Electronic Music & Recording Gear

Back In Time Records has released several new sound libraries for the Alesis Fusion Workstation.
You can preview a couple of the new sound libraries below:

11 Titles Are Available

Fusion Presets by kpr
Fusion SYNTH Presets by kpr
Fusion ULTRA SYNTH Presets by kpr
Fusion ULTRA SYNTH II Presets by kpr
Fusion OTHERWORLD Presets by kpr
Fusion SAMPLES by kpr
Fusion SAMPLES [...]

Akai has announced that they are now shipping the MPC5000.
Akai’s MPC5000 is the first MPC to permit eight-track streaming hard disk recording for real-time capture of individual tracks or even entire songs. A 20-voice, three-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 PPQ resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous [...]

Jooris Benny has shared some great pictures of an ARP 2500 synthesizer.
The ARP 2500 is a synth classic, and it was the first synth I ever used, at the University of Kansas, before I could afford my own!
It uses a combination of patch chords and matrix switches to create connections. Each module’s panel has signal [...]

via Chip Collection: You can now place advance orders for Dave Smith & Roger Linn’s LinnDrum II drum machine.
There are two models: the all-digital “LinnDrum II”, available from Roger Linn Design and the “LinnDrum II Analog”, which adds four analog synth voices and 32 dual-function voicing knobs, available from Dave Smith Instruments.
Pricing is $1400 for [...]

Omer Yosha’s AirPiano is a new musical interface which lets you play and control software instruments by moving hands in the air.
Above the AirPiano is a virtual matrix of keys and faders, each assigned with MIDI messages and ready to be triggered. The length of a triggered note is equivalent to the time a [...]

This is insane, dangerous and, yes, awesome - the Mundo Piano Bike. It was a special project for Bicycle Music Festival:
Paul Freedman of Rock the Bike mounts a seat and instrument rack on a Mundo utility bicycle. Watch as Janaysa performs her song, London Bridges, on the back of the bike on its maiden voyage.
Very [...]

This video demos the string interface or “lasercello” invented by designer Jonas Ericsson/ No Picnic (SE) perfomed by Helene Berg.

What this track needs is a little sprechstimme, don’t you think?

via Peter Kirn

This video demos a cheap dub siren, made from a circuit bent sound generating keychain.
Full instructions at GetLoFi.com.

BoxBeat is a prototype toy that turns the surface of your desk into a beat making instrument.
It uses contact microphones to detect different sounds from the desk surface, and a simple software patch to trigger audio samples.
“I often find myself tapping away on my desk, and this is a fun and simple way to experiment [...]

This video demos the Tapehead Inspector - a sort of tangible sampler. 
Here’s the background on it, via Roy Mohan Shearer:
Inspired by the reversal of the name of a musical trio that I play in with Chris Croasdale and Mr. Jonnie Common. We’re really into tapes, and as Chris’ birthday was coming up Jonnie and I decided to make him [...]

2008 Summer NAMM Show: Roland announced the new GW-8 workstation, an entry-level arranger-workstation. 
Description:
The GW-8 features a wide variety of pre-programmed styles, focusing on the musical styles of South America and the southwest United States. Choose from four style variations for each song progression.
In addition to onboard styles, the GW-8 allows for seamless playback of MP3, .WAV, [...]

I’ve been skeptical about the Monome & Tenori-On as musical instruments, since they are basically a collection of on-off switches. 
This video, though, by Edison, challenges my preconceptions and offers a tempting preview of his upcoming album.
Should be very cool!
via Matthew Davidson 

Here’s something different - Andrew Benson’s battery-powered wrist synth, aka the Whisper Synth:
Here’s another video of the whisper synth in action. I tweaked the circuit a little bit to make the sound a little louder, and am using a 9v battery now with a 7805 regulator to power it. The little lithium coin cells didn’t [...]

2008 Summer NAMM Show: Mackie announced a new line of powered mixers — the PPM608, the PPM1008, and the PPM1012. 
“While they may be lightweight, the new Mackie PPMs deliver mad power,” said Gilbert Perales, Mackie product manager. “You won’t see smoke when driving dual S225 15″ towers from our mixer.”
Description:
A complete set of professional mixing tools [...]

Remember the Beavis Board DIY effect pedal kit?
The OpenStomp Coyote-1 is a similarly open-ended effects processor, except that it’s for digital effects. 
Coyote-1 is an open source audio effects processor, built for guitar players. But there’s no law that says guitar players get to have all the fun!
With the Coyote-1, users can develop custom audio effects [...]