Introductory offer until Wednesday 3rd June - 50% OFF.
Haunted Ground is an avant-garde sound library inspired by the unique character of abandoned places. The structures that man left to crumble as time ticks away, now brought to life in this collection of samples. Created by sound designer Adam Pietruszko specializing in visual and aural documentation of forsaken buildings, to provide you with the atmosphere and spirit of these forbidden locations. This library took a year to plan, prepare and record. Carefully choosing locations as recording sites and inspiration was taken from countless photographs, schematics and abandoned structure history resources.
The mood of abandoned factories, warehouses and installations has been recreated via means of analog and digital synthesis, along with the sounds captured on-site via field recording, to bring you closer to the exploration, all properly mangled and warped, for that particular eerie feeling.
The sounds of this library give insight into the afterlife of these seemingly dead and quiet buildings. For beneath the rubble, rust and peeling paint, there lies another dimension. The ghosts of workers and inhabitants roam the rooms, halls, corridors and attics, longing for the life that had been taken away from their homes. The machines, furnaces and tools remember their duties, but their shift is over. Delve in the echoes of the past and explore their legacy and hidden nature.
This library is aimed at cinematic and game sound producers, looking to bring a touch of reflection, suspense and nostalgia into their works. Also a contemporary electronic musician will find many inspiring sounds to exploit.
All sounds have been captured in 24-bit, 48kHz audio and are split into 4 categories, for easy construction of your own custom abandoned places sound scenes.
The categories and gear used in the recordings are as follows:
Entities and Spirits – eerie sounds of ghosts and lost souls, for that haunted feeling. You'll find chants, drones and atmospheres as well as numerous sweeps and whines. Most of these sounds were created using a semi-modular analog synth setup (Moog Little Phatty Tribute Edition Serial No. 1165 with CV Out Mod, a collection of Moog Moogerfooger analog effects + WMD Geiger Counter digital wave-shaping distortion unit).
Just a heads up, the lineup for Moogfest 2017 has been announced. As always, check out moogfest.com for full details on the event. The following is a small capture for the archives via the Moogfest newsletter.
"Hailed as 'the most adventurous and cutting edge' festival of 2016, Moogfest returns with a commitment to futurist conversations and performances that wrestle with our historic moment, and reflect on the festival’s home in North Carolina.
In celebration of its 11th iteration, Moogfest will unveil its lineup over the next 11 weeks through their weekly “Future Thought Future Sound” email newsletter, inviting the Moogfest community to explore program themes like Transhumanism, Techno-shamanism and Protest.
images via this auction
"VINTAGE Electronic Tanpura Synthesizer DELUXE SAARANG RAJ Musicals
- Made by: Radel Systems , Bangalore
- Type No. TBR6
-SI. No. 266
Runs on 6 C batteries and for having such a small speaker can get painfully LOUD! Radel Saarang Electronic Tanbura
The 'Saarang' produces the plucked sound of a conventional stringed tambura (tanpura) used for classical Indian music. The sound is produced electronically without the use of any strings. The 'Saarang' plays by itself and does not need a person to play it.
Pitch tunable by more than octave and covers the range of male as well as female voices - from lower A to higher C (lower 6 to higher 1, Karnatic system or lower White 6 to higher White 7, Hindustani System).
The Tanpura
The Tanpura is a four to six stringed fretless instrument made of wood, and usually combined with gourd. It provides the performing artist(s) with a tonic reference and enriches the background with its unique harmonic drone. The strings are tuned in a manner that emphasizes the tonic and the dominant notes of the raag. The bridge is slightly curved to not only provide a buzzing sound (as the strings are plucked), but also to generate various harmonics that enhance the tonal quality of the instrument. The size (gourd and neck) of the instrument may vary depending on whether the artist is an instrumentalist, male vocalist, or a female vocalist. Tanpura was most probably included as a part of a classical music ensemble since the seventeenth century.
The Tanpura player plucks the strings one at a time, in a steady, repetitive, almost orderly manner, using the index and middle fingers.
These days "electronic" tanpuras <../elect/elect.html> have become commonplace, since they do not require a human player, are less expensive, simpler to tune, require minimal maintenance, and are easily portable. Many Indian professional musicians (including world renowned artistes like Pandit Debu Chaudhuri and Pandit Aashish Khan) are now touring without a tanpura player and are using the Riyaz Raagini <../elect/elect.html> sampled electronic tanpura machine as it sounds so very realistic. However, some artists prefer a natural instrument to an electronic one when available, and sometimes combine the two types. Electronic Tanpuras are, naturally, used by many students for practice as in this way the student can practice for long periods of time as and when needed without the need for a person to sit and play tanpura for them.
Electronic musical instruments are defined as instruments that synthesize sound from an electronic source. The origins of electronic music can be traced back to the work of Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand Von Helmholtz the German physicist, mathematician and the year 1860. While many instruments were developed in years to follow it was not till The Vacuum Tube Era (1915-1960) and Integrated Circuits time, that real muscle made it to world of electronic musical instruments. With travelling Indian musicians, good electronic instruments have been of great help both in performances as well as in Riaz (practice sessions).
David Courtney, musician, music theorist, divides these instruments into 3 classes, Shruti Generation, interments that replaced drone instruments like the Surpeti. Electronic "Surpetis" have been in use for about 20 years. In recent times the more refined Electronic Tamburas have become very popular. The 2nd generation are the Lahara Machines that provide repeating melodies to accompany drum solos. The 3rd category is the Theka Generation, or the Drum Machines, devices that provide sound comparable to the Tabla."
I am adjusting an modulating the notes pitches in real time with this track.
The unit arpeggiates the tones in a 6 note sequence, and the notes are fixed, the root note on my unit has no fine tuning, only coarse.
You have notes on steps 1, 3 4 and 5 of the pattern. You can only turn on and off notes, and each note has a certain range, constrained by traditional patterns.
I think the Deluxe unit has 5 notes in the sequence, my base unit has only 4.
I corresponded with the creator a while ago, and this is the main section of what he wrote
'At the outset, please accept our apologies for this delayed response. For some unknown reason, we were unable to connect to the site referred to in your mail and we were not in a position to figure out which model you possessed. We were able to connect today and now know that you possess an obsolete version of the Saarang that went out of production seven years ago. We seem to have destroyed all the data connected with this model and are not in a position to furnish them to you. Considering that you are an electronics engineer, the following explanation should help you in trying out whatever modifications you may want to perform.
