Free Track From Synthesist Richard Devine Synthesist Richard Devine shared his latest modular performance video with us, Strum. The performance is based around a ‘really lush beautiful modular patch, that is made to sound like strumming guitars,’ notes Devine. Devine also shared detailed patch notes, which are … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1R1ZZbu
The 10 Most Interesting Synth Introductions Of 2015 http://bit.ly/1MJlc1S
Denon DJ to Bring New Products In 2016 When was the last time we heard a major product announcement from Denon DJ? There was the tiny-but-impressive DS1 Serato soundcard at NAMM 2015, but aside from that the company has been silent. But now with an ambiguous new teaser video, it’s clear that Denon DJ is back in business under their new ownership. Denon DJ in 2016: A Teaser Without Any Details Yes, there’s a teaser video. It’s ridiculously cryptic and without much meaning, aside from some “stars are aligning in the Mayan calendar” graphics. We’ll have to wait for any real details, but I’ve got some speculation below this video: The Denon DJ division was purchased by the InMusic group back in April, 2014 (they also own Numark, Akai, M-Audio, Ion, Alesis, and more). What we know for sure about DJ technology companies that work in the InMusic umbrella are: They share technologies readily (for example: Akai-style pads on Numark gear) They have a close partnership with Serato (Denon historically has been software agnostic, or worked with Virtual DJ) So what will 2016’s NAMM bring? We’ll have more speculation in the near future, but we can present some of the lay-of-the-land: Physical product design: Will Denon continue on the same form factors of DJ controllers they’ve produced in the past (all-in-one MIDI controllers, MC-6000 style)? Or will they start fresh with new designs? Keeping Up With Pioneer: For a while, it seemed like a company priority for Denon DJ to out-do or match Pioneer DJ’s feature sets. Pioneer has been on an industry domination spree recently, with forays into digital DJ software, standalone DJ gear, and continuing to update their own hardware products. Denon might have to pick what they want to be better at Pioneer at. Software: It has been a while since we’ve heard anything from Denon’s software team, which was responsible for Engine, the sole Rekordbox competitor on the market for their standalone DJ players. Will it make an updated return in new products in 2016, or is it abandonware? Think you have an idea of what Denon DJ might be up to in 2016? Let us know your speculation in the comments below. The post Denon DJ to Bring New Products In 2016 appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1NUT4wC
The human voice and trance, as Lichens challenges how we listen Much can be said and felt with the human voice without words – and that’s where Robert AA Lowe comes in. With his solo drone/improvisational project Lichens, or lending his talents as a singer, synthesist, and instrumentalist to the likes of OM, Lowe has carved out a unique and powerful space as an artist with a deep focus on vocal exploration. Before we move further, put this on while you read: Lichens played an especially entrancing set during the opening concert of Ableton’s Loop event in Berlin – starting a fully unpatched modular rig complemented by subtle vocals, building to some incredible psychedelic drones and crescendos. Still recovering the next day, I had the chance to sit down with Robert for a discussion about hypnagogia, collaborative improvisation, and performance. There seems to be this spiritual, almost holy element in your performance. How do you get yourself in the mindset for this performance? It seems like, in additional to the technical preparation, there’s a mental and spiritual preparation? Well I guess, for me, a lot of where I’m coming from, and a lot to do with my process, has to do with circumstance and environment. Also, patching the synthesizer is something that, in a way, is very soothing for me. Because I do improvise, and every patch is done from the ground up. I was speaking with James Holden last night and he said, “I saw you open your case, and nothing was patched”, and I said “yeah, that’s how I work”. This idea of predestination is uninteresting to me. So, in that moment, I will make that decision on where to put that first patch cable and go from there. It’s something that’s nice because I’ve been working with modular synthesizers for quite a few years now, and I’m very comfortable with them. And I’m very comfortable with the choices I make for modules. Even if I’m not fully understanding what they are, it’s the idea of the sense of discovery that comes along with patching them, moving them around, seeing what happens. Even before that, when I started to engage this particular process as a solo artist, something that was very important to me was an idea of moments. This idea that you create a space, you create and environment, you create an atmosphere in this particular moment, and it’s something that’s happening in real time. Therefore, you will take that with you in a very specific way – as will the audience, in a performative situation. It’s something that’s interesting to me, is the fact that the human mind, and memory – these moments, or these memories, are approximations. They’re not exactly how they happened. Dealing with these ideas of perception of illusion, you get into this zone where you will revert back to that memory at a later date and remember it in a very specific way. For the individual it’s really nice, because it will hold something very singular for that particular person. I think the human voice is an incredible instrument, and something that has not been utilized and really pushed. Something that I thought was very important to me was this idea of trance, and losing the self, in a way. Even before I was utilizing modular synthesizers, I was focused on the human voice. The human voice is one of the most fascinating things to me, because they are unique – and they are. In my estimation, a little more so now than the time I started doing this, I’ve seen a lot more people utilize the human voice as an instrument. I think the human voice is an incredible instrument, and something that has not been utilized and really pushed. You could look at artists like Meredith Monk or Diamanda Galas who have used the voice compositionally and instrumentally. My idea was to further this process, but, of course, cultivating my own technique. That’s also very important to me – this idea of not remaining inside of any sort of a box. One of my biggest problems – and when I give talks and lectures, I talk specifically about this – when, say, a young person goes to a conservatory or gets inside of academia, not every time, but I think more often than not, they’re taught that, “you are meant to utilize these tools in this specific way. You are meant to create in a very specific way” within these sort of rules that have been handed down. Not only with music, but any sort of artist endeavor, these things can’t be qualified or quantified because they are creative. You can’t qualify art – it’s done, but it doesn’t make any sense to do so, because it’s an individualist expression. This individual expression is something that that person sees through, and they are compelled to do so in a specific way. If it is truly coming from a place of expression, then you couldn’t say that it was wrong. There is no rule. So, that’s a whole lot of my process. You mention the struggle in teaching people how to make art. It reminds me of William S. Burroughs – as a professor, after a while… http://bit.ly/1JLdTqB
Taylor Holliday On Audulus 3, Music Apps On The iPad Pro & More Earlier this month, developer Taylor Holliday released Audulus 3 – a major update to his modular audio app for iOS, Mac & Windows. Now that Audulus 3 is available, Holliday had time to answer some questions about his background, the new … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1JKsouG
SynthGraphics Intros Roland JD-XA Panel Mod SynthGraphics has introduced a custom faceplate overlay for the Roland JD-XA Analog / Digital Crossover synthesizer. The SynthGraphics panel is an unofficial mod that’s designed to give the JD-XA more traditional styling and to improve the front panel’s legibility in low … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1PxRSSs
DSP Synthesizers Intros 6HP DIY Drum Module PCB Developer Jan Ostman let us know about a new PCB design for building DIY drum modules – the rev2 PCB for the DR-55/CR-4/RW DIY Module. He describes it as “Perfect as a first DIY build.” The PCB comes with a presoldered SMD … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1IERSif
Dreadbox Hades Bass Synthesizer Review This video, via ProckGnosis, is a review of the Dreadbox Hades Bass Synthesizer. Despite the name, the Hades Bass Synthesizer is in no way limited to just bass synth duties. Part 1. Oscillators (02:29) Part 2. The Filter (04:29) Part 3. … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1mpzakd
Strezov Sampling Wotan Puts A Virtual Choir Into Your DAW Strezov Sampling has released Wotan Male Choir, a new Kontakt instrument, inspired by the Lord of the Rings ‘Moria’ male choir sound Wotan is a virtual choir, comprised of 10 tenors and 10 basses, that lets you combine different syllables to create complete phrases. Here’s what … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1IDG5Ri
Best of 2015: Top DJ Tutorials, Videos, Articles We’ve hit another end-of-year as of tomorrow night, and for those of you who aren’t slammed prepping for your NYE DJ gigs, it’s a great time to reflect on 2015. At DJTT we’ve had an incredibly great year – check out some of the most popular videos and articles we’ve published since January in this Best of 2015 roundup! Best of 2015: Articles We had a landmark year on the DJTT blog this year, with a diverse set of contributors and articles. We’re constantly continuing to expand the editorial team. Are you an experienced DJ, good at teaching others, have experience writing for publication, and want to be a DJTT writer? Reach out to dan@djtechtools.com. Have a good idea for an article? Submit it here on our UserVoice page. Why New DJs Should Start On Vinyl Author: Markos PolydorouWhy It Was A Big Deal: There’s loads of vinyl purists out there who love to claim that DJing with wax is the superior art form, but usually those conversations don’t get any further beyond “real DJs use vinyl.” What they fail to cover is why DJing on vinyl is an important skill. Markos did a great job of explaining what makes it a critical learning tool for new DJs. Why You Won’t Be DJing With The New MacBook Author: Dan WhiteWhy It Was A Big Deal: At the time, the slimming down of a laptop to just one USB-C port and the continued discontinuation of replaceable parts on a computer seemed like a horrible call for a DJ computer. Considering the Macbook is one of the most common go-to DJ laptops, a major change in the lineup caused a bit of a stir in the market, making it one of the most-shared DJTT posts of 2015. There’s pretty good reason to believe that DJs of the future might avoid the laptop all together. That being said, why limit yourself and buy a laptop that requires a new peripheral to even try out a new way of DJing? We’re interested to see what the new year brings for Apple laptop products – will the new Macbook Pro be slimmed down on ports as well? Stay tuned as MacRumors indicates that new announcements should be coming soon. Digital Crates: What Are The Best Flash Drives for DJs? Author: Dean ZuluetaWhy It Was A Big Deal: As mentioned above, more DJs are relying on non-laptop DJ gear – and we expect to see more in that direction in less than a month at NAMM. Dean’s article covered what elements of a USB flash drive are essential to shop for. Of course, in a few years everyone might be DJing on lossless files, so maybe buy a larger USB drive than you think you would ever need. What Gear Do Top Producers Use? Author: Ross DifuriaWhy It Was A Big Deal: We love showing you behind-the-scenes details of what different DJs and live performers use when they’re playing out – but it’s not always obvious what major producers are using in the studio. Ross’ article attempted to shed some light on the most popular DAWs, synths, and unique setups that producers like Flume, Disclosure, Wolfgang Gartner, Camo and Krooked, and others use. Ableton 10 Details Leaked: Olfactory Synthesis Author: Dan WhiteDate: April 1st, 2015 Why It Was A Big Deal: Because there was no way Ableton would ever release a smell-based sequencer/synthesizer, but wouldn’t that just be amazing? Also this might have been DJTT’s first-ever April Fool’s joke article. Best of 2015: Videos + Interviews We also had some great videos and interviews this year – watch our most viewed below: Best Of 2015: Top Instagram Shots Finally, there were some major wins on our Instagram this year, tons of incredible shots from our eyes and shared with us from the DJTT community. We’ve embedded the (quickly becoming played out) #2015bestnine post below, but really you ought to just follow us on Instagram. Some choice wins for #2015bestnine! We had 306,254 likes on 360 posts in 2015, so rad! #dj #djlife A photo posted by DJ TechTools (@djtechtools) on Dec 29, 2015 at 7:51pm PST How did your 2015 go? What new gear did you lust over, or what did you learn to do that made a big difference in your DJ life? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll feature the best stories and successes! The post Best of 2015: Top DJ Tutorials, Videos, Articles appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1MGrmQl
