It’s another NAMM, and everyone is finally getting a peak at the results of many months (and years) of hard work by some very smart people. Some products are ready to ship, some is right around the corner, and some of it is a long way in the future, but NAMM attendees have seen enough to know that most of it is worth the wait. In the middle category (right around the corner) fall two products from Moog Music: the MP-201 Multi-Pedal and the Minimoog Voyager OS—the “OS” stands for Old School.
The MP-201 is much hipper than any other foot-operated device I’ve seen, siimply because you can do so much with it. Essentially, it’s a programmable controller with four MIDI outputs and four control-voltage (CV) outputs that allows you to control four MIDI or CV devices using a single optical pedal. You can specify the range and polarity of the pedal and program it to address any parameter in real time to control your Moogerfooger, soft synth, digital or analog effects device—just about anything with a MIDI or CV input. This description barely touches on what you can do with this thing, so we’ll get a video clip of it online real soon. Suffice it to say, it’s much cooler than it might sound.
And if you’re wondering whether to take your aging Minimoog to the shop or replace it with something new and more dependable, you have a new reason to put it out the pasture. The Minimoog Voyager OS (remember, that’s Old School, not operating system) is a real analog synth with no digital functionality–no program memory, no fancy arpeggiator, just the same classic sound and hands-on controllability you got with the Model D. It does everything the vintage Minimoog did in an all-new package. You also get the audio and CV connectivity found on the original Voyager, thanks to a bank of 1/4-inch jacks. At $2,595 retail, the OS is priced between the Voyager and the Litle Phatty and will be shipping soon.
After a quiet 2007, Stanton is looking to rock the DJ world this year with its new SC System, a two-piece MIDI controller setup that can work as a tandem or as seperate units. The SCS.1m Mix Controller takes on the familiar appearance of a combination DJ/console mixer, with four channel strips, precision metering, a full FireWire audio interface and much more. Meanwhile, the SCS.1d Deck is the size of a full-size professional DJ CD player, except that it is MIDI only. It’s 10-inch high-torque motorized platter gives you a real turntable feel, and it also includes 4 360-degree rotary encoders. The SC System is schedule to ship in May for a price to be announced.
Twelve years ago, Steinberg introduced the VST platform. And today we got a look at VST3, the most stable VST platform ever. New in VST3….CPU effeiciency: now, processing plug-ins only kick in when signal is present. VST plug-ins will no longer be limited to a fixed number of I/Os, and their I/O configuration can dynamically adapt to the channel configuration they’re inserted in. The interface can deactivate unused buses after loading and reactivate when needed. Other features include resizable edit windows (yay!), sample-accurate automation and a kabillion other cool things. The SDK will be available as a free technology, open for developers…
MOTU announced the upcoming release of Digital Performer 6, which promises to be a major upgrade to the company’s flagship digital audio sequencer. DP 6 features a redesigned user interface, which includes the ability to zoom in the Track window. Two new signal processing plug-ins are included: Pro Verb, a convolution reverb that MOTU says is very CPU efficient, and Masterworks Leveler, a dynamics processor that models the classic LA-2A. A new, and very flexible track comping feature is also included. It gives you plenty of control for comping takes, and it even lets you comp your comps. DP 6 will also include support for Broadcast WAV files, which means your sequence’s audio files no longer need to be in Sound Designer II format. Also included is support for Final Cut Pro XML files, allowing you easily edit your video’s audio track in DP. Another key addition is the ability to burn CDs directly from DP. DP 6 is scheduled for release sometime during the first quarter of this year., and its price will remain unchanged.
Just got back from the East West press conference, where the company showed numerous new products that are either now shipping or will be by the end of this month. Jumping into the 64-bit world, East West, which celebrates 20 years in the biz this year, continues to lead the sound library market. Take for example its Quantum Leap “Forbidden Planet” sample-based synth and Goliath, sounds inspired by The Beatles in its “Fab Four Virtual Instruments” and so much more. If you’re at the show, I suggest playing around with their sounds and libraries at booth #6630.
BBE Sound was showing their new Sonic Maximizer plug-in. It is compatible with all AU, RTAS and VST host apps and features programmable patch memory and on-line tech support. It works across Mac OS X, Wincows XP and Vista platforms and retails for $129
Hey Cory Lamb here on B.S.E. records at NAMM on the first day. Chilling with my favorite manufactures and making many new friends. I also went and talk to cakewalk about some new solfware powered by intel to use on my new up and coming album. I also headed over to my favorite mic. brand audio-technica and ran into Timothy B. Schmit. and his enginer Hank linderman.
and also heading over to see my friends at ultimite ears to check out there new product. and while blogging I also ran in to Leland Sklar one of the nices guys on the planet.
Hi Rory — great to see you again! Well, we’re in hour 1 of the Winter NAMM show…what are you looking for?
Hi !! This is Rory Kaplan representing Intel
I always look forward to the NAMM show as technology has come a long way, and what I look for is how technology can make the creative process flow, rather than worry about what the stats are of a device.
I’m here because Intel’s Core 2 processors are the heart of what I do in creating and producing tracks or surround sound mixes. I’m looking forward to seeing what other companies are doing in the advacement of technology, and how it contributes to the creative content process.
Building on a solid 1.0 release, M-Audio unveiled Torq 1.5 today, and it’s packed with new features to this up-and-coming DJ software. Let’s get right to the juicy new bits.
Improved Tempo/Pitch Alteration
•Tempo Anchors allow marking tracks with varying tempos—Torq’s effects and samples follow the tempo changes in the song
•Tempo Master assigns a playing track to serve as the master tempo source for all tempo-related functions
Advanced MIDI Control
•Transmit/receive MIDI beat clock for synchronization with other hardware/software and easy switching between DJs
•MIDI soft takeover prevents parameter jumps when using external controllers
New User Interface Features
•Hide Mixer option conserves screen space
•Preview songs in headphones before loading to deck
•New database categories for bit rate, file type, year and label
•Select multiple files to add to playlists
•Musical Style Preferences improve results when analyzing tracks
•Drag and drop songs into decks while in browser max view
•Warning message if loading a new song onto a Deck that is playing
•Warning message when attempting to exit Torq
•Global Tempo metronome can be monitored in headphones
•Auto Gain feature matches the gain levels between decks
Enhanced Effects Processing
•Internal effects can be grouped into effects chains
•VST effect tempo synchronizes with tempo of playing deck
•Effects can be used in a post-fader configuration
Rock-Solid Integration with Traditional DJ Hardware
•Skip Protection keeps the music playing even if the Control Vinyl or CD skips
•True Key Lock keeps the pitch constant when adjusting external turntable speed
The Bus, EM's editorial blog, features posts from all the EM editors on topics related to gear, recording techniques and much more. It's also home to posts from a selected group of guest bloggers.
