Score one for “old school” on the Theremin – minus one for “old school” on the Minimoog keyboard. There’s plenty of debate about whether or not you can justify splurging on the extra cash for the Moog name on synths and effects – no one questions Moog’s quality, but there is other great boutique gear […]

While Novation was refreshing their Automap software for NAMM, M-Audio was unveiling their own dynamic controller technology, called HyperControl. M-Audio has one (big) edge on Novation: their controller technology can access ASCII keystrokes – something I’d love to have in all keyboard control editors. And HyperControl sounds like it has some promise, at least on […]

Cubase 5 includes under-the-hood improvements to performance, but many of the new features – like the unusual LoopMash loop masher upper instrument – come in the form of instrumental add-ons. LoopMash is interesting, but it’s more a bundled instrument than a truly integrated feature. The big traditional DAW announcement at this NAMM show was Steinberg’s […]

Speaking of extra heads, I recently completed a music video – Fail With Me – with collaborator Edward Guglielmino, for the album Late At Night. Edward Guglielmino – Fail With Me from Jaymis on Vimeo. A continuation of the Quick, Single-Shot philosophy I espoused and we discussed 6 months ago. I think this integration is […]

DisplayLink technology has existed for a while, and started appearing in more devices in 2008. It sounds like a very visualist-friendly concept – add extra monitors via USB – yet I haven’t seen it in action nor heard from any VJs using this hardware. The DisplayLink site proudly displays seemingly daisy-chained monitors, and touts the […]

Last time we checked, the VVVV “How to Project On Complex Geometry” article was in its infancy. Now it’s been renamed as How To Project On 3D Geometry (why?), and stands as a great overview to the subject, with some specific patches for trying various setups in VVVV, and discussion on the technical aspects of […]

My favorite purveyors of cheap stuff have finally added a sub-$15 PAL video camera (NTSC version) to their inventory. 25FPSers rejoice! This seems to be the same or very similar model to the cameras I’ve been using for my various Vixid experiments, and as the core of the Herovision setup. The quality of these can […]

RCUS notes there’s a beta page for the Automap 3 beta for Mac and Windows: Focusrite – Novation Beta There’s a registration form for beta testers so you can stay up to date, but you can grab the download immediately. Sounds great to me, as more (quality) feedback can mean fewer bugs! And what about […]

Dynamic control is fantastic. The idea is this: when you switch to a new app or instrument or effect, the hardware controller automatically assigns parameters to controls. That means no messing around with templates, assignment editors, and configuration, and the ability to quickly gain control of your software when editing or performing. Novation’s MIDI-controlling keyboards […]