The Official Mike Greene 2015 NAMM Report!

[Mike Greene]

Does NAMM get shorter every year? It sure seems like it. I’d swear it was just yesterday that we were setting up the Realitone booth.

For that matter, do my NAMM reports get longer every year? Yeah, they definitely seem like it. So let the rambling begin:

Is That a Post in Your Booth, Or Are You Just Glad to See Me? - NAMM is expensive, both in dollars and in time. The last few years, we’ve been across from Ilio, which is nice, but that aisle isn’t a “through” aisle, so there wasn’t a whole lot of traffic. Not that I’m looking for traffic per se, mind you, but when you’re in a somewhat hidden location, even your friends are unlikely to see you. So I was going to pull the plug on this whole NAMM booth experiment. (I’ve had a booth since 2008!)

But first, I asked my NAMM rep if there were more visible locations available. She said yes, but . . . there’s a big ole column in it, towards the back of the booth. And it has a fire extinguisher in it (behind glass), so I wouldn’t be allowed to cover it. Hmmmm, that’s a pretty big downside. The upside? It was half price. Half price, you say? Now you’re talkin’ my language! So I snagged it.

It worked out great. I saw lots of friends, as well as business contacts (reviewers, website guys, etc.) so I was happy. The booth was kinda ugly with that post in it, but who am I kidding, my booths are usually kinda ugly anyway. (Apparently not everyone shares my tastes in art . . . ) This was really a great show for Realitone.

Keep Walkin’, Buddy - NAMM is not open to the general public. Its primary purpose is to be a show for instrument makers to show their stuff to music stores, distributors, and the press. Now, if those were the only people who were allowed to come, it would be a pretty boring show, so they do allow “higher end” consumers. Composers, accomplished musicians, etc. Basically, if you’re savvy enough to figure out how to get a pass, then you’re the kind of person they’d want there.

You see, they don’t want the pimply faced teenager spending hours in the Paul Reed Smith booth playing Metallica songs, but they do want enough musicians there so that there’s more of an event atmosphere. I remember the woman in charge of IK Multimedia telling me that they set up all these stations in their booth for the everyday folk to play with so that when distributors or press or other bigwigs were there, the booth would have the appearance of being a happening place.

It’s a tricky balance, though. There will always still be people who maybe shouldn’t oughtta be there. Okay, maybe I’m being snobby here, but I really have no desire to teach someone what Kontakt is, or hear them react with, ”Oh, so this is like Siri!” Don’t get me wrong, these are usually very nice people (although some are definitely not), but explaining the whole ”Well, first I recorded them singing, and then I chopped it all up” schpiel can get pretty tedious.

Luckily, I’ve learned a lot in my years of showing at NAMM, and I’m pretty good at recognizing composers, as opposed to . . . well, lets just say as opposed to people who might be less familiar with sample libraries. Composers really do have a certain look to them and they’re easy as pie to spot. So when I see someone who’s not a composer (or person likely to be familiar with Kontakt), I avoid eye contact and try to look busy with something else. Maybe start sneezing and coughing without covering my mouth. And definitely hide the brownies.

“Are These “Magic” Brownies? Hyuk, Hyuk!” - If I get that question one more time, I’m going to scream. Not really. In fact, the people who make that joke are invariably nice.

“Hey, You’re Trying To Take My Gig!” - A few women stopped by to check out Realitone Blue and The Ladies. It’s pretty easy to tell they’re singers, because remember when I said composers are easy to spot? Well, these women don’t look like them. Plus they look mad. Yep, definitely singers. The reason they’re mad? Me.

Now, I know what you’re thinking - ”Okay Mike, sure, Realitone Blue is amazing, what with its easy to use wordbuilder and great sound and super low price. But you and I both know that there are some limitations to Blue, so you still need to hire a real singer for pop songs and stuff.” Hey, you’re exactly right! So that’s what I tell these singers. I tell them that Blue is a tool for composers, and gets used mostly in instances where a real singer was never going to get used in the first place. I also avoid Blue’s strengths and play phrases that Blue is particularly weak at. That helps calm them down a bit. (Sorta like when your wife finds out you have a girlfriend, make sure you have very unflattering pictures available of this other woman.)

