The Steinway grand piano installed in the Jersey Opera House is finally going to be restored, after a decade of fundraising plus a one-off £10,000 donation. The piano was bought second-hand and although it is constantly used by local and touring groups, it really needs some work to bring it […]
Teenager Ryan Green missed out on a place in The Voice UK after he failed to secure a single vote from the four-strong judging panel at the first blind audition in the BBC’s reality show. The judges seemed torn, and due to not being able to see the 16-year-old, hadn’t […]
Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum has visited the Camden-based piano shop Heckscher & Company as part of a BBC radio documentary in which he learns about the history of the area. As was common in many cities, a huge number of piano makers had set up in the London area in […]
If you’re a piano lover who also likes the nu-folk band Mumford and Sons, and have a spare £2,500 (about $4,000) lying around, you might want to check out this Bradford acoustic piano which was crafted into a Steampunk version for the band’s live session in Lewes (East Sussex, UK). […]
This year’s NAMM Show runs from January 23-26 in Anaheim, California. We’ll cover all the news from the show on this page. Apps Casio Chordana Tap and Viewer iOS Apps Korg Gadget: 15 synths and drum machines on iPad Audio Korg DS-DAC-100 1-bit USB digital/analog converter Korg DS-DAC-100m mobile digital/analog […]
Structure A one octave F Major scale is made up from the eight notes F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E and F. This can be extended across the keyboard as required for two, three or four octave scales. Here are the notes of one octave depicted on a piano […]
The VTC-1 Vacuum Tube Compressor is an analog-modelled VST compressor featuring “warm analog, fat pumping and transparent sound.” Pentode Audio says that, compared to modern compressors, VTC-1 has a different inner structure and principle of work. There is no threshold knob, so you set the amount of compression by increasing […]
Meet Ototo, an experimental synthesizer which can turn anything with a conductive surface into part of a musical instrument. The Ototo board consists of 12 touch pads which can be touched directly to trigger notes, or alternatively connected up via cables to any conductive object. It also has four sensor […]
We’ve just seen this amazing new gadget which attaches to your iPhone or iPod touch, turning it into a complete motion controller for use with a range of apps and other devices. The AUUG Motion Synth consists of hardware which allows you to attach your Apple device to your wrist […]
The casual musician may at first glance wonder why it’s worth making a small financial investment in a musical dictionary that’s almost large and heavy enough to be used as a doorstop, but anyone with a keen interest in the history of music, musical instruments, and theory, would do well […]
If you have fond memories of having to use dial-up modems to use the Internet (anyone under the age of 25 need not concern themselves) then you might like the Music Modem, a portable sound generator that lovingly recreates those sounds just for you. It looks a bit like a […]
We’ve seen some pretty nifty alternative controller interfaces for your iPad/iPhone, like the DrumPants, but how about a wearable ring which allows you to use gestures on the palm of your hand to control apps on your smartphone or tablet? The Fin is a flexible, wearable thumb ring which can […]
Smartphones and tablets now make great portable recording studios, thanks to powerful processors and a plethora of high quality apps. The weak chain in the process is that of sound capture. The standard microphones built in to this hardware just isn’t designed for high quality capture. This is where an […]
We all know guitarists love their pedals, but when I saw the BeatBuddy pedal, I knew it wasn’t just a great idea for guitarists, but for any musician needing an easily controllable beat. (OK, I know founder David Packouz said just the same in his video, but I thought it […]
Diagram A is Daniel Greenwood’s “mental feedback research project” that’s been ongoing for over 20 years. All electronics are self-designed and handmade. The Indiegogo campaign is for a limited edition set of noise synth devices which come with: multiple inputs/outputs multiple pad touch sensitive control for skin contact 4 oscillators […]
MONOpulator is an all-in-one four-track 8 step sequencer, sampler and a drum machine, currently seeking funding on Indiegogo. Developer JD Sweet lays out the following features: Place kick drums, snares, hi hats and crashes up to 8 positions each. 200% pitch control to speed up or slow down Playback & […]
Propellerhead Software has got hold of a sample tutorial chapter from the very impressive new book Reason 101 Visual Guide to the Reason Rack – Creating Kick Drums. “Robert Anselmi, the man behind Reason101, has just released a very comprehensive book called Reason 101 Visual Guide to the Reason Rack. […]
Hailing it as the first motion-tracking controller for iOS (iPad/iPhone), IK Multimedia has introduced its iRing gizmo. Although not aimed specifically at musicians, it could certainly be used with music apps. iRing is a wearable ring with markers imprinted upon it. One side contains three dots in a line, while […]
It may be far from the conventional sort of rhythm MIDI controller one thinks of – an electronic drum kit, perhaps, or the drum pads on a controller keyboard – but in fact it’s possibly one of the most natural ways of capturing human rhythm. Consider the idle (or even […]
Masami Takeuchi has announced an album of theremin music: “Theremin Vox Collection Vol.1”. It combines the sounds of acoustic piano and the Gordin Masazane theremin, which his own company produces. “The Gordin Masazane can produce sound by either oscillators or traditional heterodyning and also includes waveshaping features more commonly found […]
It won’t surprise most people that the “you get what you pay for” mantra applies equally well to the world of musical instruments. That said, the eyes can be tempted by an instrument that looks good, yet in reality is not. Professional pianist and consultant Tim Praskins reviews the Artesia […]