Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth Explorer – complex synthesis, control and modulations made easy

video upload by mutech.media.australia

"Ken ‘Flux' Pierce from Ashun Sound Machines gives us a deep dive on the Hydrasynth Explorer, a synth designed with simplicity in mind. Despite its size and the fact it can even run on batteries, the Hydrasynth Explorer is not light on for features, or in-depth sound design features.

Almost everything can be modulated, controlled, or otherwise sculpted by touching the relevant parameter buttons. Assigning LFO control, creating a sequence, and modulating any parameter with almost anything else is remarkably easy."

Check with dealers on the right for availability.

Moog Artistry & Innovation Panel | NAMM 2025

video upload by Moog Music

"We brought together a panel of incredibly inspiring figures in the Moog synthesizer community for a one of a kind Artistry & Innovation Panel. Join Michelle Moog-Koussa, Lisa Bella Donna, Suzanne Ciani, Brian Kehew, Steve Dunnington, King Britt, and Rory Kaplan for a discussion on Bob Moog’s legacy and the past, present, and future of the instruments he imagined into this world.

The deep knowledge, unbounded creativity, and sonic boundary-breaking spirit exhibited by these individuals is truly a spectacle to witness."

Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control – First Look with Honeysmack a.k.a Dr David Haberfeld

video upload by mutech.media.australia

"On the first day at NAMM 2025, we saw the newly released Roto-Control from Melbourne Instruments, a totally unique MIDI controller perfect for live performance. With motorised touch-sensitive knobs, customisable haptics, and hi-res labelling screens, the Roto-Control is capable of saving 8,000 assignments for total control of your rig.

We love the physical feedback in the knobs and the haptics in the buttons – it makes using the Roto-Control to control something like Ableton Live much more like playing a real hardware synth. Honeysmack (Dr David Haberfeld) is a veteran of live performance with synths, and his enthusiasm for Roto-Control is obvious and contagious!"

KURZWEIL K2061: more affordable VAST synthesis

video upload by Hispasonic

"Kurzweil's new models, the K2061 and K2088, could be seen unplugged at NAMM 2024, but this year they were fully functional and we were able to see them, touch them and try them out, paying more attention to the cheaper K2061.

Video index:
00:00 Intro
00:09 Sound demo 1
1:04 Features
4:50 Sound demo 2

🎹 Main technical specifications:
V.A.S.T. synthesis engine with VA capability, 6-operator FM and organ modeling
256 polyphony voices
32 parts per program and 16 MIDI zones
4GB total memory (divided between factory and user)
32 simultaneous effects
16-track sequencer

The keyboards use Fatar mechanisms: TP/9 semi-weighted on the K2061 and TP/40L with hammer action on the K2088. Both models include channel aftertouch and a ribbon controller. The interface has a non-touch 480x272 pixel color display and a set of physical controls. Editor software for Windows and MacOS has been announced.

The K2061 is significantly cheaper than the K2700 ($2,199), while the 2088 is similarly priced ($2,999)."

NAMM 2025: UDO Super 8 - Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

"Jim Heywood from Earmonkey Music explores the UDO Super 8 on the show floor"

NAMM 2025: Stylophone DS-2 - Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

"Jim Heywood from Earmonkey Music explores the Stylophone DS-2 on the show floor"

NAMM 2025: Korg 700Sm - Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

"Jim Heywood * from Earmonkey Music explores the *Korg 700Sm on the show floor"

NAMM 2025: Roland V-Stage - Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

"Jim Heywood from Earmonkey Music explores the Roland V-Stage on the show floor"

NAMM 2025: Kurzweil 2088 - Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

Jim Heywood from Earmonkey Music explores the Kurzweil 2088 on the show floor

NAMM 2025: Arcana Instruments Strum

video upload by sonicstate

"At NAMM 2025, we caught up with Boaz from Arcana Instruments who introduced a groundbreaking MIDI interface designed to provide accessible music-making opportunities.

He shared the inspiring backstory of his student with cerebral palsy, whose determination to play music with her peers led to this innovation. The interface allows you to play chords with a simple press, strumming up and down rather than side-to-side, accommodating various mobility challenges. It uses Bluetooth for connectivity and is adaptable via interchangeable handles, enabling play through foot pedals or proximity sensors for head movements.

After noticing the limitations in traditional tools like iPads for music education, the interface was developed to support real musical growth. This tool is screenless, encouraging personal interaction and offering a versatile solution that transforms into instruments like piano or strings through color-coded learning.

Arcana Instruments' device is already available in the United States and the UK.

More Info:

https://arcanainstruments.com/"

Dina Pearlman - ARP Foundation | NAMM 2025

video upload by Under the Big Tree

"Dina Pearlman, daughter of legendary synth designer Alan R. Pearlman, discusses the foundation created to honor his legacy, and further electronic music education and art.

https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/

Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music.

http://www.underthebigtree.com"

New Mellotron M4000D Micro Desktop Spotted at NAMM?

