Review: Oleg Prodeus: The 13

Appropriately enough for Friday 13th, we’re pleased to promote Oleg Prodeus’s album “The 13″.

Although the album sits in the alternative pop/rock genre, it goes far deeper than that. It oozes class and depth, and so it should as it took the multi-instrumentalist Oleg three intensive years to complete.

Listen to each of the thirteen tracks and you’ll be sure to hear a rich diversity of synthetic textures, arpeggiations and distortions, yet all fitting perfectly within the overall mix.

Every track is highly listenable, at times featuring unexpected arrangements and melodies. Personal favourites include the opening track “Savior”, “Can You Feel the Rain”, “Do You Know the Way”, and “Last Hero In This Universe”.

“The 13″ is diverse in richness, yet fits together perfectly. There are elements of good pop, of eighties and nineties influences, electronic and acoustic, and great vocal presence. This is definitely an album worth exploring. James Moore from Independent Music Productions” said that “The 13″ was “highly recommended for fans of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Ours, Muse, and Sneaker Pimps.”

Check out every track on Oleg Prodeus’s web site and buy on iTunes, Bandcamp or Amazon.

Previously to “The 13″, singer/songwriter, producer, multimedia artist and filmmaker/director Oleg composed two other solo albums — “To The Sky” and “Collective Farm”, as well as composing and producing five songs for the film soundtrack of Pepe Danquart’s motion picture “C(r)ook“.

Check out Oleg’s YouTube channel for more music videos.

Review: Francis Bowie EP

Multitalented Dane Francis Bowie provides the perfect soundtrack for the approaching summer months with “Sunny Day”, a track from his EP launched in October last year.

Producing in the electronic/intelligent pop music style, his EP features a range of soaring synthesiser lines together with orchestral backing. The style is light and fresh without falling into the Pop Idol trap.

“IPM is an attempt to put some quality, dignity and honour back into popular music,” Bowie says.

His EP features four tracks. “Endlessly” is delightfully upbeat with plenty of synth evidence.

“Wasting My Time” has an almost sci-fi electronic feel with lots of deep synth action, orchestral strings and piano. Fantastic.

Finally, after “Sunny Day”, comes “Silly And Crazy”, featuring synth zings and altered electric pianos.

Those of you with creativity that extends beyond the music keyboard may also be interested to know that Francis is also a painter, sculptor, designer, writer and gallery owner.

Check out the official YouTube channel, web site and Facebook page. Buy the EP for $3 or more or check out Francis Bowie’s SoundCloud page.

Preview: Alex Nackman – This Revolution

New York City based Alex Nackman is no musical novice, having five albums under his belt as well as being a proficient writer and producer, and his work takes a further turn in his latest album “This Revolution“.

Taking influence from a plethora of ’90s sounds including Duran Duran, New Order, The Cure and U2, it’s no surprise that – despite the fact that you hear a strong guitar influence in his music – there’s also a lot of synthesiser goodness oozing through the soundscape.

Not to mention acoustic piano. Take a look at a snap of the gorgeous studio Alex works in and you’ll see a grand piano as well as assorted xylophones/glockenspiels. There’s definitely an Alesis synth floating around too.

One reviewer described This Revolution as “paced exceptionally well. Moving from one song to the next seems like a natural progression… There are a fair number of songs that immediately pull you in with either a really great drum groove, an interesting repeated melody line, or a combination of both.”

Another described it as “sonically full” with “an edge” and a sounds that’s “incredibly durable”.

Get a taste of the album with the fourth track “Burn from the Rockets”:

Get loads more info on Alex Nackman’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and official web site.

Download the album from iTunes

For those itching to know about some of the gear that Alex uses, here we go:

• Nord Electro 75
• Mooger Vintage Synth
• Summit Audio TLA-50 Compressor
• Universal Audio LA-610
• Neumann TLM67
• Electro Harmonix Memory-Man Delay
• Keeley OCD Pedal

Best hand strengthening equipment for pianists

We’ve already looked at improving piano playing strength and dexterity using the keyboard alone, but what if you want to take things a step further, plus perform finger strengthening, hand strengthening, and wrist strengthening exercises when away from a piano?

