Computer VJing is about to hit prime time, thanks to gains in computer performance. Mixing 2-channel 640×480 Photo JPEG-compressed video is finally possible — no more 320x240x15 jaggies. One of the tools I’m most excited about is the new Edirol hardware/software package, and I got to try it out at AES.

The line between hardware and software is still, let’s face it, confusing and inconvenient. On one hand, you’ve got your hardware control surface keyboards that work well with software, but without booting your software they don’t make any sound. Worse, you often have to manually assign knobs and faders to your software synth. On the […]

The beauty of musical instruments lies partly in their strangeness: odd objects that have mysterious sound-making powers. So really, why not a toilet? Toilet, Pooh, Pikachu: Cementimental’s “Optical Theremin Loo” packs an optical theremin (with a photoresistor, in other words) into a plastic toy toilet. (Tom at Music Thing should like this as it’s white, […]

Stumbling around for the right foot pedal? Prostage hears you with their giant new foot pedals. (via Synthtopia) Looks like fine kit: all-metal, no plastic, delay-tap, LCD on some models (various alternatives) and GIANT LETTERS AND NUMBERS for the vision impaired. Their continuous controller pedal looks especially nice for sending volume to organs or other […]

We hear a lot about studios in software, but the “studio in a box” concept lives on. Yamaha’s new portable digital audio workstations integrate a mixing console, recording, effects, and mastering — and they hook up to USB 2.0, so Yamaha’s clearly thinking of these as companions to your computer, not replacements. You can check […]

While we’re mulling CompactFlash-based portable digital recorders, I’d be remiss to ignore the Marantz PMD660. Just as the new M-Audio MicroTrack is inspired by Apple’s iPod (check out the LCD display if you don’t believe me), the PMD660 is deeply rooted in past Marantz recorders. Those of you who have fond memories of Marantz cassette […]

One of the best things about the Mac is Logic, true — and one of the best things about Windows is Cakewalk SONAR. This powerful workstation is gaining some serious tracktion in the pro recording market. Home versions had been lagging behind, though, which is why these announcements make good news from Boston. (Not good […]

Here’s your typical PR hype: “because guitarists deserve, and WANT, some anus-stretching.” (We know computer musicians, remix artists, drummers, keyboardists, etc. do, too.) The Metasonix Butt Probe — sorry, the “TX-2” — is a $549, hand-made, hand-painted tube-based distortion effect, complete with fist, ream, and scre parameters. Tube-based so that it has a lovely, warm, […]

The first Star Wars movie launched a golden age of cinematic design, but not just for visuals — it was sound design’s greatest moment, too. The technology that made all this possible? None other than the humble field recording. (By the way, this is on everyone’s mind — just as I was putting this together, […]

I don’t care who you are. Odds are, your musical instrument collection is nowhere near as large, strange, and wonderful as Eric Schneider’s. I covered his vast Web collection in March, and he wrote to let me know that it’s gotten larger: near 200 pieces, more than can fit online. Recently, Eric did manage to […]