Inside Details on the Linux-based Trinity Audio Recorder

Roland Stewart of Trinity Audio Devices writes in to clear up a number of the questions we had about their upcoming portable Linux-based audio recorder. While the device is a bit pricey, with a list expected at US$999, it will certainly do things other devices can’t: it’s a full-blown computer, but without the power consumption […]

NAMM Hits Austin, Texas; If You’re There, We Want You

The NAMM trade show brings together the biggest gathering of manufacturers of musical instruments and technology twice a year. Summer isn’t quite as big as the massive winter show in Anaheim, but you can still bet on plenty of new product announcements as the show rolls into sweltering Austin, Texas. I’ve decided not to go […]

Free Utility Measures Audio Latency on Windows

If you’re wondering how your audio interface is performing on Windows with ASIO drivers, CEntrance has released a free utility that measures latency. Latency is the delay in transit as an audio signal performs a trip through your interface. Looks handy, and you know what this means: time to post some Windows driver/interface benchmarks! Measure […]

Beatboxing Parrot on YouTube, Beatboxing Human in Austin

Ah, musical parrots. While I continue to obsess over Hatebeak, the heavy metal parrot, here’s a video that claims to show a beatboxing parrot: At first, I thought this might be faked, but it does appear to be the real thing, and having known a few parrots, these birds will do far stranger things vocally. […]

Building a Gigging PC, Pt. II: RAID Setup, Installing Windows XP Without Bloat

In our last episode, I was assembling my fantastic new portable Shuttle PC in glorious comic book form. I got as far as booting Ubuntu Linux off a CD, but obviously I wouldn’t want to stop there. Next steps: getting the onboard NVIDIA RAID working, and making a lean, livable Windows XP install I won’t […]

An Audio Interface for the Studio and the Road: Mackie’s Satellite

A lot of people now split their recording time between on-location and studios, which for many people means buying two separate audio interfaces. Also, despite the fact that their needs are simple, they often wind up with interfaces that either don’t do quite what they need or, at the opposite extreme, are complete overkill. That’s […]

YMCK: Japanese 8-bit Virtuosos, Music Videos

It would be unfair to mention the free Magical 8-bit Plug-in without acknowledging who created it: the insanely talented Japanese chiptune band, YMCK: YMCK Official Site [English] YMCK Events [Japanese] YMCK @ Myspace And, most importantly: YMCK Music Videos @ YouTube Their style is a unique mash-up of the tightly-quantized, hyperactively cheery iconic Nintendo music […]

Shooting Objects in Boxes: DIY Lightbox and Antigravity Chamber

Have you shot any new source material lately? Don’t be one of those VJs who turns up with the same archive.org clips to every show. You don’t need expensive gear to get interesting results, you don’t even need to go outside. Just point your feed reader at Make:Blog and find yourself a cardboard box. Strobist, […]