Taurus 3 bass pedal (c) Moogmusic

I wrap up my coverage on NAMM 2010 with a special article, special to me for many reasons. I am a music tech buff or geek as some like to call me. I can’t deny it, bad habit. I am also a history buff; I love to listen to treasured stories. I can’t refute that, and I won’t kick the habit. But most of all, I can’t deny that my love for playing music has enabled me to connect with people … and that leaves me eternally grateful.

1st day at NAMM – - I picked up my badge at the will-call station in the lobby of the Anaheim Convention Center. Had to place the printout which bore my name and Moog Music Inc, into the given plastic holder. Also printed on the badge was the letter ‘A’ in white which sat in the middle of a black square designed in the lower right-hand corner. ‘A’ – - stood for ‘artist’.
Why am I telling you all this? That’s because of the strange sensation that washed over me as I realised all curious by-starers would ‘recognise’ me as a Moog artist … and it made me want to get down on my knees.

I visited family when I caught up with the folks at Moogmusic. That’s how I consider them; family.

The name Moog (pronounced like ‘vogue’) is known for technology that has made music history. The home-grown company has stayed true to its roots by continuing to come up with fantastical products while keeping the legacy of its founder alive. Robert Moog’s inventions left an indelible mark in the sound palette of the world (read footnote) and thanks to their strong following, no product stays long as a number on the production line. (continue reading…)

Yamaha at the Marriott ballroom - NAMM 2010

Yamaha occupied an entire ballroom in the Marriott, a short sprint across from the Anaheim Convention Center.

I caught up with long time supporter of Xenovibes, Western Regional Manager, Frank Yardley who gave me a tour of the ‘booth’ beginning with my favourite department; the wonderful world of electronic wiz.

John Anthony Martinez, my Xenovibes partner, and I have toured in confidence knowing that no matter where we landed there was a Yamaha representative. When we arrived in NYC for Moogfest07 at B B King in the rain there was rep Eugeni with a DTXpress III. At the 2004 Xenovibes premier in Singapore, Yamaha Asia had a DTXpress II ready for our rehearsal. An O1X mixer/HUI complete with MLan and two 32-bit multi-effects processors was bought to record the show; an item I’ve since used faithfully on every CD. On the other end of the musical instrument spectrum, a Yamaha C3 concert grand was my instrument in my undergraduate years at the Elder Conservatorium …

John and I (Xenovibes) at BB King Times Sq NYC 2007

But then I digress. What can I say about Yamaha except it is a name associated with innovation and quality.

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MikTek tube mics

I felt like I had made a lucky find when I finally stumbled on MikTek tucked in a corner at NAMM 2010.
This company from Nashville, TN was founded on the notion that tried and true technology should be at the heart of one of the most important assets of a recording studio.

Many consider appointing the services of a recording studio based on the sound desk or DAW used.
Whatever floats your boat I say, but the consensus from a recent conversation I had with Tom Brislin about the humble microphone was that there is indeed one made for every voice. The asset I am referring to is clearly the microphone and its heart according to MikTek is the vacuum tube.

The knowledge required to select the right directional or polar pattern and frequency response plays a huge part in the use of a microphone when one is particular about recording the voice, and there is a vast range of microphones to chose from. Yet there is no denying that when the right one is placed in front of you, how it enhances your voice is immediately apparent. (continue reading…)

myMix personal monitoring system (pic courtesy Movek LLC)

Just when you thought you had reached a dead end with personal monitoring, myMix appears in the nick of time to save us all from pulling out what’s left of our crowning glory.

The myMix uses a standard ethernet hub (externally powered or using the power-over-ethernet switch), is compatible with the AVB protocol and links up to 8 units on a network at 16 channels each. You can store up to 20 profiles or personal mix settings all viewable on a colour LCD screen. It comes with a mic stand adaptor to mount the unit. Convenient and easy to use so far.

So what exactly could the myMix give that other similar units don’t already? Well let me list just a few that stood out; these are not in order of ‘greatness’.

Each channel (instrument) can be muted or soloed. Many a time I would have liked to have been able to audition my synth, you know, solo my channel to make sure I have all the correct setups, perhaps run through a few tricky lines while waiting for the band to get ready. And to be able to mute instruments I don’t want in my mix without actually turning down their level then having to turn them up again at a later time. Efficient. (continue reading…)

Eddie Jobson who contributed to the design of the VAX77 @ Infinite Response Inc booth, NAMM 2010

As a traveling musician and one of such stature as mine; you know, diminutive  (aha, you thought I was referring to my musical notoriety) I need to think efficient.
With fees now attached to check-in baggage, all musicians big and small have to wonder if it is indeed worth forking out US$20 to $25 buckaroos each piece each one-way trip.

Infinite Response to the rescue!
This firm from Austin’s answer to this dilemma is the VAX77, a midi controller that folds in two, literally right down the middle. They have 2 versions to this keyboard, the standard light-weight keys and the semi weighted one, which weigh in at 35 and 37pounds respectively.

