A Show of Shows - Superbooth, SFF, NAMM - Spring 23

Present or not at booths & shows, I hope to hear product news from:

  • Roland
  • AkaiPro
  • Native Instruments
  • Elektron

Is Yamaha not doing synths like in the past anymore?

I’d like Polyend to bust out some improvements to the Play. I think they’ve gone as far as they can with the Tracker (love that machine) but the Play is in dire need of some improvements (trying to love it but it’s tough). Maybe a new Red Panda pedal. Would love for TE to get this op-1 field working with more audio interfaces maybe.

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Digitone Keys MkII, with some tweaks to accommodate the upcoming DN 1.50 firmware update.

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They just did a hardware improvement to the MODX , the MODX+. They’re not out of the HW business, though it’s not like the old days.

ADDED : ( March '23 ) Yamaha has just unveiled their CK line of keyboards, with a combination of the CP and YC features. This also might make a nice form factor for an AN-X product.

ADDED : Yamaha will be at Superbooth, NAMM, and SFF. A triple play !

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I am hoping to see something from Moog. It has been around 9 years since the Sub 37 (now Subsequent 37) was introduced, so I wonder when we will see a successor there.

I also think they should do something in between the Subs/Matriarch and the Moog One. There is such a gap in the market price there for them. They should do a 4-5 voice poly synth that is priced a little more affordably than the One. Paired down with only one filter and less FX. Smaller, and easier to travel with. Similar to Sub line in usability, but a poly version.

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Kodamo will be at SFF at a minimum. They have three products that they have shown :
Infini
Mask 1
Bitmasker

… plus there was talk at one point of an Essence FM Keyboard though that seems gone. ( ? )

So it’s time for them to announce another new product !

ADDED : Mask 1 is available now, see my post on that.

Before the Play was released people at the time (and claiming to be in the know) said Polyend were working on a couple of new boxes.

It would be interesting if they released a second box which was a synth module that you’d sequence from the Play and use it’s 8 midi channels. 8 part multitimbral sounds like a stretch but maybe 4? Could even sample and transfer to Play (although that might cannibalise Tracker).

The Play launch was bungled. They’d teased too long and everyone filled in the gaps with dream product ideas and then ultimately disappointed with the reveal. Perhaps this time they’re keeping quiet and have something up their sleeve…

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I’ve been considering a field recorder for a while now and I’m hoping for a 32b field recorder in Zoom’s lineup similar to the Tascam Portacapture X6. I couldn’t care less about a fancy color display and would gladly trade that for xlr combo jacks.

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PWM who currently sells the Malevolent is likely going to show a new DCO based synth at Superbooth. They gave hints about it at SB last year to Nick Batt, playing some sounds from a roughed in prototype. They also have a third synth in mind, so perhaps there could be some word on that to.

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…elektron are more focussed on the american market lately…their berlin days are over…
until now, no proof of life from sweden when it comes to superbooth…

guess they’re makin’ it a habit to announce and show up late to european parties…
boutique became global brand…

after refreshing/reinventing their dtakt in such an unexpeted fashion and brought it back on the map of products to sell brandnew en masse again for all retailers, least thing we can now hope to come, is some firmware update for the stakt…
i don’t see any signs for a truu new product…
and it would not be clever marketing, if they woud go for that truu new ot must do now, due to the fact, they just pimped the dtakt that close to same terretory…

and let’s not forget…sale shows are a luxury item for all at least halfway established companies these days, in the age of information, where all it needs to announce ur next new product and catch a good amount of attention and tracktion by “just” coordinating to hand it out to the right selction of “influencers” at some certain timeframe…

never the less, see u at superbooth 23…

and hey, @treat …this year u’ll find the time and we finally go together …
and @Dataline …let’s make it first day again…

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I am curious, why do you think the syntakt needs a new update?

I think it got updated first late of last year… And then the DT got updated… Next in line would be the digitone no?

I thought Elektron still had a foot in Berlin, as the job ads seem to imply. Is it common knowledge that they just skip the European events ?

Digitone never sold like the digitakt. I bet the syntakt didn’t either. Last could updates thru just give the digitone enough to get it back in line with the digitakt, but nothing crazy like that. I’m assuming this will be similar but I’m hoping I’m wrong.

it’s a pity that elektron doesn’t appear to be there. that would have given hope for news. last year they only had a very small stand. That doesn’t really fit with such a popular company.

Instachord

image

This will be at NAMM. ( Booth 10604 ) It’s currently sold in Japan, but it is coming to the rest of the world now too.

Kind of an improved holdable version of the Suzuki Omnichord.

There is a built in speaker and the sounds built in are OK. I like the form factor ( ukulele size) and it has a lot of advanced versatility. I think a small amount of learning, would pay off well, as it can do a wide range of chords with a fixed finger patterns. It’s got wifi, and MIDI too, so it could be a main controller.

I actually could see using this, once i got by seeing it as a toy. They need to improve their videos for the international market.

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Elektron does have a booth at NAMM ( 14122 ) but it is by appointment only.

ADDED :

I see that Elektron have just been added to the Superbooth exhibitor list. Maybe they have something to show us !

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Freqport

I see they are at both Superbooth and NAMM so they are making a play. This is a tube based analog effects box, with a USB interface. They are based in Australia, so another company in Australia turning things on their head. (Melbourne Instruments NINA being another. )

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This looks pretty slick.

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I see that Groove Synthesis is at NAMM ( Booth 9701 ). It would be enough if they were just showing their incredible synth the 3rd Wave but they are also working on other really innovative products too :

So hopefully they tells us more – and show too hopefully – on some of this new magical stuff as well.

Ohhhh! That got me super hyped, what do you think they will show?

Their “new very different” product. ( The thread ).

At first i thought that thread was baloney, but now i think it is very real. That thread BTW is a good place to speculate, although anyone with a solid lead has every right to post it here.

Right now i haven’t a clue.

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