NAMM Write Up
Hello Everyone,
Tonight's installment will be about the new products from this year's NAMM trade show. Already, these items are quickly being released into the retail world for '09!
NAMM stands for The National Association of Musical Merchants. If you care to read more about NAMM, please visit the link below.
Vox Rocks!
One can lose many hours of sleep and productivity to scouring the internet for NAMM write ups...but I'll choose a few of my most interesting finds to share with you.
Guitar products always interest me, regardless of price point, feature/benefit set or manufacturer.
Vox, the same company that backed The Beatles, has commissioned "The Night Train".
The Night Train is a small format, big tone, tube amp rock machine!
As low wattage tube amps go, I always like seeing who the contenders are.
The Night Train runs in either 15 watt or 7.5 watt modes. It is a single channel, roadworthy, EL84 equipped amp geared to the hard rock player. Players have the choice of running the tones in BRIGHT or THICK mode...allowing one to coax vintage or modern rock tones from this tube driven lunch box!
A really cool feature of this amp is its size. The Night Train is conceals its power and brilliance in "an armored lunchbox" casing weighing in at a mere 17 lbs.
Making travel even easier is the padded Vox carrying bag custom tailored to the Night Train.
Hook this amp head up to any 8 or 16ohm speaker cabinet and let it sing!
This amp is quite appealing for the player who travels a lot from gig to rehearsal...from stage to studio and back again. If Vox markets this amp well enough, they should have some good success with The Night Train. Vox has taken on some new ground with this modern voiced rock amp...a departure from the more traditional Vox AC-30.
Other notable amps include:
- Peavey's 3120 head
- Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Bluesman
New From Blue
As a recording engineer, I love microphones..there is always something so satisfying about throwing a new microphone into a recording session, putting on the headphones, and hearing what the mic hears. Blue is one of the companies I have been impressed by as of late.
Their new Eyeball is a crazy little gizmo!
Known for making truly unique, almost bizarre microphones that sound GOOD!
The Eyeball is Blue's mix of high definition audio processing and high def video in one nifty unit.
Computer users looking to get into video chat online can now do so in style.
The Eyeball hooks up to any computer without having to install drivers or software. This is a great idea, since only recent computers come pre-loaded with built in cameras/microphones.
I mention the Eyeball because of the influx of gear reviews, performances etc on Youtube, this might be an item of great practicality for the tech savvy instrumentalist.
It clips onto monitors and lap top screens with a provided adapter.
I just might get one for my MAC Book Pro!
One use for me... I could use it in the studio to stream recording sessions via the web as they happen!
Well, that's it for today's little gear chat.
I'm quite excited to see how this year's roster of new gear performs!