The four strings are synthesized through four oscillators based on 555 Timers. These signals are amplitude modulated through a capacitive charging and discharging circuit comprising two transistors, BC547 (NPN) and BC 557(PNP). Each of the four PNP transistors is triggered on by a
zero going pulse applied to its base, which results in an electrolytic capacitor getting charged to a peak value. This voltage acts as the amplitude modulating voltage for the square wave input. The triggering of the PNP transistors is controlled by a control circuit comprising another 555 timer, a counter and a demultiplexer.
We hope that this explanation is of use to you. With regards,
G. Raj Narayan'
My Tambura is one of my favourite things in the whole world, and it is in my top 5 musical things I'd never part with if I had to sell up everything I owned. "
Playlist:
Modular Jam : Lords of the West : Rings, Elements, Clouds, Peaks
Modular Melody: Church of Meta Q - Tides (Parasite), Function, Clouds
Modular Jam: SynthTech E350/E355/E440, Mutable Instruments Elements/Clouds, Pittsburgh SV-1/KB-1
Modular Patch/Performance: Slow to Go
Modular Patch/Performance:- The Big Build
Modular Patch/Performance: Sargasso
Modular Patch/Performance: Fair Winds
Modular Patch/Performance - Over the Clouds
Modular Patch/Performance: March of the Shift Register
Modular Etude #1
The following is a great post on the AKAI EWV-2000 that came in via AH. The author gave me the ok to post it. This post made me think about how much more a synthesiser is than a piano with other sounds. When I bought my first synth, an Oberheim Matrix-6, the first thing I did was start programming my own instruments. I say instruments instead of sounds because that's what they were to me. I was simply blown away by the possibilities. The great thing about the Matrix-6 was that it had all these control features like release velocity, key velocity, pressure aftertouch, the pitch bends, tracking generator, ramps, etc. So I sat there litterally creating hundreds of instruments never heard before. Most required different techniques in playing style. One of my favorite things to do was to create a sound and then let the sound play me. I'd find that a particular sound I created required a specific technique to get the most out of it just like a saxaphone, flute, guitar or any other unique instrument would require. But... It was all via a piano style keyboard. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you think of it, a synthesiser is not a piano. It's a means of creating musical instruments that in many cases have never been heard before. It's amazing to think that in probably 99% of the time these instruments are accessed and possibly limited via the interface of a piano keyboard.
Back to the AKAI EMV-2000. The EMV-2000 is an analog rack mount synthesizer that is meant to be played with a wind controllor similar to a sax or clarinet. AKAI made a line of synthesizer wind instruments under the product name of EWI for Electronic Wind Instrument. Click here for a great site on these amazing instruments. I haven't gotten my hands on one yet, but definitely plan to. It would be amazing to see what these controllers open up. I think I'll skip the midi sofa I posted earlier though; not sure what that would open up. : )
Now for the great post on AH:
------------------------------------------------
Akai EWV-2000 Analog Wind Synth Module:
It is basically a 2 voice, played in unison (not duophonic):
VOICE 1:
VCO1 feeds into a VCF1, then HPF1, then VCA1.
EG1 is shared between VCO1 and VCF1. EG2 for VCA1.
VOICE 2:
VCO2 feeds into a VCF2, then HPF2, then VCA2.
EG3 is shared between VCO2 and VCF2. EG4 for VCA2.
VCO1 can sync to the VCO 2.
Voice 1 has External Input mixed in before VCF1.
VCO 1 can be modulated (FM) by VCO2+VCF2+EG3 after the output of VCF2.
All 4 VCO waveforms have width/shape control (not just the pulse).
There is no LFO.
Output from Voice 1 and Voice 2 is mixed to one of:
Direct Output
String Filter to Output
Basoon/Oboe Filter to Output
String Filter + Basoon/Oboe Filter in Parallel to Output
In addition to a few unique unique things listed above and numerous
parameters for control input from several sources, all the typical
parameters you find on other analog synths are available.
You don't often rely on EG in the usual way. Your Breath pressure and Bite
strength on the mouthpiece both act as envelop controllers with real time
variability. You mix those with the ADSR style EG for total envelop.
There is no LFO. You control vibrato or other LFO type of effects directly
in real time from your breath, bite, or a wiggle controller (kind of like
the pitch bender on Nord lead). This results in much more natural vibrato or
tremolo than you get from an LFO.
Portamento can be assigned to the bite controller. This allows you to easily
play lines with portamento controlled on each note transition. This can be
very musical, like it is when programmed on a TB-303.
All this real time control of parameters (that are usually controlled by EG
or LFO on other synths) makes the EVW-2000 very musical.
It's a pretty good module, with a wider range of sounds than an average
monosynths (so many filters). Raw sound quality is reasonably good. The
total output is extremely musical. The high musicality certainly benefits
greatly from the fact it is controlled by a wind controller instead of a
keyboard.
It can sound like a keyboard based monosynth and it would hold its own in
that type application. But you might not use it that way very often; under
breath control it can sound so different from any keyboard based instrument.
There is no MIDI input or CV/gate input. MIDI out only. I think CV/gate
input could be added by a tech that knows analog synths. Core of each voice
is CEM3394. Also some SSM chips in the design.
"OVERVIEW (from original Open Labs promotional material):
Sequence songs, create beats, track vocals and instruments, trigger MP3s, and perform live - the NeKo LX5 does it all.
With a 15" touchscreen, 61 black-and-white keys, external QWERTY keyboard, and running Windows OS, the NeKo LX5 is a world-class multimedia instrument. This portable media production station was specifically designed with superb keyboard playability to meet the needs of studio music production and live performance effortlessly.
1. Introducing EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK | Native Instruments
Watch this introduction to CRUSH PACK – the latest installment in Native Instruments' new line of effects.
BITE, DIRT, and FREAK offer modern twists on the prized tone of early samplers, the timeless shred of a sophisticated stomp box, dynamic ring modulated sci-fi sounds, futuristic timbres, other-worldly radio broadcasts, and more.
