Sonic Labs this week unveiled one heckuva dream machine PC tower, tweaked for pro audio: dual-core 64-bit 3.7GHz Pentium D965 Extremes, Presler chipset, high-performance everything, a graphics card that’s ready for four-monitor output, and 48 lbs. of PC performance. There are some details I really like, notably the mobile drives, which could let you pair […]

In February, we looked at a high-quality pitch, tempo, and time-stretching algorithm that had made its way to a new exclusive version for Logic Pro, Serato’s Pitch ‘n Time. This sort of thing is necessary if you want to change the pitch or duration of audio without the usual garbled result. Now, it’s deja vu […]

At long last, Universal Audio’s UAD-1e DSP platform brings Universal’s retro-styled mixing and mastering plug-ins to the increasingly popular PCI-Express (PCIe) bus. Why is that cool? Well, for starters, it lets you run effects like perfect emulations of the retro Roland effects shown here. Now, some readers here have been skeptical of the performance improvements […]

From the forums . . . if you’re interested in hooking up a monster game joystick and going Top Gun on your latest music and/or live visual setup, you’ve got options: Joystick to MIDI [CDM Forums Thread] There are quite a few apps for Windows (not surprisingly, as it’s where the gamers are), but options […]

The “Heartbeat of America, Today’s Chevrolet” takes on new meaning. The Heartbeat Bass Booster project by Takehito Etani and David Tinapple involves one seriously pimped out Chevy Cavalier. Driving the project is a heart-shaped pendant with a heart sensor that clips to your finger or earlobe. Plug that into a PowerBook running Max/MSP, and your […]

You may have heard a lot about the InterWeb, a new network that magically connects people around the world through their Compute-trons. You might have heard about its powers to promote music, perhaps by an ill-researched story yesterday where I stupidly pointed to a UK artist who will go unmentioned here. (As it turns out, […]

In 2001, everyone wanted to get rich on the Web. In 2006, everyone wants to be a rock star. There’s a musical gold rush now, filled with tales of artists who have made it big through non-traditional, online promotion, like the perpetually-hyped MySpace success story Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The challenge: separate real potential […]

Dr. Robert Moog would have had his 72nd birthday today, May 23. There are plenty of words you can say about him on this occasion, but why use words when you can use music? Richard Lainhart is kind enough to share one of his Space Jams with Jordan Rudess: I’ve attached an MP3 of the […]

To round out this edition of DIY Day, we close with the final proof that MIDI has been used to control absolutely every technology in the known universe: RoombaMIDI: Roomba as MIDI Instrument Scoff, you might. Sure, the Roomba lacks a certain . . . well . . . expressiveness. But that probably means you […]