Concertinome

YouTube via materialvision
"the Concertinome is a custom made instrument combining the concertina accordion with the monome style keyboard and electronic air pressure sensors. It was made by Espen Sommer Eide 2009 and demonstrated in this concert at Visningsrommet USF, Bergen, Norway."

Laser + Sound test-0

YouTube via daito. You might remember daito from these videos (scroll)
"* Alvaro Cassinelli: concept, software and hardware development
* Daito Manabe: sound concept and sound generatio
* Kuribara Yusaku: latest software development including contour
tracking and interface
* Stephane Perrin: participated in early development of the smart
laser scanner technology used for tracking."
heart "cool laser pattern sound test 1"

MF-104Z Analog Delay Spillover Mod

"Bypass the delay without killing existing echoes with this "must-have" modification for the MF-104Z Analog Delay. Includes a switch for enabling and disabling Spillover Mode.

Imagine playing an echo-filled chorus, then switching back to playing a dry sound for the verse, all while your echoes naturally decay, or create infinitely repeating echo soundscapes then solo over them with echo-free.

This modification is compatible with and can be performed on all versions of the MF-104."

Available at the Moog Music Modifications page where you'll find more.

You can find a video of this particular mod here.

Warrior Synth

via an anonymous reader:

"I'm not sure how much you know or don't know about miniature wargaming, but there are fanatics that model and paint these little miniature figures to ILM-type quality. This is not one of those, but he DID model a Triton Extreme 76 for his little Tyranid band:" [link to more]

Moog Voyager Synthesizer 50th Anniversary Edition

via this auction

"Extremely Rare Moog Voyager synthesizer in perfect working order. Housed in a maple wood cabinet with blue LED's. Anniversary insignia is displayed on the front digital display, below the touchpad, on the back panel, etc. Serial on the back reads AE0005. There were only 10-15 Voyagers made in this configuration. Retailed for $3500. Sold out since 2004."

CLICK FOR MORE »

HardSid4U Studio Edition Sid Synthesizer

via this auction

"The HardSID 4U is the most powerful SID synthesizer since the legendary C64!

* Two CPUs and main memory
* USB connection (compatible with both 2.0 & 1.1)
* Isochronous USB endpoint for low-latency audio
* VSTi interface with 8000Hz update rate on all SID registers (free)
* Wave-in VSTi pin for routing 8000Hz signals to any registers (example: playing other VSTi's sound on the volume register)
* Full automation of all VSTi parameters
* Superior sound quality (..it is a HardSID!)
* Support for up to four SID chips (6581/8580/6582 in any combination)
* Updateable firmware over USB
* Microsoft Vista compatible (drivers for Win2000/XP/Vista)

..and if you're a C64 fan
* Cycle-accurate playback of your favorite SID tunes
* Digitized sound + high-speed playback with low CPU utilization
* Seamless playback of .sid tunes while you work on your PC by providing a huge playback buffer for non-VSTi applications

The HardSID 4U Studio Edition

* Full physical separation of the SIDs from the USB driven circuits
* 100% elimination of EMI (Electromagnetic interference) noise that may come from your PC via USB

Many PC parts (sometimes the USB controller itself) are generating electromagnetic interference (EMI) which travels through the USB cable into your USB Audio device (HardSID 4U in this case). Even if you use a cable with built-in EMI suppression some of the noise will work its way through to your audio device. So, if any part in your PC isn't properly electromagnetically shielded, the EMI noise will be audible when low level audio is played. EMI noise can not be perfectly removed by any suppression method except by expensive physical separation of circuits connected to the PC from the audio circuits.
Suppressed EMI noise is still perfectly acceptable for hobby usage, but if you're planning to record your work/art in studio quality, you should consider going for the HardSID 4U Studio Edition, since it physically separates your audio circuits from the ones connected to your PC. We're using expensive technologies to replace direct electrical contacts between the PC driven circuits and the audio circuits.

Connectors
* Four mono dry outputs for the best sound quality (2x stereo jacks)
* Mixed output for the easiest usage (1x stereo jack - mono signal)
* Four mono inputs for filtering external sources with SID filters (2x stereo jacks)
* USB connector for connecting the unit to a desktop PC or a Notebook
* DC-in connector for connecting the power supply (1A@12VDC)

The VSTi interface for your HardSID 4U
* 8000Hz update rate on all SID registers. This is not a dumb MIDI control interface!
* Wave-in VSTi pin for routing 8000Hz signals to any SID registers. Example: playing another VSTi's sound on the volume register (drum sampler, guitar synth, anything...)! No other SID synth can do this!
* Full automation of all VSTi parameters in your VST host
* Advanced modulation for each oscillator (3x for each SID):
o 8x8 Modulation Matrix with selectable sources, targets and amount (-100% to 100%)
o 8 Modulation Source Combiners for advanced modulation
o 4 LFOs
o 4 Envelopes
o Table editor for value sequencing at up to 8000Hz speed
* Selectable filter curve for driving the famous analog SID filters (logarithmic/linear for the 8580/6581)
* Up to four VSTi instances can run simultaneously (one for each SID)"

DAFT PUNK - DA FUNK performed on CASIO SK5

YouTube via drbenway. some cool Casio ads in this one.
"Hi,
All samples come from the original track, except the funkylead.
I used the loop effect on the bass drum sample.
The funkylead was sampled trought the mic input, to add a pretty lo-fi distortion.

