When you see a name like NI’s Guitar Rig, or a Swedish babe holding a guitar next to IK’s AmpliTube, you probably think about, you know, guitars. (I can hear at least one of my colleagues at Keyboard Mag groaning, “Ewwwww . . . guitars.”) But look closely at either of these products behind the […]
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@AES: PreSonus’ New Handheld Audio Interface, Fully Plugged
AES updates through the week — problem with being at the show is, it doesn’t leave much time to write about the show! -PK Let’s face it: what most people need for computer audio is just an easy way of plugging in a mic or guitar or two. Presonus’ new Inspire 1394 is a bus-powered […]
@AES: Pro Tools 7 — Worth the Hype?
Walking the AES show floor, there is just one company that draws the really big crowds: Digidesign. But while Pro Tools 7 is worth the upgrade for most existing users, there are a lot of features that are eliciting yawns among people I talked to. (The number one DAW saw on demo computers at various […]
@AES: M-Audio ProjectMix I/O Motorized Control Surface + Audio Interface
M-Audio is hot. Where their product line was once littered with tons of products, some cool, some blah, they’ve got a lineup at AES that looks like it could be filled with hits. At the top of my list is the new M-Audio ProjectMix I/O. This box looks like Digi’s 002 interface or Pro Control […]
@AES: Native’s Guitar Rig 2 Strikes Back with Control Stompbox and Loops
Digital guitar software/hardware combos? It’s on. Just days after IK Multimedia shows its new version of AmpliTube with new effects and a new hardware stompbox / audio interface / DI box, rival Native Instruments unveils its own upgraded computer guitar rack with new effects and a new hardware stompbox / audio interface / DI box. […]
The FireWire Electric Guitar
AES: Finally, a guitar you can plug directly into your computer — no strings attached. You may never have heard of BridgeCo, but if you’ve got a FireWire audio interface, odds are their guts are inside. (They make the firmware / hardware platform.) Now they’ve gone and crossed your FireWire interface with a boutique electric […]
AES: Cakewalk Launches Mac/Windows Dimension Pro Synth
Windows stalwart Cakewalk has in fact gone cross-platform (Windows VSTi/DirectX and Mac AU/VSTi). So, why’d they do it? Apparently, they wanted to unleash this serious synth monster on two platforms: think two DVDs, 1500+ sound programs, major layering and easy editing and morphing. More details from Cakewalk after the jump, and I’ll have more after […]
AES Preview: New Music Gear and Software to Watch For
AES used to be an insider’s show for audio engineers and academics, but that’s not the case any more. Now, with the audio industry pumping out new products, it’s a show to watch for new gear. (For the uninitiated, that’s AES as in Audio Engineering Society, the folks who gave us, among other things, the […]
Digitally Modeling Percussion: DJ/Scientist Cynthia Bruyns
[Updated: Had the wrong record label — it’s not Muti, it’s Pretension. Though Pretension is also cool.] I asked readers to brag about their work, and, wow, does Cynthia Bruyns have amazing things to brag about: She’s a DJ — check out her mixes She’s working part-time with Apple’s Interactive Media group She’s involved with […]
David Byrne’s Playing the Building, Saturday in Stockholm: Architectural Music
By architectural music, I don’t mean some sort of funky digital installation. David Byrne’s new installation uses the pipes, metal beams, and girders of the Färgfabriken space in Stockholm as a musical instrument. It is definitely an installation (though the curator tries to say it’s not): there are automatic blowers forcing air through pipes, motors […]