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

This is a demo of the quite awesome and relatively inexpensive Stylophone Beatbox.

Stylophone Beatbox Features:

• Three new sounds: Beatbox, Percussion and Steel Drums
• Record Loop and Playback function
• Tempo Adjust
• Volume control
• MP3 function – play along to any music – includes two way adapter

Description:

The Stylophone pocket synthesizer steps into the future with the all retro classic instrument taking the next leap on the evolutionary ladder. The result is the rocking Stylophone Beatbox delivering the coolest sounds of the new millenium.

The Stylophone Beatbox is available for $25.50 at 100milligrams.

Stylophone II Beatbox with MC Zani

Features 3 all new exclusive sounds – beatbox with MC Zani, percusssion, and steel drums.

Also new is the record and scratch functions that allow you to playback loops of your work. Another feature is the tempo adjust switch for beat pitch control during loop playback.

The MP3 input feature means it is also possible to syncopate your scratches along with your favourite tracks. Plug in your device and lay down some dope style to your favourites.

Product Details

• For ages 7+
• Requires 3x AA batteries – not supplied
• Original features
• Packaging (approx) 27cm(W) x 15cm(D) x 6cm(H)
• Product (approx) 15.5cm(W) x 10cm(D) x 4cm(H)
• Headphone socket

via streetvalueltd:

Wordwide release – the new Stylophone Beatbox with MC Zani.

This is a quick audio demo of the first new Vako Orchestron title since 1975, Marimba.

Optigan.com is now taking pre-orders for this disc, which will retail for $99. The initial run will be limited to 25 copies, and they will require 15 pre-orders before going to press.

via peahix:

This is a recording of an acoustic marimba from the original Optigan/Orchestron master tapes. This particular sound never made it onto any Optigan or Orchestron disc… until now! P

lease note that my Orchestron is not in the greatest health, and I also live close to some radio towers that cause some pretty bad interference. Hum, buzz, radio intereference and the occasional scratchy key contact should be disregarded in your evaluation of the quality of the marimba sound.

“Minimalism” is sort of a generic working title. It’s very specifically and shamelessly Philip Glass Ensemble (circa late 70s / early 80s) style chord patterns. But I don’t want to call it “Philip Glass” for potential legal reasons.

Maybe I’ll call it something a little more clever like “MNMLSM” or “Half Full” or “Fill Up Glass” ok stop me before it’s too late… if anyone has any title suggestions, send ‘em my way!

This disc is intended to be more versatile than simply for churning out fake Glass riffs. Set at a slower speed, it can be used in a more ambient way, and I’ve specifically worked out the voicings and special effects tabs to allow for good sounding extended chords when you press more than one button (ie, Cmaj + Emin = Cmaj7). Also, the rhythms are varied enough that you can get some cool polyrhythmic effects, etc. At this point, the keyboard sound is going to be a solo female voice, singing vowels from the various solfege syllables.

The Optigan is a vintage sample playback keyboard that uses optical discs to generate sound.

The Korg MicroSampler may have only been announced a couple of weeks ago, but Sonic State’s Nick Batt has already run the MicroSampler through its paces.

His overview video, above, offers a good look at the hardware itself and how the MicroSampler works.

Batt says:

The microSAMPLER is not going to be a sampling workhorse for you if you require large string libraries or hours of storage, but as a simple loop replay device or maybe sound effects trigger for a theatre production, it could really fit the bill. Where the microSAMPLER’s strength lies is in the ability to quickly set up loops or phrases. With some careful planning and arrangement, I dont see why it couldn’t run the show, negating the need for a laptop – assuming you dont need to run a LOT of audio and backing vocals etc.

If you’re interested in the Korg MicroSampler, don’t miss Batt’s full review.

And if you’ve used the MicroSampler, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!

This is a video demo of the Simmons Digital ClapTrap, a digital sample playback percussion instrument.

via zibbybone:

Quick run though of a rare percussion synthezier.

Casper Electronic

This awful figurine from the SAW movies is actually a pretty cool 30 second sample/playback module that’s easy to hack.

You can buy them here for $2 a pop from allelectronics.com. It’s almost worth the $2 just for the AAA batteries that come with it.

Horrible movie tie-in toys = bad.

Cheap electronics for hacking = good.

