Jump to content

Any Gear Introduced in 2014 Blow Your Mind?


Anderton

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Did anything appear gear-wise that blew your minds (or bashed your checking account) in 2014? I have to say one of the most fun products to me was the CME Xkey 25-key MIDI keyboard controller. At under a hundred bucks and with polyphonic aftertouch, it's a really cool and portable USB controller.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

And yeah, they're Gibson Brands products, but the TASCAM wireless hand-helds are something I would have killed for back in the days of doing Harmony Central videos. To be able to hand off a recorder to someone to record their spiel and adjust levels with my phone would have been very helpful. I also really like the Memory Cable. It doesn't matter that much at home because there's usually a computer on, but I keep one in my office because a lot of times I'll be testing or documenting guitars, and in the process, come up with a riff I want to keep. Two of my recent sonds on YouTube ("

" and "
") came out of having the presence of mind to turn on the cable before playing.

 

While it's not mind-blowing new gear, I gotta give props to Native Instruments for the regular updates to their instruments and to Komplete. Some of the tweaks are major, some are minor (like fixing a sample in an instrument that's slightly out of tune), but it's commendable that they do this kind of maintenance.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I`ve been saying this for years…. nothing has been released in the last 5 years that has changed the game for me. Nothing has inspired me to make music in a different, more efficient way.

 

At the end of the day, I want to be able to sit down at the computer and work quickly and not get caught up in thinking like an engineer. The only software that does that for me right now is REASON. Its quick and easy. Ideas come and can get easily created.

 

No guitars, no pedals, no plug ins, no amps, no keyboards, etc… are revolutionary. The audio industry peaked around 2007-8. At this point, its about getting ideas down quickly and without any hassle. The closest thing that does that is REASON.

 

With that said, I`m always looking for the best sampled pianos, the best sampled orchestral instruments (solo and ensemble). I`ve yet to hear a guitar library that allows me the freedom of working with a really guitarist allows. And I`m not holding my breathe for any software that will come close any time soon.

 

The only thing that is briefly getting my attention are the new Dave Smith keyboards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
nothing really mind blowing...

 

 

I'd buy Komplete, but have heard such bad things about their customer service (and experienced some myself) that I stay away from it. I should probably get over that tho...

 

 

They're slow, but I've always been able to get problems solved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • CMS Author

I was going to mention the TASCAM wireless-controlled recorders but you beat me to it. Have you got an Arapolarmic app to play with yet? I don't have an iPad so I can't play with it yet, but the video looks pretty cool. It might be a good learning tool but I think it'd cause too much overthinking in the studio.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It's not new to 2014 but it is new to me in 2014 and that is music production, with it's associated apps, on an iPad. In the fall I picked up an iPad Air (with only 16 Gb of memory) and discovered Auria along with some fantastic sounding software synths - including piano and Hammond organ. I'm noticing new things that can be done with the touch screen as a controller.

 

I also like the remote control VSL software for my PreSonus AudioBox which has been a great addition my live rig.

 

Thanks Craig for the hot tip on the CME Xkey 25-key MIDI keyboard controller, that will be a most welcome addition to my ultra portable setup.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Nothing in the last 10 years has blown my mind or that I would call revolutionary. Maybe even closer to 15 years...

 

If you go back 15 years, there was a huge revolution for DJing when turntables transitioned to MP3s, controllers, and computers. What this meant to beat-matching and portability was huge. No crates of vinyl, no weirdass turntable speed tweaking to try to match tempos. I would definitely consider that a revolutionary change that affected an entire genre.

 

I also think computers transitioning to 64 bits has been huge for anyone who uses virtual sample libraries...a total game-changer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Nothing in the last 10 years has blown my mind or that I would call revolutionary. Maybe even closer to 15 years...

 

I started using a DAW in 2001 and it pretty much changed the way I produced.

 

Then in 2005, I started to use REASON and that completely changed the way I approach music writing and production even more than the DAW did in 2001.

 

Since 2005, nothing has turned my head like REASON. I do appreciate how Digital Performer has grown over the years but like I mentioned, the audio industry peaked for me somewhere in the 2005-2008 period.

 

And I`ve mentioned this on GS but the only head turning events we will experience in the years to come in my opinion is how much software will sound exactly like hardware. Thats where the $$$ is at for manufacturers. And I think its the only place R&D should really be putting their time and $$$. Hardware will always be produced and sold because people like "toys" and that little rush a dopamine when the Fed/Ex or UPS truck shows up at the front door but software is catching up and will eventually surpass anything hardware can do. Its just a matter of time.

 

Lastly, I think we`ll eventually have virtual mixing as well where the user will put on a pair of goggles and be able to access Abbey Road or Sear Sound or Avatar Studios, etc… the user will be able to turn around in his swivel chair and feel as if he were sitting in the middle of these studios and then if he wants to tweak a compressor, he`ll simply walk over to it and tweak it as if he were in the room itself. This will take some time but I think we`ll see it within 10-15 years.

 

Until then… there is no hardware, guitar, amp, microphone, etc… that is worth entertaining.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

It made my workflow more efficient and gave my studio space a smaller footprint which I prefer but game changing…. no.

 

 

Take out all your RAM except for 3.5 GB out of all your computers, then get back to me on whether 64 bits was game-changing or not :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The big game changer for me wasn't gear (though I picked up several items this year), it was rearranging my studio to be more ergonomic. I now have my mix consoles and outboard gear rack within easy reach of my DAW desk chair. It increased my results per hour about 40%.