Reaktor Blocks adds West Coast modules, free software Reaktor Blocks is already a lovely hybrid. It has the open-ended sound design possibilities and knob-tweaking delights of modular instruments, down to the look and feel of that gear. But it blends those design features with the sound-making capabilities of digital software – and you never run out of cables, space, or cash. Of course, to try it, you previously needed a copy of Reaktor. And that might have held some of you back. That changes with the holiday introduction of Blocks Wired. They’re three new pre-wired instruments you can play with. If you’ve got Reaktor, this accompanies some new modules inspired by the “West Coast” synth style of Buchla. If you don’t have Reaktor, though, you can use them for free. First, let’s talk about what’s new inside Blocks 1.1 – the West Coast modules. There’s scant documentation, but the name and design clearly show the Buchla lineage. XY, part of Blocks Wired – showing off those new West Coast modules, among others. West Coast DWG is a two-oscillator module with waveshaping and modulation. The MOD / CARRIER format is ideal for FM synthesis, but you can also blend waveforms or try wavefolding. It’s a beautiful oscillator module, and after a beautiful debut from Blocks on the filter side, I think an exceptional addition. XYS is a 4×4 grid of value and trigger “storage” – that is, it’s a step sequencer, but it can also be used for other stuff. LPG is a Buchla-style “low-pass gate” filter. As the “pluck” label suggests, it’s also something that can be used with physical modeling – you can make drum hits or plucked strings. Now, maybe you didn’t follow any of that – but that’s okay. Blocks really are intended for hands-on experimentation. And I find even more many very technically-minded synthesists, that’s where many people got their start. With Blocks Wired, you get three ensembles, two of them prominently featuring the West Coast goodies. LUMIKKO is an elegant monosynth, West Coast style. LUMIKKO is a monosynth. It’s nicely simple, too, so a good way to check out how a few modules can yield a lot of sounds. XY goes further with the West Coast oscillator and adds the new XY sequencer. As the name implies, that’s the featured module, and here it allows separate Modulator and Carrier pitch control for unique melodic/harmonic possibilities. SUBMOTION uses the Blocks 1.0 modules to show you how you might create evolving textures and rhythms with modulation. Submotion’s sequenced modulation. Blocks Wired is a downloadable special from NI. But Reaktor users, you can go ahead and grab the Reaktor update and start playing now. And oddly, I didn’t see much discussion of these new modules. That’s a shame – this was just what I needed to put me over the top really working with Blocks. Blocks product page The post Reaktor Blocks adds West Coast modules, free software appeared first on cdm createdigitalmusic. http://bit.ly/22xCgU8
‘Alien We Three Kings’, On EVI, Artemis, Breath Keyboards Synthesist Mark Steiner shared Alien We Three Kings – a creative take on the holiday standard. Featured instruments: Modular Synth, Wind Synth (EVI), Wind A6 Andromeda with Touchkeys, Mark Steiner Artemis, QuNexus transported by a Mark Steiner Wobble Wagon. http://bit.ly/1NOvwcK
Alternative Disting Firmware Squinky Labs (Bruce Frazer & Lloyd Cole) have released ThisThing – a full alternative firmware with 16 new algorithms for the Expert Sleepers disting module. Video demos for the various algorithms are available. The alternate firmware is available as a beta. http://bit.ly/22wEaEG
New GuitarJack Stage, StudioJack Mini Audio Interfaces for Mac/PC/iOS/Android Sonoma Wire Works has released a new generation of audio interfaces for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android systems. Successors to the GuitarJack Model 2, StudioJack Mini and GuitarJack Stage are now shipping. Shared Features: 2-in/2-out audio with 24-bit/48kHz AD/DA converters … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NOvv8K
Bastl Instruments GrandPa Module Updated Bastl Instruments has released an update to its grandPA Eurorack module. Here’s what’s new in grandPa 1.1: adds new feature to change the sample by CV the threshold for changing samples corresponds to 1 semitone of quantized voltage if CV … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/22wueL8
New Dutch Synthesizer Boutique, River Creative Technology Founder Rutger Vlek let us know about River Creative Technologies, a new ‘Dutch synthesizer boutique’ manufacturer that has introduced a new line of Eurorack modules. The “Crux” dual voltage controlled amplifier with discrete OTA core, and the “Nucleus” voltage controlled filter … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1QS2M6Z
u-he Intros Free ‘Experimental Reverb’, Protoverb u-he has released Protoverb – an ‘experimental reverb’, based on the idea of a “room simulator”. Most algorithmic reverbs try to avoid resonances or model the reflections of sound from a rooms walls. Protoverb does the opposite. It builds up as … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1JErY9b
Play reverb roulette with this wild free u-he plug-in Urs Heckmann just combined “reverb” with “experimental, possibly sonically unstable plug-in with unpredictable results.” And it’s free. Urs – how did you know exactly what I wanted for Christmas? Protoverb is an “experimental” reverb from u-he built around the idea of modeling series of resonances and reflections in a room. In my play so far, I’ve found distinct memories echo clearly (“ghost echoes,” as the developers put it), while richer ambiences create strange, beautiful ringing sounds. The reason reverbs generally aren’t built this way is that the results can be unexpected or even unpleasant – but that’s what makes this such fun. Even a single parameter can produce a broad range as you adjust wet/dry feedback. And by adjusting other settings, you can produce sounds ranging from artificial to realistic to … awful. In fact, while this is a digital reverb in the conventional sense (a bunch of delays), it uses a combination of parallel, serial, and networked delays that turn it into an uncertainty mechanism. That said, for a bit of creative sound design, I found I was consistently getting unexpected results I loved. For instance, here’s a ringing timbre I got out of a recording of some leafblowers humming around my parents’ Florida home on this holiday. (I might actually make a protoverb EP now, I’m getting so into this.) At first blush, it looks like this is just a dumbed-down reverb with giant knobs. But it isn’t. That text field at the bottom is important: To be precise, the small text box at the bottom contains two random entries. The first part depicts the network structure, strategies for a spatial layout and distribution of delay taps, strategies for finding useful delay lengths and so on. The second part is a seed for a pseudo-random number generator which is used to find various parameters, such as average delay length, which prime number to chose (if any) and so on. This text can either be edited by double click, or both parts can be independently randomized with the two random buttons below. Say what? Editing the number itself is something you can control. Beyond that, if you like just hitting “I feel lucky” with your reverb and having no idea what will happen next, you’ve come to the right place. It’s magic. Randomize that string, and you get … well, something different. If you like it, hit save. If you don’t, delete. I do actually plan to build a little collection of these. In fact, u-he have made this free precisely with the hope of people sharing their results. A ‘send’ button uploads your favorites to the u-he mothership to see if they can make sense of this strange delay network by crowd-sourcing the results. It’s like the protein folding or SETI experiments, but for reverb. You can grab this now for Mac (AAX, AU, VST2), Windows (AAX, VST2), and Linux (VST2 only unfortunately, but no complaints). http://bit.ly/1OU1Mcr Here’s a walkthrough by the wonderful Bedroom Producers’ Blog: From Suono & Computer, there’s yet another play with the plug-in (and now you’re seeing how varied the results can be). Let us know if you produce anything interesting! The post Play reverb roulette with this wild free u-he plug-in appeared first on cdm createdigitalmusic. http://bit.ly/1OU1K46
New Year’s Eve DJ Sets: Tips For A Great Night It’s the last few days of 2015, and historically, New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest nights for DJs around the world. If you’ve got any type of DJ gig on the last night of the year, it’s a good idea to think carefully about how you approach it and make sure it’s one of the best DJ gigs you ever play. Keep reading for tips for your New Year’s Eve DJ sets. “You can provide an experience that the partygoers remember for years if you do it right. […] More than any night of the year, this night is not at all about you and entirely about the experience of the audience. Make sure you go into it with that frame of mind. I wouldn’t experiment much or play things you’re not sure will go over well.” – pastpresentfuror on Reddit’s /r/Beatmatch community New Year’s Eve DJ Sets: Bring Your A Game Image credit: DJ Rapid Fire Want to know how to book more DJ gigs? Because of the diverse crowds that go out on New Year’s Eve, the night can be perfect for improving your reputation and connecting with potential future events. Here’s three tips that I’ve found really ensures a night goes as smoothly as possible in a higher-stress type gig like New Year’s: If you’re the only DJ, or doing a mobile gig, consider hiring a “roadie” to come along with you to help set-up, break down, manage requests, and even cover for you when you’ve got to slip off to the bathroom. Make sure you have a redundant backup DJ system. DJing on CDJs? Bring at least one copy of your USB drive for when your first one fails. Have a computer/controller based setup? Bring an aux cable and hook it up ahead of time to the house mixer so that if you have computer issues, you can jump over to that immediately. @DJTechTools don’t drink all the champagne — the goodbrother (@DJRyanAndrews) December 26, 2015 Don’t drink to excess! NYE is often perfect for a few glasses of champagne, but make sure the hardest parts of the night are mostly finished before you start popping bottles. I’m not saying not to drink, but I’ve seen too many sloppy DJs jump on the deck on New Year’s Eve and ruin the dance floor vibe. Pace yourself! If you’re going to be on the decks all night, people will really want the night to be going strong at midnight – so don’t play all of your good songs early. In general, New Year’s pre-midnight tends to be a captive audience (more party hopping happens after midnight). More on this later on. Don’t get experimental – stick to what you know works really well. This applies to music, software, gear – if you’re thinking of trying something new, this usually isn’t the best night for it. Have a Plan For Midnight Speaking of midnight, make sure you know what you’re doing if you’ll be mid-set when the clock hits 12. This is a situation where you’ll want to coordinate with the other people who are helping throw the party – nothing is weirder than having one plan for midnight and then awkwardly at 11:57 the promoter grabs the microphone and starts counting backwards from 10. Our friends over at Beatport have put together a collection of countdowns to put into the mix at midnight – just make sure you time it out properly (maybe try practicing this a few times!) so that you hit the timing just right. Many of the big digital DJ record pools have New Year’s Eve edits of popular tracks this time of year Be Prepared For Amateur Partiers Photo credit: The Culture Concept The vibe can be very different from a regular weekend night on New Year’s Eve. Just like other big holidays, lots of people go out and party who would normally not be. This is great for getting more bodies on the dancefloor, but it means that you have to keep an eye out for a few things that might be different: Make sure you’re having a good time – because of “amateur partiers”, a lot of people tend to look to the DJ to see how they should act / feel. If you’re into the NYE spirit, people will notice and follow suit. Let’s be honest, this is a good DJ practice no matter what. @DJTechTools Requests are annoying, but they can be your #1 asset for unfamiliar crowds — David (@daviddashcoby) December 26, 2015 Be ready for more requests than normal during your New Year’s Eve DJ sets – and think of how you’ll deal with them. If you’ve got someone else in the booth, ask them to intercept requesters for you if you’re in the mix. Don’t be afraid to play a request if you’ve got it and it fits the vibe of your set. Protect your gear! People are especially sloppy on NYE so be sure you’ve done everything possible to avoid getting an entire bottle of champagne poured on your DJ setup. Read our classic guide on ensuring the safety of your DJ setup. Choose Tracks To Be The Musical Zeitgeist of 2015 When planning your New Year’s Eve DJ sets, think of what the biggest hits, influences, and musical directions that you’ve experienced in 2015. What has made this year great? What typifies the genres of music that you play out? You… http://bit.ly/1Iy19bE
