Experimental Instruments – The Wheelharp Up Close
WNAMM13: Wheelharp Up Close Video From Antiquity Music
The Wheelharp is a groundbreaking keyboard musical instrument that gives the player the ability to orchestrate a full chromatic scale of sixty-one (61) actual bowed strings at one’s own fingertips, almost like having a real chamber string orchestra at hand.
With an exotic profile and stunning rosette appointments, the Wheelharp’s appearance is equally as breathtaking as its audible character. It is available in a Radial Model (curved keyboard) and a Linear Model (traditional straight keyboard), and in several ranges.
It utilizes a patent-pending action and bridge to translate the player’s subtle fingerings into a range of bowing intensities, and comes equipped with a damper system and electronic pickup system, allowing individuals to sculpt astonishingly beautiful and complex sounds. For musicians, composers, and studios that seek to create the natural sound of classical string instruments while avoiding the frequently sterile quality of digital string synthesizers and samples, or for those looking to foray into new sonic territory, the Wheelharp presents a truly exciting opportunity.
WNAMM13: Novation LaunchKey Video
Novation LaunchKey Video – iPad integration, app switching and more
Launchkey is a range of 25, 49 and 61 note keyboard controllers with up to 50 physical controls including 16 velocity-sensitive multi-colour launch pads that trigger and stop clips – and launch scenes – in Ableton Live. As well as enabling hands-on control of your DAW’s mixer, instruments and more, Launchkey is an integrated software/hardware instrument. The control surface has been designed to work tightly alongside two intuitive apps for iPad: the Launchkey app and the Launchpad app* – plus the powerful V-Station & Bass Station synth plug-ins for Mac and Windows.
Future Music get a demo of the new Novation Launchkey controller keyboard and the accompanying iOS apps.
Time machine: Sequential Circuits Pro-One
Vintage synthesizer demo track by RetroSound
“N°1”
all sounds: Sequential Circuits Pro-One Analog Synthesizer from the year 1981
drums: Roland TR-808 synced with the Pro-One Arpeggiator
recording: multi-track without midi
fx: a little bit delay and reverb
for me one of the best monophonic analog synths ever. perfect for basslines and fx sounds.
more info: http://www.retrosound.de
The Pro One was basically Sequential’s attempt at taking their legendary Prophet 5 poly-synth and packing it into a compact, inexpensive, monophonic analog synth! It has two VCOs, a great 4-pole lowpass filter, two ADSR envelopes (one for filter), and a compact three-octave keyboard. With a Pro-One, you can easily create punchy analog bass-lines and leads or quirky analog synth effects.
The Pro One is an extremely flexible synth with lots of modulation possibilities (ie: the filter, VCO B and LFO can modulate VCO A or B frequencies or pulse widths, or the VCF). There’s also an onboard sequencer, something common on many Sequential synths but not often found on other monosynths of the time. It is very basic, however, storing only two patterns and up to 40 notes max. Also, only pitch info is recorded (and in step time only); you can not assign a note duration to any notes. So it’s basically a short melodic sketch-pad…but useful. Also onboard is an arpeggiator which has UP and UP/DOWN patterns.
Analog synths reborn
Now when Moog and Korg have announced their new affordable all analog synthesizers with more or less vintage flavor I’m still avaiting someone to do a remake the ARP Odyssey and the ARP 2600.
Karl Bartos – “Atomium” (Official Music Video)
It is FINALLY here the new song and video from synth maestro Karl Bartos (ex-Kraftwerk) 
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The former member of Kraftwerk makes a future-world theme song for the Brussels building.
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The new Depeche Mode album – Delta Machine – coming this spring
The new single “Heaven” will be released next Friday. Now, the band have announced that the new Depeche Mode album, entitled “Delta Machine” will be released this Spring.
The album, recorded over the last year in Santa Barbara, California and New York City, was produced by Ben Hillier, who also was a part in producing the last two albums “Sounds of the Universe” and “Playing the Angel”, and mixed by Flood.
The album, called Delta Machine will see Depeche going all-out with the packaging and gizmos.
As well as the standard version, fans will be able to get a deluxe edition that features photos by long-time collaborator Anton Corbijn, as well as remixes of forthcoming single ‘Heaven’ by Matthew Dear, Owlle, Steps to Heaven and Blawan (oof). ‘Heaven’ will be premiered on Vevo next Friday, February 1st.
Speaking about the new record, Martin Gore said: “Writing this album was incredibly daunting as I wanted the sound of this collection to be very modern. I want people to feel good about listening to this record, to get some kind of peace. It’s just got something magical about it.”
Dave Gahan adds: “With this release we’ve completely shifted our idea of how to create an album. When we hit a wall where we realize the album is beginning to sound too normal, we’ll mess it up and really give it that organic Depeche Mode Sound. Delta Machine is no different, and I can’t wait for all of our fans to hear it.”
“Delta Machine” will be released through Columbia Records on March 26th, 2013.
In addition to the album announcement, Depeche Mode have also confirmed that the video for the first single “Heaven” will debut on VEVO next Friday, February 1st.
