Our Favorite Things from NAMM 2025

Our Favorite Things from NAMM 2025
January 23, 2025 12 min read
Our Favorite Things from NAMM 2025

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas… It’s NAMM season! And you know we’re hitting the road to check out all the best music goodies for ourselves. Between drooling over the latest gear releases and pointing out all the superstars across the room, here are some of our favorite things from NAMM 2025.

Fender Standard Series

Squiers are great and all, but sometimes you just really want that iconic Fender logo on the headstock without paying an arm and a leg to get it (you need both your arms to play!). When Fender invited us to their private room to check out their latest Standard Series, we just had to go check it out!

The Fender Standard Series brings real, bonafide, logoed Fender guitars into a sub-$600 price point!

Fender also released some super-awesome, super-sparkly, and super-limited finishes on some of their most popular models just for NAMM 2025. But like I said, these finishes are going to be a limited run, so don’t wait to get your sparkle on!

The Sampson Era Returning to Bad Cat

Yeah… This was a big one!

You can’t argue that the Sampson Era of Matchless was one of the best times for vintage amps. They were loud. They sounded great. And they were beloved for decades by guitarists everywhere.

But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end… But that doesn’t mean they can’t come back!

Just before NAMM 2025, Bad Cat announced that Mark Sampson was officially coming back to the company to build the latest iteration of his iconic amp designs: the Bad Cat Era 30. And we were lucky enough to sit down with the legend himself on his comfy NAMM couch to talk about it. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Channel switching, channel blending, independent channel volumes, master volume, hard bypass effects loop — this thing has it all! Mark even swapped the channel positions because of how the acoustic resonance affects the tubes. That’s how serious he was about perfecting this amp.

It’s vintage tone brought into the modern “era.” Even Mark Sampson himself admits that the Bad Cat Era 30 is superior to anything he has ever made in that genre! You just have to check this ridiculous amp out for yourself…

Martin’s 3,000,000th Guitar

I know Martin has been around for over 190 years, but that’s a lot of guitars! NAMM 2025 was the official reveal of their three-millionth guitar — and did they go all out.

Martin’s #3 million features an Adirondack spruce top with sycamore and gold (yes, gold) inlays to make it look like the rings in a tree. How many rings? One for every year that Martin has been operating, which is 192! And to celebrate specific milestones, like the Martin family moving to America or the opening of their factory, they inlayed a real diamond! The palladium pickguard has a map of Nazareth, PA with rubies inlaid in specific spots where Martin has done business over the years. Flip it over, and there’s a gorgeous sycamore tree inlayed on the back to signify Martin’s close relationship with the sycamore (their factory is located on Sycamore Street).

As much as I would have loved to play it, they weren’t really keen on handing it off (unfortunately…). But it was absolutely gorgeous!

Once the dazzle wore off a bit, we checked out some of the other new Martin releases, like the ridiculous J-28 DN double-neck guitar and the blue CEO-11. Those we did get to play with! And the J-28 was surprisingly comfortable to hold and play. It wasn’t nearly as cumbersome as we expected.

There was also the launch of the Billy Strings signature D-28, a beautiful Julie Heffernan-painted 00, and much, much more!

I could go on forever about all the cool stuff at the NAMM 2025 Martin booth, but I’ll just let the video speak for itself.

Boss’s New Guitar Modeler

You’ve heard of amp modelers, but are you ready for guitar modelers? Because for NAMM 2025, Boss pulled out the big guns and created a very unique guitar modeler.

All you have to do is pop the Boss GK-5 divided guitar pickup into your guitar (or the GK-5B if you’re a bass player), connect your guitar to the Boss VG-800 Effects Processor, and you can now sound like basically any stringed instrument!

Sure, you can sound like single-coil Stratocaster, twangy Tele, warm Les Paul, or any other guitar you can think of. But you can also sound like other stringed instruments, like a nylon-string classical, mandolin, ukulele, or even a 12-string!

