NAMM 2024 ran from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th January. Here are the highlights from the major piano, keyboard and synth-related companies.
Highlights
JoeCo has announced its BandMate multichannel backing track player for live performance playback plus MIDI, with accompanying app. It’s designed to provide a more robust solution for gigging musicians who can compile set lists and then triggered via front panel, foot switch, MIDI command or app.
Modal Electronics shows off their Carbon 8 synth boasting a sound engine twice as powerful as the Argon 8 and Cobalt 8, and featuring two distinctive oscillators that generate up to 56 digital core waveforms, and offering rough edgy sounds plus a sequencer, arpeggiator and various effects.
KORG has already unveiled a lot of new products previous to the show starting, including NTS-3 kaoss pad kit, NTS-1 digital kit mkII, wavestate module, opsix module, modwave module, opsix mk ii, Grandstage X stage piano, KingKORG NEO synth, microKORG with limited edition versions, PaAS MK2 amplification system, Poetry digital piano, TM-70T combo tuner and metronome, KR-11 compact rhythm box, and CM-400 contact microphone.
Embodme unveils its ERAE II MPE touch controller with looper and modular I/O, and a successor to the Erae Touch. It has 16,000 force sensors, offering ultra-responsiveness for high dynamics and high-velocity strikes for finger drumming or drum sticks. Currently a prototype, it enters Kickstarter funding in February with a potential launch date of mid-June this year.
Yamaha shows off its new SEQTRAK music creation station designed for composing and performing electronic music, featuring AWM2/FM synthesis, 128 note polyphony/four-operator FM engine, sampler, and a couple of thousand presets.
Steinberg releases its WaveLab 12 audio mastering and editing software suite with some 80 new features including Rainbow Waveform view, automatic transient markers, automatic crossfade options, and more.
Studiologic shows off their new Numa Compact SE keyboards featuring piano, organ and synth engines and built-in speakers.
PWM shows off its Mantis duophonic hybrid-analogue synth with dual filter, patches and full USB MIDI control, 200 patches, mathematically generated oscillators and analogue signal path designed by Chris Huggett, two oscillators plus sub-oscillator per voice, and much more.
Suzuki has shown off its Omnichord OM-108, a comeback of the strummable electronic instrument from 1981.
Supercritical announces its first desktop synth, the Redshift 6. This Variable Character Synthesizer features an analogue path for tuning, gain, filter and so on is controlled digitally.
Casio announces a trio of new Celviano digital pianos. Classed as “furniture pianos” they are designed to fit into a home’s decor and be visually appealing as well as highly functional. Features include a redesigned speaker system, visual information bar to aid in learning, and automatic recording.
Baby Audio has shown of its Atoms physical modelling synth plugin which features a “mass-spring interaction network” — virtual springs are manipulated with a bow to produce sounds.
Donner has revealed its DDP-80 Pro digital piano featuring a keyboard in a drawer which can be opened when required, plus Bluetooth and wireless capabilities.
