellar Alt de Facto lineup.
This "Satan is Real" Martin is in tribute to the Louvin Brother's album of the same name.
Red Panda adds the pitch-shifting Raster delay to its line of ultra-innovative pedals.
Roland's new JC-40 Jazz Chorus brings the classic JC-120 to a smaller format.
A Cheech and Chong tribute guitar from Schecter.
Introducing the TV Jones Spectra Sonic Supreme.
Earthquaker Devices
The crew from Earthquaker Devices has treated us to all sorts of weird noises lately, and are always a sure bet for a new crop of innovative stomps. This summer, releases include a smaller version of the Palisades overdrive called the Dunes, a no-knob octave boost dubbed the Tentacle, and most intriguing of all, an LFO-driven sweeping filter pedal known as the Interstellar Orbiter.
Guild
Guild has been through a lot of changes over the years, but through each era, has continued to churn out absolutely timeless guitars and basses. This year, the biggest news from Guild isn't the updated Starfire basses (including an ultra limited edition Chris Hillman model), or their delightfully well-priced Westerly series of acoustics. It's the news of their new California factory scaling up to full production and churning out domestically made, modern version of their classic designs.
Roland
Analog, patch-bay synths are back in a big way, and for 2015, keyboard juggernaut Roland has entered the arena with their new set of modules. In this video, Peter from Roland shows us how analog tone and digital convenience interplay in Roland's newest set of releases.
Awesome sparkle finish on this custom Asher guitar.
A new lineup of superb ukuleles from Cordoba.
The newly expanded Guild Starfire bass series packs plenty of round, vintage tone.
Marshall brings combines vintage and modern sensibilities with the new Astoria amps.
An updated Martin D-35 built in celebration of the model's 50th Anniversary.