NAMM 2025: The lead-up to the 2025 Winter NAMM Show - the biggest new guitar, music tech, drum and DJ gear event in the calendar - inevitably feels a little different to previous years, with the industry’s immediate thoughts being with those who’ve been impacted by the wildfires that are currently sweeping across the Los Angeles area. NAMM, of course, takes place in Anaheim, a city outside LA in Orange County.
In a new statement on 14 January, NAMM President and CEO John Mlynczak said: "We continue to stay in close contact with our NAMM members and partners in Los Angeles, including those impacted by the wildfires. Anaheim remains unaffected by the fires, which are located 60 miles northwest. Both Los Angeles International (LAX) and Orange County (SNA, John Wayne) airports have remained fully operational. In addition, all LA-based and Southern California NAMM member companies are still planning on attending and exhibiting at the show.
Despite what he describes as the “unprecedented tragedy,” Mlynczak now seems confident that the show will go ahead, and actually be able to provide help to those who need it.
"The 2025 NAMM Show will be able to take place as planned from January 21-25 in Anaheim," he says. "This global gathering of the music products industry is about unity, and this year, we unite to support our members impacted by these devastating wildfires.
"The NAMM Foundation has committed $50,000 to our LA Wildfires Relief Fund and is accepting additional contributions. This fund will provide needs-based assistance to NAMM members, employees of NAMM member companies, music education programs, and music makers impacted by the fires. We will be promoting this fund throughout The NAMM Show at events and in the Member Center.
"NAMM is first and foremost an association that cares deeply for our members and the global music products industry. This year, The NAMM Show will demonstrate our industry’s commitment to uniting as a community in support of those impacted."
We’ll keep this page updated in the run-up to the show, so be sure to keep checking back for more news and tidbits. Here's what we know so far.
NAMM 2025: Key exhibitors and rumours
Fender
Having previously suggested that Fender would be unlikely to return to NAMM “in its current format”, CEO Andy Mooney U-turned last summer and confirmed that it’s returning to the show floor for the first time since 2020.
“We sadly missed actually having a physical presence at NAMM; that high-touch in-person long form interaction is vitally important for the industry,” he said. “Going forward, [Fender] will have more and exciting new products to intro at NAMM and then in the fall, we will revert back to our online dealer events… we’re thrilled to be back, we missed being there, and I’m excited to see everyone again back in Anaheim.”
Gibson
Yep, Gibson is back at NAMM, too, albeit in a slightly understated way. The company has hired a big meeting room space for appointment-only visits from dealers and the media - we’ll tell you as much as we’ve paid CEO Cesar Gueikian’s team a visit.
Ibanez
Ibanez never fails to push the boat out for NAMM, so we’re expecting a motherload of new stuff once again.
Roland
Another big hitter that’s been away for a while, Roland is coming back to Anaheim, too. This also means that its other brands will be present and correct: Boss, Drum Workshop (DW), PDP and Latin Percussion (LP).
For those not at the show, there’s the ‘All Access from the Roland Studio’, an online service that will keep you up to speed with everything being announced. You can sign up now to stay in the loop.
Behringer
As music technology brands go, Behringer has long been something of an outsider. For better or worse, the company tends not to follow industry norms, releasing products – often inspired by existing gear – that can be mindblowingly cheap but can also ruffle a few feathers along the way. That outsider approach follows through to the company’s promotional strategy; the company largely refuses to loan gear for reviews, rarely sends out press releases and tends to have little-to-no presence at trade shows, opting instead to communicate via the controlled safety of its own social media channels.
Given this, it’s a potentially exciting surprise to see Behringer booked into a substantially-sized booth at NAMM 2025 – the first time the company has attended the show in 10 years. Alongside gear released under the Behringer name, the booth will also showcase gear from other Music Tribe brands, including Aston Mics, TC Electronic and Midas. What we can expect from the brand’s NAMM showing remains to be seen, but in an announcement post the company promised “the chance to meet Uli and the team, and be among the first to experience our groundbreaking new products”.
Akai Pro
Trawl internet forums and you’ll find no end of NAMM ‘predictions’, although more often than not these tend to be user wishlists as much as real educated guesses. Of those we’ve seen this year, possibly the most plausible are those speculating on whether Akai may be preparing to announce a new MPC.
The fact that the current-gen MPC Live II and MPC One+ are currently out of stock at some retailers may just be coincidence. Given the general lifespan of Akai product generations though, and the fact the MPC software has just received a major update, it certainly seems plausible that 2025 might be the right time for some new hardware. Aside from special edition updates, the top-end MPC X hasn’t had a proper refresh since its launch back in 2017.
Korg
When it comes to synth brands at NAMM, Korg is usually fairly reliable for a few interesting announcements. NAMM 2024, for example, gave us our first glimpse of the microKorg 2 and King Korg Neo, amongst a glut of other announcements.
What’s more, alongside the proper launches, the Japanese brand has a habit of sneaking unannounced Easter eggs onto its booth. Back in 2020, for example, we caught our first glimpse of a prototype Opsix when it appeared unannounced on Korg’s NAMM stand. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for anything unexpected this year.
Studio gear over synths
While, as we’ve already alluded to, we hold out hope for some exciting new music tech instruments at NAMM, in general the show isn’t the synth-afficianado’s paradise it once was. Many synth brands have moved to showcasing new hardware online or shifted emphasis to Europe’s Superbooth trade show.
From a music technology point of view, many of the most interesting new releases at NAMM these days tend to come from studio gear and pro audio brands. We expect to see interesting developments in areas like monitors, mics, headphones and interfaces, and perhaps a few completely unexpected gadgets we didn’t even know we needed.
NAMM 2025: Confirmed product news
- It’s a Stylophone, but not as we know it - CPM DS-2 is a compact, portable analogue drone synth that's now available to order
- Boss unveils Waza Tube Amp Expander Core, a home recording powerhouse for tube amp owners
- IK Multimedia unveils the Tonex Cab, a state-of-the-art FRFR speaker for your digital guitar rig that is designed for “muscle, articulation and a rich multi-dimensional sound”
- You (probably) can't afford them, but Focal's $50k Utopia Mains might be your new dream monitors
- Scaler 3 promises to widen the feature set of one of our favourite songwriting tools
- Boss launches V-800 V-Guitar Processor and promises to “completely transform” your sound
- The MiniKorg 700S finally lives up to its name as Korg releases a downsized version
- The Multi/Poly returns in module form - it’s still great, and we still think Korg is underselling it
- Korg’s revived Kronos promises faster operation and fresh sounds
- Make a pro-quality mix anywhere with Mackie’s new battery-powered ProFX10 GO
- Musik Hack to showcase its sound-enhancing plugin Fuel at this year's show
- XILS-lab promises "virtual Vangelis" with its new Yamaha CS-80 emulation
- Verso unveils Sine, a totally unique electric guitar with three-dimensional pickup movement for “a new layer of expressiveness”
- Reloop's Keypad Pro is a portable, wireless MIDI controller that'll play nice with Bitwig Studio
- Walrus Audio expands utility stompbox range with the Canvas Rehearsal
- “Mesa/Boogie has faithfully recreated the original formula – complete with ominous low end, harmonically rich top end, and that unmistakable midrange scoop”: The ‘90s spec two-channel Dual Rectifier is officially back
- Nord unveils Organ 3 with improved organ engine, new modulation effects and rotary speaker emulation
- New MIDI-integrated Rhodes pianos merge old-school craft with extended expression via polyphonic aftertouch
