10 best things I saw in Namm
The NAMM 2025 show is over. Each year, manufacturers of music facilities ranging from emblematic synthesis brands such as KORG, to boutique guitar pedal manufacturers such as Walrus audio and even companies that make fog and buttons, descend on Anaheim to show their most. goods. This is chaos in all the ways you would expect to be a line-length convention with a miles long for coffee, hordes of strangers, which are jocked for a position around new products, food variants that range from barely large heart attack. But Namm is also a special beast. If you’ve ever wondered what eight synchronization drummers, two fingers, eavesdropping guitar solos, acoustic slide blues reef and plain ukulele, everyone would sound like fighting for your attention, that’s it, that’s it only A place to experience this particular brand Ada. But now, when my feet and more importantly, my eardrums have finally started to recover, I have had a chance to think about some of the best things I saw on the show’s floor. Here are the 10 things that caught my attention.
Demon of eternal research
Eternal studies Started successfully funded Kickstarter campaign back in September, but that was the first time I managed to see Demon -box personally. Think of this as a super -charged version of Soma Labs Ether presented in a handful of ours Gift guidesS The demonstration box does not make any sound on its own, instead it has three pickups that turn EMF (electromagnetic fields) into music – or at least sound noise. Put a mobile phone, a power training or a fork for the top and you will get unique whims, slices, clicks and beeps that only this device can produce. But when the ether is just a microphone, the box of demons is a tool designed to interact live and control other devices. In addition to the removal of audio, it can also convert these electric magnetic fields into CV (control voltage) to control Eurorack or MIDI synthesizers to trigger a visual synthesizer or all three at the same time. There are tons of options if you want a buzzing bass, but if you want to turn the invisible radiation emitted by a remote TV into a central element of multimedia, this is basically your option.
Guitar
Thehe Guitar is impractical. It costs over $ 12,000 (insert makeup emoji). But it’s just just insaneS Instead of playing it with a choice or finger to tingle the strings (although you can do so, if you want), the strings are accumulated from movable plecarities that you mount inside a rotating wheel. There are sixteen slots that allow you to design your own rhythm of tightness, and then there are six sliders under the pickup trucks to control the volume of each string individually. This allows you to create complex, robotic rhythms like a drum machine, but on your guitar. And, moreover, you can synchronize it with DAW to make sure you are in a lock with your underlying song, even when it borrows and stops. This is a completely unique creation that has already attracted the attention of artists like Ed O’Brien of Radiohead.
Akai + Local Instruments
One of the biggest messages outside NAMM was not really a new product, but two titans from the industry that joins strength. Several of Native Instruments (NI) Play Series (NI) and specific to the genre packing kits are transferred to the new Akai’s new Platform MPC 3.0S Although the presence of some existing soft synthesizers of some existing hardware may not look like a big job at the beginning, it significantly expands the Sonic Sonic palette and gives Ni another support in the world of self -contained music hardware after giving it alone with Machine+S The choice of sounds is limited at the moment, with three synthesizers (analog dreams, cloud supply and nodi) and only one extension (faded reels). But two more synthesizers and four more extensions will be added soon and if everything goes well, I’m sure they will follow more.
Korg Handytraxx Play
Thehe Handytraxx game is the first and only portable turntable I know with built -in effects. It has a DJ filter, a slowdown and even a simple lup, which in theory can cancel the need for a separate mixer and even a second gramophone in some cases. Although I can’t scratch, I always wanted to learn, and the comprehensive portable character of Handytraxx game, including a speaker and battery power, is quite attractive to someone who just wants to dip a finger and do “I don’t want to To invest one ton of money and space in a separate mixer and double gramophone setting. Plus, Curg designs the play together with the late Toshihyd Nakama, founder of Vestax and Builder of the Original Handy Trax (two words, One X), an icon in the world of portabilism.
Donner Essential L1 Synthesizer
Over the last few years, the Chinese music manufacturer Donner has started to really expand its offers, moving from mostly digital piano and some profitable guitar pedals to a shockingly decent DSP effects, drum machines and even a pocket box. The L1 is the latest in its growing line of synthesizers and has many promises. It is based greatly on Roland Sh-101An iconic tool of the 80s that found special favor among artists such as Aphex Twin, Orbital, Depeche Mode, KMFDM and Canada Boards.
