My NAMM show wrapup is a little behind schedule....NAMM Wars graphic courtesy of Logo54.com.

Asked to grade this year's show on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate it a 5. Not much on the innovative product front, with one or two highly notable exceptions. Most offerings were basically rescaled versions of existing product lines - smaller, more compact audio gear, and upgraded internal hardware in last year's keyboards/modules.

One standout was this production desk (the one at the show is a prototype) crafted by Sterling Modular out of Boyertown, Penn. Among it's obvious features (for composers, especially) is the rollout Doepfer LMK4+ weighted controller, several square feet of desktop space, and an incredibly robust tri-beam base and frame. Another noteable feature is the LCD mounting system (pictured with 5 monitors) that I felt was a very clean implementation of the now-ubituitous multi monitor installs in studios. I thought this to be a very attractive studio furniture option.

I intend to contact Sterling Modular soon and see if they have any news or updates on the availability of this model. Definitely on the wishlist.

By far, however, the star of the show (IMHO), is The Lemur. Designed and built by Jazzmutant in Bordeaux, France, and distributed in the U.S. by cycling74 in San Francisco, The Lemur is hands-down the coolest toy since Transformers.

The Lemur looks like someone stole an Etch-a-Sketch from the set of Enterprise, which may account for its inherent appeal. It takes only ten or twenty seconds of fooling around with the control surface to begin imagining its many applications. Currently, I think the Lemur is best suited to live performers looking for a dynamic interface that's fun to play with. From a design standpoint, the Lemur is very clean, too. In addition to the main panel, there are only four other buttons required to make the most of The Lemur's facilities. For instance, one of the buttons accesses a menu of preset control screens so you can quickly switch to the configuration surface you want (between a transport interface and a synth/plugin control, for instance.) From thier website:

"And you're not forced to control the non-linear world of audio with 0 to 127. Objects can be attached to arbitrary mathematical expressions to transform your movements into ranges appropriate for what you're trying to control."

Bottom line: live performers will totally love the dynamic and interactive nature of the Lemur.

Another insanely cool feature is its open software architecture. The Lemur uses a standard called Open Sound Control (OSC) over 100T *ethernet*...yes, ethernet! (Pause for the possibilities of networked (or web enabled) control surfaces....mmmmm, tasty!) A few plugins/apps in the audio world already support OSC (NI's REAKTOR product, for example), but for those that don't, cycling74 provides a go-between application called JazzEditor (here's a handy tutorial on configuring objects and behaviors).

Speaking again to the open-standard and modular philosophy of The Lemur's design is the use of XML to describe objects and their behavior in the system. Because XML is a text-based open standard, its basic architecture creates a fertile environment for the development of third-party add-ons..one aspect of this product I think will give it serious leverage and longevity.

The Lemur does have a few drawbacks in its current form. The surface retains fingerprints extremely well, quickly reducing its clean look. I'd like to see a redesigned model with a different surface, and maybe a couple basic color options to boot. The Lemur lacks the ability to display running text on the control surface (say, timecode, for instance) or any custom graphics (think a control surface with your studio's logo present, or a screen that displays project information summaries). As with practically any new-adopter technology, it requires some relatively serious geek-skills to implement.

In spite of those minor complaints, I'm absolutely enamored with this thing. After playing with it at the show, I'm convinced The Lemur (or whatever clever copy makes its way to market) will become de-facto interfaces for hosts of devices and applications. I want two.