Europe’s version of the NAMM Show is MusikMesse, which opened its doors on Wednesday in Frankfurt, Germany. Here is a partial listing of some of the hottest new products on display, with more to come in tomorrow’s edition!
Moog Music: Probably the biggest news at the show is the actual unveiling of Moog Music’s new analog synth, the Little Phatty. After weeks of rumors flooding the Internet (most of them wrong), we now have the specifics. With a sound engine designed by the legendary Bob Moog, who sadly passed away in 2005, Little Phatty has a 37-note keyboard (with +/-2 octave transpose), two ultra-stable VCOs, one voltage-controlled filter and 100 user editable presets. Moog Music will initially release a limited edition run of 1,200 individually numbered Bob Moog Tribute Edition synths.
Yamaha: For musicians “on the go,” Yamaha introduced the GO46 FireWire Interface. The bus-powered unit has a total of four ins (with phantom power) and six outs with recording resolution up to 24-bit/192kHz. It ships with a cross-platform PC/Mac software suite that includes Cubase LE, Groove Agent SE, HALion SE, Sample Tank SE, Sonic Synth 2 SE, Amplitube LE, and T- Racks EQ as well as an ASIO 2.0 driver. The GO44 has two balanced, line-level inputs with stereo digital I/O and balanced analog outputs on the rear of the unit.
Native Instruments: The company has now disclosed full details on KORE and announced that the system will be in stores soon. KORE is an integrated system consisting of RTAS, VST, and Audio Units host software for VST and Audio Units plug-ins, and a tightly integrated hardware controller that includes a USB 2.0 audio/MIDI interface. You can bet we’ll be telling you more when everything arrives here in our gigantic warehouse. NI also announced Kontakt Player 2, the second generation of its popular platform for sample-based software instruments with advanced surround capabilities, integrated effects, a versatile library browser and optimized DFD technology. The company also plans to start shipping version 2.1 of Kontakt, which is said to include many new features, in April.
Steinberg: Need a pro-quality symphonic VST instrument and library? The HALion Symphonic Orchestra includes a 27GB sample library, an integrated, easy-to-use player, and RealAmbience adjustable recorded reverb. Played by a leading European orchestra, the HSO library delivers a vast array of articulations for strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion with 1,250 programs that offer solo, ensemble, and tutti sounds for almost every instrument. Supported formats include VST, DXi, and AU, as well as ReWire for easy integration into Pro Tools.
Cakewalk: These guys have been busy! They announced a free v1.2 update for registered Dimension Pro users with support for the new Intel-Macs plus RTAS-, x64-, and REX-compatibility. The company also plans to have a free SONAR v5.2 update for registered users of both 32-bit and native x64 versions of SONAR 5 Producer Edition and SONAR 5 Studio Edition in early April. Finally, Cakewalk announced the world-wide availability of Rapture, along with a free v1.1 update with Intel-Mac support and usability enhancements scheduled for release in Q2.
E-MU Systems: The company showed their new 0404 USB and 0202 USB Audio/MIDI Interfaces for the Macintosh platform with 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters, pristine XTC mic/line/hi-Z preamps, and ultra-low jitter clock. Both will come bundled with E-MU’s powerful Production Tools software and are expected to ship in June. E-MU also announced the 1616M PCI and 1616 PCI Digital Audio Systems that deliver powerful DSP effects, zero-latency monitoring and pristine 24-bit/192kHz A/D and D/A converters. Both ship with the E-MU Production Tools software bundle that includes E-MU’s Proteus X LE, as well as software by Steinberg, Ableton, IK Multimedia and more.
Akai Professional: The MPD24 features 16 MPC-style velocity and pressure sensitive pads plus transport controls that will interface with most DAW/sequencing applications, delivering unprecedented creative freedom for manipulating (or totally mangling) sampled material. There are four selectable pad banks totaling 64 pads, plus six assignable faders and eight assignable, 360-degree knobs for transmitting MIDI Control Change data.
Line 6: If you’re a registered owner of a Vetta II, the company’s flagship guitar amp, you’ll want to get the free v2.5 update which includes some major enhancements and new features like greatly improved direct out models, six new amp models, nine wah models, expression pedal controlled pitch shifting, a dedicated solo boost, improved tuner stability, tap tempo sync to MIDI clock and much more. Line 6 also showed off their affordable Variax 300 in a sweet new sunburst finish.
Focusrite: We wrote about Liquid Mix in yesterday’s inSync, but it’s worth mentioning again because the unit’s onboard DSP hosts 32 channels of classic EQs and vintage compressors, all of which can be used simultaneously in a mix. It ships with 40 compressors and 20 EQs, but there’s also an ever-expanding library online. Each channel appears as a separate VST/AU/RTAS effect within the host software and will work within all major applications, including Pro Tools.