Chris O’Shea is back from the ICMC . (That’s the International Computer Music Conference in Barcelona, not to be confused with the International Catholic Migration Commision.) It’s a huge summit for computer music gurus, with an emphasis this year on “free sound,” open source, and plenty of new experimental interfaces. Hope to have more from […]

Okay, Web gurus, weekend bloggers alike — it’s time to band together. Thanks to your support and contributions, I’ve got lots of ideas for where to take this site in the future. Only problem: we could use at least some light Mambo, PHP, and Web expertise to give the sight a new look, easier navigation, […]

The M-Audio MicroTrack portable recorder (prototypes were called FlashTracker) is now official. See the awkward press release (via Harmony Central; as usual M-Audio’s Website is lagging). Who’s writing this stuff? “Leaps in miniaturization technology”? (Sorry, a leap in tech would involve a $99 price.) “One of the secrets to the . . . compact size” […]

The wait’s been years long, but it’s over: SynthEdit is now officially out of beta. (via KVR) This US$50, Windows-only software lets you build your own instruments and effects via a modular environment — nothing new in and of itself, but wildly popular due to its simple design, low price, and easy ability to “save […]

It’s hard to get solid information, but a storm appears to be brewing on KVR Audio. The developer of Wusikstation is allegedly calling it quits — a combination of business and personal reasons, and sales lost to warez. That’s led to an unprecedented solution for some of the users: band together and try to acquire […]

I love synthesis, but there’s something just as appealing about creating sounds from other found sounds — especially if you can make the results unrecognizable. I’ve gradually built a series of tricks using some favorite Mac tools. First, the newcomers: Soundtrack Pro: The newest addition to my arsenal is Apple’s Soundtrack Pro, which arrived here […]

Chris O’Shea points us to Ben Hanbury’s project Recycle TV, which combines an old TV set (well, actually, he substituted a picture of one for ease), a Max/MSP patch, and Eric Singer’s real world-to-MIDI interface, the MidiTron. Via copyrighted and open source clips, you can mix together musical phrases constructed from miliseconds-long clips. The beats […]

Linux audio must be making some headway: they’ve even got sequencer/DAW rivals. MusE is a full-blown DAW / MIDI sequencer / audio multitrack application for Linux, based on ALSA (audio framework), JACK (for interconnecting audio between apps), and LADSPA (open source Linux audio plugin format). It’s got an impressive feature list, with extensive MIDI controller […]

As some thought my post about Pd was meant to convey all available free software, I am rounding up the major free applications, open source applications, and commercial applications for DIY sound-making. (Wasn’t my original idea, but, hey — good idea!) We’ve covered them routinely, but it would be great to have them linked from […]

“Give it All, Zero For Rules!” shouts Mattin. For some, free music software isn’t just a way of saving money. It’s a way of life. At the center of the debate is a semi-rivalry between two similar programs: Pure Data (aka “Pd”), and Max/MSP. Both Pd and Max/MSP use a similar interface, allowing you to […]