NAMM 2020 – Music Technology

The Universal Audio Luna is a free DAW that comes with every UA plugin. It allows you to record through DSP-powered plug-ins with no latency. Also, lots of more features under the hood: the summing circuitry of a Neve 80-Series mixing console has been emulated in order to give your mixes that ‘analogue‘ quality. And then there’s the big thing: LUNA instruments, like the Moog-branded version of the Minimoog which is completely playable. MAC only.

The Swedish manufacturer Nord presents the new Clavia Nord performance synthesizer at the NAMM Show. Clavia Nord Wave 2 has been enhanced with numerous features that the predecessor lacked: effects, arpeggiator and the classic 4-way multitimbral system. You can find all specs under the link.

The rather young British brand UDO Audio is presenting its 12-voice, polyphonic synthesizer with the Super 6 at the NAMM Show. More in the video below. You can find the specs under the link below. Also available in blue.

The Evolve 30M is a new compact column loudspeaker system by Electro-voice. It features an 8-channel digital mixer, studio-quality onboard effects, and remote control of all audio, effects and mix functions via the next-generation Electro-Voice QuickSmart Mobile application.

A USB condenser microphone made for content creators. Live streaming, podcasting and traditional recording can be performed without having to deal with additional audio interfaces thanks to the built-in preamp. Mute and input level controls and headphone output are a nice touch.

Large diaphragm cardioid microphone made for studio recordings. This sounds equally good on vocals and instruments. Mackie also recommends this for voiceovers, live streamers and podcasters.

Mackie went all-out this year. The element series includes 3 microphones, tailored for different uses:

Mackie EM-89D – Live vocal dynamic microphone, equipped with a cardioid polar pattern, its main use is, of course, the stage, while also doing a great job as a microphone for recording instruments and amplifiers.

The Pod GO is the last iteration in a multi-decade line of successful products made by Line 6. The tech giant announced the Pod GO, and it’s all about the sound. The amps and effects (more than 270!) simulations come directly from the HX family, while also allowing to load third-party IR through the app. Stereo effect loop, expression pedal, sturdy footswitches and much more.

Like its predecessor, the Subsequent 37, Moog‘s new synth features USB MIDI, CV connections for pitch, gate, filter and volume, two oscillators with sync and pulse width modulation. Envelopes are loopable and the bass is ultra fat!

Check out the collaborative video below between music producer Flying Lotus (performing on the Subsequent 25) and visual artist Julian House:

System 100, a Behringer Modular Synthesizer, is getting all the attention at NAMM right now! Featuring 11 new eurorack synth modules and recreating the circuitry from the original 1975 model has been done extremely well by the engineers at Behringer. System 100 features fat-sounding oscillators and luscious filters and the modules have many patching capabilities (of which many have dual functions). The video below explains more…

Audio interface or DAW controller? Well, it’s both! Equipped with 2 PreSonus XMAX Class A analogue preamps, 100mm motorised fader, 360° encoder and works seamlessly with Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Ableton Live and more. Coming soon to our shop!

The well-known Afterneath Reverb, one of the most unique reverb pedals ever made for guitar, made its way into the eurorack world! Incredible!

Behringer just doesn’t stop! This time they are releasing a remake of a legendary Duophonic Analog Synthesizer with dual VCOs, 4 mixable waveforms, external signal processor, 16-voice poly chain and convenient Eurorack format. More info and product page coming soon!

These are no ordinary headphones, these are smart headphones. Some of their features are: Bluetooth technology for ear protection (even in loud environments, while delivering HQ sound and noiseless monitoring), Smart Monitoring and Sound Enhancing (enables DJs to customise the external sounds that they hear with an EQ preset, and to choose which ear they want to monitor with (right, left or both), support for Google Assistant and Siri (hands-free calling and a switch for skipping tracks, playing, pausing, or rewinding. Another useful feature is that if you remove the headphones your music will automatically stop and resume when you put them back on. Wow!

Also available in black.

A 10-input / 14-output DSP-driven audio interface equipped with hybrid Alloy Mic Preamp emulation, which relies on both analogue circuitry and DSP processing to recreate the classic British Solid State and American Tube analogue preamps, It also features print and dual path modes for zero-latency monitoring and much more! Sleek design too, with a practical touchscreen. Coming soon to our shop.

Mackie expands its CR series by adding several inexpensive monitors such as the CR3-X, CR4-X, CR5-X and the bluetooth-enabled CR8S-XBT subwoofer! Powerful stuff! Coming soon to our shop.