So do you want to know what happens 9 times out of 10, even when a singer isn’t convinced that I’m not costing them gigs? Yep, that’s right, they offer to be the next Realivox voice.

“But Mike, You Haven’t Been Self-Indulgent Enough! What About Your Realitone News?” - Oh, thanks for reminding me! (I’m such a terrible businessman.) The big news is The Ladies update. There’s all new artwork (sadly, i have to say goodbye to my anime Realivox girl), and more importantly, we recorded lots of new content. The articulations count went from 30 to 55. (Almost double!) Plus there are now 6 ending consonants to choose from.

We also added the ability to stack up to 10 singers in one instance, so you don’t have to open new tracks for double, triples, etc.. You can even mix and match singers, with the ability to detune, pan, mix, and even use offset delays so that they’re not too perfectly in sync. And of course we added the polyphonic legato from Blue. Plus there’s now a legato speed knob, for those who wanted slower legato options. And individual controls over consonant attacks, so if (for instance) you wanted softer “d” attacks, you now have that option, leaving all other consonants independent.

This will probably be out in a week or two. It will be a free update for existing Realivox -The Ladies customers. To be clear (and at the risk of sounding like marketing hype), when this much new content is involved, I would normally want to charge for this. But I’ve always felt a special kinship to Ladies customers, taking a chance on me at the very beginning. The Ladies price when the new version goes live is still to be determined.

Did Somebody Say “Free???” - We’re giving away a free copy of either Realivox Blue or Realivox - The Ladies (your choice.) We’ve only had about a hundred entries so far, so your chances are pretty good. Just email us at contest at realitone dot com. No message necessary. Drawing will be this Friday.

Embertone - My friends Alex Davis and Jonathan Churchill of Embertone came by and showed their new Herring Clarinet and a glass flute instrument. Both are really nice. I honestly think the Herring Clarinet is the best sampled clarinet I’ve heard, and as usual, their programming is superb.

ZapZorn - Also making an appearance in the booth was George Gabriel of Zap Zorn, who showed his excellent Solstice and Elements libraries. These are really unique and cool, plus fairly inexpensive. Check them out.

Spitfire Audio - These guys win the award for coolest looking booth. They also win the award for most NAMM product releases. At the top of my list was their Thursday release of the Grange. (Google Headley Grange to see why this is so damn cool.) The drums sound as good as I had hoped. Not to slam other drum libraries, but it’s all about the sound and this one has it in spades.

The other releases were very cool as well. Friday was “David Fanshire - Earth Encounters,” which is a collection of world recordings, melodic, percussive, atmospheric, and even vocal. Saturday was a violin and cello thing that embarrassingly, I can’t remember the name of, and Sunday was “Petebox,” which is a very fun human beat box (by a guy calling himself “Petebox” and even has bass and other cool elements.

It’s A Cut-Throat Business! - Speaking of Spitfire, meeting Paul and Christian was a highlight for me. They both have such a British charm to them and it was a treat to finally meet them. As I think about it, I really enjoy seeing all (okay, maybe just most) of the developers. People like Mike Peaslee and the SoundIron crew and Andrew K and Sebastian of AudioBro and Hans Adamson of Art Vista have been so generous in helping me (a competitor, mind you!) with my business. Don’t even get me started with how cool Jon and Alex of Embertone are, and none of my scripts would work as well if it wasn’t for the near endless help I’ve gotten from Dan Powell of Soniccouture.

I probably shouldn’t have started naming names, because there are a few more I want to single out, but suffice it to say that at NAMM time, I remember all over again how much I enjoy being part of this community. With few exceptions, these companies are sincerely trying to make the best stuff they can, and if they can help other companies make their stuff better as well, then they do.

