As of 6PM PST the Winter NAMM 2014 convention is over. And the good news is... its only like 360 more days until NAMM 2015!
... Ok, maybe thats not the only good news. There were quite a lot of great products brought to the tables this year. I can't discuss every last one in detail but I can discuss a few that peaked my interest.
First, I have to mention Fender. This year is a big birthday for the Stratocaster -- 60 YEARS MAN! 60 years of grooving, funking, skanking and shredding, from artists like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Dick Dale (you know the song from Pulp Fiction and those old Dominoes commercials...), The Edge, John Frusciante, David Gilmore, Buddy (Guy and Holly), two of the four Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmstein, John Mayer, Pete Townshend, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ronnie Wood... you know what, if you're a guitar geek like me, you can go look up the list yourself.
Anyway, big birthday for The Strat so, as you can imagine, Fender put on a big show with a lot of vintage reissues, artist issue models and the like. They also brought some of their vintage reissue amps to the show. A bit pricey for an unemployed college student drowning in debt, but lovely all the same.
There were also updated versions of Avid's Sibelius 7 (v.7.5) and PreSonus' Studio One (v.2.6.2) shown at this year's NAMM. I am not as familiar with either as I wish I was but from what I've read StudioOne has added support for additional software add-ons and Sibelius introduces new display and navigation functions, improved distribution and integration with iPad applications as well as improved rhythmic and expressive capability. Again, I don't know either of these programs too well so I am positive that I am not doing them justice (hence, not choosing these as highlights).
Now... onward:
...Look it up kids, your jaw will hit the floor.
Ok, I'll admit it... I'm an iZotope fan-boy. You name it, I probably have it. There's no shame in it; iZotope has offered nothing but spectacular plug-ins and instruments, ranging from mastering, spectral and dynamic processing, stutter editing (cleverly called StutterEdit), spectral manipulation (Iris and Rx continue to blow my mind) and vocal processing. But their newest addition to the family, Break Tweaker stole my heart on the first day of NAMM. For all of you who enjoy DnB, Jungle, Break Beats, Break Core, Glitch music or - for all intents and purposes anything more interesting than a drippy hippie playing poorly interpreted Grateful Dead covers on a college quad - this plug-in can work wonders in almost every composition. Obviously you throw this in as an insert on a symphonic orchestra track, but the versatility of this software allows you to process audio in unique and limitless ways. BreakTweaker allows you to alter the spectral, rhythmic and timbral content. It also sports 2 gigs of drum samples and wavetables. And it won't inflict mortal wounds on your wallet. I am hoping to get my hand on the expanded version in the near future.
M-Audio made a new addition to its historic line of USB controllers when they introduced the Trigger Finger Pro as a contender to Native Instrument's Maschine and Akai's MPC series. This guy has 16 velocity sensitive pads, backlit by colored LED's for easy identification, and over 45 assignable controls total. Oh... did I mention there's a step sequencer? Yea. BAM. That doesn't do it for ya? Try the included Arsenal pack: over 8 gigs of instruments, samples, and loops. Thats in addition to the 10 Prime Loops drum packs that come with it too. Needless to say, M-Audio has taken off the gloves, thrown them in a trash barrel and set them on fire and I'm sure Akai and NI will take a hit or two down the road.
As always, the NAMM show was stock full of surprises and awesome gear. I would love to talk about each and every item displayed this year but, thats pretty impractical since you can find the listings on their website or watch the video reviews from SweetWater. However I do have several honorable mentions:
Steinberg's UR44 Audio Interface
Yamaha MG3 Mixers
Yamaha HS series Monitors
(NOW OFFERED IN WHITE!)
(I'm almost positive that the only thing new is the white color... still GREAT monitors nonetheless)
Blue's top secret Project: Hampton
(an interesting looking new microphone. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more info)
I am very interested in two things you talked about. First would be m-audio's new finger pads and the Neve lunchbox components.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a huge fan of the m-audio stuff, but their new pad looks pretty awesome! I like the step sequencer a lot. It looks pretty similar to my EMX-1, so maybe that is why I feel myself being so drawn to it.
