The 2025 NAMM Present is over. Yearly music gear producers, starting from iconic synth manufacturers like Korg, to boutique guitar pedal makers like Walrus Audio, and even corporations making fog machines and knobs descend on Anaheim to point out off their newest wares. It’s chaos in all of the ways in which you’d anticipate a conference to be — miles-long traces for espresso, hordes of strangers jockeying for place round new merchandise, meals choices that vary from barely edible to instantaneous coronary heart assault. However NAMM can also be a particular beast. For those who’ve ever puzzled what eight out-of-sync drummers, two finger tapping guitar solos, an acoustic slide blues riff and a easy ukulele ditty would all sound like concurrently vying in your consideration, effectively, that is the solely place to expertise that exact model of hell. However, now that my legs and, extra importantly, my eardrums have lastly began to get well I’ve had an opportunity to mirror on among the greatest issues I noticed on the present flooring. Listed below are the ten issues that grabbed my consideration probably the most.
Everlasting Analysis Demon Field
Everlasting Analysis launched a efficiently funded Kickstarter marketing campaign again in September, however this was the primary time I used to be capable of see the Demon Field in individual. Consider it like a supercharged model of the Soma Labs Ether featured in a handful of our reward guides. The Demon Field doesn’t make any sound by itself, as an alternative it options three pickups that flip EMFs (electromagnetic fields) into music — or a minimum of audible noise. Run a cellphone, energy drill or a tuning fork throughout the highest and also you’ll get distinctive whines, hisses, clicks and beeps that solely that system might produce. However the place the Ether is mainly only a microphone, the Demon Field is an instrument designed for dwell interplay and controlling different gadgets. Along with outputting audio, it will possibly additionally convert these electro magnetic fields into CV (management voltage) for controlling eurorack synths or MIDI for triggering a visible synthesizer, or all three concurrently. There are tons of choices on the market if you’d like a buzzy sawtooth bass, however if you wish to flip the invisible radiation emitted by a TV distant right into a centerpiece of a multimedia efficiency, that is mainly your solely possibility.
Circle Guitar
The Circle Guitar is impractical. It prices over $12,000 (insert grimacing emoji). Nevertheless it’s additionally simply insane enjoyable. As an alternative of taking part in it with a choose or finger plucking the strings (although, you are able to do that if you’d like), the strings are strummed by movable plectrums you mount inside a spinning wheel. There are sixteen slots permitting you to design your individual strumming rhythm, after which there are six sliders underneath the pickups for controlling the quantity of every string individually. This lets you create advanced, robotic rhythms like a drum machine, however in your guitar. And, what’s extra, you may sync it to a DAW to be sure to’re in lockstep along with your backing monitor, even when it stutters and pauses. It’s a unique creation that has already drawn the eye of artists like Ed O’Brien of Radiohead.
Akai + Native Devices
One of many greatest bulletins out of NAMM wasn’t actually a brand new product, however two titans of the trade becoming a member of forces. A number of of Native Devices (NI) Play Sequence synths and genre-specific Enlargement Pack sound kits are being ported over to Akai’s new MPC 3.0 platform. Whereas the supply of some present smooth synths on some present {hardware} may not look like an enormous deal at first, it tremendously expands the sonic palette of the MPC and offers NI one other foothold on this planet of standalone music {hardware} after giving it go by itself with the Machine+. The choice of sounds is proscribed for the time being, with three synths (Analog Goals, Cloud Provide, and Nacht) and only one growth (Pale Reels) obtainable. However two extra synths and 4 extra expansions will likely be added quickly and, if all goes effectively, I’m certain extra will observe.
Korg HandyTraxx Play
The HandyTraxx Play is the primary and solely moveable turntable that I do know of with built-in results. It has a DJ filter, a delay and even a easy looper which might, in principle, negate the necessity for a separate mixer and even a second turntable in some circumstances. Whereas I cannot scratch, I’ve all the time wished to be taught, and the all-in-one moveable nature of the HandyTraxx Play, together with a speaker and battery energy, is fairly interesting to somebody who simply needs to dip their toe in and doesn’t need make investments a ton of cash and house in a separate mixer and twin turntable setup. Plus, Korg designed the Play together with the late Toshihide Nakama, the founding father of Vestax and builder of the unique Useful Trax (two phrases, one x), an icon on this planet of portablism.
Donner Important L1 Synthesizer
Over the previous few years Chinese language music gear maker Donner has began to actually develop its choices, going from largely digital pianos and a few cut price bin guitar pedals, to shockingly first rate DSP results, drum machines and even a pocketable groovebox. The L1 is the most recent in its rising line of synths and it has a whole lot of promise. It’s based mostly largely on the Roland SH-101, an iconic instrument from the ‘80s that found particular favor among artists like Aphex Twin, Orbital, Depeche Mode, KMFDM, and Boards of Canada.
