Messe Redux...

It occurs to me that I could just re-post my MusicMesse comments from last year, and nobody would be the wiser. (Synopsis: cool little analog synth from Korg, and the rest of it is kinda whack.) But in the interests of thoroughness, I’ve gone through every press release so far, and here’s some interesting shit that might have got lost in the shuffle, since we’re all completely blinded by the awesomeness that is the Roland Jupiter 80.

Alesis Nano Verb 2: There is nothing really outstanding to say about the original Nano Verb. It is what it is. We’ve all had to use them at one time or another. They’re simple little workhorse units that does what it says on the tin, and you can get one on Craigslist for like $40. Alesis has finally revved that model with a Nano Verb 2 that uses exactly the same form factor, but jacks up the available algorithms considerably. I am absolutely certain that it’ll be worth the money, but if you wait a few years, it’ll really be worth the money, just like the first one. My opinion: Must Buy, in 2015.

Focusrite Control 2802: Like another British company, Focusrite is trying to come up with a marriage of a small high-quality analog console and a DAW controller. The 2802 is a little more analogue than its competitor, and almost certainly cheaper. Focusrite has been doing their damnedest in the last few years to dilute their brand in to meaninglessness via slapping it on every piece of worthless Chinese kit imaginable, but they can still make something pretty slick, given the desire. Although I assume this is also Chinese kit, seeing how “Made In The UK” isn’t plastered all over the marketing material. In fact, if you look closely at the high-res image of the backplane, under the Focusrite logo, it looks like a little Photoshop smudge tool was applied to the image, to ostensibly hide the “Made In China” text. My Opinion: I’ll skip it in lieu of American and European-made gear, of which there is no shortage, unless someone can prove to me it wasn’t made in China.

Kosmonaut: I don’t have any opinion about this one way or the other, but the Gearjunkies report provided me with a good chuckle. Note the last sentence before the picture, “[t]he user-friendly layout guarantees an exceptional playing experience.” Then look at the picture. I’m giggling again just typing that. Too funny.

I’ll amend this post if anything else catches my eye. Back to working on this plug-in UI that is fighting me every step of the way.