Day two at NAMM all the time feels somewhat surreal. The noise in some way will get louder, the conversations get deeper, and also you begin to realise that the present is just not actually about merchandise in any respect. It’s about folks. It’s about concepts colliding. It’s in regards to the shared obsession that retains this trade shifting ahead.
From audio system and microphones to consoles, acoustics, plugins, and philosophy, day two was full of moments that jogged my memory why this trade nonetheless issues.
Eminence, Kristian Kohle, and the Karnivore
Speaking audio system with Eminence Speaker all the time feels grounding as a result of they nonetheless care deeply in regards to the fundamentals. Magnets, cones, voice coils, and the way a speaker behaves in entrance of a microphone, not simply the way it appears to be like on a spec sheet.
This one is private. Kristian Kohle of Kohle Audio Kult is my enterprise associate and an in depth good friend, and one of many sharpest trendy steel producers working at the moment. He understands brutal guitar tone within the room and, crucially, how that tone interprets as soon as it’s underneath a microscope in a dense combine.
After greater than sixty prototypes and in depth effective tuning in Kentucky, the Eminence Karnivore is formally out. Designed for contemporary steel and laborious rock, it delivers aggressive lows, chopping mids, and darkish, managed highs with out ever turning into brittle or undefined. It’s targeted, highly effective, and constructed to take a seat the place guitars really have to stay in a mixture.
From a recording standpoint, it’s instantly usable. A 57 on the fringe of the mud cap will get you shut quick. The low finish stays tight sufficient that you may usually resolve issues with mic placement quite than reaching for filters. Pair it with a darker ribbon and you’ve got depth, weight, and management with out combating the speaker.
Eminence Karnivore key specs 60W energy dealing with at 16 ohms 70Hz to five.2kHz frequency vary 98dB sensitivity 45oz ceramic magnet with 1.75 inch voice coil 12 inch design co engineered with Kristian Kohle for an aggressive, darkish tonal character
It’s trendy, intentional, and constructed by individuals who perceive how data are literally made.
Chandler REDD Mixing System: Modular Pondering With out the Classic Complications
We went again to spend extra time with our good friend Wade at Chandler Restricted, as a result of the REDD Mixing System deserves greater than a floor degree dialog.
This isn’t a nostalgia venture. It’s a rethinking of how traditional EMI REDD tone can exist in trendy studios with out the bodily, monetary, and logistical compromises of enormous format classic consoles.
The system is constructed cassette by cassette. Every module accommodates mic pre and EQ, fader, routing, and connectivity, permitting customers to start out small and develop over time. No cranes, no strengthened flooring, no obligation to commit every part on day one. An eight channel TG primarily based system with a bus lands across the low thirty thousand greenback mark, which is outstanding given what you get.
The pedal integration is the place issues get genuinely artistic. Devoted pedal sends and returns enable guitar pedals to turn into a part of the console workflow quite than an afterthought. Distortion on snares, delays on vocals, modulation on buses, all managed correctly with achieve staging, polarity switching, and routing that is smart. Reamping is equally simple, turning hybrid workflows into one thing fluid quite than awkward.
Moist dry EQ on the bus, reamping paths, correct faders, and considerate grounding all level to a system designed by individuals who really combine data. Flexibility, longevity, and respect for actual world workflows are baked into each resolution.
AEA and the Ribbon Renaissance
AEA Ribbon Mics Inc had an enormous second this yr, taking residence two TEC Awards, an extended overdue recognition after a long time of quiet, uncompromising excellence.
Slightly than chasing traits, AEA continues to concentrate on fundamentals. Smaller ribbons for sooner transient response, thinner supplies for improved element, and trendy transformers that protect character whereas increasing versatility. Engineering in service of music, not advertising and marketing.
The newer compact stereo ribbon is an ideal instance. Lighter, sooner, extra digital camera pleasant, and each bit as musical as their bigger classics. The KU collection continues to remind engineers that ribbons are usually not darkish relics from the previous. On piano, vocals, guitar amps, and drums, they ship readability and immediacy that also catches folks off guard.
There was additionally a refreshing openness round group. Supporting different ribbon producers, sharing information, and rising the class collectively quite than competing in isolation. That mindset feels more and more uncommon, and more and more necessary.
Austrian Audio: Microphones That Let You Resolve
One of the vital spectacular drum targeted conversations on day two got here from Austrian Audio, whose philosophy round microphone design feels more and more uncommon. Slightly than pre shaping sounds or forcing a outcome, their instruments are constructed to deal with excessive SPL, stay clear, and let the engineer make the ultimate name.
On the centre of this method is the DMK1 drum microphone pack, a genuinely complete resolution that brings eight of Austrian Audio’s most trusted microphones collectively right into a single cohesive system. It’s presently the one drum mic package available on the market to incorporate three massive diaphragm condensers, delivering depth, element, and dimensionality you’ll usually solely obtain by assembling a locker piece by piece.
All the pieces arrives able to work. All clips, clamps, and windshields are included, neatly packed right into a rugged waterproof laborious case that makes the system as sensible for touring as it’s for studio use.
