Summer NAMM 2000 Report
Part 5
The Summer NAMM 2000 report continues with Part 5…
YAMAHA: Every once in a while, your NAMM Report staff comes across something that reminds of us of just how much FUN music technology gear can be. This year, the prize goes to the DJX-IIB ($299). The DJX-IIB is a compact console DJ box that is so easy and fun that it threatens to make DJs of us all – especially with that low price. Basically, you have a pattern section and a scratch section. The pattern section is full of some seriously infectious dance beats – just follow the lighted buttons to go from one groove to the next. You can add all kinds of effects, and even scratching via a CD-sized platter. It has built-in speakers, and the ability to play with an external source, so you can pop in your favorite Parliament CD to an external CD player, adjust the tempo on your DJX-IIB to the time on the CD, and mix and scratch along (of course, there’s no reason why you can’t do this with your favorite James Taylor CD if you want…). It’s all SO easy and so much fun you won’t believe it.
For those party people among us with the more advanced skills, there’s the DJXII keyboard ($459), a much revamped and expanded version of their DJX, made especially for performance. With a whopping 700 presets, the DJXII is a combination of a keyboard and groove machine; you can play the DJX like a keyboard, but the keys are mostly used to trigger different grooves and beats. It also features an excellent built-in sampler and performance recorder. Both the DJXII and the DJXIIB are MIDI capable, and can be upgraded via grooves on Yamaha’s Web site.
Yamaha’s latest electronic drum kit looks like a serious contender. It’s called the DTXTREME ($4700) and it packs 1,000 incredible hi-resolution drum voices. It uses real drum heads (though you can use the mesh pads if you want), shallow versions of acoustic shells (about 3″ deep) and features some cool spatial effects, great touch sensitivity for expression, and the ability to program and “trigger” song parts to play along with. But one of the DTXTREME’s coolest things has to be a special feature that lets you input up to 4MB of sample RAM into the “brain” of the kit and assign your own samples to the pads.
But it wasn’t all skin beatin’ and move bustin’ at the Yamaha booth. Guitarists yearning to test the limits of today’s modeling technology will find plenty to keep them busy with the DG-Stomp ($499), an amp and effects modeling stomp box that sounds good enough for the studio but is rugged enough for the stage. You get 90 preset tone settings and 16 speaker simulation types, digital out, a tap function, and an optional expression pedal. You can also create your own effects and patches. And the sounds are amazing! We were especially impressed with the realistic way in which it responds to dynamics while playing. You can go from almost clean to pretty heavy distortion just by playing harder, which of course is just what a good tube amp lets you do. The ability to switch sounds with rugged metal footswitches makes it truly stage worthy.
Their new power amplifier, the CP2000 ($799), can deliver up to 2000 watts into a 4 ohm load (bridged). Yamaha’s exclusive EEEngine technology means that even while cranking out the watts the CP2000 maintains a cool, efficient operation. The CP2000 also features Yamaha Speaker Processing to enhance performance when used with Yamaha’s Club Series loudspeakers.
Yamaha was also displaying their soon to be released professional recording workstation called the AW4416 ($3599). A compact workstation with pro-quality audio, the AW4416 does not use any data compression. You get 16-track recording (8 virtual tracks) right to internal hard disk, effects, and a total of 44 inputs. There are also 2 mini-YGDAI card slots for multiple digital I/O. With optional CDR included, the AW4416 costs $3799. Add some mics and speakers and you have a full production system. Yamaha recently signed a partnership agreement with Sonic Foundry to provide a software bundle for the AW4416. Each AW4416 will come with a free CD-ROM containing upgradeable versions of Acid Style, Sound Forge XP4.5, and Siren Xpress (MP3 encodes and unlimited WMA).
Finally, they had a new mixing console, the MC 32/12 ($3199), with 10 aux sends per channel. It’s exactly the same as Yamaha’s popular GA Series mixing consoles with just a few cosmetic changes. A 24 input version is also available.
PRESONUS: We got a taste of the BlueTube Microphone Preamp ($199) at Winter NAMM, but they were showing the real deal this summer in Nashville, so we thought you should know about it. It’s a VERY high-quality stereo tube mic pre that features two XLR inputs and two High Z inputs on the front panel. And the retail price really is only $199! Of course their new DigiMax, 8-channel mic pre with digital outputs was a big hit. We’ve already got them in stock. We also saw the digital output option for the VXP in action. With all of the “channel strip” type processors on the market today the VXP still stands out as an excellent unit that is a great value. With the digital output option it’s ideal for any DAW system.
FOSTEX: Another return from last Winter’s NAMM was the VF-16 Digital Multitrack Recorder and Mixer ($1500). It’s a little sleeker than when we first saw it a few months ago, and it has also been given a makeover for a more eye-catching front panel. The specs, for the most part, remain the same, and are just as impressive. 24 recording tracks (16 real tracks with faders, plus 8 “ghost tracks”) to an internal, user-upgradable E-IDE hard disk – no data compression. You have 8 tracks of simultaneous recording using analog inputs, 16-track simultaneous recording with an ADAT interface plus the analog inputs. What sets the VF-16 above most other digital multitracks in its class are its sophisticated digital mixing capabilities and two built-in multi-effects using acclaimed Fostex A.S.P. technology.
Also, Fostex is releasing their legendary X-15 four track cassette recorders in transparent red and blue.
MIDIMAN: The new USB interface is the MIDISport 8×8 ($499), with 8 independent in/8 independent out MIDI (128 X 128 MIDI channels). It will ship with Windows and Mac drivers and in many ways looks like an excellent choice for demanding applications. Our experience so far has shown that the MIDIMan Windows drivers are one of the few that work great on PC’s with USB ports.
DIGITECH: Their RP100 Modeling Guitar Processor ($129.95) packs a whole lot of cool modeling stuff into a sleek, compact floor unit. There are 25 fully programmable effects, plus several amp types and 40 factory presets. In addition, there are 40 user presets for your own sound creations. You can use 10 effects at once, and the user interface is incredibly simple to follow and use and it looks way cool. For practicing your chops, there’s the Rhythm Trainer function, which plays sampled drum loops (tempo and patterns are fully adjustable) so you can jam along.
Until tomorrow…