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Showcasing its newest product was Israel-based Tribal Tools.
The Kadabra is a futuristic-looking MIDI controller that allows
a musician to play up to 16 instruments simultaneously and
manipulate sounds generated by an external sound source, via
wireless or USB.
It is 47 inches long and ergonomically curved to fit the
player's body, so that it can be held like an electric guitar or
a saxophone. All the instrument's functions can be manipulated
by motion, allowing the player to change sounds by turning with
the Kadabra, moving sharply or laying it down flat.
Tribal Tools' musical advisor Moshe Yoffe said the company's
founder Tal Ben Ari wanted to create a more organic experience
for musicians.
"The idea with our founder and CEO was to really change the game
a little bit. Instead of controlling sound with turning a knob
or a fader, really to move with it and give the audience
something they can see and feel," he said.
Also hoping to make musicians' relationship with their
instruments more intuitive is start-up Expressive E, who showed
off their Touche keyboard controller.
The keyboard player puts his or her hand on the wooden surface
of the controller and can manipulate it, tap it, move it back
and forward or side-to-side, with each movement changing the
sound in a unique way. The idea is to be able to play the
synthesizer more expressively.
"When you play with, like, an acoustic guitar, you have this
tactile thing. With Touche, you bring that back to synthesizers.
It has four points of control, right? And it's all done with
pressure. It is a very complex mechanism. So it's not just a new
kind of technologic device. It really is all about acoustic
experience," said marketing manager Arthur Boufley.
Touche operates with any digital or analog synthesizer, and
controls pitch, tone, vibrato and other variables.
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One of the biggest trends of the NAMM show, in fact, was a return to
the analog synthesizer.
Moog is not a new company. It has been producing analog synthesizers
since 1953, with artists from the Monkees to The Who and Elton John
using them on their recordings. The company continues to create
products for a new generation of musicians, performers and DJs.
At NAMM, Moog showed off its Mother-32 tabletop synthesizer, an
instrument that produces and manipulates sounds using analog
circuits and controls, with no computer electronics. Enthusiasts say
analog synthesizers are more tactile and allow more flexibility and
creativity than their digital counterparts, which focus on pressing
a button and getting the same sound every time.
The Moog synthesizer molds sounds using cables and knobs rather than
microprocessors and computer chips.
The enthusiasm for analog technology and recording has taken Ulrich
Sourisseau by surprise. Fifteen years after he designed the Vinyl
Recorder, to cut vinyl records in real time, from any kind of audio
source, he has had his busiest year yet.
The Vinyl Recorder is a custom made and hand built machine, allowing
small record labels to cut a limited run of vinyl to test the waters
for a new release, before ordering a larger run from a record
pressing plant. It retails for $4000.
According to NAMM, this year's gathering was the largest in the
show's 115-year history, with a record 1,726 companies represented.
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