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!

This video, by Justonic, visually compares interval and chords in just intonation vs standard equal temperament.

Justonic has created a system that lets musicians play in just intonation chromatically by playing the root note on a MIDI tuning channel. Their software sends MIDI tuning messages to adapt your keyboard’s tuning to be optimal for the root note.

via NoiseForAirports

Developer Dan Nigrin has announced that his software Klee Sequencer is now available. The app, available for Mac and Windows, is a software version of the Klee step sequencer.

Features:

• MIDI output to any hardware or software synths
• Internal or MIDI clock control
• 10 preset slots for instant recall of parameters
• Presets can be saved to and loaded from disk
• Built-in clock divide capability
• Synchronous load – loading of pattern happens on clock pulses, and not in between
• Load on Play feature to allow for loading of pattern each time clock started
• MIDI-controllable baseline note
• Custom definable note range allows for alternative scales

Klee Sequencer retails for $40. 15% of the net proceeds go to support electro-music.com. A demo version is available.

Michael Una looks at using the $44.95 Highly Liquid MD24 MIDI decoder kit to control a handmade analog bass line sequencer and drum machine via Ableton Live.

This music video, Tenorance, features Yamaha Tenori On and Motif ES Rack.

Details below.

via Tonneman:

This song has been created by me using the Yamaha Tenori-On. I used the Tenori to create the layers (patterns) using score mode and random mode. A total of 8 different layers have been created. Once the layers were created, I used the Tenori to control the Yamaha Motif ES Rack to produce the sounds (8 parts). Obviously, the Motif ES Rack can produce much better sounds than the Tenori’s internal sound processor.Have fun!

Vestax has teamed up with software maker Algoriddim to produce Spin, a $249.95 entry-level all-in-one digital DJ controller that will be sold elusively in Apple stores throughout the US and Canada.

Features:

• Blend your voice into the mix through the integrated microphone input (microphone included)
• Seamless iTunes integration through djay software, allowing easy to mix, beat match, loops to effects for creating your perfect mix tape
• Simple plug-and-play setup
• Touch sensor jog wheel platters give high resolution to experience an analog feel when scratching and mixing
• Multi-channel audio system for high quality monitoring, master output and separate microphone input
• A compact and light DJ All-in-one system
• Seamless iTunes integration
• Easy-to-use drag and drop interface
• Automix and automatic tempo
• Beat detection, beat-matched looping and BPM-sync
• Auto-gain
• Sampler and visual cue points
• Live Microphone with pitch and echo effect
• Audio effects such as speed change, reverse, time-stretching, pitch-shifting and more
• Record mixes for podcasts, photo slide shows and mix tapes
• Export history of played songs as iTunes playlist or PDF
• Cover artwork on virtual vinyl
• Support for all major audio formats such as MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, Audio-CD and songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store

Technical specifications

• DJ USB Midi controller
• Touch sensor platters
• Headphone output
• Microphone input
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 14.0 x 9.5 x 1.5 in./35.6 x 24.1 x 3.8 cm
• Weight: 3.2 lbs./1.5 kg (Spin only)

System requirements

• Mac OS X v10.4 or later
• 1.8GHz or faster Intel processor
• 1GB of RAM

What’s in the box?

• Spin (DJ midi controller)
• Microphone with adapter
• USB cable
• djay 3 software with license key
• User manual (Set-up basic guide)
• 1/8- to 1/4-in. adapter for headphone or microphone

Official blurbage below.

Did you notice?

Spin—with its seamlessly integrated djay software—allows you to record your mixes as a high-quality audio file, for use in your latest podcast, movie, photo slide show or to make a classic “mix tape”.

Apple Recommends for…

Beginners and seasoned pros alike who want to mix tracks and playlists from iTunes on their Mac. Or iTunes users and music lovers who want to have fun with their music and explore the world of DJing.

Be your own DJ with iTunes

Spin and djay software let you easily mix all your favorite songs from iTunes. Simply drag and drop, and get creative with your own music.

Touch sensor jog wheels

High-resolution touch-sensitive jog wheels allow you to DJ like in analog mode from scratching to remixing.

Multi-channel audio system

Spin comes with high-quality sound for monitoring, master output and a separate mic input.

Compact and light

A travel friendly unit perfect for the Mac, it comes with a USB cable and djay software so you can DJ anywhere you want.

Perfectly match your music

djay’s on-the-fly beat and tempo detection allows you to easily match two songs for a perfect transition.

Find the right song

Preview and prepare the next song with headphones through Spin before playing it through the main speakers.

Automix your party

One click means hours of fun. Sit back and let Spin/djay mix your favorite iTunes playlists with seamless DJ-style transitions.

Scratch. Mix. Loop.

Discover the world of DJing. Use the featured buttons, jog wheel platters and faders to mix and scratch your songs. Every feature found on the Spin interface will allow you endless opportunities of creative DJing from loops to effects.

