Make no mistake about it…The music industry is quickly revving back up. After more than a year unable to collaborate IRL, musicians are ready to make music and perform with top trending gear. Summer NAMM 2021 — an in- person music industry reunion meant to showcase products for music lovers — happened from July 14th to 16th in Nashville. For many, this was the first time people could get their hands on gear in over a year. Here are some surprises and favorite picks from the show:
Fender – The Kurt Cobain Series
This year is the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s seminal album “Nevermind.” To commemorate, Fender has revived its signature Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang electric guitar. Initially designed by the Nirvana frontman in 1993, the Jag-Stang combines his two favorite guitars: the Jaguar and Mustang. This reissue features an alder body, 24” short scale length, rosewood fingerboard, and vintage-style single-coil and custom humbucking pickups. Offered in right and left-handed (as Cobain was). The limited series comes in sonic blue or fiesta red.
Fender – Screamadelica Stratocaster
Due to popular demand, the Cobain Fender re-release will be out this fall as part of the 2021 Artist Signature Models. In addition to the Jag-Stang is the new J Mascis Telecaster and Screamadelica Stratocaster. The 30th anniversary of the “Screamadelica” album cover dons the body of this guitar, color, and graphic based on the hallucinogenic water spot artwork from Primal Scream’s 1991 hit album. Undoubtedly, this Stratocaster is sure to become a collector’s item.
Fender – Pedals
Fender released two new vibrant and impressive guitar pedals. Both are updated, doubled-up versions of existing pedals — the Pugilist Distortion and Marine Layer Reverb. The Pugilist is a double distortion pedal with three new combination modes: Series, Mute and Parallel. The Marine Layer Reverb creates massive reverb and includes two new sets of controls for damping, time, modulation, and level.
Ibanez – Quest Series
The Quest series (or Q) offers a new concept for Ibanez: a modern take on the headless guitar. The compact elements are intended to maximize performance, comfort, and tone. The Q subseries is also equipped with 8-degree inward slanted frets, tailoring their ergonomics to benefit highly technical players.
Ibanez – Iron Label
Ibanez — known for satisfying metal guitarists the world over — took the acute metal energy of their guitars to another level. Their newest revived series, the Iron Label, features two X-style guitars, one 7-string Iceman-inspired model, and a pair of basses. All are sporting a matte blackout finish for a raw metal aesthetic. The X-style comes equipped with DiMarzio D-Activator pickups, an Edge-Zero II tremolo bridge, and a stud-lock function for stable tuning. The Iceman features an okoume body as well as a Wizard II-7-profile five-piece maple/walnut neck with neck-through design. The 5 string bass models feature an ebonol fretboard – a material composed from layers of black paper and phenolic resin with Bartolini BH2 pickups.
Jackson – Chris Broderick Guitar
Dedicated to the Megadeth expert lead player, the Pro Series Signature Chris Broderick Soloist guitars by Jackson come in both six- and seven-string versions. Each guitar is equipped with modern features such as a mahogany body, 24 jumbo frets, a through- body maple neck, hardtail or Floyd Rose Special double-locking vibrato, and a pair of DiMarzio Chris Broderick signature humbuckers for specialized heavy metal-themed tones. The series come in two colors: gloss black or transparent blue.
Roland – GO:MIXER PRO X
Roland announced the latest member of the popular Go:MIXER family of ultra-compact audio mixers for smartphones and tablets: the GO:MIXER PRO X. The new series allows creators to capture high-quality audio for live streams, podcasts, videos, and more. Compared with the previous version, GO:MIXER PRO-X offers expanded support for Android and iOS mobile devices. Also, it has a guitar/bass input pad switch and the ability to use a headset or inline mic on smartphone earbuds as a sound source. GO:MIXER PRO-X is made for on-the-go creations, and Roland promises to keep music professional sounding.
EVH – 5150 Iconic Series Amps
Rock icon Eddie Van Halen combined forces with Fender engineers to create this high-quality and durable line of new amps. Evolving from the revered EVH 5150III® amplifiers, the Iconic line delivers the fiery sound Eddie Van Halen made famous. Continuing the tradition of distinctive EVH style, the 5150 Iconic amplifier launches with an 80W Head, 4×12 Cab, and 40W 1×12 Combo. Additionally, this is all wrapped in either Black or Ivory textured vinyl with silver and black 5150. The combo and head both feature two channels with an extra voicing. The green boasts an overdrive for clean tones to increased gain. Meanwhile, the red adds a blistering crunch that’s ideal for lead rock players.
IK Multimedia – Digital Pedals
On everyone’s NAMM Summer 2021 favorite-gear-list was the IK Multimedia Amplitube X-Gear Boutique Digital Pedals. The four digital pedals — cast in bright colors — cover the four realms of guitar effects processing: distortion, modulation, reverb, and delay. Each boutique pedal features 16 different effects drawn from the most popular AmpliTube models and includes 50 factory presets. For live shows, AmpliTube X-GEAR holds everything needed in an impressive and mighty pedal. In fact, there IK Multimedia digital pedals even boast that you can leave your amp and cab at home.
For more on these new releases, visit AdoramaMusic.
