Converting sample rate and bit depth to lower-resolution data, as you’d do when a project was finished for output to CD and online files or when converting prior to assembling a project, is a dangerous task. It’s the moment at which you can lose a lot of what you put into your sound: the spectral […]

Theremin World’s community of Theremin junkies never ceases to amaze. Mark McKeown has now built his own semi-replica of the classic RCA Theremin, down to the wooden cabinet and 1928-style power supply. You can bet it’ll behave and sound different than the cheap kits available online. Mark’s secret weapon was the treasure trove of specs […]

There are many high-tech solutions to making fashion into a musical instrument, like embedding sound circuitry, sensors, and wireless transmitters. Designer Alyce Santaro has found a low-tech, but ingenious, solution: weaving a special textile out of recycled audio tape. Dresses, flags, and even messenger bags can suddenly incorporate audio materials. In 2003, Alyce built a […]

Ed: The dynamic duo of hits in a wide variety of genres, Joey P. and Dale “RamBro” Ramsey, have contributed to albums selling over a combined 75 million copies. For CDM, they look at another dynamic duo: the combination of Cakewalk’s Project5 with Propellerhead’s Reason on Windows. Both programs tout an all-in-one design, but there […]

I get a regular stream of Q&A in my inbox, so as a new feature on CDM I’ll be answering selected questions for all our readers. Today, we’ve got a new Mac switcher wondering if an iMac will suit his needs, and a reader who wonders why he hasn’t been able to find any of […]

While we’re on the subject of Novation, the good folks at Novation / Focusrite were kind enough to sponsor the Phildelphia Laptop Battle covered here on CDM. They have a great write-up on what went down. They also got to raise the stakes: competitors battled not only for bragging rights, but free gear. So who’s […]

FaLaLaLaLa.com is a site dedicated to “Preserving Memories of Christmas Vinyl Past.” It’s a vintage holiday galore, with album art, music downloads, and lots of notes for albums like Christmas with the Big Ben Banjo Band and the Rock ‘n Rhodes Christmas by The Rhodes Kids. (Not ringing any bells, so to speak?) Best, by […]

The week before Christmas and New Year’s is usually totally dead, but apparently some software developers were clearing house and getting updates out the door before going on vacation: Reaktor 5.1 (Mac/Win) is actually a major new update with new instruments and sounds. The update is a whopping 80 MB; upgrade via NI’s update manager. […]

Here’s an instrumentation for the analog lover: a room full of modular analog synths and analog keyboards, packed with classics from Moog, Yamaha, Roland, and Korg. Composer Matt Hodson writes to tell us about his “London Synthesis Orchestra,” an ensemble filled entirely with synths: My latest project … ‘the London Synthesis Orchestra’. Based on using […]

Gijs Geikes has been hard at work since we last saw his latest bizarre Walkman Tape Player / Game Boy Sequencer. A new model sync with the Little Sound Dj cartridge: plug in a Game Boy, and other goodies (like a Walkman tape player and Stylophone keyboard), and you can create wild, screaming patterns like […]