The most drool-worthy synthesizers, drum machines and effects from this year’s NAMM.

NAMM 2025 is still underway and we’re already a little overwhelmed. In a good way. Ever since the pandemic, NAMM was feeling a little like its time had come and gone. But this year the annual event has a markedly different vibe. NAMM is back! And so are the exciting new product announcements.

Although NAMM has a reputation for being guitar-centric, there’s plenty for us electronic music producers too, if you know where to look. Here are 10 of the best synths, drum machines, effects and software that we saw on the floor in Anaheim this year.

Korg multi/poly native

Korg debuted its new virtual analog synth multi/poly in fall of last year. Drawing inspiration from its classic early ‘80s Mono/Poly, the new multi/poly remakes it digitally and throws in the best of its recent synths, including Motion Sequencing 2.0 adapted from the wavestate and Kaoss Physics on a touchpad borrowed from the modwave.

Now the Japanese company has turned the synth engine into software. Available in plugin form, multi/poly native is a one-to-one port of the hardware, and you can even swap presets between hardware and software (should you own them both). multi/poly native will be available around the end of February from Korg. 

Find out more on the Korg site.

Polyend Step

Not strictly a NAMM release, Polyend is showing its new drum machine at Buchla & Friends, the synth-focused NAMM alternative up the road from Anaheim in Los Angeles. If you’re familiar with Polyend, then you’ll already know that this is a quality product with great sound. But what you might not expect is that it’s a drum machine in pedal form.

Aimed at live performers who need to trigger patterns with their feet, Step (get it?) is a sample-based drum machine with more than 200 kits, 350 preset rhythms, and space for more than 1000 of your own songs that you assemble from 16-step patterns. It’s also got four tracks for complex beats, punch-in effects, and more. It’s also fairly affordable. Polyend are sure to sell bucketloads of these.

Find out more on the Polyend site.

Dubreq Stylophone CPM DF-8

Someone over at Stylophone must be trying to shake up the company’s image beyond the little stylus toy keyboard. Last year, the Venerable company released a theremin version of the Stylophone, and now they’ve entered the Eurorack realm with its Compact Portable Modular (CPM) line.

The latest in the standalone/Eurorack-ready series is CPM DF-8, a dual filter unit that sounds way better than it has any right to. With two multimode filters, each switchable between two circuits and everything from lowpass to notch, plus two ADSR envelopes, a number of different trigger options, sample & hold and a dirty delay, it’s got a lot going for it. You can use it on its own thanks to its highly resonant filters and white noise generator, pair it with the CPM DS-2 drone module, or drop it into a Eurorack case.

Find out more on the Stylophone site.

Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control

One of the more exciting new synthesizer companies as of late is Melbourne Instruments, who hit on the genius idea of using drone motors to control potentiometers on synthesizers. The company’s Nina and Delia instruments are both excellent. Now Melbourne has taken their tech to the next logical step: a MIDI controller.

Called Roto-Controller, the slim, desktop MIDI controller has eight motorized (and touch-sensitive) knobs, user-definable haptics, high-res screens for every control, and enough internal memory for 16,000 assignments. It also plays very well with Ableton Live, with dedicated Mix and Plugin modes for seamless connectivity of the DAW.

Find out more on the Melbourne Instruments site.

Walrus Audio Qi Etherealizer

Plugin effects are convenient, to be sure, but sometimes you just want to run stuff through a physical box covered in knobs and tweak out. Stomp box merchants Walrus Audio makes guitar pedals but there’s nothing that says you can’t run synths or other electronic instruments through them. Their latest, Qi Etherealizer, is ambient music in a physical device and just what you need for your next chill-out session.

A multi-effect pedal, it has chorus, delay, reverb and granular effects, with each effect available separately, all together, or in parallel or serial. It has plenty of hands-on control as well as MIDI for program changes and memory to save your own patches. And yes, it sounds massive.

Find out more on the Walrus Audio site.

Behringer BX1

It’s just a prototype but it’s already one of the most-anticipated new synths of the year. The Behringer BX1 is an unholy melding of two classic Yamaha synths, the DX1 and CS-80. If you know what those letters and numbers mean, then you’re probably already foaming at the mouth. 

It starts with a DX7 FM sound engine. Or rather, two of them, for a total of 32 voices of polyphony. Next, that runs through analog filters, envelopes and LFOs from the CS-80, Vangelis’ synth of choice. Finally, Behringer gives us an effects section and the ability to switch between 12-bit and 16-bit DACs. Die-hard purists may hate that it’s not 100% digital but hybrid is all the rage right now, and judging by the demos going around, it sounds amazing.

Find out more on the Behringer site.

Bitwig Connect 4/12

Leave it to DAW upstarts Bitwig to reinvent the audio interface. Usually a set-it-and-forget-it thing, Bitwig has with the Connect4/12 made the audio interface into an interactive device for dealing with audio, MIDI and CV, and controlling your Bitwig DAW.

The big selling point is the two DC-coupled inputs and four outputs for CV (that can also handle audio if you need to expand your ins and outs). Around the back are six outputs, a line/instrument in and combo mic/instrument in, MIDI in and out, and USB for data and bus powering. You also get a big knob, buttons and transport controls for working in Bitwig. And small details, like the light display matching the color of the device you’re working on, showcase a thoughtful and well-designed piece of kit.

Find out more on the Bitwig site.

Donner Essential L1

Does the world need another SH-101 clone? If it’s analog and this cheap, why not? Budget manufacturer Donner showed its Essential L1, an SH-101-type mono synth module with a detachable magnetic keyboard (KB-32M) and the first in an upcoming line of such instruments.

The Essential L1 has a single 3340 VCO and 3109 lowpass filter, two velocity-sensitive envelopes and a synchronizable LFO. It also has a step sequencer, five arpeggiator modes and a Trigger Edit for pattern flourishes. It even has CV/gate like the original plus the non-traditional bonus of MIDI, both mini jack and USB. And it’s cheap as all get out. What’s not to love? In stock in May.

Find out more on the Donner site.

Akai Professional MPC 3

Reality is crumbling. Until now, beatmakers were either Team Akai or Team NI. Now that Native Instruments has announced that it’s working with Akai, everything that we thought we knew about the world is in question. Hyperbole aside, this is a pretty incredible announcement – for MPC users. Maschine owners are wondering what this means for the future of their devices but that’s a story for another day.

MPC 3, the latest version of the operating system for standalone MPC devices, now supports Native Instruments software. Currently, there’s the MPC Edition Play Series, with Analog Dream, Cloud Supply, and Nacht available now and Homage and Sway coming soon. You can now get MPC Expansions from NI too. Worlds are colliding and we’re here for it.

Find out more on the Akai Professional site.

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Author Adam Douglas
24th January, 2025

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