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 indicate 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 prompt coronary heart assault. However NAMM can be a particular beast. When you’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, properly, 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 replicate on a few of the greatest issues I noticed on the present flooring. Listed below are the ten issues that grabbed my consideration essentially 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 in a position to see the Demon Field in particular person. Consider it like a supercharged model of the Soma Labs Ether featured in a handful of our present guides. The Demon Field doesn’t make any sound by itself, as a substitute 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 machine might produce. However the place the Ether is principally only a microphone, the Demon Field is an instrument designed for reside interplay and controlling different gadgets. Along with outputting audio, it could actually 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 principally your solely choice.
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 enjoying 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 beneath the pickups for controlling the amount of every string individually. This lets you create complicated, robotic rhythms like a drum machine, however in your guitar. And, what’s extra, you possibly can sync it to a DAW to ensure you’re in lockstep along with your backing observe, 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 largest bulletins out of NAMM wasn’t actually a brand new product, however two titans of the business becoming a member of forces. A number of of Native Devices (NI) Play Collection synths and genre-specific Enlargement Pack sound kits are being ported over to Akai’s new MPC 3.0 platform. Whereas the provision of some present mushy synths on some present {hardware} may not seem to be a giant deal at first, it tremendously expands the sonic palette of the MPC and offers NI one other foothold on the planet of standalone music {hardware} after giving it go by itself with the Machine+. The number of sounds is proscribed for the time being, with three synths (Analog Goals, Cloud Provide, and Nacht) and only one enlargement (Light Reels) accessible. However two extra synths and 4 extra expansions will likely be added quickly and, if all goes properly, I’m positive 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 may, in concept, negate the necessity for a separate mixer and even a second turntable in some circumstances. Whereas I cannot scratch, I’ve at all times 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 desires to dip their toe in and doesn’t need make investments a ton of cash and area in a separate mixer and twin turntable setup. Plus, Korg designed the Play at the side of the late Toshihide Nakama, the founding father of Vestax and builder of the unique Useful Trax (two phrases, one x), an icon on the planet of portablism.
Donner Important L1 Synthesizer
Over the previous few years Chinese language music gear maker Donner has began to essentially develop its choices, going from largely digital pianos and a few discount bin guitar pedals, to shockingly respectable DSP results, drum machines and even a pocketable groovebox. The L1 is the newest in its rising line of synths and it has lots of promise. It’s primarily based 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 can purchase a module primarily based on, say, a Juno-60 in the future and simply slap it on to the keyboard you already personal.
Get pleasure from Electronics DeFeel
The DeFeel is tough to clarify. The corporate calls it a “modular monotony degenerator,” which is each extraordinarily correct and intensely unhelpful. Principally, 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. Briefly, it takes that rock-solid sequence you’ve programmed and makes it much less monotonous. It might resequence your sequence or add modulation. You may draw modulation curves utilizing the 4.3-inch touchscreen, and even flip it into an X/Y pad for reside efficiency. It’s designed largely with eurorack synths in thoughts, however it’s additionally accessible as a standalone unit in an aesthetic picket case.
Melbourne Devices RotoControl
The RotoControl may not seem to be essentially the most thrilling machine at first. It’s a MIDI controller with eight knobs and keys on the best aspect, and a handful of different buttons on the left for navigating the machine. However what makes it particular is that these knobs are motorized — for those who change a parameter in your DAW or softsynth, that’s mirrored bodily on the controller. That may sound a bit gimmicky, however it’s truly extremely helpful.
See, knobs on a controller or synth typically are available two flavors: pots and encoders. A pot, or potentiometer, has a starting and finish. So, for those who change a preset or change devices, it might now not replicate the precise setting in query. Encoders don’t have any starting or finish. Since they don’t level to a concrete place in area, there’s no want to fret a few disagreement between knob place and an precise parameter worth. However they’re additionally lower than supreme for reside efficiency. Judging how far you’ll want to flip to get that filter sweep excellent is troublesome, and encoders typically have a much less clean 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 a couple of years that I’m going to lastly discover ways 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 positive more practical than Melodics or Duolingo at instructing easy methods to play, however it looks like there’s extra potential there. The place most music schooling apps are principally glorified variations of Guitar Hero, Roli makes use of the Airwave’s digicam to trace your complete hand, letting you already know for those who’re out of place, in case your wrists are on the mistaken angle or for those who’re utilizing the mistaken fingers. It’s most likely not so good as having an actual skilled instructing you the ropes, however it’s most likely higher than a repurposed online game bolted on to some rudimentary music concept lesson.
Oh, and as soon as you’re feeling comfy sufficient along with your enjoying, the Roli Piano and Airwave mix to create what might be essentially the most intensive MPE controller available on the market.
Entropy & Sons Recursion Studio
Video synthesizers are usually not new, however they’re additionally not the commonest 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 reside, algorithmically. As well as it could actually course of incoming video, distort photos and react to incoming audio, it even has a number of oscilloscope modes builtin.
For people who prefer to get their palms 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 possibly can rapidly get some visuals up instantly to go along with your synth jam. And the corporate is consistently updating the machine and including new options.
SoundToys SpaceBlender
SoundToys is likely one of the largest 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 a substitute it’s a bunch of delays that get mixed and smeared into one thing ethereal. It even has an interactive envelope designer which you could manipulate to not solely hone the form of your reverb, however even has potential as a reside efficiency device. SpaceBlender isn’t fairly prepared for launch simply but, however even on this early sneak peek it sounded phenomenal and appeared fairly secure.