2. Introducing BITE from EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK | Native Instruments
CRUSH PACK is the latest installment in Native Instruments’ new line of effects. BITE, DIRT, and FREAK offer modern twists on the prized tone of early samplers, the timeless shred of a sophisticated stomp box, dynamic ring modulated sci-fi sounds, futuristic timbres, other-worldly radio broadcasts, and more.
3. Introducing DIRT from EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK | Native Instruments
DIRT is a distortion stompbox that combines analog modeling with highly refined controls and flexible routing.
4. Introducing FREAK from EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK | Native Instruments
FREAK combines frequency shifting, ring modulation and radio modulation techniques in one versatile package.
Update: The official press release:
"Berlin, June 15, 2018 – Native Instruments today launch EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK, a follow-up to the critically acclaimed MOD PACK.
CRUSH PACK offers three plug-ins, covering a wide array of tonal distortion effects – bit-crushing, stompbox-style distortion, ring modulation, amplitude modulation, frequency shifting, and more – and each with innovative new creative features, such as allowing external sidechain sources as modulators. Each also features the same prized sound quality that earned MOD PACK plaudits from press and users alike, making CRUSH PACK another essential upgrade from the distortion effects found in DAWs.
CRUSH PACK consists of three VST/AU/AAX plug-ins: A bitcrusher and sample rate reducer called BITE, a distortion effect called DIRT, and a multi-mode modulating device called FREAK. 234 carefully designed presets showcase the huge range of tonal distortion possible.
Additionally, all MOD PACK owners can enjoy a significant crossgrade discount on the price of CRUSH PACK.
BITE recreates the prized sonic imperfections that defined hip-hop and dance music’s first golden era, but it takes things much further. It allows a wide sonic palette, from authentic 80s organic digital crunch to depth-charged extremes. Modern features like auto-input/output compensation ensure controlled chaos.
DIRT offers organic-sounding distortion, crafted by sound designers. Flexible signal routing, blending, and other carefully crafted parameters allow unusual levels of control. Unlike the stompboxes upon which its sound is based, DIRT’s controls are calibrated for subtle tone-shaping (even when delivering extreme sonic results), and powerful features such as wavefolding allow complex, dynamic timbres, even from simple sources like sine waves.
FREAK (derived from ‘frequency shifting’) delivers three sound-bending modulation types in one plug-in. Innovative modes like retro radio lo-fi, stereo modulation, and wild sidechain ability sit alongside classic AM, ring mod, and frequency shifting techniques. This range allows detuned horror-style vocals, rich metallic timbres, rhythmic sidechaining, the sound of vintage broadcasts or alien transmissions, and more.
Pricing and availability
EFFECTS SERIES – CRUSH PACK is available now at the NI Online Shop for €69 / $69 / £59 / ¥ 8780 / AU$ 99
MOD PACK owners can upgrade to CRUSH PACK now at the NI Online Shop for just €44 / $44 / £37 / ¥ 5600 / AU$ 60"
"This is called THE KATRIC ARK and it is one of a series of 12 compositions for Vulcan harp and theremin. Since the Vulcan harp was introduced by artist and visionary Wah Ming Chang more than 40 years ago, it has evolved considerably, along with the technology involved with its manufacture. It is acoustic, electroacoustic and electronic (it is the electronic component that permits such things as the playing of complex harmonies, glide pitch shifts, etc.).
As a sculptor, Chang molded the instrument to fit the human body, and it is great to hold because it is so wonderfully ergonomic. This particular harp has 26 strings (copper, brass and silver) and is played with finger picks. There are no steel strings and the instrument does not use magnetic pickups like electric guitars. It also does not need to be plugged into anything so there are no annoying cables to get in the way. It transmits directly to its amplifier and speakers by means of an antenna integrated into the pin column (the extended curved vertical arm that holds the tuning pins). The two speakers you see in the video are JBL JRX-125 monitors.
As a concept, the characteristics of "Vulcan music" are determined by the remarkable capabilities of the Vulcan harp which include many of the possibilities of the classical instruments of India. The sound of the Vulcan harp has been described as a combination of harp, lute, violin and sitar. If you add to this everything that is possible with the use of the shift disc and the harmonic valves (the seven button controls - one for each note of the diatonic scale - riding above the brass plate) you have an extraordinary number of combinations that can be explored. The harmonic valves are all level-sensitive (each responds to three degrees of left hand finger pressure applied to them: touch, half, and full) and this determines the harmony applied to the vibrating strings. Octave displacement is played by multiple valve configurations depending on the register in which the harpist wants to play.
There is also a "tapper control" incorporated into the Vulcan harp for generating complex polyrhythms but it is not used in this particular composition. The "tapper" is the knob that sits just behind the lowest bass strings on the upper edge of the instrument facing the harpist. It can be silently programmed just before a piece is played by drumming the fingers of the left hand on the knob in the exact rhythm combination you want to hear applied to your sound once you begin to play. The instrument will loop the rhythm continuously throughout the piece (or until you squelch it).
The theremin in this video is the 1929 RCA that once belonged to Hollywood thereminist Dr. Samuel Hoffman. It was used by Dr. Hoffman on the soundtracks of many classic science fiction films of the 1950's, so I thought it would be appropriate to use it here. If you are curious about this 1929 theremin, I am featured in the 20TH CENTURY FOX 2-disc DVD "special edition" of the re-issue of the original 1951 science fiction masterpiece, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. There are already several videos on YouTube of me playing this instrument (and some from the 1950's of Dr. Hoffman as well) so after the solo theremin section at the beginning of the composition, I concentrated entirely on showing the Vulcan harp. There are very few Vulcan harps in the world and even fewer musicians who can actually play them, so I thought people might might like to see it.
PLEASE NOTE: the recording of this composition was done directly to a Roland VS-2400CD. There were no FX added to the instruments other than the usual EQ and a small amount of reverb. No peripherals, no MIDI modules, overdubs or computers were used at any time in the recording process."
"Stephen Coker's Live Performance on the Classic YAMAHA CS 60 and, Demonstrates that this Classic Vintage Synthesizer is more then capable of creating all the sonic bliss that the larger CS 80 can.
