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Special Report by Mitch Gallagher
Was it worth getting up at 6 A.M. to attend? Well, in our minds, the debate rages over whether anything is worth getting out of bed at 6 in the morning! No question about it though: The chance to see the latest hottest items, mingle with industry luminaries, and schmooze and be schmoozed is just too cool to pass up! Plus, there's the added benefit of experiencing some awesome musical performances both by demonstrators at show booths, and at after-show concerts. Despite constant gloom and doom predictions, Summer NAMM seems to continue to grow and thrive. Sweetwater sent a contingent of seven fast-moving representatives to Nashville for the show this year, and we know we didn't come close to covering every new item on exhibit! While we can't necessarily say that any "earth-shattering" products or technologies were exhibited, there were a significant number of important new items presented, some of which we will just briefly mention in this show overview. (For our complete, exclusive NAMM Slide Show, access www.sweetwater.com/reports/summer-namm97/.) If you've read my NAMM reports in the past, you'll know that this being the '90s, some anti-litigation caveats must apply: Prices (where available), model names, release dates, colors, sizes, power ratings, specs, weights, specific gravities, molecular compositions, and densities are all subject to change at the whim of any number of manufacturing and distributing entities. This year's Summer NAMM Word For The Show (every good show has to have one): Most definitely "Guitar". If you were a picker, the show was definitely a treat. From assembly line imports
But fear not, as always, NAMM had something for everybody. As always, be certain to keep your eye on future issues of Sweet Notes for more in-depth information about these great new products. Alesis was showing their new Point Source monitors, which feature dual woofers and single tweeters in each cabinet. Also on display was the recently renamed M20 (formerly known as Meridian), a 20-bit, upgraded version of their venerable ADAT, along with CADI, its new remote. Speaking of ADATs, Alesis says they have shipped their 100,000th unit - congratulations! To celebrate, they were showing off a very cool custom chrome plated ADAT at their booth. In addition to their full line of recorders, mixers and processors, Alesis had their diminutive Nano-Series modules on display, including the new NanoTracker sequencer. Compact and self-contained, every MIDI user needs at least one! Apogee is close to shipping their very exciting AD-8000 8-channel A-D converter for Pro Tools, ADATs and DA-88s. It looks to be the ultimate multichannel converter! Also newly released by Apogee: Bob Clear-mountain's Session Tools ($349, with a special intro price of $289), a program designed to ease the logistics and record keeping tasks faced by a commercial studio. BBE has released two new direct boxes, the DI10 active box, and the DI100 which adds BBE's powerful Sonic Maximizer circuitry. Cakewalk Software now owns and is distributing Metro, a popular Mac sequencer from a few years back. The company says they will be upgrading the program based on customer and dealer suggestions, as well as developing other Mac products. In addition to their great new Millennium amps (see page 6 for more), Digitech had a new talkbox processor, dubbed the Guitar Talker, at the show. An electronic recreation of older, mechanical talkboxes, the Guitar Talker was pretty darn convincing to our ears! E-mu Systems had a variety of new items on display: An expanded version of the ESi-32 called the ESi-4000 ($1449), the 8710 PC Synth-On-A-Card, the E-Synth rack ($3595) and keyboard, the new Buchla Percussion Controller, and more! Event says they are very close to shipping their exciting new Darla, Gina and Layla recording systems. Working systems were on display, as were Event's full line of superb studio monitors, mics, preamps, and speaker switchers. Fatar was showing their new line of StudioLogic controllers. Available in 61, 76, and 88 note versions, these keyboards offer great action, easy learning curves, and comprehensive MIDI control over just about any size rig. Godin was showing their cool new line of solidbody "acoustic" nylon string guitars, as well as a variety of more traditional electrics, most with absolutely beautiful flamed and quilted tops. Their LGX-SA (the SA stands for "synth access") is probably the ultimate guitar controller for MIDI systems or for use with the Roland VG-8. Gore had their new Elixir line of guitar strings on display. Available for steel string acoustics or electrics, these strings feature a super thin polymer coating that seals the string windings. This extends the string's life up to three times and allows for much more consistent tone. We were impressed (plus they gave us free dental floss - ah the perks of the job!). Korg's Z1 ($2600) and SGProX ($2600) were generating lots of interest. The SGProX is an authentic sounding digital piano for live applications, while the Z1 is a more flexible,