There are a number of gadgets and gizmos available but by far the most compact and useful I’ve come across is the Gripmaster series of hand strengtheners.

Although they’re primarily marketed for sports exercise, they make wonderful finger, hand and wrist exercisers too.

The GripMaster range of gadgets work to improve strength, endurance and coordination of the muscles within the hand, as well as most muscles and tendons in the forearm. Perfect for pianists and keyboard players.

There are six different recommended hand exercises: Gross Grasp, Hook Position, Key Pinch, Trigger Pinch, Tip-to-Tip Pinch, and Wrist Flexion. This combination of exercises helps to build strength of thumb and fingers, wrists and forearms.

There are currently six different versions of the GripMaster available, offering various tensions. They range from the XX-Light, through X-Light, Light, Medium, Heavy and X-Heavy. Those used to lighter synth/organ keys may get on well with the X-Light or Light versions, while the Medium or Heavy versions are ideal for pianists working on acoustic and digital pianos with heavier weighted keys. The X-Heavy may be overkill for any pianist.

Model	Pounds Per Finger
XX-Light	1.5
X-Light	3
Light	5
Medium	7
Heavy	9
X-Heavy	11

The GripMaster range is safe and great value for money, typically retailing for around the $15 mark, but often available for less.

Reviews of the GripMaster range are generally positive. It’s definitely important to treat this form of exercise as seriously as any other, starting slowly with lighter, less repetitious exercises and building up as your strength increases.

It’s also worth continuing to exercise fingers, hands and wrists in the natural environment of playing the piano or keyboard. Yes, this means continuing with scales and other exercises.

Some have said that the GripMaster is not suitable for musicians because it focuses on pure strength rather than dexterity and speed, and has the potential to induce Repetitive Strain Injury. However, in moderation using the lighter tensions I believe it can be a beneficial tool*.

If you’re looking for a cheap, portable and effective hand exerciser for use when away from your instrument, the GripMaster range could be just what you’re looking for.

(* Disclaimer: This is a personal view and should not be taken as medical advice. Seek help from a medical professional before embarking on any exercise programme.)

Casio XW-P1 Professional Synthesizer

• Buy the Casio XW-P1 at zZounds
• Buy the Casio XW-P1 at Amazon.com

Casio XW-P1 Introduction

Twenty-five years after Casio launched the CZ Series synthesisers, the company is back with the introduction of the XW-P1 professional synth.

The Casio XW-P1 can be bought for under $500 yet it’s no pushover in the specification department.

Casio XW-P1 Overview

The five octave (61-key) light touch keyboard may not suited to pianists but is certainly adequate for a wide variety of musical styles, as well as in use as a MIDI controller keyboard.

64 notes of polyphony may seem a little stingy these days, and musicians wanting to put complex sounds on the XW-P1′s 16 channels may run out of notes. That said, the keyboard will serve very well for more moderate sound usage, such as producing lead instrument sounds, pads and beats. Gear junkies may well want to add one or more XW-P1′s to their existing keyboard setup, particularly if they’re after some of those classic CZ sounds.

The XW-P1 has a wealth of input controls including pitch and modulation wheels, nine editing sliders and four assignable knobs.

Some synths suffer from a lack of more realistic instrument samples. Sometimes that’s what you want, but if you’re looking for a keyboard that can double as a decent piano or organ, the XW-P1 offers it.

There’s a tri-element stereo piano plus a versatile and highly configurable drawbar organ. Casio uses PCM tones for these real-world instruments.

