Saturday Synth Porn: Pioneering electronic instrument designer Roger Linn this week released a collection of renderings for instrument designs that never made it into production.
Above, Linn’s LinnDrum controller - a drum-oriented control surface for use with computers.
While these designs, for various reasons, never made it into production, Linn’s rejected designs manage to be cooler than most gear that actually does make it into production.
iPad Music Software: This is a sneak preview of an iPad docking station for the Livid Code MIDI controller.
The Livid Code Station is being used to control Korg’s iElectribe.
This is a prototype at this point – no pricing or availability has been announced, or whether this will even turn into a real product.
If you’re an iPad user, though, check out the video and let us know if you’d be interested in something like this.
2011 NAMM Show: Waldorf was showing the Zarenbourg Modeled Piano:
The Zarenbourg (*not* the name of a Jmes Bond villain, by the way) modeled piano offers seven different piano sounds, from electric/tine to acoustic grand. It also includes a built-in sound system.
The Waldorf Zarenbourg is expected to be available in February for about $4,000. Continue reading
Saturday Synth Porn: Synthesizer 76 is a gorgeous design & concept for the 76 Synthesizer iPad app, by Jonas Ericksson.
This is shot of the rather sexy Tyrell synthesizer – a new synth design which is, unfortunately, vaporware.
The Tyrell synth is a design of German online music magazine amazona.de. They created the Tyrell as a sort of “dream synthesizer” and to encourage manufacturers to think big and create synths that compare favorably to the greatest synths of all time. Continue reading
The developers at Bleep Blox are excited about a new hardware MIDI sequencer they are developing for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
I am working on a new app. Some of you may know that Line6 recently changed their licensing agreement around making apps for the Midi Mobilizer, which makes it much more attractive for developers. I decided to throw my hat in the ring, and have begun work on a MIDI sequencer focused on live MIDI jams with your favorite music gear. My goal with this (not yet named) app is to give you one of the most intuitive and fun sequencing environments you?ve ever used, while opening up the possibility of making music with your gear in more casual settings, other than sitting in front of a computer. We are rethinking the way things like piano rolls work by redesigning them for the touch screen and making them as easy to use as a paint program.
Features are still being decided, but you will be able to create multiple loops of MIDI and send them to any MIDI channel. You?ll also be able to automate CC?s to control your synthesizer?s knobs. Stay tuned for more info!
This is vaporware, at this point, but Bleep Box’s concept for a multitouch step sequencer sounds very interesting.
What features would you like to see in an ultimate touchscreen MIDI music sequencer?