As usual, I hit up Akai during the NAMM show to get the real scoop on the new units for the MPC community. Check the playlist and also check back for updated videos as I am still adding to the list as I get the footage edited and uploaded. 

French synth & software creators Arturia are set to attend the annual NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, presenting their exciting range of synthesizers, drum machines, virtual instruments, and controllers. Arturia’s attendance will give artists, educators, and retailers the opportunity to get hands on, and learn how it can inspire their creativity. You can find Arturia at:

Hall A – Booth 6920 NAMM 2017 will see the largest Arturia display to date, perfect for video blogging, and with dozens of instruments and controllers to explore. Alongside MatrixBrute, DrumBrute, KeyStep, MiniLab MkII, and other fan-favorites, Arturia product specialists will also be hosting demonstrations every hour.

Demo 1: Analog instruments in modern production Using the perfect partnership of DrumBrute and MatrixBrute, Sébastien Rochard will demonstrate how to create a contemporary electronic music track.

Demo 2: Sequence them all! Mauricio will reveal how the small-but-mighty KeyStep can become the creative nerve center of your performance and production set-up.

Demo 3: A keyboardist’s one-stop collection A focus on the powerful additions to V Collection 5, Ralph Goldheim will showcase the organic tones of Piano V, Stage-73 V and B-3 V.

Demo 4: Exploring the MatrixBrute A beginner’s guide to taming the beast! Mauricio Garcia and Sébastien Rochard will take us on a journey of musical discovery, starting with an initialized preset and creating some of the exciting new sounds that only MatrixBrute can.

The Arturia team look forward to seeing you there.

NAMM is right around the corner which also means the TEC awards are right around the corner as well.

Next month many innovators will be honored in various categories at the TEC Awards, and iZotope happens to be one of the nominees. 

iZotope has been nominated for a NAMM TEC Award in the Outstanding Technical Achievement category of Audio Education Technology for their  Pro Audio Essentials 

I had a chance to get a few questions answered by Jonathan Wyner, Director of Education for iZotope.

Big thanks to Jonathan for taking the time to answer my questions!  Check out what he had to say…

1. Most of us know iZotope as an audio software provider, what exactly does your role as Director of Education for iZotope consist of and what motivated you to step into this role? 

As Director of Education at iZotope, I develop and deliver presentations about audio signal processing and audio mixing, mastering and production for both domestic and international audiences. My role includes participating in product development consultation and design strategies, as well as supporting inbound marketing efforts with the creation of educational and training assets. My background as a professor at the Berklee School of Music, as well as a familiarity and love for iZotope products, motivated me to step into this role. iZotope products are designed with great transparency and enormous flexibility, which make them excellent teaching tools. As someone who strives to help musicians and engineers reach their goals, this role felt like a natural next step.

2. Does your role as Director of Education have an impact on the execution of ideas and features within the software itself? 

When it came to Pro Audio Essentials, I worked with a small team to develop not only all of the instruction, but the product design, features, and functionality within the application. We modeled the interactive practice tools based on real equalizers in our software, so that the experience users were receiving would be just as if they were using an actual EQ. My focus is on learning outcomes and I tried to focus on that in all aspects of Pro Audio Essentials — to shift the process of learning from a passive activity to a more active user experience. 

3. Do you feel it is important to have some sort of educational element within the software itself, and do you see presets as a way to accomplish that? 

At iZotope, we recognize the importance of having an educational component within the software itself.  The best tools are those that teach you as you use them. Our software has contextual help that appear when you hover over the parameters.  We have all manner of visualizations and metering. We have an entire area of our blog dedicated to tips and tutorials. The articles also offer intros to products and presets, specific tips for any type of audio production, and informational videos as well. For example, in our recent release of Ozone 7 Elements, we included a look inside its presets, so users could get a better idea of its 70+ presets designed to replicate the signal chains of award-winning mastering engineers. We’ve also created a number of in-depth guides, on topics like mixing, mastering, and audio repair, that can be downloaded for free from our website. 

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Analog synth market sees nearly 20% growth in total retail sales since 2010-

CARLSBAD, Calif. – December 6, 2016 – Following three decades of digital interfaces and sampler dominance, a new generation of musicians desiring a return to warm, pure sounds are fuelling a resurgence in analog synthesizer retail sales. In the past five years alone, Moog Inc., Korg USA Inc., WMD and other brands who will present their synths and electronic products at the 2017 global music products NAMM Show, have helped drive the analog synth market to a 19.9% growth in total retail sales.

The data, provided by 2016 NAMM Global Report, underscores a re-emergence of players captivated by the tactile playing experience of analog control surfaces as musicians favor working knobs, faders and other features in lieu of digital displays and computer interfaces.

“Players are realizing that an analog synth is much more of a real, honest-to-goodness musical instrument,” says Dave Smith, founder of San Francisco-based Dave Smith Instruments. Nate Tschetter, Manager of Music Product Marketing at Yamaha adds, “Many are choosing analog because it’s immediate, and while analog is definitely ‘in,’ it’s more about the ability to create unique sound and having it sound good.”

Tatsuya Takahashi, Korg Synthesis Chief Engineer and designer of the company’s minilogue synth, understands the importance of unparalleled usability and musicality. “Whenever I design a synth I try to break down barriers between man and machine – the musician needs to be inspired physically and emotionally to create their own music. It’s evident that this thinking has resonated with current trends that turn away from difficult and complicated systems, often inside of computers, in favour for dedicated hardware that often do less functionally, but are great at what they do in a musical way.” (more…)