ENJOY!"

Beat Thang - the Future of Multi-Touch Synths?

Comments are coming in as usual in this Beat Thang post. I know some of you will roll your eyes when you read the title of this put, but think about it for a sec.

When I first saw the virtual instrument version of Beat Thang, I wondered how ergonomic it might be with a mouse. It reminded me of why I prefer hardware. I then remembered Windows 7 with multi-touch support is just around the corner and there's rumor Apple will be coming out with a tablet by end of this year.

Think about it. With a tablet slate device we will be one step closer to software synths being actual dedicated harware synths. Except... they will be more customizable, you will be able to have multiple synths per hardware, and... battery power.

This isn't a new concept and tablets are available now, but they are not yet ubiquitous and multi-touch technology really is just beginning. It will be interesting to see what sort of impact tablets have on the hardware manufacturers. When I look at the Beat Kangz Beat Thang, and think of it on that screen, I think of a cool piece of dedicated hardware that I can play anywhere. Think of that in your backpack.

BTW, any photoshop artist out there, feel free to mock up the Beat Thang with a tablet.

New Roland CONNECT Website - New Gear Coming September 1st

"ROLAND TO REVEAL FALL 2009 PRODUCT LINEUP
Worldwide Product-Launch Event Scheduled for September 1, 2009

Los Angeles, CA, August 3, 2009 — Roland Corporation U.S. is pleased to announce an exclusive online launch event, Roland Connect.

On September 1, 2009, all worldwide joint ventures of Roland Corporation will simultaneously announce a new and innovative lineup of musical products via a unique web exhibition at http://www.RolandConnect.com. This coordinated effort across all branches of Roland Corporation, with headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan, is meant to promote worldwide brand awareness and cohesion across the entire company.

“We are very excited to be part of this global effort to promote Roland’s exciting new lineup of products,” says Dennis Houlihan, President of Roland Corporation U.S. “Customers all over the world will be able to visit one website to learn about all of our new offerings.”

The web exhibition is currently staged at http://www.RolandConnect.com. On September 1, RolandConnect.com will be transformed into an interactive, engaging experience for musicians seeking to learn about the latest Roland products."

Zenhiser Ultra Minimal Beats and Nu Disco Fundamental Kit 01

"Ultra Minimal Beats Hits The Zenhiser Shelves

Brand new to our hugely successful minimal samples catalogue is 'Ultra Minimal Beats'. An outstanding collection of the finest and grooviest minimal drum loops to date. We can't praise these minimal beats and minimal tech beats enough, they are simply fantastic! These chunky, deep, expanding and swing tastic minimal drum loops delve well past all programming corners and venture into a new domain sonic and groove heaven.

Every minimal tech beat within this collection comes as a full drum loop, without kick drum pass and a stripped down version suiting all parts of your minimal productions from your driving main section through to the drop downs and end of bar fills.

All 100% copyright free and cut perfectly for easy drop ins to your sampler or sequencer. This is one minimal beat selection you can not miss, just check out the previews and you'll agree, they are that bloody good !!!

Link: http://www.zenhiser.com/products/Ultra-Minimal-Beats-01.html"

The Nu Disco Fundamental Drum Kit 01

With Zenhiser's drum sounds reaching nearly every part of the clubbing globe we thought it was time to bring you a brand new drum kit from one of our highest profile producers. 'Nu Disco Fundamental Kit 01' delves deep into the nu disco sound with the pre-requisite air of quality only a very few dance drum kits posses.

Over 220 funky, twisted and eclectic nu disco drum sounds ranging from a broad spectrum of superbly compressed kick drum sounds through to an amazing collection of heavily processed percussive drum sounds. It's a drum kit no serious producer should be without and a drum kit in a world of it's own that every producer should own.

This lovebox of nu disco samples is available exclusively from Zenhiser and sits perfectly within the clubbing realm of Cosmic Disco, Italo Disco, Nu Disco & Punk Funk.

Link: http://www.zenhiser.com/products/Nu-Disco-Fundamental-Kit-01.html