For those of you who have never heard of or attended the NAMM Show, it is an event where music manufacturers from around the world unveil their latest products, fans meet rock stars, and dealers make deals. It is the ultimate event for music technology fans, as well as anyone interested in music making. We have been attending the event as part of the Korg USA contingent for the past decade. This year, we are proud to present some of our favorite products for music educators from the show. Here is what we’ve come up with (in alphabetical order):
Alesis SynthStation 49
iPads were everywhere at the NAMM Show this year, and we think that the new SynthStation 49 from Alesis was a very exciting product. As you can see from the picture, you dock your iPad into the keyboard controller, and away you go. We don’t know all of the details on the functionality of the apps that will work with the SynthStation 49, but we imagine sequencer style workstation apps working very nicely with this machine. The introductory price is targeted at $199 and it should be available by this upcoming May. Of course, SoundTree will be stocking them as soon as they are available.
Alesis VideoTrack
While this product has been out for a while, this was our first time getting an up close and personal look at this fantastic product from Alesis. Unlike other inexpensive handheld video recorders out there on the market, the VideoTrack has high quality condenser microphones that make superior audio recordings. Simply point and shoot then hook up to your computer via USB to make great videos of your performances. At $179, the Alesis VideoTrack is a great buy.
IK Multimedia iRig Mic, iKlip & iRig
Getting back to the iPad theme, IK Multimedia has come out with three fantastic new products to make your iPad truly integrated into the music making process. The new iKlip simply attaches your iPad securely to a microphone or music stand. The iRig Mic is a dynamic microphone that you can attach directly to your iPad for recording vocals or anything else. The iRig has been out for a while now, and paired with AmpliTube (their amazing iPad amplifier modeling app) you can hook your guitar up to your iPad and sound amazing. Pricing on the iKlip should be around $39. The iRig Mic has no price yet, and the iRig is $39.99. We’ll be stocking all of these very soon.
JamHub
For us, one of the biggest hits of the show was the amazing line of products from JamHub. The devices allow you to create silent rock band rehearsal environments with each player having control over the mix of instruments. The SoundTree staff had fun playing in their mini rehearsal studio, and the idea of getting rock bands into the school music curriculum really solidified after checking out these fantastic products. Check out www.jamhub.com for more information. SoundTree will be getting the entire line in stock in the next few weeks.
Korg Kronos
The biggest hit of the show, in our humble opinion, was the new game changing keyboard workstation from Korg, the Kronos. There were crowds ten deep to see each demonstration of this amazing new flagship keyboard. It is difficult to describe just how amazing this keyboard is. Better for you to check out this video:
As soon as this keyboard is in stock, we will have it available to all of our teacher and students friends.
Korg Nano 2 Series
We’ve sold a ton of the original Korg nano series to teachers and students looking for the ultimate portable USB controllers, and now Korg has upped the game with the nano 2 series. More robust, more controls, and a better feeling keyboard are some of the new features that you’ll find. They should be coming in toward the end of the Spring, and we’ll let you know the minute we get them.
Using ProTools in Music Education
That’s right. Our very own SoundTree Mid-Atlantic Accounts Manager Robin Hodson, has written a fantastic book on how to teach music with ProTools, and his book has won a coveted NAMM Best Tools for Schools Award. We are very proud of his work and we know that this new resource will be on the desks of any music educator who teaches with ProTools. SoundTree is proud to stock this resource on our webstore, and we know it will be a best seller!
Zoom Q3HD
A great new product from Zoom, the company that brings you the H1, H2 & H4N handheld audio recorders, is the Q3HD – a handheld HD video recorder for only $299. It’s been out a little while already and is doing phenomenally well. We will be getting these great machines in stock soon. Amazing quality of video and audio recording at an amazing price. What more can you ask for?
Did you go to NAMM 2011? Are there products that you saw that you’d like to mention? Please comment below. We’d love to hear form you.
Until next time…
