Superbooth 2021 - PWM Malevolent

video upload by MusicRadar

You can find additional Future Sound Systems PWM Malevolent details here.

Superbooth 2021 - Playtronica Orbita

video upload by MusicRadar

Introducing Orbita MIDI controller: melody and drums


"Turn color and gesture into music with Orbita - a new device in Playtronica’s range of quirky sound gadgets.

Who said interesting items should sit silently on a shelf? Creative technology studio Playtronica announces their newest device Orbita: a playful music device that lets you connect with creativity through sound and colors. While connected to a mobile device, tablet, or computer, Orbita lets people create music through color and gesture. For the electronic musician, Orbita is an intuitive controller and sound generator. For the music enthusiast, Orbita is a fun and exciting way to play with sound, wrapped in a modern form."

See the Playtronica label below for additional creations from them.

Doom Comes to the 1010Music Blackbox

video by 1010music

CLICK FOR MORE »

A Brief History of Synthesizers by Soundfly

Soundfly

"This video is from our in-depth Advanced Synths and Patch Design course on Soundfly.com. Preview for free here: https://soundfly.com/courses/advanced...

About Soundfly
Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it — subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly: https://soundfly.com/subscription

About the Course
Tired of presets? Need more complex and interesting-sounding patches in your productions? Or maybe you want to be able to figure out the sounds from other artists' tracks? Whether you're a producer looking to level up your sound design chops or just want to have some fun diving down a synth-fueled rabbit hole, this course is designed to help you craft better synth sounds.

Throughout this course, we’ll look at popular synths, sounds, and post-processing techniques to help you develop strategies for creating better sounds from the ground up. From epic house leads to snarling dubstep basses and vintage '80s keyboard sounds, we’ll show you how to create patches step by step. Along the way, we’ll explain concepts related to subtractive synthesis, wavetable synthesis, FM synthesis, and sampling. In the end, you'll have a better idea of what type of synth to reach for in a particular situation, understand the ins and outs of creating patches, how to program better parts, and make better sounds than you ever thought you could.

Ready to level-up your synth skills? Sign up now:
https://soundfly.com/courses/advanced...

Citations:
Elisha Gray - https://bit.ly/3kb0yAs
Telharmonium - https://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...
https://www.britannica.com/art/electr...
RCA Synthesizer - http://120years.net/the-rca-synthesis...
Harald Bode - http://120years.net/tag/harald-bode/
Microprocessor - https://computerhistory.org/blog/who-...
Sound Synthesis and Sampling by Martin Russ- https://books.google.com/books/about/...
Kurzweil K250 - http://www.vintagesynth.com/kurzweil/...
AKAI MPC60 - https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...
http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/mpc6...
http://retrosynthads.blogspot.com/"

Novation Peak Patches by BoBeats & Jogging House

via @WeAreNovation

"Two talented artists headline in our latest Peak Patches update.

@BoBeatsMusic releases his powerful FM synthesis explorations pack and @JoggingHouse showcases his laid back ambient grooves. Grab the new packs for free via components >>>"

See BoBeats' demo video here, and Jogging House's here.

"Bobeats is a Swedish music producer, sound designer and music-tech social media star known for his informative synth reviews and tutorials. He has designed soundscapes for several synthesizers, both software and hardware and was named as one of the top 5 music tech personalities in the world in 2017 by MusicRadar."

"Jogging House is Boris Potschubay. A synthesist and composer from Frankfurt, Germany, with a free approach of composition and a chill & sensual sound.

Loosely named after the German word for sweat pants, Jogging House' tracks are about taking things slow, but also doing the unexpected. Combining ambient soundscapes with laid-back grooves and countless little melodies & details.

Boris creates music that isn't related to a certain time or place but aims to explore feelings and moods through sound. Taking his listeners along the journey."

Toto's Africa

Published on May 22, 2013 TotoVEVO

Just spotted this one on BoingBoing. A synth demo with an interesting bit of synth history (BTW, the GS1 went up for sale in 2014 - you can also find an interview with Steve Porcaro here):

Paich told Musicradar in 2013:

"Its first inception came when there used to be UNICEF commercials on TV, showing children and families living in poverty. The first time I saw that it affected me deeply…
"I sat down and started playing and the chorus just came out like magic. I remember after I'd sung 'I bless the rains down in Africa', I just stopped and went, 'Wait a minute. I might be a little talented, but I'm not that talented - God's using me for an instrument here!'

"I realised I had a song in the making, so I started writing on the Yamaha CS-80, which you hear in the intro - that's the keyboard playing - and then you hear the little kalimba sounds [on the Yamaha GS1] in the chorus. It was a fertile time to make music with new sounds, and that kind of defined that song."