It also comes with a case that is suppose to meet carry-on size restrictions. Dimensions vary with different airlines, so make sure you check with the one of your travel choice before you hit the tarmac.

The VAX77 has the features and functionalities expected of a midi controller, such as a pitch bend wheel that is situated at the left hand vertical panel; placement due to space constraints imposed by the thrust of the design, which is its foldability. The slider situated on the left edge top panel takes the place of the mod wheel.
Though the two are not in close proximity, having polyphonic aftertouch means one could program any kind of modulation/effect to be activated via key pressure; pushing down on the key during the note-sustain stage. One can assign supplementary effects to foot controllers as Eddie Jobson demonstrated during an appearance at the booth. A man after my own heart, Eddie (UK, Asia, Jethro Tull, Roxy Music) who was integral in the development of the VAX77 in 2009, ran two laptops with Mainstage and a myriad of foot switches and controllers; extended synth techniques, baby! (I might try to cover polyphonic aftertouch in a future article.)
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Westone Elite Series IEM (pic courtesy of Westone)

NAMM 2010 at the Anaheim Convention Center was to be a real treat for me.The last time I attended one was many blue moons ago.

I was ready to reinstate myself as a music technology geek, and for my hidden agenda – to start a wish list for my 2010 Christmas stocking!

Westone, manufacturers of in-ear products, were 1st to catch my attention.

In the business that began in the hearing health industry, Westone has been manufacturing in-ear products for 50 years, with IEM’s since the early 1990’s. They have fitted artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Babyface, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael W Smith, Woody Lee, Cirque Du Soleil and more, and have made IEM systems for some of the top companies in the industry.
As you all know, I have braved all kinds of weather and types of environment in my quest to go wherever my theremin takes me. I also lost my hearing as a teenager for a short period of time to a middle-ear infection. (continue reading…)

Reviews of the latest mobile phones unveiled at CommunicAsia2009 have been flooding the Web, along with the enterprise IT news typically churned out at the annual tech expo, but there’s been precious little focus on music news.

There is of course an obvious reason for that – there wasn’t much of it. Music’s never been a main focus of CommunicAsia, and most companies in that industry are saving their announcements for music expo Palme Asia, which runs in Singapore from July 16-18. But what little music there was at this year’s CommunicAsia is still worth commenting on.

Every time major mobile phone announcements crop up, I always keep my fingers crossed for lossless music support. As usual, I was left holding my breath in vain this time round, which is a shame in particular with regards to Samsung’s new Jet (S$698 without operator plan, available now in Singapore).

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Nokia’s new flagship N97 smartphone’s already been launched in other parts of the world like China, but it was only just officially launched in Singapore and Malaysia at a the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The N-series has traditionally aspired to excel at all things multimedia, but here at Musicgoondu we’re primarily interested in whether or not it’s a good music player.

Having fiddled with most aspects of the phone short of plugging in my earphones and trying my own music on it, it’s clear that the N97 makes for a very compelling media player, but is far from the holy grail the specifications make it out to be.

What specifications? 32GB of memory, expandable via microSD card to 48GB. That’s a record-breaking amount of memory for a phone, and storage capacity’s a key consideration when it comes to digital music. There’s also a standard 3.5mm earphone jack, which none of Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones have had till the new W995, and which neither of HTC’s Google phones has. Again, that’s di rigeur for music use. Throw in a 3.5-inch touchscreen that’s as big as the iPhone’s, a physical Qwerty keyboard and a navigational buttons, and it reads on paper like an ideal music player.

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The very first thing that came to mind when I took Creative’s new Aurvana Air earphones out of the box was their uncanny resemblance to Bang & Olufsen’s unmistakable A8 earphones, which curl behind your ears like spectacles to keep themselves in place.

The second thing that shouted out at me was the price. S$299. Were they serious? Apparently so. And Creative won a red dot design award for the Air, which is a bit bewildering. Hadn’t the judges ever seen the A8?

At least the Air’s S$299 price tag still falls short of the A8’s $330,  or we’d be dealing with Creative earphones that cost more than equivalent B&O ones. That would have been really bizarre, considering the disparity in brand strength.

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After years of rumours and frustrated anticipation, Sennheiser finally unveiled its new flagship headphones, the HD800, at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and it’s launching in Singapore next month.

It took 7 years to create. That’s a pretty long product development cycle, so when the resulting headphones cost double Sennheiser’s previous HD650 flagship model, but still utilise conventional dynamic speaker technology, some eyebrows were understandably raised in scepticism.

On the surface, it seems like Sennheiser just went for a big model number leap (bypassing the previously rumoured HD700 name) and pursued a bigger-is-better approach by chucking in the largest transducers ever used in headphones.

But a closer examination and a hands-on test reveals that there’s more to the HD800 than just marketing hype and bragging rights.

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