After two years of postponements and virtual alternatives, the 2022 NAMM convention is back in full swing this week in Anaheim, California.
The gathering of music gear companies, dealers, players, and fans is the musical instruments industry's biggest show, and it serves as a springboard for lots of new gear announcements.
The first true day of the event is Friday, June 3, but companies are already unveiling new gear—and will continue to do so all week.
We'll be on hand to share the latest and greatest new gear at the show, and will update this page. So keep checking back throughout the week and weekend.
UAFX's New Amp Pedal Trio Place a Studio at Your Feet
Dig into the new UAFX line with Andy Martin.
Universal Audio's latest trio of effects pedals are here. Unwilling to be just another line of amp-in-a-box pedals, the new Woodrow '55 Tweed, Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier, and Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier promise players an entire studio-in-a-box experience. Each effect faithfully recreates the signal path of their respective namesake amps, while offering additional tweaks like dialing in emulated effects, swapping in aftermarket speakers, pairing with classic cabs, and even setting the amount of room mic ambience in your mix.
The Woodrow '55 Tweed, Ruby '63 Top Boost, and Dream '65 Reverb are available now.
Gamechanger Audio Revs Up the Motor Synth MKII
A closer look at Gamechanger Audio's Motor Synth MKII from the Superbooth floor.
Initially unveiled at May's Superbooth show, the new Motor Synth MKII from Gamechanger Audio is another piece of gear that'll be out later this year—and is on display at NAMM. The Motor Synth is based on a motor oscillator engine capable of producing sine, saw, square, and M waveforms. It features two separate motor voices with four oscillators each that can be operated in mono, unison, or a four-note polyphonic mode. The included third voice is a digital engine that players can use independently or to modify the raw sound of the other motor voices, as well as as a noise generator or classic waveform producer.
Guild Unveils New Affordable Surfliner Offset
First look at the new Guild Surfliner models with Chicago Music Exchange.
Guild has unveiled the newest addition to its product line, a vintage-inspired offset called the Surfliner. This bolt-on model takes inspiration from Guild guitars of the past and features appointments (like pickup switches and a vintage headstock shape) that call to that era of production. It's packed with a DeArmond Aerosonic single-coil in the neck and vintage-style LB-1 humbucker in the bridge with a switching system that allows for up to seven total pickup combinations, so players can get anywhere from bright and jangly to full and warm tones from this guitar. The best part? It retails at just $449.
The Guild Surfliner is available now.
Playtime Engineering's New Blipblox SK2 Is for the Kids
Introducing the Blipblox SK2 synthesizer.
Playtime Engineering is back with a fresh new update to their Blipbox synthesizer for kids of all ages. As was true of the debut model, the SK2 is clearly not your typical childproof music toy: its MIDI input and 1/4-inch output jack allow it to fully function like any other synthesizer in your rig. The box now includes 400 built-in melodies, wavetable synthesis, stereo delay, and a built-in drum machine with several new drum samples. Boasting a vibrant new paint job and improved kid-friendly LED lights to help guide users, the Blipbox SK2 is the ideal instrument for children's explorations in electronic music.
Lzzy Hale's New Signature Gibson Explorerbird Is Here
Check out Lzzy Hale's new Signature Explorerbird, cooked up by Gibson.
Gibson has finally unveiled the new Lzzy Hale signature model, which has been teased by Lzzy in interviews and stage-tested by her during Halestrom performances over the last few months. This is Hale's fourth Gibson signature model, but it's definitely the most unique of the bunch. Officially dubbed the Explorerbird, its an eye-catching hybrid mashup of the iconic Explorer and Firebird models, fitted with features and playability qualities of both instruments.
The Explorerbird is available now for $2,799.
Artiphon Intros the Orba 2
Catch a glimpse of the "play any sound in the world" in action.
Artiphon has introduced Orba 2, the follow-up to their acclaimed handheld combo synth/looper/controller. The original was equipped with internal sounds and a circular playing surface that reacts to nine simple gestures: tap, press, radiate, tilt, shake, spin, vibrato, move, and bump. Now, users have the option to record and import their own sounds to create custom instruments. With a click of the button in the accompanying app, any sound you encounter can be sampled and turned into an Orba preset, complete with automatic quantization. Their integrated MPE looper has also been upgraded significantly and can record loops up to 128 bars or five minutes.
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