Acoustic & Electronic Instruments, Musicians, News, Tutorials, Videos & Interesting Finds
Acoustic & Electronic Instruments, Musicians, News, Tutorials, Videos & Interesting Finds

Daily Roundup 2 Feb 2022: Vidami Blue, Casio Music Space app, Arturia sale, Auteur mkIII, Okuda Hiroko, VST plugins for techno…

Vidami Blue footswitch enhances DAW use and online video control

At first glance, Vidami Blue looks like a natural wireless evolution of the original Vidami, but what’s not readily visible is a host of powerful features that puts the Vidami Blue in a class all its own.

When we created the original Vidami, our goal was to give musicians a tool that would save valuable time while making learning online easier and more fun.

With Vidami Blue, we have built upon this vision in order to bring Freedom, Focus & Flow to all aspects of a musician’s learning and creative life: in the practice room, studio, online and onstage.

The Vidami Blue is a revolutionary multi-modal tool that gives you hands-free control of today’s most popular music and education technology.

Video Mode

Effortlessly Loop and Slow Down songs and riffs on more than *35 compatible Online Video learning platforms including: YouTube, FenderPlay, Truefire, Udemy, Masterclass and more. With the Vidami you will save time and frustration by not having to take your hands off the instrument and be interrupted reaching to control the video. The more time you can stay focused on playing your instrument, the productive your time will be and this will motivate and inspire you to keep on learning! 

PageTurning/TabScrolling Mode

Have you been frustrated when reading music or TAB and trying to play through a song, but having to stop to scroll down on the music or turn the page? The Vidami Blue allows you to easily Turn Pages, Scroll Tabs, Lyrics, and other functions on your favorite Digital Sheet Music apps and Tab sites like: OnSong, Ultimate Guitar Tabs, forScore, and others. (Please note that Ultimate Guitar is currently compatible with both the web app and stand-alone app on Desktop, but only compatible with iOS devices using the Safari browser on iOS 15.) 

DAW Mode

Free your creative spirit as you Record, Loop, Add Tracks, Set Markers, and more on today’s most popular Digital Audio Workstations including:GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reaper, Pro Tools, Studio One, Cubase & Ableton Live.

Based on the default settings in each DAW, we have designed the layout and functions of the foot switches in a way that we believe is the most intuitive and ergonomic, and have also chosen the functions that we think may be the most helpful for controlling your DAW in a tracking session at your home studio.

Having said that, you have the added flexibility of customizing your recording/tracking setup with the Vidami Blue by simply assigning the existing shortcuts from the Vidami Blue to any functions you wish through the preference & keyboard shortcut settings in your DAW. In order to create as few conflicts as possible with any existing keyboard shortcuts, we were careful to never overwrite any existing key commands or shortcuts in the DAWs.

Product page

Casio Music Space app enhances piano playing enjoyment

Casio has announced its iOS and Android app Casio Music Space, designed to enhance the piano learning experience.

Designed exclusively for Casio digital pianos and keyboards, Casio Music Space builds upon the company’s popular Chordana Play and Chordana Play for piano apps, bringing a whole new level of interactive learning and performance benefits to complete beginners, people taking up the piano later in life and anyone who wants to experience a highly engaging way of playing.

While Chordana Play has been available in two variations—one for keyboards and the other for piano—Casio Music Space integrates everything into one streamlined app. 

This robust new learning ecosystem makes specific features available depending on which Casio instrument is used with the Casio Music Space app, including:

Piano Roll
This fun, “learn as you play” approach has become immensely popular, particularly among new musicians who don’t yet know how to read notes on musical scores. Instead, users watch lines stream down the screen of their mobile device towards a piano keyboard graphic to anticipate the next keys they are to play on their connected instrument in sync with song playback. In addition, scoring and recording functions let users rate their playing to improve their skills. Representing the gamification of piano lessons like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this remarkable technology enables users to play the music of their life from the very first moment their fingers touch the keys.

Live Concert Simulator
The Casio Music Space app analyzes songs stored on a smart device and automatically adds audience applause and cheers depending on the structure of the song, letting users feel the thrill of performing “live.” In addition to five different performance venues (Stadium, Auditorium, Jazz Club, Classical Hall, and Piano Lounge), the app also provides three nature settings (Beach, River, and Rain) that let users enjoy a unique performance experience. 

Other features in the app enable users to view pre-installed musical scores, play along with favorite songs stored on their smart device, and quickly and easily change their digital piano settings depending on their playing style. 

The Piano Remote Control portion of the app is designed to work with current CDP and Privia PX-S digital pianos, as well as Privia and Celviano console pianos. Other portions of the app will work with any Casio instrument with a USB-MIDI connection, or CTK/LK models with app connectivity via audio input. In addition, Casio instruments using the WU-BT10 Bluetooth MIDI & Audio adapter can connect to the app wirelessly.