Plenty of hardware/software Reverb, analog Stereo Chorus and, various other hardware processing and, components are utilized to obtain the classic sound that give depth and sonic weight to the single take.
Over the years, 'v developed various playing techniques and, instrument settings to convey the emotive dynamics and, expression that this Japanese masterpiece can achieve.
The YAMAHA CS 80/CS 60/CS 50 are the most Expressive Polyphonic Analogue Synthesizers, ever developed.
Captured in this video are the Powerful, Emotive Sounds that induce Exciting, vivid worlds of Timeless, Synthetic Landscapes that are unobtainable with any other instrument.
Every note Shimmers with depth in sound that’s beyond magical.
"LAUREL CANYON, Calif. (Oct. 3, 2007) – It’s a drum, it’s a harp, it’s a guitar, it’s a marimba… it’s all of those things, and much, much more – at once. Musical ingenuity once again emerges from the hills of Laurel Canyon, as Synesthesia today announced Mandala™ 2.0 – a new version of its wildly popular, patented high-def drum and synthesizer, co-developed with professional drummer Danny Carey of the progressive rock band Tool. Now a computer peripheral – its USB cable plugs into PC or Mac – the Mandala 2.0 is the only electronic drum that truly emulates an acoustic drum. It offers drummers and musical explorers the only drum pad that knows exactly where it’s hit and how hard, across seven assignable zones – with an immediate trigger delivering the fastest-traveling sound possible. A new kind of synthesizer, the Mandala 2.0 packages a musical range so wide it simultaneously offers players the top of the line, most accurate model of a physical drum (via 3,000 professionally created, proprietary samples of the Black Beauty Snare Drum) – along with a library of sounds derived from more than 100 other instruments. In all, the Mandala 2.0 features four gigabytes of sound samples. It’s a synthesizer with drumsticks, with a drum pad so sensitive it responds even to a fingertip touch. "The Mandala helps people find their rhythm – whether it's the beat of a drum, or of a sound they haven't yet created," said Vince De Franco, Synesthesia founder and CEO, and inventor of the Mandala. "Use it as a compositional tool, or to create any sonic reality your heart desires. It's got percussive sounds down cold – and that includes percussion instruments like the piano, the vibraphone and the triangle. Its range gives people a rich, satisfying way to experiment. It literally will be a different product for everyone who buys it. It's the smartest thing you'll ever hit with a stick." Whereas most electronic drums have one zone in the middle that detects the strike, Mandala’s creators invented and patented a technology that enables the drum pad to detect the exact location and strength of every point of contact across the entire pad. With 128 concentric rings from the center to the edge – each offering its own sound variation – the Mandala offers unprecedented musical breadth. This high-def drum and synthesizer is bringing to percussive music-making the same kind of high resolution experience that HDTV has brought to viewers. The Mandala 2.0 retails for $349, and is available November 1 online at http://mandaladrum.com and www.musiciansfriend.com. Each Mandala is hand-crafted and thoroughly tested before it is shipped. Expect two-week delivery. Other key features: • The accompanying software lets players synthesize a host of new sounds and expand their drum kits and sample libraries at will. The software automatically accommodates up to five separate drum pads. It’s also designed to inspire and facilitate composition – along with the included instruments, players can add their own samples to the library, and use the effects to mold and create their own sounds.
• The Mandala 2.0 works seamlessly with most major music software, including Apple GarageBand, Ableton Live, and Native Instruments Battery and Reaktor.
• Mandala’s easy-to-use software comes with more than 100 presets for out-of-the-box functionality. Players also can create their own configurations as they explore and discover its astonishing audio range.
• One pad can accommodate from one to seven different zones of sound – each of which can be configured as a separate instrument, with an array of specialized settings. Players can have a snare, a bass and a cymbal (or a harp, marimba or organ, or any other instrument) – all in the same drum head, all at the same time. One Mandala can act as one drum, as an entire drum kit, or as an eclectic combo.
Drummer Meets Physicist Inventor and physicist Vince De Franco developed the Mandala with professional drummer Danny Carey from the progressive rock band Tool. Carey uses seven Mandalas every night on stage because, he said, it’s “the only way I can trigger and control all the sounds I want to play. “I told Vince I wanted an electronic drum that would trigger immediately, and that would let me load a gigabyte of sound samples,” said Carey. “What he created is the most advanced electronic drum I’ve ever seen. And now this new version blows the last one away.” Carey used the Mandalas to trigger many of the sounds on the band’s latest album, 10,000 Days. Every percussive sound in the track, Intension, is produced as a result of hitting a Mandala. Other professionals using the Mandala include Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson; Will Calhoun of Living Colour; Lol Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure; and Matt Chamberlain – who has played with Pearl Jam, David Bowie, Tori Amos, and many others. "
Be sure to see the notes from Barry on the synths used further below.
"Barry Schrader’s Monkey King CD has been released by Innova Recordings on Innova 703. The CD contains music inspired by the five elements of ancient Chinese tradition in Wu Xing – Cycle of Destruction, and by stories from the great Chinese classic Journey to the West.
Wu Xing - Cycle of Destruction deals with the Chinese concept of Wu Xing, the five elements in ancient Chinese tradition: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These are important in Chinese astrology, medicine, and BaGua, a system of trigrams used in Fengshui and other areas of Chinese life and culture. The five elements are often arranged in one of two cycles: the cycle of birth, ending with earth, or, as in this work, the cycle of destruction: metal, wood, earth, water, fire. Wu Xing - Cycle of Destruction explores these elements in transcendent ways. The Metal and Wood sections are aural depictions of the elemental density of the mediums, while Earth considers the metaphysics of planetary rotation and revolution. Water reflects on the conceptual aspects of the world's oceans at various depths, voyaging from the darkest abyss to the light of distant shores. Finally, in Fire, there are the physical and spiritual effects of all-engulfing flames.
Monkey King is based on scenes from the classic Chinese book Journey to the West, written around 1550 by Wu Cheng-en. Considered one of the great classics of Chinese literature, the book chronicles the adventures of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, one of the most fascinating fictional characters ever created. Barry Schrader has taken some of the most famous scenes from this book and created Monkey King, a new electronic music journey into the imagined past of Chinese legend. In the tradition of Schrader's Lost Atlantis, Monkey King explores an immense imaginary aural landscape.
