Eight stunning products from NAMM 2016

The NAMM showcase was held in Anaheim, California again last weekend, the perfect place for tech heads to flock to and drool over forthcoming products. Last year's edition gave us loads to look forward to and this year was no different, with forthcoming goods from Pioneer, Roland, Yamaha, AKG, Korg and Rane. Check out our top picks below.

This looks like an absolute beast, so no surprise it's retailing for over £2000. Surely it's worth every penny, though, armed with a brand new Motion Control Synthesis Engine, bringing together two tone generators, the FM-X Synthesis and AWM2. The former provides you with a hefty dose of power while a 128-polyphony is available through the latter. Offering more sensitivity and realistic sounds, it's 10 times the waveform capacity of the Motif XF series that the company released previously. Plus there's the new Super Knob control, allowing you to manage various sections at the same time, and a massive range of effects, from squelchy synths to grand piano chords, giving you a whole range of tools to work with.
The Yamaha Montage is expected to be out in May

Arguably the most vaunted products on show at the California showcase, Tour1 features a fresh set of CDJs and a mixer said to be aimed at festival performances, hence the model name. Pioneer says the gear on show were prototypes, which is probably why we haven't seen any official snaps yet, but the ones we have seen look very slick indeed. Accompanying the CDJs are Rekordbox-friendly monitors and there's a tougher bumper on both the decks and mixer to reduce that unwanted mid-set shaking. Anyone who's used the NXS2000 range can expect similarities, though, albeit with a few tidy upgrades.
Release date tba

Miniature by size, but grand in results, this little beauty is perfect to make tunes on your travels. With a six-operator engine, it's firmly focused on frequency modulation and features a keyboard/step sequencer, an arpeggiator, an LFO and a 32-strong selection of presets that can be controlled via a rotary. Pattern Chain, Active Step and Motion Sequencing are just some of the performance features on the three-voice polyphonic instrument and Music Radar expects to be priced very modestly due to other Volcas only setting you back around £80 to £110.
Release date tba

We already knew the Eurorack SYSTEM-500 modular synth was coming, but Roland officially unveiled the set-up at NAMM. Confirmed back in November, the SYSTEM-500 contains the 512, 521, 530, 540 and 572 modules and apparently has "the classic character and playability of a vintage Roland modular synth, with all the advantages of a modern instrument." What that means is that it features a dual voltage controlled oscillator, a dual voltage controlled filter for frequency control, a dual voltage amp, attack, decay, sustain and release envelope sections and a five-stage phase shifter. As if that's not enough, the Bluetooth-enabled A-01 MIDI controller (pictured above) was also on show. Sleek and stylish, it works as an 8-bit synth, measuring at a similar size as the Roland Boutique range, and is fully compatible with the K-25m mini-keyboard. Oh, and it's able to control analog and modular gear, too.
The A-01 is due out on February at the price of $599 and the System-500 is out now

Got a spare $1,999 lying around? You'd hope so because that's what this tasty-looking two-channel rotary mixer will cost you. More compact than its predecessor, the MP2015, it's compatible with digital equipment thanks to a dual 16-channel USB soundcard and is rigged with a pair of phono preamps, a 24/dB octave main mix Isolator and three-way swept filters. The casing is all-steel, made by the same company that builds Boeing planes so it shouldn't too prone to any accidental damage when transporting it. 'Simplicity', 'reliability' and 'portability are three words Rane uses to describe it, adding that it's ideal for the "perfectionist DJ". Whether you're that or not, who wouldn't want this in their pad?
The Rane MP2014 will be released this year

Petite products seem to have been Korg's direction this year, with this MIDI series made up of the nanoKey Studio and nanoKontrol Studio. Users of Macs, PCs and iOS devices are able to use the controllers, wirelessly-enabled due to being powered by batteries. Those struggling to make use of the producing-focused nanoKey are given a helping hand through the illumination of recommended notes, while nanoKontrol is more mixing-orientated with a selection of faders and functions and a jog wheel. Productions software's included with both pieces of easily-transportable kit, too, and you can see both in action here.
Priced at £130 each, the nanoKontrol and nanoKey Studio will be released in April and May respectively

Divided into the XPRS12 and XPRS15 speakers and the XPRS215S dual 15-inch subwoofer, Pioneer's brand new audio range looks like it can cause some damage in the dance. "Sound quality is the most important aspect of the design," according to the company, something contributed to through Pioneer Pro Audio's 'AFAST technology'. This guarantees and clean, crisp sound and a bulit-in DSP, featuring four EQ modes, allows you to add that extra sheen to the sound. 2400W is the output of the Powersoft Class D amps, while 15-inch ferrite drivers in the sub are perfect to achieve that deadly low-end. Seeing as floor-shaking power is one of the main components, damage limitation is vital and this comes in the form of thermal limiters, DC offset removal and an AC mains protector. Bring on the bass.
Pioneer XPRS will be out in May this year

AKG couldn't settle on one pair, so the Austrian acoustic connoisseur decided to treat us with a triple gift. Producers and studio bods are the main target with the K52, K72 and K92 models, with the website stating they are all fitted with "professional-grade drivers so you can be confident your mix will translate accurately on any system". Despite a lightweight design, the K52s are said to be durable and ready for frequent use in the studio, the K72s provide frequencies from 16Hz to 20kHz through 40mm drivers and the gold-plated K92s ensure full-on isolation due to "closed-back design". Sound good? AKG had a few more words to champion the forthcoming cans: "Designed by the company whose mics and headphones have helped create some of the world's most iconic recordings, this durable line of headphones delivers great sound wherever your music takes you."
The AKG headphones range is on sale now

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter here