Looks like an awesome NAMM this year!!!

[Teksonik]

Are any products actually ready and shipping as of right now? Seems like everything I've read so far is still in the works. One would think that the company that has a product ready to ship when announced at NAMM would have a leg up on the competition. Ehh but then what the hell do I know.

[koolkeys]

Personally, I found the NI "announcement" to come without much fanfare. There really wasn't too many at their presentations. As a matter of fact, the busiest part of their booth by FAR was for Traktor Pro. They actually seemed to dedicate most of their booth to it, along with turntables and such. I was a little disappointed, although I didn't yet sit through the presentation itself, and it WAS a slower day at NAMM than usual from what I was told.

There were some extremely cool things there though. VSL was showing their new MIR reverb(taking convolution to another level, but I don't know the system specs needed for it yet). VSL also had their 100 velocity layer piano. In total, over 1,000 samples PER KEY. It's overkill, IMO. Although I got to sit down at their futuristic-looking piano and play it, and it DID sound really good. There were three perspectives recorded, and a reverb. I don't know how much of a system it will take though. It's a Bosendorfer recording.

The FXpansion synths really rocked. I was excited about those after I saw them. Those are going to be worth the price, no doubt.

Melodyne DNA was cool, and actually sounded better than I thought it would. I was a little skeptical due to sounds having acoustical properties that are hard or impossible to alter. But it sounded good on the material they used. Granted, they use material they KNOW works well. So we'll see.

I saw the Spectrasonics stuff(including Jordan Rudess playing with it all), but didn't see the presentation. I'll do that tomorrow. But suffice it to say, what I DID see, and what I learned from talking with Glenn about the new stuff, most Spectrasonics customers will be happy.

I missed the Ableton Live presentation(they had several DIFFERENT presentations), but there was a big buzz around them including Max/MSP inside of it. I think that was the announcement of the show for those who did see it.

Those were the highlights for me. Some announcements really weren't too exciting for me. Cubase 5 doesn't seem like too much of an upgrade, but I didn't see their other products yet. Many companies, like Image Line, didn't announce ANYTHING new.

I did get to finally meet Urs from U-He and Ben from Camel Audio. Had a blast chatting for a long time with them. Also, got to meet a couple dozen others, and have not covered everything yet by far.

I think it's a good NAMM overall so far. Some great products coming out that actually bring something new to the table(not NI, IMO).

Anyone who wants more info on any of this stuff, let me know. Between the hundreds of press releases and a bag full of brochures and booklets, there is just too much info to share.

Oh, and Microsoft was there showing Songsmith. Like anyone cares.

Brent

[deleted]

I missed the Ableton Live presentation(they had several DIFFERENT presentations), but there was a big buzz around them including Max/MSP inside of it. I think that was the announcement of the show for those who did see it.

Easily for me the most exciting news from NAMM, and I don't even use Ableton. What would be even better though is if Cycling74 announced that Max5 now exports pluggos- with that feature missing, I have no reason to upgrade to Max5 regardless of how amazing it looks!

[ozmoz2008]

Some announcements really weren't too exciting for me. Cubase 5 doesn't seem like too much of an upgrade, but I didn't see their other products yet.

Anyone who wants more info on any of this stuff, let me know. Between the hundreds of press releases and a bag full of brochures and booklets, there is just too much info to share.

Oh, and Microsoft was there showing Songsmith. Like anyone cares.

Brent

Thanx for the news Koolkey!

I saw the news about Spectrasonics...that's is really cool...I love it when they upgrade in a good manner like this to existing customers...really neet...

As for Cubase5, any more info you have could be interesting for me. I read that it will be a 64bit release from top...is this right? I am still worrying about quicktime in cubase not playing in 64bit...any info on this? It's the main reason right now I am not using Cubase4 in 64bits...

Also,did you saw any new VSTs companies around?

Thanx again for all info!

[koolkeys]

Thanx for the news Koolkey!

I saw the news about Spectrasonics...that's is really cool...I love it when they upgrade in a good manner like this to existing customers...really neet...

As for Cubase5, any more info you have could be interesting for me. I read that it will be a 64bit release from top...is this right? I am still worrying about quicktime in cubase not playing in 64bit...any info on this? It's the main reason right now I am not using Cubase4 in 64bits...

Also,did you saw any new VSTs companies around?

Thanx again for all info!