"Monkey King is a colorful combination of Schrader's recognizably arousing orchestral maneuvers with an immediate melodic appeal, gentle harmonic textures, and electronic echoes of traditional Chinese instruments. While individual elements sound strangely familiar, the resulting entity is without direct reference, a style which is as timeless as it is futuristic and which revels an ancient mythology with the tools of today. Without a single doubt, this piece is the most accessible in Schrader's oeuvre."
Some of the scenes depicted in Schrader's Monkey King are the birth of Monkey, his underwater journey to visit the palace of the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea where Monkey takes possession of the Staff of the Milky Way, Monkey's attempt to jump over Buddha's palm, and Monkey's apotheosis in becoming the Buddha Victorious in Strife.
Barry Schrader has been acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times as "a composer born to the electronic medium," named "a seminal composer of electro-acoustic music" by Journal SEAMUS, and described by Gramophone as a composer of "approachable electronic music with a distinctive individual voice to reward the adventurous." "There's a great sweep to Schrader's work that puts it more in line with ambitious large-scale electronic works by the likes of Stockhausen (Hymnen), Eloy (Shanti) and Henry (take your pick), a line that can be traced backwards to Mahler, Bruckner and Beethoven." writes Dan Warburton of the Paris Transatlantic Magazine. Computer Music Journal states that Schrader’s "music withstands the test of time and stands uniquely in the American electronic music genre." Schrader's compositions for electronics, dance, film, video, mixed media, live/electro-acoustic music combinations, and real-time computer performance have been presented throughout the world. He has been a member of the Composition Faculty of the California Institute of the Arts School of Music since 1971, and has also taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the California State University at Los Angeles. His music is recorded on the Innova label. His web site is barryschrader.com."
I asked Barry what he used on the CD:
"As to what I used to compose 'Monkey King' and 'Wu Xing - Cycle of Destruction,' the only hardware I used (other than my Mac) was a Yamaha TX816. Here's a list of the software: Digital Performer, Unisyn, Peak, Rocket Science, and Cycling 74 Pluggo. The last two, of course, are bundles, and have multiple plugins, too many to name. DP also has a lot of plugins.
"As for synthesis techniques, I used additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis (including granular), amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and transfer functions, which, of course, involve the use of wavetable synthesis. So everything, including all of the sound sources, is digital. I know most of the people who visit your site love analog. I composed with analog equipment for many years, and I still enjoy hearing music created on analog systems. But I'm so used to working with computers now, that I don't think I could go back to analog, and I also don't think I could get the degree of control I need to compose the way I want.
"I work mainly in event lists so that I can specify data. All of the timbres for 'Monkey King' and 'Wu Xing - Cycle of Destruction' were designed specifically for these works. This is a general practice of mine and relates to my compositional point of view. (There's some information on this on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Schrader.) As a result of these practices, I compose very slowly, and I average about 20 hours of work for 1 minute of music. There were times with 'Monkey King,' particularly Part 2, where the work was so strenuous that I had to quit composing for several weeks in order to maintain my equilibrium. The composition of that movement alone stretched out over 6 months.
"I think these may be the last works that I compose with the TX816. I've bought Native Instruments Complete 5 package and have been porting my timbral designs into FM8, which allows for more possibilities than the Yamaha 6-operator design. I'm also learning other programs in the NI package, mainly those that allow me to create electronic material directly. I remain rather uninterested in dealing with concrete (acoustic) sound files. Everything on the 'Monkey King' CD, by the way, as is true of almost all of my music, is electronic. The only computer concrete piece that I did was 'Beyond,' and that was done on the old WaveFrame workstation at UCSB. I'm also going to get additional software for my next big work, which I'll probably begin in January, as I have a sabbatical from CalArts next year. I have a need to keep pushing myself to create new things in new ways. It may be difficult to top some aspects of the music on the 'Monkey King' CD, which, I think is some of my best, but I'm not going to worry about it. For me, each new work is its own universe."
"PHYSYNTH turns your iPad or iPad 2 into a piece of real vintage synth hardware.
Powered by next-generation 3D graphics technologies, it is a stunning, beautiful device that will enable you to weave beautiful, fluid 'Soundscapes'.
PHYSYNTH uses a state-of-the-art physics engine to trigger sounds using four real simulators, you charge physical objects with sound and collide them with other objects to trigger them. It is an entirely new way of creating music, a natural and fluid way to express yourself with a wide range of beautiful, realistic instruments.
• Don't forget to read about updates coming, more information below after the features!
• Introductory sale now on for only a few days.
FEATURES:
• Custom shaders especially designed for iPad2 and the beautiful high definition full-3D interface pushes the limits of what your device can do.
• iPad 1 owners are not left out, Physynth was designed to take full advantage of everything the device has to offer.
• Layer your sounds with Four-track Soundscaping.
• Jam with Realtime melody or rhythm over-dubbing.
• The physics-triggered sample engine with user-adjustable parameters means endless scenarios.
• Enjoy a wide range of beautiful sounding instruments with more coming in regular updates.
• Express yourself with full mixing control including full stereo panning, volume and digital special effects.
• Vintage hardware design with groundbreaking 3D tilt camera, stunning lighting and unbelievable next-gen graphics make Physynth the app to show your friends.
• Melody-mode to allow the user to play Physynth instruments like a traditional keyboard or drum pad.
• Headphones are recommended for full stereo immersion and realtime panning.
FUTURE UPDATES: • Sharing Soundscapes with other Physynth owners. • coreMIDI support. • Regular new instruments!"
"We love Physynth, we love the iOS music scene but some of the criticism we have received has been a little unfair in my opinion. We aren’t Moog and we don’t have a million dollars behind us, we are two people bringing something we love and slaved over into the world and I can’t wait to move forward with it based off of the constructive feedback we have received and no-doubt will continue to receive but I thought I’d communicate what we were trying to achieve.
While designing Physynth I really wanted to create something to come back to time and time again, I wanted a tinker-tool that had a real use to songwriters and performers. There were hundreds of fantastic synthesisers out there doing a great job at synthesising but none of them allowed me to create something outside the box, outside of writing melodies manually. I wanted to create something chaotic.
Functionally, what I wanted to create was something close to that sketchbook you have lying around that you come back to and jot in whenever you’re feeling creative. I didn’t want to make a studio tool, those already are at a point where I get what I want from them. There is nothing really out there that suites me for just having a dabble with something a bit unpredictable. When choosing the sounds that shipped with Physynth I had to balance what people might want with what would actually suite Physynth itself. You can’t really have power synth chugs when you’re triggering these at a such a high rate. It would just sound like a mess of sound, this style of music creation needed something a with a bit more of a ring, a chime.
We planned in the ability to update our sound banks with instruments based on our users’ demand so as time goes on we will be updating with new sounds and many of them are electronic ones, it’s just that some things simply don’t work without sounded overloaded when they’re being triggered multiple times per second at up to 32 times per second.
Going forward, exporting/sharing songs between users and midi support are planned for future updates along with the new instruments.
"Moogfest 2014 Announces Daytime Presenters Including Futurists, Musicians, Scientists, Authors, Filmmakers, and Pioneers of Electronic Music Instrument Design
Phase 1 tickets start at $199 for 5-Day General Admission, and $499 for 5-Day VIP Admission while supplies last through December 19 when Phase 2 GA tickets go up to $299. All prices exclusive of applicable fees.
ASHEVILLE, NC – November 14, 2013 – Moogfest is a five-day festival dedicated to the synthesis of technology, art and music. Since its inception in 2004, Moogfest has been a magnet for artists, engineers, and enthusiasts of Bob Moog. With an experimental lineup of daytime conference programming featuring cultural, artistic and technological luminaries and punctuated by a diverse line up of landmark nightly performances, Moogfest honors the creativity and inventiveness of Dr. Robert Moog and pays tribute to the legacy of the analog synthesizer. This is no ordinary festival.
"Spitfire Audio adds another ‘off-grid’ twist to evolving, EMS VCS3-inspired VIs for its Producer Portfolio
LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio, purveyors of the finest virtual instruments from the finest musical samples in the world, is proud to announce availability of PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS, the latest creative chapter in its evocatively-named, evolving EVO GRID series of ‘off-grid’ sample-based virtual instruments initially inspired by the trailblazing late-Sixties-vintage EMS VCS3 portable analogue monosynth and perfectly executed for the Native Instruments KONTAKT platform-compatible Producer Portfolio range — itself launched to satisfy repeated requests for drier-sounding, more manipulative samples for more non-orchestral material, as of September 18…
Following on from the success of Spitfire Audio’s prototypical PP017 EVO GRID 001 STRINGS and its phenomenal PP020 EVO GRID 002 STRINGS followup, as implied by name, PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS takes the so-called ‘Evo’ concept from its inception in strings into the wonderful world of woodwinds. What is an Evo, exactly? Evos are hyper-long, sample-based articulations that evolve — sometimes subtly, sometimes severely — over time before looping. These are then organised on a grid so users can plot which evolution or ‘Evo’ sits on which key range, resulting in a GUI (Graphical User Interface) inspired by the breakthrough British EMS VCS3, which made musical history upon its introduction in 1969 by being the first commercially portable synthesiser available anywhere in the world, thanks to its innovative modular matrix-based patchboard dispensing with the telephone exchange-like cabling of other (much larger) modular systems in favour of making space-saving connections with (removable) coloured pins.
PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS heads on a similarly flexible sonic bearing, but within the computer-hosted context of a truly 21st Century sample-based virtual instrument fit for ‘off-grid’ minimal musical explorations. Employing some of the UK’s finest, most progressive, and avant-garde woodwind players performing beautifully-orchestrated long notes that increase in intensity and expression, evolving into out-of-this world soundscapes, this eclectic collection of woodwind evolutions designed by Ben Foskett foster an exceptional edge to anyone’s musical endeavours. Returning to record at the ultra-dry, yet warm-sounding surroundings of Central London’s Air-Edel Recording Studios using the finest vintage microphones, Neve preamps, and the last Cadac studio console ever built, ‘Foskett & Co.’ set about creating a product that oozes originality and positively provides inspiration to all that use it. The result? 3,312 superlative samples — some 18.5GB of uncompressed .WAV files — that do just that by doing things with woodwinds that are totally unexpected, yet uniquely musical in execution.
At Air-Edel Recording Studios two subtly different performing lineups — Band A comprising FLUTE (3), ALTO FLUTE (1), BASS FLUTE (1), CONTRA BASS FLUTE (1), Bb CLARINET (3), and Bb BASS CLARINET (3); Band B comprising OBOE (3), COR ANGLAIS (2), Bb CLARINET (2), Bb BASS CLARINET (1), Bb BASS CLARINET (1), BARITONE SAX (1), and BASSOON (3) — led Spitfire Audio to ultimately provide PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS users with a nuanced selection of sounds. Some are more reedy-sounding, others more flutey. This time the resultant Evo count stands at a healthy 48 spread across 12 pitch regions — including an additional five grids of wonderfully-warped, saturated, and totally transformed versions of each and every Evo — resulting in an almost infinite number of possibilities. Pressing the save button is important… all the more so given the many randomisation options that are also provided!
Fortunately for (potential) PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS purchasers, Spitfire Audio has helpfully seen fit to carefully curate those extraordinary Evos into a number of spring-right-out-of-the-box-style patches — from seemingly-simple tutti-type affairs, featuring all Evos evenly spread across the keyboard, through to various diagonal patterns, as well as a handy feature for randomly creating pinned patterns from the near-infinite number of configuration possibilities — perfectly demonstrating not only the tense and extreme elements of the library but also the effortlessly-engaging ‘episodic’ Evos! Easily-accessible front panel-positioned FX controls (for Reverb, Delay, and Tape Sat.) help make this into a tool truly designed for producers — hence the Producer Portfolio range association, as well as composers, editors, and sound designers alike. Anyone needing a spellbinding solution from the moment they touch the keyboard, in other words! Like the self-explanatory SIMPLE TENSE SCARY subtitling of the PP017 EVO GRID 001 STRINGS and TRADITIONAL EPISODIC EXTREME subtitling of PP020 EVO GRID 002 STRINGS before it, PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS can be as time-saving as the trailblazing EMS VCS3 was once space-saving.
