No-one could suggest any of the current Stylophone lineup was anything but portable, but Dubreq has decided to miniaturise the iconic instrument even further with the launch of the Mini. Available in three colours — black (original), white and pink — it has the unmistakable Stylophone look, just in a […]
Update: It’s the Stylophone Mini. Stylophone has sent out a teaser email asking “What’s in the Tin?” with what looks rather like an Altoids tin but branded with the Stylophone logo and “Est. 1968”. A couple of months ago, manufacturer Dubreq had to send out a bit of an apology […]
Browsing around various MIDI innovation sites recently, I stumbled upon the Shaper MIDI/synth controller. Though it has familiar elements you may have seen elsewhere (not least the guitar) it is — probably — unique in how notes are played and manipulated. Most controllers are still keyboard based, even if they […]
Gabriel Prokofiev (yes, he is the grandson of Sergei) will have his Concerto for Minimoog Synthesizer and Orchestra performed as part of the Masterworks 3: Double Take event in Asheville, NC. This US premiere will take place on 14th November, 2pm and 8pm at First Baptist Church of Asheville, and […]
Just past the year since UDO launched the DMNO synth comes the DMNO ON, a compact sans-keyboard synth ideal for desktop use if you already have plenty of keyboards to control it. Like its bigger sibling, it’s an 8-voice, 2-part multitimbral synth built around two independent analog-hybrid synth engines. It […]
Arturia has launched firmware version 2 for the AstroLab range of keyboards, with two main enhancements leading the way — the Sound Edit feature and a range of new acoustic sounds. Sound Edit This is Arturia’s headline feature, allowing more control over voice and multi sound changes and development. Instead […]
Cherry Audio has announced the launch of its Pentaphonic synth plugin, a new virtual instrument reviving one of the rarest synths ever made — the 1981 Pentaphonic by Gleeman Instruments. Fewer than 70 hardware units were produced, so it’s likely a lot of people may never even have heard of […]
One of the latest projects on Kickstarter is Engram, a generative audio sampler and groovebox, developed by Thoughtful Designs. The campaign claims this is a new kind of music device, combining a traditional sampler workflow with hands-on sample manipulation using tweakable tiny audio models. The philosophy is to use AI […]
Two years ago, Dr Sarah Nicolls — a world-class concert pianist specialising in new music — launched First Light Pianos (FLP), a venture designed to bring the acoustic piano into the 21st century, making a product which was lightweight and space-saving without compromising on performance. Some 600,000 acoustic pianos are […]
Baby Audio has announced the release of its granular engine powered HyperWarp time-twisting multi-effect plugin, sporting a graph interface for building rhythmic sequences and adding colourful textures. The interface lets you see whatever audio is being operated on as a standard waveform, over which you draw in modifiers, such as […]
Behringer is drip-feeding information about two new controller keyboards, one of which has built-in sounds — the JAM and JAM PLAY. JAM PLAY A recent video shows off the JAM PLAY 32-key MIDI/USB controller keyboard with built in sounds, and more recently it has appeared as a linked product on […]
At first thought, mapping a suitably-equipped digital piano’s output to the MIDI standard seems like child’s play, certainly compared to other keyboard instruments, synths and the like which can generate and transmit far more musical data. The Issue A standard piano really only needs to transmit the note number being […]
The M-VAVE FM-1 has become incredibly popular since its launch in the summer, thanks to its relatively low price, decent simulation of the Yamaha DX-7‘s iconic sounds, and because it’s incredibly hackable. Here we round up all the custom firmware releases we currently know about. It may not be an […]
Alessandro Guardascione has announced the launch of PLICATA — the first in a line of “Trambustissimo” virtual instruments. It’s a patchable, monophonic instrument built for touch, sound design and performance, and runs as standalone or AUv3 on iOS/iPadOS. A beta Android version is coming. The analog-style voice is formed from […]
Novation has launched two grid controllers specifically made for use with FL Studio. A smaller FLpad Mini and the larger FLpad both offer deep integration with the DAW, though they can also be used with other software as a standard MIDI controller. Anyone familiar with grid controllers will already have […]
Audio Modeling has announced the imminent arrival of a polyphonic version of its SWAM (Synchronous Waves Acoustic Modeling) expressive plugin. SWAM, developed by the company, has always deliberately been monophonic, preferring realism and expressive control over attempting polyphony. PolySWAM is a completely rebuilt instrument — SWAM has not been changed […]
Lyon-based Parallel Minds has just dropped the Atavism spectral effect plugin which can be used to turn any track or complete project into its own pad, evolving as the underlying audio changes. Pretty simple to use, you just add the VST3 or AU audio effect plugin to any track, bus […]
Dehli Musikk (Benjamin Dehli) has developed the Overtonium 32-partial overtone soft synth, with the emphasis on every control being visible and available – using the layout structure of a mixing desk. This is an additive synth, which works on the principle of adding sine waves together — a stack of […]
Almost three years after OXI launched Coral, firmware 3 has been released, offering new synth engines and custom firmware ability. Highlights include six new engines: FMX7 (based on DX7), ACID 2, OB-VA, String 2 Machine, Pianoz engine, and Stitcher engine. There’s also a drone mode, wavetable selection, new engine memory, […]
Around about three years after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, the quirky CHOMPI handheld synth is officially discontinued. Once any remaining stock is sold, it’s gone — remaining in the hands of the users who backed, bought and love it. Devs at Chase Bliss put out the video yesterday explaining […]