Silent Night For iPad + Animoog This video, via Crème Douche, captures an all-Animoog arrangement of Silent Night. Technical Details: All parts performed on iPad using Animoog with custom timbres entirely from my electric guitar recorded with ToneStack. Borderlands Granular was also used for a little … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OS2y9H
Ethervox Meets Continuum Sunday Synth Jam: This pair of videos captures composer Edmund Eagen performing with an Ethervox theremin, controlled by the Haken Continuum keyboard. The audio from the theremin is processed through the Continuum sound engine. http://bit.ly/1QQ4iXq
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy Live Cover Sunday Synth Jam: This video captures a live cover of Aphex Twin’s Come To Daddy, performed live by Man On The Living Road in Bogotá, Colombia Technical Details: Arturia Minibrute. Arturia iProphet, Propellerhead Thor, a couple of Korg Kaoss Pad … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OniUqg
A Performance For Keyboards, Modular Synthesizer & Spoken Word Sunday Synth Jam: This video, via synthesist and sound designer Alba Ecstasy, captures a performance for keyboards, modular synthesizer and spoken word. Here’s what he has to say about it: Based on my lovely wife’s, Tania, recitation of the “Scrisoarea 1” … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1IxaeBN
Christmas Shredding Sunday Synth Jam: Jordan Rudess shared his take on the Vince Guaraldi classic Christmas Time is Here. “While feeling the spirit of the holiday, I decided to do this performance in a very impromptu style in my hotel room,” says Rudess. … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1MC2f0S
Dave Smith & John Chowning Introduce FM Synthesis On The Prophet 12 Dave Smith Instruments has released a new operating system for the Prophet 12 that adds a number of user-requested features, including: Linear frequency modulation for classic FM synthesis Support for up to 16 alternate tunings (a set of 16 popular tunings … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1JBl6cv
Carol Of The Bells, Remixed Synthtopia reader, Jon Stubbs (aka “stub”) shared this remix of Carol of the Bells. He notes that the melody of Carol of the Bells was preserved, but arranged as 12/8, vs 3/4. He also offset the melody against the new parts by a … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OsEEHJ
Noise Synth + Seaboard RISE ROLI shared this video that demonstrates using the Seaboard RISE controller to control Noise synth for iPhone. Noise is a software synth for iPhone that lets you use the surface of your iPhone as a multidimensional instrument. ROLI also calls Noise “the ultimate portable … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1JBhAih
bit.ly/1NHrnaI LFO++ Prototype Auction To Benefit The Bob Moog Foundation Analog synth module-makers bit.ly/1NHrnaI are auctioning a rare prototype of their Q167 LFO++ module, with proceeds to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation. The auction runs through 1pm (Pacific time) next Wednesday, December 30, 2015. This one-of-a-kind module, built and signed … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NHroeG
Call for participants: a Hacklab to change perspectives, in Belgium In the past weeks, I’ve had the good fortune to talk to astronauts and aeronautical engineers, to artists in residence in space centers (with ESA) and aboard “vomet comet” airplane microgravity experiments (in Russia). A common theme has emerged. Just as images from space once transformed our perception, the next frontier is sound. From spatial sound to works responding to spaceflight, drones, and aeronautics, there’s a chance to change the way we hear and imagine. And so, after we start February at Berlin’s CTM Festival imagining future rituals, we’ll move later in the month to Leuven, Belgium to explore the heard place. You’re invited. CDM is invited to STUK Kunstencentrum as part of the spectacular-looking Artefact Festival. If you join me and co-facilitator Darsha Hewitt (herself a Hacklab veteran, participant and facilitator alike), you’ll get to attend that festival, too. Lorenzo Senni, William Basinski, Powell, and Christina Vantzou are among some of my favorites on the lineup, and more are coming. AMF 2016 trailer 4 from STUK Leuven on Vimeo. Those of you who know CDM Hacklabs know they’re not another overnight hack-a-thon for coders. We want musicians and dancers. And now, we get some unique new additions – like aeronautical engineers (a local program is collaborating), and people interested in surveillance. So, help us spread the word. And while you are hopefully getting some days over the holidays to be lazy, do this one thing – as a gift to yourself – that could give back come the bland days of February. And stay tuned to CDM wherever you are, as we bring back whatever happens in Leuven. Details:MUSICMAKERS HACKLAB ! CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS ! [STUK] Deadline: 5 January Application form [direct link] Photos by the author… The post Call for participants: a Hacklab to change perspectives, in Belgium appeared first on cdm createdigitalmusic. http://bit.ly/1IvXGdQ
Open Mic: Did ‘Synther Claus’ Pay You A Visit? Open Mic: For the holidays, our wish is that you have family, health and peace. And, yes, since it’s Synthtopia, maybe some wicked gear under the tree, that new app that you’ve been wanting or some great new electronic music…. So, leave … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1YGNktv
Free Ableton Live Pack – Little Drummer Boy Ableton Live guru AfroDJMac let us know about a free Live Pack that he’s shared, Little Drummer Boy. It’s a set of 5 free Ableton Live Instruments, based on a Little Drummer Boy Christmas Ornament. Here’s what he has to … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1VhnM5R
A Theremin For Christmas This video captures a performance, by thereminist Peter Pringle, of Christmastide. Here’s what Pringle has to say about the song and performance: This Christmas song in the traditional style was written for soprano Jessye Norman by composer Donald Fraser, and … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OP8Dnh
Watch The Holiday Finger Drumming Contest Winning Routines Happy holidays, DJ Techtools readers, friends, and family! In the holiday spirit, we’ve chosen the winners for our finger drumming contest. We had over 50 different entrants from all over the world, all different skill levels, and using a ton of different pieces of gear – so it was really difficult to choose just a few winners. Keep reading to watch our top choices! Judging Notes: we watched every single submission and between Apoth and Dan we managed to pick a few runners-up and a grand prize winner. Everyone who submitted did a great job – see the end of the article to watch every last routine! Runners Up Listed here in no particular order. Each runner-up is featured here – winners, please send an email to dan@djtechtools.com with a link to your Soundcloud, Mixcloud, or other site you’d like to promote and we’ll add it to this article! Contestant: Supreme-OWhat We Loved: Lots of variations, super solid and great old-school drumming MPC style chops. Loved it. Contestant: CappsWhat We Loved: Capps is clearly a solid finger drummer. This was a great take on the pack and good use of other samples as well as a guitar element to really give it a personal feel. Contestant: DJ NarohWhat We Loved: Not entirely just finger drumming and we suspect there might be quantization involved, but the guy is super-talented. The mix/remix sounds fantastic and it’s a great performance. Would love to watch this live. Contestant: Glass CannonWhat We Loved: Hey, this isn’t finger-drumming! That being said, it takes drum-triggering to a new level – not many combine drumming and sample triggering at this level. Way to be super original in this one. Contestant: Cole SmithersWhat We Loved: Great remix / solid finger drumming, even if not super technical, and the sonic changes were unique and took things to a different level. Good use of some reversed audio to set the tone and style. Grand Prize Winner Contestant: CobyWhat We Loved: Coby straight up murdered the pack and played it in various ways over and over and over. Throughout the entire routine, it never gets boring. Speed is king, but consistency and timing is nearly always on point. VERY solid playing, fun to watch. Talented. Watch All Of The Entrants We had so many great entries to this contest – so I put together a full YouTube playlist of every entry that was in the comments on the original post. Watch and enjoy: Thanks to everyone for participating! If you still want to download the free Apoth soundpack used in this contest, you can do so here (just requires a free DJTT account if you don’t already have one). The post Watch The Holiday Finger Drumming Contest Winning Routines appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1Orb0Tb
Patchblocks For Eurorack Now Available For Preorder Maker.ie has announced Patchblocks for Eurorack – a new module that brings the programable modular platform to the Euro format. Here’s what they have to say about it: For the past year we have been working with bit.ly/1SegSij to produce … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1SegSim
Carol Of The Bells On Moog Modular This video, via ChooDoob, captures a version of Carol of the Bells, arranged for a 1970 Moog Modular Synthesizer. http://bit.ly/1ONapp4
Novation Circuit Updates Firmware, Releases Patch Editor, and MIDI CC Spec This week, Novation announced three different items for Circuit owners: a beta update for the Circuit firmware, a software synth patch editor (via Isotonik Studios), and MIDI CC Specification for the instrument. Here are the details: Beta Firmware Update. Novation … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1SedNig
Avid Pro Tools Updated With Track Freeze, Commit, and Bounce This week, Avid announced an update to their Pro Tools digital audio software. The update is available to Pro Tools 12 customers with Avid All Access plans. The Pro Tools 12.4 update focuses on the Track Freeze feature “to manage, … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1U6S2iI
Create World Music And More On Your iPad EarthMoments releases Rututu Music Playground app http://bit.ly/1U6hODI
Envelope Sequencer For Mac Updated Sinevibes releases Inertia 2.0 AU plug-in http://bit.ly/1YCXjjl
Try a cute generative holiday Ableton app, in your browser In an array of triangles forming trees and snowflakes, a festive holiday geometric pattern turns into a musical playset. It’s a free browser toy from Ableton, in celebration of the holidays, and a nice little diversion. Looks like someone had fun during a hackday or something. Of course, this is also momentous as we’ve never seen browser development officially from Ableton, and this uses the new audio APIs in modern browsers. To make it work, start clicking on triangles, and you get some polyrhythmic tunes and percussion. http://bit.ly/1OoJ6af The post Try a cute generative holiday Ableton app, in your browser appeared first on cdm createdigitalmusic. http://bit.ly/1OoJ3LB
