Top 10 Products Announced at Winter NAMM 2012
The Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California is always a lot of fun for the UniqueSquared Team. We have captured content for the last 2 years, specifically to cover and report on the hottest and latest gear in the realm of remix, recording, live PA, and DJing. Not surprising, there were some huge announcements from a lot of the major manufacturers and some from those that are less well known. In addition to running around the show floor with cameras, our team got a chance to talk at length to some of the product specialists at their booths. After the same memorized overview and sales pitch that they recite thousands of times for the whole week, they got down to the dirt of what they were trying to hock. After careful consideration, the UniqueSquared team has put together their Top 10 Product Announcements from NAMM 2012.
10. Numark… Read the rest
Akai MPC Fly Announced at NAMM 2012
One of the more frightening things about integrating iPad 2 technology into one’s musical rig is that knowledge that somewhere out there, Apple is scheming their way to the release of its inevitable replacement. The beautiful technological marvel of today is the well designed brick of tomorrow. With that knowledge, our new technology becomes this commodity that we either unload into the used market at that key juncture between total loss of value and our next upgrade. That or it becomes something that we eventually retire to our gadget pastures that eventually award us a place on some reality television show about hoarding and a family intervention.
The irony of all this is that the iPad is a powerful computer; especially when compared to the processors driving our synthesizers, our FX processors and even our MPC. Start thinking about that and before too long you’ll even get around to being annoyed… Read the rest
Akai MPC Renaissance Announced at NAMM 2012
So the MPC Renaissance was definitely a hot topic this year. I know many were skeptical about the MPC being turned to a glorified MPD. Well, the unit seems to be in some final stages of development still. AKAI seem very keen to take user input right now, and were very receptive to suggestions for the unit just from people milling around the booth. That’s pretty good news. Here’s a quick vid for you on the MPC line.
The other good news is that the unit is not a glorified controller and is very much a serious piece of hardware built with some serious MPC power under the hood. Made to model great MPC’s through the years was not simply a software promise, but the function of serious mpc hardware that is built with the idea that an MPC could benefit working intuitively with a laptop based software package to… Read the rest
Akai Max 49 Midi Keyboard Controller – NAMM 2012
It is looking like control voltage/ step sequencing is bound to experience a very healthy rebirth. Boutique synths and desktop analogs have been showing up in the market more in the past few years, but small companies with high costs have made building these systems expensive enough that it hasn’t really become a trend for the penny pinchers. However, with products like the Moog Minitaur and the Arturia MiniBrute appearing on the market, we could be on the precipice of an “analog step sequencing for the masses” kind of an era. Yes, it’s funny to be excited about bringing the old sequencing methods to the future; but even back in their day, these systems were not mass produced at a level to be considered affordable for just anyone. Modular analog CV based sequencing systems are the white whale in a lot of studios. As one of the masses… Read the rest
AKAI MPC DJ – Sneak Peek at NAMM
So. This is one of the more interesting things we saw on the floor today. You saw this and freaked out, right? You said “why did this thing take so long?” Right?
Well, it’s gonna take a little longer. From what I was told, this is a prototype device being created between the minds at Numark and AKAI. They are trying to incorporate well loved concepts from the MPC series and bring them to the DJ controller. Their target market? The DJ producer looking to blend their processes together and hopefully find new inspiration in the process. I know what you’re thinking- yes this does mean you.
That’s why AKAI and Numark want to know what you want in this thing. Right now, this is a prototype. Beautiful chassis and rotating platters aside, you’re pretty much looking at a blank slate. These companies want it to be your dream machine… Read the rest
