Musikmesse 2014: Best Of The Rest

Not much left to report from this year’s Musikmesse that we didn’t bring you already in our whirlwind tour around the halls this last few days, but here’s a roundup of the few things on our smartphones and in our inboxes that we’ve not got around to sharing yet. ‘Twas a relatively quite show coming so soon after NAMM, characterised by Pioneer’s continued quest to tick every box going for every possible type of DJ, and by Native Instruments’s notable lack of anything new. Can’t say much more other than the BPM Show in September is already looking mighty interesting, though…

Best of the Rest

Zomo Pioneer DJ Case

Zomo has come up with a smart idea, in this prototype that we snapped exclusively behind the scenes at NAMM. Due to come to market later in the year, it’s a “smart” hard case for two CDJs and a DJM mixer or similar, with built-in USB hub, audio cable routing, power sockets, and speaker sockets around the back, to keep everything ultra neat. Perfect for mobile DJs, it reminds me of the custom-build coffin cases of years gone by, and at a projected €399, should do well.

Thunderplugs Ear Protectors

Thunderplugs are neat little in-ear plugs that protect your ears, but maintain good sound quality. Our very own Terry wore them when auditioning at a very loud PA booth and was truly impressed with them. You can even wear them under headphones and be comfy. For about 10 bucks you get a pair of Thunderplugs in a nice aluminium case to protect them. We say a bargain for your ears.

Pioneer Hard Headphone Case

It was behind glass so we didn’t get to check out its build quality or anything like that, but this new hard headphone case from Pioneer is going to be on the Christmas list of those who’ve got an all-Pioneer set-up including a pair of Pioneer headphones, for sure. Looks well built enough with just enough design features to stand it out from similar cases, and of course Pioneer’s logo clear as day for all to admire.

Zomo Bluetooth HD2500s

We’ve yet to review the Zomo HD2500s, but we’ve heard good things, and the company showed us privately these: A Bluetooth version. Of course latency means you still need to wire them for DJing, but the idea is you use the supplied cable when you’re mixing, and can use them as Bluetooth headphones at other times, giving you the best of both worlds.

Analogue synth in a briefcase

Anyone who fondly remembers concocting ever-complex virtual instruments with tons of cables in Reason will like the look of this I’m sure. It’s a modular synth that we forgot to write down the name of (doh!) that looks like something James Bond might make music on. While I wouldn’t like to explain it through seciruty at an airport, it was definitely raising a smile with all who saw it at the show.

Vestax Spin 2 In Red

Vestax wasn’t the only manufacturer guilty of outing new colours of old products, but we actually quite liked this jolly red Spin 2, specially when paired with the copany’s similarly coloured headphones. Now, can we have some new products please? 😉

Finally…

So that’s it for another year, and that’s it for the shows till September for us. We’re on the way to the airport to get ready for the small matter of the launch of our brand new free pro DJ training video series this coming week! Thanks again to Terry and Chuck for their help in bringing Musikmesse 2014 to you – see you next year, Frankfurt.