What makes L1 particularly intriguing is that this is the first recording in the company’s new Snap2Connect (S2C) system. The keyboard is attached to the magnetic synthesizer, allowing you to leave it behind if you want, or use it as a separate MIDI controller with your DAW or other synthesis. But Donner also says he plans to add other tools to the S2C system, so you can buy a module based on, say, Juno-60 one day and just hit it on the keyboard you already own.
Enjoy Defeel Electronics
Defeel is hard to explain. The company calls it a “modular degenerator of monotony”, which is both extremely accurate and extremely useless. Generally stick to this thing between your sequenceor and your synthesizer And he enchants the incoming CV to generate fillings, starts and any kind of barely controlled chaos. In short, it takes this sequence of Rock-Solid, which you have programmed and makes it less monotonous. It can repeat your sequence or add modulation. You can draw modulation curves using the 4.3-inch touchscreen or even turn it into an X/Y pad for live performance. It is designed in reference to Eurorack Synths, but it is also available as a separate unit in a stylish wooden case.
Melbourne Instruments Rotocontrol
Rotocontrol may not look like the most exciting device at the beginning. This is a midi controller with eight buttons and keys on the right and a handful of other buttons on the left to navigate the device. But what makes it special is that these buttons are motorized – if you change a parameter in your DAW or SOFTSYNTH, this is physically reflected on the controller. This may sound a little cunning, but it’s actually incredibly useful.
See, controller or synthesis buttons are usually available in two flavors: pots and encoders. A pot or potentiometer has a beginning and an end. So, if you change predetermined or switching tools, this may not reflect the setting in question already. The encoders have no beginning or end. Since they do not indicate a specific position in space, there is no need to worry about disagreeing between the position of the knob and the actual value of the parameters. But they are also less than ideal for live performance. Judging how far you need to turn to achieve this filter is difficult, it is difficult and encoders usually have a smaller smooth reaction than a pot. Melbourne decides this by simply moving the pots to where they should be.
Roli Piano & Airwave
I have been saying for several years that I will finally learn how to play the piano. But, I am a busy dad for two, a part -time bartender and a full -time day. In fact, I don’t have the time or a disposable income, to be honest, to be treated with piano lessons. And the applications or video options I tried were a little adolescent. I don’t know that Piano roles and Airwave They are certainly more effective than melody or Duolingo when they teach how to play, but it seems that there is more potential there. Where most music education apps are mainly glorified versions of Guitar HeroRaley uses the Airwave camera to track your entire hand by informing you if you are out of position if your wrists are at the wrong angle or if you use the wrong fingers. It is probably not as good as you have a truly professional one to teach you the ropes, but it is probably better than a rearranged video game attached to some rudimentary lesson in theory of music.
Oh, and after you feel comfortable enough with your game, Roli Piano and Airwave are combined to create what is probably the worst MPE controller on the market.
Entropy and sons recursion studio
Video synthesizers They are not new, but they are also not the most common things on the planet. And the recursion studio from Entropy & Sons is probably one of the most capable I have seen. On the one hand, this is not some simple visualizer that manipulates a basic clip of animation, all visualizations are generated lively, algorithmic. In addition, it can process incoming video, distort the images and respond to the incoming audio, even there are multiple modes of an oscilloscope built -in.
For those who like to stain their hands, there are over 300 modules that can be combined to create custom visual patches. But there are also about 1000 preliminary settings on board, so you can quickly get some visualizations immediately to go with your synthesis jam. And the company continually updates the device and adds new features.
SoundToys Spaceblender
SoundToys is one of the largest name attachments there. They are used by all from Jad Abamrade on Radiolab to Kenny Beats and Trent Reshore. The company saturation plugin of the company is one of the best things that ever happen with drums, and echoboy is a must -have. But this does not introduce terribly new effects. Superplate was added to the list in the mid -2023, but it was the first new addition after Little Plate in November 2017 – the company is taking the time.
SpaceBlender is on Soundtoys of the atmospheric granulated reverb. In fact, it is not a right granulated plugin that cuts your audio and spit it back into small bits, instead it is a bunch of delays that combine and smeared with something airy. He even has an interactive envelopes designer that you can manipulate to refine not only the shape of your reverb, but even has potential as a live performance tool. SpaceBlender is not quite ready to release yet, but even in this early mean look, it sounded phenomenal and looked quite stable.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/the-10-best-tiings-i-sw-at-namm-140044601.html?src=ss
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