Computer Hardware

The iPhone seems to becoming the new “because it was there” controller for Ableton Live.

Apple today updated iMac line with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and the most powerful graphics ever available in an iMac.
The iMac now includes faster processors with 6MB L2 cache and a faster 1066 MHz front-side bus across the entire line, and 2GB of memory standard in most models. The 24-inch iMac now […]

The Psychosynth project aims to create an interactive modular soft-synth inspired by the ideas of the Reactable.
Here’s how the Psychosynth creators describe their virtual instrument:
Our main goal is to create a free software alternative to allow newbies, developers and professionals explore new ways of making music. It is also important to build a comunity to […]

ThinkGeek has a cool customizable keyboard that looks like it would be great for rigging up a personalized music controller.
The Ergodex DX1 Input System was built with gamers in mind - it looks like it could be great music, too.
I’d be interested in trying this out, but there’s no mention of Mac support.
If you’ve got […]

Rain Recording has introduced a new Windows digital audio workstation, Solstice Spider Edition.
Rain’s new audio + gaming workstation includes an AMD Phenom 9000 Series quad-core processor, the ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series GPU, and the AMD 7-Series chipset.
“Rain has seen the convergence of our audio workstations for the purpose of not only music production, but […]

Andrew Fentem is a researched working on new interfaces for computer-human interaction. Many of these have potential in the area of music.

His interactive flooring system design was developed in collaboration with Peracolor for The Experimental House of Tomorrow.

He’s done a variety of work on electronic music instuments, especially in collaboration with Novation, including tactile instruments, […]

Apple today updated its MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook lines with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives and 2GB of memory standard in most models. In addition, MacBook Pro includes the latest NVIDIA graphics processors, now with up to 512MB of video memory, and Apple’s Multi-Touch trackpad, first introduced in MacBook […]

Bighead Electronics is selling a limited edition pre-modded C64, the Bent64 (eBay).
The system comes completely loaded Paul Slocum’s Cynthcart, a custom program which helps the heavily modded Commodore produce a wild cacophony of retro noise as you press keys on the keyboard.
It’s still fully functional as a standard C64, too, with the flip of a […]

Vision Systems Design, an engineering tech journal, has an interesting discussion on the technology behind the Reactable synthesizer interface.
The Reactable, developed by researchers at the Pompeu Fabra University, is a tangible interface for manipulating synth sounds built from an off-the-shelf camera, computer projector, PC, and a custom-built light-table.
The Reactable hardware is based on a translucent, […]

In 1955, RCA unveiled its Electronic Music Synthesizer, and a new era in the history of music began.
Developed at RCA’s David Sarnoff Research Center (near Princeton, NJ), it was the brainchild of Harry Olson and Herbert Belar. Olson was also the designer of a number of RCA’s microphones.
This huge and unwieldy system was controlled […]

 

 Music From The 1955 RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ramon Bostich (nortec) playing live Monome 256.
Instruments sampled:

TR-606
4ms Picogenerator
QMF Sherman Quad Modular Filter
EMS VCS3

At the Winter NAMM Show, Line 6 introduced the ToneCore DSP Developer Kit, a programmable stomp box effects development platform that lets anyone with a PC and an interest in Digital Signal Processing become a hardware effects developer and distributor.
For the first time, anyone with an interest in DSP software development can write, develop, test, […]

Winter NAMM Show Update: MOTU introduced the 828mk3 ($795), a cross-platform FireWire audio interface with on-board effects and mixing.
New features include a 32-bit floating point DSP for digital mixing and effects processing, more I/O, 192 kHz operation, true hi-Z guitar inputs, signal overload protection, digitally controlled analog input trims on all inputs, two banks of […]

Winter NAMM Show: Alesis introduced their USB Pro Drum Kit, which combines the Trigger|iO interface with drum kit controller hardware to give you a complete, computer-friendly electronic percussion kit.
Everything has a USB connector on it now - but this could be the biggest USB gadget ever.
All of the pads in the USB Pro Drum Kit […]

NAMM Update: Alesis intro’d the M1 Active 320 USB speaker system.
Features include:

USB 1.1 audio interface
16-Bit / 44.1-48 kHz recording and playback
Pro-grade 1/4″ plugs and standard RCA jacks
TRS headphone output
Two 1/4″ phone jack inputs
Stereo 1/8″ TRS mini-jack input
Stereo RCA inputs
1/8″ TS output to passive speaker
Switchable power supply
Magnetically shielded for safe placement near TV and computer monitors

M1 […]