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Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing & friends.

Day 182 — NAMM 2009
31-January-1972 (Montag–Mon.)


TRANSCRIPT

Day of lessons. Nothing new.


REFLECTIONS

1972. Normal life, lessons.

Since nothing happened in 1972, it is my pleasure to talk about 2009.

2009. NAMM 2009. Earlier this month, I made the annual trek to Annaheim, CA to attend the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show. Last year, in 2008, I reported on that show, just about the time I stopped blogging. This year’s NAMM was exciting, as always, and helped remind me to begin blogging again. Opening photo is of M-Audio’s Torq, DJ controller. DJ equipment and software was bigger than ever this year. My stepson Walter wants to be a DJ.

Here is a short list of always exciting things I enjoy to check up on.

• Vienna Symphonic Library. A great sound library. Presenter Paul Steinbauer, as always, gave a tremendous live demo of the library. This year’s presence was amplified by their new release of the long-awaited MIR project. The MIR presentation was impressive. More than a convolution reverb, MIR allows the positioning of orchestral instruments in an acoustic space. Nice. Very nice.



•TC Electronics. I always get a kick out of the live performers and demos at TC Electronics, specifically their Harmony-G and Harmony-M products that produce some great-sounding harmony vocals for both live performance and the studio. Always nice. Their performers are amazing. I was able to see Soren Andersen performing on guitar and Laura Clapp singing (pictured left) in action. I also remember an incredible singer that TC had at NAMM 2007, Bjarne Langhof. One day I would like to hire these guys to sing and produce my music.


• EastWest Sounds. Nick Phoenix is always presenting new sound-library products through EastWest Soundsonline and Quantum Leap. The competitor to VSL has, in his own right, great sound libraries with a different approach. Both companies are great. Top film and TV composers use both the VSL and EastWest sample libraries.

• And the many, many other products: DJ equipment, Sibelius and Finale notation software, Spectrasonics libraries, Digital Performer, M-Audio, Roland, Yamaha, Native Instruments, Garritan, and too many others to list. Acoustic instruments, electronics, audio systems, mics, and EVERYTHING. A great show. This lovely DJ, Barbara, from DJ-Tech Professional answered many of my questions on DJ equipment and software.

Life lessons in 2009. Life in 2009 is different than in 1972. In 2008 and 2009, the U.S. economy worsens, affecting the country, employment, and the world. All you can do is continue to do your best and survive as best you can.

Obama is the 44th President. We all know what happened this January 20. It was exciting to see Obama’s inauguration. Let’s wish him the best and hope that he can turn this economy around.

John

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Tags: 2009, NAMM, Vienna Symphonic Library, VSL, Paul Steinbauer, Laura Clapp, Obama, life lessons