Saying that, PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS perfectly compliments that recently-released PP017 EVO GRID 001 STRINGS sample-based virtual instrument — an extraordinary collection of long, evolving chamber strings orchestrated by Ben Foskett before being given Spitfire Audio’s adventurous Evo treatment — and its PP020 EVO GRID 002 STRINGS sibling. Says Spitfire Audio Director Paul Thomson: “We’ve got a collection of incredible players here — very progressive, avant-garde wind players, playing beautifully-orchestrated long notes from Ben Foskett that evolve with increases in intensity and expression and different techniques to give you a really beautiful series of long, evolving tones that you can use to work with in a similar way to the STRINGS EVO GRID releases. The EVO GRID GUI is the same as before, so you’ll recognise all of the controls. There are lots and lots of possibilities — millions of possibilities, in fact, so it’s a really creative tool. We’re very proud of it. It’s very different from the strings evolutions that we’ve put out so far, but it’s very, very useful.”
Indeed it is. In this day and age of delivering more musical content against a backdrop of diminishing deadlines and budgetary constraints, composers are often asked to engage the listener by doing very little — least of all changing notes, all those EVO GRID releases represent Spitfire Audio’s masterplan for providing them with a solution to this taxing conundrum. Just ask award-winning composer — and fellow Spitfire Audio Director Christian Henson. Commissioned to write 13 hours of music for a sprawling, epic TV series, but with no budget for orchestra and only three months in which to do it, a quick string sampling session subsequently ensued, during which he fortuitously recorded a series of greatly differing long strings evolutions. Staggered by the resulting sample instrument, where the chaotic nature of different evolutions placed over different intervals made for exciting and unexpected results, he semi-seriously stated, “I could literally hit a big C minor chord, hold my sustain pedal down, reach for my sandwich, and the thing would still be writing itself a minute later while I was wiping mayo off my beard!” From the smallest seed… and all that jazz.
PP025 EVO GRID 004 WOODWINDS and its PP017 EVO GRID 001 STRINGS and PP020 EVO GRID 002 STRINGS sample-based virtual instrument siblings can be purchased and downloaded directly from Spitfire Audio for £179.00 GBP (subject to VAT within the EU) from here:
http://www.spitfireaudio.com/products-page (Note that Spitfire Audio’s free Download Manager application for Mac or PC allows you to buy now and download anytime while a full version of Native Instruments KONTAKT 5 is needed to run these Producer Portfolio products.)
What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.
This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic, My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.
All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.
------
New Manufacturers & Makers
Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year. This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year. It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them. One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us. Think about that for a moment. These are makers and designs that did not exist before. They are part of our synth history. So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.
Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):
TCHC announces availability of SMALL STRING GESTURES as toolkit to dial up musical personality with intimate interpretative band behind each key
EDINBURGH, UK: having ‘softly’ set out its software stall late last year with a low-key launch of STRING MURMURATIONS that saw decades of award-winning experience in the music tech sector and at the composing coalface distilled into an easy- to-use, intuitive, and comprehensive sample-based virtual instrument plug-in and GUI (Graphical User Interface) introducing the cutting-edge concept of Gestures (whereby an orchestra interpreting its user’s composition and making it into music and art lies behind every key played), music-making community tools-maker The Crow Hill Company is proud to announce availability of SMALL STRING GESTURES as the latest incarnation of that concept — creating a set of tools where individual instruments and the playing style, strengths, and frailties of the intimate interpretative (3, 3, 3, 3) band behind each key are available for the user to dial up the personality of their composition, created from a collection of master recordings that have been mixed and edited into a sample-based virtual instrument plug-in with a GUI and preset browser that are as easy on the eye as they are in use — as of January 26…
An armada of strings can create awe — an epic tidal wave of human emotion, of scale, of wonder. While STRING MURMURATIONS makes it easy and intuitive to make music that sounds human thanks to three distinct palettes of expressions, each designed to feel like the user is collaborating with an orchestra of real musicians, creating endless harmonic possibilities that inspire from the moment a key is touched, sometimes music-makers need it to be intimate, truthful, personal, human — hence The Crow Hill Company creating SMALL STRING GESTURES as a set of tools where individual instruments and the playing style, strengths, and frailties of the instrumentalists involved are available for the user to dial up the personality of their composition. Cue humanity, in other words.
With this in mind, The Crow Hill Company specifically selected a 3, 3, 3, 3 — three Violin 1, three Violin 2, three Violas, and three Cellos — band size that ensured its sampling style brought every individual within that ensemble into beautifully detailed and intimate focus for SMALL STRING GESTURES. This toolset is provided with a different lens and aperture to play through.
The Crow Hill Company collectively likes to keep things moving, so while this latest incarnation of its Gestures concept is very much related to one of those distinct palettes of expression available in STRING MURMURATIONS, it is worth highlighting hysteresis — dictionary-defined as the phenomenon in which the value of a physical property lags behind changes in the effect causing it, such as when magnetic induction lags behind the magnetising force, for instance — in relation to SMALL STRING GESTURES. Getting in on the act of creating sample libraries involves always asking the instrumentalists involved to perform musical material that is incredibly easy to play in order for the end result to always be ‘together’. That is fine for programming or composing simple stuff since that would sound true to real life, but it becomes harder, however, for players to remain totally locked to each other’s tuning or timekeeping when playing more difficult passages. Pure sound becomes more problematic as a result — reduced fundamental meaning more character, which is why a lot of sample-based music used in films, games, and TV sounds ‘characterless’. Clearly the samples involved therein lack hysteresis as they were easy to play, yet playing something difficult with them does not sound natural, real, or human. Indeed, it is fair to say that what makes musicians ‘hysterical’ is speed — faster playing means looser playing that is less in time and also less in tune; reach — the wider the gap between the notes, the further they have to reach, resulting in less perfectly in tune playing; and pitch — the higher a player plays, the harder it becomes as it involves more intense accuracy from string players performing on fretless instruments.
It is for this reason that The Crow Hill Company decided to get its players to perform the hard stuff — not compositions, but mere fragments, which is why anyone working with SMALL STRING GESTURES will not feel like they are playing phrases; instead it is rather like having a string band under their fingertips. For Gestures are the very real sound of reach and performance. But by not giving the musicians behind SMALL STRING GESTURES simple stuff to play prevented them from getting bored. Better still, SMALL STRING GESTURES users are accessing the sound that musicians make when they are smiling... hysterically!