Sonic TALK 431 - All I want For Christmas Is.. Last show of the year, Gaz actually joins us from a Christmas Party! After the panel show and tell their latest gadgets, we talk Mariah Carey trapped in a MIDI file, Misa Digital super step sequencer, Modstep iOS sequencer, Blue's Star Wars Mics, Nanosynth NS1 - micro modular. http://bit.ly/1YC4qsf
Cream Mobile Turns Your iPad Into “World’s Best Software Arpeggiator” Arto Vaarala has released Cream – an app they describe as “the world’s best software arpeggiator” – as an iPad application. Kirnu Cream Mobile is a powerful MIDI arpeggiator and performance app for iPad. The iPad version is almost identical to the plugin … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1YBXxY7
Modstep could change how an iPad fits in your music making Apple’s tablet has grown in popularity partly as a sketchpad for doing less, and focusing more. A clean slate for music, it’s also a clean slate for software design. Or, that’s its potential. But while the iPad has become a platform for extraordinary instruments and controllers, for many of us it hasn’t yet become a hub for creating, arranging, and sequencing ideas. Modstep could change that. First, let’s back up and consider some of the basic elements that make music making fun. Because if we start subtracting functionality in the name of simplicity, we had better hope we don’t lose those elements. For me, that’s: 1. Playing with rhythm and melody. 2. Tweaking my favorite synthesizers (software or hardware). 3. Messing about with sound recordings. The desktop Digital Audio Workstation lets us do these things by virtue of the fact that it does absolutely everything anyone would ever want. But all that functionality crammed onto a tablet feels awkward and unfocused. (It’s often uninspiring on the desktop, too, when it’s more than is needed for a job.) Going the opposite way, though, you could try to produce a music tool for mobile from the ground-up that’s as simple as possible. Auxy’s Henrik Lenberg recently waxes poetic about rethinking music creation But by refocusing on stock sounds at the expense of external sounds, by removing the ability to work with our external toys, and by over-simplifying rhythm, part of what Auxy rethinks is the very stuff I find exciting. (That’s not to say Auxy doesn’t have a place, and I’ll write more about it soon.) Modstep in action on the new iPad Pro, right, versus an iPad Air, left. Amazing what happens with screen real estate. Modstep is not uncompromising in its simplicity. It has, in fact, a surprising amount of functionality packed into it. But what is is is a tool that starts with step sequencing as its soul, then builds around it all the ways you might want to create to your other tools, and to creative sound design. It’s probably overwhelming for the absolute beginner Auxy is targeting, but then it becomes immediately appealing the moment that same user buys a KORG volca series or (we hope) a MeeBlip. Steps and clips are at the heart of the interface. And if in the past the iPad has shown us how powerful it is to touch sound with our fingers, ModStep shows us how powerful it is to touch sequences. From notes to modulation, you get everything you love about a sequence, liberated from having to get at it with a keyboard and mouse. This preview does a nice job of walking you through what that means: Now, as it happens, I know the entire development team (they’re friends), and in particular lead developer/designer Benjamin Weiss is my studio mate and collaborator on the Nerk/Kirn project. Our music is even in that trailer. (I’m waiting on the royalty check.) Whatever bias that may make me feel (and those of you who know me knows I’m biased toward generally arguing with my friends), I have gotten to watch it evolve. I was frankly worried along the road about feature creep and complexity. But with version 1.0, I finally get a sense of where they were going. Session view and mixer. It lets you build patterns with live input, steps, clips, and sets. The core “atom” of Modstep is a step sequencer, complete with sliders and the like. But you can also play music live (with chords and with note repeat if you choose), and chain and loop patterns into bigger sets. An Ableton-style clip view keeps everything organized. That means you can approach this as a simple monophonic XOX sequencer, or go nuts with tons of patterns. And… sorry, Elektron lovers, but that also means an iPad Pro is a compelling competitor for an Octatrack. It’ll be fun to watch those camps duke it out, actually. It’s a hub for hardware. With full MIDI interface support and the ability to both control Modstep from external gear and use Modstep to control external gear, Modstep is a return to the days when a dedicated sequencer was the hub of your workflow. It’s a hub for apps and for sequencing desktop software. Want to control synths on your computer or your iPad instead? Or add in instruments and effects from your iPad, via Apple’s Inter-App Audio (IAA) or Audiobus? Modstep acts as a central music-making tool for the apps you’ve collected, too. There’s even a built-in IAA mixer. The powerful template editor, which comes pre-equipped with a library of useful templates. That makes Modstep a librarian as much as a sequencer. It uses templates to keep track of everything. If you’re going to play and modulate hardware and software, you want access to all the parameters on those instruments. A custom template editor, plus a bunch of built-in templates (like our own MeeBlip) let you make Modstep into a kind of sequencer/librarian. It’s got its own synth and drum sampler. If Modstep were just a sequencer, it would … http://bit.ly/1RH90Xa
What’s The Best New Synth Module Of 2015? (Reader Poll) As part of our end-of-year, Best of 2015 round-up, we’re running a variety of reader polls. For the modular synth category, we let readers nominate their picks for the best new synth module of the year. We’re including individual modules, introduced … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RGRpyC
Sinevibes Inertia 2.0 Envelope Sequencer For OS X Sinevibes has introduced Inertia 2.0 – an effect for advanced audio level shaping. It is based on a sequencer that runs in precise sync with the host transport, triggering up to 32 envelope generators one after another. With multiple envelope … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1U52Duq
Synth + Eurorack 2015 Polls Results You voted, we counted. http://bit.ly/1RGaVv5
Modstep iPad MIDI Sequencer Has Full Connectivity Use it with IAA Apps, Mac and PC software, MIDI hardware and its internal sounds http://bit.ly/1IpCC8C
How To Optimize Your Music Production Environment When sitting down to work on a DJ mix, a new track, or any task that you might need to spend time in your studio with, it’s all too easy to get distracted and develop bad habits. In today’s article, guest contributor Sam Malta shares his tips for optimizing your music production environment and getting the most out of every session in your home studio. When you first get into making music, everything just works. Not from a quality standpoint (your music sounds terrible that early on), but you have no troubles sitting down and working on a project. As time passes and you learn more about production, you start to pick up bad habits. These habits always seem trivial at first. You might be working on a difficult section of a track and decide to quickly check Facebook to “refresh your mind.” Then you do it during your next production session, and the next. The enemy of efficient producers everywhere Bad habits like these cause us to work slowly and ineffectively, if at all. They’re the reason why so many producers mistakenly think they have writer’s block, or some unique condition that disables them from making music. Want to ditch bad habits, or optimize for efficiency before they happen? This post is for you. The advice shared in this article is custom-tailored to each person. I urge you to experiment, don’t dismiss ideas simply because you feel they won’t work for you. Try them out for a few weeks and see if they work. With that said, some of the advice in this post is universally correct. I’ve never met anyone who thinks that distractions aid creativity, for instance. Optimize Your Physical Music Production Environment Though the mental aspect of creative work is more important than the physical environment you do that work in, your physical environment still has bearing on how well you do your work. For instance, if you have a games console on your desk that’s linked up to your main display, at some point during the creative process (normally when it starts getting difficult) you’ll be tempted to use it. If your games console is in another room, you’ll be less tempted. Make sense? Here are some more tips: Keep it clean There’s a cliché quote, “if a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk a sign of?” I think there are a select few people that can work just fine with a cluttered workspace, but they’re part of the 1%. By keeping your workspace clean: You’ll feel better about working in it You won’t feel self-conscious when you invite your buddy around for a collab You’ll experience fewer distractions So, take those week-old coffee mugs to your kitchen and wash them. Don’t be afraid to spend money on a good chair “You spent $1000 on a chair?!” I asked my friend as I sat down in his studio. He responded calmly by saying that $1000 was a trivial investment considering he spent 8+ hours per day sitting in it. My next gear purchase? A decent chair. If you want to feel comfortable while producing and protect your back, then you need a decent chair. You don’t need to spend $1000, just don’t shoot for low quality. Bonus Tips: Any popular office chair will do the trick. If you’re a full-time producer, or you do other work from home (at the same desk you make music) then this applies especially to you Alternatively, get a standing desk. They allow you to dance while producing and they also apparently have health benefits, but the former is more important. Two screens are great – but is it always the right choice? One or two displays? A lot of people automatically assume that using two computer screens for production is more efficient and allows you to work faster. This isn’t always the case. Sure, there are benefits to using two screens: you can have your mixer open on one screen while arranging in another, use a screen as a dedicated spectrum analyzer, and do many other things. However, an extra screen can also slow down workflow as it can prohibit you from focusing on one aspect of production. Take the mixer/arrangement two-screen setup – if you’re trying to arrange your track, you don’t want to incur the cost of task-switching by popping over to the screen your mixer is on and adding compression and fancy effects that detract from your main focus: arrangement. With one screen, it’s easier to focus on the task at hand. Using two screens is not objectively better than using one, and vice versa. There are benefits to both, and the only way to find out which is better for you is to experiment. Minimize potential distractions You might not have many distraction-inducing items in your workspace (having cleaned and organized it – you did take away those coffee mugs, right?) but it’s likely that you’ll still encounter distractions when making music – including: Wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend Kids/parents Roommates Dogs, cats, and spiders YOUR PHONE If you have roommates, or a highly cons… http://bit.ly/1On31q7
Free String Synth For Windows Planet Botch releases the Ensembletron VSTi http://bit.ly/1U3Ucj8
Play Hans Zimmer's Piano Spitfire Audio adds the HZP sample-based virtual instrument to their Signature range http://bit.ly/1OKhkPL
Modstep A ‘Full-Blown’ MIDI Sequencer For iPad AppBC, creators of touchAble & Studiomux, has introduced Modstep – a new iPad app that’s describe as a “Modulation Monster and the first full-blown MIDI sequencer for the iPad”. Modstep is designed to let you to create and perform music with … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OJZHiY