The OC B6 bass drum microphone units the tone. A big diaphragm condenser designed particularly for kick, it handles excessive SPL with out distortion and incorporates a rotating head that makes exact placement easy. There isn’t any baked in EQ right here, only a full vary, sincere seize that encourages choices by way of mic place quite than corrective processing.
On snare, the OD5 lively dynamic blends condenser like sensitivity with the toughness of a dynamic microphone. It’s quick to put, straightforward to regulate due to its swivel design, and equally comfy on aggressive hits or extra nuanced sources.
Toms are dealt with by three OC7 small diaphragm condensers, every that includes handmade Vienna capsules, onboard pads, and low reduce filters. They ship quick transient response, spectacular headroom, and a pure tone that stays composed even underneath heavy taking part in.
Hello hat duties fall to the CC8 SC supercardioid condenser, providing glorious off axis rejection and a easy, non harsh high finish that retains cymbals current with out dominating the package. Overheads are coated by a matched pair of OC18 massive diaphragm condensers, versatile sufficient for tight rock setups or extra open, ambient approaches, and exact sufficient for assured stereo work.
What ties the whole system collectively is restraint. Austrian Audio prioritises accuracy, headroom, and musicality over prompt character. These microphones don’t let you know what a drum package ought to sound like. They provide the data, then get out of the way in which.
Shure KSM: Trendy Design, Timeless Sound
Shure has been quietly setting recording requirements for many years, so once they select to revisit a flagship studio line, it’s price paying consideration. At NAMM 2026, Shure unveiled the brand new KSM condenser microphone vary, and it feels much less like a reinvention and extra like a cautious refinement of what already labored.
The up to date KSM line focuses on true to life seize, extremely low self noise, and a contemporary bodily design that feels at residence in at the moment’s studios with out chasing traits. The aim is readability with out sterility, element with out hype, and microphones that permit the supply communicate for itself.
Throughout the vary, the emphasis is on precision. Rigorously engineered capsules, glorious off axis management, and circuit updates that dramatically cut back noise ground all contribute to microphones that disappear as soon as the crimson mild is on.
The KSM32C sits on the clear finish of the spectrum, providing a easy, balanced response that works effortlessly on vocals, acoustic devices, drum overheads, and ensemble recording.
The KSM40C leans hotter, with a pure proximity impact and delicate excessive frequency elevate that provides intimacy and weight with out exaggeration.
On the prime quality, the KSM44MP provides severe flexibility. Its twin diaphragm, multi sample design delivers cardioid, omni, and determine of eight choices with glorious sample consistency and low frequency management.
What stands out instantly is the noise efficiency. The self noise is so low that it virtually disappears, one thing you discover immediately when monitoring quiet vocals or sparse acoustic performances. Mixed with considerate bodily design and premium equipment, the KSM line feels totally trendy with out dropping its roots.
Musik Hack: Candy EQ and Smarter Saturation
One in every of our favorite plugin builders of latest years, Musik Hack, was quietly exhibiting one thing genuinely sensible on the NAMM ground this yr. No hype, no gimmicks, only a clear reply to an issue most of us take care of each day.
Candy EQ is the third entry in Musik Hack’s rising line of time saving, resolution targeted plugins, following Grasp Plan and Gasoline. It’s designed to simplify saturation and tonal enhancement with out sacrificing musicality, and with out pulling you into limitless parameters.
As Sam Fischmann defined on the present ground, when most engineers attain for saturation they’re normally making an attempt to do one in all 4 issues. Sweeten the low finish. Add density and thickness. Convey out articulation. Or add air and pleasure. Candy EQ places all of that right into a single, targeted software.
The interface displays that pondering. 4 color coded controls handle Low, Density, Carry, and Excessive, with a pitch management that determines the place power is utilized. On bass, that pitch management helps you add weight with out smearing the low finish. On vocals, it could possibly add heft with out sacrificing readability.
The Calm management is the place Candy EQ actually separates itself. As an alternative of boosting highs after which combating harshness afterwards, it manages aggressive frequencies earlier than they turn into an issue. The result’s openness with out brittleness, and pleasure with out fatigue.
Candy EQ encourages dedication over limitless tweaking, which feels very a lot in line with the place trendy workflows are heading. Pricing was not ultimate on the time of writing, however fittingly, Candy EQ is ready to launch on Valentine’s Day.
This one positively caught our consideration.
Instruments, Plugins, and Moveable Creativity
Throughout the remainder of the ground, a transparent theme emerged. Instruments that simplify resolution making quite than complicate it. From compact cellular microphones and wi-fi methods to thoughtfully designed plugins and acoustics that look nearly as good as they work, usability was the frequent thread.
The emphasis was on serving to folks end work, not endlessly tweak it.
The Greater Image
Essentially the most significant takeaway from day two had nothing to do with gear. It was about group. About humility. About collaboration over competitors.
In a world more and more dominated by prompts, algorithms, and digital every part, these in individual moments matter greater than ever. Gear is only a software. Data is supposed to be shared.
One p.c right here, one p.c there. That’s how nice data get made. And that’s the reason we maintain coming again.
