Inside Home Recording.com

Interesting NAMM Stuff

January 15th, 2010 by Dave

Well, I asked for it … I signed up to be on the media list for NAMM and my inbox has be inundated with emails since Wednesday evening. I haven’t even mentioned the RSS feeds that I follow and how their activity has escalated exponentially!

It’s Day 2 of NAMM down in Annaheim and I’ve just sifted through some of the news items that have come through. Here are a few interesting things I came across:

For the gigging keyboardist:

Roland announces the V-Combo VR-700 with Organ, Piano, and Synth Sounds

Roland has announced the V-Combo VR-700. Featuring the best of their Virtual Tonewheel organ, full key multi-sampled piano, and pro synthesizer sounds, Roland say that the V-Combo is perfect for players who need an all-in-one keyboard for a variety of musical settings, including houses of worship, stage performances, and rehearsal studios – offering powerful real-time performance capabilities in a simple-to-use-interface.

Available in March 2010 with an MSRP of $2,329

For the iPhone / iPod synthesist:

Akai announce the iPK25 MIDI keyboard with a built-in dock for iPhone or iPod touch

The iPK25 transforms iPhone or iPod touch into a portable music production studio for mobile music creation. This MIDI keyboard controller gives your handheld device a two-octave set of piano keys and professional audio outputs, and it works with the Akai Professional SynthStation Studio app. The iPK25 is powerful enough for professional musicians, yet virtually anyone can use is to easily create music.

Available in April 2010 – price is TBD

Akai launches the Synth Station App

Akai has announced their Synth Station App. Here’s the details…

• Three VA synths, three oscillators each
• Drum kits and sequencer
• Create melodic and accompaniment parts using arpeggiator with preset patterns
• Unlimited creativity with effects and filters
• Seamlessly compatible with Akai’s iPK25 docking keyboard controller

Available at the iTunes store for $9

For the Guitarist:

Boss releases the TU-3 Chromatic Tuner an updated version of the TU-2

The TU-3 is the stompbox tuner for the next generation of guitarists and bassists, retaining all the features of its predecessor while adding many new tricks of its own.

Housed in a rugged BOSS stompbox chassis, the TU-3 is built to last. The new high-brightness meter mode improves visibility under bright sunlight, and a newly-designed 21-segment meter light ensures super accurate and visable tuning. The proprietary BOSS Accu-Pitch function visually verifies when the target pitch is attained. The sound output is muted while the tuner is on, allowing players to tune silently on stage.

Available now with an MSRP of $160

For the Mobile Recordist:

Korg debuts Sound On Sound (SOS) unlimited track personal recorder

Korg has introduced the SOUND on SOUND (SOS) Unlimited Track Recorder, which they say enables musicians to capture and develop musical ideas as they happen, wherever they are. Battery-powered and completely self-contained, the SOS contains a high-quality stereo microphone and a built-in speaker for all-in-one recording and monitoring.

Unlike other portable recorders (even multi-track), the SOS allows for an infinite number of overdubs or alternate takes to be recorded. Each track, take or overdub is recorded as an individual CD-quality 16-bit / 44.1 kHz WAV file, and saved directly to a microSD or microSDHC card. Accurate BWF (Broadcast Wave Format) timing information is embedded in each track, meaning all tracks will automatically line up when imported into a computer-based DAW system for further editing, mixdown and final playback. The SOS can record up to 200 songs in the traditional linear manner, or be set to loop a specific section. Memory consumption is roughly 100 recorded minutes per GB (gigabyte).

It’s slated to be available in April 2010 and have a MSRP of $400.

For the Sonic Scientist:

Korg announce the Kaossilator Pro

A touchpad-based synthesizer, the KAOSSILATOR PRO offers built-in sounds suitable for an expansive range of musical genres including techno, house, hip hop, R&B, reggae and electro. Additional sounds simulate acoustic instruments such as piano, trumpet and guitar. High-quality PCM samples have been added to the DSP engine to provide realistic drum sounds, yielding twenty individual drum hits and twenty-five preset drum patterns. In all, there are 200 programs available – including fifteen vocoder programs that can process an external audio signal. Eight memory keys allow instant recall of favorite programs.

Available in May 2010 with a MSRP of $460

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There’s going to be more … I’m sure of it. ;)

Entry Filed under: Blog,NAMM Coverage