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At The 2023 NAMM Show, Nektar introduced Panorama CST Midi Controlller. With the Panorama CST MIDI controller, Nektar hopes to make music production a lot less about staring at a computer screen.

Relying on your mouse and computer screen for producing your music has never been ideal, but with the Panorama CST controller, Nektar might just be about to bring the fun back to mixing.

Yes, making music on a computer is as frustrating as it is astonishing. You have all that power, all of those tracks and instruments and you are often tweaking it all with a mouse and pointer. Someone once said it is like conducting an orchestra through a letterbox, and if they didn’t, we’ll take the credit.

MIDI controllers have come and gone, of course, but with the Panorama CST, Nektar looks like it has come up with a controller that is as intuitive as it is functional.

It is a channel strip controller, so focusses on the banks of effect you have loaded per channel, but can also navigate around your DAW’s tracks and control many of its features. CST uses automatic colour coding – Panorama mapping – to make its controls that bit more intuitive. Select a compressor, for example, and the ‘red’ colour associated with it will light up on the CST controls that can be used to tweak it.

Another neat feature is CST’s ability to make automation that bit easier, all via a single fader that enables you to switch the read and write automation in and out, and then add further parameter tweaks.

Panorama CST currently has Logic integration – as shown in the video – but Nektar plans to bring the same level of compatibility to all major DAWs, including Bitwig Studio, Ableton Live and more.

Panorama CST price and availability are TBA. You can head on over to Nektar website if you wish, but there’s no info there yet.

At The 2023 NAMM Show, Audiomovers introduced Inject Plugin. Audiomovers’ Inject plugin brings multi-device audio I/O to your DAW, and you won’t need to change the playback engine. Use it to record USB or iOS synths and to output to different monitor setups.

Switching between connected audio devices in your DAW inevitably means waiting for your computer to literally ‘work out the ins and outs’ of what you’re doing. However, Audiomovers’ Inject could put an end to this delay forever.

An increasing number of producers, podcasters and streamers are having to deal with multiple input and output devices, but selecting between them is usually a chore, and can disrupt your workflow. Get us with our first world audio issues.

Inject looks like it might make dealing with multiple devices that bit easier by completely bypassing the dreaded audio playback engine selection page. You choose which audio device to connect to your audio software, and you do this without going anywhere near the System Preferences menu.

Inject is a VST/AU/AAX Mac and PC plugin that communicates with your connected audio devices – interfaces, USB synths, iOS devices or any devices. Insert it on a track as an audio effect, select which one you want from a dropdown menu and you’re good to go. No need to unplug and replug devices, configure your DAW or do anything else.

“Inject lets creativity flow unimpeded by making it easy to introduce new sources into a DAW,” says Igor Maxymenko, Audiomovers’ Cofounder. “It’s the simple solution to a host of applications that were previously complicated or potentially time consuming to implement.”

Inject appears to act like a master audio driver and recorder, and one that enables audio routing between all connected audio devices and running audio applications.

Whatever, it could herald the end of one of the most frustrating parts of using a DAW for music. We often blame those seven seconds we have to wait – while our computer spins its processors looking for inputs – for our complete lack of musical output during a session. Inject is available for $149.99 but has a limited time introductory price of $99.99. More information are available at the Audiomovers website

Yamaha TC3 pianos introduced at The 2023 NAMM Show. Yamaha has expanded its range of TransAcoustic pianos with the launch of the TC3 uprights. Like other products in the TransAcoustic line-up, these promise to give you the sound and touch of an acoustic piano but also enable you to mute or control the volume using digital technology.

Yamaha first introduced the TransAcoustic piano concept back in 2014, but with the TC3, it’s adding the technology to its b series, JU109 and UJ1 compact upright pianos. The system works by attaching a transducer to the soundboard, and is designed for those times when you need to practise quietly.

The transducer used here has been developed specifically for uprights; it converts digital sound information into vibrations and delivers them to the soundboard. This in turn vibrates and joins the resonance of the strings to turn the entire piano into a resonator. Digital sound sources can be used to produce “natural acoustic sound” from the body of the piano, meaning it’s possible to control the volume when playing without the need for headphones.

Yamaha has also included its Articulation Sensor System. This places sensors under all 88 keys, and these communicate wirelessly with the piano to create what’s said to be a more natural playing experience.

On the sound front, Yamaha’s Grand Expression Modeling technology promises to deliver rich tonal variation by detecting the force and acceleration of the keystrokes and changing the audio output in real-time.

In another nod to modernity, the TC3 pianos also include Bluetooth audio and MIDI for syncing with apps such as the Yamaha Smart Pianist.

Prices and release dates for the TC3 pianos are still to be mentioned, but you can find out more on the Yamaha website.