Novation Circuit Updated Firmware + New Patch Editor Back in October, Novation announced the launch of a standalone production unit, the Circuit. Novation seems to be taking customer feedback very seriously on this device as there’s just been a new firmware update that fixes and improves upon the current iteration. As a bonus, they’re also working with Isotonik Studios to expand the sound horizon for the Novation Circuit. Novation Circuit Updated Firmware The community behind a piece of gear is the key to that device’s longevity and Novation understands that in regards to the latest firmware update for the Circuit, which is still in beta. They’re asking for current Circuit owners to test out the update and give feedback to better serve the whole Circuit community. Aside from bug fixes, this firmware update actually brings more to the table: Record External MIDI Control the Circuit with a MIDI Keyboard MIDI Channels 1, 2, and 10 control Synth 1, 2, and Drums All notes played are recorded into the Circuit’s sequencer MIDI input also works via USB Improved Automation Temporary Record Functionality (Hold and Release Record Button) Automation can be cleared for each step. External MIDI Program Change The Circuit’s Synth Presets can now be changed externally. The firmware update appears to be a great improvement upon the current Circuit firmware. Since this device is marketed as a standalone unit, it is vital that MIDI communication is present and reliable. Speaking of which, Novation also compiled a document containing every MIDI message that the Circuit can send to make MIDI mapping for controllers even easier for producers. Isotonik Studios Circuit Patch Editor Novation also teamed up with Isotonik Studios, the team behind numerous Max4Live devices for live performances, to create a piece of software that allows producers to edit patches on the Circuit, save new patches, or create a complete custom bank of 64 patches. The current version of the software is a Max4Live device that is only compatible on Mac OS X and producers will also need Ableton Live 9.5 Suite. This version of the patch editor allows producers to integrate their Circuit into their Live sessions. HOWEVER, standalone versions are available too and these versions are made for Mac and PC. The files are big since they operate independently, but the standalone patch editor doesn’t require Live, Max4Live, or Max MSP. You can grab a copy of either version on Isotonik Studios’ site. Novation appears to be committed to developing the Circuit and to expand the capabilities of the device. It is no small feat to build a physical device that can do what a DAW can however the resurgence in physical gear may adopt the Circuit as a nucleus device that keeps a whole live rig together. The Novation Circuit is currently available in the DJTT store for $329.99. The post Novation Circuit Updated Firmware + New Patch Editor appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1YzyQeO
FL Studio 12.2 Now Available; Here’s What’s New Image-Line has released FL Studio 12.2. FL Studio 12.2 includes a complete vectorial overhaul of 25 of plugins, over 1,600 new percussion samples and more. Here are the details on what’s new: New vectorial interfaces – Updates for your favorite … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1myGs5B
Waves Audio Now Shipping Element 2.0 Virtual Analog Synth Waves Audio is now shipping Element 2.0 – a virtual analog synth for Mac & Windows that they say is perfect for ‘searing leads, gritty basses, lush pads, electro-percussion, sequential motions, mind-blowing FX and lots more’. Element 2.0 includes five … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1YzyCV8
The Moog Voyager Like You've Never Seen it @moogmusicinc http://bit.ly/1YthLsl
New Version Of Waves Synth Now Available @WavesAudioLtd http://bit.ly/1Pk0Pi2
Beep Street Releases Dagger Monosynth @beepstreet http://bit.ly/1O5whQ2
ACIDBOX II - Desktop Polivoks @ericasynths http://bit.ly/1OHOnUv
Legendary 1950's French Synth Revived Soniccouture releases Ondioline for Kontakt http://bit.ly/1OHOqzF
Erica Synths Intros Acidbox II Filter, Inspired By Polivoks VCF Erica Synths has introduced the Acidbox II filter – the second edition of their emulation of the Russian synthesizer Polivoks Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF). Erica Synths ACIDBOX II sound circuit is built around rare Russian ICs, used in the original Polivoks synthesizer. … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NyjG6A
Beep Street Intros Dagger Circuit-Modeled Monosynth Beep Street has introduced Dagger – a new monophonic synthesizer, for Mac & Windows, based on circuit-modeling technology. According to the developer, “Dagger captures the spirit of analogue synths, but does not try to emulate any of them, its designed from … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RArAjM
Free Roland R-8 MkII Sample Library Boxed Ear has released Roland R-8 MkII – a free sample library, based on the 90s drum machine. The original R-8 focussed on acoustic sounds, but the popularity of the SN-R8-04 Electronic and SN-R8-10 Dance sound cards, which contained TR-808, … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RAnVST
Misa Digital Intros Giant NSC-32 Note Sequence Controller Misa Digital has introduced the NSC-32 Note Sequence Controller (NCS), described as ‘a new type of electronic musical instrument’ that allows the user to manipulate and cue electronic music sequences live. The Misa Digital NSC-32 is a MIDI controller and makes no … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Yw4fyG
Soniccouture Intros Ondioline For Mac + Windows Soniccouture has introduced Ondioline, a virtual recreation of the rare French monosynth. The Ondioline was made in France in the 1950s and 60s, and was conceived as a low cost Ondes Martenot; sharing the same lateral vibrato keyboard, with a … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1O3zMXq
Miroslav Philharmonik 2 Now Available For Mac, Windows IK Multimedia has released Miroslav Philharmonik 2, a major update to its orchestral workstation app for Mac & Windows. With Miroslav Philharmonik 2 you get a complete selection of expressive sounds that includes strings, woodwinds and brass, plus a 9’ concert grand … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1YroRgM
Novation Circuit Beta firmware and Synth voice editor @wearenovation @isotonikstudios http://bit.ly/1NyaLSA
Akai MPC Touch - We get a look (video) @akai_pro http://bit.ly/1YvZlln
R2-D2 Microphone @BlueMicrophones http://bit.ly/1YvrMzY
A Modern Version Of A Step Sequencer Misa Digital's new NSC-32 MIDI instrument can play up to six sequences simultaneously http://bit.ly/1YvpGjA
Martin Eyerer Interview: How To Record With A Vocalist This second installation in our collaborative video series with Riverside Studios in Berlin explores how to set up a proper recording environment for a vocalist to record. Respected producer and DJ Martin Eyerer shares his tips and shares why he thinks a psychotherapist might be the best person to record a vocalist. Keep reading to watch the complete tutorial. Martin Eyerer Studio Tips On Recording a Vocalist As Martin Eyerer stresses so much in this video how preparing a comfortable environment for a vocalist is one of main elements of success – and that applies to almost anything where you’re expecting someone else to come and perform while you record them. As a summary, some of his other main advice in the video include: Doing mic “shoot-outs” with a singer – find as many alternate microphones as you can and compare how the singer sounds on each Always be recording – often a performer will do their best take before the stress of recording has started Get comfortable with your vocalist – sit down and talk to them and make them feel relaxed prior to recording Create as low-latency of a monitoring solution as possible – and discuss with the singer if they would like reverb on their monitor (many vocalists do) The microphone used in this tutorial was a Røde NTV valve condenser mic – which aren’t manufactured anymore. If you want an equivalent version, the Røde NTK is a very similar valve microphone, available on Amazon for $529. Martin also noted a set of headphones that he usually has on-hand for vocalists, the AKG K-240s, which are on Amazon for $57. The studio recording desk that Martin is using at Riverside Studios is a Amek M3000 – these came out first in the late 1970s, with basic versions running a retail price of $46,000. Sounds from Martin Eyerer Want to hear what some of Martin Eyerer’s original production work sounds like? Listen to a recent album of his, “Struktur”, in the Soundcloud player below: Special thanks again to Riverside Studios in Berlin for allowing us to film with their artists for this series. Check out more of the videos: Pan-Pot on Recording a Kalimba More coming soon! The post Martin Eyerer Interview: How To Record With A Vocalist appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1RzuvJs
Free Roland R-8 Drum Machine Sounds Boxed Ear releases R-8 MkII sample pack http://bit.ly/1TYVtYB
Eurorack Module Creates Complex Patterns Plankton Electronics releases the Arrhythmia programmable clock generator http://bit.ly/1O2IogJ
Peter Grenader Modular Synth Tour (The Beast) In this video, synth designer Peter Grenader (Electro-Acoustic Research) gives a tour of his modular synth, aka ‘The Beast’. Grenader believes it to be the largest EAR Plan B synth in existence. If you want to see examples of what he … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1PdaSDK
Plankton Electronics Intros Arrythmia Clock Generator Plankton Electronics has introduced the Arrhythmia, a programmable clock generator for the creation of complex rhythms and patterns. The Arrhythmia is designed to be useful for triggering step sequencers, envelopes, logic gates or sync inputs. Features: Analog clock combined with a digital step counter. … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OeMk9X
Native Instruments Releases Free Blocks Wired Synths Native Instruments has released Blocks Wired – three pre-patched modular synths – as a free download. Blocks Wired was created using Reaktor Blocks. Here’s what they have to say about it: From sequenced melodies and basslines to out of the ordinary textures, … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1PgRuYk
AAS Releases ‘Simple and Fun’ Ultra Analog Session 2 Applied Acoustics Systems has released Ultra Analog Session 2 for Mac OS X and Windows. Ultra Analog Session 2 unfolds as a “simple and fun” synthesizer. At the synth’s core is a hard sync oscillator-and-filter duo, supplemented by a powerful … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1k8sXHW
Ableton Link Now Available To Sync Up iOS Devices Wirelessly Ableton recently introduced Ableton Link – a new way to streamline syncing of multiple devices – both computers running Live and iOS devices running music apps. It’s now starting to appear in iOS apps. Here’s a video, via developer Oliver Greschke (Triqtraq and Elastic Drums), … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OdBIyn
