Audio Production

NAMM 2010!

February 3, 2010 NAMM 2010! There’s nothing like your first time. And this music conference is no exception. But first, how did I get here?...

In October of 2009, at the AES conference in New York, I met Scott Simon - who is the New England representative for Waves Plug-in software.  We quickly became acquainted and continued our thoughts and conversations long after the event. Recently, Scott mentioned the NAMM show and if I was attending. As luck would have it, I happened to be in Los Angeles for five weeks, and the show was smack dab in the middle of my trip. Scott invited me as a guest of Waves. It was an honor to be trusted with a Waves badge and mingle with some industry heavy hitters. Scott is very well respected and a very cool guy.

Why am I telling you this? Simple.  As an alumni of CDIA, I hope to remind everyone reading this the importance of “getting involved”…it’s amazing how just one connection can lead to many more.  So, if you are passionate about what you do, then become a part of your industry as much as possible.  The potential for new friends and shared connections creates, motivates, and expands our opportunities.  Always remember to try and be yourself. I find this the easiest and hardest things to do. Welcome to life….

Day 1:
NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) is basically it is the largest audio and music production trade show in the world. What the ad campaigns for this show won’t be describing is the lack of “random moments of silence between thoughts to think and reset the ear drums”…in other words it is very noisy.  I am only half complaining…but I do challenge anyone to spend eight hours a day for four straight days in there and not be glad for a peaceful hotel room. But, after all, it is “sound” that we crave and live by?

Audio Production. That’s my major and still and always will be. Let’s dive in and get our “ears” wet with some audio talk.

Day 1:
Upon entering the Anaheim Convention Center, I suddenly began to grasp the enormity of this event. This place is huge. Google map this arena and one gets a bird’s eye view of a building half the size of neighboring Disney Land. In we go… I won’t kid you. I half held my breath as my confirmation number was being entered. Simply because any contact I personally had about my invitation was 100% via text and emails. Side note: We take for granted these letters and numbers popping up daily on our pocket gadgets. Me, I am a people person but of course entrust myself daily like everyone else to the path of the digital gods, (Small “g”)…. Maybe that’s why it works…. Cause we ALL trust it. Anyway, Bang! Out comes the badge, in goes Carlo. Ah….The sweet smell of digital electronics. The first room I entered was an arena surrounded by a couple of thousand seats. The arena floor was Roland land. I am not kidding you. The whole floor area of this giant space was all Roland products. Good for them. Bad for my feet.

I just got here and already I’m thinking did I bring comfy shoes?!? Thank you Roland but this man’s got to move on. I am looking for the Audio production “homeland.” You know, mics, plug-ins, mixers, etc…. All the latest and greatest in new products and all competing for our attention and hard earned dollars. What a joy! Now, one could write a book about every new toy, event, and experience at this year’s NAMM, but I am going to briefly mention a few things here that really stood out to me as progressive and unique in audio production… Let’s see.

Adam Audio is in the house. Personally I use their A7’s so I stopped in to say hi. I noticed throughout my experience here that a good 50% of all demonstrations were using Adam speakers. There’s nothing like free advertising. NAMM is not a quiet place. And creating a “good” listening experience is tuff for every company. Some substituted volume for clarity, (not my favorite path.) Some actually constructed mini “spaces” for their demos, a sort of open air bubble. This type worked best for me and many others. Go Adam! I want to give SANYO props! I stopped in here next. They seemed to be the only company representing rechargeable power sources for generally every use. In particular their “eneloop” brand. They have a portable battery designed to replace a wall socket! Imagine a portable wall socket power source in a battery pack that’s good for 3.5 hours of use.  I thought I’d see more of this but nada. SANYO brought it to the party and owned it. Deeper we go… Next I came upon the PreSonus display. Big! They actually brought a second floor. I’ll spare you the details and get to the good stuff. It’s called “Studio One.” This is their toss into the competitive DAW market. Competition is a good thing. Good for consumers like us. It only took ten minutes before I got a tingle down my spine. Studio One is amazing. I am an equal opportunity DAW user. But, the best software is simply and always will be the one you know best. So what makes Studio One potentially more savory? Well first for me was the stream lined user interface and intuitive advancements in workflow like less mouse clicks. Less mouse clicks translates to better work flow and efficiency. Example: their side browser menu is a bit like Logic’s with more options yet a much easier interface. One can open the effects tab then click and drag the desired effects to the edit, or mix plane area, and drop it. This automatically creates a track ready for bussing. Everything in Studio One works this way. Also, I was very impressed with the “mastering” capabilities. I am not a mastering engineer. However I do enjoy finalizing my own mixes. I think this trend is going to grow over the next few years, and products like PreSonus’s “Studio One” may be leading the way. Why? Well they combined mixing and mastering in a fluid hand in hand operation. Simply bounce your mix into the provided “mastering” section and begin your finalizing. The magic here is the reversing process if necessary. If after you master a file and you still find that a particular “thing” about you mix isn’t sitting right, simply reopen it in the mix window, tweak it, and get right back where you left off in the “mastering” section again with the updated mix. Audio quality is pristine. Check it out.

