NAMM 2013: Guitar Gear Review

Thanks to the good folks at Anvil Case Company for the badge, a select portion of the great new guitar gear hitting the market in 2013 can be found here in this guitar review of the 2013 NAMM show. See the bottom of this post for a complete gallery of pictures. Here's a few highlights:

Moollon Pedals

New Moollon Sol Fuzz

New Moollon Sol Fuzz

The new Moollon "Sol Fuzz" was a standout for price ($150-$199 price range) and tone. The Sol Fuzz is based off of the Colorsound fuzz, comes in a small box, has a hot blue paint job and bleeds vintage fuzz tones.

The owner, Young Joon Park (who didn't speak much English) began playing some Hendrix, and the tones were jaw-dropping. This was surprising since Hendrix used a Fuzz Face. Looking for a small fuzz that will get down and dirty for classic vintage lead tones and not break the bank? Keep an eye out for this one.

New Moollon ZOD Overdrive

New Moollon ZOD Overdrive

The ZOD drive was very reminiscent of classic Zeppelin tones...which the pedal was modeled after. For fans of the Skreddy Screwdriver, this overdrive will probably be of interest as well. It has a hint of fuzziness.

Notice the zeppelin balloon image on the paint job. A very good looking pedal, space-saving size, incredible tone and a great price range ($150-$199 range).

Gibson Custom Shop Guitars

There were plenty of amazing Gibson Custom Shop Guitars hanging on the walls in Gibson's exhibit, but two that stuck out were the Frank Zappa Signature SG and Grace Potter Signature Flying V.

Gibson Frank Zappa Roxy SG

Frank Zappa Signature "Roxy" SG

The Frank Zappa Signature SG from Gibson features a mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, 60's neck, 22 frets, 24 3/4 scale length and 57 classic humbucker pickups.

The vibrato bar, phase and coil tap mini toggles, and classic deep blood red finish sealed the deal on one of the most influential rock composer's and soloist's signature guitar.

Grace Potter Flying V

Gibson Grace Potter Flying V

Gibson's Grace Potter Flying V guitar was a beauty hanging near Frank Zappa's signature Roxy SG. The Flying V is all mahogany neck and body (like many Gibsons), features a 60's neck, Chechen fingerboard, 24 3/4 scale length, 22 frets, Corian nut, dot inlays, stop bar tailpiece, amber top hat knobs, chrome vintage style tuners, Burstbucker pro 1 neck pickup, Burstbucker pro 2 bridge pickup, 2V-1T controls (two volume, one tone), and nocturnal brown finish. Whew! What a gorgeous guitar for a total babe of guitar player, herself.

ToneConcepts Pedals

The Crazy Tube Circuits pedals from ToneConcepts are a collaboration with artists like Nels Cline to produce world-class boutique pedals that carve out new tonal territory.

Pin Up Fuzz

Crazy Tube Circuits "Pin Up" Fuzz

One pedal in particular, the Pin Up Fuzz, really stood out. Featuring a mosfet fuzz design with separate, "footswitch-engagable" octave up circuit, this pedal was made for madness. The tone and voicing controls really allow the guitarist to get a wide range of tonality to the fuzz tone, and the upper octave lets the pedal spit fire...well maybe not fire...but fiery fuzz tones that really help you get hot and wild and cut through the mix when things get really weird. A favorite of Billy Gibbons, Nels Cline, Henry Kaiser and Dweezil Zappa. This pedal is not new, but it is incredible.

Two newer pedals from Crazy Tube Circuits are the Time Delay w/ Tap Tempo (very small digital/analog combo delay with tap tempo and "mood" switch to make your repeats darker...yes!!!) and the Stoned HZ (tempo-controlled all analog modulation featuring chorus, vibrato and flanger combined with tremolo). Here's a picture of the Stoned HZ:

Crazy Tube Circuits Stoned HZ

OME Banjos

On the bottom floor of the Anaheim Convention Center was a very cool banjo company from Boulder, CO called OME Banjos. After some banjo-talk and Colorado chitter-chatter with the daughter of Charles Ogsbury (the owner), it was time to sit down with these 5-stringers and give them a whirl. What is immediately noticed with these banjos is their warm appeal. OME custom makes their own metal and wood components, and everything has a very vintage look and feel. Most of the banjos are made with curly maple, however some also feature South American mahogany in their Vintage and Professional Series line of banjos.

OME Banjos at NAMM 2013

Empress Effects - New Tape Delay

For fans of the Empress Superdelay, there is a newer and smaller version coming out that is purely focused on the Tape Delay portion of this modern classic delay pedal. Doesn't this thing just look absolutely wicked? It was also great to meat Steve Bragg (owner) for the first time. Who knows...maybe we'll be giving away a new Tape Delay soon!?

New Empress Tape Delay

Zvex Super SeekWah, Super SeekTrem & Ringtone 2

Last but not least were the super cool new Super SeekWah and Super SeekTrem pedals from Zvex. Just look at these monsters. Enough said!

Zvex Super SeekWah, Super SeekTrem & Ringtone 2

More from NAMM 2013

There were too many cool pedals, guitars and amps to cover from the 2013 NAMM show, but a few more shouts out to the following manufacturers for spending time covering their new gear:

• Earthquaker Devices - Check out the amazing new Disaster Transport SR + The Warden Optical Compressor
• Hartman Pedals - Thanks to Sal for reviewing their new British-flavored fuzz pedals
• Dwarfcraft Devices - Thanks for the demo of the Shiva Fuzz, it can certainly blast your face off!
• Carr Amplifiers - Very cool new Impala Amp hitting the market (think Blackface Fender Bassman with reverb and master volume)
• The Engle - thanks to Mark Engler for the demo unit on this very cool new percussive mallet to play your guitar with instead of  a pick. Review coming soon!
• Electro Faustus - Thanks to Joseph Vella for the demo of these wild and wacky electronic synth devices.

NAMM 2013 Photo Gallery

There's plenty more! Browse over 250 photos of amazing guitar and other musical equipment that was showcased at the 2013 NAMM show.

[Show as slideshow]

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Tagged as: banjos, boutique, effects, guitars, namm, pedals