I’m still looking for scientist and engineer types who could make use of National Instruments LabVIEW for sound synthesis (I know they’re out there). The superb MAKE: Blog passed along that info, and got something else: synthesis using circuit simulation software. A reader on MAKE: Blog is apparently simulating sound synthesis circuits using University of […]

It’s a sad day: you’ve dumped all those music site news feeds because you had real “work” to do. Good news: it’s time to take a look at the best of the rest on the Web. This week, I’ve got some great articles plus downloadable sounds, video, software, to keep you up with underground digital […]

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets are getting use in music, and not just for tracking musicians’ growing credit card debt. First, Tom Whitwell at Music thing discovered an Excel spreadsheet for additive synthesis: drag sliders, and you get real-time Fourier synthesis with both a waveform view and spectrogram. This is more than just a novelty: watching the […]

I thought they might be sold out by now, but Ableton says they have a few more of their custom Ableton-branded Nerdbags for your laptop. They’re the perfect gift for your digital musician friends and family — or yourself, for that matter. I love mine, and would happily have two. It’s one of my favorite […]

These days, labels are coming up with all sorts of ways to reinvigorate their back catalogs for profit-making, but here’s a novel concept: putting them to work for peace. 25 years after the death of John Lennon, Yoko Ono has contributed the entire Lennon songbook (including “Imagine”) to Amnesty International, to help attract new supporters […]

There are plenty of Moog-labeled goodies deserving of special mention in our ongoing gift guide. It’s a bittersweet pleasure since we lost Bob Moog this year, but the Moog film (above) and accompanying film soundtrack are simply must-have, and a worthy gift even for those new to synths. They’re available from your local CD and […]

Please ensure your seat belts are tight and low across your waist, because here’s the most limited audience for a CDM post ever (and yet it’s still an interesting story). Ryan writes us: Long-time reader, first-time commenter 🙂 I am a technical writer at National Instruments in Austin, TX. NI has a graphical programming language […]

It was only a matter of time before the features of virtual software amps hit digital hardware, resulting in what could be a perfect practice amp: Multiple amp models: Clean, crunch, overdrive, whatever you need — in one hardware amp. 11 digital effects: Multiple effects, and even tap tempo for modulation/delay time. Included effects: wah, […]

Jason Freeman, a professor and musician from Georgia Tech, wrote a Java application which scans your iTunes library and creates your own “signature” out of small audio samples from your songs. From reading his technical docs, it’s more sophisticated than you’d think — the program finds your most played songs and then uses an FFT […]

Urs Heckmann is a prodigy of plug-in development, so when he sends something new, we pay attention. And in a world of a look-alike synths, Zebra2 does seem to qualify as “new”: a next-generation “wireless modular synth.” Didn’t quite get that? Think four joystick control, multiple sound-making techniques, massive, graphical sound sculpting and more: