I have had the privilege to attend the NAMM show for the past 4 years.

I attend on a “Press Pass” to cover the show and report relevant news to the thousands of readers of TheGuitarBuzz. This year, I “tweeted” over 100+ news announcements and photos “live from the floor” of the show.

But what better way for me to show you what the NAMM show is really like than to share the highlights from this year’s show on the official NAMM 2012 wrap-up video.

I can’t wait for NAMM 2013!!

One of the highlights was a 3rd row seat for The Gary Hoey Band at the Fender booth. Gary has been with Fender for 14 years and showed his appreciation by putting on a free (and killer) 30-minute set which included the title track of his upcoming cd… UTOPIA.

Note: More Gary Hoey Band videos can be viewed on my “YouTube Channel”…

Check this out:

NAMM, (The National Association of Music Merchants) is the longest running trade show in the United States and is attended by thousands of musical instrument and product retailers and manufacturers from around the world.

As a guitar blogger, my focus was clearly to check out the latest guitars, amps and guitar gear.

That said, I was quickly reminded of the mission of NAMM which is:

To unify, lead and strengthen the global music products industry and increase active participation in music making.

The crowd of over 80,000 registered attendees clearly illustrated the mass appeal of “music making“. At any given moment you could see young teens ripping out riffs on the newest Ibanez electrics while just a few isles away a man who reminded me of my grandfather was tickling the ivories of the latest Roland synth. It was cooler than cool.

From guitars and amps to fiddles and pianos, from trumpets and flutes to sound boards and drums.. virtually every type of musical instrument and accessory was on display by their passionate manufacturers who were ready to discuss their product offerings.

World-renowned artists were there. Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Vince Gill, Yoko Ono, Gene Simmons, Peter Frampton and Orianthi are only a few of the dozens and dozens of musical icons that roamed the halls.

The NAMM show was informative… and VERY inspiring. Over the next few weeks, I will have a lot to write about. And I can hardly wait!

UPDATE: Just after writing this post, I found this link on YouTube. Not my favorite song, but the video is a total reminder of what I saw this week…

Thanks “gh05trider9“!  Check it out…

Check out the blistering 25-minute concert Eric gave at NAMM 2009 to the few…lucky…attendees who crammed into the Fender booth…

Depending on who you talk to, the “Product of the Show” will vary. For me, there was a clear winner. It’s the Taylor T3. Taylor calls it “Chrome Plated Cool”.

Here’s the scoop from the Taylor website:

“Following the success of the T5 and SolidBody models, and born from a love of innovative design and classic electric tone, Taylor Guitars is expanding its electric line with the company’s first purely electric semi-hollowbody guitar, the T3.”

Melding the sleek lines and shape of the T5 into a semi-hollowbody, the T3 features an expertly crafted body of sapele, topped with quilted maple. A svelte neck of tropical American mahogany sports heftier fret wire for a truly electric feel, while brilliant chrome hardware adorns the T3 for a ready-to-rock look that screams electric, vintage and cool.

While the T3 offers plenty for any player on its own, the designers at Taylor decided to take the new line up a notch in a variation, the T3B. Marking a first for the company, the T3B includes an authentic Bigsby Vibrato (model B70). The T3B incorporates a roller bridge for high performance, allowing the player the independence in setting the intonation of each string and eliminating the “dragging string” sound so commonly found in fixed bridges. The standard T3 model comes with a stop tailpiece.

“This is one rockin’ guitar that produces sounds our SolidBodys and T5s don’t have. When you do something that looks good, that’s one thing, but when cool sounds start coming out, you go, ‘Man, that’s just it.’ We knew this guitar was too good to hold back,” shares David Hosler, lead designer.

The new model includes Taylor’s Style 2 humbuckers which are specially positioned to capture the T3’s fidelity and range of tones. A three-way switch covers three standard configurations of pickup switching and as an added twist, coil splitting is available for both humbuckers by pulling up on the volume knob.

“The way I describe it is, imagine you have a guitar with two humbuckers and a three-way, and you have a guitar with two single coils and a three-way, which gives you that really cool, ‘bitey’ sound,” adds Hosler.

The control knobs, located in the traditional electric position below the bridge on the lower bout, function as push-pull pots. Pulling up on the volume knob activates a coil splitter, which turns the humbuckers into single coils. The tone knob is also a pull switch, which when pulled engages a second capacitor.

Hosler explains, “In the down position, one capacitor punches up the mid tones. Then when you pull the knob up, it adds another capacitor on top of it and uncorks a warm, fat, mellow old-school jazz tone. In between these two voices, this guitar spans the spectrum from traditional, hard rock to jazzy fusion. Even when overdriven, the air, articulation and distinction of all notes are there.”

The T3 and T3B will be available domestically in mid-February and internationally in early spring 2009… and I WANT ONE!