Yamaha CS-80 | Hands-On Session

Published on Dec 2, 2017 Computer Music Magazine

"CM Editor Joe Rossitter and MusicRadar's Simon Arblaster get their hands on the world's most iconic synthesiser, and talk you through its features and architecture.

Get an exclusive pack of raw recordings and samples straight from an original Yamaha CS-80, plus a £160 synth plugin: http://bit.ly/CM_251"

Sampling with HALion 6 - pt 4: Creating a multisampled Yamaha CS-80 patch

Published on Nov 23, 2017 Future Music Magazine

"In this fourth video we show make a sampled CS-80 patch using HALion 6's sample recorder, with MusicRadar.com's Simon Arblaster and Editor of Computer Music magazine, Joe Rossitter.

Get your FREE trial of Steinberg HALion 6 here: https://www.steinberg.net/en/products...

Get the instrument featured in this video here: http://bit.ly/SSScssynth"

ROLI Introduces NOISE 5D: Free Rise Inspired 3D Touch Keyboard Controller for iOS

Published on Dec 18, 2015 ROLI

Playlist:
NOISE: 3D Touch on the iPhone like you’ve never heard it before (3 Videos)
The Force Touch Awakens

iTunes: NOISE 5D

NOISE: THE iPHONE LIKE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE.

NOISE is a powerful instrument that unlocks the extraordinary expressive potential of your mobile phone. Its unique playing surface takes full advantage of the iPhone 6S’s 3D Touch capability.
Enjoy powerful, multidimensional sounds on-screen or use it as the ultimate portable sound engine for your favorite MIDI controller.

MAKE SOME NOISE
Play a subtle flute melody, a rich textured pad or a killer synth lead. For players of any ability or style, NOISE makes a big impact.

Its unique playing surface is laid out like a piano keyboard from the future. Where you used to have keys, you now have a continuous set of “keywaves.” You can strike, press into, glide left and right, slide up and down, and lift off the keywaves to create unique sonic effects. NOISE is the most expressive mobile sound engine ever created.

FIND YOUR SOUND
NOISE comes with the Fundamentals NOISE Pack bundled, which offers 25 diverse, powerful sounds to get you started.

Breath Flute, for example, allows you to faithfully recreate breath control through pressure, while the sound of Polyrhythmic Loops morphs as you play up and down the keywaves. Try Smoky Rhodes for a cool, modern reinterpretation of the Fender Rhodes.

Expand your collection with unique NOISE Packs - Hybrid Acoustic comes with over 500MB of unique samples, Expressive Electronic includes both vintage synths and contemporary pads, and Synthetic Leads is for when you really just need to shred!

POWER YOUR KIT
NOISE’s deeply expressive Equator sound engine is a great fit for a wide range of MIDI controllers. It has in-built MIDI over Bluetooth, which makes it the perfect choice for wireless music-making on the go.
It is also one of the first apps with built-in, customizable MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) Mode, so it also works plug-and-play with any MPE-compatible controller.

To really get the most out of NOISE and to take your musical expression to the next level, try it with our own Seaboard RISE, the award-winning MIDI controller hailed as “the future of the keyboard” (MusicRadar).

THE WORLD OF ROLI
NOISE is the result of years of innovative research and product development that enabled us to create the Seaboard RISE, a uniquely expressive, award-winning MIDI controller that enables 5 dimensions of touch; and Equator, its powerful native sound engine. With NOISE, we have shaped the surface of the Seaboard to maximize playability on an iPhone and remapped the new dimensions of sonic control offered by Equator. NOISE is built with JUCE, the leading cross-platform framework for audio apps.

At ROLI, we build game-changing tools for modern music creation. The award-winning Seaboard RISE and Seaboard GRAND instruments are part of our family of intuitively designed products - learn more at www.roli.com.

KEY FEATURES
- Tweak your sounds with onscreen macro controls and XY Touchpad
- Vary the size of the onscreen keywave surface to suit your screen and preferences
- Octave shift buttons and an onscreen sustain pedal add depth to real-time performance
- Control five dimensions of touch - Strike, Press, Glide, Slide and Lift
- Purchase additional NOISE Packs in-app and build your collection of sounds
- Recreate the Seaboard RISE experience on the iPhone 6S and make the most of its new 3D Touch feature
- Audio Units are coming soon. You'll be able to use NOISE as a synth in your favourite iOS DAW - stay tuned...

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- NOISE for iPhone is designed for iPhone 5C and above.
- Please note that while NOISE works well as a sound engine on all iPhones, you will only be able to take full advantage of its keywave surface with an iPhone 6S or iPhone 6S Plus."

