NAMM 2020 | The Verge

How to design a tour good enough for Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, or J.Lo

2020-02-24T10:26:58-05:00

J.Lo's It's My Party tour starts with a bang. The curtain drops, revealing the artist dangled above the stage covered in Swarovski crystals. She's perched inside a sparkling hoop that sits underneath a wine glass chandelier. There are hundreds of balloons, dozens of dancers, and a multistory video screen, all awash in various shades of violet and rose. It's a bombastic spectacle - and every detail was designed by a small team of creatives called Silent House.

Working at Silent House puts Alex Reardon behind some of music's most visual moments. As creative director, designer, and partner at the Los Angeles production group, the list of acts …

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Moog’s new synth promises big bass in a pint-sized machine

2020-01-17T15:00:02-05:00

Moog has officially announced a new synth called Subsequent 25 at this year's NAMM in Anaheim, California. Replacing the adored Sub Phatty synth, Moog's made several tweaks with the Subsequent 25 that make it capable of delivering even more powerful bass and thicker leads than its predecessor.

The Subsequent 25 is Moog's most compact keyboard synthesizer, which the company says makes it a fit for both stage and studio. Some will balk at the synth's teeny size (the entire thing is just over 20 inches long!), but there's appeal if you're looking for that classic, beefy Moog sound in a pint-sized footprint.

Building upon the success of the Su …

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Pioneer DJ’s new mixer isn’t for the average DJ

2020-01-16T03:00:12-05:00

Overhead of the Pioneer DJ DJM-V10 mixer. | Image: Pioneer DJ

Pioneer DJ has announced a new professional gig mixer for gear-heads that want more control over how mixes and tracks sound while performing. Called the DJM-V10, it sports six channels (in comparison to the usual four), dual headphone jacks to seamlessly play back-to-back with other DJs, and the ability to EQ the master output.

The release confirms circulating rumors about the mixer, which have been repeatedly popping up on Facebook and Reddit over the past 24 hours. While some excitement over Pioneer DJ rumors is to be expected, it's rare to have this much hyped-up chatter in advance of a new product from the company. But, the DJM-V10 isn' …

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Akai’s MPC One is a cheaper and smaller music-making machine

2020-01-15T16:50:54-05:00

Akai has announced a new entry to its iconic MPC (Music Production Center) line called the MPC One. The standalone music-making workstation has a more compact form factor and borrows bits from other Akai products to offer an MPC at a more affordable price point.

There are a lot of similarities between the MPC One and its recent(ish) predecessors, the MPC Live and MPC X. They all have the signature square of 16 velocity and pressure-sensitive pads, a multitouch display, network connectivity, MIDI input and output, and are integrated with sample platform Splice, among other things.

When it comes to what sets the MPC One apart, it's impossibl …

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Solid State Logic put its pro tech into tiny audio interfaces for bedroom producers

2020-01-13T10:08:01-05:00

Solid State Logic (SSL) is best known in the audio realm for its huge professional consoles that cost tens of thousands of dollars. But the iconic British company is now hoping to break into home studios for the first time. Ahead of NAMM, it's debuting two affordable audio interfaces for bedroom producers called the SSL 2 and SSL 2+.

Both interfaces have two inputs and two outputs, are USB-C powered, include two analog mic preamps, and when it comes to audio resolution, have 24-bit/192kHz conversion. There's also monitor mix control (the ability to listen to a blend of already recorded tracks with what you're currently recording) and balanc …

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Roland made the Cybertruck of grand pianos

2020-01-09T13:49:11-05:00

Electronic instruments company Roland has unveiled a concept piano called the Facet, which is likely to turn heads as it makes appearances this year. The low poly (or as Roland says "evocative crystal-like") design has a keyboard with a smart screen and a hollow cabinet that contains speakers instead of the usual hammers and strings. It's a true concept product in that there are no plans for it to go on sale - Roland says they made it to show the piano's future.

Roland notes that the piano has been around for about 300 years with little change to its form in that entire time. The company wanted to poke into the limitations of the piano's tr …

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Noise-canceling DJ headphones are here

2020-01-08T16:06:44-05:00

This week, Korg and JBL debuted new pro DJ headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC), Bluetooth, and a host of other smart options. These are not normal features to include with pro DJ headphones, but both companies bet that they're things touring musicians want.

Most pro DJ headphones focus on performance needs: closed-ear comfort, durability, frequency response, sound isolation, and, in Pioneer DJ's instance, wicking away sweat. But when it comes to ANC, most DJs opt for a separate pair of specialized headphones. The Bose QC35s are a particular favorite, with their ANC favored by Rüfüs Du Sol, R3HAB, Peking Duk, Jon Hopkins, and mor …

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Roland’s A-88MKII keyboard is a sign that MIDI 2.0 is on the way

2020-01-07T14:30:29-05:00

MIDI 2.0 is close to being finalized, and Roland has announced its first keyboard controller to support the new protocol, as spotted by MusicRadar. Roland's A-88MKII MIDI keyboard controller is an upscale product with wood components and hammer action keys that mimic an acoustic piano. The 88-note keyboard comes with a bunch of onboard creative tools, like customizable trigger pads and advanced arpeggiator controls. There's also a control app for iOS and Windows to assign commands and create custom setups for instant recall.

But, what really separates the A-88MKII from being just another keyboard is support for the upcoming MIDI 2.0 protoco …

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The mixing secrets behind Cardi B’s Grammy-winning album

2019-02-15T10:52:16-05:00

Minutes before I'm supposed to meet mix engineer Leslie Brathwaite for the first time, he texts me to reschedule. "So sorry, had to come make some tweaks on a Pharrell mix upstairs in my room!" the message says. I let it slide.

Leslie Brathwaite is a name you might not know, but he is integral to bringing music to life. One of his latest accomplishments is mixing Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy, which recently won Best Rap Album at the 61st Grammy Awards, making her the first female rapper to win the category as a solo artist.

As the mix engineer for Invasion of Privacy, it was Brathwaite's job to take all of the recorded material for the pr …

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Our favorite affordable synths from NAMM 2019

2019-02-01T10:30:00-05:00

Buying hardware synths can be incredibly expensive, but this year's National Association of Music Merchants show, NAMM, brought loads of affordable announcements from well-known companies. Almost all of the below synths only cost a few hundred dollars, which is a steal compared to spotlight NAMM synth announcements from 2018 - like the Elektron Digitone and Korg Prologue - that started at prices closer to $1,000 and went up from there.

These picks from NAMM 2019 might (mostly) be in a budget price range, but that doesn't mean they're budget buys. Music hardware has seen a resurgence, with double-digit growth specifically for analog synth sa …

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