MATRIXSYNTH

moog recording

moog recording from nick oberg on Vimeo.

"Soundplant 39 Released – Turns The QWERTY Keyboard Into A Playable Instrument & Instant Sound Triggering Tool

New York, NY – May 20, 2010 – Today Marcel Blum released Soundplant 39 for Windows and Mac, the first major update since 2004 of the popular low cost software sampler that turns the computer keyboard into a low latency digital audio performance tool and playable instrument. Ultra-optimized for the standard QWERTY keyboard, Soundplant allows the assignment of sound files of unlimited size onto 72 keyboard keys, for hours of instantly-playing audio with no need for extra hardware.

New version 39 adds several major features in response to user requests, including support for virtually all audio file formats in existence, a 'background key detection' mode that allows Soundplant to continue receiving key input even while minimized or hidden, waveform display, detailed playback progress indicators for all channels, precise fading control, and randomization settings. Soundplant 39 also marks the first official Mac release after several years in beta on that platform.

Since it’s debut as a free Windows beta in 1999, Soundplant has won multiple awards and gained a dedicated cult following in the DJ and pro audio worlds for its combination of simplicity, standalone sound triggering power, rock-solid stability for live use, low cost, and versatility as a multipurpose playback utility. The BBC uses it for sound design on Doctor Who. Breakcore producer Droon uses it during his raucous performances with a keyboard strapped around his neck like a QWERTY keytar. When John McCain won primaries during his 2008 presidential campaign, it was Soundplant playing "Johnny B. Goode" at his victory rallies. Electroacoustic composer Darren Copeland even created a composition for Soundplant (Letters To Our Names, for 1 or more laptop performers). Soundplant’s spread by word of mouth has been viral, with the $35 software challenging - and in some spheres overtaking - the dominance of expensive dedicated hardware; in Sweden, sound engineer Mattias Dalin of SVT calls Soundplant "without doubt the most used playback program in TV work over here, with great success."

Soundplant can be used to trigger sound effects or background tracks during a show, for music or loop creation, as a drum pad, as an educational aid, as a unique electronic instrument with an input device you’ve been practicing on for as long as you’ve been typing, and as a sound design sketchpad. It allows dragging and dropping sound files on to keys for quick and easy setup; playback from RAM for instant cueing or from disk for unlimited sound length; auto-pitch-assign to easily spread the same sound across multiple keys at varying pitches; auto-offset-assign to quickly slice up samples across multiple keys; and much more. Soundplant is a true performance program that allows playback and triggering to continue even while configuring, loading, and unloading sounds on the fly.

Availability and pricing
Soundplant is offered as a free download at http://soundplant.org/ which includes a 25-launch trial of the registered features. In unregistered mode it is free for non-commercial use and limited to playing uncompressed 8- and 16-bit wav and aif files. The registered version (USD $35, or a $27 upgrade from previous versions) allows loading all sound file types including higher bit depths, compressed formats like mp3, mp4, flac, wma, alac, audio from video files like avi, flv, mov, wmv, and more.

About the author
Marcel Blum is an independent software developer, musician, and vinyl archaeologist based in New York City. As a programmer, he develops educational software and custom realtime digital audio and video applications. As an improvising experimental musician, he performs on turntable and laptop in several groups. And as proprietor of ‘keymap records’, he peddles vintage vinyl rarities of early electronic and avant garde music.

Soundplant screenshots:
http://soundplant.org/macscreen1.png
http://soundplant.org/winscrn1.png

Product details:
http://soundplant.org/about.htm

Media contact:
Marcel Blum
marcel [at] soundplant.org"

If you've been coming to the site for a while, you might remember Soundplant from this post back in February of 2006.

Noise! 2010 - 8th Annual Noise! Festival - Victoria, BC

"May in Victoria, BC, Canada will never be the same again. Expect overflowing buckets of harsh wall, atonal skronk, greasy synth creep, piercing skree, power electronics and outsider freakout fuelled by a kick ass sound system - earplugs provided but fresh underwear you will have to provide yourself. This is the real deal so you snooze, you lose!"

Friday-Saturday, May 21-22
Open Space, 510 Fort
$15 two-day pass
industrial.org/noise for full details.

See Monday Magazine for a great article on the event. snip:
“What’s common with most noise/sound/harsh noise artists is their dedication to the sound itself and its different qualities of texture, volume, space, etcetera,” says Sam McKinlay of Vancouver-based harsh noise outfit The Rita. “In order to achieve individuals’ specific nuances that produce the exact sounds that they are after and want to further manipulate, the artists develop their own sound makers—from various mic’d metal cans filled with steel pieces, to homemade large scale reverb units, to homemade effects pedals and noise generators that create very specific effects.”

This one in via Lorne

Noisemaker workshop at the Hack factory

Noisemaker workshop at the Hack factory from Michael Una on Vimeo.

"Some of the completed devices from the workshop that Talking Computron and I conducted at the Hack Factory in Minneapolis, on May 1 2010."

OLD TEISCO S-60P/ARP SYNTHESIZER

via this auction

"WORKING BUT NEEDS REPAIR. THREE INSTRUMENT BUTTONS NOT WORKING: TROMBONE,HORN & SYNTHSOUND. THE BACK LABEL READS: 'MANUFACTURED UNDER LICENSE FROM ARP INSTRUMENTS.INC.U.S.P.3 965 789'"

ZTAR Baby-Z * Starr Labs Z-Tar MIDI Guitar Synthesizer

via this auction
"The Baby-Z is a small, portable yet powerful, USB-MIDI guitar controller that allows a guitarist to enter a performance into their synthesizer, computer, or DAW. The Baby-Z contains all of the performance features of the higher-end Ztar MIDI controllers, but scaled down for compactness.

Features:
* 16 Fret Fingerboard. Touch-sensitive rubber strings offer a smooth linear feel similar to real strings.
* 6 Touch-sensitive rubber Trigger Bars for fingerstyle performance.
* 6 programmable Expression Pads
* 8 programmable Rotary Pots
* Encoder Wheel User Interface
* Sustain Pedal Jack
* Volume Pedal Jack
* MIDI IN, MIDI OUT
* USB 1.0 . The instrument may be powered by a USB 2.0 port.
* Internal MIDI Wireless optional
* Power supply unit

Dimensions: 26L” x 5″W x 3″D

Weight: 3 pounds 4 ounces

Download the complete specifications of the Baby-Z Here."

Haptic Audio

"Haptic Audio is a collaboration between Jeremy Goldstein and Patrick Campbell.

Our primary intent with the project is to provide royalty-free audio samples, kits, and instruments in (multi-format) 24bit audio, under a Creative Commons ‘Sampling-Plus 1.0′ license.

The concept for the project came after a few sessions and studio get-togethers spent sharing and creating sounds. We quickly realized that we both have a very similar approach and appreciation for music and sound.

While there will be ‘traditional’ music releases under the artist name ‘Haptics’, Haptic Audio will serve primarily as a platform for us to release both free and premium audio sample-content, limited-edition data/music releases, and other creative output.

We hope the site proves to be a useful resource for new and established artists, sonic-enthusiasts, and those who like strange noises."

"As a sidenote our next release (a 5 octave drumkit) 'HAPTIC04' will be released through www.twistedtools.com within the coming week and will be available in EXS/Kontakt/Battery/WAV as a 24bit/44.1 free sample pack."