Roland JD-XA hands-on

Published on Jul 1, 2015 MusicRadar

"Hands-on: Roland JD-XA hybrid synthesizer. Our first impressions of Roland’s new flagship analogue/digital crossover machine"

MusicRadar Exclusive hands-on: Roland System-1m Plug-Out Synthesizer

Published on Jul 16, 2015 MusicRadar

Korg Electribe Sampler hands-on

Published on Jul 9, 2015 MusicRadar

New Akai Pro Timbre Wolf Poly Analog Synth & Tom Cat Drum Machine

via MusicRadar

"The Timbre Wolf looks particularly bold: a 4-voice polyphonic synth that's set to retail for £300. It can be used as four monosynths, in 4-voice unison mode or as a 4-voice polysynth. Each voice has its own 32-step sequencer, and there's a full-size 25-note keyboard.

Tom Cat, meanwhile, offers kick, snare, hi-hat and clap sounds and chromatically-tunable disco toms. You can adjust the tuning, amplitude envelope and volume of each voice independently.

There are also six pads and a 32-step sequencer, along with swing, pattern select and tempo controls. It's said that you can 'dirty up' your beats using the 'Maul' circuitry. Tom Cat will sell for £150."

Hands-on with the Korg Volca range

Published on Aug 30, 2013 musicradartv·420 videos

"We examine and demo the new compact, affordable Volca Beats, Bass and Keys analogue instruments from Korg. Read our first look review here: http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/f...

[*Apologies for the slightly distorted sound, this is due to our camera and not the Volcas themselves!]"

KORG Volcas on eBay

Monoklon virtual ribbon synthesizer

YouTube Uploaded by UPROAR24 on Sep 16, 2011

"free vsti plugin plugins by philterplugs / minimalfabrik , Phil Monoklon virtual ribbon synthesizer, this is a freeware / donationware vsti plugin version roughly based upon the original Korg Monotron.
for more information visit.
http://www.minimalfabrik.net/3.html
http://www.minimalfabrik.net/5.html
http://www.kvraudio.com/db/monoklon-by-philterplugs
http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/07/11/minimalfabrik-releases-the-monoklo...
http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-software-the-best-audio-app-an..."

FIRST LOOK DEMO: Electro-Harmonix Stereo Talking Machine pedal

YouTube Uploaded by musicradartv on Jun 28, 2011

"Unveiled at NAMM 2011, the Electro-Harmonix Stereo Talking Machine is one of the most expressive and musical filter stompboxes that we've encountered to date.

To hear the pedal's various sounds in isolation and to check out the full spec, visit the official Electro-Harmonix website.

For the demo track in the video above, we recorded all of the guitar parts straight into GarageBand via POD Farm, with everything but the rhythm section processed by the Stereo Talking Machine. We added a little EQ and ambience but the core guitar sounds were all created using the pedal's preset sounds.

Visit MusicRadar.com for all of the latest product news, video demos and reviews."

TouchAble 1.2 new module : multi dots XY PAD

YouTube Uploaded by touchAbleapp on Apr 22, 2011 "http://www.touch-Able.com touchAble is an unique iPad app is the first application to give Ableton Live users full control over their digital audio workstation, without the tiresome process of manual midi-mapping. touchAble allows live users to walk away from their computer and perform live from anywhere within Wi-Fi range (using ad-hoc connection or router) while keeping latency at a minimum. TouchAble App includes 6 advanced modules, Clip grid, Mixer, Devices, Pads, Keys, XY Pad, and 2 commands menu : clips and transport. TouchAble provides a powerful, intuitive and reliable multitouch control solution for professional use. touchAble includes templates for lives plugins and is fully compatible with vsts, audiounits and instruments. TouchAble App for iPad is available worldwide exclusively through the iTunes App Store : http://www.itunes.com/app/touchable the new 1.2 version include an Advanced multi dots XY pad with: -Up to 4 Dots at once - each with their own X, Y & Z Parameters. -Choose the dots X, Y & Z Parameters from All of Lives Mixer & Device. -Easy parameter assignments through the config menu. -Set direction & force of gravity and bouncing mode individually for each dot. -Record the dots movements - loop, reverse or cut them till they fit your needs. -Play them back as automations - quantized and in complete sync with Ableton Live. -Save automations and parameter assignments to the database within touchAble and exchange them with other iPads and Users via iTunes. -Save snapshots of the dots positions: Hold, Stop & Morphing mode -Set morphing length & which of the are dots affected by snapshots. TouchAble 1.2 also offers plenty of new features and improvements: Device Module: The Control elements on the FX8 & FX32 View now switch their behavior & style depending on the parameter they control. Possible styles are: Toggle, Multitoggle, Fader & centered Fader. This will work with Lives devices & all M4L Devices. Added 'Snap' mode: You can activate the Snap mode per device with the 'snap' button in the Menu to the right. If enabled, the control elements will snap back to their original value once you lift your finger. To change the original value of the parameters: disable Snap mode - tweak the device to your needs and enable Snap mode again to jump back to these values at the end of your touches. New optional settings: Added Relative Fader mode for devices Added possibility to disable scene launch buttons. Added OneTap Recording: Newly recorded clips will automatically be of the same length as the currently set Launch Quantization. This enables you to tap on an empty slot once to start recording and have it loop automatically after the set amount of time. General: Decreased latency and increased throughput to Live substantially. Performance increased throughout the app. TouchAble is supported by many professional musicians, performers, djs and composers around the world, who use touchAble on stage or in studio. FUTURE MUSIC UK: "You may think about touchAble and an iPad instead of a hardware controller. A compliment indeed." MUSICTECH MAG UK: "It can handle the majority of performance or interactive elements within Live without requiring any manual controller design or mapping, making it an easy-to-use but nonetheless powerful Live controller." 9/10 MUSICRADAR.COM UK: "The cheaper, more fully featured touchAble is a clear all-round winner. Its advanced control options give it the advantage in terms of power and make it the obvious choice for studio use and live performance." DE:BUG MAG DE: "Definitely a recommendation for all iPad users who think about buying a controller for Live - even though touchAble isn't able to deliver haptic feedback in many areas it has advantages to physical controllers. It's worth it - even for studio-use." touchAble - AppBC iPads on eBay