It is also fair to say, therefore, that the effect of hysteresis on a large string section — including that which was involved in the creation of STRING MURMURATIONS, for instance — is a silky, blurry sound. An audible example of this might be the fast string runs in John Williams’ ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone — ditto the closing bars of ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’ from Holst’s The Planets suite. Saying that, though, there are times when music-makers do not need awe, epic, and huge scale in pursuit of their compositional craft, but instead seek something more intimate, more personal, more human. The theory that led to SMALL STRING GESTURES revolved around if The Crow Hill Company could get a string band small enough then the impact of hysteresis would not be a musical blurring, but rather an exposure of each player involved in its creation — their own style of bowing and vibrato, their own fragilities to help the user’s audience connect more with the human nature of their music.
Making that happen meant designing SMALL STRING GESTURES to make its users approach composing and making music from a totally new angle, one where it feels like there are musicians at their fingertips — not samples. SMALL STRING GESTURES is a collection of master recordings — made by world-class producers and engineers at Glasgow’s Clockwork Studios, a new custom-designed scoring stage for the UK comprising of a large hall for full orchestra (up to 80 players) with a balanced and focused sound ideal for modern orchestral recording, as well as a smaller dry space in Studio B (up to 15 players), with the world-class Scottish Session Orchestra playing some of the finest instruments through the finest microphones and mic pre-amps — that have been mixed and edited into a sample-based virtual instrument plug-in with a GUI and a preset browser that are as easy on the eye as they are in use. Ultimately, it works within anyone’s favourite DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) with 25 presets — presented as six Gestures, four Longs, 10 Presets, and five Bonus — and additional hand-crafted Selects designed by The Crow Hill Company team. There are three mix-ready stereo signals — namely, CLOSE, WIDE, and AMBIENT, as well as unique REVERB controls and a granular effects processor.
Duly designed by professional composers with the sonic connoisseur in mind, The Crow Hill Company’s collective conclusion certainly rings true, stating, “We’re a small team and have worked hard to make everything as intuitive as possible.” Put it this way: with SMALL STRING GESTURES it is perfectly possible to make music that sounds intimate, truthful, personal, human! Hysteresis, of course, comes into play here, albeit with the desired effect — exposure of each player involved in its creation.
Clearly, then, big messages come in small packages when it comes to working with the diminutive-sized SMALL STRING GESTURES as another easy-to-use and intuitive virtual instrument plug-in from The Crow Hill Company, one which is also easy on the wallet for those wishing to step into this new world of gesture-based sampling.
SMALL STRING GESTURES is available to purchase — as an AAX-, AU-, VST-, and VST3-format-compatible sample-based virtual instrument plug-in comprising 8 GB of uncompressed material (compressed losslessly to 4.4 GB) that loads directly into a DAW — for £49.00 GBP (including VAT) directly from The Crow Hill Company here: https://thecrowhillcompany.com/small-string-gestures
SMALL STRING GESTURES is available for free until February 29, 2024 when purchasing STRING MURMURATIONS for £199.00 GBP (including VAT) directly from The Crow Hill Company here: https://thecrowhillcompany.com/string-murmurations/ (Note that SMALL STRING GESTURES is also available for free to existing owners of STRING MURMURATIONS until February 29, 2024.)
Watch The Crow Hill Company founder and composer Christian Henson’s must-see SMALL STRING GESTURES walkthrough video here: [video up top]
"Elk Audio OS for everyone! - Elk releases open source version of award winning Audio Operating System and Development Kit for Raspberry Pi.
Elk Audio OS is the award-winning Audio Operating System from Elk (formerly known as MIND Music Labs) that allows you to run existing VST and other plugin formats on hardware instruments and audio devices in real time with ultra low latency. And this using only general purpose ARM and x86 CPUs, opening up for a new generation of digital instruments and remote 5G network experiences.
In the upcoming weeks a beta version of the Elk Audio Operating System will be made available under a Dual licensing model (open-source & commercial), but already today, the Elk Audio OS SDK & documentation is available and is free for anyone to start using. Available on elk.audio is also an Elk Audio OS Development Kit for Raspberry Pi that includes a custom Elk Pi Audio Hat. The Elk Pi Hat alone is one of the most advanced pro Audio Hats in the markets with down to 1 ms latency, multichannel and support for Raspberry 4 coming up in the very near future.
'The idea behind the Elk Audio OS is to make a whole new generation of connected musical instruments possible. Instruments that can connect people around the world and spur new kinds of musical creativity. We believe there are so many potential instrument makers out there who could create fantastic things if they just had the right tools, and it is for them we have created Elk. So today I'm very happy to announce that we have reached a major milestone in our company, when we can make Elk available to everyone through the open source release.'
- Michele Beninicaso CEO at Elk (former MIND Music Labs)
Elk Audio OS is officially endorsed by Steinberg, owners of the VST format, is supported in the VST3 SDK and is fully compatible with plugins written in JUCE, making Elk the perfect solution for companies and makers alike interested in developing new digital hardware instruments. With VST being the defacto standard for software instruments and effects there is already a vast library of existing world class plugins out there waiting for a new life as hardware. An example of this is the Retrologue desktop prototype synth built on the VST synth with the same name debuted earlier this year at SuperBooth in Berlin.
'When working with Elk Audio OS on the Retrologue we immediately recognized something that could be a game changer. Running the same VST plugin on hardware as you do on desktop opens up for new possibilities and new ways of working. Getting Elk Audio OS available under open source is really exciting and I believe that this could make Elk a standard for digital hardware instruments.'
- Florian Haack, Steinberg
ADC
If you are one of the lucky ones to have grabbed a spot at the Elk workshop at this years ADC (Audio Developer Conference) this news should be even more exciting. Not only will you get a hands on workshop from the core team of developers behind the Elk Audio OS, but you are also the first ones out to get access to the full Elk Audio OS Development Kit, including the Elk Pi Audio Hat. For those of you who have not secured a spot, make sure not to miss the planned talk on Elk Audio OS!"
