Not new, but worth mentioning: fREQ is a project exploring the conversion of drawn waveforms into sound: visual waveforms control a drone in real-time. You can download a free mouse and keyboard version (PC only). That's fun, but the installation version (first shown about a year ago) is cooler: it takes an outline of the […]
Music
In music video, Lebanese duo Rust captures emotions of “Diaspora”
Music October 11, 2024
Go support these Lebanese releases on Bandcamp
Music October 4, 2024
Asheville and southeast USA, we’re thinking of you
Music Music tech September 30, 2024
DIY Drum Triggers from Practice Pads
MIDI drum kits are cool again. But buying them? That's boring. Build them instead. Handy musician Nathaniel Andrew has step-by-step instructions for building DIY drum triggers on the cheap. (via audioserve) You'll need to score yourself some cheap Remo practice pads, and there is a little bit of hard work, though nothing impossible. Nathaniel claims […]
If Aliens Decoded Vinyl Digitally
Continuing the 'oldie but goodie' links for today is the 'virtual gramophone / digital needle'. (via audioserve) This is practically ancient, 2002, but I hadn't seen it, and it's hilarious. Ofer Springer pretends never to have seen vinyl records before and treats them as "archeology," trying to reconstruct the means of recording turntables using a […]
Alesis Micron Reviewed: Analog-Modeling Keyboard
What does a hardware synth have to do to compete with software these days? How about offer the same fantastic virtual analog sound for about the same price, for starters? The Alesis Micron is the kid brother to the Alesis Ion synth, with the exact same 8-voice, 4-part multitimbral VA engine. Each voice has 3 […]
New CDM Reviews Section
Long-promised, but now finally here — CDM's reviews section, launching with Lee Sherman's review of the Alesis Micron. We've got a bunch of stuff on the test table, too, so while the section is lonely now, don't expect it to be by the end of this month! Let us know if there are products you […]
DJ Sasha’s MAVEN Controller: Build it Yourself?
Is DJ Sasha's custom MAVEN controller, as plugged in promotions for the artist, built from a free open-source DIY kit? (Sasha uses this custom hardware to control Ableton Live on his iMac G5 during gigs.) MIDIbox users are speculating the MAVEN is based on the MIDIbox platform in a forum discussion. MIDIbox is a hardware […]
iPianos ’05: 5 Mac Grand Pianos, $55
Post Musical Instruments has won acclaim for its piano sampling banks; now US$55 buys you iPianos '05, five of its piano samples for use in Apple's GarageBand and Logic (Express and Pro) — a major upgrade from the instrument that comes in the box. That's PMI's Bosendorfer 290, Yamaha C7, Steinway D and the EMPEROR […]
OS X Tiger Coming; How’s Audio Doing? (and Windows?)
Apple's Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger should be out very soon; eWeek reports shipping is likely by mid-month or end-of-month at latest. So far, the only major application CDM knows to be compatible with Tiger is Ableton Live 4.11, which introduced compatibility tweaks versus 4.1. We're still waiting on a long-promised update to Apple Logic […]
Moog, Prophet Clones: From Software to Hardware
Our coverage of the new Creamware Moog/Prophecy-5 hardware continues with a look at the previous Creamware offering . . . You thought all hardware was going to be transitioning to software plug-in? Think again. By using hardware DSP chips, Creamware has been able to create perfect emulations of original Minimoog and Prophet-5 hardware. The original […]
Memory (Free): Sample and Loop with P5 Data Glove (Win)
Good news: White Noise Audio Software's free Memory plug-in lets you sample loops of audio in real-time, adjusting both loop length and filter cutoff for some crazy live loop-playing. Did I mention it's free? Insanely great news: You can control this mayhem using a $20-30 P5 Data Glove game controller. I leave it up to […]