NAMM & NOT NAMM - New Products on the Synth Front

Well, it's that time of year again. Keep an eye out on the NAMM label (added to top right menu) for everything NAMM and more. More in that anything new will get the label whether it's shown at NAMM or not. It's about new gear. Updates in this post will be preceded in red. Some already in below. See "The NAMM List!" link under the Twitter, Facebook, and RSS labels on top of the right to get back to this post later.

(A note on the top site menus: I removed the iPhone and iPad labels as they go up in posts every day now so you can find them there. eBay links are on the right, so I removed it as well.)

That said, the following are some of the things to look out for. If you have any NAMM info feel free to comment and/or send it in. If I missed anything, let me know! If you are going to NAMM, feel free to send pics and video in.

On the list:

CLICK FOR MORE »

touchAble 1.1 - what's New?

YouTube via touchAbleapp | November 22, 2010 |

in its newest version, touchAble 1.1, touchAble team has added a number of most wanted enhancements and some new powerful extra features, making this complete controller for Ableton Live more flexible, more reliable and faster.
This include: tempo control, resizable tracks and slots, relative faders, global record, new menus design, inertial scrolling, and a set of great enhancements.


touchAble is an unique iPad app is the first application to give Ableton Live users full control over their digital audio workstation, without the tiresome process of manual midi-mapping. touchAble allows live users to walk away from their computer and perform live from anywhere within Wi-Fi range (using ad-hoc connection or router) while keeping latency at a minimum.
it includes five modules and two command menus, including grid clip, mixer, devices, keys, pads, transport, clip, provide a powerful, intuitive and reliable multitouch control solution for professional use. touchAble includes templates for lives plugins and is fully compatible with vsts, audiounits and instruments.

TouchAble is supported by many professional musicians, performers, djs and composers around the world, who use touchAble on stage or in studio.

Requirements:
• iPad with iOS 3.1 or later
• Ableton Live 8.1.1 minimum
• Mac OSX 10.5 and above or Windows XP, Vista, windows 7
• touchAble server (downloadable for free : touch-able.com/​Site/​Downloads.html)

http://www.touch-able.com

iPads on eBay
iPads on Amazon

FUTURE MUSIC UK:
"You may think about touchAble and an iPad instead of a hardware controller. A compliment indeed."

MUSICTECH MAG UK: "It can handle the majority of performance or interactive elements within Live without requiring any manual controller design or mapping, making it an easy-to-use but nonetheless powerful Live controller." 9/10

MUSICRADAR.COM UK:
"The cheaper, more fully featured touchAble is a clear all-round winner. Its advanced control options give it the advantage in terms of power and make it the obvious choice for studio use and live performance."

DE:BUG MAG DE:
"Definitely a recommendation for all iPad users who think about buying a controller for Live - even though touchAble isn't able to deliver haptic feedback in many areas it has advantages to physical controllers. It's worth it - even for studio-use."

Music by Le K
http://www.soundcloud/le-K"

Freemasons' James Wiltshire interviewed at Propellerhead Producers Conference 2010

YouTube via musicradartv | November 02, 2010

"Speaking at the 2010 Propellerhead Producers Conference at Ministry Of Sound, London. Stay tuned to MusicRadar for more coverage from the event including tutorials and interviews from Propellerhead's own James Bernard, Reason beat designer Sharooz and dance music legend A Guy Called Gerald."