Sunday Synth Jams: This video captures the savage percussive noise assault of Cartier Santos Sweet Lady, live at Make:Tokyo Meeting 04.

Fluorescent Lamp controlled with

• /I/F GAINER
• /Finger move
• /Hand move
• /Voice volume

If you happened to be at this show – leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it!

via omnibotoom

Open Labs has introduced SoundSlate, what they call “the ultimate virtual instrument player” and hardware DAW for your keyboard workstation or MIDI controller.

SoundSlate puts Open Labs’ music operating environment, including the virtual instrument host Riff, 8000+ of sounds and effects, a robust audio i/o, and a powerful computer core running Windows XP, into a 1U-ultra compact case.

Features:

• Professional music production for the price of a laptop.
• 24-bit/ 192kHz A/D converters (same as Pro Tools HD 192 I/O interface).
• 8000+ preset sounds and effects
• Includes Cubase LE, Sonar LE, LIVE LE and more.

Open Labs SoundSlate packages start at $1,999.

SoundSlate Technical Specifications:

CPU
Intel® Core2 Duo ® (2.8GHz)

Memory
2 GB (upgradeable to 4GB)

Storage
500 Gigabyte (upgradeable to 2TB)

Drive
Slimline CD/DVD Burner

Connection
(8) USB 2.0 ports
(1) Gigabit (10/100/1000) Ethernet port
(2) DVI Video ports (1 DVI-I, 1 DVI-D)
(1) E-SATA port

Audio
Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz from internal crystal or externally supplied clock (no sample rate conversion)
Bit Depths: 24-bit I/O, 32-bit processing
E-MU E-DSP™ 32-bit DSP with 67-bit accumulator (double precision w/ 3 headroom bits)
Hardware-accelerated, 32-channel mixing, and multi-effects processing
Zero-latency direct hardware monitoring w/effects
ASIO 2.0, WDM/MME/DirectSound Drivers
EDI (E-MU Digital Interface) proprietary 64-channel audio link over CAT-5 cable
Anti-Pop speaker protection minimizes noise during power on/off
Ultra-low jitter, clock subsystem: < 1 ns in PLL mode (44.1kHz, Opt. S/PDIF Sync)

Analog Line Inputs (2)
Type: servo-balanced, DC-coupled, low-noise input circuitry
A/D converter: AK5394A
Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)
Frequency Response (20Hz – 20kHz): +/- .05dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -110dB (.0003%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -115dB

Analog Line Outputs (2)
Type: Balanced, low-noise, 3-pole low-pass differential filter
D/A converter: CS4398
Level (software selectable):
- Professional: +4dBu nominal, 20dBu max (balanced)
- Consumer: -10dBV nominal, 6dBV max (unbalanced)
Frequency Response (20Hz – 20kHz): + 0.0/-.35dB,
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 120dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 120dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -105dB (.0006%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): < -115dB

Digital I/O
S/PDIF:
- 2 in/2 out coaxial (transformer coupled)
- 2 in/2 out optical (software switched at ADAT)
- AES/EBU or S/PDIF format (software selectable)
ADAT:
- 8 channels, 24-bit @ 44.1/48kHz
- 4 channels, 24-bit @ 96kHz (S-MUX compatible)
- 2 channels, 24-bit @ 192kHz
MIDI:
- 1 in, 1 out

Synchronization
Internal crystal sync at 44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz
External sample rate sync via
- ADAT (44.1 – 192kHz)
- S/PDIF (opt. or coax 44.1 – 96kHz)

Power Supply
250 Watt Power Supply, Whisper Quiet Cooling Fans (Internal Chassis, Processor & Power Supply)

Dimensions:
19”(W) X 12”(D) X 1U(H)

via GearJunkies

Sunday Synth Jams: Edison’s latest jam:

• all one shot sounds…
• no loops running….
• 64 buttons
• 64 noises….
• shot on 2 HD cameras, 720p, 1 live take…..
• with audio captured right to camera…..

Check out Edison on Myspace.

Sunday Synth Jams: This synth music jam is pure analog, with the Eminent and the Roland SH 3A, wih Roland DEP 5 & Electro-Harmonix Small Stone phaser added for effect.

via magevers

This is a demo for Drawdio – a pencil that lets you “draw” instruments.