Casio XW-P1 Specifications

Take a look at the specification list below to get a decent idea of what the Casio XW-P1 can achieve:

• Number of Keys: 61
• Controllers:
  • Pitch Wheel
  • Modulation Wheel
• Assignable Controllers: Controllers; 4 Knobs
• Assignable Functions: MIDI Messages (CC, RPN, NRPN, Mono After touch, Poly After touch, Pitch, Tempo)
• Editing Controllers: 9 Sliders
• Display: LCD; 72×31 Dot Matrix + Patterns, with Backlight and Contrast
• Tone Generator: Overview; Sound Generator Type; HPSS(Hybrid Processing Sound Source)
• Polyphony: 64
• Number of Parts: 16
• Total Number of Tones (Preset/User) : 620/310
• PCM, Melody, PCM Drum, Drawbar Organ, Hex Layer, Solo Synthesizer
• GM Compatible: Level 1
• Mixer: Yes
• Tuning: A4=415.5Hz – 440.0Hz – 465.9Hz (0.1Hz-Step)
• PCM Tones: Preset/User Tones; 400/100
• Tri-Element Stereo Piano: Yes
• Tones with User Wave: N/A
• Drum Kits (Preset/User) : 20/10
• Hex Layer: Number of Tones (Preset/User); 50/50
• Drawbar Organ: Number of Tones (Preset/User); 50/50
• Solo Synthesizer: Preset/User Tones; 100/100
• Maximum Polyphony: 1
• Oscillator Blocks: 6 (Synth 1/2, PCM1/2, Ext Input, Noise)
• Portamento: Yes
• Legato: Yes
• PWM: Yes
• External Input: Yes
• Pitch Shifter: Yes
• Noise Generator: Yes
• Non-Resonant Filter: Yes (6)
• Resonant Filter: Yes (1)
• Amplifier: Yes
• Oscillator Mixer: Yes
• LFO: Yes (2)
• Envelope Generators: Pitch, Amp, Filter, LFO
• Assignable Virtual Controllers: 8
• Effects: System Reverb; Preset Types; 10
• System Chorus: Preset Types; 5
• Limitations: System Chorus, DSP and Solo Synthesizer are mutually exclusive
• Master Effect: EQ; Editable 4 Band EQ
• DSP: Number of DSP Sets (Preset/User); 100/100
• PCM Tone Effect Categories: Compressor, Distortion, Enhancer, Wah, Auto Pan, Tremolo, Rotary, Phaser, Chorus, Reflection, Tempo Sync Delay , Ring Modulator, LoFi, 2-Module Multi
• Solo Synth DSP: Tempo Sync Delay, Distortion, Ring Modulator, Chorus, Flanger, Pan
• Algorithm Types: 46(Normal Tone DSP) 6(Solo Synthesizer DSP)
• DSP Lines: 1
• Audio Player: Storage Type; SD Card
• Number of Songs: 999
• Audio File Format: 42kHz Stereo
• Limitation: Audio Playing, Musical Playing(SMF, Step Sequencer) are mutually exclusive.
• Step Sequencer: Number of Tracks; Mono x 8, Poly x 1, Control x 4
• Number of Patterns / Step Sequence: 8
• Number of Step Sequencers (Preset/User) : 100/100
• Number of Chains (user) : 100
• Maximum Number of Steps: 16
• Key Play: Yes
• Other: Note Gate, Note Swing per Track
• Phrase Sequencer: Number of Phrases; 100/100
• Number of Tracks: 1
• Play Mode: Loop, Hold, Key Play
• Capacity: 8KBytes/Pgrase, 128KBytes/100 User Phrases
• Recordable Events: Note On/Off, Controller Operations
• Arpeggiator: Other; Phrase measure and note quantize, overdub
• Number of Patterns (Preset/User) : 100/100
• Data Types: Variation, Step
• Editing Function: Variation ; Parameter Edit
• Step: 16-Step Edit, Parameter Edit
• Performance: Number of Memories (Preset/User); 100/100
• Parameter Categories: Tone, Effect, Mixer, Controller, Sequence, Phrase, Arpeggio, MIDI
• Recall Parameter Filter: Yes
• Number of Keyboard Zones: 4
• Multifunction Key: Yes
• Transpose: Range; +/- 12
• Octave Shift: Range; +/- 3
• Tempo: Range; 30-255BPM
• Tap Tempo: Button/LED; Yes
• MIDI Clock: Transmit/Receive; Yes
• Storage: SDHC Card; Capacity; 2GB-32GB
• Dimensions and Weight in Packaging: Shipping Weight: 20 lbs Shipping Dimensions: 20 x 15 x 6 in

Casio XW-P1 Reviews

There are very few official reviews of the Casio XW-P1 at present, but we’ll be adding links to them as we find them.