A flock of iOS devices can now jam with Ableton Link Technology has done a strange thing to musicians: it’s turned us all into, well, loners. It didn’t used to be this way. Musicians on instruments ranging from folk ensembles to symphony orchestras are able to join up and keep time with one another. So why not do the same with tech? Ableton’s new Link technology promises to allow musicians to jam easily. But it isn’t just for Ableton Live. Today, iOS support is officially launching, allowing you to jam with supported apps even without a desktop/laptop computer involved. Above: The developers of triqtraq and Elastic Drums jamming in Berlin. Ableton Link: http://bit.ly/1OcE8ak Elastic Drums: http://apple.co/1OcEaPr; triqtraq: http://apple.co/1OcE8qF; Fugue: http://apple.co/1OcE8qM; As of today, you can already begin working with a terrifically handful useful of apps, from Audiobus to Elastic Drums to KORG Gadget. You can use these with Ableton Live, if you have the latest Live beta, or leave the computer out of it entirely and get iPhones and iPads jamming together. Many of these developers are in Germany, so we gathered together for the regular mobile music developer meetup I organize together along with Elastic Drum’s Oliver Greschke. The team from Ableton who built the tool work around the corner, and joined in, as well, led by Michaela Buergle, Link Product Owner (who showed off the tool in the Ableton Loop keynote in October). It was a rare event that mirrored the feeling of the library itself – developers mixing with other developers, users and developers meeting one another, Ableton and third parties alongside. Wireless jam session with @ableton #link at our Berlin meetup. @triqtraq.app and @ogreschke #elasticdrums A photo posted by CDM (@cdmblogs) on Dec 15, 2015 at 2:14pm PST The most fun, though, was watching the developers of apps actually play with each other – all those hard hours of coding work paying off in actually playing. And, surprise – they’re damned good. Let’s watch: Elastic Drums: http://apple.co/1OcEaPr; triqtraq: http://apple.co/1OcE8qF; Fugue: http://apple.co/1OcE8qM; MoDrum: http://apple.co/1OcEbml; BassLine: http://apple.co/1OcEbmp; Patterning: http://apple.co/1OcE8Hi; Loopy: http://apple.co/1OcEbmD; Audiobus: http://apple.co/1OcE8Hm; triqtraq – jam sequencer: http://apple.co/1OcE8qF; Elastic Drums: http://apple.co/1OcEaPr; Fugue Machine: http://apple.co/1OcE8qM; Loopy: http://apple.co/1OcEbmD; Audiobus: http://apple.co/1OcE8Hm; Patterning: http://apple.co/1OcE8Hi; There are some important things to know about how this works: There’s no Link app. “Link” exists only as library. It’s really drop-in support for developers. (Right now, that’s only iOS developers.) So there’s no button on your iPhone or iPad that says “Link.” Those apps, and Live itself, will just gain the ability to sync to each other wirelessly. There’s no master clock. Anyone can speed up or slow down the tempo, and the others will follow. That makes any of you a potential ‘conductor.’ And just as importantly, since there isn’t a master, you don’t have trouble if people come or go – any device can hop in or hop out at any time. There’s not anything else like this on iOS. DIY solutions have done this sort of peer-to-peer sync in laptop orchestras – Link itself grew out of a research project. But there aren’t other sync tools with this functionality or this wireless performance, period; Link is the first readily-available environment shipping in commercial tools. You can still send this timing to your MIDI gear. We’ll have to follow up on this use case, but since all of these devices are making a peer-to-peer connection, you can take any one of them and output MIDI clock to hardware. (You’ll want your ‘legacy’ gear receiving, not sending.) Wireless doesn’t mean laggy any more. You might want to carry along your own router (very portable ones are available), but the wireless performance was far more responsive than wired performance in the past. We’re waiting for more desktop, too. Ableton haven’t made any announcements yet about support beyond Live and iOS, but technically, it’s possible for them to provide this same SDK for Windows and Mac (or other mobile platforms if there’s a reason to do so). I’d love to sync Traktor or Maschine with Live, for instance, at last, and the developers there live just across the river. Rest assured we’ll be haunting Ableton until that happens. But for now, iOS gives us a lot to play with – and because it’s mobile, it’s perfectly suited to impromptu wireless jamming. And now not only is this available to iOS users, but developers can pick it up soon. That’s to say nothing of built-in support in Audiobus. So watch for this list to grow: Ableton Link apps The post A flock of iOS devices can now jam with Ableton Link appeared first on cdm createdigitalmusic. http://bit.ly/1OcE8Hq
Roli Intros Free Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression Synth, ‘Noise’, For iPhone Roli today announced the release of Noise, a free app that takes advantage of the expressive music-making potential of the iPhone. Stemming from the company’s years of research into “touch-sensitive musical interfaces,” Noise is a ‘full-bodied instrument’ that makes use … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1PdZVnh
OrangeAid Turns Your iPad Into A Control Surface For Reason Soundzest Software has introduced OrangeAid – a new app that turns your iPad into a control surface for Reason and Reason Essentials. Features: Create your own layouts to control your Rack devices, song files and play instruments the way you want, … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1PdY7KP
27 Open Source DIY Eurorack Case Designs Nathan Thompson has shared a variety of open source DIY Eurorack case designs via Thingiverse. The cases are designed so that they can be manufactured via a laser cutter service or DIY: 42HP 3U Skiff 70mm –http://bit.ly/1Pbpu6u 42HP 4U 123mm –http://bit.ly/1PbpsM3 … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Pbpt2i
Capo adds Neptune isolation engine Isolate guitar solos, eliminate vocals & create play-along tracks SuperMegaUltraGroovy, the software developers behind FuzzMeasure, have released an intriguing update to their... http://bit.ly/1OcrkRc
Roland's New 500 Modules To Be Revealed... ...at the Toronto Modular Synth Workshop, this Saturday http://bit.ly/1IYBybN
Arturia's AudioFuse Is On Its Way UK ETA and Pricing announced for next generation USB audio interface http://bit.ly/1OcJRTC
ROLI launch free Noise app for iPhone App employs 3D Touch for expressive playing on iPhone 6S If you’ve gone out and got yourself an iPhone 6S in the Pre-Christmas madness, then there is an app that you... http://bit.ly/1JginVT
ROLI introduce NOISE - a kind of virtual Seaboard for your iPhone @weareroli http://bit.ly/1OAtYAH
Hey Maria Carey - what are you doing in my MIDI file? Can you hear the vocal in this piano MIDI File Version? http://bit.ly/1MkHg2K
Hey Maria Carey - what are you doing in my MIDI file? Can you hear the vocal in this piano MIDI File Version? http://bit.ly/1MkHg2K
Roland Space Echo RE-cognised As A Classic RE-201 is to be inducted into TECnology Hall of Fame http://bit.ly/1OAqeiT
iPad Control Surface For Reason Soundzest Software Limited releases OrangeAid custom MIDI controller app http://bit.ly/1PcE6nW
Casual DJ Mixing Apps in Pacemaker + Spotify: Should DJs Be Worried? This week two companies have made additional forays into the casual DJ mixing apps market – Spotify and Pacemaker. With a new Party mode, Spotify hopes to automate DJing for a lot of casual music consumers; while Pacemaker’s new update adds “move-in transitions” that allow automated mixing between two tracks. Should DJs feel threatened? Read on for our thoughts. Pacemaker For iPhone The brand new version of Pacemaker brings the app to the iPhone, something that last year’s release on iPad (watch our first look review here) lacked. As I pointed out in the article on Auxy’s new release, having a casual music app is way more likely to be used if it’s on a phone as opposed to an iPad, which tends to be a device that you bring when you have a specific use for it. But to make mixing songs together realistic on an iPhone, Pacemaker has come up with Mix Transitions, a creative solution that allows anyone to make quick transition edits. You select a second song from a list of EchoNest suggested tracks that match key and BPM. Slide the second track a point in the waveform that looks good, and the app will automatically lock BPM and fade out the old track, fade in the new track – but in a cleaner way than we’ve heard from other such automated processes in Traktor, Virtual DJ, etc. Did we mention there’s Apple Watch support? When it comes down to it, this is a simple mixing solution – but it is perfect for situations in which you want a better setup than just someone’s Spotify playlist. Speaking of which, the Spotify integration is still there, so you can load in tracks from Spotify and have a better flexibility of selection that you might on Serato (until 1.9 and Pulselocker arrives) or Traktor. The fact that EchoNest song compatibility works on Spotify’s library is pretty huge- you’re able to find compatible tracks that you never would have thought of otherwise. When will Traktor, Rekordbox, and Serato DJ get track recommendation engines? Should DJs Be Worried? Absolutely not. Pacemaker is a fun mixing app that will do better than casually trying to fade YouTube videos together, and it’s very useful for finding great tracks that work well together, taking requests, and overall just curating a party playlist. I would actually recommend downloading it and keeping it for those moments in which you wish you had a full DJ setup but would settle for any way to make a series of selected tracks sound good together. The new version of Pacemaker continues to be free on the iTunes App Store store – you just have to pay if you want to unlock in-app effects, loops, beatjumps, and filters. Spotify Party Also this week came a new announcement from Spotify that they’re touting as being “party-friendly playlists” that come already “mixed by DJs” but have the built-in ability to transition between three different mood/energy levels. Taglines like “Sound like a DJ” and “Set the mood” are all over their landing page. There’s a quote from Diplo in their blog post: “When it comes to throwing parties you simply have to have the right playlists – or everyone will leave […] and while researching and picking out music is fun, it also takes a lot of time and effort. With Spotify Party, you’re served with loads of beat-matched music that transitions perfectly, which you can easily adapt to whatever your current vibe is. Best of all, you don’t have to do any of the legwork.” Spotify Party allows selecting between three different vibes within a specific mix – which means someone still has to read the room and decide what the room needs. That’s traditionally the job of a DJ, right? Should DJs Be Worried? If successful, this Party mode will very much start a new wave of people who think that a DJ’s job is easily automated. Remember when the iPod first came up and people were claiming that instead of hiring a talented wedding DJ, a playlist on an iPod would do just as well with a rented sound system? Expect more of that. But again, you won’t find this in clubs. You might find it in bars or house parties where DJs could be – but it still won’t have the same versatility, because at the end of the day, these are playlists, not tracks chosen for a specific event. The post Casual DJ Mixing Apps in Pacemaker + Spotify: Should DJs Be Worried? appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1RVsyX5
Spectrasonics Retires DVDs, Moving To Digital Delivery & USB Drives Spectrasonics has announced that it is phasing out DVD delivering and moving to digital delivery and USB drives. The company is now using USB drives in their in-store packaging for all three of their virtual instruments, Omnisphere 2, Trilian and … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1MjTbOg
Roland Boutique Synthesizer Demo Videos (JP-08, JU-06, JX-03) This series of videos, via Hunart, features the Roland Boutique line of micro synthesizers. The first video, above, features the entire line. The videos below each feature an individual synth in the Boutique line. Roland JX-03 Demo Roland JU-06 Demo … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OzrrH9
Nord Electro 5 OS Updated Nord has released a new version of the Nord Sound Manager, adding support for editing and organizing Set Lists. The new Electro 5 OS v1.28, adds support for the new feature and fixes several bugs. Check out the video below for a … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NVTB2T
10 Days of ComposerCloud Giveaways One Winner Every Day until December 25 High-quality virtual instrument makers EastWest are hosting 10 Days of ComposerCloud Giveaways. Every day... http://bit.ly/1maH7tl
GeoShred For iPad, aka ‘The Future Of Shredding’ Dream Theater keyboardist & Wizdom Music founder Jordan Rudess lets us know about GeoShred – a new iPad music app that features a physical modeling sound synthesis engine and a interface that is tailored to shredding. GeoShred brings together Wizdom … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1MjlXOS
Spectrasonics Drop DVD for USB and El Crapitan now officially supported @spectrasonic http://bit.ly/22ai8Hv
Become a drum machine ninja with TR-REC game Roland launch free iOS game for drum programming Ever wished there was a Guitar Hero for programming drum machines? No, neither have we, but Roland's latest app... http://bit.ly/1ma3nDz
Podcast: Sonic TALK 430 - Una Corda - Gear of The Year A rare and welcome appearance from composer PJ Tracy, joins us to discuss the Native Instruments Una Corda piano Kontakt instrument, Red Martian gets his stuff pressed to Edison wax cylinder, the panel also discuss their choices for gear of the year. And Gaz tries to convince PJ to dive into Ableton Live... http://bit.ly/1QOIBVE
Erica Synths New Eurorack Module @ericasynths http://bit.ly/1MiF0sO
Jordan Rudess Demos The Korg Kronos @KorgUK @KorgUS http://bit.ly/1O8jJ67
New Delivery Platforms From Spectrasonics @Spectrasonics http://bit.ly/1NqZqDK
