There was a lot going on for the MIDI Association at April NAMM 2023 so this is a part of the series of articles covering NAMM April 2023 MIDI Association events.
27 MIDI Association companies participated in the MIDI Showcase at the April NAMM show and it was certainly the center of technology innovation at the show.
Here are some photos and short summaries of MIDI Association booths at the show.
Amenote
AmeNote was founded by MIDI 2 Working Group Chair Mike Kent and OS API Working Group Chair, Michael Loh.
They were showing off the Protozoa USB MIDI 2.0 prototyping hardware which along with the MIDI Workbench software tool created by Andrew Mee, chair of the MIDI 2.0 prototyping working group has been the set of tools all MIDI Association and AMEI members have been using to prototype and test MIDI 2.0 implementations.
Apple OS and Google Android already have MIDI 2.0 integrated into their operating systems and AmeNote was featuring an beta version of the Open Source Windows MIDI 2.0 driver they are developing.
AmeNote will make ProtoZOA available to all non-member developers after the MIDI Association publishes the newest updates to eight MIDI 2.0 core specifications that were approved in late March. AMEI is reviewing the specification and when approved , the speciations will be made available to the all developers and the public. That specification release is expected in early June 2023 and then the MIDI Association plans to make much of the code on the MIDI Association GitHub that has been developed by the members available under a permissive MIT license so anyone can use it to make their own MIDI 2.0 products. The plan is also to make the MIDI Workbench available as well.
At the same time AmeNote intends to make the Protozoa available for purchase to any developers (even non- MIDI Association members).
Non-Member Developer Price:
Standard ProtoZOA hardware with permissive license to source code for USB MIDI 2.0, MIDI-CI, MIDI 1.0/2.0 Translation, Universal MIDI Packet, UMP Endpoint, Function Blocks, and more: $290.
With Ethernet expansion: $320.
With Ethernet expansion and display: $350.
Analog Devices
Analog Device had working prototypes of their newest A2B development boards with more professional features and showed an A2B expansion board for Yamaha mixers.
Audio Modeling
SWAM, the award-winning virtual instrument software that delivers realistic and expressive virtual acoustic instruments, has been updated to version 3.7.0.
SWAM v3.7.0 Updates:
- Added search bar for preset lists, making it easier to find and select presets.
- Added latency compensation, ensuring accurate timing in performances.
- Rearranged MIDI preset list for improved workflow.
- Microtuning control by keyswitches, allowing for more expressive performances with customized tunings.
- Apple Silicon support for AAX plugins, providing native compatibility with Apple’s latest hardware in combination with the latest version of Pro Tools.
- VST3 on Windows now organized as a bundle, in compliance with the latest VST SDK guidelines.
- Note out-of-range warning to prevent unintended playing of out-of-range notes.
- Improved Bow Noise, Attack Noise for mid and low dynamics, and Note Off Release for Solo Strings, enhancing the authenticity and expressiveness of the instruments.
- Accessibility improvements for visually impaired and blind users, making SWAM products more inclusive.
Camelot, the powerful live performance and studio software for managing virtual instruments and effects, has been updated to version 2.2.4.
Camelot v2.2.4 Updates:
- Added Yamaha CK Smart Map, expanding the compatibility with Yamaha keyboards.
- Show blacklisted plugins feature for better plugin management.
- Show progress bar when importing songs and setlists
- Bug fixes
Anshun Music Machines
Anshun Music Machines
ASM was showing off their new 2.0 firmware for the full Hydrasynth line of products.
New features include: Expanded memory to 8 banks (49, Desktop, Explorer only); NEW modulation source, VOICE MODULATOR; OSC Bit reducer; LFO quantizer; ENV quantizer; LFO Step Advance; Global FX bypass; Increased Vibrato resolution; New Sustain pedal options including Sostenuto; more LED options; Glissando in glide options; Arp Range goes to 6 octaves; Arp Step Offset parameter; more Rand/Init shortcuts (all STEP LFO steps, Wavescan waves, Voice mod offsets), Local On/Off saved, and more.
Bome Software
