The 2015 NAMM Show was the biggest NAMM Show in recent memory and it was probably the biggest year ever for electronic music gear.

There were dozens of new synths, amazing new sequencers, new instruments, powerful new software synthesizers and an overwhelming number of new Euro and large format synth modules at the Show.

Here’s our take on the Best of the 2015 NAMM Show. Check out our picks, and then leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!

 

Best New Polyphonic Synth(s) of NAMM 2015: Two New Classics Tie

After years of drought, it was raining synths at this year’s NAMM Show.

There were updated classics, like the Oberheim Two-Voice; powerful new synth workstations, like the new Korg Kronos; an interesting hyrbrid synthesizer n the Roland JD-Xi; a unique poly-timbral analog in the Akai Timbre Wolf; and powerful and affordable virtual analogs, like the Studiologic Sledge 2.0.

Two introductions, though, stood out among a crowded field of excellent new synthesizers:

• The Modal Electronics 002, above, is a gorgeous analog/digital hybrid polysynth that incorporates some interesting new ideas; and
• The Sequential Prophet 6, below – synthesists have been begging for new analog polyphonic synthesizers for years, and Dave Smith gave them exactly that – an update on the classic Prophet 5 that’s retro-inspired, but informed by Smith’s career in synth design.