Film and video scoring aficionados out there, listen up. CDM’s W. Brent Latta takes on Quantum Leap RA from East West, a massive library of sampled world/ethnic instruments. As usual, it’s not just about the product itself: Brent offers some insight into music-making using this tool, and shares a really gorgeous melody he created on […]

Playlist, the iPod DJ club — and Playlist, the website, no relation — both take on the Numark iDJ iPod DJ mixer: Hands-on Numark iDJ Review by DJ Lisa Rocket, resident at the Playlist Club in London Numark iDJ Review by yours truly for Playlistmag.com Incidentally, everyone who goes to Playlist, the Philly and London […]

A single-cable solution for connecting guitar via USB, as Brian Moore Guitars began shipping this week in the form of their custom iGuitar.USB axe, has a lot of appeal. But how practical would it be to use a USB guitar onstage or in the studio? I talked to Robin at the iGuitar factory headquarters to […]

Brian Moore doesn’t yet have a product page for the iGuitar.USB, but there are some details on their What’s Happening page. First off, it is Mac and Windows-compatible. And you’re not just limited to running audio through USB; via an optional RMC jack as featured on their other iGuitars, you can hookup to a Roland […]

You can look forward to an entirely new CDM soon, addressing the problems we’ve had in our first year. Think more reliable rendering on different browsers, an attractive new look, easier access to articles, better commenting and discussion, and more feature, how-to, and review content. But first, I think it’s time to investigate a new […]

Updated: See also iGuitar.USB: More Questions Answered; iGuitar.USB USB Guitar Specs, Pricing, and Clarifications Finally: one USB cable, one guitar, one computer — you’re done. I’ve been watching for this one for a while, and at long last, it’s here and shipping. Brian Moore has taken their excellent iGuitar line of digitally-equipped guitars, and added […]

After CDM’s exclusive interview with composer Tim Larkin, we told you we’d let you know when the soundtrack to the upcoming game Myst V: End of Ages became available. Today’s the day: 17 tracks of orchestral game music from award-winning composer Tim Larkin. The album has been entirely composed, arranged, and produced by Mr. Larkin, […]

The Lemur multitouch control surface is as much about software as it is about hardware, and the folks at JazzMutant and Cycling ’74 have been hard at work updating that software and making it work effectively with more applications. Think better MIDI support, Ableton Live control, and new tutorials on exploring sound and sequencing. Thanks […]

It’s got an incredibly ugly interface, and it ain’t Native Instruments FM7 by any stretch, but CuteVST has two things going for it: first, it’s an FM synth that’s open source, and second, it imports Yamaha DX7 sysex data. So think of the ugly interface as geek cred. It’s the real deal: classic 6-operator synthesis, […]

Earlier this week, I noted that a new feature of the second-generation NeKo keyboard is its ability to clone hardware. (Especially enjoy that picture of them cloning a Korg OASYS — guess you need to either sneak into Sam Ash or find a friend who has everything. Like Herbie Hancock.) Anyway, if you want a […]