To download the FRONT of HOUSE 2012 NAMM Show Report, CLICK HERE
A week that began with clear but cool blue skies in Anaheim, CA ended with Pineapple Express showers, dramatic NFL conference championships and a record number of attendees for the Winter NAMM Show, the annual kick-off trade show for both pro audio and musical instrument manufacturers.
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) reported 95,709 registered attendees, a six percent increase from last year, representing a new record for the 110-year-old show. International registration experienced a 15 percent increase from last year to nearly 12,000. The association also reported that exhibitor numbers were up slightly, to 1,441, including 236 new exhibitors.
A wealth of new products was introduced at NAMM this year, including significant releases from many major companies and a few surprises from smaller companies and startups. JBL Professional had their most significant introduction in a decade, the first member of the VRX Series of next-generation VerTec line-arrays, the V25, which is a technological tour-de-force, incorporating new dual-drive transducers throughout that vastly increase power handling and reduce distortion.
Mackie announced the DL1608, a 16-channel digital mixer with no faders, buttons or encoders, using an iPad as a control surface, either docked or wireless and up to 10 iPads can control the mixer. A new company called Pivitec was showing a Personal Monitor Mixing System that employs iPhones and iPads for wireless control.
JoeCo’s Blackbox Recorder now has an iPad app for wireless remote control. ProCo, now part of the RapcoHorizon family, introduced the iPad version of mtweak for wireless control of personal monitor mixes on their Momentum digital snake system. PreSonus released the QMix iPhone app for controlling StudioLive monitor mixes.
Radial Engineering introduced their first Tube DI, the canary-yellow Firefly. Shure, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica and Line6 all introduced digital wireless microphones. Goodbye companding. Waves announced version 9 plugins, which eliminates the need for an iLok.
Avid added the Stage 48, an AVB stagebox for the SC48. DiGiCo released the UB MADI, a hot-plugable, pocket-sized MADI to USB 2.0 converter. Yamaha released a couple of sweet, fully-featured hybrid rack-mount mixers and a full line of self-powered affordable DSP speakers.
Shure expanded their Live Sound Academy preceding NAMM, now in its second year, to two full days of quality live sound instruction and seminars. Steve Vai was awarded the Les Paul Award, picked up his Ibanez and shredded the TEC Awards stage.
What follows is a sampling of this year’s NAMM Show. Winter NAMM returns to Anaheim next January. This summer’s NAMM takes place in Nashville July 12-14.