While creator Jay Silver compares it to a theremin, it’s closer to a Tannerin or Electro-Theremin.

via wakeupsilver:

Imagine you could draw musical instruments on normal paper with any pencil (cheap circuit thumb-tacked on) and then play them with your finger. The Drawdio circuit-craft lets you MacGuyver your everyday objects into musical instruments: paintbrushes, macaroni, trees, grandpa, even the kitchen sink…

One day I bought a “harmonium” kit at the street market in Bangalore. I hacksawed the keyboard off to make the first ever Drawdio circuit. We played with it at a local school in the slums using plants, water, our foreheads, etc. My friend told me graphite would work too. Meditating on it, I realized the Drawdio circuit should be literally attached to a pencil to “draw audio,” and that’s where the name came from: Draw + Audio.

DIY: Make it. Remix it. Play it.

See http://drawdio.com

DJTechTools has just announced a new MIDI controller inspired by classic video game systems, MidiFighter.

MidiFighter is an ready-to-assemble MIDI controller that features 16 game-style buttons and 16 programmable LEDs. It can be customized and expanded, too.

MidiFighter MIDI Controller Details:

• Release Date: November 30th
• Price: TBA
• Plug and Play compatible device compliant midi controller
• USB powered
• Must be assembled (no expertise required)
• 16 programable buttons
• 16 programable LEDS
• Expandable to 20 programmable buttons and 4 analogue controls
• Limited Edition 200 piece run in this configuration (black PCB with white LEDS)

This thing looks like it’s going to be pretty insanely fun.

MidiFighter is a DIY kit – but it’s not hardcore DIY – it’s funcore DIY:

The Midifighter kit comes in a flat box that can be personally assembled in 5 minutes. Entry level moders can select the arcade button colors they want when ordering and assemble the kit into a custom configuration that fits their personal style or mapping. The arcade buttons snap into place thanks to our hand made clips that require zero soldering. Just screw together the frame using a simple allen wrench, snap in the arcade buttons and your custom controller is assembled and finished.

The finished controller is plug and play with super high quality low latency drivers and will work with all midi compatible software.

Because it’s a kit, you can customize it. Use color-coded buttons. Use the extra analog and digital input ports toadd mod wheels, joysticks, sliders and knobs. And if you want to get hardcore, the kit is totally open source so you can hack the firmware.

Pricing is TBA, but we should know soon, because they plan to release this November 30th.

Anybody interested? Leave a comment!

WTF?

In this KorgTV exclusive, Dr. Funk rocks the Korg Kaossilator, while Go Go Girl kisses the camera and plays air guitar.

The festivities are only marred by Inset Man’s unfortunate placement of the closeup camera shots.

via KORGTVGERMANY

Tom at Waveformless put together a fun post taking a look at going vintage on the cheap.

There are a number of really underrated synths that seem to go for consistently low prices. They’re awesome synths, but nobody seems to know about them, which means you can get a great deal.

Here’s the list of synths that he highlights:

1. Casio CZ-101 (typically less than $100)
2. Ensoniq ESQ-1 (typically $150-$300)
3. Moog (Realistic) Concertmate MG-1 (typically $100-$500)
4. Oberheim Matrix-6R (typically $150-$350+)
5. Roland HS-10/80 (typically $25-$100)
6. Roland HS-60 (typically $200+)
7. Roland MKS-7 (typically $200+)
8. Yamaha CS-01 (typically $150-$250)
9. Yamaha TX81Z (typically $50-$85)

See Tom’s post for his take on each of these synths.

Are these great synths? No – but you can get great deals on them and make some great sounds.

As an alternative to the Casio CZ-101, I’d recommend the CZ-1, which has twice the polyphony plus a velocity + aftertouch sensitive full-size keyboard. And is still dirt cheap.

Got other ideas for cheap vintage synths that don’t suck? Leave a comment!

This video demonstrates using Max For Live with a Wacom Tablet to control the Analog synth instrument in Ableton Live 8.

The “Wacom Theremin” offers a lot of expressive musical potential, with 5 degrees of control over the sound.

Details below.

via rerunnermusic:

The live.remote~ object passes data at many times the resolution of MIDI (one of the great things about the Wacom tablet and sample accurate modulation from MSP to Ableton Live using the API objects in Max for Live).

