NAMM 2009

The NAMM conferences are an occasion for many music technology manufacturers to launch an showcase new products. For gear heads like me, it’s a great opportunity to waste a weekend (or a few hours) surfing websites and wishing we could be there amongst all that kit. Here’s a few of the products that have caught my eye this year,

Melodyne DNA – Celemony are one of the leading companies in pitch correction software. With DNA they are pushing out beyond correcting single notes, to correcting harmonies, which means shifting individual notes in chordal music from things like guitars and pianos. For people working with samples, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities as you can change not just the key of your samples, but the chords and harmonies they represent (e.g., turn minor chords into major chords). DNA should be out in spring (it’s already been delayed once) and is probably THE big story in music technology for 2009!

Dave Smith Instruments Mopho – Everybody needs a good analog monosynth and I don’t have one! Thankfully Dave Smith has built a cute and affordable desktop synth that fits the criteria I need brilliantly. Reviews are good and product looks and sounds compelling.

IK Stealth Pedal – Interesting idea, a compact MIDI controller and audio interface for guitarists. Price is a little high, but there is a big market for these. Personally, I’d love to see a simpler product, just a solid feeling wah/Midi controller with USB output and no interface.

Eventide Stompbox Harmoniser – Yes folks, hair metal is on it’s way back in and the essential tool for that style is a harmoniser. Eventide make coveted rack models and a good harmoniser in a stomp format is a smart move.

Spectrasonics Trillian – Update to the Trilogy bass sample player. If it sounds as good as the Omnisphere for Bass then this will be a killer product.

Waldorf Soft Synth – I’m a big fan of the Blofeld synth and this software version is supposed to share the same programming.

EWI USB – Already on my “to buy” list and getting more and more attention from the music tech press. This is an affordable USB version of the classic EWI synth. The more I programme orchestral and jazz music using samples, the more I become aware of how important it is to get the articulations right.

Redmatica Sample Suite – In a smart move, Redmatica have expanded the scope of their well-regarded sample management software, from just the EXS24 to include the Kontakt and Reason NN-XT formats. That makes this a pretty compelling buy for me, especially as I’m starting to struggle with maintaining my growing library of samples.

Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah – Confession time; I’ve fallen in love with the Satchurator, which is Vox’s Satriani inspired distortion pedal. OK, so it’s the sound of my youth. I still love my old 80s wah and it has a lot of sentimental value, but I’d like to supplement that with a versatile wah that can be tuned to different sounds. I will be keen to try this one out.

Vox AC4TV – I have a lot of love for the old Vox AC4, it’s probably my favourite vintage small amp. This new model looks cool, has power scaling and will probably sound good. But, it is a shame they went for a 12AX7 in the preamp instead of the EF86 that was in the original. Something about that doesn’t feel right.

Linn Drum 2 – There’s no product yet, but I’m keen to see what Dave Smith and Roger Linn come up with. Whilst the NI Maschine looks cool, but I’m after something more unique. The Linn was THE drum machine at one point and, for me, pad interfaces still feels natural. I’m less interested in an MPC-style production tool than in a really good and inspiring drum machine. Let’s see what they come up with.

Manley Hardware As Plug-Ins – Manley have signed a deal with Universal Audio to release software versions of their coveted products in the UAD format. Manley used anti-Digital rhetoric as part of their marketing campaign, so it is interesting to see this change of direction.