I didn't really see many new companies around, to be honest. Most new companies don't go to NAMM because they just distribute things on their own(and it costs a lot for a booth). Here is the Cubase 5 press release though:

STEINBERG PRESENTS CUBASE 5 AND CUBASE STUDIO 5

—Major Update to Steinberg’s Music Production System
to be introduced at Winter NAMM 2009—

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH presents major new updates to its Cubase Advanced Music Production System and Cubase Studio Music Production System products. Upgrades include new beat creation tools, an integrated vocal pitch editing toolset, extended composing features and a convolution reverb. Other workflow and technological enhancements include full support for Microsoft Vista 64-bit editions.
“This major release is a milestone in the history of Cubase,” comments Kazunori Kobayashi, Steinberg’s managing director. “In 2009, Steinberg can look back on over 25 years of creating software with the aim of supporting musicians, composers and producers in realizing their artistic dreams. Cubase 5 represents the apex of this development, and incorporates not only all the engineering know-how, but also the many years of working with our customers. This has been key to Cubase becoming the world’s most popular music production software.”
Steinberg’s Cubase marketing manager, Helge Vogt, comments on the new features. “We’ve come up with a new set of beat creation tools that focus on beats, rhythms and grooves, which are fundamental to most genres,” he said. “These include the revolutionary LoopMash VST instrument— developed with Yamaha—the Groove Agent One drum sampling plug-in, and Beat Designer. All of these cover different aspects of getting the perfect groove going.”
Cubase 5 also offers a new toolset designed for working with vocals. “Our new vocal pitch editing tool is called VariAudio, which is integrated directly into the Sample Editor,” said Vogt, “And we’ve also added a new VST3 PitchCorrect plug-in based on Yamaha Pitch Fix technology, which corrects intonation automatically.”
Songwriting and composition features have also seen significant enhancement in Cubase 5, with the new VST Expression technology, which assists in controlling musical articulations, radically simplifying work with large orchestral libraries for symphonic or film scoring. The brand new REVerence VST3 convolution reverb and a new handling system for automation add additional tools for mixing.
Cubase 5 and Cubase Studio 5 also feature a range of workflow and technological enhancements. “We’re pleased to offer full support for Windows Vista 64-bit editions, which allows Cubase to address up to one terabyte of RAM,” said Vogt. “That’s great news for anyone using larger sample libraries.”
Multiple improvements to the MediaBay sound management system and editing windows, new recording features and an advanced Batch Export are among the many additional new features in Cubase 5.
Cubase 5 and Cubase Studio 5 are expected to ship in February 2009.

If you need more, let me know. I have a LOT of papers, handouts, brochures, and booklets full of info, and I'm not even done yet. I also have dozens of press releases(not all pro audio related) from email and from the flash drive they gave me.

Brent

[koolkeys]

By the way, I noticed a trend this year. The BIG companies, such as IK Multimedia, NI, Waves, etc. didn't really release much. NI had the drum box/software, but there really didn't seem to be much interest at the booth(I did see a couple of people excited about seeing it though). Waves just released those "magic" plugins they announced a few days ago. IK showed Amplitube Fender(nothing really new though, just Fender-based).

It was the middle of the road companies that showed the coolest things, Ableton not included. They had the biggest announcements. I hope the big companies continue to at least TRY and bring something new to the table, but this show isn't their best work.

That being said, NAMM is only a quarter of the way over and some products don't get announced on the first day. So we'll see.

Brent

[ozmoz2008]

By the way, I noticed a trend this year. The BIG companies, such as IK Multimedia, NI, Waves, etc. didn't really release much. NI had the drum box/software, but there really didn't seem to be much interest at the booth(I did see a couple of people excited about seeing it though). Waves just released those "magic" plugins they announced a few days ago. IK showed Amplitube Fender(nothing really new though, just Fender-based).

It was the middle of the road companies that showed the coolest things, Ableton not included. They had the biggest announcements. I hope the big companies continue to at least TRY and bring something new to the table, but this show isn't their best work.

That being said, NAMM is only a quarter of the way over and some products don't get announced on the first day. So we'll see.

Brent

Did NI talked about their 64bits upgrade...I though I read something on KVR about it...maybe Kontakt...or else...let me know!

Thanx again!

[koolkeys]

By the way, I noticed a trend this year. The BIG companies, such as IK Multimedia, NI, Waves, etc. didn't really release much. NI had the drum box/software, but there really didn't seem to be much interest at the booth(I did see a couple of people excited about seeing it though). Waves just released those "magic" plugins they announced a few days ago. IK showed Amplitube Fender(nothing really new though, just Fender-based).

It was the middle of the road companies that showed the coolest things, Ableton not included. They had the biggest announcements. I hope the big companies continue to at least TRY and bring something new to the table, but this show isn't their best work.

That being said, NAMM is only a quarter of the way over and some products don't get announced on the first day. So we'll see.

Brent

Did NI talked about their 64bits upgrade...I though I read something on KVR about it...maybe Kontakt...or else...let me know!

Thanx again!

I didn't see much else at the NI booth. There was a demo stage set up for the new Maschine thingy, and several computers running various synths like Absynth and Reaktor. But most of the computers were running the DJ applications.

I'll look again tomorrow, but I walked through their booths several times and never noticed anything even remotely Kontakt related.