Sunday Synth Jam: This gorgeous a capella monome jam comes via Matthew Davidson:

I haven’t released anything a capella in over a decade. Solo multitrack a capella is one of those things you can’t perform live, which is one reason why I believe recorded music and live music are separate art forms. However, the idea of performing a polyphonic a capella piece live is still an interesting challenge. Of course, one can use delays or looper hardware, but I’ve often found the results lacking interesting compositional structure.

The recent Imogen Heap on David Letterman video got me thinking about performing an a capella piece in conjunction with a monome. The goal was to use just the monome and a microphone. No other gear or touching a computer is allowed. Also, no sequencers running backing tracks. This is somewhat of a challenge.

I recorded this as a two camera shoot – a Canon 5DmkII with a lens baby pointed at my head… well… the mic, and another video camera pointed at the monome so you can see what my hands are doing.

Davidson is always doing interesting work that’s experimental, but also sensually inviting – so make sure you check out his Vimeo page and his blog, Stretta.

This is an official overview/intro video for the new Korg microSampler.

via KorgUSAVideos:

Introducing the microSAMPLER, from Korg. This dynamic, compact instrument extends the micro family with some of Korg’s most powerful sampling tools and effects, combined with 37 great-feeling Natural Touch mini-keys. Use the included power supply, or install 6 AA batteries for the ultimate in portable sampling.

For more information, please visit http://www.korg.com/microsampler .

Sneak Preview: This is a unofficial preview of the Korg microSampler.

See the video in the comments for a demo of the Korg microSampler in action.

Here are the unofficial specs (thanks Rich!):

• 37 key (Natural Touch Mini Keyboard with Velocity) \
• 8 user bank (A ~ H), 1 ROM bank
• 5 types of sampling (LOOP / ONE SHOT / GATE / AUTO NEXT / KEY GATE)
• Sample rates of 48kHz – 24kHz – 12kHz – 6kHz
• Approximately 160 seconds per one bank (Mono / 48kHz sampling rate at 159.7 seconds)
• Up to 14 voice poly (stereo / mono regardless)
• 64,000 note sequencer (one per bank notes (16,000 notes max in one pattern))
• 96 ticks / quarter note resolution (real-time recording)
• MIDI IN, OUT and USB
• DC9V or alkaline 6 x AA batteries = giving 3 hours battery life approximately
• 516 (W) x 238 (D) x 65 (H) mm
• Weight of 1.9kg
• Software editor for Windows: Microsoft Windows XP SP3 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 or later Mac: Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Official specs and pricing aren’t available yet for the Korg microSampler – but it looks like it will be an interesting new sampling keyboard.

via FutureMusic

Roland has announced the SP-404SX, an update to the Roland SP-404.

The new model offers enhanced sound quality with 16-bit linear sampling, improved DSP effects, smooth FX switching, a more versatile pattern sequencer (with a new shuffle feature), and easier data management with SD-card compatibility.

SP-404SX features

• Sample anytime, anywhere with the built-in mic and battery power.
• 29 DSP effects, including filter, delay, unique voice effects, subsonic, and looper.
• 3 control knobs, 12 trigger pads, and Sub Pad for rapid repeat triggering.
• Seamless effects switching for smooth, perfect performance.
• Pattern sequencer with quantize mode and new shuffle feels.
• 1GB SD card included; expand sample storage up to 32GB with SDHC.
• Import audio files from computer, assign samples to pads with bundled software (Mac/PC).

Details below.

If you’ve used the Roland SP-404SX Performance Sampler, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Description:

The SP-404SX includes 29 DSP effects — including filter, delay, unique voice effects, subsonic, and looper — that switch seamlessly for a smooth performance. Twelve trigger pads, three control knobs, and a Sub Pad for rapid triggering allow DJs, musicians, and sound engineers to trigger samples and jingles and apply effects on the fly at the club, gig, or theater.

The built-in microphone, simple user interface, and optional battery operation enable recording with the SP-404SX anywhere inspiration strikes. It is also easy to import samples and utilize the high quality effects onboard for sound design or unique live performance purposes. The more versatile pattern sequencer now includes an improved quantize mode with new shuffle feel for intuitive, non-stop loop recording.

The SP-404SX will be available in October with an MSRP of $465.50.

The CC-1 can perform very complex algorithms and lots of them, with almost no latency. So yes, we are modelling the quirky hardware of the CMI. The sound of each CMI was subtly different, due to their analogue bits, so it won’t sound exactly like any one CMI, but lined up with a few CMIs you won’t be able to tell the difference.

