TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play and VoiceLive Play GTX – First Look at NAMM
TC Electronics want you singing silky smooth. We don’t know where the fixation came from, but they seem fairly certain they want to raise your production value. Who knows, maybe it was one open mic night too many.
Either way, it appears that the movement started with VoiceLive Touch will continue in floor pedal format.
The VoiceLive Play is a floor based vocal effects processor made to meet your needs out of the box. Boasting a “pick a genre, any genre” preset scheme, the VoiceLive Play has 200+ presets indexed by artist/song “inspiration.” Auto key detection helps provide pitch perfect harmonies and everything from doubling to pitch correction are there to thicken, enhance and polish the singers performance. The device offers USB direct recording functionality on top of the already present headphone and XLR outs. Practice, looping and vocal cancel functions round out a device that seems rack powerful despite… Read the rest
Vestax VCI 400 – First Look at NAMM
NAMM is not slouching on new DJ controllers. It has been a serious gatekeeping effort to make sure that we show you the ones that really made an impression on us, if for no other reason than digging into all of them and looking for new/sellable features being a time consuming process.
This was not the case with the VCI 400. Vestax have really made a flexible, infinitely mappable surface here. I actually kind of walked into it because I noticed a girl was messing with video software and thought maybe I was looking at a new VJ controller. Then when I got to ask her what she was working with, she informed me that she was not a DJ, she was a specialist with her video software package. She was, in fact, mapping on the fly to her software with the VCI-400 to demonstrate just what a flexible surface… Read the rest
Moog MiniTaur- First Look at NAMM
File this one under: I begged and begged and cried and sighed and pleaded and finally it happened. This is the second part of my NAMM analog love triangle. Moog have struck gold with the MiniTaur. As the name suggests, this is a desktop analog module based on the original Taurus synthesizer. If you don’t know, the Taurus was actually a floor based bass synth that allowed players to play amazing bass sounds by foot while still performing with their other instrument of choice. That said, the standards are high for this little wonder- and it doesn’t disappoint.
Unlike some desktop synths, this one sticks to a “one function per button” mantra. Built with a simple two oscillator layout, the MiniTaur offers an oscillator mixer that allows you to use different combinations of square and sawtooth waves to blend classic Moog bass sounds. A robust mod matrix offers LFO Rate,… Read the rest
Arturia MiniBrute – First Look at NAMM
Is it professional to start a post telling you about my erect nipples?
No? Ok, well, I won’t talk about them. However, I think I am caught in an affordable analog synth love triangle. While the other player is to be named later, the Arturia MiniBrute is definitely pretty close to talking me into marriage. Arturia have effectively surprised me with their current star of the floor: The MiniBrute.
Unlike Arturia’s typical offering, this is a 100% self contained analog synth. That’s right, not just a super realistic, tightly integrated machine thing; but a full fledged analog synth. I’m not talking “mostly analog” here, I’m talking cv outputs, voltage controlled oscillators (with sub oscillators) and amazing sounds. We got to spend a few minutes with Romain from Arturia and he showed us the ins and outs of this thing. Between USB, 5 pin DIN MIDI and the CV outs, this… Read the rest
Line 6 Stagescape M20d – First Look at NAMM
Ok, we just had our first look at Line 6′s new stage monitoring/ FOH all in one solution. The new M20d 20 input smart mixing system for live sound is one of those products that, on first look, produces a bit of head scratching. After few minutes though, you realize this might be one of the coolest things ever. I hung out for a quick demo of the system and have to admit I was pretty impressed. The device is incredibly minimalist in design; with 7 buttons on the top panel, one big dial and 12 rotary encoders. The rotary encoders themselves are not labeled. Given current tech trends, you have probably guessed that that giant screen in the center is a touchscreen interface and that these dials are multi function depending what devices you have selected. (You’re so smart. That’s why we like you… and you thought it was… Read the rest