Record your mixes

Save your mix—for your latest podcast, movie or photo slide show, or to make a classic “mix tape.” Just push the REC button.

This is a demo of the Synthesis Technologies MOTM-650, a 2U wide, full-featured 4-channel MIDI-CV converter.

Features include:

• Voice allocations settable as four 1 voice, two 2 voice, or one 4 voice group – each voice group separately addressable via MIDI
• Voice assignment modes on a per voice configuration: Poly 1, Poly 1 steal, Poly 2, Poly 2 steal, Unison, Solo Unison, Solo, Solo Rotate.
• Dual arpeggiators, each arpeggiator assignable to any active voice group – one arpeggiator per voice group
• Arpeggiator clock sources – MIDI IN Clock, internal clock (60-238BPM weighted), or external
• Arpeggiator clock divisors /4, /3, /2, /1.5, 1X, 1.5X, 2X and 4X the clock rate
• Arpeggiator note order as up, down, up/down, and down/up
• Arpeggiator modes are normal, ordered, ping pong, and random
• Portamento – per voice group configurable as constant rate or constant time
• Each voice group is independently configurable
• Firmware updateable via MIDI (Windows and Mac OS 9 update utilities provided)
• All MOTM-650 options settable via MIDI CCs or MIDI System Exclusive commands as well as the front panel user interface
• MOTM-650 Settings and state are remembered across power cycles
• Patch storage for MOTM-650 settings (up to 32) – recallable via MIDI patch change command
• Microtuning per MIDI spec
• Pitch bend adjustable from +/- 0 to 24 to be added to note CV on all voices
• Each of 4 AUX outputs assignable to pitch bend, channel aftertouch, or any MIDI CC.
• Velocity jack on each voice can be configured to be velocity or a trigger – providing a 5ms pulse when the voice is retriggered
• LEDs to monitor MIDI IN activity, internal/external/MIDI clock, and voice gate operation
• 8X2 LCD with variable backlight and 4 buttons for the user interface
• External clock in jack
• Transmits MIDI clock if set to external or internal clock

The MOTM-650 retails for $499.

This is a sneak preview of the upcoming Klee software sequencer, by Defective Records Software.

The software is generating MIDI signals that are routed to Ableton Live, which has two software synths loaded up on two different MIDI channels.

via dnigrin:

More information about this upcoming software is available on electro-music.com. More information, including free demo, will be available soon at http://defectiverecords.com.

This is a quick look at amSynth, a Linux-based software synthesizer.

amSynth stands for Analogue Modeling SYNTHesizer.

It provides virtual analogue synthesis in the style of the classic Moog Minimoog/Roland Junos. It offers an easy-to-use interface and synth engine, while still creating varied sounds.

Features:

• two analogue-style audio oscillators, featuring:
  • sinusoidal, saw/triangle (with adjustable shape), square/pulse (with adjustable pulsewidth) waveforms
  • white noise with or without sample & hold
  • hard sync
  • of course, detune and range controls
• mixer section with ring modulation
• analogue-style low-pass filter
  • 24dB/octave curve
  • dedicated ADSR envelope
  • cutoff and resonance control
  • keyboard pitch tracking
• amplifier with dedicated ADSR envelope
• modulation LFO
  • up to 58Hz modulation
  • routable to all sections (pitch, filter, amplifier)
• Effects
  • High quality stereo reverb (freeverb)
  • Distortion/crunch
• Easy navigation and manipulation of presets

via metalx1000

This video looks at Zynaddsubfx, a Linux software synthesizer.

Features:

• Realtime synth
• Polyphonic synth (allows playing more than one note at once)
• Mutlitimbral synth (allows playing more than one instrument at once)
• Microtonal capabilities with any scale, up to 128 notes per octave, and key mapping
• Three synthesizer engines:
  1. “ADsynth” or “ADnote” is a complex engine which makes sounds by adding a number of voices. Each one has filters, envelopes, LFOs, morphing, modulation (Ring Modulation, Phase Modulation… the modulators can have any shape), resonance, etc. Each voice includes a very powerful waveform generator with up to 128 sine/non-sine harmonics. You can use Fourier synthesis or if you don’t like it you can wave-shaping/filtering of functions. This engine includes anti-aliasing.
  2. “SUBsynth” or “SUBnote” is a simple engine which makes sounds through subtraction of harmonics from white noise
  3. “PADsynth” or “PADnote” is engine that makes very beautiful pads and other instruments. (these instruments can be exported for use with other programs too)
• Legato, Poly, and Mono modes
• Instruments can be organized in kits, which allows you to make drum kits or layered(mixed) instruments; this makes possible to use more than one instrument for a single part. It is possible to choose what items from the kit should be processed by the Part’s effects.
• Effects:
  • Reverb, Echo, Chorus/Flange, Phaser, AlienWah (it’s a kind of vocal morpher), Distortion(Wave-shaping), EQ, DynamicFilter
  • The effects can behave as System Effects or as Insertion Effects; this allows to use many effects at the same time. You can put any insertion effect on any part(or more insertion effects to same parts, if you like so) or you can put the insertion effect to Master output (very useful if you use the EQ effect). Also, you can have instrument’s effect (which save with the instrument).
• Filters up to 60dB/octave (or more..); filters can be analogic (LPF,HPF, BPF,etc.), formant(advanced formant filters) and state variable (SVF)
• Envelopes can have ADSR (or ASR, etc..) modes or can be free modes (with any shape)
• Many settings have a “randomness” option, which you can make instruments that every time produces a subtle different sound; this produces a very pleasant effect (like analogue synths or natural instruments that can’t produces exactly same sound twice). Because of this, even if it is digital synthesis, it sounds “warm”. Listen the ogg vorbis demos from this page to hear this effect.
• The specifications can be easily changed, so (for example) if you want to change the number of voices or parts to a higher value or to allow a higher number of effects at the same time, there is necessary to change only a single value from the source file (globals.h) and to recompile the program
• Intuitive and easy to use User Interface with Clipboard and many objects has user presets
• Midi support (supports many controllers) and (if you want) JACK support
• A built-in Virtual Keyboard which let you to use it even if you don’t have a real midi keyboard
• The graphical user interface can be completely disabled if the user need so
• It is a free program, licensed under version 2 of the GNU General Public License
• LASH support
• DSSI audio output
• Over 300 high quality instruments included
• Many other features… It is is impossible to describe all this program’s features in just a page

via metalx1000:

http://filmsbykris.com/

This video, via Mark Gutierrez, is a quick demo of using Slice To MIDI for resequencing samples, in Ableton Live.

This video demos using the Akai APC40 like a monome:

Blinken Park on the APC40 sending midi through the IAC driver to Ableton Live 8. We don’t need no stinking Monome.

This video demonstrates how you can use Ableton Live to sequence effects on a Gibson Echoplex via MIDI.

via Ricky Graham

This video demos Stylophone music sequencing using a MIDI mod with Ableton Live.

This video demonstrates a DIY project to make a box to send MIDI continuous controller messages based on expression pedal input.

via hotchk155:

My reason for doing this was to drive the wah effect in Line6 GearBox (MIDI CC#4) using my M-Audio EX-P pedal. … since I have a Toneport UX2 it has no expression pedal input. Based around a battery powered homebrew Arduino clone built on stripboard.

Lavalamp as MIDI controller…

via hotchk155:

6 voltage-dividing pairs of light dependent resistors arranged round a standard lavalamp and read by analog inputs of Muduino (arduino clone) to generate semi-random streams of MIDI continuous controller messagesMIDI controllers then mapped to various controls in Propellerheads Reason.. just to see what happens really… Result is rather addictive and hypnotic… turn up the speakers, watch the lamp, turn into a zombie

A short demonstration of the MLGI (Multi- Laser Gestural Interface) designed by Meason Wiley at California Institute of the Arts.

Strap it on a dolphin, and you’d have a lethal weapon.

The Multi- Laser Gestural Interface is an open source and modular “free-gesture” controller that uses beams of laser light along with photo resistors to create a physical, fluid musical instrument.

With the MLGI, Wiley is attempting to bring a physical interactivity to electronic music performance. By removing the performer from behind the laptop, the audience becomes aware of the performer’s interaction with the controller, which creates an instant visual connection between the sound and the performer.

The MLGI was created using Dan Overholt’s multi I/O CREATEUSB or CUI interface, which, along with the programming language ChucK, can be made to send MIDI or OSC via USB port.

For more information about this open-source + modular controller,  visit www.cyclespersecond.net.

Cuckoo demo’s the new Plogue Chipsounds.

via cuckoomusic:

I bought this new plug-in called Plogue Chipsounds and took it for a spin. I must say it sounds fantastic. I’m going through a couple of the chips, perform and loop live to see how it all sounds.Best regardsCUCKOOMore on Cuckoo:http://www.cuckoo.noMore on Plogue Chipsounds:http://www.plogue.com

This video demos an Atari 2600 being played by a MIDI keyboard.

via littlescale

M-Audio has announced a redesigned Oxygen series of USB MIDI keyboard controllers.

Available in 25-, 49- and 61-key models, the Oxygen keyboards feature full-size velocity-sensitive keys along with sliders, knobs and buttons for tweaking and performing with software instruments.

With DirectLink, these same controls instantly map to a DAW’s mixer, pan, and transport functions, providing real time control with a variety of DAWs including Pro Tools, Cubase, Reason, Live, Logic and Garageband.

The Oxygen 25, 49, and 61 are currently shipping and carry an MSRP of $149.95/€87, $189.95/€107, and $249.95/€141 respectively.