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.

Free Music Software: The free audio looping application Mobius, available for Mac and PC, has been updated to version 1.4.

Changes in Mobius v1.4

• The following features were added:
  • PACMANS ARE BACK!
  • Shuffle now supports complex patterns in scripts
• The following bugs were fixed:
  • Threshold recording broken, could never stop recording
  • loopCount variable always returns zero
  • script lines ignored if they didn’t end with a newline
  • VST edit window not remembering the last location

Description:

Mobius is based on hardware devices such as the Echoplex Digital Pro and the Electrix Repeater, and moves beyond these in many powerful exciting ways. You can think of Mobius as 8 synchronized stereo hardware loopers with with the ability to copy loops and timing between them. Extensive MIDI and computer keyboard control is available. Audio content may be saved to and loaded from files.

Download here.

Free Mac Music Software: Sorry, Windows-based musicians, but this freebie is just for Mac & Linux users.

SooperLooper is a live looping sampler capable of immediate loop recording, overdubbing, multiplying, reversing and more. It allows for multiple simultaneous multi-channel loops limited only by your computer’s available memory.

The application is a standalone JACK client with an engine controllable via OSC and MIDI. It also includes a GUI which communicates with the engine via OSC (even over a network) for user-friendly control on a desktop. However, this kind of live performance looping tool is most effectively used via hardware (midi footpedals, etc) and the engine can be run standalone on a computer without a monitor.

SooperLooper is currently supported on Linux and Mac OS X, and any other platforms that support JACK. The Mac OS X package is usable with at least the 0.6 release of JACK OS X. Note that for OS X Tiger, you’ll need to get at least version 0.7 of JACK-OSX. A Mac OS X Audio Unit version is included which does not require JACK to run.

See the SooperLooper site for details.

BOSS has introduced a twin-pedal stompbox for performing vocalists, the VE-20 Vocal Performer.

Features:

• Specialized effects for vocalists, including Harmony, Double-Track, Dynamics, Reverb, Delay, and more
• Create the total of 3-part harmonies and layers
• Realtime pitch-correction tools
• Special FX, including Distortion, Radio and Strobe
• Phrase Looper with 38 seconds (mono) of recording time
• Phantom power for condenser microphones
• Runs on six AA-batteries or AC adaptor (PSA)
• Easy operation, road-tough BOSS construction

Description:

The VE-20 is designed for all types of vocal expression, including traditional singing, narration, and beat boxing. With the click of a footswitch, lush vocal doubling and harmonies, real-time pitch correction, delay, reverb, limiting, and special effects — such as Distortion, Robot, Chromatic, Radio, and Strobe — can be added. Layers and loops can also be created in real time with the onboard Phrase Looper.

With stereo XLR outputs, ¼” and XLR inputs, and a simple user interface, the VE-20 is perfect for serious live-performance or recording.

“More and more bands are incorporating vocal effects into their live and studio performances,” says Paul Youngblood, President of BOSS. “We’re pleased to bring high quality BOSS effects to vocal performers everywhere.”

The VE-20 will be available in November 2009.

Imogen Heap rocks the monome, looper, laptop and piano in a very tasty solo arrangement of First Train Home on David Letterman.

Update: via Matthew Davidson:

I was able to pull up a video on youtube, and see what I believed to be the characteristic blinking of polygome 64 (Davidson’s app) on a quadrant of the 256. This really made my day.

via LateNight2015

Mobius is a free program for the real-time creation and manipulation of audio loops.

Description:

Mobius has functionality based on the Echoplex Digital Pro with Loop IV software. It is not a complete emulation, but it does implement many of the Loop IV features, as well as a number of useful new features.

Mobius is essentially 8 synchronized stereo EDP’s, with the ability to copy loops and timing between them. Extensive MIDI and computer keyboard control is available. Audio content may be saved to and loaded from files.

Mobius runs under Windows XP SP2 or Vista. A beta version for Mac OSX 10.4 or higher is also available.

Installers are available on the Download page.

Dub FX doing a live beatbox and looper performance on the street in Bristol, UK.

via AaronRutlege

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.

The music in Fredo Viola’s Wood Smoke is a 3 minute edit of a 12 minute voice improvisation, created using 4 channels of infinite repeat.

The video was shot using a point-and-shoot camera at the very start of summer, just as the trees were flowering.

The final version of the video, which can be turned with a click of any of it’s panels, can be seen on theturn.tv

This is another demo of the Looper in Ableton Live 8.

via DubSpot

This video captures a demo of the new Looper in Ableton Live 8.

via nicoluminous

Robosquirt demonstrates Ableton Live 8’s Looper, using it to lay down a rhythm guitar track.

Using the overdub function and the FCB to switch between Guitar Rig presets, you can build layers and harmony on the fly.

Ableton lead clinician Huston Singletary shows how to use Live 8’s new Looper with a footswitch.

Guitarists, watch this movie!

via AbletonInc

If you’re not familiar with the Hang drum, it’s steel percussion instrument, similar in sound to a steel drum, that is typically played using the hands and fingers while it rests in the musician’s lap. It was developed in Switzerland in 2000 by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer. There are currently 5 generation models.

OddTunes: Hang is styled after a first generation Hang drum, in Aeolian tuning with a D3 central note and a A3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 tone loop. The eight notes are arranged in a ‘Tone Circle’ that zig-zag from low to high and are harmonically tuned around the low ‘Ding’ note in the center.

OddTunes:Hang adds some interesting features, beyond just replaying samples, including looping, roughly modelled after the Gibson / Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro.