Elektron Introduces Audio/CV Split Cable Kit @WeAreElektron http://bit.ly/1O8jIPM
Erica Synths Intros Black Dual EG/LFO Erica Synths has added to its Black series the Black Dual Envelope Generator/LFO. The module has 3 basic functions: Dual full ADSR envelope generator where each envelope can be adjusted one by one. Two simultaneously controllable AD/ASR envelope generator. Two LFOs … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1m8VBtD
Auxy For iPhone Auxy has released Auxy for iPhone – a mobile music app designed to let you ‘focus on your musical ideas and be more creative’. “Building the iPhone version has helped us clarify our mission: to provide the best tools for … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RpKpGe
ContinuuCon ’16, The First Continuum Fingerboard Conference, Scheduled For June 9-11 Organizer Sally Sparks let us know about ContinuuCon ’16, the first Continuum Fingerboard conference, scheduled For June 9-11, 2016 in Asheville, NC. The event, to be held at the Altamont Theater, will feature lectures, workshops, collaborations and a concert featuring the Continuum. Designed … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1lRgaLG
Bianca Froese-Acquaye Announces Plans For TANGAUDIMAX, The Tangerine Dream Sound Museum Bianca Froese-Acquaye, widow of Tangerine Dream head Edgar Froese, has announced plans to create TANGAUDIMAX, The Tangerine Dream Sound Museum. Froese (6 June 1944 – 20 January 2015) was the head and founder of the electronic band Tangerine Dream, from 1967 … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Ny4R1J
Elektron Intros $25 Audio/CV Split Cable Kit Elektron today introduced the Audio/CV Split Cable Kit, a multi-purpose cable and connector solution that’s designed to expand your connectivity options. Here are some example scenarios: Analog Rytm users wanting to connect the dual mono separate voice out jacks to … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OwWJym
Cubase 8.5 Update Review (video) @Steinbergmedia http://bit.ly/1Ro5T6v
Nord Electro 5 Gets New OS New Nord Sound Manager adds support for editing and organizing Set Lists http://bit.ly/1Jbqlj4
303-Style Virtual Instrument With 9 Filters G-Sonique releases ALIEN303 V2 acid and bassline machine for Windows http://bit.ly/1P7oD8K
Play Roland's Rhythm Programming Game Free TR-REC GAME app features rhythm programming used in the TR-808 and TR-8 http://bit.ly/1ZbsJzt
Holiday Finger Drumming Contest + Free Soundpack With the winter holidays upon us and the end of the year closing out, we thought it would be fun to do a finger drumming contest with a holiday-themed soundpack. Click through to download the free soundpack from Apoth, watch exhibition performances from the Soundpack4Soundpack crew, and get the details on entering the competition. Holiday Finger Drumming Contest Details Happy holidays, DJTT friends and family! We’re excited to kick off a new contest for the holiday season that everyone with a controller with any of any kind pads or a way to play samples can participate in. Here are the rules: Use the provided soundpack (link below) at least as a starting point for your routine – you can use it as is, but if you modify it we should still be able to recognize elements Record good quality audio and video of you playing the soundpack live! We’re judging based on: Technical performance and playing style Aesthetics and unique elements to your video (Unique setting? Incorporating other instruments, performers, gear? Visuals or nice-looking screencapture of what you’re playing? There are lots of options here!) How enjoyable it is to watch (silly holiday elements or other clever things that keep people watching) Pro Tip: Read Ean’s advice on shooting a great performance video or watch winners from past DJTT contests Upload a video on YouTube or Facebook (or any video site) with #DJTTholidaycontest in the title, and post a link in the comments on this article. Submit your video by Thursday, December 24th at 12 noon, PST. We’ll be awarding the prizes for the winners (we reserve the right to add more winners if you all really rock our socks off): Grand Prize winner: a front page featured sound pack performance on DJTT in 2016, a Midi Fighter 3D, A Midi Fighter Twister, $100 in DJTT store credit, and all DJTT Soundpacks Runners up: All featured in winner roundup (with a link back to your YouTube channel / Soundcloud / etc) on December 25th The judges for the contest will be the Soundpack 4 Soundpack crew (who did exhibition videos below) and the DJTT staff. Download the “Ye Grand Holiday” sound pack (Ableton project + WAVs) here. Exhibition Performances: Apoth, Vide, Kloosless, INDO, Jeff Tunque Some of the most passionate finger drummers in the DJTT community have joined forces as Soundpack4Soundpack, a crew that runs regular finger drumming soundpack cyphers. It’s very similar to the Team Supreme weekly beat cyphers, except focused around live performance. To help kick off this contest, we asked some of the Soundpack4Soundpack crew to put together their own performances on Apoth’s pack. Watch below for inspiration for your own entry: Apoth Vide Kloosless INDO GRIN Jeff Tunque Good luck! We look forward to seeing your entries in the comments below. The post Holiday Finger Drumming Contest + Free Soundpack appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1RRhQAN
Roland Aira TR-8 Editor Control TR-8 slider movements and more from a Mac or PC http://bit.ly/1m6jr9m
Getting Started With iOS Audio Units The latest episode of the iOS Update takes a look at using Audio Units in iOS. In the video, Mitch Gallagher demonstrates the Audio Units plug-in functionality introduced in iOS 9. Apps that support the plug-in functionality can be opened within … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RnBzsw
‘Switched On’ Star Wars The iconic John Williams Star Wars Main Title gets the ‘switched on’ treatment, in this synth cover by Kurtz Mindfields & Roman Perreton. Their cover features the Moog Sub 37, with 54 tracks, arranged in a classitronica orchestration. Mindfields & Perreton credit Wendy … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1m5LNR5
Inside The Yamaha Reface DX The latest in Markus Fuller’s series of teardown videos takes a look at the inside of a Yamaha Reface DX: In the video, Fuller explores the guts of the Reface DX and makes some comparisons to the Reface YC organ. http://bit.ly/1QroTRi
Free Sound Package For Bitwig Studio Bitwig & sound design company Irrupt have announced a new line of sound packages for Bitwig Studio. To introduce it, the companies have released a free Irrupt System sound package, available now in the Bitwig Studio Package Manager. Here’s their video intro: … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Rnyf0v
Roland Intros Free TR-REC Game For iOS Roland has introduced TR-REC – a free iOS game that’s based on classic TR-style beatmaking. Here’s what they have to say about it: Synchronizing to an array of dance music rhythms, enjoy the challenge of completing powerful dynamic beats using … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1m5HVj1
A Guitar Teacher In Your Pocket @ikmultimedia http://bit.ly/1m496e1
Mackie Master Fader v4.0 Adds New Features Digital mixer control app update includes output RTA, iPad Pro support and more http://bit.ly/1RPF6it
Harvestman Stillson Hammer Sequencer (2016 NAMM Show Sneak Preview) 2016 NAMM Show: Seattle synth manufacturer The Harvestman shared this sneak preview of a new step sequencer, the Stillson Hammer mkII. The new sequencer will make its official debut at the Winter NAMM Show, coming up in January. Here’s what … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Za2VUx
Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper Offers 12 Minutes + 10 Independent Loops Electro-Harmonix has introduced the 720 Stereo Looper, a looping pedal that offers: 720 seconds (12 minutes) of stereo recording time; 10 independent loops; and unlimited overdubbing. The 720 records high-quality, uncompressed audio, with 24-bit A/D/A converters & 44.1kHz sample rate. Here’s … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1RmlmDX
Delia Derbyshire Exhibition Opening The Coventry Music Museum opened a new exhibit honoring Delia Derbyshire on the December 6th, 2015. This video, via bigbassmannige, captures the opening of the new exhibit and features Clive Blackburn (Delia’s partner) and Pete Chambers (Coventry Music Museum Curator). The Coventry … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1lLJza1
Cycling ’74 Updates Max To 7.1 Cycling ’74 has released Max 7.1. The update brings two major new features: Snapshots and the Package Manager. An updated Snapshot system now allows you to save the state of the entire patcher, not just hosted plugins. You can now instantly create, … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/2249J8q
New Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper @EHX http://bit.ly/1lLgbkg
Cutting Edge Creative Tools For Ableton @Ableton http://bit.ly/1Qq6pk1
Auxy Now For iPhone, Redesigned With New Synth Engine Last year, innovative music production app Auxy rolled out for iPad, bringing a fun-filled creation process that was strongly received (the app maintained a near-perfect rating in the iTunes App Store). Now, the team behind Auxy has rebuilt the entire app from the ground up for iOS, incorporating a new synthesis engine, and a master chain for FX. Read on for details and videos of it in action. App: Auxy Requirements/Platform: iOS 8.0 or later; iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch Price +Availability: $4.99 on the App Store Auxy’s New Features So last year we did a complete review of the iPad Auxy app at launch, and the workflow and interface remains largely the same (this is a good thing as it’s super easy to learn). Additions to the new version of Auxy include: iPhone support and layout of the Auxy interface New synth engine built-in collaboration with Sonic Charge Sounds designed by producer 7 Skies Master effects chain specifically tuned for the sounds in the app to make the final mix sound great 3D Touch support allows faster loop editing and project creation Our First Impressions After spending just a small amount of time using the new version of Auxy, it feels like these “sketch pad” apps for music composition continue to become more and more feature-filled, and sound way better than some of the early iOS music apps. Writing and tweaking a track in real-time is no longer an experience that only sounds good when you’re in front of a full-fledged studio setup There’s no doubt that having the app on iPhone makes it way more likely that it will actually be used, because you’re much more likely to have unpredicted downtime with your phone than your tablet (I find myself using music apps on public transit, in waiting rooms, at the airport). We’re excited to see Auxy continue to build more sounds with the new synth engine as that’s the main limiting factor right now – I wanted to create and tweak my own patch, but for now users are limited to the solid selection available in the app. Auxy is available now for $4.99 on the App Store – try it out and let us know your thoughts in the comments. Watch a video overview of the app from the sound designer 7 Skies below: The post Auxy Now For iPhone, Redesigned With New Synth Engine appeared first on DJ TechTools. http://bit.ly/1lKjTdU
IRCAM Intros IRCAMAX – 12 Devices For Max For Live French electronic music center IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) has intrroduced IRCAMAX 2, their second collection of Max For Live devices. Audio effects, instruments and a MIDI effect make up this collection of tools for advanced audio processing, sound design and creative … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1UqGJTj
Kontakt Piano With A Single String Per Key @NI_News http://bit.ly/1QHDree
Open Mic: Nominate Your Choice For The Best Synth Module Of 2015! We’re running a variety of readers polls this month to pick the Best of 2015. The modular synth category poses a unique challenge, though; there are so many different modules introduced in 2015! Because of this, we’re letting readers nominate the … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NlEHRI
