One Moog modular runs everywhere (nearly) on the current Apple ecosystem, so your patches go gracefully from Big Sur Mac (M1 or Intel) to iPad to iPhone.
Music
Interview: Michael Vincent Waller connects concert music and hip-hop
Music Stories December 26, 2024
Live radio from Gaza, Khan Younis and Bethlehem-Hebron choirs meet
Music December 24, 2024
Liz Pelly’s Spotify book reveals how company uses ghost content
Music Tech Web December 19, 2024
Everything new in Arturia MicroFreak 3 update, as a wild little synth gets deeper
It’s cute and small, it’s affordable, and now it’s getting more packed into it, in collaboration with boutique maker Noise Engineering. Here’s a look at what’s new in Arturia’s free 3.0.x firmware update to their MicroFreak synth.
MIDI has a slick new brand identity, courtesy Pentagram, in time for 2.0
“MIDI” the word has become almost part of culture at large. But with MIDI 2.0 arriving, the MIDI Association decided it needs a new look – and sound.
Deep in Serum: six sound tricks to explore just by double-clicking, with maestro Francis Preve
For all the many soft synths out there, maturity and depth matter – and few tools offer those quite like the almighty Serum. Whether you’re just getting around to trying it – or you already think you know all there is to know – sound maven Francis Preve is the perfect guide.
1930s Soviet optical synthesis animation looks positively futuristic after 4K restoration
It’s synthesis from paper – sounds crafted quite literally by hand, using drawn animation, then optically synthesized. But after this 4K restoration, it’s clear how much these 1930s inventors were ahead of their time.
Watch a hacked DJ technique made with karaoke tapes, by Ōedo Technica
Vinyl? CDJ? Meh. Hand-mixing and “scratching” karaoke cassette tapes on hacked machines as a new form of strange pop music DJing? Now we’re talking. Behold the YouTube channel of 大江戸テクニカ (Ōedo tekunika).
Those new Sequential Prophets just got desktop versions
If you want a premium synth and don’t need the keyboard or want it to fit into a little less space, Sequential has made desktop renditions of both Prophet-5 and Prophet-10.
Strum is a mesmerizing new take on arpeggiators and performance – Max for Live
Able to roll through chords, make organic arpeggiations, and spin out hypnotic melodies, Strum looks like the most addictive Max for Live device in recent memory.
Roland Verselab MV-1 combines drum machine, looper, melody, vocals
Roland’s latest outgrowth from their shared hardware platform is a groove machine, song arrangement tool, and looper – one that acknowledges some people want to do both beats and vocals.
How MPE can work on hardware synths: a look at Sequential OB-6, Prophet 6 updates
Chicken and egg problem, no more. MIDI Polyphonic Expression is now in commonly available controller hardware and software like Ableton Live 11. So let’s check in at the synth maker of the father of MIDI – Dave Smith’s house Sequential and see what happens when you add it to classic synthesizers.