The sound will be user selectable, to be like a series I,II,IIX, III etc. Or you can dig deeper and make it sound like nothing else.

One of the many nice things about the CC-1 is that it has no inherent bit width. “Normal” processors generally offer say 32 or 64 bit operations, where as the CC-1 can be configured to any number of bits. So if something works most effectively as 33 bits, so be it. And the bit widths can be mixed within the one signal path.

The “n” polyphony is achieved by “n” individual circuits set up in the FPGA working in parallel, as opposed to the software emulation model which is necessarily sequential. The channels can have different configurations is required; in any case there will be subtle coefficient differences between channels to reproduce the individuality of outputs that has often been cited.

How much polyphony? All we know at this time are the extremes – it will certainly be at least 16 like the original Series III but given that the Crystal Core when used in a DAW delivers up to 230 channels of mixing ALL of which have full processing (8 bands EQ, 3 stages Dynamics), you can safely assume a lot more than 16 will be possible.

Re pricing: yet to be finalised, but the choice to go with the CC-1 does come at a price. Although the CC-1 is not sold currently as a separate card (it would be no use without the software etc that goes with it), the retail price would be around the $5,000 mark. So you can do the sums, the CMI 30-A is not going to be price competitive with the mass-market synths which abound.

In case you’re wondering why anyone would get excited about a $5,000 recreation of a 25 year old synth, check out this video of Herbie Hancock jamming on the Fairlight CMI.

via Peter Vogel in the Fairlight User Group, via Failed Muso.

This is a video demo of a remastered Vako Orchestron disc, Solo French Horn.

It’s now available for pre-order for $99.

via peahix:

Now available for PRE-ORDER! The second of our newly remastered Orchestron discs, SOLO FRENCH HORN. As soon as we have 15 pre-orders, we’ll go to press and start shipping. It’s unlikely that there will be sufficient demand to do a second run of 25 of these discs, so your best bet is to buy as many of these as you need while you can! Any future additional copies will most likely be done as one-offs, which are twice as expensive to produce, and thus will cost twice as much.

PLEASE NOTE: This disc WILL NOT play properly in an Optigan! They WILL play, but the sounds will NOT be mapped correctly to the keyboard- they will be mapped mostly haphazardly across the chord buttons. Please don’t order this disc expecting to easily use it in an Optigan. In the future we will be porting the Orchestron sounds to the Optigan- please be patient!

This is not a simple photocopy of an original vintage Orchestron disc, it’s completely re-mastered and re-created from scratch, using the original sounds from the Orchestron master tapes. In other words, this disc won’t sound 100% exactly like the original discs in every tiny detail.

Specifically:

• Since there’s usually no way to precisely identify the exact 2-second excerpt that was originally used from each sustained note on the master tapes (some of which can be 8-10 seconds long), we’ve simply chosen 2-second excerpts that sounded good in our editing situation.
• Our French Horn disc has a little more low-end and a bit less upper-mids than the original. These can both be adjusted with EQ if you’re trying to precisely duplicate the overall tonality of the original discs.
• Our disc has a bit more white noise than the original, apparently an unavoidable result of the mastering process.
• The loop joints on our disc are very smooth and for the most part don’t pop/thud the way the originals do.
• We’ve staggered the loop joints evenly across the disc (instead of placing them all at 12 o’clock), so that no two notes hit their loop joint at the same time.
• Some of our discs may have very slight periodic crosstalk on some notes (mostly noticeable on higher notes), owing to miniscule variations in the center hole punching tolerance. Said crosstalk should be well within the acceptable limits that Orchestron users are accustomed to.

So, will our disc satisfy the absolute purist? Probably not, and we won’t attempt to argue otherwise. But despite the differences, to the more casual player our disc sounds very much like the original. We’re confident that you’ll love the sound and quality of this disc, but if you’re not totally satisfied, we’re happy to offer a 100% money-back guarantee. This is a labor of love for us, and we want to make sure you feel the love too!

Since the original discs came in plain white jackets, so will ours. We will be replicating the original printed paper sleeves- spelling/grammar errors and all.

Soon we will have all eight of the original Orchestron discs remastered, as well as a few brand new titles. Stay tuned!

This is a demo of the funky Casio SK-10 sampler/synthesizer, by Liz Luttinger.

