Casio CT-S1000V with vocal synthesis
Casio has introduced its new Casiotone CT-S1000V, claiming to be the first vocal synthesizer than can turn any text into a musical phrase and then ‘sing’ it using full harmony based on notes played on the keyboard.
On board Casio has loaded in 100 Lyric Tones, which are phrases inspired by familiar songs and can also be changed by the user. Using the Lyric Creator app on an iOS or Android device and transmitting them via USB, the user can then play back simulated vocals in any of 22 Vocalist types, which include talkboxes, processed choirs, robotic voices, vocoders and whispered voices. Each voice can be modified with various effects and parameters.
As you’d expect, also on board are a wide range of other instrument sounds, keyboard splitting and layering, 64 note polyphony, accompaniments, plus sampling via audio input jack or optional Bluetooth.
View Casio’s introduction to the keyboard and its technology, and watch the introduction video. We could do with a few more ‘raw’ demonstrations of the keyboard’s vocal synthesis, which on the surface seems impressive. No doubt we’ll have user demo videos and reviews very soon.
Here’s the first one we’ve found:
The CT-S1000V has a RRP of US$679.99. There’s also a CT-S500 which has all the features of the S1000V without the vocal synthesizer, for US$499.99.
Casio PRIVIA PX-S3100 digital piano
Casio announces its latest PRIVIA digital piano, the PX-S3100, featuring a German concert grand piano tone plus hundreds of other onboard sounds and a range of features.
It replaces the PX-S3000 and incorporates the Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard, grading the weight of the keys as one moves from low (heavy) to high (light), and simulated ebony/ivory key textures.
It features a “stunning German concert grand piano sound with newly-enhanced string and damper resonances. Listen closely and you’ll hear the complex harmonics that bloom from inside the body of an acoustic piano, along with mechanical sounds of dampers rising, keys being pressed, and keys returning to their original position. Hammer response and key-off simulation deliver greater detail, reacting naturally to playing dynamics. In addition, Casio has upgraded the speakers and their enclosures with newer materials. The result is a wider dynamic range and a more natural sound that is much clearer throughout the volume range.”
Other features include 700 instrument tones, 200 rhythms, backing tracks, 3-track MIDI recorder, and editable DSP effects.
Available from February for RRP of US$1,179.99.
Spitfire Audio Appassionata Strings
UK-based sampling studio Spitfire Audio has announced the launch of its Appassionata Strings legato library “capable of creating flowing, passionate lines full of movement and dynamism as a next-generation string legato library recorded using a new technique that the sound-specialising British music technology company calls Impulse Legato.”
The collection was recorded with 30 of London’s finest string players at Lyndhurst Hall, London AIR studios. It was recorded using priceless valve and ribbon mics feeding Neve ‘AIR Monserrat’ remote mic pre-amps into a Neve 88R large-format console before being digitally recorded at 96K via two-inch Studer tape.
Find out much more and see demos on the product page.
Blue Cat Audio Connector virtual cable
Connector is a universal connection plug-in that can stream audio and MIDI in real time, between any locations that can load plug-ins, even on different machines connected to a network. It lets you create your own routings “in the box”, without any extra cable, and with minimal latency!
Connector can stream audio and MIDI data in real time, between any locations that accepts plug-ins: one or several applications, on one or several machines connected to a network.
With precise buffering control, you can achieve the lowest possible latencies: down to 0 samples, when used in a single application.
Its built-in resampling and drift compensation algorithms let you create seamless connections between locations with different sample rates and unsynchronized master clocks: it just works!
Main Features:
- Universal connection plug-in available in VST, VST3, AAX or Audio Unit format.
- Create your own audio/MIDI routings inside your DAW (feedback loops allowed).
- Create connections between any audio software on multiple computers.
- Minimal latency, with full control over buffering.
- Supports multiple sampling rates on a single connection (built-in resampling).
- Built-in drift compensation.
- Send and receive back audio/MIDI with a single instance.
G’n’R Sweet Child O’ Mine synth style
Sadly just a sub-one-minute snippet of what Guns & Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” might sound like on synths.
- Keytar – Korg RK100S2
- Synths – Roland SH2 and Jupiter 4
- Vocoder – Roland VP330 Vocoder Plus
- Drums – Linndrum samples triggered in Ableton 11
As echoed in the comments, we now want a full version!
Trying to recreate classic TX81Z LatelyBass patch on BLEASS Omega
“rying to recreate the classic Yamaha TX81Z patch ” LatelyBass ” with BLEASS Omega 4 operators synth.
Many FM synths in the 80 and 90 have been made using only 4 operators (DX-7 had 6 operators). It doesn’t make them less capable. Of course having less operators offer less ways to combined them (algorithms) but @Yamaha_Japan found ways to add little tweaks that pushed them further in the FM tree. For example the Yamaha TX81Z had 4 operators that could have other shape that just a sinewave. That opened it up to a huge soundscape with only 4 operators. One of the classic sound of the TX81Z (and some 4 op siblings) is the bass sound named “LatelyBass”. It’s found in numerous hit songs over the years. In this video I try to recreate that classic sound with the latest Bleass Omega synth. Will I succeed?”
Sonic Potions | Erica Synths LXR – 02
LXR – 02 exploration
Modular Synth Music – Everything is Totally 100% Fine
Every sound here was generated by Eurorack modular synths – mostly analog ones but Bill isn’t picky. The sounds were recorded into a DAW for mixing and mild processing (EQ, compression) but all the sounds are pure hardware. See the video description on YouTube for a comprehensive list of equipment used.
