This year’s visit to the Anaheim Convention Center (yesterday) for their annual cacophony-filled circus that is NAMM was fun and about as expected, though I didn’t run into as many friends and guitar heroes as I’d hoped.

This was as close as I ever got to rock star Andy McKee, playing his green-bodied Greenfield baritone at the Ernie Ball booth.

I was anxious to see the latest Pasadena-built Holloways.  Scott Holloway (formerly Burwell) schmoozes a new customer, while Teddy Dazzo (pickups) looks on.

Endorser Don Alder played on and off through the week at the booth.

Inlay on the new Style 7…

Note the new label…

A beautiful, bona fide Style 8. The top is a sort of “waterfall” bear claw Sitka.

Beautiful back and sides for Style 8 No.1 featured my best (and last) Claro walnut set that I was saving for myself (D’oh!).

And I don’t get to even make an offer, as he’s sending this on to Alex de Grassi, who checked it out the day before and hopes to use it on his next CD.

These are mainly made by Scott and master luthier Mark Geiger, as shown on the Holloway site.  There were no imports at the moment as the next batch (built under the direction of a new professional luthier) is still a few weeks out.

The Holloway Facebook page has many additional photos and even some lousy video (nothing he should have shot, I was just trying one out amidst all the room noise!).  At least it made me a new fan (George Paterson, who wins a free batch of CDs, if he cares to collect).

Very few new items grabbed my attention this year, though I was hugely tickled by the new “Wheelharp.”

Though a completely new invention, it of course brings to mind the ultra-rare Geigenwerk.

The Museum of Making Music (Carlsbad) always does a nice exhibit showing different aspects of musical instrument history.  This year’s was called “Treasures From the Attic.”

Yeah, I wish someone would find me another Martin harp mando in their attic…this is the one from the Martin museum.  I had never seen it in person and was surprised by its proportions.  The flat top&back body looked barely an inch and a half deep.  A beautiful thing.

Another harp-mandolin I’ve wanted to see in person is Lowell Levinger’s Hammond with the extra sub-bass fretboard.  It makes even less sense than I thought!   You can’t fret it, and I don’t see how you could get a capo on it.  That’s the Museum’s Knutsen and my Clark Irish Harp.

I didn’t find a ticket for Muriel’s All-Star Guitar Night and had too much to do back home, so split late afternoon.  I was able to drown out my ringing ears on the freeway with a copy of the latest Bob Brozman CD he handed me.  That was some seriously creative musical ringing!