Best of show: walk NAMM with us in a gear-mas gallery

Who stood out at this year’s NAMM show, that festivus of gear that brightens our winters from Anaheim? We’ve given you some idea with NAMM and LA’s Buchla & Friends. Here, in images, are our favorites from NAMM, as captured by LA photographer Mehdi Hassine and veteran Berlin hardware guru Gösta Wellmer.

CR-78, more BOSS pedals: Roland adds more software for this Mad World

More vintage Roland gear is bound for official plug-in versions. Here’s the surprise: the CR-78 gets the nicest, most detailed software rendition yet. We also round out those nice BOSS pedals. It could be just what you need for some extra classic Roland gear in the software rig.

Peter Kirn - January 21, 2026

Autodafe has an explainer on getting JE-8086 up and running

What’s your New Year’s Resolution? I mean, use more music software, obviously. Why, someone has some other goals? Let’s get you started with Autodafe, who posted a handy guide to getting up and running with the JE-8086 reverse-engineered emulation of the Roland JP-8000 (and I’ve updated that guide, too).

Peter Kirn - December 31, 2025

A free emulator of Roland JP-8000 and the love of supersaws and trance

Peter Kirn - December 30, 2025

Roland’s pedal concept uses AI to let you process everything with anything

Peter Kirn - November 12, 2025

What to know about the Roland TR-1000, from voices to slicing to samples

Peter Kirn - October 1, 2025

Roland is teasing something big, under “Tomorrow Returns”

Peter Kirn - September 25, 2025

Roland gear gone tiny in new Bandai capsule collection for Japan

Peter Kirn - August 8, 2025

Roland’s 808 Day: animated films, apparel collabs, patterns, parties, software deals

Peter Kirn - August 8, 2025

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