Celemony, the company famous for Melodyne, does nothing short of magic with their new innovations. Their Editor software is truly worth learning. The ability to de-construct a chord of almost any kind into its root notes is called Direct Notes Access. This is very cool. I am very impressed with this power because it takes sound processing and editing to a new level. Try a demo today!


Now! IK Multimedia! If you want some of the very best in amp and tone modeling software this is your one stop shop! You can tell I’m a fan, right? Amplitube 3 is their latest version. Was it possible to make a great product even greater? Answer is yes. They offer over 160 precisely modeled pieces of vintage and modern gear in one package. I am a guitar player with over twenty year’s experience. IK Multimedia has given us thousands and thousands of dollars in dream gear in one package, at a great price! I have Amplitube 2 and swear by it. It is unquestionably realistic in every way. Speaking of realistic T-RackS 3 Deluxe is IK’s high end mastering and mixing suite. It will blow you away. Nothing comes close to offering professional “mastered” sound like this has for me in one package. The plug-ins are also available as stand-alone inserts in your favorite DAW. The included Fairchild 670 Compressor/Limiter and Pultec  EQP-1A Equalizer alone are worth the price. Their web site offers great insight and easy downloads to help get started. Try some demos today and see for yourself. This company has a good reputation and a good future with me!

Next up. WAVES. Thanks to Waves I was able to be here. Yes. I am a user. They are leading innovators! There booth at NAMM is guaranteed to be buzzing with activity. Top pros like Chris Lord-Alge, Tony Maserati, Jack Joseph Puig, and of course Eddie Kramer, keep the energy and interest level very high. I find that Chris’s Plug-ins are extremely well thought out and powerful. He is easy to talk too and I enjoyed crossing paths every so often with him. Tony’s plug-ins have a unique look and feel I’ve come to admire. If you’re looking for a go-to Drum Slammer or Vocal enhancer I think this is the place for you. Eddie Krammer is someone every music fan should respect. Here is a genuine living legend. During a product demo of his WAVES signature plug-ins, he relates to moments during his incredible production career of recording the Beatles, or Hendrix, or even Led Zepplin! Where else can you get that? Eddie is very down to Earth, and only a company like WAVES can deliver software with this kind of reputation behind it. Thank you WAVES.

Next Stop…. M.O.T.U. aka Mark Of The Unicorn. This company has a special place in my heart. I began my first real studio with a 24i and Cakewalk’s SONAR years ago. I love my 24i. It offers me 24 simultaneous track recording, great converters, and a solid reputation. Their booth was the best! Honestly. Dave Roberts is a product specialist with MOTU. He designed and constructed the whole display. The sound quality was amazing during his demos considering the cacophony of NAMM. He leads the demos and never seems to break stride. I was very impressed by his professionalism and personality. Dave had invited me and about 25 other users to a great meeting/dinner at a local restaurant the second night of NAMM. It was so much fun! Talk centered around Digital Performer 7 mostly, and in between margaritas we shared ideas and insights about the industry and its direction. Digital Performer 7 is definitely a major player among the top DAW’s these days. After one of Dave’s Amazing demos it’s hard not to appreciate why DP7 is so very popular and ever growing. It’s a good time to be alive my friends. I can remember years ago crashing my first computer trying to play back more than four track at a time!

Throughout the whole event I partook of many sights and sounds. Personally, meeting Neal Schon of Journey, and Doug Aldrich from Whitesnake, was an unexpected treat. Did I mention I play guitar? This is it everyone. NAMM is the event to experience. People of every age and culture coming together under one banner of sound. Woodwinds, brass, and drums,… Guitars, guitars, and more guitars!

During a brief stop at the small but present accordions section I happened to meet a real great American hero. Joe Vento. I watched as this time traveler played with the dexterity of an 18 year old. Joe is almost 88. Most passersby politely smiled at the “old man” playing the accordion. But no one stopped to notice that they were in the presence of a famous Grammy Academy member, war hero, and big band leader. After a short time with Joe it didn’t take long for me to realize that I was in the presence of someone great. I accompanied Joe to the grand pianos. I liked Joe. His personality and wit was remarkable.
 For example, once he chose a 9 foot long brand new Estonia Piano to demo, people thought, why not let the kind old man noodle a bit. At least that’s what everyone thought… including myself until without warm up or hesitation he broke into flight of the bumble bee! Wow, can he draw a crowd! I’d like to mention here that Joe is also a retired level 09 general in the U.S. army. 10 is the highest degree. Having received three purple hearts, and serving in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam! Joe was also the composer and often conductor for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for 38 years, and contributed to over 2000 movie and TV scores. Only at NAMM. God bless you Joe, and yes, I will keep in touch.
Four days seems just right for an event like this. After three days I was ready. The crowds were at an all time high by Saturday. My feet were reaching an all time low. But, my veracious appetite for audio production hit its rare limit for one event. By this time I amassed a mini library of brochures, adds, CD’s, information, and business cards. There is much, much more I could detail about NAMM 2010. Really, I have barely scratched the surface here. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Hope to see you there in Anaheim California next January in NAMM 2011!

Cheers-
Carlo Libertini

Leave a Comment

Name (required):

Email (required):

Website (optional):

Comments (required):

Please help us fight Spam by typing what you see into the box below: