The most innovative and interesting guitars featured at NAMM 2025 were the latest evolutions of Circle, and Verso Guitars
I first clocked Verso’s Folded Sheet Metal Guitars (Steel) late last year, while I’ve not paid to much heed to the Circle Guitar up until now. There was an earlier iteration of the Circle Guitar back in 2020, where that design has been massively refined and honed in the interim. Originally the spinning disk had 128 slot for different styles of picks / plectrums, while the newer model has a sort of modular system of 16 slots and 16 controls - including those 6 individual string faders. I believe that on the previous model you just had binary switches to select the number of strings engaged!
The Verso Guitar that first caught my attention was the Cosmo Model - late last year - which body shape I still prefer, where Andrew Huang got a custom Orbit Baritone version last year too - which is like an extended neck Cosmo - with a 28.5" scale length versus he standard 25.5" of my preferred Cosmo variant.
NEW for NAMM 2025 is a new more compact SINE Model with a couple of extras (Lehle integration), and including a slightly more elaborate mixed media construction. The advantage of the Verso guitars is that you can freely move the Magnetically adhered Pickups in 3-Dimensions - to shape the output of the guitar, and you can flex the metal facia of the guitar away from as well as closer to the strings - which gives you interesting swell effects. So the hands-on output-shaping is pretty much unlimited and in multiple dimensions. You can unplug or disable one of the pickups too, isolate or blend the two of them together - overall a really cool and unique evolution of the guitar format.
I still have various challenges with both of these designs - including the rudimentary nature of both of their bridges, while the Verso Headstock is all kinds of wrong for me - both in ergonomics and function - with really poor perpendicular string drop / nut-slot pass-through!
Both these guitars are pricey, but the Circle Guitar is understandably much more so - because of its intricate electromechanical action! For so many moving parts - you would probably need to question the long-term reliability and necessary maintenance to keep it working at peak prowess. The more moving parts - the more there is to go wrong - which is not a problem on the Verso Guitars - as you’re the one responsible for the ’movement’!
One of these is very mechanised and automated, programmable even, while the other is more manual and fully hands-on in its function!
As mentioned - I kind of prefer the look of the Cosmo variant of Verso guitars, while the New SINE edition is likely a touch more practical! Shape-wise I tend to refer to the Verso Cosmo as a ’Big-B’ and the NEW SINE edition as ’Little-b’! That’s what those shapes are reminiscent of for me.
You can read up on further details on the Verso Instruments Website - while the Circle Instruments / Guitar Website has barely the barest of bones of details or specs! Very minimal details - would have been nice to have seen some specifications and technical details - but none are available!
Note that only 4-8 of this latest and greatest particular Cicle Guitar Model will be made this year, while Verso notes that its "Orders for 2025 are closed. New orders for 2026 are now open!" - The Production Schedule is already filled - so it’s going to be tough to get your hands on any of these - at least any time soon!
All listed prices are excluding Tax / VAT - so those in Europe need to add at least 20% to the cost!
Further details on each model are featured below ! :
Latest Brand NEW Iteration of Circle Guitar - £9,995
There are scant technical details available for the new Circle Guitar - while the demos alone are incredible! It has MIDI Capabilities and a very useful App - where you can programme the patterns and syncopations of the automated strumming patterns / disc rotations.
Onboard the guitar has 16 controls - which includes various vector controls - Speed, and Direction for instance, as well as an expansive EQ, and those 6 individual String Level Sliders.
You can basically either rest your picking / strumming hand - or use that for more complex tapping, pinch harmonics and weird double-handed chord shapes. The above SonicState demo in particular is spectacular at illustrating some of the massive potential for this device.
Innovator and Circle Guitar founder Anthony Dickens (UK) - has ambitions to bring his technology to the masses via some sort of licensing agreement - while he is also building a small quantity of these himself - which are understandable a pricey proposition - hopefully one of the larger guitar companies can licence the technology and bring the price down significantly, as £9,995 puts it way beyond the means of most guitarists.