The Wacom tablet has 5 degrees of hi-res expressive freedom (see below for mappings). Very promising, this is just a quick little study… Cheers.

x axis = pitch (tempered)
y axis = volume
pen pressure =vibrato amount
tilt axis y = vibrato rate
tilt axis x = detune +/- semitone.

rishabhrajan demonstrates his MacGyver multitouch surface, with some general applications and then with a Flash version of Brian Eno’s Bloom ambient app.

Below, a “paper piano”, created with Community Core Vision, Pure Data and Logic Pro.

Do you think 2010 will be the year somebody packages this concept and turns it into a general music app?

Livid Instruments today announced the new Block NE, the Nova Musik Edition of the new Livid Block controller.

This version of the Block controller has a glossy black wood body, black anodized aluminum faceplate, and green LED’s. The Livid brand on the side has been replaced with the Nova Musik star, as it is available exclusively from Nova Musik.

It retails for $399.

Description:

Block is a compact and programmable MIDI control surface designed for interactive audio performance.

Built on the same bi-directional and adaptable platform as the Ohm64, Block provides a powerful interface for creating and interacting with sound in a small easy-to-transport body. Sixty four backlight led buttons provide endless possibilities for visual feedback with the instrument by connecting it to Ableton Live, Max/Msp, our open source sounds apps, or any other software that supports MIDI. The open source blockEditor application lets you reprogram any of the controller’s sixty four clip buttons, eight knobs, two faders, and seven function buttons. Block is hand crafted from lightweight wood and aluminum for easy portability.

This set of videos offers a visual introduction to Native Instruments’ Maschine 1.1.

Sunday Synth Jam: This video demonstrates jamming with the JazzMutant Lemur and Ableton Live.

It starts with a demo jam and then digs into the set up of the Lemur with Live.

via tonvibration:

playing a ableton live set with my current live control surface on the jazzmutant lemur.
(the soundquality is a little poor – sorry – next time i shouldn´t record it directly with the cam…. but it is only for demonstration purpose anyway…)
i talk a little about the controls at the end.

Tonewheels is an experiment in converting graphical imagery to sound, inspired by some of the pioneering 20th Century electronic music inventions.

In this three day workshop from 24-27 October 2009 in Bulgaria, participants built a simple light-to-sound converter and DC motor controller, and then began to experiment with drawing sounds onto transparent “tonewheels”. The workshop ended in a group performance and an invitation to the audience to try out the instruments for themselves.

Sound Textile experimentations at Modefabriken – umlautbrikauski “freaking out on the Textile Harp”.

This is obviously early on in development – but the idea of fabric synth controllers is intriguing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Bob Moog Foundation has created a calendar celebrating the rich history of the Moog Legacy through vintage photos, memorabilia, quotes and information taken directly from Bob’s archive.

The photos trace pivotal moments in Bob’s early career and highlight musicians and pioneers who inspired his work.

The calendar is $20 in the Foundation shop.

The calendar is comprised of five photos of Moog himself, taken from 1958-1974.

The remaining photos are of:

• Leon Theremin
• Vladimir Ussachevsky
• Herb Deutsch
• Keith Emerson
• Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause
• Isao Tomita
• Joel Chadabe
• Roger Powell

Throughout the calendar, Bob’s thoughts and philosophies about his work are shared.

The calendar was designed by graphics artist Rose Hecht in collaboration with the Bob Moog Foundaton.  Through her designs, Rose pays hommage to the original Moog modular synthesizer as the instrument that spawned an industry and radically changed the face of popular music. The background of every page touts panels of knobs and patchbays — images taken from photos of an early modular that was used in Moog’s shop in the 60s.

Moog Music as announced updates to its MP202 Multi-Pedal.

New features include:

• MIDI-to-CV conversion,
• Loopable Envelope Generators with four Envelope Shapes (Linear, Logarithmic, Exponential and Complex)
• CV Lag
• CV Scaling and
• The ability to trigger Gates and MIDI events.

These new features add to the existing feature list including, MIDI Clock Sync, Tap Tempo, Programmable Heel and Toe Voltages, four LFOs, four Analog Control Voltage Outputs, MIDI and USB connectivity. Many of the original features, such as Quad Mode and Noise Generation also received significant enhancements.

MIDI to control voltage conversion is a cool new feature, letting the MP202 double as a four-channel MIDI-CV converter.

Promotion:

Moog Music is announcing a special promotion. From November 15, 2009 through December 31, 2009, the Multi-Pedal’s price will drop to $399 at participating US dealers and through the Moog website.

