From our call for CDM reader studios, Eric Beam’s studio. In his setup: Windows 7 64-bit, Cakewalk’s SONAR 8.5 DAW (with native 64-bit support), and the excellent modular patching environment Plogue Bidule. Click through to Flickr for a closer look. Photo (CC-BY) Eric Beam. This week, while we poll readers to find out what platforms […]

For centuries, music has had scores as visual representation. Now it has visual interfaces in software, too. I know from our in-progress platform survey that most of you don’t own an iPad. (At the moment, I’m with you.) But that makes me doubly hopeful that what we get in music software design in general is […]

Atom TM cut back on the gear and wires, opting instead for decoration. The result: warmer visual inspiration, and even a warmer sound. Operating systems aside, the most important “platform” for your music may be the work environment you create for yourself to produce. Seeing that physical environment for someone else can be an inspiration, […]

“Why don’t you cover more…” “Why are you biased toward…” Vocal, or perhaps a silent minority or majority, readers have platforms they choose that matter to their art. In parallel with the sonically-inclined survey launched earlier today on Create Digital Music, we want to know what platforms you use and care about seeing covered on […]

I AM DISPLAY from dada technology on Vimeo. “I Am Display” is 10,000 watts of lighting goodness, composed of original, handmade electronics and some 182 lighting tubes, deployed in a 13-meter length, which debuted early this year. I’m not entirely sure I follow the designers’ intentions here: There is a sense of inverted communication between […]

Image (CC-BY-SA) by opensourceway, who has a particular bias — but, as it happens, our poll can be returned on both of these devices. So there. We hear your opinions in comments (sometimes loudly). Now it’s time to be counted. Which computing platforms do you own, and which do you use for music – desktop […]

“Your kids will love this Saw figure.” So, too, must have been the calculation of the person who decided to immortalize the film Saw with little toys and figures containing 30 seconds of voice recording, because this toy is now available in quantity for — wait for it — US$2. A $2, 30-second sampler? Now […]

Ah, Mondays. If you’re looking for a way to brighten your work week and you’ve got an iPod touch or iPhone you can drop into your pocket, iOS music and audio developer Pulse Code tells us they’ve made four of its apps free for this week only, through August 8. That includes BtBx [iTunes], a […]

Music Hack Day from Your Neighbours on Vimeo. Music Hack Day rolls into London September 4-5 with a huge lineup, ranging from Domino Records to Queen Mary, University of London, and I expect some real work on music creation hacking, not just the Web. If you want to register, time is short – registration closes […]

MixEmergency is a little-known Mac visual app, but it’s got a passionate following. (How do I know? I get excited shouts from them every now and then.) With so many options for live visuals, what would inspire such enthusiasm? Simple: MixEmergency, in addition to some powerful features, can integrate with real-time scratch moves from Serato […]