It has been a few years since our last visit to the NAMM Show in Anaheim USA but the visit was definitely worth the jet lag, not just for the amazing winter warmth and sun but for the shear excitement and buzz you instantly get from being there. The show has definitely evolved since our last visit.
The NAMM Show fuses what is truly amazing to be in the recording industry, from a technical aspect but also and most importantly, the creative aspect. The NAMM Show is an industry event in the inside covering every musical instrument sector, from Pianos, Woodwind Brass, Drums & Guitars to Synthesizers, Mixing Consoles, Outboard & Effects, DJ plus the Live Music aspect too, then on the outside, it is a festival with live sound stages with music performances throughout the day and into the evening.
Over our next few NAMM roundups, we will piece together some of the product launches and highlights we encountered from the show…
Focal Trio 116 BE Active Monitor Speaker & A Lego Focal Trio 11 BE (non active monitor speaker)
Focal have launched their flagship speaker in the Trio range, the Trio 11 BE. There has been a constant push from Focal users for a speaker which is just that bit bigger, especially for larger mix rooms, this speaker now completes the range. From the Solo 6BE, the Twin 6BE, the Trio 6BE and now the Trio 11BE. The only speaker missing is a super large Main Reference Speaker akin to soffit mounted back of the room speakers which may still come one day…
The Trio 11BE has a 10” Bass Driver (as opposed to 8” in the Trio 6BE), a 5” Driver and their coveted Beryllium Tweeter additional technological advancements to the Trio 11 include an re-engineered enclosure and Amplification.
We see a strong position in the market for these speakers, we look forward to providing onsite demonstrations soon.
Kahayan have been moving from strength to strength within the worldwide recording industry with their range of excellent outboard equipment.
At the NAMM Show they launched their best-selling Solid 4000 Mix Buss Processor (pictured within the Heritage Audio Lunchbox) as a rackmount version (pictured below the Lunchbox). The Solid 4000 Mix Buss Processor emulates the sound of classic British Consoles. By adding this processor to your chain, you can add as much of the classic console sound to your mix as you desire.
Kahayan also added to their range the FX Loop Add-On Selector Unit as an add-on to their 8×4 Guitar Amp Switcher. The FX Loop Add-On Selector allows upto four guitar amplifiers to be connected with send and return connections allowing you to select which guitar amp you chain your effects to.
We have Kahayan products available for demonstration with the Rackmount 4000 Mix Buss and FX Loop Add-On Selector coming soon.
Dangerous Music added two new products to their outboard arsenal, the Dangerous Liaison and the D-Box + .
The Dangerous Liaison is a programmable patchbay for your outboard with two busses and six inserts, demonstrated here:
With the D-Box+, Dangerous Music have upgraded what was a ground breaking product when it was first released in 2008. The original D-Box allowed users who preferred mixing in the box to add summing into their workflow while combing an excellent monitor and talkback controller too.
Another new feature of the D-Box+, you can control your master volume and sources from an app, have Bluetooth connectivity, connect up to three sets of monitor speakers (as opposed to two on the previous version) and be able to control two headphones mixes.
Universal Audio created a wild west theme to their stand this year showing their full range of Apollo’s allowing users to get hands on plus experience the plugins too. Universal all displayed their classic range of outboard. Their Wild West bar was a most welcome end to the day.
Sarah Mclachlan closed the evening entertainment on the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage, the whole plaza was packed and transfixed from front to back along with both the fronts of the Hilton and Marriot hotels (which face each other near the NAMM main entrance) packed to capacity watching her show, pictured during her emotional performance of Angel.
Kazbar System Pro Audio Sales
