NAMM 2020: MIDI Harmonica from Lekholm Instruments

NAMM 2020: Access Analog: Use Analog Gear Remotely?

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V*Moda

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Introducing the Nord Wave 2 Performance Synthesizer

Nord’s new Nord Wave 2 is an innovative Performance Synthesizer combining a layer-focused interface and advanced performance features with 48 voice polyphony and Virtual Analog, Sample, FM and Wavetable synthesis. With its dual OLED displays, intuitive controls and compact, 61-key platform with Aftertouch, the Wave 2 is the most versatile and powerful synthesizer ever produced by Nord.

Each of the Nord Wave 2’s four layers offers Analog, Wavetable, FM and Sample oscillators. The new Group feature combines 2, 3 or 4 layers and processes them through the same Filter, Envelope, Arpeggiator, LFO and Effect settings.

The Wave 2 features an extensive range of morphable parameters. Its controls are grouped to ease the creation of complex layered sounds and tweak them on the fly while the new streamlined Nord Sample Editor 3 for Mac and Windows lets you map,loop and transfer samples to your Nord Wave 2 in a breeze.

A Filter section with 6 Filter types comes equipped with a full ADSR envelope and a dedicated LFO offers a choice of waveforms for each layer. The Amp section also features a full ADSR envelope and a powerful new Transient Attack mode.

The Nord Wave 2 is a rhythmical powerhouse with both a classic arpeggiator and a Polyphonic mode with editable patterns. The brand-new Gate mode chops your sound up in a rhythmic pattern with adjustable depth. The Pattern mode contains a wide selection of Rhythmic Patterns or you can create your own.

Each layer has its own Effect section with high-quality, tweakable stereo effects as well as an EQ with Drive. All effects are controllable via Control Pedal (or other Morph sources) and can be synchronized to the Master Clock for rhythmic effects. Separate Reverb sections on each layer offer five different sizes (Booth, Room, Stage, Hall and new Cathedral), Bright and Dark modes and a new Chorale effect for lush modulation.

The Nord Wave 2 is handmade in Sweden by Clavia DMI AB and scheduled for shipping in Spring 2020 with pricing to be announced. All specifications are subject to change without further notice. 

Audition this amazing new Performance Synthesizer in Booth 11113, Hall A at NAMM 2020.

Synthplex coming this year!

LA’s Echo Park Rising with Allen & Heath

dLive systems deliver the mix at LA’s ultimate neighborhood festival  

LOS ANGELES, CA—Sandwiched between Silver Lake and Angelino Heights, Echo Park has emerged as one of the most happening neighborhoods in LA. Home to prospering and aspiring artists, writers, and musicians, it celebrates its community culture each year with Echo Park Rising, a sprawling festival which was recently named ‘Best Music Festival' by LA Weekly. This year the event’s main Liberty Stage relied upon control provided by Allen & Heath dLive S5000 and C1500 control surfaces supported respectively by the processing and networking power of DM48 and CDM32 MixRack systems.

Standing at the confluence of Liberty and Reservoir Streets, the Liberty Stage featured a plethora of bands including many of the festival’s must-see acts. “The level of activity at Liberty Stage can best be described as that which you’d expect from what just may be the ultimate block party,” explained Oscar Zambrano of AOP Entertainment, which managed production for the event. “Crowds ebbed and flowed throughout the day and night. The bands that performed ranged from those just starting out to some of the hottest acts around. In turn, we had to be ready for anything.”

The stage’s PA was implemented and tuned by Brandon Operchuck and Kyle Gish of Huntington Beach, California-based Audio Geer. Allen & Heath’s dLive S5000/DM48 mixing system managed the sound out front. Onstage for monitors, the aforementioned dLive C1500/CDM32 system took charge, expanded to handle 48 channels of input with the aid of a 96kHz Allen & Heath DX168 I/O expander.

“Our consoles had to be user-friendly,” Operchuck said of the mixing system choices that were made. “That way we could accommodate the less experienced guest engineers taking the helm at the beginning of the day. Conversely, we needed the horsepower and 96kHz sonic quality demanded of the riders submitted by the engineers serving the headliners at night. The Allen & Heath dLive systems gave us both, and couldn’t have worked out better.”