Several key experimental guitarists are already locked onto this guitar - with Radiohead's Ed O'Brien supposedly down to get the first of this new Circle Guitar variant!
My friend Henry Kaiser is very keen on these too - while he's hopping for the price to come down a touch. Note that you ideally need some degree of musical theory and at least a basic experience of programming complex instruments - which the synth guys are probably more familiar with.
This Circle Guitar is going to usher in a whole new Guitar Groove vocabulary and new playing styles - you can do extraordinary things with this unique system that you cannot do with just your two hands normally - as the demos so ably showcase!
Only 4-8 of this Model will be built this year - with one obviously going to Ed O'Brien!
Verso Cosmo Guitar - €2,300
So I really like the 'Big-B' Body Shape and construction of the Verso Cosmo, while I'm a lot less enamoured with its Headstock design, string pass-through, and Bridge. I would worry about tuning stability here where my first task is typically to ensure Locking Tuners are present, before adding Schaller Straplocks! The latter is already onboard - which is good news for me!
The Headstock shape and function is a little lousy for me - all things considered, while the guitar is likely saved by the elegance of its Bodywork!
Note that I feature a couple of videos here on Andrew Huang's Orbit guitar - which is essentially the Baritone / longer scale-length variant of the Cosmo shape - apart from he neck length - the features sets of the Orbit and Cosmo are pretty much the same as far as I can see!
Here are the Key Feature for the Cosmo :
- Freely Movable and Interchangeable Magnetic Mount Pickups
- Audible Body Resonance
- Up to two Control Knobs - Volume and Tone, or Volume and Blend typically
- 43mm neck width
- 20mm neck thickness
- 16" fretboard radius
- Two control knobs (volume, blend or tone)
- Switchable mono / dual-mono output
- With optional carbon reinforcement
- Including Mono Sleeve Bag & Richter Strap
- The Cosmo has two pickup inputs and a 6.3mm jack output, that can either be switched to mono or dual mono
The Verso guitars typically come in 9 Colourways :
- Matte Silver
- Signal Black RAL 9004
- Vermillion RAL 2002
- Moss Green RAL 6005
- Ouster White RAL 1013
- Light Pink RAL 3015
- Pidgeon Blue RAL 5014
- Pastel Green RAL 6019
- Zinc Yellow RAL 1018
NEW Verso Sine Guitar - from €2,970
The new Sine variant offers a moe compact body shape - with a couple of additionsl features - including Lehle Expresson integration.
This 'Little-b' body shape variant is probably a little more practical - while I still feel that the 'Big-B' Cosmo shape is more iconic - and would therefore be my preferred variant. While I quite like the Sine body shape too. I of course have the same issue with the headstock as on the sibling guitar model - where it totally fails the ergonimics and tuning stability criteria - with some fairly obtuse string-to-nut-slot angles.
SINE Key Features :
- 650mm / 25.6″ scale length
- Available with 6 or 7 strings
- Weight 3.4 kg* (six string) / 3.7 kg* (seven string)
- * including LEHLE EXPRESSION & 4AA batteries
- 22 Frets (Jesscar Jumbo 18% Nickel Silver)
- Solid brass bridge * height adjustable, fixed intonation
- Schaller M6 locking tuners
- Set neck (glued on)
- Available in Ash, Maple, Cherry, Oak & Walnut
- C shape neck, 21mm thick
- 16″ radius or 9.5″-16″ compound radius
- Saddle width : 43.5mm (6 string) or 48mm (7 string)
- Bone Saddle
- Semihemispherical fretends with hidden tangs
- Solid european ash body
- Finished with Linolie DK linseed paint (color) or Kunos Livos (clear)
- Sine Pad made from 1mm sheet metal (steel), Powdercoated
- Verso Magnet Mount Pickups (2 Inputs)
- Mono/ Stereo 6.3mm TRS output (switchable to TS)
Master volume & Pickup blend control knobs
Optiona l: Lehle Expression
