 NAMM's H.O.T. (Hands-On Training)
Zone program on Level 2 of the Anaheim Convention Center will offer a
series of free one-hour educational sessions, all of which are designed
to help attendees sharpen their skills in numerous facets of music and
audio production, and music business.
On Friday, January 14 at 2 p.m., EM will present
"Maximum Output From Your Home Studio" in Room 204C as part of
the Digital Musician series.
On Saturday, January 15 at 10:30 a.m., Mix will present
"Commercial Studios Collaborating With Home-Based Producers" in Room
204A as part of The Studio series.
Plus, be sure to check out "Women Behind the Console: Inside the
Process," presented by Making Music Herstory (MMH) on January 14,
2011, from noon to 1:15 p.m. in Room 204A. MMH’s executive
producer, Lisa Chamblee-Hampton (Prince, George Duke, Justin
Timberlake), will moderate the panel, which includes Brenda Russell (The
Color Purple, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige); Sylvia Massy (Red Hot Chili
Peppers, R.E.M., Prince); Ann Mincieli (Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey,
Usher); Marcella Araica (Timbaland, Keri Hilson, Britney Spears); and
Jeri Palumbo (NFL, CBS, Fox). These top producers and engineers will
discuss the engineering, production or songwriting process behind their
favorite projects and share their techniques, gear interests, and client
interaction.
If you are unable to attend this discussion at NAMM, you will be able
to watch the live UStream broadcast at any time.
Find the complete list of H.O.T. Zone sessions on NAMM's
Website.
Get a full list of NAMM University Sessions.
News From the Floor
Day 1 at NAMM started with a whimper but ended with a bang as the
floorspace was filled with showgoers eager to see the latest gear.
BIAS revealed that Peak Studio and Peak Studio XT are now shipping, and
Peak Studio LE has just been announced.
Sony Electronics showed two new studio headphones (MDR7520 and MDR7510) with their 50mm drivers and PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) diaphragms and one in-ear system (MDR-7550)
Muse Research announced an upgrade to its Receptor 2 line of
hardware plug-in players. Receptor 2+ now has a 750GB hard drive and a new
storage capacity of 1 TB, while the Receptor 2 PRO MAX+ now includes the fastest
processor in its class and a 50-percent increase in storage capacity to
1.5 TB.
Sonnox (www.sonnoxplugins.com) showed off its new Sonnox Fraunhofer
Pro-Codec plug-in, which makes it possible for the first time to
precisely audition up to five codecs in real time.
dbx (www.harman.com) enhanced its product line with updated
versions of its industry leading high-performance graphic equalizers,
compressors and crossovers. The dbx S Series products feature a platinum front panel
and four color packaging with informative application suggestions for
each product.
Blue Microphone unveiled the Reactor
side-address mic, which features a slick design, shockmount, removable
pop filter and three patterns.
Steinberg showed off Cubase 6, which brings new editing, mixing and
workflow tools to the popular DAW platform.
Dave Hill at Crane Song gave showgoers a look at RA, a
nonlinear TDM plug-in that emulates amplifier overload, giving control
over even harmonics, compression of low-level audio and peak level.
Universal Audio (uaudio.com) was turning heads with the new UAD-2 Satellite DUO. It’s a FireWire-based plug-in
host that comes in either 2- or 4-chip versions.
A Designs (www.adesignsaudio.com) revealed their latest
hardware including the JM-3001 mic preamp/EQ and the 2-channel EM-EQ2 equalizer. | 
The SM 50Ak ($1,050 pair) is the smallest monitor in the Sonodyne range.
Its active bi-amp
design delivers 45W to the 51/4-inch woofer and 45W to the tweeter
to smoothly reproduce 70 to 22k Hz. Its aluminum enclosure and
well-considered shape contribute to the open high end, honest midrange
and
tight bass. 
