01/30/2026

NAMM 2026

It wasn’t that long ago that people in the industry were writing NAMM’s obituary. “No one needs it. Everything is online. It’s too expensive.” Well, all those things may be true in a sense (especially that last point). But when you get right down to it, music — and particularly guitar — is a tactile, real-world, in-person experience. NAMM 2026 seemed to bear that out, with big, boisterous crowds, exciting new gear, and—as hard as it may be to believe—hope for the future.