And that’s not even the best part… Do you like alternate tunings? Well, the VG-800 can also change the tuning of your guitar with the push of a button — and you don’t even have to touch the tuners! It adjusts the pitch of your individual strings to make your output sound like it’s in an alternate tuning, even if your guitar is still in standard (or even completely out of tune). Wild stuff!

A 5-String Acoustic from Taylor That’s Made for Pianists

Most guitars have six strings, especially in the acoustic world. Sure, you might find some with seven, eight, or even nine strings, but have you ever heard of a five-string guitar?

New for NAMM 2025, Taylor in collaboration with Jacob Collier is releasing the JCSM-5. It features a Grand Concert body and full Koa body to make it look as good as it sounds.

Why five strings? It’s because Jacob Collier is a pianist originally, and he wanted to create a tuning that’s simpler for pianists to transition to guitar. Plus, it’s just cool! Tune it to DAEAD and get to rockin’!

Of course, Taylor also released a bunch of other new models, including some new additions to the Legacy Series with traditional X-bracing, stunning new Builders Edition models, affordable 300-series guitars, and a ton of new 12-strings to match your favorite six-string. It was definitely a big NAMM show for Taylor! 

Roland’s Quietest Drum Set Yet

Drums aren’t the quietest instruments. I haven’t seen the statistic myself, but I’d venture a guess to say that drummers get the most noise complaints from the neighbors of any type of musician. Well, Roland got their engineers together to come up with a solution that allows drummers to practice and their neighbors to sleep in peace — and it’s called the VQD.

The Roland VQD Electronic Drum Set has mesh everywhere! All the drums, the bass, AND the cymbals are made of mesh. Not only does that keep your taps nice and quiet, but it also creates a realistic, acoustic feel for playability.

The new Roland VQD is 75% quieter than a standard electronic drum kit — and probably about 1000% quieter than an acoustic kit... 

Mackie Goes Mobile

Mackie mixers grace stages all over the world. They’re the go-to for working musicians everywhere! But they just got a lot better with the all-new Mackie ProFX10GO.

They took all the features and power of the ProFX mixer series and added a big ‘ol 8-hour rechargeable battery! That’s right; you never have to search for an outlet to fire up your mixer ever again. It’s definitely a gamechanger for gigging musicians.

And where does all your lovely mixed sound go to? Maybe the lightest-ever Mackie Thump 210 speakers? You could also listen to your lovely sounds in the studio using the Mackie CR Studio Monitors, with their versatile “Work and Play” knob that goes from flat response tone for critical listening to bass-bumping fun-having audio with the turn of a knob.

I mean, you can’t go wrong with Mackie. They’re always a favorite when we visit NAMM.

Meeting So Many Incredible Musicians

NAMM is always a hotbed for amazing talent. While we definitely had a great time having quick chats in passing with friends of the channel like Ariel Posen and Rabea Massaad, we got the chance to actually sit down with several artists, chat about music and gear, and take a quick breather from all the NAMM 2025 excitement:

Yvette Young

I’m not saying we weaseled our way into the Yamaha booth just to talk to Yvette Young… but that’s basically what happened. And you know what? It worked!

That’s right; we finally got to talk to Yvette Young! She told us all about her songwriting process, singing melodies, being creative with your fingerings, how the right gear can help to make your creations come to life, and how to be authentic and unique with your music.

She also demoed a ton of new Yamaha products like the wild TAG3 C acoustic with onboard effects and looper. If it’s good enough for Yvette, let’s be honest, it’s probably waaaay too good for us!

Nita Strauss

You’ll never guess who we saw at the NAMM Ibanez booth! Well, maybe you will because she’s one of the best Ibanez artists around… But we got to meet Nita Strauss!