Arturia 50% sale starts today

Arturia has launched a sale offering 50% off individual software titles and sound banks as part of their ‘Producer’s Days’ campaign. Users will be able to purchase individual instruments, plugins, and sound banks from the Arturia Sound Store at half price until February 17th, exclusively via arturia.com and Arturia Software Center.

Producers, beat makers, composers, and sound explorers alike can enjoy 50% off individual software titles and sound banks, every day until February 17th. Here’s what’s on offer:

Inspiring instruments
Explore Arturia’s award-winning range of software instruments, from the cutting-edge sounds of Pigments to the coveted character of vintage emulations like Jup-8 V and SQ80 V.

Essential studio tools
Plugins and audio enhancers designed to make any project sound better, from dynamic mixing & mastering tools like Bus FORCE to studio classics like Comp DIODE-609.

Tailor-made sounds
Discover refreshing expansions for any sound library with hundreds of expertly-crafted presets, ranging from artist-inspired classics to hard-hitting bass & EDM sounds.

https://www.arturia.com/producers-days

Black Lion Audio Auteur mkIII announced

Black Lion Audio announces Auteur mkIII, a transformer-coupled mic preamp offering two channels of fast response with a fat low-end sound stemming from a flexible, well-rounded design that is both perfectly portable and perfectly proportioned to support smaller set-ups when used in a desktop capacity, complimenting any microphone collection to capably capture every nuance and detail.

As a two-channel transformer-coupled mic preamp par excellence, Black Lion Audio’s Auteur mkIII starts with a modern front end that is best described as fast and transparent, therefore perfect for capturing every nuance and detail, following this up with a vintage-inspired output-stage design coupled with Cinemag transformers that allow for a massive, colorful sound. This two-pronged approach results in a preamp that is a perfect jack-of-all-trades, one which sounds amazing when working with anything anyone can throw at it. Indeed, each of those two channels comes complete with rear panel positioned MIC IN connections on XLR jacks and balanced TRS line OUTPUT connections. Clearly labelled LINE level (TRS ENGAGE) inputs for adding warmth to keyboards, synths, and even full stereo mixes are on the front panel, while an associated HI-Z switch makes for a stellar instrument input for direct capture of guitar and bass. Both channels also feature front panel positioned GAIN controls (with up to 62dB of gain), plus buttons for engaging PAD (-10dB), 48V (phantom power), and ø (polarity reverse).

Removable rack ears are also included as Auteur mkIII can be conveniently racked in a ½U space. Saying that, its road-worthy chassis is as robust as it is portable — perfect for on-the-go usage and also perfectly proportioned to support smaller set-ups when used in a desktop capacity.

Clearly, any awesome microphone merits being paired with an awesome preamp to bring out its best qualities, and Auteur mkIII makes for an outstanding offering to achieve that anywhere as a flexible, well-rounded design that works exceptionally well with any microphone collection. Chicago-style sonic bliss is there for the taking — take it to wherever it is needed as a perfectly portable package putting that sought-after sound into any location… and all without being a back-breaking exercise or breaking the bank beforehand!

$299.00 USD RRP.

Product page.

Okuda Hiroko: “Sleng Teng” riddim which revolutionised reggae

“Under Mi Sleng Teng,” by Jamaican singer Wayne Smith, is one of the milestones in the history of Jamaican popular music. Written by Smith and his friend Noel Davy, the pioneering dancehall classic was made using a Casio electronic keyboard. The song immediately became a smash hit when it was released in 1985, and its optimistic digital sound and addictive beat soon took the world by storm.

The rhythm section has always formed the backbone of reggae music. In modern styles, the drums and bass provide the distinctive “riddims” or backing over which a DJ or singer overdubs a vocal. It is common for numerous artists to make their own “versions” (vocal interpretations) of popular riddims, building original songs around the same basic rhythmical pattern. The “Sleng Teng” riddim, named after the song in which it was first used, has now inspired as many as 450 different songs. The riddim played a key role in bringing Jamaican music into the digital era, and is known as one of the “monster riddims” that ushered in the golden age of the dancehall era.

Read more at Nippon.com.

Yamaha Proudly Announces Their Second Annual 40 Under 40 Music Educators

For the second year in a row, Yamaha has selected 40 exceptional music educators under the age of 40 possessing action, courage, creativity, and growth characteristics while going above and beyond when instructing music programs.

Identical to the year before, hundreds of nominations were received by students, parents, teachers, and local instrument dealers and mentors, highlighting the music educators impacting their community and students in a positive direction.

See the list of honourees at Yahoo! Finance.

We Rave You has published its list of the most popular VST plugins used by top techno music producers, including Diva, Omnisphere and Serum. Check out the article.

Most soothing classical piano music

Tokio Myers lists his most relaxing classical piano music in an article for Classical Music magazine, including Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Variation 18, Beethoven’s piano concerto no.5, and Max Richter’s The Departure.

Read the whole article.