Several forums are reporting a general consensus that the XW-P1 is a great synth (particularly at such a low price point) but that its build quality isn’t great.

Here’s Franz Schiller’s review of the XW-P1.

Casio XW-P1 Videos

Casio’s official 5 minute introduction to the XW-P1:

Sonic State interviews Mike Martin from Casio at NAMM 2012. This 13 minute video includes a decent demo of key features:

Daniel Fisher gives a 4-minute demo of the XW-P1:

Buy the Casio XW-P1

The Casio XW-P1 has an RRP of $699.99, but it can generally be picked up for under $500.

• Buy the Casio XW-P1 at zZounds
• Buy the Casio XW-P1 at Amazon.com

Apple’s new iPad: What’s in it for musicians?

It’s hard to avoid an Apple product announcement, so by now you’ve probably already heard about the “new iPad” (third generation).

There are plenty of places to get an overview of the new features, so here at Piano & Synth Magazine we’ll take a closer look at the specifications that are likely to make it an even greater tool for musicians.

Retina Display

The improved display has four times the pixel density of the iPad 2. That means better graphics and more readable text, which means more lifelike (paper-like) display of manuscripts, and more visible detail on buttons, faders, virtual keyboards, and more, in all your favourite music-making apps.

The 9.7-inch screen is the same size as before, but it packs in a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536. That’s a 16:12 ratio but is good enough for any widescreen apps too.

Dual-core A5X Chip with quad-core graphics

You may not care much for the name, but know that Apple’s own A5X chip has been developed to offer super responsiveness. This is a must when dealing with timing-critical audio and music apps.

A lot of the extra processing power is being diverted to drive the display itself, but Apple is touting the super-responsiveness of the new iPad, so we expect existing apps to run faster (or at least with less stuttering – the bane of any live or studio musician).

AirPlay & iCloud

The new iPad has been designed to be even more connectable – particularly wirelessly. This includes AirPlay which allows music and more to be transmitted over a Wi-Fi network to a compatible HDTV or other device.

iCloud works on a variety of Apple devices including laptops and newer iPhones as well as the iPad, and will allow files to be automatically synchronised across all devices. This could be a real timesaver and give peace of mind to travelling musicians. Compose and record on the road and know that your home computer has automatically backed everything up safely for you.

iLife GarageBand

Apple has updated the iPad version of GarageBand. It now includes a “Jam Session” feature allowing up to four iPads to connect wirelessly and then play and record audio together. This could allow for some interesting creative possibilities, either for collaborative music or for a single musician running more than one iPad simultaneously.

There’s also a new “Smart Strings” touch instrument which “allows you to play an entire string orchestra with just one finger”, plus a note editor allowing the fine tuning of notes without having to re-record the whole part.

iPhone users with 3GS or better models and iPod touch fourth generation users will be pleased to note that the new GarageBand version is also available for them. It’s available from the App Store.

Other Features

There are plenty of other features including new faster 4G network support, a much improved camera and HD video recording. These may not be clinchers for musicians but it does point to a very capable device that can be used for many other things when it’s not driving your music.

New iPad

The new iPad will be available from Friday 16 March with prices starting at $499. The iPad 2 will be available from a reduced $399.

What do you think? Is the iPad a great music making machine?

Nord C2D dual manual organ announced, arriving March

Two-and-a-half years after Clavia introduced its Nord C2 combo organ, it has announced the C2D.

We have very sparse information about the C2D at present, with Clavia simply writing the following:

“Complete with 2 sets of physical drawbars per manual the Nord C2D is the ultimate portable organ for musicians that play with their drawbars as well as the keys. The new left-hand preset sections offer an unsurpassed level of hands-on control and the upper manual and panel has been tilted for better ergonomics. A LCD-display has been added for easier access to programs and settings.