Beyond the guest engineers that rotated through both days of the festival, the majority of the acts had their house mix orchestrated by Lead Engineer Leticia Castaneda. During the few times she took a break, either Operchuck or Zambrano took over. “She was a real trooper mixing an eclectic and nearly nonstop stream of acts over long days,” Operchuck said of his colleague Castaneda. “The rest of us can only wish we had that kind of stamina.”

Fred Armisen to Host the 35th Annual NAMM TEC Awards

- Musician, SNL alum and Portlandia co-creator to host annual awards honoring the best in professional audio and sound production -

CARLSBAD, Calif. - November 4, 2019 – The TEC Awards have announced actor, comedian, and musician Fred Armisen as host of the 35th Annual Technical Excellence and Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), being held Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, California. Nominees for the awards, which honor individuals, companies and technical innovations used in sound recordings, films, broadcast television, and video games, were recently announced in Nashville at Summer NAMM. The TEC Awards are presented annually as part of The NAMM Show, the global crossroads of the music products, pro audio and sound, and entertainment technology industries.

The in-demand actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician is best known as an alumnus of  Saturday Night Live, and as the co-creator of iconic series, Portlandia. Armisen assembled and is the bandleader and frequent drummer for the Late Night with Seth Meyers house band, The 8G Band. In 2018, Armisen's Netflix one-hour special, Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers, earned rave reviews from critics and viewers alike in what was described as "comedy for musicians but everyone is welcome."

“I have really enjoyed attending NAMM in the past, and I am so happy to be a part of this upcoming convention,” says Armisen. “Music means everything to me. I’m looking forward to being there and to getting to meet musicians and music fans.”

While his TV and film credits are impressive, Armisen's passion for making music ignited in the early 80s when he began playing drums in a local band with some Valley Stream, New York high school friends. In 1988, he moved to Chicago to play drums for the punk rock band Trenchmouth, and in the 1990s he played background drums with Blue Man Group. Armisen played drums on three tracks for Les Savy Fav's 2007 album Let's Stay Friends, as well as tracks for Matthew Sweet's 2011 album Modern Art, and Wandering Lucy's 2015 album Leap Year.

Tickets to see Fred Armisen and winners of the 35th NAMM TEC Awards Saturday, January 18, 2020, are available for purchase on-site at the Hilton Anaheim or in advance here for $65 (General Admission) or $195 (VIP). The show begins with a VIP-only reception at 6 PM, followed by the awards ceremony at 7 PM, held in the hotel’s 2^nd floor Pacific Ballroom.

The TEC Awards supporters include The Les Paul Foundation, Amazon Musical Instruments, Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, Neumann, Solid State Logic, Softube, Yamaha, Antelope Audio, Universal Audio, AVN Systems, Wells Fargo Commercial Distribution Finance, Hal Leonard, Broadjam, Inc., Pioneer DJ, PreSonus Audio Electronics, d&b audiotechnik, Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc., United States Postal Service, L-Acoustics, Cable Wrangler, Slick Audio, Genelec, The Recording Academy: Producers & Engineers Wing, Izotope, Inc., Leapwing Audio, Adam Hall Group, Oktava Design & Marketing, Musilla, Inc., NTi Audio, Inc., IMSTA (International Music Software Trade Association), Gearslutz.com United, CITT/ITS (Canadian Institute of Theater and Technology), Sonic Scoop, Wonder Wonder Sound and AMS Consultants, among many others.

The Les Paul Innovation Award and NAMM TEC Hall of Fame honoree(s) will be announced at a later date. Past honorees include 2019’s Les Paul Innovation Award Peter Frampton and TEC Hall of Fame inductee, Leslie Ann Jones. Previous Les Paul Innovation Award winners include Jackson Browne, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Don Was, Slash, Todd Rundgren, Pete Townshend, Steve Vai, and others who have received the award since it began in 1991.