We do know it's coming, at least. But it wasn't something they spent time at NAMM discussing.

Brent

[Mr. Tunes]

Those were the highlights for me. Some announcements really weren't too exciting for me. Cubase 5 doesn't seem like too much of an upgrade, but I didn't see their other products yet.

Oh, and Microsoft was there showing Songsmith. Like anyone cares.

Brent

right on man, glad to hear you are being kept busy down there. from afar though, this cubase upgrade looks huge if you've felt that their integrated plugins needed some ooomph(like myself). from what i've read so far i'm not sure what's actually changing in the core.

as for Songsmith, I think I got the jist of it from that f**ked up marketing video they made.

[koolkeys]

Those were the highlights for me. Some announcements really weren't too exciting for me. Cubase 5 doesn't seem like too much of an upgrade, but I didn't see their other products yet.

Oh, and Microsoft was there showing Songsmith. Like anyone cares.

Brent

right on man, glad to hear you are being kept busy down there. from afar though, this cubase upgrade looks huge if you've felt that their integrated plugins needed some ooomph(like myself). from what i've read so far i'm not sure what's actually changing in the core.

as for Songsmith, I think I got the jist of it from that f**ked up marketing video they made.

Actually, I think Songsmith is cool for what it does. It gets a lot of crap because of whatever reason. But it's not meant to be a serious audio production tool. Just a fun tool. I got a look at it at the Microsoft booth(they shared a booth with Garritan, but maybe not on purpose, I don't know).

Anyways, I got a REAL look at Cubase 5 today and got to mess with it a little. I'm more impressed now than I was. The vocal tuning stuff is implemented very well and sounds really really good(granted, they always use ideal vocal tracks). Also, for large sample library users, VST Expression will be cool. But the library has to support it, I think. Companies like VSL and others have already promised support though, so that's cool.

The new instruments are cool, but nothing innovative. You've seen it all before for the most part. The MIDI plugins got an interface update.

You can now edit tempo right in the main window, which is cool. Also, exporting to multiple audio tracks(is that new? They talked like it was). There are supposed to be performance improvements as well. Plus, Sequel 2 is being shown.

I was disappointed that they are providing a 90 day demo of a cut down version of Halion Orchestra with C5(only 16 bit samples instead of 24 bit). I would rather that just not be included, or cut it down a bit more and make it not a demo.

C5 has a LOT of small improvements though, so it will be a great update for Cubase users.

PSP Audioware showed a new analog EQ bundle. Didn't seem to be anything REAL special, but they will sound good.

I really wanted to see the new Novation and Focusrite VST effects. But they had no documentation on them, no flyers, no computers running them, nothing. And I couldn't get any of the workers to stop helping others, so no luck there. They shared a booth.

The Spectrasonics stuff is exciting because of the integration that the three products will have. You can essentially sync each one to the others using MIDI, you can use Trilian patches inside of Omni, and even use stack mode in Omni to load patches from both libraries.

There was more to talk about, but I'm so tired right now. I'll be around for a bit, so ask questions and I'll answer them. If you have something you want me to find out tomorrow, let me know. I also have full press information on almost every product talked about here on KVR from NAMM. So I can try and help.

Brent

[sophtrazor]

NI is in a tight spot the synthesizer line is so big in itself that there is hardly a person on here who can say that they dont have at least 2 of the members of Komplete. They are like pillars in the community all the big names use them and innovations are running more in the DAW department cuz there is more to do with them. If they did something like arturia and put the synths on an ubersynth modular hardware package that would be much appreciated or maybe do more with effects. How about make FM8 an actual FM synth. I think they did alot with the DJ line of stuff

[Spitfire31]

Actually, I think Songsmith is cool for what it does. It gets a lot of crap because of whatever reason. But it's not meant to be a serious audio production tool. Just a fun tool. I got a look at it at the Microsoft booth(they shared a booth with Garritan, but maybe not on purpose, I don't know).

The Songsmith instruments are from Garritan and the chord logic from PGMusic (Band-in-a-Box), according to an online interview with the developers.

/Joey

[steff3]

sounds really really good(granted, they always use ideal vocal tracks). Also, for large sample library users, VST Expression will be cool. But the library has to support it, I think.

Yes, I think this is a step in the right direction. judging from the screenshots I do not like how they implemented that, but I hope that other devs will follow (the mac ones especially - MOTU and Emagic/Apple) ....

It will be funny how all the Cubase user will from now on say that Steinberg was the first dev to implement pitch correction in any DAW and tempo editing in the Project view - but well, after all those years we got used to their special views

best

[steff3]

sorry - double-post

[poonna]

It will be funny how all the Cubase user will from now on say that Steinberg was the first dev to implement pitch correction in any DAW

I think Sonar has had that (V-Vocal) since a couple of versions ago?