Synthesizer Madness! - Okay, forget all that warm and fuzzy stuff I just said. Let the snark resume! As I wandered Hall E (my favorite Hall at NAMM,) I came to an area filled with guys who clearly do not have girlfriends. I had arrived in the independent synth makers zone! This was a virtual candy store for anybody like me who loves synths, especially modular synths. (Mind you, even though I love real synths, I, in fact, do have a girlfriend. Although please don’t tell my other girlfriend. Because then she’ll get all mad and might tell my wife.)

There must have been eight booths, many with several companies sharing the spaces. I get the feeling there’s a resurgence of analog after digital ruling the roost for so many years. (Although some of these modules had digital elements, but you know what I mean.)

Attack of the Bumblebees! - The boys at Output were certainly easy to spot in their bright yellow shirts. They were showing Rev, which is ultra cool and got plenty of discussion on this very forum when it was released. Best of all, it turns out these guys’ offices are about a mile from me here in Hollywood. How cool is that? I’ll sneak over sometime and report back on what they’re working on next. If they let me.

Attack of the Clavinets! - Hans Adamson of Art Vista showed me their new Funky Clavinet Library featureing Dan Farrow, which is ultra cool. I like everything Hans does because it always has soul. If you’re not familiar with his libraries, check them and you’ll see what I mean.

Attack of the Orchestral Tools! - Orchestral Tools had a double-wide (booth, not trailer) this year. I spent a bunch of time there talking with Henrik and it was great meeting Sascha Knorr. But . . . embarrassingly, I have no idea what they showing. Now you see why I don’t turn pro with these NAMM reports!

The Back Door. She Says No, But NAMM Says Yes! - I stayed at a place called the Stovall Inn. I’m not sure how it classifies as an “inn,” but it was an okay place. About the same as the Candy Cane Inn, which I stayed at a couple years ago. (Regrettably, the “Jolly Roger” got demolished. It was kind of a dump, but I liked it. Yet another reason you can see why I don’t turn pro with these NAMM reports.)

Anyway, the Stovall Inn is behind the Convention Center. Most people walk from there all the way around to the front entrance. Clearly they haven’t read my guide, otherwise they would know that they let you come in the back. (Oh, the double entendres . . . ) So my walk was even shorter than the Jolly Roger. Especially if I jaywalk directly from the parking lot. Which I would never do, of course . . .

[Chapelle]

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[coincidental]

Yes, thanks Mike. Almost as good as being there - in fact, a lot better in some respects

[timbesamusca]

Thanks for the report Mike! It was a fun read.

I'm looking forward to the Ladies update!

[BBFG#]

Nice report. I didn't get to go this year and had to leave my pass unused after a dog attack left me trying to get my leg working again. So it was nice to have these type of resources to at least keep some type of 'foot in the door'. Thank you!

[asnor]

Great report Mike.

By the way; what is the "composer" look? Is it like film directors with their ubiquitous ball-cap and beard? Wait--that's pretty much everybody these days.

[Mike Greene]

Great report Mike.

By the way; what is the "composer" look? Is it like film directors with their ubiquitous ball-cap and beard? Wait--that's pretty much everybody these days.

Probably no ballcap. Beard optional.

I'd say spotting a composer is mostly about spotting what makes someone *not* look like a composer. First, he's not dressed like he's pretending to be a rock star or in some other "Look at me!" getup. He's also not carrying around a bag full of free goodies he's been collecting at all the other booths. He doesn't have his wife or girlfriend with him. Not because he doesn't have one, but because . . . why the heck would you bring a girlfriend to NAMM? (Unless she's also a musician, of course.)

This guy (or woman) definitely has a confident look to them. They probably breathe through their nose. And they say intelligent things like, "Wow, this Realitone stuff is amazing!"