The Most Hyped Music Gear of 2016

All of the press and hype surrounding the music gear industry follows a similar pattern every year. New products get announced at NAMM in January, unleashing a wave of buzz that ripples through forums and YouTube channels, and ultimately into shopping carts of websites like Reverb.com.

Smaller brands often release gear later in the year to less initial fanfare, building their reputations on merit rather than marketing. You see this a lot with boutique pedals and guitars where an off-the-cuff artist endorsement or a single demo video can do as much for a product's popularity as any trade show press release.

Here is a look back at both the big releases and sleeper hits that generated the most buzz in the music gear industry in 2016.

Korg Minilogue

The Korg Minilogue was easily the most talked-about synth at NAMM this year, and a steady stream of praise has followed since. Analog synths are as en vogue as ever, and this portable keyboard strikes a perfect target zone in the broader market. It's analog, but not too expensive. Highly tweakable, yet extremely approachable.

Korg understands the blossoming affordable analog market better than anyone and brings a unified vision of how to lower the barrier to entry for these machines. While it may not sound as juicy as vintage Juno or any modern Moog, the Minilogue represents a major step forward for Korg and claims a definite spot as the new entry point into the realm of analog synths. As a testament to how well the Minilogue is doing, Korg has a already announced a smaller follow-up – dubbed the Monologue – set for release next year.