NAMM 2020 Day 2 Gallery

Synergy Amps Signature

Synergy Amps came to Anaheim bearing the fruit of the partnership with Steve Vai that they announced here at NAMM exactly a year ago. The shred lord's signature tone module features dual 12AX7s and two channels—one dialed to match his Carvin Legacy amp, and another based on a Synergy module called Bman whose tonal bent you can probably guess at. The module goes for $399 street.

Soldano Custom Amplification SLO30

Legendary amp builder to the stars Mike Soldano of Soldano Custom Amplification came to NAMM with both an updated version of his classic SLO100 head (not shown) and a new 30-watt SLO30 head, which features half as many 5881 tubes as its big brother. Both amps have new DC warmers on the preamp tubes, which drastically reduces extraneous noise when they're dialed to high-gain sounds, and they also feature a newly optimized serial effects loop, standardized front-panel depth knob, and a front-panel channel toggle. The SLO100 goes for about $4,100, and the SLO30 starts at $2,400.

Morningstar Engineering MC8

MIDI is becoming easier and more ubiquitous in modern guitar rigs. The new MC8 from Morningstar Engineering is a stunningly powerful controller that might open your brain to a whole new way of controlling your board. Programming is a snap thanks to their well-designed web editor or the standalone app. Streets at $299.

Kauer Guitars Starliner Deluxe

Kauer Guitars brought their usual array of eye-catching offsets and this Starliner Deluxe, which is a collaboration with Prisma Guitars, has a top made of skateboard decks. It’s loaded with a Descendent bridge and Lollar Gold Foil pickups. This collaboration has been dubbed “Kauerisma.” Streets at $3350.

JAM Pedals Delay Llama Xtreme

One of the coolest combinations of classic and weird we’ve heard at this show is JAM Pedals new Delay Llama Xtreme. Powered by three analog chips, it offers 800 ms of lush delay, plus four programmable presets that can do everything from vibrato echo to random repeats, pitch-shifting, synth-like awesomeness, and other stuff that has to be heard to be fathomed. There’s also an infinite feedback button, a dry-kill function, expression control, and more, all for around $339 street.

Catalinbread Effects Giygas

Catalinbread Effects came to NAMM with a new fuzz named after some bad dude from the EarthBound video game. It features three silicon chips, a wet/dry blend, and a handy midrange control with separate midpoint adjuster. Street price is around $199.

Origin Effects Revival Trem

Dig “brownface”-style tremolo? Origin Effects brought the wonderful-sounding new Revival Trem to NAMM. Loaded with flexible features, it boasts switchable waveforms, tap tempo, switchable EQ profiles, and a separate drive circuit. Street price is $430.

Suhr Hombre

The latest entry in Suhr Custom’s line of boutique amps is the Hombre, revealed at NAMM. It's for brownface sound aficionados, but turn it up and there's no shortage of bark or bite. True to the old school, it's got normal and bright inputs, tube propelled tremolo, 20 watts output, and a Celestion V-Type 12 inch speaker. The tag $1,599.

Piano Arc Brock360 Circular Keyboard

If only there were a guitar equivalent, right?

Faith Guitars HiGloss Baritone Neptune

Shropshire, England-based Faith Guitars came to NAMM with four new models, including the company's first baritone: the HiGloss Baritone Neptune (pictured). Another Faith first is the nylon-string Lyra, which makes classical guitars tones accessible in a thinner, more easily wrangled neck. There are also two new entries in their Blue Moon series, made of mango wood. The Neptune BluesMoon has an MSRP of $1,249, the Lyra's about $1,100, and the Bari lists at $1,795.

Santa Cruz Guitar's Richard Hoover and Rick Turner of Rick Turner Guitars Collaboration

See that inlay? It's emblematic of the Legends in Lutherie collaboration between Santa Cruz Guitar's Richard Hoover and Rick Turner of Rick Turner Guitars that's produced the highly exclusive 10-set run of paired Turner Model 1 and Santa Cruz non-cutaway FS models unveiled at NAMM. Using carefully sourced woods, including redwood from a bridge in Yosemite National Park built in the 1920s and recycled after its collapse, they look, sound, and play beautifully. (Check out our upcoming NAMM demo video featuring the FS at premierguitar.com) These works of playable art carry a collector's price of $18,995 for each pair.

Vox Amps

Vox Amps came to NAMM with both the limited-edition V847-C wah (right, $229 street)—which is voiced for deeper, more metal-friendly excursions—and the new Valvenergy series of overdrive and distortion pedals. All Valvenergy pedals—the Silk Drive, Mystic Edge, Copperhead Drive, and Cutting Edge (all $179 street)—feature miniature Nutube technology, a nifty-lookin’ oscilloscope display, and switchable cabinet simulation. The tuner pedal goes for $99 street.

Vox Amps Bobcat

More cool guitar gear news from Vox Amps at NAMM. They’ve got two new versions of the Bobcat semi-hollowbody that pay homage to ‘60s Italian Voxes: the soapbar-outfitted V90, and the single-coil-equipped S66. Both feature a weight-relieved center block, a maple body, and an ebony-topped mahogany neck for approximately $1,100-$1,300 street.

Harmony Guitars Juno & Comet

Harmony Guitars came to NAMM with two neato new 25”-scale 6-strings—the Juno (right, $1,199 street), and the semi-hollow Comet ($TBA). The former is a modern interpretation of the brand’s ‘50s Stratotone featuring P-90 pickups, a chopped T-style bridge, and a push-pull rhythm feature on the volume control. The Comet is a prototype still, but has gold-foil humbuckers and set-neck construction.