A million dollar guitar, illuminating keyboards and more at NAMM2015

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ANAHEIM, Calif. There are guitars that will set you back thousands of dollars, that's no news. But a diamond studded million-dollar Strat?

The folks at rock icon Fender put its new $1 million one of a kind, custom-built Stratocaster on display at its booth here at the National Association of Music Merchants convention. Why? Just to show what's possible in the digital age.

The NAMM show, for music stores to stock up on new gear from music manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, Yamaha, C.F. Martin and Taylor, attracts nearly 100,000 folks checking out the intersection of music and tech.

Beyond Fender's wonder guitar, a new showpiece that may be out later this year, some other highlights:

Hum a tune and it becomes an instrument - NAMM2015

Imitone is new software, introduced at NAMM 2015, which turns vocal hums into computer generated instruments. The $25 program for Mac and Windows is previewed at NAMM.

Sean Fujiwara

--Imitone: The new software that lets anyone hum a few notes, and have them sound like a musical instrument. In other words, hum a few bars of, say, "Happy birthday," and you can sound like a sax, violin or trumpet. The software sells for $25 at imitone.com

Leave the turntable at home with portable DJ unit | NAMM 2015

Casio's new portable DJ unit lets you leave the turntables at home to be the life of the party. Preview from NAMM 2015.

Sean Fujiwara

--Casio's portable DJ unit. Leave the turntable at home with the new, battery-powered, portable $249 XW-DJ1 unit. It connects directly to a smartphone, and even has a built-in speaker, to bring the party experience anywhere you go.

Piano illuminates and shows you keys to play - NAMM2015

McCarthy Music's Illuminating Piano lights up to teach you how to play songs. Introduced at NAMM 2015, founder Kevin McCarthy previews.

Sean Fujiwara

--The Illuminating Piano, a $499 keyboard, attempts to teach piano with keys that light up. Download songs from its app ("Piano Man," "Let it Be" "Fur Elise") and wait for the keys on the keyboard to light up before you play the notes.

--Be like a Bangle! Daisy Rock, the company known for encouraging young girls and women to play guitar, with a variety of pink and purple guitars, has a new model designed by one of the best known female groups, the Bangles. The guitar is in the shape of the old Rickenbacher guitar, and starts at $349. The Bangles ("Manic Monday,") performed here Friday at NAMM, at the SheRocks awards, an event to honor women in rock. Honorees included the Bangles, Colbie Caillat and Mindy Abair. We met Olivia Rox, a young singer-songwriter best known for her YouTube videos here at the Daisy Rock booth, where she told us about starting to learn on a Taylor guitar at age 8. "It was hard to fit in my hands," she said. Her dad switched her to the smaller, Daisy Rock guitar, "And it changed my life."

Daisy Rock's Bangles guitar - NAMM2015

Daisy Rock, the company known for making guitars for women, introduces a new Bangles signature guitar, based on the popular female rock band, at NAMM 2015. Featuring interview with Olivia Rox.

Sean Fujiwara

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