Wired talks with Avant-garde cellist Zoe Keating who demonstrates her intricately layered loop-based compositions.

Keating has been described as a one woman string quartet. Keating uses live electronic sampling and looping to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures.

UK looping beatboxer Beardyman improvises a bit of 303 gabba.

via beardyman:

Be careful what you suggest, I suggest.

Beardyman improvises from suggestions from a small audience invited to bring their own props. Props.

Edit by mr_hopkinson

http://www.beardyman.co.uk

2009 NAMM Show

Based on our very preliminary first impressions – Version 8 looks like it will be a solid evolutionary upgrade of the popular sequencing app. Cool new features include a looper, new effects (including a vocoder) and a more powerful Operator synth. 

Check out the details and let us know what you think!

Here’s a rundown of what’s new in Ableton Live 8.

• New groove engine – Live 8’s new groove engine lets you apply groove patterns in real time, extract grooves from audio or MIDI sources, quantize audio and MIDI in real time. Live 8 also comes with a new groove library.
• New warping engine - Live 8 introduces a new, more direct way of working with warping and Warp Mode enhancements. You can now warp audio events by adjusting the events themselves on the timeline. Beats Mode has been updated, and there’s a new Complex Warp Mode. Plus you can slice audio files to MIDI tracks based on transients.
• Looper – The Ableton Looper effect offers you classic sound-on-sound looping, without the limitations of a hardware device. Looper is set up for remote operation, so you can record, overdub, undo and more without touching the computer.
• New effects – Ableon Live 8 includes five new effects: Vocoder, Multiband Dynamics, Overdrive, Limiter and Frequency Shifter. These effects cover all the well-known aspects of these devices, but really shine due to some innovative features and enhancements from the Ableton labs.
• Workflow enhancements - Version 8 makes Live easier with a number of requested enhancements and some usability work including real-time crossfades in the Arrangement View, enhanced MIDI editing, group tracks, a screen magnifier and more.

New in Ableton Suite 8

Suite 8 adds a powerful sampler, electric and acoustic drums, mallets, numerous sampled instruments: 10 instruments in all.

Here’s what’s new in Suite 8:

• World-class sound library – Ableton has put together a comprehensive tool set and, above all, a wide-ranging set of sounds.
• Collision - Collision is an instrument for creating mallet sounds and creative percussion. Co-developed with AAS, it uses physical modeling technology to reproduce real-world instruments such as xylophones, marimbas and glockenspiels, but also provides enough depth to create truly dramatic new instruments and sounds.
• Latin Percussion - Latin Percussion is a collection of acoustic percussion instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, claves, shakers, tambourines and bells from the worlds of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African music. It also comes with clips and grooves.
• More Operator - Operator has been given a major overhaul. New filter types, more modulation routing options and additive wavetable synthesis with drawable partials make Operator more powerful and flexible than ever.

Availability

Ableton Live 8 and Suite 8 are expected to ship in the second quarter of 2009. Collision and Latin Percussion will be available with the Live 8 release.

Pricing

• Ableton Suite 8 will be available for EUR 549/USD 699 (download). The boxed version will be priced at EUR 699/USD 849. 
• Ableton Live 8 will be EUR 349/USD 449 (download). The boxed version, including the Essential Instrument Collection 2, will sell at EUR 449/USD 549.
• Upgrades to Live 8/Suite 8 vary in price, depending on the Ableton products you already own. 

Collision and Latin Percussion 

• Collision will cost EUR 129/USD 159 and Latin Percussion will be EUR 79/USD 99.

A while back, we featured a video of Beardyman doing Monkey Jazz, noting that “he uses live looping technology to make synthesizers, drum machines and other musicians obsolete.”

This is a chance to see all the camera angles, unedited, from the original Monkey Jazz video sessions.

Monkey Jazz combines the talents of 2 times UK Beatbox Champion Beardyman [ http://www.beardyman.co.uk ]and master of the edit mr_hopkinson [ http://davidhopkinson.org ],

This is a one take performance by Beardyman using live looping technology, visually explained and augmented by mr_hopkinson’s edit and animation.

DigiTech has upgraded the JamMan Looper with a 1GB CompactFlash memory card – giving it over three hours of loop time and storage. 

Features include: 1/4″ instrument input, balanced XLR input, and stereo 1/8″ auxiliary input jacks. Guitars, bass, vocals and audio from MP3 players can be sampled, looped and overdubbed in one of 100 loop memories. Spice up your performance with audio clips, backing tracks or take it on the road as a one man performance.

The JamMan Looper/Phrase Sampler is available with an MSRP starting at $449.95.

Numerikart have released the MidiZoid Delay and MidiZoid Looper VST plug-ins for Windows.

MidiZoid Delay is a MIDI delay while MidiZoid Looper is a MIDI phrase looper. It records MIDI input for a specified amount of time and plays it indefinitely.

MidiZoid Delay Features:

• Host tempo sync.
• 1 to 16 repetition sync to tempo.
• Velocity curve for each delay.
• Pitch transpose for each delay.
• Fully automatable.

MidiZoid Looper Features:

• Host tempo sync.
• Up to 60 seconds per loop.
• Length of the loop is perfectly sync to host.
• No overlapping between MIDI notes.
• Overdub recording.
• 16 voice polyphonic.
• Velocity level.
• Time indicator.
• Visual metronome.
• Fully automatable.

MidiZoid Delay and MidiZoid Looper are available as VST instruments for Windows and come bundled together for €25.