NAMM Report, Part Seven!

It’s the last day of July, so we’ll conclude our official NAMM Report coverage here. We hope you’ve enjoyed all the new news we’ve brought you over the past couple of weeks. As you no doubt know by now you can review the report in its entirety in the Publications area of our website. Tomorrow inSync will return with it’s regular programming including Tech Tip of the Day and Word for the Day. See you tomorrow, in August. Whew, time sure does fly.

In keeping with Godin’s commitment to new guitar concepts comes the Multiac Jazz. At first glance the ‘Jazz’ has a familiar look with its single cutaway chambered body adorned with traditional F-holes and the Godin GJN1 mini humbucker at the top of the fingerboard. However the slotted headstock and the preamp controls on the upper bout may be the first clues towards discovering that this isn’t your Grandfathers jazz guitar.

Although capable of producing classic jazz guitar sounds courtesy of the Godin GJN1 pickup, the ‘Jazz’ has the power to take you far beyond traditional jazz guitar sounds. Each saddle in the bridge is actually an independent transducer which is supported by an on-board preamp and graphic EQ. Designed specifically for the Jazz, this system opens up a world of new sonic possibilities for all players. The crystalline acoustic guitar sounds produced by this system can be used on their own, or very effectively in combination with the neck position pickup. A small dose of the bridge output can be combined with the mellow sound of the GJN1 to produce added note definition so often missing in traditional Archtop guitar sounds. The Multiac Jazz also includes hexaphonic output from a 13-pin connector, which provides direct access to Roland GR-Series synthesisers, and the various ‘Virtual Guitar’ products that Roland has developed around the same 13-pin interface.

The Jazz is the first Godin guitar to make its debut featuring the Ergocut shaping technique. The Ergocut technique bevels the edges of the fingerboard and frets back in towards the center of the fingerboard providing an extremely comfortable feel-which will certainly come in handy when the sax player decides on an additional thirty choruses.

Each of these guitars features an exquisite ‘AAA’ grade top cut from a book-matched piece of Flamed Maple.

Yamaha introduced the little brother to their AW4416 in the all-new AW2816 Professional Audio Workstation. With the same great power and versatility of the already super powerful workstation in the AW4416, the AW2816 gives the user the same fantastic power available in their earlier unit broken down a little bit for those who find the AW4416 a little bit “over their heads.”  An incredible number of inputs and the power of an O2R coupled with the built in CDRW allows the user to keep their entire project within the digital domain with absolutely no degradation of audio quality. The superb built in effects and the full automation capabilities of this powerful little box, lend themselves to be very comfortable and easy to use in the mixing environment.  Of course, that’s not all it has to offer.  Open-ended expandability of the unit allows for a slew of optional in/out cards to meet the needs of even the most demanding engineers and environments out there.  Look forward to seeing this awesome addition to the Yamaha line coming later this fall for a retail price of around $2395.

Also new from Yamaha this summer is the all new AG Stomp Acoustic Guitar Preamp with Microphone Modeling.  The new AG Stomp is an ideal piece for anyone who plays acoustic guitar on stage or in the studio.  Plug in any acoustic guitar from its piezo pickup and let this piece transform your sound with its 8 microphone models, 14 great effects, and 4 band parametric e.q.  Also an ideal addition for those who plan on using the AG Stomp in the studio is the S/ PDIF digital output.  And how many of you have battled endlessly with feedback problems playing an acoustic guitar live?  No need to worry anymore with the excellent, instant feedback reducer on board.  With the simple touch of a switch, up to 5 channels are found and cut up to 20db for remarkably effective results!  Can’t wait to get your hands on this new Acoustic Guitar Preamp with Microphone Modeling?  You will soon be able to for about $649.00 retail!

Peterson Electro-Musical Products puts the old time feel of a player piano in your favorite restaurants and taverns with the new Peterson Bottle Organ.  It is a self contained wind blown musical instrument, capable of playing back MIDI Files by blowing streams of air across the tops of bottles using specially designed nozzles.  Creating a remarkably pleasing tone, the Peterson Bottle Organ is sure to turn heads and perk ears as it chimes through any song that you program it to play, or play it in real time with your favorite keyboard!  Originally a novelty instrument that “brewed” up a lot of attention at convention booths, Peterson decided this year to offer it to the world.  Available in numerous custom sizes and finishes, with your choice of bottles, (size dependent — at the NAMM booth they were all Guinness Bottles!) you might see this amazing instrument start popping up everywhere.

Zoom has been creating great digital effects processors for years, and will be shipping their new MRS 1044 hard disc recording workstation within the next few months. We got a peak at this innovative entry to the digital recording fray at the show. This unit is jam packed with cool features, including 10 audio tracks (backed up by 80 virtual takes), a programmable stereo drum track and a dedicated programmable bass track for a total of 13 tracks. Of course the unit will feature Zoom’s Modeling Guitar effects, studio effects such as reverb, chorus, delay compression and EQ, with the ability to utilize six effects simultaneously. The unit will come equipped with a 15 GB hard drive, capable of up to 44 hours of 16 bit recording at 44.1 kHz. An extremely affordable projected price point makes this one unit you’ll want to be watching for.

Following the success of Parker’s entry line of bolt-on electrics, Parker introduced a flame maple top version — the P44. Featuring the same Fishman stereo preamp and piezo pickups that the more expensive models use, the P44 comes in at a reasonable list price of $1,149, and is available in October.

The Nitefly guitars have a new family member — the Nitefly-M. The Natural Mahogany body of the ‘M’ is lightweight, and adds a lustrous dark quality to the tone. Slightly lower in price than the standard Niteflys, the ‘M’ comes in at only $1,499 retail.

Also new from Parker are upgrades to their bolt-on graphite neck axe, the Nitefly. Niteflys now sports chrome knobs, pearloid pickguard, and the ‘power chip’, which senses the type of cable you’ve plugged into your guitar (mono or stereo), eliminating the need for a switch operated by the player to determine this. Best of all, the price stays the same on the Nitefly models.  

Vox and Korg have joined forces to create the new VOX Valvetronix Series of amps.  The two models that comprise the line are the AD60VT (60 watts, 1×12″) and the AD120VT (2×60 watts, 2×12″.)  Although they have a classic VOX look about them, this is definitely not your father’s Vox amp!  The new line integrates digital modeling and effects with a uniquely designed power amp section.  The VOX Valve Reactor power amp consists of a tube power amp and an output transformer that is electronically coupled to a solid state power amp.  The VariAmp Power circuit can be configured to either 1, 15, 30 or 60 watts.  Now you can have a power amp that correctly matches that of the pre-amp model. You can also drive your amp hard, but select a lower volume of 1 or 15 watts. The Valve reactor can switch between a class A or a class AB circuit.  There is even a switchable feedback circuit.  With the amp having 16 models, 10 stomp box models, and a full compliment of digital effects, this guitar amp looks to be a hot (and unique) item for this year!