The 30 Best Things at NAMM 2018

1. Our friend Thomas Dolby, getting a lifetime achievement award from Roland (h/t KraftMusic):

2. Our friend Paul White getting all Men in Black with the Game Changer Audio Plasma Pedal – a stomp box that’s so bright you gotta wear shades (h/t Sound on Sound):

3. Waldorf Quantum. The most eagerly anticipated keyboard of 2017/18 is all but finished and perilously close to shipping (h/t Synth Anatomy & Bonedo Synthesizers):

4. Strymon Magneto Eurorack Tape Delay. A virtual 4 head tape delay, looper & spring reverb, in Eurorack format, with extensive CV i/o? What’s not to like?! In fact it gets our award for best Eurorack module at NAMM 2018. But shhh… don’t tell Marvel Comics (h/t Perfect Circuit Audio):

5. The Pioneer DJS-1000. We loved its forerunner – the Toriaz SP-16 and suspect that the DJS-1000 will be the new standard of DJ sampler (h/t Sonic State):

6. BOSS GT-1000. A multitude of amps & stomp boxes, including the algorithms from the fantastic DD/RV/MD-500 & MDP series, with 32-bit AD/DA and 32-bit/96 kHz internal processing? Yes please! (h/t Better Music):

7. Elektron Digitone. Proof that if you wait long enough, everything comes back into fashion…even FM…and here it is with knobs on, both figuratively & literally (h/t Synthtopia):

8. Korg Prologue. This Minilogue/Monologue influenced 8/16 voice hybrid polysynth features two analogue and one digital oscillators and looks as sleek as it sounds (h/t Sound on Sound & Loopop):

9. Rossum Electro Music Assimil8r – The final version of the long awaited 8 channel Eurorack sampler from Mr E-mu Emulator himself! (h/t Sonic State):

10. The Arturia MiniBrute 2 & MiniBrute 2S. Falling somewhere between a MiniBrute and a MatrixBrute, these Brutes feature dual oscillators and 48 point Eurorack compatible patch bay. We prefer the MiniBrute 2S, which swaps its keyboard for a BeatStep Pro style sequencer (h/t SourceDistributionTV):

11. Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 keytar controller. Simply the best Keytar we’ve ever seen (h/t Andertons):

12. SE Electronics RNT. A large-diaphragm tube condenser mic designed in collaboration with audio legend and thoroughly nice guy, Rupert Neve, that’s said to combine vintage quality with the benefits of modern advances (h/t Sound on Sound):

13. Antares Autotune Pro. Better, faster, stronger, but not harder and now with added auto tune 5 classic algorithm option. Believe (h/t Bedroom Producers Blog):

14. Behringer in original synth shocker. It’s called the Neutron and it’s redder than Lenin.

15. Roland TR-808 and TR-909 plug-ins for the Roland Cloud. Following on from the TR–08 and TR–09, Roland is bringing VST and AU versions of the venerable TR-808 & TR-909 to the Roland Cloud. Say Planet Rock, it’s the sure shot (h/t Bedroom Producers Blog):

16. Doepfer Polyphonic Eurorack Modules. They’re made by Doepfer. They’re polyphonic. As David Byrne once said “Any questions?” (Animato Audio):

17. Apple Logic Pro X 10.4. Offering far more than one would expect from a point update, Logic Pro X 10.4’s headline new features include ‘Smart Tempo’, which claims to use “advanced tempo detection technology” to enable all recorded tracks to stay in time with each other without the need for a metronome/click track; a new algorithmic reverb called ‘ChromaVerb’; a ‘Vintage EQ’ plug-in; Celemony Melodyne ARA 2 support; and, best of all, the return of two of our all time favourite plug-ins – Camel Audio’s CamelPhat and CamelSpace, in the form of ‘Phat FX’ and ‘Step FX’.

 

18. Realitone Hip Hop Creator. This grabbed our attention not only because our Publisher/Editor is the world’s greatest rapper, but also for the unintended comedic brilliance of 2:57-3:30 in this video (h/t Sonic State):

19. Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O. One of three new Pocket Operators, the PO-33 K.O. is a sampler that looks like a lot of fun…with or without added Cuckoo…though undeniably more so with (h/t Cuckoo):

20. Sonnox VoxDoubler. This duo of plug-ins – ‘Widen’ and ‘Thicken’ aim to do what they suggest naturally, with Sonnox quality at a refreshingly economical price (h/t Sound on Sound):

21. Roland’s expanding headband. Whilst you’re waiting for Roland to re-release the Jupiter 8, why not buy a bunch of Roland SE-02s and poly chain them?. Here’s Scott Tibbs demonstrating how huge this sounds (h/t Sonic State):

22. Empress Effects Zoia. The modular pedal that’s anything you want it to be

23. Sim1 XT-1. A pedal that promises to transform your guitar into a classic Les Paul, Strat, Tele, 335, or acoustic…and what’s more it seems to work!