This one was spotted and sent in via John L Rice.

Look to the left of the M4000D Micro. You'll see another unit that looks like one minus the keyboard to the right.

Note that it's currently absent from the Mellotron site.

Behringer BX1 | NAMM25

video upload by Bonedo Synthesizers

See the Behringer label below for more.

Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave | NAMM 2025

video upload by Under the Big Tree

"We talk once again to Bob Coover, enthusiastic audio engineer extraordinaire, about the latest features and updates to the Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave synthesizer. In addition to PPG-style wavetable synthesis and superb analog emulation, 3rd Wave now features Prophet VS-style synthesis, as well as sampling. An excellent synth just keeps on getting better.

https://www.groovesynthesis.com/

Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music."

Synthesizers.com | NAMM 2025

video upload by Under the Big Tree

"We discuss the mighty 5U modular paradigm with Mike Graham of Synthesizers.com. This company has been around for 25 years, providing affordable, expandable, beautiful modules and systems inspired by the synthesizer that started it all: The Moog Modular.

synthesizers.com

Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music.

http://www.underthebigtree.com"

NAMM 2025: Musonics Vanilla Synth TVS

video upload by sonicstate

"We caught up with Mr. Suit-and-Tie-Guy from Musonics*, who revisited the hand-built *synthesizer they showcased last year. Due to positive feedback, they transitioned from hand-built components to surface-mount technology, making production more manageable. This synthesizer, now mature, features one of the most stable oscillators available, although admittedly, Musonics enjoys a bit of wobble traditionally.

Significant updates include a wire-free design, normalled on the inside, but allowing for patching if you wish, and offering connections for power, voltage, gate, balanced XLR, quarter-inch unbalanced, and MIDI interfaces. Innovations were packed into the synthesizer platform, evolving it into a development platform for Musonics' new standalone arpeggiator and sequencer, the *Continuo*. This sequencer is inspired by the classic Roland arpeggiators seen in models like the SH-101 and Jupiter-8, offering multiple time control options, pitch sorting, and octave staggering."

NAMM 2025: Native Instruments Akai Partnership

video upload by sonicstate

"At this year's NAMM, Native Instruments made waves with their collaboration with Akai*, creating a seamless way for you to access NI sounds on MPC devices. We caught up with *Simon from Native Instruments who detailed this initiative. This partnership debuted with the release of five Play Series instruments and five expansions compatible with MPC, making NI's renowned sounds more accessible. Simon further explained that the integration process is straightforward--you purchase Native Instruments content online and activate it with a serial number on the MPC.

Additionally, Simon introduced the Tools and Leap SDKs for *Kontakt 8*, allowing developers to build compositional assistance tools in the same way you would build instruments. The conversation also delved into the broader adoption of NKS integration, expanding to devices from Akai, M-Audio, Nektar, Novation, and Korg. By mapping MIDI CC parameters, existing hardware can now utilize the vast NKS ecosystem, with further integrations planned, paving the way for deeper collaboration in the future."

NAMM 2025: Roli Airwave + Piano

video upload by sonicstate

"At NAMM 2025 we met up with Heen from Roli who introduced us to Roli Airwave and Roli Piano, the bigger brighter version of the Lumikeys, with full sized keys, velocity, release velocity, vibrato, glide and polyphonic aftertouch which provides an enormous amount of expressivity to the player.

Roli Airwave is the new hand-tracking MIDI controller which is able to register 6 dimensions of control effectively making it able to recognize gestures like grasp and tilt allowing for huge possibilities of expressive playing."

NAMM 2025: Korg Multi/Poly Sounds Only

video upload by sonicstate

"Jim Heywood from Earmonkey Music gives us a healthy dose of the Korg Multi/Poly."

NAMM 2025: Cosmodio Pet Yeti + Gravity Well

video upload by sonicstate

"At Cosmodio Instruments' first NAMM show, we caught up with Barton*, who showcased their innovative range of pedals. Cosmodio, a newcomer to the pedal scene, introduced the *Pet Yeti*, their unique dirt platform. This pedal features an all-original drive circuit, offering charismatic, high-gain sounds with miles of gain, an analog bit crusher, and diverse clipping configurations. Notably, the *Pet Yeti includes a parallel clean path, making it suitable for guitars, bass, and drum machines. Its flexible input gain and tone shaping make it ready for overdrive and wild, dirty sounds.

Barton also introduced the *Gravity Well*, a dual analog pedal featuring a wave folder and tremolo. It offers a unique modulation effect called refractor, which dynamically folds and unfolds your signal. The pedal is ideal for creating new frequencies and even science fiction-like sounds.

Both products are part of Cosmodio's expanding lineup, with availability directly from their growing dealer network.

More Info:
[Cosmodio Instruments](http://www.cosmodioinstruments.com)"