NAMM 2023: Welcome to Guitar World's second-ever NAMM 2023 live blog – nice to have you aboard. Scroll on down for all the latest goings-ons, updated in realtime, and be sure to hit up our NAMM 2023 news guide for comprehensive coverage of the latest guitar news, rumors and predictions.
NAMM 2023: It’s here, folks. The world’s biggest guitar gear show, NAMM, is upon us, and while it may be in the unusual month of April, that has done nothing to slow the annual tidal wave of gear announcements.
For the second year in a row, we’ll be bringing you the hottest news LIVE from the show floor at the Anaheim Convention Center in sunny California. Our intrepid Associate Editor Jackson Maxwell will be treading the NAMM boards this time out, and keeping you informed of all the goings-ons while the remainder of Team GW.com shiver in their home offices back in the UK.
Today (Wednesday 12) marks press preview day, where we sample our first morsels from the great feast of gear, before full proceedings commence on Thursday April 13, running through to Saturday April 15.
So keep those peepers glued – not literally, please – to this page, which will automatically refresh with red-hot showfloor action and up-to-the-minute news.
But wait, there’s more! Our NAMM 2023 news guide covers all the latest guitar news (duh), rumors and predictions, and we’ll be keeping that up-to-date throughout the show, too.
Basically, it’s going to be almost exactly like you’re at the show! But from the comfort of your beanbag/Uber/toilet. Bliss.
If you're looking for the biggest NAMM launches so far, you'd be well-advised to investigate Sterling by Music Man's mammoth drop, which saw the company unveil a whopping 11 guitars, including the long-awaited arrival of St. Vincent's Goldie model in the Sterling range. We're digging the $829 price tag on that one.
During today’s pre-show press preview, Martin proudly showed off its new wares, including the company’s lavish, eye-catching new-for-2023 special edition models. All of them – including, yes, the D-42 Bitcoin – were fantastic to see up-close, but the D-Robert Goetzl 6 "Rabbit" looked especially stunning in person.
We think that Magneto's all-new Starlux may very well be the coolest-looking semi-hollow design of 2023 thus far. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Anaheim Convention Center front entrance, it has the presence of a drool-worthy classic car.
Another NAMM show, another massive signature guitar drop from Ibanez: feast your eyes on the brand’s class of 2023 signature models, which have been bestowed upon Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Stanley, Lari Basilio, Martin Miller and Ichika Nito.
A modern Talman at $699? A PIA using finishing techniques never-before-used on Ibanez models? Basilio’s much-teased LB1? A stellar showing from Ibanez indeed.
No doubt our man on the floor will be checking out this beauties later today...
Fender has been notable in its absence from NAMM again this year, but its home audio wing has made it to the event and is showing off the RIFF – a powerful 60-watt bluetooth speaker and guitar amp.
It’s the first such device from the brand (it’s previous speakers lacked guitar inputs) and it has some appealing features, not least a maple wood touch control panel. The big question is... can it find a niche in the increasingly competitive practice amp and bluetooth speaker market?
At last year’s show, Animals As Leaders guitarist Tosin Abasi teamed up with Ernie Ball Music Man to release the Kaizen – a surprise collaborative creation that was unveiled exclusively as a seven-string machine.
Now, to answer the prayers of all six-string fans, that radical model – which features an innovative Infinity Radius fingerboard and HT pickups – has been repackaged in a six-string format.
Speaking of HT pickups, Ernie Ball Music Man has also overhauled Steve Lukather’s signature range with the L4 collection – five new models that all arrive with the brand’s advanced Heat Treated single-coils and humbuckers. That limited-edition Steamroller model is quite the specimen, too…
