Tim’s back with another tip. Baltimore bender Peter Blasser has created oddities like the much-blogged worm-powered synth (using worms as connections for a circuit-bend patch bay; via Music thing) and bent wooden synth kits (also via MT). But that’s not all. Blasser, aka Ciato-Lonbarseee, has plenty of other strange creations: Many odd synths, many odd […]

Mystery solved: Cakewalk introduced the Dimension Pro synth for Mac and Windows simultaneously the week of AES. A post on KVR Audio which appears to be from the Cakewalk beta team suggests that Cakewalk is looking for Mac OS X beta testers: Cakewalk is looking for OSX Beta Testers [KVR Message Topic] Cakewalk (aka 12 […]

A CDM fan who asked to remain anonymous sends us this photo of his 3-year-old son. That’s how to start the mixmasters early. FYI, the hardware in question is the excellent Mixman DM2 hardware, which you can often find as cheap as US$10-20. Windows-only, but add DM2MIDI and you can control anything you like. Earlier […]

Scratching: it’s not just for DJs. It’s a musical instrument taught at the Berklee College of Music. Using a product like Final Scratch, you can use turntable scratching as an interface to your computer. Using the more affordable Ms. Pinky, you can even interface with video apps and control Max/MSP and Jitter. Pink looks equally […]

Larry Fast, Photos and Info on Collaboration with Peter Gabriel You know you’re in analog gear porn heaven when you read captions like this: “Micromoog, Oberheim S-2 digital sequencer with CV and Trigger switching matrix; Moog Model 15 sitting on top of two additional racks of assorted Moog modules; 360 Systems Pitch Shifter (used to […]

Back in the day, indeed. Cynthia at Cyndustries (see previous post) has been busily uploading scanned back issues of vintage late-70s electronic music magazine Synergy. There’s tons of vintage Oberheim, Moog, ARP, Yamaha, Korg, EMS and other gear, of course. But you’ll also find some great music: Allen Strange, Eno, Larry Fast (on the brain […]

CDM’s resident spinner, DJ Eldorado, brings us a review of Numark’s ultra-portable, US$99 turntable, the PT01. But he didn’t just see if it could pass muster in his bedroom: he preferred more extreme conditions. Here’s his full review:

Two programs are leading the computer’s charge into the DJ booth. Ableton Live is the non-traditional approach, embraced by electronic musicians and DJs wanting the power to tinker with their beats as they go. Native Instruments’ Traktor DJ remains the choice of traditionalists. Yesterday, Traktor got a major update — it’s all-about beat-synced effects, hardware […]

Those of us reviewing products know that readers aren’t just looking to our reviews for advice. You’re digging through the user forums, too. Usually, we don’t get to talk to each other, readers and writers. Harmony Central is trying a new experimental format that does just that, with one of the hottest releases of the […]

If you missed the evolving Dorkbot event in May, you missed some fantastic flourescent light bulb performance and djing with human bodies as electrical swithces. (The former I’ve heard done by a different artist; beautiful, wild sounds.) You’ve got a second chance: Dorkbot is due again on the 2nd of October with bending circuits apparently […]