Italian company IK Multimedia debuted with a scaled down version of their AXE I/O, one of the best audio interfaces for guitarists released last year. The AXE I/O SOLO features 2 inputs, 3 outputs, switchable PURE and JFET mic preamp, Amp Out (for DI re-amping), impedance adjustment and a full working copy of Amplitube 4 Deluxe and Ableton Live 10 Lite. Coming soon to our shop.

There is a good reason for Korg to give this keyboard the name i3: intuition and inspiration for your ideas. Create professional-sounding productions with the new i3 Music Workstation whose timbres, beats and parts are available in seconds thanks to it Sound Sets and Style Performance Sets. The workstation is equipped with numerous effects and EQ, as well as a sequencer that records MIDI and audio files. Coming soon to our shop!

Get ready for the most powerful, versatile and easy-to-use electronic music workstation to date! The MPC One is a standalone unit meaning that you can use it without your laptop (or with) as it features a high-quality touchscreen and allows you to edit your music in realtime just like you would in a DAW. The device is extremely powerful with 2 GB RAM and 4 GB onboard storage space. It’s very hard to sum up this fantastic product in one paragraph so please be sure to check out all of its capabilities in the video below, then visit our product page 🙂 We can’t wait to spend hours with this wonder machine!

IR loader, stereo expander, reactive load box, amp attenuator. A great solution for recording and live situations. Plus, the Twin Tracker works as a real-time double tracker and as a Stereo Reverb. Everything can be controlled by your smartphone. Future, now!

Arturia’s KeyStep Pro features a 4-channel polyphonic MIDI and CV sequencer with a 16-part drum channel all wrapped up with a 37-key MIDI controller with aftertouch.
Bonus: You can use this with your DAW… or without! Coming soon to our shop!

Three-way monitor that works for both mid- and near-field listening. Seven-inch bass driver with fiberglass diaphragm, 4″ midrange driver with honeycomb membrane and the brand’s proprietary RS3 AIR Motion Transformer technology for high frequencies. Class D (2x100w for mids and lows, 1x50w for highs) amplifier for each driver. Burr brown AD/DA converters, internal DSP engine, extensive ‘Room EQ‘ settings. And not to mention the look and design!

The new Launchpad Pro (mark III) allows you to create music on the fly through integration with Abelton Live, other software and external hardware. Its 64 velocity- and pressure-sensitive grid-buttons with RGB-background lighting make this an intuitive and fully-customisable experience and its four-track sequencer, with 32 Steps, Chord mode, dynamic Note- and Scale Mode and so much more, will get you well on your way. This machine screams 2020!

Sleek and compact 2-in / 2-out audio interfaces at entry level prices, JFET input, 58db mic gain, loopback function and more. Things are looking up for home studio musicians, YouTubers and podcasters! https://www.thomann.de/gb/audient.html

The new Presonus Quantum 2626 is a Thunderbolt 3 audio interface with 8x mic pre-amps with up to 60dB of gain (2x combo input jacks (mic/instrument) and 6x mic/line inputs). For outputs it has 8x 6.35 mm TRS line outputs, 2x 6.5 mm TRS jacks for the main outputs,  2x ADAT optical, S/PDIF, MIDI and BNC word clock I/Os, insert for channel 1 and 2. What’s great is that it can be expanded via the dual ADAT optical outputs enabling up to 26-in/26-out. All of this professional functionality for a very affordable price. See the video below and the product page for more info.

This flagship standalone professional DJ media player, powered by Engine OS, has gotten an upgrade since the SC5000 models. Not only is the design more sleek (more black components) but the technology is up-to-date with best-in-class timestretch and musical key change/sync algorithms, dual-layer playback with independent analog/digital outputs, a built-in internal HDD drive bay for storing music, a locking IEC connector for a secured power cable and an 8.5-inch jog wheel with large surface area for platter manipulation. That’s not all, check the video below for more features and updates… ?

To be used in conjunction with the new DJ SC6000 series (above), this professional-grade 4-channel mixer is where it’s at! Check the product page for all the specs and watch the video below to see how it can be put to use ?

It has a monophonic sound engine, the same multi engine and digital effects found in Porlogue and Minilogue XD synths with VPM waveforms, a freely-programmable user oscillator, digital effects from Prologue and Minilogue XD synths. With it’s ribbon keyboard, integrated speaker and USB bus-powering you ready to go, but first… you have to build it yourself! What makes this synth more fun than others is that it comes with a complete assembly kit and must be assembled (no soldering required). More details below…
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Sennheiser brings you an update on the greatest DJ / mixing headphones in history (originally released in 1988)!  They became popular among DJs early on because of their nicely-balanced flat sound with a frequency response from 16 to 22,000 Hz. They also have great noise isolation and  one-ear swivelling which makes them perfect for DJs to monitor both the room and the mix. And they are ultra lightweight, physically and in price! More info ?