Guitarists have had the right idea for a long time: when you run out of hands, get your feet in on the action. Now with us keyboardists busying ourselves with complex synth patches and triggering grooves from Ableton Live in live performance, the time is right for mainstreaming the stompbox-style foot controller. Strangely, finding an […]

I expect that I'll write this and someone will say, "Why, no, that's simply copied from Joe's Big EQ, an effect written 5 years ago." but for my money, Digidesign's new EQ III looks stunningly like the MasterWorks EQ in MOTU Digital Performer 4.5. (Read my review of DP in Keyboard) Let's back up for […]

Ektopia points to an obsessive Japanese database of product designs, with extensive audio gear. Plenty to satisfy your fetish for metal and knobs, but most intriguing is the Sony Flamingo portable record player. No, not a CD walkman — think the turntable equivalent. Bet that worked really well. eBay?

Finally — a boatload of free stuff arrives on a Friday so I can alliterate my roundup. Simple pleasures. First, the Windows edition: Free mono synth with lots of routing: Club CC4 has released their Ridiculously Red monophonic hybrid instrument, which has a Ridiculously Butt-ugly interface but "experimental semi-modular routing" and lots of routing and […]

Apple Loops are brilliant. Sure, you can use them in generic ways, pasting together music, but if you want them to act as raw materials for remixing or mind-bendiningly experimental music (just add effects), you can do that, too. And Mac sites keep releasing great loops for free: Free tune-up mini features sounds like "Space […]

Tired of the lead vocalist in your hardcore thrash death metal band? Why not replace him or her with a parrot? Yes, it's Hatebeak, the band with a parrot (literally) singing — make that "savaging you with feathers of razored steel." (I've heard a few folk singer-songwriters who also fit that description, but I digress.) […]

Eldorado — that's CDM's new correspondent, not to be confused with the Cadillac Eldorado — takes us on a ride into the frontier of digital DJing. If you're ready to blend the best of vinyl with the digital revolution and are looking for a place to get started, you'll want to stay tuned into this […]

CDM got to check out Sasha with his new MAVEN controller (see Music Thing's story) as he played his monthly residency at Crobar here in New York. Forget vinyl — Sasha's setup is all-digital: Ableton Live Apple iMac G5 (looked like 17", but that was after a couple of vodkas) MAVEN custom controller (built just […]

Reflex Products is a newly-launched maker of computer music gear; Jamez writes us to tell about their new Sonia MIDI controller. Vitals: 12 soft-touch knobs, 5 'virtual transport' buttons (or whatever else you want 25 preset memory banks for instant compatibility with Live, Logic, Reason, Cubase, etc. up to 44 user banks for whatever wasn't […]

MIDI is still a reality of life for connecting all kinds of instruments. The most compact MIDI adapters act basically like a MIDI-to-USB cable, but many of those are 1-in / 1-out only and look ugly as hell. Romio from Reflex is different: 1-In, 2-Out (for 32, count `em, channels), and it's simply gorgeous, at […]