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!

If you’ve been intrigued by the Tenori On or the monome, but put off by their prices, you’ll want to check out the Novation Launchpad – which can be used like a monome controller.

The above video demos the Novation Launchpad with MLR.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This was made and sequenced in mlrV with a Novation Launchpad, through nonome.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This video captures Matt DiFonzo testing out flin with nonome version 1.12b.

Resources:

• You can find Nonome at the monome site.
• There’s a Nonome / Launchpad / Apc40 / MLR Group at Vimeo.

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!

Yamaha today announced a new, budget version of it’s innovative Tenori On music synthesizer – the Tenori On Orange, 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.

Surprisingly for a budget item, Yamaha did not announce the pricing for the new Tenori On Orange. The TRN-O is expected to be available in December.

Yamaha also confirmed a free forthcoming firmware update for Tenori-On customers, expected to be available in January. The update will address the syncing of Tenori-On to external DAW applications and offer an improved MIDI sync implementation.

According to Yamaha, the new Tenori-On ‘Orange’ offers the same levels of creative power as the original but has been made significantly more affordable. Yamaha has replaced the magnesium casing of the original with a heavy duty and durable plastic casing.

“We know everyone loves the concept and fresh approach of Tenori-On, however, as you’d expect we have received thousands of requests for a more affordable version,” Yamaha’s Peter Peck explains. “We therefore looked at many ways of reducing the price without compromising the all-important product concept or creative operating system. By removing the battery option and the back panel LED’s and changing the chassis construction from the magnesium found on the original to a more affordable material we have achieved our goal of creating the more affordable Tenori-On ‘Orange’, bringing the full creative capability of Tenori-On to a much wider audience.”

Details at the Yamaha site.

Pepe Mogt’s Tenori-on + Oberheim Four Voice Sequencing Exercise features some great analog sounds and amazing HD visuals.

Wacka chicka wacka chicka!

Patch details below.

via pepemogt:

this is a Sequencing Excercise using the Tenori-on and Oberheim Four Voice only, conected trough the Roland MPU-101 and couple of Analogue Systems Joysticks for Filter and LFO control.

extracted from www.vintagesynth.com :
Oberheim Four Voice
A big step forward after the initial Oberheim SEM and Two Voice synthesizers came from the bigger and better Four Voice. Four dual-oscillator SEM modules each with its own filters and envelopes are joined together along with a simple analog mixer and 49-note keyboard to give you a polyphonic/polytonal Obie-beast!

This combination gives you eight oscillators and four voices of polyphony because there are basically four discrete mono-synths all connected together. This has its pros and cons. What is cool is that this was a lot of simultaneous voices for the mid-seventies. And the ability to craft a different sound on each voice led to some diverse and complex sounds. However, it also meant you have to program each voice independently. Each voice also has its own independent audio output.

The Polyphonic Synthesizer Programmer, released in 1976 and added to the Four Voice stores 16 patches per voice (all of which can be different). The Four Voice could accommodate an additional four SEMs, making it just like the Eight Voice model which officially appeared in 1977.

Unfortunately the Four Voice was blown out of the competition by the release of the polyphonic Sequential Prophet-5, which offered true polyphony with a single set of sound shaping controls and comprehensive patch memory. The Four Voice has been used by 808 State, Depeche Mode, Styx, Latinsizer, The Shamen, Fussible, Gary Wright, Joe Zawinul and John Carpenter.

Download the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band’s The Sun Is Down! Sample Pack containing the a capella tracks of Yoko’s vocal, vocal effects, and loops of bass, drums, efx and Tenori On.

Create your own remix of The Sun Is Down!, using as many or few of the samples from the pack and any original audio you wish to add.

When you have finished your mix, make an MP3 copy that’s as high quality as possible, but still under 10MB in size. Email the MP3 of your mix, along with its name and your name, address, email and phone number to remix@YOPOB.com before 12 December 2009.

The Top Ten mixes will be decided by Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band.

The winners will receive special signed Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band prizes and will be featured on Ono’s site over the Xmas and New Year period.

Whether or not you want to enter the YOPOB remix competition – check out the 17mb  sample pack for some free, Creative Commons-licensed Ono weirdness.

4Pockets.com has introduced Aurora a new pattern-based musical sequencing app for the Pocket PC.

This is a teaser video, no pricing or release date has been announced yet.

Description:

Aurora hides a lot of its complexity from novice users, but by switching to advanced mode you get full control over the built in instruments and effects, as well as many advanced modes such as the Atomizer and XY Mode which allows you to manipulate sound in real-time.

You can create your own instrument from recordings made using the built in microphone. Just think, a full drum kit of you beatboxing into the microphone!

Aurora allows a mixture of pattern based recording and live performance. You can piece together complete compositions, or simply improvise a performance, all of which can be captured to a file, for use as a ringtones, or to share with others.

An integrated mixer, combined with the ability to add audio effects and layer automation means that you achieve a pretty sophisticated sound in a fun and user friendly way.

