Knobcon 2022 Exhibitors Announced

Knobcon 2022: Organizers of Knobcon Number Ten have announced a list of the vendors that are planning to exhibit at the three day synth convention, being held September 9-11, 2022 in Chicagoland.

Vendors include:

1010 Music
4ms
ALM / Busy Circuits
Analogue Solutions
Artisan Electronic Instruments
Ashun Sound Machines
Bjooks
Black Corporation
Buchla USA
Catalyst Audio
Circuit Happy
Colebourne Development
Conductive Labs
Delptronics
Division 6
Dreadbox
Electronic Hardware Corp.
Elektron
Entropy & Sons
Five 12
Foxing Hour
Golden Shrimp Guild
Grove Audio
Hammond USA
IK Multimedia
Industrial Music Electronics
Isla Instruments
JoMoX
Kanawha Music and Art
KVGear
Low-Gain Electronics
Madisynths
KVGear
Metalphoto of Cincinnati
Michigan Synth Works
Midiverse Modular / MOD-squad
Modal Electronics
Modbap Modular
Modular for the Masses
Moffenzeef Modular
Mordax Systems
Muse Electronic Instruments
Music Equipment Concepts
New Systems Instruments
Noise Engineering
Novation
Pluton Modular
Polyend
Precision Graphics
Prism Circuits
PWM
Real Fake Knobs
RezinCraft
Rides in the Storm
Rogan Corporation
Schlappi Engineering
SetonixSynth
Sequential/Oberheim
Sonocurrent
STG Soundlabs
Studio Electronics
Synth City
Synthstrom Audible
Tangible Waves
Therevox
this.is.NOISE inc
Tidbit Audio
Ultraviolet Music Synthesizers
Vondle Synths
Weston Precision Audio
Wildwood Soundworks
WMD
XOR Electronics
Zlob Modular

Knobcon is a synthesizer convention that features performances, workshops and vendors. The event features live synth performances on Friday and Saturday nights, a synth banquet on Saturday, seminars, synth DIY sessions and more. The event is held just outside Chicago, Ill., at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg.

Tickets are available for $60 for the 3-day event.

15 thoughts on “Knobcon 2022 Exhibitors Announced

    1. Knobcon is strongly slanted to modular and boutique makers, and a lot of what goes on is social. Yamaha and Roland have large dealer networks and aggressively sell to chain store buyers, not a couple of guys who drove down from Madison for the weekend to check out the scene.

    2. Korg, Roland & Yamaha have all exhibited at Knobcon in the past.

      I think the reality is that they haven’t been able to introduce much in the way of new hardware in the last 2 years, because of the global parts shortage, so they don’t have anything to promote at events like this.

      Knobcon is always a blast for connecting with other synth freaks, but I wouldn’t expect there to be tons of new gear getting introduced.

        1. They made a big deal a couple years ago about how they weren’t going to exhibit at trade shows anymore and that they were doing this so that they could pass on more savings to customers.

          They even started mocking NAMM and doing announcements at the same time from ‘Banaheim’.

          They really don’t need trade shows, though, because almost all of their products are clones/knockoffs of something that’s well-known. Other companies want to show off stuff you haven’t seen before.

      1. I dunno, I never got the ‘modular is the main point’ vibe there. Every time I’ve gone it’s synthesizers of all shapes and sizes. Hell, one year I saw a Vo-96 demo there.

        1. I’m a committed non-modular guy and I always enjoy Knobcon. It’s about synths and the people that use them. Yes, a lot of the focus is on modular. But it’s by no means exclusively modular or overwhelmingly modular.

          Korg had a booth for most years, but it looks like they fell away since 2020. Yamaha had a booth at least once, possibly more than that. Roland had a booth several years.

          I’m happy to see that Sequential/Oberheim will be there. It was my dream that Mr. Smith (RIP) would one day make an appearance at Knobcon.

          Moog exhibited there a couple of times and even offered an exclusive sneak peak of the Mother-32 at Knobcon one year.

      2. I’ve been into synths for about 50 years now and “Modular” is probably the last thing that would come to my mind if I was to guess what a synthesizer event called “Knobcon” was all about.

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