Day One at NAMM is always a strange mix of reunion, overload, and genuine discovery. You walk in thinking you are there to look at gear, and you walk out reminded that this industry is really about people, long-term thinking, and tools that quietly earn their place in the studio.
This year, more than most, there was a clear theme running through the show. Not nostalgia. Not hype. Stewardship, refinement, and thoughtful evolution.
Wolff Audio: Console Thinking, Refined
One of the standout conversations of the day was with Paul Wolff at Wolff Audio. Paul has always approached design from a console-first mindset, and that philosophy runs through everything he is doing now.
The Wolff W1 is not a 500-series take on a console preamp. It is the console preamp. Lifted directly from Wolff Audio’s flagship desks, the W1 retains the same transformer topology, relay-controlled signal path, and gain structure. Its unusually low baseline gain allows you to track extremely loud sources without pads, while the dual-stage architecture gives you the option to lean into tone without losing control downstream.
Alongside it, the Wolff RefPre takes a very different, but equally thoughtful, approach. Designed specifically for ribbons and sources where you want absolute honesty, it offers impedance-aware gain staging that feels invisible in use. Transparent when you need it, supportive when you do not.
Then there is the Sunset Sound Tutti, inspired by the original Sunset Sound console modules, followed by the Sunset Sound 4-Channel Tutti, which brings that character into a scalable, modern workflow. These are not recreations for the sake of nostalgia. They are tools built for engineers who understand when colour matters and when it does not.
The ProPatch system quietly drew a lot of attention. Fully relay-based, with no electronics in the audio path, it offers instant, recallable routing without touching the sound. It is infrastructure done properly, not flashy, just deeply considered.
A Pultec Moment That Matters
One moment that genuinely meant something to me was seeing Pultec under Wolff Audio’s care. Pultec was owned by my good friend Steve Jackson, and I am truly excited to see it now with Paul, another great friend. That sense of continuity, of legacy being passed between people who actually care, felt like a perfect microcosm of the show as a whole.
SSL ORIGIN EVO: The 4K, Reimagined
Over at Solid State Logic, the unveiling of ORIGIN EVO felt like a long-awaited answer to a question engineers have been asking for years.
ORIGIN EVO builds directly on the foundations of SSL’s iconic 4000 Series, carrying forward the unmistakable E Series sound while integrating modern hybrid workflows. Where ORIGIN reignited the 4K lineage, EVO takes it further, delivering an in-line console with authentic E Series dynamics, the legendary 242 Black Knob EQ, and flexible PureDrive mic preamps that move from ultra-clean to driven character with ease.
Each channel features true RMS sidechain detection, original-spec Class-A VCA dynamics, fast gating, aggressive compression, and channel linking exactly as engineers remember. Add to that a high-headroom mix bus, an enhanced Bus Compressor with additional ratios and sidechain filtering, and advanced electronic routing that simplifies setup while improving reliability.
Available in 16- or 32-channel configurations, ORIGIN EVO’s modular centre section allows you to integrate UF8 or UF1 DAW control, 19-inch outboard, and custom workflows while staying firmly in the sweet spot. It is recognisably SSL, unmistakably E Series, and genuinely practical for modern hybrid studios.
Dirk Ulrich: Why This Move Really Matters
Another conversation that stayed with me throughout the day centred on Dirk Ulrich, and why his move from plugins back to hardware genuinely matters.
Most people know Dirk as the founder of Brainworx and Plugin Alliance, companies that reshaped professional audio software. What often gets missed is that plugins were never the destination. They were simply the route.
Before Brainworx, Dirk was a producer and engineer. His first product idea was an analogue mid-side EQ. Software became the fastest way to explore those ideas, and one thing led to another. In 2021, he sold both companies.
For many people, that would have been the end of the story.
For Dirk, it was the reset.
Today, Dirk owns Manley Labs and Apogee Electronics, bringing them together under a small holding structure called Rockforce. Not private equity. Not a faceless group. Same teams. Same locations. Same identities.
Manley remains hand-built in Chino, California. Transformers are still wound by hand. Units are assembled the way they always have been. There is no interest in turning Manley into a cheaper version of itself. At the same time, Dirk is introducing realistic ways for more engineers to access this level of hardware through rent-to-own models.
On the Apogee side, new hardware is already in development, focused squarely on how hybrid studios actually work now. Where these two worlds meet is where things become genuinely exciting.
It feels less like an acquisition, and much more like a continuation.
Monitoring That Actually Helps You Work
A genuinely useful discussion followed around monitoring with IK Multimedia, and in particular the iLoud Sub. This is not about adding more bass. It is about fixing monitoring from the bottom up.
The iLoud Sub delivers deep, controlled low end in one of the smallest footprints available, while simultaneously improving the performance of the satellite speakers it is paired with. What sets it apart is ARC X, which automatically calibrates the sub and any connected monitors to the room, regardless of brand.
The result is a monitoring environment that feels calmer and more trustworthy. Extension down to 25 Hz without mud. Kick drums lock in. Bass becomes defined rather than guessed. Mixes translate better everywhere.
It is not about more bass. It is about better bass.
Fender: Thinking End-to-End
One of the more enjoyable parts of Day One was spending time at Fender with my friend Matt Lange. As ever, it was less about standing still and more about talking ideas, workflows, and where music creation is actually heading. Fender’s presence made it clear they are thinking far beyond guitars on a wall.
A major part of that thinking is Fender Studio Pro, Fender’s recently launched, rebranded and evolved version of PreSonus Studio One Pro, now fully folded into Fender’s broader connected music ecosystem.
This is not a superficial rebrand. Fender Studio Pro represents a deliberate move to support musicians, producers, and engineers across the entire creative process. From the moment you pick up a guitar to the point where you are arranging, recording, and finishing a track, the software is designed to feel musically focused rather than technically intimidating.
At its core, Fender Studio Pro integrates Fender’s own amp and effects technology directly into the DAW. You get 39 guitar amps, 18 bass amps, and over 100 effects drawn from the Mustang and Rumble lines, all running natively inside the software. It removes friction between playing and recording.
AI-powered audio-to-note conversion allows guitar and bass performances to be translated into MIDI for editing and orchestration, alongside intelligent chord tools aimed squarely at songwriting rather than novelty. Workflow has also been refined, with a cleaner visual design, a Channel Overview for faster mixing decisions, and updated samplers including Sample One and Impact.
Crucially, Fender Studio Pro does not exist in isolation. It is designed to pair seamlessly with new Fender-branded hardware, including the Fender Quantum Series interfaces and Fender Motion controllers. The intent is clear, a coherent end-to-end environment where instruments, software, and hardware speak the same language.
Hanging out with Matt and seeing this ecosystem come together, it was obvious Fender is not trying to replace anyone’s workflow. They are trying to support it from the very first note.
Closing Thoughts
By the end of Day One at NAMM, a clear thread had emerged. The most compelling moments were not about novelty or volume. They were about clarity, trust, and long-term thinking.
From SSL evolving the 4K lineage with ORIGIN EVO, to Wolff Audio refining console thinking into modular tools that stay transparent when you need them, to Dirk Ulrich placing Manley and Apogee into genuinely caring hands, to IK Multimedia solving low-end monitoring properly, the goal was the same.
Remove friction. Preserve musical intent. Help engineers make better decisions faster.
And somewhere between all of that, from SSL to Wolff, IK to Manley, Apogee, Fender, and Elysia quietly reminding us how forward-thinking analogue should still feel, it was reassuring to be reminded why we fell in love with recording in the first place, careful listening, thoughtful tools, and the joy of making music properly.
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing.