IRCAMAX 2 effects put sonic science into your Ableton Live sets IRCAM is Paris’ legendary research center. It’s the place where the original Max was born, and it’s still a hub for some of the brightest minds in sound in the world. IRCAMAX 2 is a new set of effects and instruments for Max for Live. And it does some amazing stuff – though maybe the best way to demonstrate that is not to explain, but to let you listen. They’ve made not just demos but some beautiful music, via artist Najo: What’s nice about this collection is, in a world where we often have superb effects and instruments doing more or less the same stuff, this covers some unique territory. It lets you build on experimental research in sound, getting that bleeding-edge science in your sets. An overview of what’s included: A polyphonic synthesizer using IRCAM’s Modalys physical modeling. A physical modeled filter with the Modalys engine. A vocal harmonizer. A “freeze” effect, so you can take sounds – even live sounds – and freeze and manipulate them. An audio-to-MIDI converter. A spectral delay. A grain delay effect. One of the best features here: MIDI-controlled grain transposition, so you can “play” the effect live. An all-in-one multi effect with delay, reverb, chorus, auto pan. A utility device for routing MIDI send/receive. A 3-oscillator, 3-envelope polyphonic synth with a nice modulation matrix. What’s interesting in all of this is that a lot of it competes directly with Ableton’s built-in facilities – but might do the job better. Ableton’s Grain Delay has gotten a bit long in the tooth, nice as it is; IRCAM’s pitch-to-MIDI may best Ableton’s. Even the physical modeling tech competes, arguably, with software licensed from AAS. On the other hand, the upshot of this is the ability to completely refresh the creative instruments and effects you might use on a daily basis. And as I think you can hear in the audio examples, some of the harmonization and physical modeling capabilities here are out of this world. And by doing this all a la carte, Ableton can open up some possibilities that might be too divergent from Live itself to get baked into the normal upgrade release cycle. I’m looking forward to playing with it. IRCAMAX 2: Creative tools from the forefront of music research The post IRCAMAX 2 effects put sonic science into your Ableton Live sets appeared first on Create Digital Music. http://bit.ly/1QimgRW
New Synthesis Platform For iOS And Mac @VotanDSP http://bit.ly/1NsZnW3
Envolution Lets You Reshape The Envelope Of Your Sounds Envolution is a new frequency-dependent envelope shaper, with separate transient and sustain sections. It’s designed to let you radically re-shape the envelope of your instruments or audio. You can use it on a track, bus or even master output to add … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1QhWr4F
Mutable Instruments Rings Brings Physical Modeling Synthesis To Euro Systems The Mutable Instruments Rings module brings physical modeling synthesis to Eurorack systems. Rings focuses on the key ingredient, the resonator, ready to be excited by envelope clicks, trigger pulses, granular noise or any other audio source produced by the rest … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Yalc6R
SSL Scat-Talker Puts Old-School Speech Synthesis Into An MU Module The Synthetic Sound Labs Scat-Talker is a dotcom-style MU module that puts old-school style speech synthesis under voltage control. They note: The Scat-Talker can be made to ‘speak’ by sequencing its phonemes in specific orders, but be warned that the … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1jYkDKP
Radically Reshape The Envelope Of Any Sound Sonnox launches the Oxford Envolution frequency-dependent transient shaper http://bit.ly/1m0DNki
Module For Drum Wave Synthesis Matter is the first in a new range of Eurorack modules by Folktek http://bit.ly/1TKNFK6
A Peak Inside Roland's Synth Museum @Roland_US @Roland_UK http://bit.ly/1QgFW8V
How To Practice On Club DJ Gear You Don’t Own Recently we’ve noticed DJs around the web asking about getting a chance to use club gear before playing a gig. One of the best things you can do before a DJ set is be completely familiar with the DJ gear that you’re going to be using. But for those who are new to some types of gear, how do you get time behind those particular decks? Learn from DJTT’s own DJ community a few great strategies for gaining experience on club DJ gear. Gaining experience on professional club DJ gear isn’t super easy for every person who wants to take on learning how to mix. Especially for those DJs who don’t have a lot of cash to throw at the problem of acquiring DJ gear, it’s not uncommon to have more experience mixing on a virtual set of decks with little-to-no outboard gear. And the truth is, the industry standard set of club DJ gear now runs well over $2,000. It’s not exactly a casual hobby investment, but for many DJs, not having that experience can be a huge hinderance. Rent The Gear @DJTechTools Originally a turntablist, for my 1st CDJ gig I hired the gear for a coupla days then walked in the club like it ain’t no thang! — No Qualms (@NoQualmsArtist) December 14, 2015 Where do you think most of the DJ gear in your town or city is right now? Most likely there’s a large stockpile in local audio gear rental companies – this is where clubs and promoters go when they need to get certain bits of kit that they don’t have locally. Anyone can rent this gear, and usually it’s only a fraction of the price of purchasing it. A few tips for making sure you get your money’s worth if you rent DJ gear to practice on: Ask the rental company if there’s a time of the week that’s cheaper to rent (often weekends mean higher demand and prices) See if there are weekly / monthly rates that are a better deal Shop around! If you’re in a big city, quickly call each rental store and see what their rates are. Go To A Music Instrument Store While the last decade hasn’t been especially kind to brick and mortar stores selling musical instruments (see this analysis from February 2015 on the financial decline of Guitar Center), they still remain one of the few places for many musicians to try gear before they buy it. A photo posted by Sugar Ray Leonard (@sugarrayleonard) on Apr 12, 2015 at 8:04am PDT Historically, these stores are more than happy to let budding DJs come in and test out gear in exchange for a potential sales lead. Of course, this comes with the drawback of it being an unpredictable environment. Sales people will bother you – they want to make their commission, other customers will want to play with the gear as well, and you’re likely to be surrounded by a ton of other noise from other instruments and DJ stations. Overall, a musical equipment store is great place to check out and learn about pro DJ gear, but not the best way to actually get solid practice time in. Find A Friendly Venue / Play At Soundcheck Image credit: @djthay420 on Twitter If you’re going to be playing on unfamiliar DJ gear at a venue, why not try to find a way to play in that DJ booth before the actual show? If you’ve got a good relationship with a venue owner or a promoter, ask to show up earlier in the evening on a slower night and get a chance to play on the gear. One of the best things about this plan is that you are using the exact gear that you’re going to be using on the night of. If there are any quirks (especially common with well-worn club mixers), you’ll find out before you show up for your gig. There are a few drawbacks here as well – not every club will be willing to let you in early, and some club owners might (unfairly) doubt your ability to DJ if you’re asking to get some practice in. Read our 2013 article on talking to promoters and club managers to build these relationships so a request like this is a breeze. Swap Gear With DJ Friends / Local DJs Just a sampling of the local DJ groups on bit.ly/1QG5ISb Have you found a community of DJs in your local area? Meeting and befriending other DJs will pay dividends in many ways, and one of them is the potential to share and trade gear. One DJ might have turntables and want to try out CDJs, or two DJs might want to swap controllers to try out a new brand or model. I’ve personally found bit.ly/1QG5ISb to be a great place to find these local groups of DJs looking to connect with others. Even if you can’t find the bit of kit you need right away, odds are you’ll meet someone who can point you in the right direction. Watch Videos Of The Gear In Use @DJTechTools Just before use new gear, I watch many tutorials on YouTube. That’s why I have understood my Z2 using into 20 min. — CirezD_mau5 (@Francois_Dsm) December 12, 2015 This one might be the most obvious to many DJs because we live in an era in which almost every piece of gear in any area of technology has a video of someone using it. Not only are there tutorials for DJ ge… http://bit.ly/1Unempa
Cinematic Synth Jam With A Korg Radius This video, via Midera, captures a live performance with a Korg Radius. Here’s what he has to say about it: Created this pad using only the Korg Radias (no effects other than a little compression/limiting in Logic). I found that … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Qg3oD5
Dreadbox G-System Synth Jam Sunday Synth Jam: This video, via Dreadbox, captures a live synth jam, shot at their workshop, with two of their G-System modular synths. Technical Details: The left G-System performs the drum sounds, via an Arturia Beatstep Pro, while the right one performs … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Y8UknW
A Very Synthy Christmas Sunday Synth Jam: This video, via Autotross (John Anderson), captures a live rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen on a Moog-format bit.ly/1QFAsml modular synthesizer and a Roland Juno 60. Technical Details: The Korg EMX takes care of the trigger sequencing for both … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NrsDMM
Live Synth Jam By Rewired, With Ableton Live + Roland AIRA Line Sunday Synth Jam: This video captures a performance by Russian musician Rewire (Andrei Swipe), at Propaganda club, Moscow Technical Details: Roland Aira MX-1, TR-8, TB-3, System-1 + Ableton Live. http://bit.ly/1IOO7X8
Scanner’s Modular 101 Scanner (Robin Rimbaud) shared this live performance video, which captures a set for Modular 101, an event set up by London Modular and presented on December 13, 2015. “This set was completely improvised,” note Rimbaud,” to show what’s possible with a … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1mj1yES
Buried in Snow (Final Fantasy VII) cover [featuring Eurorack Strings] Reader Steven Morris shared his latest video with us, a ‘video song’ style cover of Buried in Snow, from the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack, by Nobuo Uematsu. Morris had this to say about the performance: I have been working on creating … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1O3WLTT
Folktek Intros Matter Drum Synthesis Module Folktek has announced its entry into the Eurorack format with Matter – the first module of a planned compete Folktek modular system. Here’s what they have to say about it: Matter is drum wave synthesis. While it could simply be … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Y5e6AH
Free Music Download – Terse Greetings 2015 Free Music: Reader Kevin Busby let us know Terse Greetings – a new compilation on the Terse label that’s available as a free download. The compilation features ambient (all shades), kosmiche, post-industrial, experimental, pop, rock and more. “How Christmassy the tracks … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1NMT8Qq
Eat Static: Live Modular Rig (video) @realEatStatic http://bit.ly/1O1ISpu
New Stompz Module Lets You Integrate Stomp Boxes With Eurorack Modular Systems Monde Synthesizer’s Stompz module is designed to let you easily use stomp box effects pedals with a Eurorack modular synthesizer. Stompz allows you to integrate guitar stomp boxes into your modular synthesizer. Additionally it provides active multiples and a voltage inverter as auxiliary … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1Rf61oC
Electronic Music On Edison Phonograph Cylinder Edison phonograph cylinders were the earliest commercial platform for distributing sound recordings, and from about 1896 to 1915, this is what ‘records’ looked like. By the 1910s, though, phonograph cylinders were being sidelined by discs, which were easier to manufacture, ship … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1lUI7BC
London Modular Alliance: Live Modular Rig (video) @LondonModular http://bit.ly/1RIXaei
UVI Intros Cameo Synth Suite, Inspired By Classic Casio CZ Synthesizers UVI has released Cameo, a suite of instruments for UVI Workstation, inspired by the classic 80’s Casio CZ phase distortion synthesizers. Here’s the official video intro: The suite is made up of three instruments: Cameo CZ incorporates a huge library of custom … Continue reading → http://bit.ly/1OmhjRL