Musical Instruments

The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show is the biggest annual showcase of musical technology and innovation.  This year’s show runs from January 22nd to January 25th.  Best Buy and Casio have sent two writers to Anaheim to bring you articles, photos and videos of the excitement. This post will be updated throughout the show with links to all of our coverage.

The M-Audio BX5 and the Yamaha HS5 studio monitors boast similar studio-level features and specs. They both pack a nice size : punch ratio. You can’t go wrong with either of these little guys. I took them both for a spin, put them head to head and jotted down my thoughts.

Ideal for simple podcast production, Shure's MVX2UI is a single channel audio interface that connects any XLR microphone to a USB-C port on your device.

The Marshall name is synonymous with tube amplification and loud gritty rock music. In 2010 Marshall took an exploratory foray into digital modelling with the JMD line but for the most part has remained on the outside of this hotly contested field. That is likely to change with the introduction of the CODE series at NAMM 2016.    

If, like most home or project studio owners, you’ve opted to use a computer as the center of your studio, then you’ll most likely be hearing a lot about audio interfaces.    For the typical home user, the sound card on your computer is just fine. Unfortunately, for a studio owner, you’ll very quickly find that the onboard sound system is inadequate for your needs. They’re typically noisy, they lack inputs and outputs you’ll most likely need and they can be inefficient in the way they translate analog and digital audio.   That’s where audio interfaces come into the picture. An audio interface is a piece of dedicated hardware that you connect to your computer. In the most basic sense, the interface is the audio middleman between you (the real world) and the computer. 

Roland's GO:PIANO 88 offers a light, portable keyboard that has everything you need to practice, write, or perform on the move.

The POD Go guitar processor is a one-stop purchase for hobby and professional guitarists alike. Let's take a look at its many features.

Akai terms their Advance line of controllers as “unprecedented” plug-in control. The 49-note version that I played with came pretty close to the mark.  I can see its potential as a studio and live situation controller that, once you adjust your workflow, will help you organize, recall and control all of your software synths and effects.

The SM7dB mic features an active preamp and other improvements which make this a great choice for content creators with home studios.

It’s always been a mystery how Behringer comes out with products that pack so many features but don’t break the bank.   The new U-Phoria line of audio interfaces does just that. With world-class pre-amps from MIDAS, these seem to be a no-brainer.