You’ve seen the “top picks” lists elsewhere online for the NAMM show, that massive Californian convergence of musical instruments and music-making gear. Add together the knobs and faders from such lists, and you could probably build a synthesizer Death Star and destroy Daft Punk’s hidden Rebel base. Of course, you’d only have a marginally larger Death Star than the identical one you could have built from last year’s gear.

We’re doing things a little differently: picking out entirely random stuff that managed to reach for the sublime — including the sublimely absurd. Bad is better than boring. We’ve seen strange things that simply failed, or at least substantially creeped us out.

Now, those moments of victory, of supreme revelation, of –

Yeah, that’s Roger Linn, the LM-1 and former MPC designer without whom drum machines as we know them today wouldn’t exist, holding the “Drum Machines Have No Soul” bumper sticker he acquired. That’s why we were in Anaheim.

We’re still waiting on Barry Wood’s legendary NAMM Oddities, so we’ll focus on our own sense of the exceptional.

Other standout moments and products for reflection:

NAMM had plenty of new goodies, but what do we actually want to buy? Here’s Liz’s top pick (high on my list, as well). -PK

No, it’s not an advertising campaign for Ableton Live if that’s what you’re wondering. The Live-like logos that pop up onto your screen when you start using the Novation Nocturn controller actually represent the Nocturn’s various knobs, automatically mapped to whatever software you’re using at the time. It’s a heads-up, intuitive display that extends both the mouse and the controller itself. You can see the knob settings on screen, then use the mouse to navigate between the controller’s touch-sensitive knobs. If the Automap feature isn’t doing it for you, you can reassign any parameter or create a new MIDI map from scratch. Ed.: Novation says this functionality will soon be available on other Novation Automap gear, too, like my beloved ReMOTE SL keyboard. -PK

In terms of blinky appeal, each of the knobs are surrounded by LEDs that make it easier to see the knob’s position in a dark club.

What will it cost? A mere $100. On my wishlist, for sure.

Nocturn - The world’s first compact intelligent plug-in controller [Novation Music News -- and by "first", I think they mean the first of theirs, of course, or "intelligent" defined as their particular Automap feature]

Stay tuned for hands-on video with the Nocturn. And yes, the crossfader feels fantastic, especially for the price.

I’d like to thank the Academy . . . Yes, it’s that time of year when the entire global music press put their heads together to pick their favorite products. It’s a bit like an Editor’s Choice, only with all the editors. The results sometimes lack nuance, and I wouldn’t take them as product advice, but they’re always interesting. See the complete results, but here are some of the categories we care about:

Looking for gifts for others, or yourself? Or a way to drop hints about what you want? CDM is here to help. Next up for digital musicians ready to give and receive: music with a conscience, and books worth reading, many suitable as stocking stuffers.

Online exclusive: Kicking off this week’s guide to holiday gifts, Theresa Orlando joins us from Female Musician.com. Theresa’s site and studio help young female musicians like vocalist Ashley Jewdy (shown) hone their craft and digital studio skills.

Theresa brings us some of her favorite picks for musicians, including a book/video on breathing technique for singers, music lessons in Long Island, an inexpensive mic duo, mutable guitar cables that prevent pops and squeals, and iTunes music.

Readers sent in so many ideas for gifts that I’m still digging through them; watch today/tomorrow. But here’s the latest from some of CDM’s favorite sites. And if your favorite gifts didn’t make the cut, there’s still time to email me / hit comments.

Music thing Gift Guide (pictured): Just in case your wallet escaped the first time, Tom is back to do more damage with goodies from the blogosphere. Some of my favorites are quite affordable: t-shirts, Dubstation plug-in, and a pipe organ you can make out of paper.

Make’s Mostly-Under-$100 Gift Guide Our favorite DIY magazine weighs in on (mostly) affordable gifts. Of course, a Make subscription is a great idea, but be sure to ask for their suggested soldering iron so you can start building your own synths!

Gawker’s Gizmodo / Kotaku Gift Guide: Wild gadgets and gaming goodness. And, of course, my suggestion that people go get a music keyboard.

Got a gift guide of your own? Post it on your blog, and then send me a link; if I like it, I’ll update this list!

MIDI is still a reality of life for connecting all kinds of
instruments. The most compact MIDI adapters act basically like a
MIDI-to-USB cable, but many of those are 1-in / 1-out only and look
ugly as hell.

Romio from Reflex
is different: 1-In, 2-Out (for 32, count `em, channels), and it's
simply gorgeous, at least in the product shots. Bus-powered, compact,
plug-and-play. Can't wait to try one out. US$40, available now.