What really caught my attention was the lunch box components from Neve. After Andy's lecture today talking about how the industry is going toward component pieces that allow for easy flexibility, I can really get a sense of how this could fit into the future of the recording studio. I've only briefly seen overviews of the "lunch box" setup, so I would love to see more.
From what I gather, M-Audio's TFP is trying to compete with Akai's MPC series as well as Native Instrument's Maschine line so I would assume that they added all of the bells and whistles they could imagine. Plus, this is a rebirthing of the original Trigger Finger that came out like 10 years ago so I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes the most popular M-Audio interface.
DeleteAs for the Lunchbox... I have heard people say the absolutely love it, and others that absolutely hate it. In my opinion, as a college student/person trying desperately to get his foot in the door of the recording industry, I can't really afford a high-end console. I can't really afford these Neve 500 series components either, but with the music industry headed in the direction it is, with more and more people working out of smaller project studios, these lunchbox mounts and components definitely have a huge prospective consumer base. And because a lot of the companies that make 500's are actually emulating vintage gear based on the circuitry and quality of components, you can get pretty close to getting the same result at a fraction of the price.
Glad to see another Strat lover in the building! God bless Leo Fender in all of his genius. Also I would like to mention that I would probably sell a few organs in order to simply own a lunch box with a couple 500 series Neve pre’s. I haven’t had much experience with iZotope plug-ins other than the vinyl plug-in, (which I actually use more than I’d like to admit) what are some of your favorite iZotope plug-ins and which ones would you recommend on a budget? I’m trying refine my plug-in catalog and have been curious as to what iZotope products are worth picking up. Glad to see another Strat lover in the building!
ReplyDeleteCurrently I have the Ozone 5 Mastering Suite, Stutter Edit, Nectar and Iris. The mastering suite would be my #1 recommendation. Its pricey (~$200), but the quality of the software is unparalleled to anything I've seen. I actually prefer the Ozone 5 to any Waves mastering plug-ins. Its user interface is easy to navigate and use, including the ability to type in values for precise and minute adjustment. Nectar is another multi-component plug-in geared for vocal processing. I wouldn't say its a necessity but its definitely a high-quality vocal processor. Stutter Edit is interesting, but its uses are pretty limited to DnB/Break Beats and more avant-garde electronic music. Check out some youtube videos to see if its for you. Iris, is probably THE MOST interesting and unique plug-in I have ever seen/used/heard. Also, not a necessity unless you're into sound design or REALLY out-there electronic music. I can't do it justice so just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzUxOojmoiY
DeleteI love the lunch box series gear that is out there. It makes high end audio so much more accessible to those of us with not so deep pockets. Another company you should take a look at is Seventh Circle Audio. They make these types of preamps. Unfortunately, their modules are only compatible with the "lunchbox" that they make and don't work with other lunchboxes out there. While this is a downside to them, they have some pretty stellar preamps available. They are all clones of well known preamps that follow the circuitry design behind the classics. They have clones that use a Neve circuit used in the 1272 and 1073 and API clones. They have many different options that meet the different needs you may have in the studio. I have one channel of the N72 (the Neve clone) and can attest to how amazing it sounds. Disclaimer: these are all DIY preamps meaning you will have to have an understanding of electronics and soldering to build these yourself. You can buy them prebuilt, but they are quite a bit more expensive. This was a great post though, some really interesting gear out there.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that some lunch box gear has compatibility issue like that. Is this just for Seventh Circle Audio or do most companies take this approach? I am pretty interested in DIY studio equipment so I will definitely check them out. I'm actually in the process of saving up for a FET Compressor (1176 Clone) from Hairball Audio but since it's currently out of stock I may have to postpone it and check out these.
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