She was hanging out at the Ibanez booth talking about her latest signature guitar, the Ibanez JIVA10. When Ibanez asked her if she had any ideas for her signature guitar, she whipped out a pen and laid it all out for them. From the finish to the inlays and even the name, she knew exactly how to transform her personality, play style, and look into an incredible signature axe.

She also may or may not have another signature guitar in a very cool color coming soon… So stay frosty!

Nita also revealed the secret to spreading your name around as a musician, and it’s authenticity! She plays events like wrestling and NASCAR because it’s what she likes. It’s authentic to her and her brand, and it comes off that way to her fans. If you start playing gigs just because it’s a gig and not because you believe in the show, it’s going to be apparent. So stay true to yourself!

Nita has shared the stage with many incredible guitarists, but who’s the one she’s really excited for? Apparently, Marty Friedman! Friedman has appeared on one of Nita’s albums, but the two have never gotten to jam together in person. However, she was opening for him the night of our interview, so maybe some dreams came true later that night…

Emi Grace

It’s always a good time when we get to hang out with Emi Grace. We ran into her at NAMM last year, invited her to our studio to hang out and jam, and now we got to see her this year at NAMM 2025. There’s been a lot of positivity this year…

We got to “rock” and roll on one of the balconies to find out what Emi has been up to in the past year. Apparently, a lot!

Not only did she completely mod out her Fender Stratocaster with triple humbuckers (including a Filter’tron in the bridge), replaced her saddle, and swapped her guitar strings to 9s for some serious bending; but she also has been working on a ton of new music that we’ll (hopefully) get to hear very soon.

Lucky for us, she performed some of her newer songs later that night… But you’ll just have to be jealous on that one because we didn’t drag out the camera gear!

She told us that the biggest difference with this year’s NAMM celebration (it’s not even a show anymore) is the confidence. Last year, she was new to the scene, which can definitely be nerve-racking. This year, she’s a pro. Talking to fans, shredding in the Shure booth, and throwing down the Trashy Tones that we all know and love — we might as well call it the Emi Show!

We also got her to play our fun album-ranking game with Emi, during which she declared Green Day’s Dookie supreme, while Charli XCX’s Brat landed in last place (sorry Charlie XCX fans!).

Josh Smith

Producer and guitarist extraordinaire Josh Smith was hanging out at the NAMM Ibanez booth, so obviously we had to stop by to say hi. Luckily enough, he was also holding his latest Ibanez signature model, the FLATV2.

It might look like “just a T-style” guitar, but this thing is modded out like crazy! His first signature, the Ibanez FLATV, was based on 50s-era specs. So the natural successor would be a guitar with 60s-era specs. And that’s exactly what he did!

PAF-style humbuckers, new neck profile, updated knobs and pots — this thing has it all! As Josh likes to say, the pickups “aren’t quite an exact match,” which leads to some explosive tones. You just have to check this thing out!

Josh also talked a little bit about his "Tenants of Producing." So any wannabe producers out there, you better listen to this one!

The Shure Claw Machine

It’s Shure’s 100th Birthday! To celebrate such an amazing milestone, they brought their very own claw machine to NAMM 2025. You could win everything from t-shirts to actual Shure gear!

People were lined up all through the Anaheim Convention Center just to show off their claw skills and for a shot to win some cool Shure gear.

We also got to talk to a whole lotta smart people at the Shure booth who helped develop some of the incredible new microphones they put out recently. Our favorite HAS to be the Shure MV7i. Basically take the MV7 and add a second input, transforming an already nearly perfect podcasting mic into an audio interface! It’s great for content creators who want to add more microphones or instruments to their setup without needing to deal with additional gear.

A Great End to a Great NAMM Show

NAMM is such an exciting time for music gear nerds, but everything great has to come to an end eventually. We had an absolute blast looking at and playing with all the great gear coming out this year.

Thanks to all the brands and artists who took the time to talk to us at NAMM 2025. We’re glad you’re a part of the AMS family — and we’re already excited for next year… See you there!

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