NAMM 2026: Updates, Speculations, and Forecasts]

The wafflemakers of Anaheim are warming. Dazzling glitter finishes are being applied to awe-inspiring shred machines. Tubes are being toasted. Pedals chained. Promotional picks packed into tiny jeans pockets and bassists are pickling their slapping thumbs to make them extra hard. Yes: NAMM is back.

After a year that’s seen the trade pulling together in the face of shared challenges and with NAMM taking a leading role in lobbying Congress, our sense is of a stronger sense of unity among firms in 2026, or at least an agreement to split the costs of a laminator. Rest assured though, they’ll still be competing for our eyes and ears at the year’s biggest gear showcase.

Bookmark the heck out of this page, and it will be your one-stop shop for all the breaking news throughout NAMM – before, during and after the show – until the close of the month. If it’s not here, it’s not important – or we just haven’t got to it yet because we’re face down in our laptops having a small but mighty power nap.

(Image credit: Jackson Maxwell/Future)

2025 was a genuine return to form for NAMM, after a few shaky years, in which big firms abandoned ship at an alarming rate. Now they’re mostly back onboard, albeit in reduced footprint, or in a backroom capacity. Fortunately, after many tours of NAMM, we’ve gotten quite good at finding those rooms.

So stick with us, and we’ll take you along for the ride, as we try out the most exciting new guitar gear, step through the big firms’ mystery doors for exclusive peeks at their latest line-ups, and check in with some of the A-list guitar talent that the world’s biggest music-making event attracts.

NAMM 2026: Electric guitars

Ibanez Alpha Series — (Image credit: Ibanez)

– The big news at Fender is its new CEO, Edward ‘Bud’ Cole – the man who pioneered the resurgence of Fender Japan and opened the brand’s Tokyo Flagship store. Obviously, it’s a little too soon for him to have made any major changes just yet, but it will be intriguing to see how his new leadership affects the brand’s NAMM plans. Beyond the usual Custom Shop extravaganza, we’re not sure what’s in store. But Mateus Asato’s departure from Suhr sure is interesting timing, eh?

Megadeth’s grand farewell, we fully expect Gibson to embrace ’Deth. There’s the small matter of that Dave Mustaine Les Paul he’s been teasing for literally years, and that sick custom Explorer that Teemu Mäntysaari has been wielding at recent shows. We also know that a new Michael Schenker Flying V is in the works. And surely, surely, the long-awaited Mark Morton Les Paul will finally show its, erm, face?

– Speaking of Megadeth, Jackson dropped a pair of new Chris Broderick Soloists at the tail end of the year.

– Donner is launching what it’s called “the ultimate headless guitar”, the HLX-500. Certainly looks familiar, eh? Elsewhere, it’s updated its Hush headless guitar models with a quintet of new finishes, while the original HUSH-I – launched at NAMM 2022 – has received an upgrade with the VHUSH I EVO2.

– In terms of bang for buck, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything that can match Harley Benton’s ST-Modern Carlos Asensio signature model. The YouTuber’s Superstrat has rolled fingerboard edges, Luminlay side dots, roasted maple neck and a Vega-Trem VT1 Ultratrem for under $700.

– Ibanez has unveiled its most ‘prog rock’ guitar to date with the launch of the Alpha Series. It’s giving serious Abasi Concepts/Ernie Ball/Strandberg vibes, and we are so here for it. A refreshing entry into the shred and metal guitar specialist’s lineup.

– Speaking of Ibanez, NAMM is usually a reliable time to get some new Ibanez artist models. At Guitar Summit, the firm unexpectedly launched its Bernth guitar. Could more surprise signatures be in the offing?

– Kiesel is showcasing its all-new Aero range of electric guitars. They kinda look like Sci-Fi, space age S-styles. That grated pickguard looks pretty darn cool, too.

Badder Monkey overdrive. But will there be any more surprises?

– The JHS Pedals x Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi 2, sourced from a long-lost circuit schematic, was one of 2025’s coolest pedal launches, and will be out in the wild at the show.

– It’s been a little while since the Nano Cortex, hasn’t it, Neural DSP? How about a John Mayer signature pedal? We can dream.

– This might be the moment where we figure out what Gamechanger Audio’s Recoder actually is. Because the company sure as heck don’t know what to call it.

– Strymon is the king of digital pedals. But the Fairfax marked its first foray into fully analog stompboxes – a Class A output stage drive pedal that’s “a complete miniature amplifier in 100% analog form”.

– Death By Audio’s Destroyer Series looks so, so awesome. Reverb, delay, phaser and fuzz effects are on tap – the company is calling them the “family of beautifully chaotic stereo tone machines”.

– Forget digital emulations of analog circuits. Dirty Boy’s Silver Boy is an analog version of a popular digital amp sim.

JHS Pedals x EHX Big Muff 2

(Image credit: JHS Pedals)

– The Nocturne is Keeley’s latest collab with Andy Timmons – a reverb pedal the virtuoso hails as “the most inspiring reverb I’ve ever heard”.

– J. Rockett’s Aqueous Chorus has distinct CE-1 vibes courtesy of a preamp and its BBD-style textures, but it can turn its hands to more modern tones, too.

– Crazy Tube Circuits will be channeling classic Orange fuzz and grind with the Orama twin-footswitch drive pedal.

– EarthQuaker Devices and Dr. Z have put their heads together for the ZEQD-Pre – a tube-loaded preamp pedal that might just be the tonal tool your digital rig has been crying out for. With a pristine EF86 tube, it promises to inject genuine valve warmth to any signal chain.

– Collision Devices is looking to satisfy our hunger for tasty pedal drops with the Snack Series, which comprises bite-sized fuzz, pitch and delay ‘boxes that sound as good as they look.

– Nuclear Audio has perhaps pioneered an industry-first with its Fission Drive. True to the name, it splits your signal in two and injects adjustable levels of gain to the two separate frequency bands. Very gnarly.

– DSM & Humboldt have followed its fan-favorite (and widely acclaimed) Simplifier analog amp modeling pedal with the Dumblifier. It does exactly what it says on the tin: offers authentic, non-digital tube amp tones inspired by the mythical Dumble Overdrive Special.

A cryptic teaser shows a JCM900 Studio with a flaming horse on the grille. No, that’s not as gross as it sounds.

– EVH will be showing its first-ever digital amp, the Hypersonic, which was announced late last year.

– One big surprise that will be showcased at this year’s show is EHX’s ABRAMS100 – a 100-watt solid-state head for under $300. Designed, obviously, for pedal users.

NAMM 2026: Acoustic guitars

– Taylor has lifted the curtain on what it’s calling perhaps its most advanced acoustic date as part of a comprehensive unveiling of its class-of-2026 guitars. The Next Generation Grand Auditorium models are particularly intriguing, with new bracing, an all-new Claria pickup system, and that nifty Action Control Neck. A new benchmark in tone, playability and performance? Taylor thinks so.

Paul Stanley and Daron Malakian, so there’s a lot of pedigree there. Now, bassists can get in on the fun. Everyone say, ‘Thank you, Ibanez.’

NAMM 2026: Pickups and accessories

D'Addario Pedal Pry Bar — (Image credit: D’Addario)

– D’Addario has, er, expanded its XPND family of pedalboards and accessories with the Pedal Pry Tool. We all know that trying to wrestle your prized pedals from the vice-like grip of a well-secured hook and loop fastening is the opposite of fun. The Pedal Pry Tool makes light work of removing pedals. Even more reason to buy some more stompboxes…