What makes the L1 particularly intriguing is that it’s the primary entry within the firm’s new Snap2Connect (S2C) system. The keyboard attaches to the synth magnetically, permitting you to depart it behind if you’d like, or use it as a separate MIDI controller along with your DAW or one other synth. However Donner additionally says it plans on including different devices to the S2C system, so you could possibly purchase a module based mostly on, say, a Juno-60 sooner or later and simply slap it on to the keyboard you already personal.
Take pleasure in Electronics DeFeel
The DeFeel is difficult to clarify. The corporate calls it a “modular monotony degenerator,” which is each extraordinarily correct and intensely unhelpful. Mainly, you stick this factor between your sequencer and your synthesizer and it mangles the incoming CV to generate fills, stutters, and all method of barely managed chaos. In brief, it takes that rock-solid sequence you’ve programmed and makes it much less monotonous. It might probably resequence your sequence or add modulation. You’ll be able to draw modulation curves utilizing the 4.3-inch touchscreen, and even flip it into an X/Y pad for dwell efficiency. It’s designed largely with eurorack synths in thoughts, however it’s additionally obtainable as a standalone unit in a cultured picket case.
Melbourne Devices RotoControl
The RotoControl may not look like probably the most thrilling system at first. It’s a MIDI controller with eight knobs and keys on the appropriate aspect, and a handful of different buttons on the left for navigating the system. However what makes it particular is that these knobs are motorized — when you change a parameter in your DAW or softsynth, that’s mirrored bodily on the controller. Which may sound somewhat gimmicky, however it’s really extremely helpful.
See, knobs on a controller or synth typically are available in two flavors: pots and encoders. A pot, or potentiometer, has a starting and finish. So, when you change a preset or swap devices, it might not mirror the precise setting in query. Encoders don’t have any starting or finish. Since they don’t level to a concrete place in house, there’s no want to fret a few disagreement between knob place and an precise parameter worth. However they’re additionally lower than excellent for dwell efficiency. Judging how far you have to flip to get that filter sweep good is troublesome, and encoders typically have a much less easy response than a pot. Melbourne solves this by simply transferring the pots to the place they’re imagined to be.
Roli Piano & Airwave
I’ve been saying for just a few years that I’m going to lastly learn to play piano. However, I’m a busy dad of two, a part-time bartender and a full-time freelancer. I don’t actually have the time or disposable revenue, frankly, to deal with myself to piano classes. And the app-based or video choices I’ve tried have been a bit underwhelming. I don’t know that the Roli Piano and Airwave are for certain simpler than Melodics or Duolingo at instructing play, however it looks as if there’s extra potential there. The place most music training apps are mainly glorified variations of Guitar Hero, Roli makes use of the Airwave’s digital camera to trace your entire hand, letting you understand when you’re out of place, in case your wrists are on the improper angle or when you’re utilizing the improper fingers. It’s in all probability inferior to having an actual skilled instructing you the ropes, however it’s in all probability higher than a repurposed online game bolted on to some rudimentary music principle lesson.
Oh, and as soon as you are feeling comfy sufficient along with your taking part in, the Roli Piano and Airwave mix to create what might be probably the most in depth MPE controller in the marketplace.
Entropy & Sons Recursion Studio
Video synthesizers aren’t new, however they’re additionally not the most typical issues on the planet. And the Recursion Studio from Entropy & Sons might be one of the crucial succesful I’ve ever seen. For one, this isn’t some easy visualizer the place a fundamental clip of animation is manipulated, all the visuals are generated dwell, algorithmically. As well as it will possibly course of incoming video, distort photographs and react to incoming audio, it even has a number of oscilloscope modes builtin.
For people who prefer to get their fingers soiled there are over 300 modules that may be mixed to create customized visible patches. However there are additionally a few 1,000 presets on board so you may rapidly get some visuals up instantly to go along with your synth jam. And the corporate is continually updating the system and including new options.
SoundToys SpaceBlender
SoundToys is likely one of the greatest names in impact plugins on the market. They’re utilized by everybody from Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad to Kenny Beats and Trent Reznor. The corporate’s Decapitator saturation plugin is likely one of the greatest issues to ever occur to drums and EchoBoy is a should have delay. However, it doesn’t introduce new results terribly usually. SuperPlate was added to the roster in mid 2023, however that was the primary new addition since Little Plate in November of 2017 — the corporate takes its time.
SpaceBlender is SoundToys’ tackle an ambient granular reverb. It’s probably not a straight granular plugin, that chops up your audio and spits it again out in little bits, as an alternative it’s a bunch of delays that get mixed and smeared into one thing ethereal. It even has an interactive envelope designer that you may manipulate to not solely hone the form of your reverb, however even has potential as a dwell efficiency software. SpaceBlender isn’t fairly prepared for launch simply but, however even on this early sneak peek it sounded phenomenal and appeared fairly steady.
