The day before NAMM officially opened, Chris Martin IV really kicked things off by unveiling Martin Guitar’s reimagined Standard Series—the biggest update to the company’s flagship line in its 185-year history, and one that triggered some extremely “animated” discussions amongst the team. But Martin understands it needs to evolve—even after close to two centuries (that’s a joke, there)—and it also plans to spend 2018 letting players know the company makes more than just dreadnoughts and unamplified acoustics by promoting other styles and their acoustic/electric lines. (Don’t miss the affordable X-Series.) The Taylor Builder’s Edition K14ce and the Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge were also big acoustic stories at NAMM, but we covered the K14ce in the March issue, and the Loudbox gets a full review this month on p. 104. For more info on the many great new acoustic products debuted at NAMM, go to guitarplayer.com and search for “NAMM 2018.”
KYSER
Capo App
Kyser may have developed a nearly perfect device for relieving the frustration of backing up singer/songwriters who never know what chords they are playing as they move their capos up and down the necks of their guitars. The free Kyser app for iOS and Android smartphones reveals all, and quite simply, by identifying chord sounds for many fingering and capo positions. An tuner and metronome is also included, and Kyser even makes an optional phone holder that attaches to their capos. Gotta love “easy.”
kysermusical.com
PIGTRONIX
Bob Weir’s Real Deal Acoustic Preamp
Bob Weir is no slouch when it comes to audio innovation, and when he wanted a natural acoustic-guitar sound at high volume levels onstage, he worked with Grateful Dead tech Mike McGinn to solve the problem. Then, he defied Pigtronix to translate the variable low- and high-frequency filters and other sonic mojo into a pedal