24. Blip Blox. A Fisher Price style synthesizer & beatbox for kids that’s guaranteed to be used almost exclusively by adults.

25. Yamaha CS-80. No, not a re-release, but an original, that was recently unearthed by Yamaha in a spot of office archaeology. What’s more, it’s in pristine condition..or, at least, it was before spending 4 days at NAMM… (h/t Synthtopia):

26. The Waldorf STVC. Contrary to rumours, this is not a case of Waldorf going all Behringer on the Roland VP-330, but an entirely different beast, based upon a re-voiced (and, in our opinion, better sounding) Streichfett. Now all Waldorf need to do is to remove the keyboard and the vocoder and stick it in a box (h/t Sonic State):

27. Keith McMillen K-Board Pro 4. Express yourself! (h/t Kraft Music):

28. Rainger FX Reverb X. Just when you think everything that can be done with reverb and overdrive in a stompbox has been done, Rainger FX’s Reverb X comes along and does something new (h/t Sonic State):

29. Yudo NEUMAN Multi-Touch Keyboard / Synthesizer Prototype. Is this the future? (h/t Synth Anatomy):

30. Ormsby DJENT2018. You can’t mention NAMM 2018 without mentioning this 18 string Tasmanian blackwood and stone (sic) 18 string guitar. It reminds us of the time that Homer Simpson designed a car… (h/t GAK):

© 2018, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

NAB 2010

NAB 2010

A week might be a long time in politics, but 24 hours is even longer in technology, as evidenced by this year’s NAB, which, regardless of the non attendance of some high profile companies, will go down in history as one of the most significant NABs ever. Continue reading “NAB 2010”

© 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Nikon Solutions Expo 2008

Nikon Solutions Expo reviewed by MC rebbe

When I first heard about the Nikon Solutions Show, I, quite naturally, assumed it would be little more than evangelism for the converted. Then I saw the lineup which, boasting names like Joe Cornish and Andy Rouse, turned out to be even better spec’d than Nikon’s latest DSLRs!

Two of the highlights of the show were, unquestionably, Cornish’s and Rouse’s talks. Joe Cornish co-presented with fellow top UK landscape photographer, Paul Gallagher, both of whom continue to work traditionally using 5×4 field cameras (the former using colour transparency, the latter using black and white). This being the case, some may wonder what they were doing at a show sponsored by a company that has never made 5×4 cameras and that recently announced they are to stop manufacturing film cameras altogether (ya boo). But I give major props to Nikon, for hosting talks such as this, which were about photography in its purest form, not an excuse to sell kit. Continue reading “Nikon Solutions Expo 2008”

© 2008 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

Snap, Bang, Wallop

If you think that The Technofile has been dominated by cameras of late, guess what…here’s a feature about cameras…What can I tell you, Photokina, the world’s biggest photography trade show has just finished, as a result of which there has been a deluge of product announcements in recent weeks.

First Sony announced the long awaited Alpha 900, their first full frame (35.9mm x 24mm) DSLR. Priced to match Nikon’s lauded D700, but offering twice the resolution (24.6 mega pixels), it boasts 100% viewfinder coverage, exchangeable viewfinder screens, 2.5-4 stops of image stabilisation built into the magnesium alloy body, sensor cleaning, ISO equivalence expandable to 100-6400, a maximum shooting rate of 5 frames per second (for 100 frames) and an expanded range of Carl Zeiss lenses. It also offers a couple of innovations, the first being in camera HDR creation using auto bracketing and the second being an intelligent preview mode that allows you to use the 3inch 921,000 dot LCD screen at the back of the camera to preview the effects of settings such as white balance and exposure compensation before taking a picture. Offering these features at this price will undoubtedly make it a prosumer hit.

Sony Alpha 900 previewed in The technofile

Continue reading “Snap, Bang, Wallop”

© 2008 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.

BPM

BPM DJ show reviewed by MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi in The Technofile

In the UK, there’s no shortage of music industry trade shows, but until recently if you wanted to check out the latest DJing kit, you were faced with a choice between PLASA (the main focus of which is sound and lighting for concert tours and large installations, making it 95% irrelevant to the average DJ) and a handful of shows targeted at musicians and producers. Last weekend though, the landscape changed, as DJs took control at BPM, a brand new show organised by Marked Events. Continue reading “BPM”

© 2007 – 2010, The Technofile. All rights reserved. Moral Rights Asserted.