Image: eskimo_jo

Saturday Synth Porn: Little Boots (& the malfunctioning Tenori-On!) at the Wrongbar, Toronto, September 14, 2009.

via the Synthtopia Flickr Group

Saturday Synth Porn: Little Boot’s Remedy sounds pretty mainstream but has enough synth riffs, retro-futuristic vibe and Tenory On goodness to recommend it.

According to Little Boots, “The song is about dancing and music being a remedy to some kind of poison in your life. I wanted to write a dark dance pop song a bit like Britney Spears’ Toxic. The lyrics are not really very personal, I was more imagining a situation.”

via BBC

Retronyms, makers of iPhone applications Recorder and FourTrack, have released DopplerPad (App Store link), a live performance music production application for the iPhone and iPod touch inspired by the Korg Kaossillator, Yamaha Tenori-on and DJ mixers.

Synthesizers, samplers and drum pads are combined in the app to create an intuitive, portable instrument.

DopplerPad’s interface imitates the standard DJ setup of a mixer with turntables on either side, but replaces the turntables with music-producing touchpads. The app launches to the mixer, where the user can access the two touchpads, playback controls, a crossfader and a loop bank that stores up to 14 loops.

DopplerPad is $9.99 in the iTunes App Store. Details below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Building a loop on one of DopplerPad’s velocity-sensitive touchpads begins with adjusting the tempo and number of beats. Thirty-seven instruments are available to design melodies and harmonies with bass, percussion and additional sound effects, while four samplers allow users to record snippets of any audio to add to the mix. The gate/arpeggiator and scale editor polish the loop with unique rhythms that are always in tune.

Retronyms is holding a video contest coinciding with the release of DopplerPad to see who can create the best DopplerPad track. Submissions will be accepted until August 21, 2009, and the prize for the winner is an iPhone 3GS.

Details of the contest rules, screenshots and tutorials are available at http://dopplerpad.com.

via retronyms:

DopplerPad, Expressive Touch Instrument by Retronyms.Quickly create and perform musical hooks, phrases and loops with a variety of custom synth and sample-based instruments. Make samples on the fly and weave them into compositions.DopplerPad is an expressive touch instrument designed exclusively for iPhone & iPod Touch. Use rhythmic and melodic automation to create phrases by freely moving fingers around the musical touchpad.Drags and taps come to life with responsive visual feedback, making the groove visible.Learn more at http://dopplerpad.com

This Tenori On shot comes from the Tenori On launch event in Tokyo.

via the Synthtopia Flickr Group

It’s a matrix synthesizer/sequencer, derived from the design of the Yamaha Tenori On, via Andre Michelle’s ToneMatrix, letting you create musical phrases by pressing virtual “buttons”.

Description:

TonePad features a clean minimalist user interface with a full 16×16 matrix. The sound quality remains excellent regardless of how many notes are playing at the same time. You can save an unlimited number of songs.

The current song is also saved automatically on exit. Sharing your musical creations couldn’t be simpler.

You simply press the Upload button and give your friend the song code. Your friend then downloads the song directly into TonePad by pressing the Download button and entering that code.

Use headphones for best sound.

Electro pop artist Little Boots‘ career is going to get a boost from this ad.

Victoria’s Secret has paired the song Meddle, from Little Boots’ forthcoming debut album Hands. with supermodels to demonstrate a bra you can wear seven ways.

A bra you can wear seven ways is way too complicated for us – but at least the appeal of Meddle is obvious.

Check out this performance of Meddle from last year by Little Boots, aka Victoria Hesketh, on Tenori On, Stylophone and piano.

Little Boots, aka Bootsie, if you’re nasty, did an interview and impromptu performance on Breakfast TV, May 11 2009.

Watch for a quick demo and performance on the Tenori On!

via ElementaryPingu

Melodica (App Store link) is a $.99 iPhone matrix synthesizer, recalling matrix synthesizers/sequencers like the Yamaha Tenori On and the ToneMatrix.

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

via candycaneapps

Demo movie showing the $.99 Tripper iPhone app (App Store link), a Tenori On inspired music sequencer, in action.

Now available in the iTunes store.

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

via retsyx

ToneBoard is a $.99 iphone app, inspired by the Yamaha Tenori On, that features a 10 x 16 tone matrix.

The horizontal line is the time axis while the vertical line is the tone axis. 16 different tones are distributed along the tone axis. Press each square to activate the tone and press again to deactivate it.

Note that version 1 of ToneBoard has a bug that causes it to crash on some iPhones. An update has been submitted to the app store.

If you’ve used ToneBoard, leave a comment with your thoughts.

via felixxing

‘Tonori’ on Yamaha Tenori-On

via Tonneman:

Me performing my first finished track on the Yamaha Tenori-On. The track uses only the built-in sounds of the Tenori, no samples or external devices have been used.Have fun!

Jean Michel Jarre tries out the Yamaha Tenori On, playing a little Magnetic Fields 2 bass, in this short vlog post.

via Chronologie93