NAMM 2026: For those who wait - Sand, software and soundSand, software and sound

Interesting products are still streaming out from NAMM 2026.

Hammond XK-7/XK-7D organ

As teased, Hammond Suzuki have a new top-of-the-line flagship — the XK-7D.

Multi-contact keyboard (6 physical contacts below each key)
New XPK-250W mk3 pedal board (3 contact system)
Four sets of harmonic drawbars
Touch response percussion with vintage response
Updated Leslie speaker models
Half-moon Leslie control switch
Enhanced combo organ division (Acetone, Farfisa, Vox)
Enhanced pipe organ division (Classical and Theatre)

Listening to the demo, the XK-7D can get pretty snarly. Demo sounds nice although, when is the internal speaker sim engaged versus the external Leslie speaker? What’s live? What’s sim? Modeski will like the crazy effects.

Hammond XK-7D organ (NAMM 2026)

Tain’t cheap or light. The single manual XK-7 organ is $4,925 USD (39.6 pounds). The two manual XK-7D is $7,295 (68.3 pounds).

Casio sampler SXC1 (preview)

[Update] The Casio sampler has a name: SXC1.

Casio SXC1 sampler (NAMM 2026)

Casio are previewing a prototype stand-alone sampler. The sampler looks like a handheld retro game with a 4×4 matrix of playable pads. Preliminary specs:

Sixteen pads (selectable backlight color)
Two rotary dials
16 voices
Built-in sequencer
16-bit 48kHz sampling (WAV format)
64GByte internal memory
Ten banks with 16 samples per bank
1.3 inch OLED display
Built-in microphone
Built-in speaker
Audio input, main audio output, headphone socket
Two USB Type-C ports (one data, one power/data)
Battery power (AAA)

Nothing else known about it except having “classic Casio sounds” in the factory content.

JBL Bandbox Solo and Trio

Upfront, let me state, I am an AI skeptic. I’ve seen too much Silly-con Valley hype over five decades… However! AI-based stem separation does work.

Riding the hype wave, JBL have incorporated AI-based stem separation into the new JBL BandBox SOLO and JBL BandBox TRIO portable speakers. It’s a new take on vocal suppression, separating audio into vocal and instrumental stems, letting you dial the stems in or out during playback. Both models also offer digital effects.

JBL BandBox SOLO (NAMM 2026)

The JBL BandBox SOLO is essentially a little Bluetooth boom box with smarts. Whatcha get:

30 Watts
Single 2.25 inch full-range speaker, 73Hz to 20kHz (-6 dB)
Bluetooth and USB (type C) connectivity
60 second digital looper (with overdubbing)
Metronome, tuner
1/4″ input with MIC and guitar modes
3.5mm headphone output
Rechargeable Li-ion battery (6 hours playing time)
JBL One app control
4.25″ H x 8.31″ W x 3.07″ D
1.72 pounds

The JBL BandBox SOLO streets at $250 USD.

I’ve successfully used small Bluetooth speakers like the Bose SoundLink Color II as throw-in-the-bag personal monitors. It’s difficult to get a non-boxy speaker this small, however, so we will need to wait, see and hear. EQ presets (Musician Type) are Singing Guitarist, Guitarist and Singer — no “Keyboardist” and, thus, I’m nervous.

JBL BandBox TRIO (NAMM 2026)

The JBL BandBox TRIO is, of course, the bigger sibling.

Separates vocals, drums and guitar in real time
135 Watts
One 6.5″ woofer and two 1″ tweeters, 50Hz to 20kHz (-6 dB)
Four channel mixer
Top-mounted LCD display
Bluetooth and USB (type C) connectivity
60 second digital looper (with overdubbing)
Metronome, tuner
GTR 1/4″ input, two XLR-1/4″ combo, 1/8″ AUX input
3.5mm headphone and 1/4″ pass THRU outputs
Rechargeable Li-ion battery (10 hours playing time)
JBL One app control
10.43″ H x 13.54″ W x 8.98″ D
14.68 pounds

The JBL BandBox TRIO sells for $600 USD (MAP).

The TRIO is a serious beast. At almost 15 pounds, it’s a bruiser. Ain’t gonna sling this one into your gig bag. Still, one expects much better fidelity through its sound system than the super-portable SOLO.