The Nord C2D features a redesigned simulation of the characteristic mechanical key clicks that are an essential component of the classic tone-wheel experience. Furthermore, the redesigned percussion model offers increased control over the percussion levels when playing near-legato. The Nord C2D also includes a redesigned Rotary Speaker simulation of a vintage 122 unit.

More information and sound demos will be available when shipping starts in March!”

We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we find out more about the specifications, pricing and availability.

Nord Drum Virtual Analog Drum Synthesizer coming March

Clavia provided a teaser announcement at this year’s NAMM show that its new Nord Drum Virtual Analog Drum Synth will be available this coming March.

Although we don’t have full specs, we’ve now seen a taster video demo, and today pictures emerged of the first review model of the Nord Drum to land in the UK (see the gallery below for all the shrink-wrapped goodness)

Clavia writes in a brief news item:

“The Nord Drum is a revolutionary 4-channel drum synthesizer. With an amazingly vast sonic palette and astounding level of playability the Nord Drum is guaranteed to change your perception of what’s possible with synthetic, sample-free percussion.

Create classic retro-futuristic percussion with analog waveforms or use the harmonically complex waveforms together with different colors of noise for results that both sound and respond stunningly organic. The Nord Drum is designed with the performing musician in mind and its extreme dynamic range and super-fast triggering add to the feeling of playing a real instrument.

4 high-sensitivity inputs and MIDI lets you play the Nord Drum with a wide range of Electronic Drum Pads, Acoustic Drum Triggers and MIDI-pads/Sequencers for easy integration into any existing drum-kit or the starting point for something completely new…”

The Nord Drum web site is up and running, with more information about the kit expected soon.

Science of piano playing to be revealed with 3D mapping techniques

Have you ever wondered exactly what makes up good piano playing technique? What sets apart the virtuoso pianist from the mere mortal? Or why some pianists develop injuries?

Researchers from the University of Southampton are hoping to answer some of those questions as they set to discover the mechanics of piano playing using a newly-developed Hand And Wrist Kinematics (HAWK) system.

By building a database of the playing techniques of hundreds of pianists, and then analysing them, they hope to understand how playing habits and styles may contribute to proficiency or even injury.

For the system to works, a player’s hands and wrists are covered in reflective dots. These can be picked up by a Vicon motion-capture system as used in Hollywood animation studios.

Take a look at the video which features Professor David Owen Norris from the university’s music department.

Via BBC News

Alesis Cadenza digital piano unveiled

Alesis has shown off the latest addition to its line of digital pianos. The Cadenza features 88 hammer-action graded weight keys and a range of simple controls designed to allow the pianist to concentrate on the performance.

The Cadenza features eight stereo voices, and although Alesis doesn’t seem to want to share exactly what they are at present, we do know there’s at least one acoustic grand piano and one string sample. We’d imagine the others are fairly standard fare, such as piano variation, electric pianos, harpsichord and organ.

The touch sensitivity is adjustable, and there’s a two-track recorder, metronome, audio input and output, chorus and reverb effects, supplied sustain pedal, and built-in speakers with adjustable treble and bass controls.

Check out the video below. The sound quality isn’t great so it’s definitely one worth checking out for yourself.

Alesis Cadenza Key Features

• 88 hammer-action keys for full piano range with graded, weighted feel
• Adjustable touch sensitivity for customized performance
• Choose from among eight stereo instruments with the ability to split and combine sounds
• Onboard two-track recorder for listening back to your unique creations
• Built-in speakers for rich, full sound that fills the room
• USB computer connection for recording, performing, and sequencing with virtually any Mac or PC music software
• MIDI Input and Output jacks for working with external keyboard controllers and sound devices
• Auxiliary 1/4″ (3.5mm) stereo input for playing along with an external music player
• Headphone jack for silent practice with your favorite headphones
• Comes with sustain pedal for complete musical expression
• Chorus and Reverb effects give you flexible variation over instrument sounds
• Metronome for practicing with a steady beat
• Backlit, blue LCD screen gives you easy-to-read information in any lighting conditions
• Dedicated Bass and Treble controls for optimizing the speaker system for any room
• Eight demo songs for exploring the Cadenza’s musical capabilities

Pricing and availability is still to be confirmed.

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