Winter NAMM 2014 gear (all manufacturers)

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by TweakHead

Yeah, Waldorf seems to be in good shape. Back to the roots even. They do have, already, an impressive line of products and god knows what will happen when they decide to go for a big one, similar do Q or Wave.

Roland could kill with simple reincarnations of their old stuff. But I somehow doubt they'll do that, and perhaps we'll see something as related to the originals as the MC303 was to the TB303, back in the day? Said it last year, if they do wake up and present their classics again, there's a ton of money waiting for them... SH101 would be on my list, priced similar to the Korg MS 20 - what's with the DIY thing? If I'm paying, I want it assembled XD Ok, but you get the regular size one...

New Moog looks and sounds amazing. Nord Lead A1 also looks nice but it's kind of expensive for what it does, would rather go with a Nord 4 or they could kill with a Modular G3 any given time - now that modular is regaining popularity and all of that.

The Electron drum machine sounds really dope! Could be the next classic on drum machines, sure looks very promising. Cheers

As far as Elektron go, and from first-hand experience with Analog Four and even a MonoMachine--Elektron definitely has quite the knack for strategically "crippling certain functions" as to do two or more things in their oddly aggressive marketing to their 'fanboys'--
1)They will leave off utilitarian functions such as midi out on the Analog Four, because they want you to buy their Octatrack in addition in order to 'get' that function, while they even advertise 'full midi specifications' on said 'crippled machine',
and
2)Way beyond any language barrier--their 'Reference Manuals' are every bit only a 'reference', not comprehensive operating instructions, and,
3)We synth-heads whom have other keyboards and/or modules in set-up that would like to only *augment* and *integrate* an Elektron machine into our set-ups are repeatedly left with a crap taste in mouths because Electron machines *demand* to be the center of ones set-up--not other way around, and lastly,
4)dislike saying this but check for yourselves, whether it be Sound Cloud or You Tube--I swear *almost all* music sequences done on Elektron set-ups pretty much sound similar with bleep/bloop maniacal sequences that have no song structure because seems the 'Elektron Way' is improvised everything and if you indeed WANT to use what's called 'song mode' and perhaps try to chain patterns together....good luck on that....the most egregious representation of hardware being needlessly non-intuitive.

What I just want to make very clear is fact that YOU must bend to 'the Elektron Way', which is aggressively anti-DAW, with most of their fan boys even convinced the Analog Four easily replaces any Virus or otherwise!!

Yes, this was an important and expensive lesson learned and will just say a Quasimidi Polymorph from 1999 is a much more capable hardware sequencer that will actually polyphonically sequence external gear as well...or get an used Spektralis 2...or continue using your DAW. Heck, even a Yamaha RM1X sequencer from also, 1999, is MUCH more utilitarian because you could have a midi chain of your hardware synths and intuitive to use at that.

On a not so grim note--yes, Waldorf is doing well. There's even now a TBMS (TB Midi Stuff) iOS App Template Editor for new Pulse 2 and seems Waldorf are in a position to do something big and knobby in near distant future. I already have had a Classic Pulse Plus module, so decided to hold off, but whilst demoing it, it sure makes most other analog offerings, save from modular, seem like mere toys.

[Berni]

I personally dont understand why anyone would want to spend a good chunk of money on a drum machine in this day & age. Even revamping the 808/909 seems totally backward to me. The chinese guy saying "I would use the same cymbal again" says it all. There is so much really good drum software out there & hybrids like the Maschine that they seem so redundant & restrictive to making beats it's retarded.
As for access being a no show @ the show...seriously is anyone genuinely surprised I don't know why they have bothered the last 2 previous years...actually I do, & if you're smart so do you It's called keeping up appearance's.

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by Berni

I personally dont understand why anyone would want to spend a good chunk of money on a drum machine in this day & age. Even revamping the 808/909 seems totally backward to me. The chinese guy saying "I would use the same cymbal again" says it all. There is so much really good drum software out there & hybrids like the Maschine that they seem so redundant & restrictive to making beats it's retarded.
As for access being a no show @ the show...seriously is anyone genuinely surprised I don't know why they have bothered the last 2 previous years...actually I do, & if you're smart so do you It's called keeping up appearance's.

Well, what one person may find entirely intuitive, another may find counter-so. Plus, there's also the human 'subjective/objective' element and thus, reason options still exist for several things in our tech-dependent lives. One could intelligently make the same argument for say, photography. "Why does this photography group lean more to sticking with 'old school analog film' and all that messy developing chemical process when they could go with an DSLR device?" We are all different. (Thank God)

It's also smart to realize that in this era that we are experiencing of an 'Analog Spring', there's going to be companies that are going to unapologetically 'cash-in' and *claim* analog synthesis can emulate real drums better--regardless of industry already been there--done that. But then there will *always* be the obvious in that nothing ever really *replaces entirely* real drum kits; similar to photography analogy aforementioned.

One would have thought Roland would not have moved in this direction again if it were not a capitalistic advantage 'to them'. Otherwise, Roland surely would have or is yet to re-release their then-cheap TB-303 and gang, to include the 101.

"Keeping up appearances" also has a lot to do with maintaining relevance in an ever-changing human need to explore. It's not entirely a bad thing. The Virus is still considered a massive tool that others are hell-bent to emulate via software. Kind of in the vein of the demand for the PPG sounds, thus the awesome Waldorf Nave iOS App.
(Same Waldorf development team made the iSEM App for Arturia...it was not Arturia's own team that did that.)
Was not exactly 'wowed-out' by this year's NAMM. But again, that's just this silly little human on this blue ball rolling through outer space.

[Berni]

Originally Posted by namnibor

Well, what one person may find entirely intuitive, another may find counter-so. Plus, there's also the human 'subjective/objective' element and thus, reason options still exist for several things in our tech-dependent lives. One could intelligently make the same argument for say, photography. "Why does this photography group lean more to sticking with 'old school analog film' and all that messy developing chemical process when they could go with an DSLR device? We are all different.

It's also smart to realize that in this era that we are experiencing of an 'Analog Spring', there's going to be companies that are going to unapologetically 'cash-in' and *claim* analog synthesis can emulate real drums better--regardless of industry already been there--done that. But then there will *always* be the obvious in that nothing ever really *replaces entirely* real drum kits; similar to photography analogy aforementioned.

One would have thought Roland would not have moved in this direction again if it were not a capitalistic advantage 'to them'. Otherwise, Roland surely would have or is yet to re-release their then-cheap TB-303 and gang, to include the 101.

"Keeping up appearances" also has a lot to do with maintaining relevance in an ever-changing human need to explore. It's not entirely a bad thing. The Virus is still considered a massive tool that others are hell-bent to emulate via software. Kind of in the vein of the demand for the PPG sounds, thus the awesome Waldorf Nave iOS App.
(Same Waldorf development team made the iSEM App for Arturia...it was not Arturia's own team that did that.)
Was not exactly 'wowed-out' by this year's NAMM. But again, that's just this silly little human on this blue ball rolling through outer space.

I think you need to evolve or die.

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by Berni

I think you need to evolve or die.

I love sardonic humor but this seems a tad bit harsh!

Evolve this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbWW...ature=youtu.be

[Berni]

Originally Posted by namnibor

I love sardonic humor but this seems a tad bit harsh!

Evolve this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRbWW...ature=youtu.be

Lol, yeah thats the kind of vision in my head I have of people who still use drum machine's