The SK-10 offers 1.4 seconds of 8-bit sampling goodness, along with some eightiestastic drum beats and synth tones.

If you’ve used the Casio SK-10, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Casio SK-10 Features:

• 9.38 kHz sampling frequency
• 8 bit
• 1.4 seconds of sampling
• holds one sample
• 32 mini keys
• 13 envelope shapes
• portamento
• vibrato
• 11 drum patterns: disco, rock, pops, march, samba, bossa nova, rhumba, 4 beat, swing, slow rock, waltz
• additive synth section.
• 5 PCM tones: piano, brass ensemble, trumpet, synth drums, human voice
• 3 synth tones: flute, pipe organ, jazz organ
• Sequencer: 400 steps of polyphonic programming or 99 step chord sequence with and 198 steps each of two solo voices.
• Loses all sequence and sample memory when turned off.

Casio SK-10 Resources:

• Casio SK-10 resource site.
• Details circuit bending photos of a Casio SK-10
• Highly Liquid carries a MIDI retrofit for the Casio SK-10
• Video demo via zachknows

Here’s a little Sunday Synth Jam featuring some Native Instruments Reaktor and Maschine remix action.

via timexile:

A live mashup of this amazing 16bit tune using a patch I made in Reaktor using the Maschine controller from NI. FX on the pads and twisters, bar progress on the top 8 buttons, track section on the 8 buttons to the left of the pads.

This video looks at the Casio SK-1: Everyman’s Sampling Keyboard.

The SK-1 is a small sampling keyboard that was made by Casio in 1985. It has 32 mini keys, four-note polyphony, with a sampling bit depth of 8 bit PCM and a sample rate of 9.38 kHz, a built-in microphone and line level input for sampling, and an internal speaker. It also features a small number of four-note polyphonic preset analog and digital instrument voices, and a simple additive voice.

In the video, one man band Willis P. Jenkins demos the SK-1 and explains how he uses it in his music.

via gearwire

This is a demonstration of a kid-powered “Drum Panel/Synthesizer” for playgrounds:

“Buttons” are simple regions of plastic shaped in circles with vibration sensors. A wavelet analysis bank is used to separate “hits” in a specific location from random structural vibrations and hits that may have happened elsewhere.

It also has a cool voice/rhythm record mode. After the first demo of the voice record/ playback the unit runs out of juice. One gets anywhere from 45-seconds to 3 minutes depending on how the unit is used.

This is more of a sample playback device than a synth, but the hand-cranked kid-powered action is pretty sweet.

via emh203

Emulator II demonstration by Alan Wilder

via Turrican101:

Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode 1982-1995 Keyboarder) demonstrates the use of the Emulator II (French TV, around 1986)

Roland has announced version 2 of its JUNO-G workstation, available as a free download for owners of the original model.

The software upgrade adds user sampling and sample-pad triggering to the feature set, letting you expand your sound library. Using the external input, you can capture audio from a microphone, a CD/MP3 player, etc., and assign the recorded sound to a front-panel button where it can be triggered like a pad.

New Features

• User sampling and waveform editing now available with Version 2
• Stores up to 9,000 samples (user: 2,000, card: 7,000)
• Sample triggering from the six buttons below the LCD screen
• 12 samples can be assigned simultaneously to the buttons (6 samples x 2 groups)
• Version 2 available to all JUNO-G owners via free download!

If you’ve used version 2, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Features:

• Stunning “Fantom-X-quality” sound engine, 128-voice polyphony
• Audio/MIDI multitrack recorder with dedicated transport controls and mixer
• SRX Expansion slot for adding great new sounds
  • Wave Expansion Board SRX series
• Large, friendly display and front-panel controls
• Arpeggiator, Chord Memory, Rhythm Pattern, and multi-effects built in
• USB port for MIDI communication, AIFF/WAV file exchange, and data transfer
• PC Card slot (which accepts CompactFlash or SmartMedia cards via adapter)
• Cakewalk SONAR LE software CD-ROM bundled
• SONAR LE
• Invisible infrared D Beam controller

This is a demo of Gannon’s awesome DIY Speak ‘n’ Spell Rock Band DIY mashup, the Speak N Spellbinder.

Check it out and leave a comment with your thoughts!

via mimsey:

Circuit bent speak and spell. For more info go to http://www.mygannon.com