I decided to go to the NAMM show this year, for some reason. I didn’t really have much of a plan as to why, who to meet up with or what products I wanted to check out. It’s been 15 years since I’ve gone! I know I wanted to check out the new KORG Keytar, which I did, I also thought I should get a rundown of Pro Tools 2020 so did. One unexpected thing I found out about was Universal Audio’s LUNA DAW that goes along with their Apollo interface. I was also attracted to the unusual keyboards that always get trotted out at NAMM like the PianoArc circular keyboard made famous by Lady Gaga.
I ran into my friends Jay and Barbara (The Breedloves) and chatted here and there with some random folks but didn’t end up seeing anyone else I knew. That feels a little weird and antisocial but with my new found sobriety I think I wasn’t quite ready to seek out people just yet.
I did however enjoy spending a little time with family. My brother Brooks and his wife Shana live in Glendale and I stayed with them. I got to hang with them and was happy for that.
Avid Pro Tools 2020 & S1-4
Pro Tools got an upgrade for the new decade and it’s got track folders now! You can create a standard folder where you stash say all your drum tracks, guitars, etc (which Logic has had for many years now). You have a choice of basic folder tracks and routing folder tracks which act like and create a bus for the folder. This sorta different than Logic but kinda the same. Sorta.
Also checked out the new S1 control surfaces. There’s a controller surface which is like a main overview controller as in an Apollo. Then there’s the S1 8-channel strip board which you can individually link up to your system, up to 4 (hence the S4). These can also be extended with extra controls and meters using an iPad or similar tablet for each unit. It’s a much more cost-effective system than buying a super expensive Neve console or something but I bet if you got the controller, 4 S1’s and iPad Pros for each might get pretty pricey. Still, it’s pretty cool.
Universal Audio LUNA
Universal Audio, which makes the industry-standard Apollo control surface and computer audio interfaces has created their own DAW called LUNA. I watched a demo recording a song from the ground up and it was pretty cool. More so for the recording by drummer/multi-instrumentalist Louis Cato. Dude was a monster on drums, bass, keyboards, guitar and vocals!
The LUNA DAW seemed pretty cool, easy to use and pretty powerful. But I kinda felt a bit like you’ve seen/used one, you’ve seen/used ‘em all. I could be wrong but it wasn’t the worst DAW I’ve ever seen.
The coolest thing about LUNA is that it’s free to everyone who already owns, or will own an Apollo.
KORG RK-100S 2 Keytar
I really just came all the way to NAMM to check out this baby. And I was not disappointed! It’s a modern update to their original RK-100S keytar. It can run on batteries and is totally wireless. And what’s even better is it’s got it’s own on-board sounds, that sound really good. The keyboard is slightly smaller than a full sized keyboard (they call it a ‘slim’ keyboard) but it feels great to play, they made the perfect size keys to keep the unit not hugely massive like the Roland Edge but big enough to comfortably play. It’s got a short ribbon on the neck that controls pitch bend and modulation. The long ribbon above the keyboard controls pitch and filters.
You can very easily change the sounds per bank with a control on the neck and the sound category buttons below the keyboard. And the sounds are great! Very slick and pro sounding.
The whole unit is just great to play and the long ribbon gives you a lot more expression which could make for some interesting and awesome playability.
It hasn’t been announced when it will be available but the rep at the booth said most everything they’re introducing at the show will be out within a month or not much longer after that. I’m getting one!
PianoArc
I only briefly saw the PianoArc being played by a couple of different cats but it’s pretty impressive. I’d seen it before, It’s been out on tour with Lady Gaga so it’s been around for a while. But one thing I noticed about it is that there are different regions on the keyboard that can be assigned to different sounds. So you can go all Rick Wakeman on it and play lead Moog synth type sound with right hand, and piano or organ with left. And there appear to be four (or more) regions for a lot of different applications. The regions are color coded by lights emanating from the base of the keyboard onto the keys so you know where to play what.
They had a Mac parked on one side that looked like it was running MainStage (Apple’s MIDI sound module software) but maybe it just looked like MainStage and it was proprietary? Or maybe MainStage is able to assign the sounds to the regions.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad I went to NAMM this year. There were a few times I thought “what am I doing here? I don’t need new gear and don’t really have much of a plan for what to see, or even why”. But it turns out it really inspired me. It inspired me to practice more, to get out there and get my music heard by people. Or just play music to make people happy and forget about their troubles for a minute. Also, I am a bit of a tech nerd and ended up being more technically minded when it came to work, or music it seams. But of course my main motivation for playing music is to express myself, my emotions and thoughts. I would have liked it better if I’d gone down with my friends as I’ve done in the past. I think that’s what’s even more important to me is sharing these experiences with people I care about. But I was glad to see this is alive and well for future generations of musicians and artists. I may have my thoughts on the impact on all that travel and packaging, and there’s a larger issue of big industry on our world and the climate but I am glad to see artists and creative people coming together to celebrate their art.
Roland’s Facet Grand
Universal Audio’s LUNA Demonstration
KORG RK-100S 2