Bust out your jean jackets, tease that hair, and get yourself some dark sunglasses… It’s NAMM 2026 in Anaheim! Rockstars and instrument manufacturers from around the globe descended upon the world’s largest music product showcase January 22-24, 2026, and ShopBot was there to share our CNC machine lineup and take in all of the innovation and excitement. ShopBot exhibited in the front left corner of guitar land (Hall D) as we have been for the past four years. We’re happy to report that we continue to see familiar faces and meet new players and manufacturers with great questions and production woes to resolve with the help of ShopBot CNC solutions.
This time around we brought the Desktop 24×18 and Desktop MAX ATC 36×24 models from our CNC machine lineup. Air cut demos included an electric guitar solid body on the Desktop CNC machine and a brand-new project from our friends at StewMac, created with the diamond drag engraving bit on their DT-MAX ATC. Two powder coated guitar pedal enclosures, in StewMac brand colors, showed a robot rocker designed by StewMac to celebrate the partnership with ShopBot. StewMac also created a gasketed vacuum jig that holds a pedal enclosure securely to the CNC spoil board for the engraving operation. Many musical instrument parts and accessories returned to our sample table this year with a notable addition – Marketing specialist, Ross Gruet, (that’s me!) brought a crisp test cut guitar body made from MDF that proved accurate enough to proceed with a final mahogany guitar body that has since been cut with the same settings and bits. A CNC guitar blog series based on this project is in the works. Stay tuned!
ShopBot head machinist, Tyler Clark, created a giveaway item that was milled on our production shop DT-MAX ATC. The plectrum bottle opener turned out beautifully, thanks to carefully selected hardwoods and a strong vacuum hold-down method orchestrated by Tyler, himself.
Special thanks to ShopBot Engineer, Alex Hardison, and CEO, Jeanne Taylor, for being integral member of our NAMM crew this year. The amount of planning that goes on behind-the-scenes is immense. We’re lucky to have a team that is not only passionate about CNC technology, but passionate about presenting ourselves and our products in a professional yet fun manor. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to chat at The NAMM Show about what ShopBot CNC machines can do for the ever-growing CNC luthier community.
For more info about the ShopBot CNC musical instrument community, visit the musical instruments application page on the ShopBot website, or get in touch directly with a CNC expert at 888-680-4466 or sales@shopbottools.com