NAMM 2018

[DavidDever]

Although it pre-dated an actual NAMM announcement, the MicroBrute 2S is a fascinating instrument.

Yep - I think that Arturia did well by themselves (if you consider the 30-day window before / after NAMM as "in play" for NAMM announcements). The MiniBrute ecosystem is definitely alive and well, and now provides a branded, patchable path from monosynth to Eurorack and points in between.

[Sacred Synthesis]

From my perspective, it was a dull and uneventful NAMM.  Without DSI and Moog, I didn't expect much anyways.  It seems the analog mono synth market is settling down (those little Arturia and Doepfer units aside), since nothing close to full-sized appeared.  I'm wondering if Moog will put something in place of its discontinued Model D.  It seems like a good opportunity to produce an instrument larger than the Subsequent, and that's what I was most hoping for from NAMM 2018.  A Voyager Mk II would be fabulous, especially if Moog added another LFO.  It seems absurd to let that masterful design fade away.

I would say the Korg Prologue won the day this year, even overshadowing the Quantum.  But sorry; it's impossible for someone with an eight-voice Poly Evolver Keyboard to get excited about the Korg.  Yes, they're very different instruments, but you know what I mean.  In the end, it's the quality of sound that most matters.

Except for an announcement from DSI, which I'm very much anticipating, I find myself drawn to other boutique companies.  For a while, Analog Solutions had my attention, but Artisan Electronic Instruments now has my curiosity.