“The features in OS 2.0 take the Multi-Pedal to a whole new level” said Moog Music President, Mike Adams. “With four channels of MIDI-to-CV conversion, hooking the Multi-Pedal to a laptop sequencer gives you the flexibility and power of an analog step sequencer that can also communicate with MIDI gear.”

OS 2.0 is available as a free download for current Multi-Pedal users.

Earlier in the month, we brought you the news of the new Yamaha Tenori On Orange, aka the TRN-O.

The TRN-O is an entry-level version of the Tenori On, offering the same basic musical functionality, but using orange LEDs, stripping away the backlighting LEDs and using a basic white plastic case.

Yamaha has not officially announced the pricing for the new Tenori On Orange, but the pricing is reported to be £649 in the UK and $699 in the US.

Nobody seems to want to state the obvious on this, so I will. If these prices are correct, the Tenori On Orange looks like it’s $300 overpriced.

The Tenori On Orange doesn’t have the sex appeal of the original Tenori On.

It looks like Yamaha cheapened the materials and stripped away features to make the Tenori On Orange less expensive, rather than trying to design a new version that would meet the lower price point in an elegant way.

The market has also been flooded with matrix controllers in the last year. While most of them don’t have the minimal chic appeal of the Tenori On, they do have larger buttons and a more functional design. And, while the Tenori On is a matrix synth rather than just a matrix controller, many would consider the built-in synth capabilities limiting.

If Yamaha would introduce this at US $400, they’d have a device that could compete with things like the Novation LaunchPad or the Livid Ohm64 or the APC40.

The original Tenori On has never seemed to find its mojo, despite fawning coverage in both the music press and the general press. The Tenori On Orange at $699 isn’t going to fix that.

I’d like to see the original Tenori On priced at $699 and the Tenori On Orange priced at $399. At those prices, Yamaha could sell these en masse.

If the reported Tenori On Orange prices are correct, though, expect to see Yamaha announcing price cuts in a year.

What do you think? Does the Tenori On’s unique design justify its price? Or does Yamaha need to sharpen its pencil if they want to start selling these things?

via CDM, MusicRadar

The BT Visit London Awards 2009 opened this year at The Westfield Centre, London to the sound of a 10 piece Tenori-On Orchestra.

The event, to celebrate and award the best of the tourism industry in London, was opened in style. A  string quartet began playing Beethoven’s 5th against a back drop of images of London. As the piece built up, a 10 strong Tenori-On orchestra took over, turning Beethoven’s 5th into a disco tune a la Walter Murphy.

You can hear the Tenori-On Orchestra’s version of Beethoven’s 5th at the Yamaha site.

The Tenori-Ons were programmed by Sound Designer and Yamaha artist Marc01.

“Taking on such a monumental piece of music (Beethovan’s 5th), and adapting it for the Tenori-On was definitely an exciting and challenging project,” said Marco1. “The Tenori-On is a very inspirational tool – having the ability to program it in a very melodic way, and to suddenly switch to the more experimental layers such as Bounce and Random opened up a world of possibilities.”

“Having the luxury to use 10 Tenori-Ons meant that I could really experiment with multiple layers, effects and processing to take the Tenori-On way beyond peoples expectations of what it can do.”

If any readers made it to this performance, leave a comment!

Native Instruments has released Maschine 1.1, a free software update for its groove production studio.

The new version optimizes the workflow and increases the creative potential of Maschine through new MIDI I/O capabilities, support for the REX loop format, enhanced controller interaction, and more.

To allow producers to easily incorporate external gear into their Maschine projects, the new version adds MIDI I/O functionality. Hardware synthesizers and similar devices can now be controlled from the Maschine sequencer both through polyphonic tracks and from individual monophonic sounds within a Group, while a special “Batch Setup” function makes it easy to set up MIDI input configurations in existing projects. Maschine 1.1 also adds support for REX files, enabling users to include pre-sliced loops in their projects that sync to tempo automatically. Any pattern in Maschine can also be directly exported as an audio file into a host sequencer or other audio software through a convenient drag-and-drop feature.

Further enhancements in Maschine version 1.1 include additional slicing options, advanced scene triggering, new metronome and record count-in options, extended controller integration for parameter adjustment and file saving, and a wide range of minor optimizations.

The 1.1 update is now available as free download for all owners of Maschine.