Learning to play a musical instrument continues to be a popular pastime for both children and adults, complete beginners and returning learners. Here we look at the advantages and disadvantages of learning to play the piano using online services, along with listing some popular services. Why Learn the Piano Online? […]
Enough of the plastic, or even the brushed metal, with another product finished out in warm, tactile wood. Enter the compact 5 Moons multitrack recorder/looper from Critter & Guitari. At first glance it may look simply like a five track recorder, and in simple usage it is. Yet it can […]
Waldorf has announced it will no longer be manufacturing the Pulse 2 analog synthesiser, first launched in 1995 and improved and relaunched due to popular demand in 2013. Instruments come and go, and the time has come for Waldorf to concentrate on other projects rather than continue to make this […]
GM Lab has announced three new synth projects, all available either ready-made or in kit form to be built at home. Rondò is a simulation of a classic string machine, taking inspiration from famous ’70s keyboards including the ARP Solina, the Logan String Melody and the SIEL Orchestra. It offers […]
Along with the D1 drum machine shown off at NAMM, Donner has demonstrated its B1 analog bass synthesizer/sequencer. This compact unit features twenty-six rectangular touch keys arranged in a standard keyboard pattern, plus a 3×5 matrix of buttons for controlling various elements of the performance or sequencing, and then a […]
Donner Music has been releasing some interesting products across NAMM, even if they aren’t too hot on providing the nitty-gritty details of those products so we synth-heads can write about them. Not to worry, let’s take a look at the Donner D1, which is supposedly aimed at more beginner / […]
Intellijel has shown off its latest synth, the Cascadia, which is an “advanced, performance-oriented semi-modular” instrument with a nice big price tag ($2,149) but dripping with loveliness. Highlights of this ‘modern analog architecture’ unit include: Two Precision Analog VCOs Six Channel Waveform Mixer Liquid-Sounding, Cascaded 4-Pole Multimode Filter Wavefolder Circuit […]
ERAE Touch has shown off its newest, fully MIDI 2.0 compatible, highly configurable controller surface. It combines a powerful LED panel, silicone touch surface, polyphonic control, highly customisable drag-and-drop elements, 1000 high quality force sensitive resistors for intricate, subtle, nuanced control, a blazing 1ms response time thanks to five onboard […]
Expressive E used NAMM to show off its incredible Osmose “standalone expressive synthesiser”, which boasts a whole range of controls built right into the keys and keyed itself, for the shaping and manipulation of sounds. Most keyboards don’t offer a lot of expressive possibilities by themselves, even if fitted with […]
Along with the newly announced MyTracks, Blipblox used NAMM to show off the second incarnation of its synth aimed at “up and coming musicians” (kids, basically). Unsurprisingly, the look and feel is very ‘toy-ish’ but don’t be fooled that this translates into a meaningless or substandard product. What we have […]
Still relative newcomers to the digital piano market, having been founded in Italy in 2013, Dexibell has nonetheless created some impressive instruments, including the VIVO H10 digital piano line. The company has used NAMM to showcase a stunning addition to this line of digital upright and grand pianos, with a […]
Behringer is one of the bigger names not to be attending this year’s NAMM but it hasn’t stopped them from launching new products, including the latest additions to their popular XENYX line of analog/USB audio mixers. The XENYX 502S and 802S are five and eight input mixers respectively, and come […]
Sound Particles is wowing NAMM delegates with “the first spatial synthesiser plugin in the world”, SkyDust 3D, offering instant 3D sound simply by playing notes. “Fantastic for stereo and exceptional in 3D” it’s definitely grabbing the increasing demand for immersive and three dimensional soundscapes in music production, cinematography and the […]
One of the quirkier instruments to hit NAMM — along with the TERRA and the Blipbox MyTRACKS — is the current Indiegogo sponsor-seeking InstaChord. At first glance it looks a bit like a cross between a video game music controller, enlarged calculator and a keytar (but, hmm, without the keys) […]
BlackBT has shaken up NAMM and the ’50 years of stagnation’ in the controller pedal market, with the demonstration and launch of its SusEx wireless pedal, suggesting it is no longer an “accessory of afterthought” but “a critical part of your musical creative workflow”. Claiming it to be the world’s […]
SOMA Laboratories has shown off its latest, and as yet unfinished, synth concept: TERRA. This “highly conceptual device” has the “core idea… unity of nature and technology, a perfect balance between simplicity and versatility”. The curvy wooden shell of this prototype unit points to the ethos of a certain uniqueness […]
Blipblox has teased NAMM attendees with a cool new music making ‘toy’ aimed at kids, which will land sometime in 2024. The Blipblox MyTRACKS may look a bit clunky — an interesting hybrid of toddler toy, small spacecraft control panel and controls from a ’90s home computer driving game controller […]
Polyend has used NAMM to showcase the next generation of its Tracker hardware: the Tracker Mini. This portable audio workstation offers eight tracks for stereo audio and MIDI sequencing, audio-over-USB, built-in battery and microphone, gamepad quality buttons, and lots of sampling and sound design tools. The user interface has been […]
Very few electronic instruments are as iconic as the Hammond B-3, and its influence and sound can be felt and heard across many genres and styles of music. Once you hear it, you never forget it, and many musicians (who haven’t been lucky enough to play let alone own one) […]
Yamaha used this year’s NAMM Show to reveal its next generation Transacoustic pianos, to be initially available in two model ranges, the TC3 and TA3, totalling eleven instruments. These are existing models of acoustic piano, including uprights and grands, to which the Transacoustic technology can be fitted. This is therefore […]