New from KRK are the RoKit reference monitors ($329), little brothers to the company's K-Rok speakers. The company was also showing off their hot new Expose monitors (starting at $3495 per pair). Lexicon was showing their MPX-R1, a MIDI floor remote for use with their MPX-1 processor. The unit includes preset switching, and a control pedal set up to physically duplicate an old Vox wah's action. Lexicon also put on a very impressive demo of their new Studio processing system, along with its accompanying interface boxes and says that several major sequencer manufacturers will be announcing support for the system by the AES show. Line 6 demonstrated several new modeling guitar amplifiers including the Ax150s head-only version of their successful AxSys amp ($1099), 2x12s speaker cabinets ($499), and a scaled down combo version called the "FlexTone" (starting at $799) which is available with a variety of speaker configurations. Mackie was making big noise with a working version of their anxiously awaited digital mixing boards. The console looked very cool, and includes every feature you can think of. Our guess is that Mackie might
The DiO is a new digital input/output board for PCs from MIDIMAN. Also new is the Dman 2044, a 20-bit version of their Dman card, and the aptly named Flying Cow external A/D and D/A converter. Nord's Modular System was also stirring up show attendees. A combination of computer-based graphic editing software and advanced Nord electronics allows creation of tons of new sounds using a wide variety of synthesis techniques. Novation resonated the room with the latest version of their incredible Drum Module, and with the booming Super BassStation. Both of these products sound great and are sure to be extremely popular for creating throbbing techno or dance hits. PreSonus has re-introduced their ACP22 analog compressor/limiter/gate. The unit features a brand new improved appearance, as well as both XLR and 1/4" connectors. RePlay Technologies has released CDLooper, which is Windows-based software that can loop sections of audio CDs, as well as slow down audio without changing pitch. Perfect for transcribing those hyper-speed metal guitar riffs for your weekly gamelan gatherings... Not surprising, Roland pulled out the stops again with a pile of new items! In the keyboard category were the A70 expandable 76-note controller ($1,495), G600 keyboard ($2,195), SP202 sampler (very hip, and only $395!), and SRJV8011 Techno card ($475). Roland was also showing their incredible V-Drums - you must check these out when you get a chance (basic kits start at $3,995 - see page 2 for more details). In keyboard amps, Roland had their compact and efficient KC100 amp on display ($449). Roland has also expanded their live sound offerings with a new line of PA cabinets, including the SST-151 ($399), SST-251 ($599), and the SSW-351 ($599). In addition to showing stomp boxes and the awesome VG-8 to guitar players, Roland had the new ME30 ($299) floormounted guitar multi-effects processors on display. The new super stompbox offers a ton of hip options at a very economical price point. TASCAM had their complete selection of digital recorders on display, including their brand new DA-98 8-track, DA-20mkII DAT machine ($1099), and DA-302 dual DAT recorder. Speaking of digital, Tascam's eagerly awaited digital console was up and running, and looked impressive. The pressure is really on in the realm of digital mixers, and with the DM-8000, Tascam's not making it easy on any of their competitors! TC Electronics was making a lot of good noise with their new G-Force guitar effects ($1,795) which allows you to route eight simultaneous, full-blown stereo effects in any combination or order without compromising sound quality. This one is going to be big! Master Index | Sweet Notes Index | Home | Back Page | Next Page |
NAMM, NAMM, NAMM - the very thought of that acronym sends pains through the soles of our still-tired feet. This summer's National Association of Music Merchants show was in many ways like its predecessors: Long, loud, tiring... and full of cool new gear!