 

The stuff I picked up this year:

1991 ES355 (B.B. King model)

(2) AKG D8000 mics (I have plenty of condenser mics, but needed a couple extra vocal mics for performing)

A hand-made acoustic guitar from Honduras that my son gave me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Take out all your RAM except for 3.5 GB out of all your computers, then get back to me on whether 64 bits was game-changing or not :)

 

I mentioned the advantages already… studio life is better with 64 bits for sure but before/after 64 bits, the music production is the same. For me, REASON completely changed the way I worked and changed my sound. It inspired me to do things I never thought I would do.

 

I expect computers/software to get better everyday but what really makes something "mind blowing" to me is when a piece of gear or software changes my perspective/inspires. Nothing in the last 5-7 years has done that for me.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Maybe I just have a lower bar for what's game changing, but even with Reason, IIRC the NN-XT and NN-19 still load sounds into RAM and don't stream from disk. So you really need that memory. When I went to 32 GB, my production changed completely. Instruments like Kontakt had the equivalent of high-octane gas because those big libraries could run right out of RAM. Frustrating delays from hard drive swaps for memory paging were gone. ReWire became practical because there was enough RAM for two programs to reside in comfort. These are all things we take for granted nowadays, but I never would have been able to create videos running SONAR, Vegas, Hypercam, and an Office Suite simultaneously without 32 GB of RAM. To me it was the same kind of difference as going from the Mac's "multifinder" (really "multiswitcher") to true multi-tasking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

If you go back 15 years, there was a huge revolution for DJing when turntables transitioned to MP3s, controllers, and computers. What this meant to beat-matching and portability was huge. No crates of vinyl, no weirdass turntable speed tweaking to try to match tempos. I would definitely consider that a revolutionary change that affected an entire genre.

 

I also think computers transitioning to 64 bits has been huge for anyone who uses virtual sample libraries...a total game-changer.

 

I interpreted the question to mean what if anything has had an impact on us individually. Turntables transitioning to MP3s, controllers, and computers means nothing to me... has no impact whatsoever on how I make music and record. Same goes for 64 bit. Doesn't mean a thing to me personally in my studio. I have no use for it. I jumped off that upgrade crazy train many years ago because it was less about the art and innovation and more about product and profit for gear manufacturers and vendors.

 

Coincidentally a couple days ago I was browsing through an old issue of Electronic Musician (Oct 1990) In the "Front Page" commentary Bob O'Donnell makes the following observation:

 

"As a voracious seeker of technical information, I'm constantly bombarded with the news of important developments in technology. Nearly every week, it seems, I read about some major new innovation, either in electronic musical instruments and related gear, or the more general field of computers. The PR machinery of the high-tech industries and the press supporting them often make it appear that inventions on the order of the wheel and electricity are springing from the minds of visionary engineers and programers on a regular basis. Alas, it just ain't so"

 

I think he hit the nail on the head then and it's still pretty much how things are now. About every music forum is gear oriented. That's what we talk about most of the time. I'm slow to change something that's working perfectly. I live by the old adage, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I can talk about gear, but it's going to be more about those rare gems that have come along over decades... 20 to 40 year-old gear that made such an impact that I'm still using it. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Lastly, I think we`ll eventually have virtual mixing as well where the user will put on a pair of goggles and be able to access Abbey Road or Sear Sound or Avatar Studios, etc… the user will be able to turn around in his swivel chair and feel as if he were sitting in the middle of these studios and then if he wants to tweak a compressor, he`ll simply walk over to it and tweak it as if he were in the room itself. This will take some time but I think we`ll see it within 10-15 years.

 

Fascinating idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Coincidentally a couple days ago I was browsing through an old issue of Electronic Musician (Oct 1990) In the "Front Page" commentary Bob O'Donnell makes the following observation:

 

"As a voracious seeker of technical information, I'm constantly bombarded with the news of important developments in technology. Nearly every week, it seems, I read about some major new innovation, either in electronic musical instruments and related gear, or the more general field of computers. The PR machinery of the high-tech industries and the press supporting them often make it appear that inventions on the order of the wheel and electricity are springing from the minds of visionary engineers and programers on a regular basis. Alas, it just ain't so"

 

 

That`s exactly it. Hardware manufacturers survive on this constant bombardment of new gear that is completely unnecessary. When the masses wake up to the reality that they already own everything they need, hardware manufacturers will have to find something else to do… manufacturers are in the business of selling dreams… you buy this piece of gear and you`re one step closer to stardom. Thats the subliminal message behind every marketing campaign.

 

Again, let me be clear, software and computers will continue to evolve and they should because technology continues to evolve at staggering rates but how many hardware synths, mic pres, EQs, compressors, mics, guitars, etc… do we need?

 

I`ll just use Gibson as an example because I know Craig is intimately involved with the company; how much has the Gibson guitar changed over the years that validates manufacturing thousands of them every month? Granted, there is still a demand but why? The guitar fulfills some primal need that was most likely implanted from creative marketing…. Guitars equal freedom, sex, prestige, creativity, etc… the truth is, most people own more guitars than they could ever need. Most guitars sit in cases and are hardly touched. Some day they`ll pick it up and practice, some day they`ll play like SRV, someday…

 

Its all a myth and manufacturers are great at selling dreams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I wouldn't say it's mind blowing, but as a keyboard player, I think the Moog Sub 37 Tribute is a great package, and the standout release of 2014. It's the right price, the right content and features, and it's just drop dead gorgeous.

 

My mind was last blown when I saw VST technology for the first time (low latency plug-ins and instruments, roughly the year 2000).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have been tooling around almost all my life. Started with a Sinclair, but for music I had Twelve Tones' DOS Cakewalk for my C-64. I can say that every year there is always something cool. This year I have to say it's the Fishman Triple Play. I play a six string bass, but I wanted it so bad, I picked up the Guitar this year. It's their first run at software, but they took the time to test the software and created a nice stand alone package. I use it with X3 and the plugins are seamless. Brad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...