The 2010 NAMM Show

Mic check one two, one two. Yo turn my headphones up! Each year, the National Association of Music Merchants throws an industry-wide trade show located at the massive Anaheim Convention Center. If you’ve never had the chance to visit the NAMM Show, it’s a musician’s (and engineers) paradise, with thousands of exhibitors, live product demos, super fresh jam sessions, and celebrity appearances galore!

Themed “Get Ready,” the trade show offered attendees the opportunity to reunite with industry peers, learn the latest business and marketing tactics and trends at daily NAMM University sessions, and ultimately make their biggest business deals for the year ahead. The trade show is only open to industry members and their invited guests, and draws the convention center’s highest annual attendance.  Last year, NAMM reported a total of 85,799 of registrants, including 1,505 exhibitors. This year, NAMM reported 87,569 registrants, a 2 percent increase from last year.

This year I was part of that 2% increase thanks to my good friends at Odyssey and this is my tasty NAMM experience all wrapped up like a spicy scallop hand roll.

“The 2010 NAMM Show is the go-to event of the year for serious music and sound product professionals from around the globe,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “They will benefit from their NAMM Show experience by networking with their peers, getting the first look at the best new products for the year ahead, and by experiencing the music, concerts and parties that set NAMM apart from every other show in the world.”

The trade-only event features more than 1,500 manufacturers’ exhibits with many product launches that gather crowds to see the newest, most innovative products from all musical categories.

“This year’s NAMM Show marks a critical turning point for the international music products industry,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “A strong NAMM Show signals the beginning of a comeback with buyers returning to their hometowns with renewed energy, passion and hope for a strong 2010, and exhibitors enjoying strong floor traffic and sales as they introduced hundreds of new and innovative products to the market.”

There were high-energy events featuring Quincy Jones and Yoko Ono, who spoke on behalf of the importance of music education for children.

The 2010 NAMM Show will draw nearly 1,500 exhibiting companies, and is expected to generate more than $70 million for the Orange County business community.  Speaking of 1,500 exhibiting companies, let’s get to the good stuff.  So this was my first year attending the NAMM Show in person and for an audio gear fanatic like myself it was (at first)  a little overwhelming. It was like the feeling I had when I was a little kid at Toy’s ‘R’ Us. There is so much good stuff that your brain is being pulled in 20 different directions. Here are a few pieces of kit that really caught my attention.

Access Virus OS 4 Announced
Access announced the next operating system for the entire Virus TI series of synthesizers.

Six meticulously modeled overdrive stomp boxes greatly complement with the existing arsenal of distortion algorithms in the effect section.

The new speaker cabinet emulation is a fantastic and easy-to-use toolkit to add further character; especially to roaring acid lead and sync sounds. You like retro style? Our new Vowel filter will be your best friend, offering a sonic pallet from Talk Box to WahWah sounds.
The Comb filter puts the metallic shine on your patches known from many glitch and progressive tracks. And The new arpeggiator allows you to modulate any of the parameters available to the modulation matrix.

OS4 will become available shorty and is a free update for all Virus TI users.

Overdrive Stomp Boxes

OS4 for the entire Virus TI line of synthesizers brings 6 more distortion flavors to the table, modeled on vintage guitar distortion pedals. Every one of these classic pedals is famous for its distinctive character and has been exploited by some of the greatest guitar heroes of all time. The virtual stomp boxes feature carefully modeled distortion curves and tonal characteristics and include tone controls where appropriate.

Mint Overdrive – The sound of this one just screams tubes – a very special kind of overdrive which results in a wonderful smokey tone. Good for achieving a subtle distortion effect whilst still retaining headroom for dynamics.
Curry Overdrive – A more extreme distortion, like in the original, this does not feature a Tone control.
Saffron Overdrive - The ʻorangeʼ one. A very harsh distortion, popular with the grunge movement.
Onion Overdrive – A big distortion effect famous for its fuzzy character.
Pepper Overdrive - A clear, powerful distortion thatʼs perfect for making leads cut right through the mix. Tone control to soften sound with a lowpass filter.
Chili Overdrive - A classic “fuzzbox” overdrive. No tone control, just in-your-face fuzz.

In this video Ben Crosland explains some of the new features!

The SSL X-Patch
Next on the list is this nice little invention from Solid State Logic. The SSL X-Patch

ACHIEVE PLUG-IN STYLE FLEXIBILITY USING ANALOGUE PROCESSORS WITH NEW SSL X-PATCH

LOS ANGELES — Solid State Logic, the world’s leading manufacturer of professional digital and analogue consoles, is proud to announce the release of X-Patch at the 2010 Winter NAMM Convention, Booth 6907 at the Anaheim Convention Center from January 14th to 17th.

Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5017
This little beauty is the new Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5017. Teh mini hotness!
Features :
• DI box / Mic Pre / Compressor
• Variphase, Silk, Blend and two channel operation
• desktop unit

It’s looks so cute and tidy I just might have to add this to my studio!

ok moving on, we have the super dope Korg Kaossilator Pro ! Slide ya fizzle for the shizzle!




I think we can all agree that KaossPads in any shape or form are hella tight!

Now for those of you who have an audio interface with an open ADAT port this next unit is a surefire way to expand your I/O capabilities. The Focusrite OctoPre MkII DYNAMIC features eight channels of Focusrite’s legendary mic preamplification, with new, single-dial, VCA-based compressors derived from the classic Focusrite Red 3 on every channel.

On-board digital converters, with state-of-the-art clocking and jitter-elimination technology, enable you to stream eight channels of 24-bit/96kHz digital audio to and from an ADAT-equipped computer workstation or hard disk recorder. This makes it the perfect addition to your project studio setup or live recording rig, including those running Pro Tools M-Powered, LE and HD, as well as the likes of Logic, Cubase, Sonar and Digital Performer.

Those are a few of the goodies that really caught my attention. My first NAMM experience was amazing to say the least. I’m always amazed at the new technology that comes out every year. Music production and recording technology has come a long way and I can wait to see what the future holds.

Keep it Icy!