Live2Play NAMM 2012 Top 10
NAMM was the biggest public presence yet for Live2Play and our sister pro audio network SoundProLive. Almost a dozen team members were scouring the halls for the coolest new gear, and our very first “after-hours” event was a smashing success. If you missed it, no worries—we are already planning for NEXT year.
We each had our own favorite new products (which you’ll find on the next page) but here are the items we all agreed on. Click on any of the pictures to get more info and pics and video.
Alan Parsons Quad Dark Side Of the Moon
It’s not all about the gear. Several people on the team took a break from the madness on the show floor to take in this session with legendary producer Alan Parsons. From Andrea: Alan Parsons and David Pack (Ambrosia) gave the NAMM crowd a great presentation covering not only Alan’s long history in engineering and music (including lots of inside information about working with the Beatles at Abbey Road), but Alan’s use of quadrophonic mixing on Dark Side of the Moon. Alan played the opening loop of his original “quad” mix from 1973 of “Money” and talked about how the loop was created!
Peavey Auto Tune Guitar
Peavey and Antares have teamed up to create a guitar that integrates Auto-Tune technology. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about Auto-Tune taking over the world (and that being bad), keep in mind that the coolest part of this instrument isn’t that it automatically tunes for you or keeps your intonation perfect. No—the best thing about the AT200 is the ability to instantly lock into alternate tunings, or even turn the guitar into a baritone in just a few steps. It even has a virtual capo with a two-octave range, and a MIDI interface for updating the instrument and controlling it via MIDI. Check out the video for a truly mind blowing demo.
Behringer X32
The talk about this has been swirling around for at least a year. When Behringer acquired Midas it was obvious that a low-cost, Behringer-branded digital mixer was coming. But no one expected it to carry Midas-designed preamps, Klark FX processors or flying faders. In addition, they have added expansion and a cost effective digital snake system which was REALLY not expected. We don’t have a ship date on this but it WILL shake up the entire digital mixer market, top to bottom.
KALA Acoustic-Electric U-Bass
So, Bob is walking down this one row on my way to another meeting when he hears two guys jammin’ on what he initially assumed to be a couple of stand up basses. As he got closer, he realized these weren’t basses at all—they were the size of Ukuleles. Kala’s U-Bass is just 20” long but produces the same pitches as a standard bass, tuned to EADG. The magic is in the strings. Check out this video and hear what he’s all abuzz about.
Fishman Triple Play
Maybe it’s just because the Rev. was one of the whacked out guys who tried to play MIDI guitar live—He gave up and sold off all that gear. Now he may need to re-think that. The Triple Play installs on any guitar without screws or drilling holes and it’s wireless. It communicates with a little USB stick that looks like a thumbdrive or an iLok to control software that runs on your computer OR iOS device. From there it can control any software DAW. And—bonus for guys like the Rev. who work with musicians who need charts but who suck at transcribing parts—if that DAW is something like Pro Tools that includes a transcription function... that’ll mean instant horn charts for the Rev. He’s dying to get his hands on one.
Mackie DL1608 iPad Mixer
You really need to see this. It’s like an empty tray with several XLR jacks on one end and some trim pots. When you slide an iPad into the tray and launch the Master fader app, you have a 16 input mixer with tons of control. You can integrate music from GarageBand or any other app when you want to play over tracks and you can directly record L-R to the iPad. Add a wireless router and you can slide the iPad out of the DL1608 frame and mix wirelessly anywhere within range of the Wi-Fi.
Presonus Qmix iOS Monitor Control
iOS integration was at an all-time high at this show and Presonus has taken it to the extreme with their integration of Qmix, a free app for iOS, that allows you or your audio engineer to assign any iPhone or iPod Touch on the stage the ability to adjust its own monitor mix without giving away too much control to whomever is using it.
Molecule Drums
Though not without its share of controversy at the show (we heard comments from “just stupid” to “how are you gonna mic them?”), we have to give Molecule Drums props for bringing in one of the most unique design ideas in drumming that we saw at the event. The acrylic globe drum kit actually sounds good, and they can be hand-painted and lit from within using LEDs. Though not for everyone, and obviously something purists will hate, it’s a truly different concept that is well executed.
Line 6 StageSource Speakers
The Line 6 StageSource L3T active speakers FINALLY give musicians who mix their own gigs a sonic solution that works, sounds good and doesn’t require a ton of knowledge to figure out. These boxes are jammed with features (maybe more than you want). They sport 1400 watts in a 3-way design with smart speaker mode, an integrated multi-channel mixer with effects, orientation and pole-mount sensors, feedback suppression, networking via L6 link and more. The coolest part is that the system is truly scalable. For coffee bar gigs you use one. When you add the band, add a second speaker and the system KNOWS it is in stereo. Add a subwoofer and the system sets crossovers. Turn a speaker on its side and it KNOWS it’s a monitor. Very cool stuff.
Yamaha DXR Powered Speakers
Taking technology cues from NEXO, Yamaha has put together a line of very cool, handsome 1100-watt 2-way boxes. And, of course, they inherited the Yamaha quality and reliability. But the sonic footprint is all Nexo.