Tracklist:
01 – Welcome To My World
02 – Angel
03 – Heaven
04 – Secret To The End
05 – My Little Universe
06 – Slow
07 – Broken
08 – The Child Inside
09 – Soft Touch / Raw Nerve
10 – Should Be Higher
11 – Alone
12 – Soothe My Soul
13 – Goodbye
Arturia brings us the MiniLab controller
Arturia has announced the launch of MiniLab, a USB bus-powered powerhouse, featuring 25 velocity-sensitive mini-keys alongside brand-new pitch and modulation touch-strip controls for maximising musical expression in a highly-portable package, details from the press release below:
Music software and hardware company Arturia is proud to announce the NAMM 2013 launch of MiniLab, a stylishly compact and bijou Universal MIDI Controller that’s far from being short on features. MiniLab is a USB bus-powered powerhouse, featuring 25 velocity-sensitive mini-keys alongside brand-new pitch and modulation touch-strip controls for maximising musical expression in a highly-portable package.
16 multifunction encoders — more than those found on any available comparably-sized USB/MIDI controller — ensure everything is at hand to program or perform, wherever life may take or lead you. And if that’s not enough to keep users entertained, two banks of brightly backlit performance pads can be easily assigned as pads, MIDI CC buttons, or program change switches for even speedier interactions with whatever device MiniLab is connected to (via its cleverly-recessed USB bus-power port and sustain pedal input).
Of course, music is where the heart is, and at the heart of MiniLab is the benevolently bundled Analog Lab software solution. With over 5,000 legendary classic keyboard and synth sounds carefully chosen from the Mini V, Modular V, CS-80 V, ARP2600 V, Jupiter-8V, Prophet 5, Prophet VS, Oberheim SEM V, and Wurlitzer V range of Analog Classic software instruments, Analog Lab offers speedy and simple editing with the most essential parameters for personalising presets available onscreen and for tweaking using the MiniLab controls. Notably, those TAE® (True Analog Emulation) synthesis-powered sounds are not sample-based, but are actually running the full synth engine behind the scenes, so offer unparalleled flexibility.
Yet there’s more: owners of those individual Analog Classics or the all-encompassing V Collection 3.0 bundle can open an Analog Lab sound, edit it in the original software instrument, then add it to their Analog Lab library, thereby taking their sound and workflow to a higher state of musical interactivity. Speaking of which, MiniLab is also compatible with Apple iPad and iPhone products (using a camera connection kit).
So, whatever way users choose to use it, musical life on the move’s just got a whole lot sweeter thanks to MiniLab, the world’s premier mobile keyboard solution!
MiniLab will be available to purchase from the Arturia online store or any dealer for €99.00 EURO/$129.00 USD from mid-March 2013.
KORG pitchblack Portable
KORG pitchblack Portable :
http://www.korg.co.jp/Product/Tuner/pitchblackportable/
In Googlish from japanese:
pitchblack Portable is a polyphonic tuner for guitar / bass to be equipped with a high brightness LED display outstanding visibility, unparalleled tuning to achieve accurate and speedy. You can check visually the deviation of the pitch moment of each string, make ultra-high-precision tuning of ± 0.1 cent quickly. Also features Korg’s proprietary cable checker to detect the disconnection of the cable, the stage is ideal for studio use of course. Lineup, the three models of aluminum black / red aluminum / silver aluminum Wearing a beautiful hairline. pitchblack Portable is presenting the guitar / bass tuning up a notch.
Nord C2D Combo Organ
Three musicians showcasing the different sections of Nord C2D Combo organ. Tone-wheel Organ: Pierre Swärd, Baroque Pipe Organ: Ulla Olsson and Mats Björke on the Farfisa Transistor Organ.
Read more about the Nord C2D here: http://nordkeyboards.com/c2d
Big thanks to the musicians and to Hasse & Lasse (http://www.hasseochlasse.se/) for making the video!
MS-20 is reborn!!! – KORG MS-20 mini Overview
Join Korg Inc.’s own Fumio Mieda and Hiroaki Nishijima – the engineers who brought us the legendary MS-20 back in 1978 – as we take a look at the new MS-20 Mini! Both personally oversaw the design of the modern-day MS-20, which features the exact same true-analog signal path as the legendary original. The incredibly powerful dual filters with peak/resonance, CV functionality, external signal processing, and unique hands-on patching system are all here – with 5-pin and USB MIDI to boot — and all at 86% of the original size.
For More Info on MS-20 Mini head over to
http://www.korg.com/ms20mini.
WNAMM13: Korg MS20 Mini First Look Its an analog MS20 only smaller
Press release:
Today Korg announced a new analog synthesizer, in a bite-size form factor. Korg’s MS-20 monophonic synthesizer, first introduced in 1978, is still coveted to this day for its thick, robust sound, powerful, iconic analog filter, and versatile patching options. It has now been reborn as the new MS-20 mini. The same engineers who developed the original MS-20 have perfectly reproduced it in a body that’s been shrunk to 86% of the original size, yet retains the distinctive look of the original.
The MS-20 Mini offers the same distinctive synthesis that made the original MS-20 popular: two oscillators with ring modulation, and envelope generators with delay and hold. The VCA (Voltage Controlled Amp) maintains the original basic design, but it’s been modified to produce less noise. Particular attention has also been paid to delivering smooth parameter adjustments, which are a distinctive feature of analog synthesizers. Special care was also taken to completely reproduce the original specifications of the MS-20, to deliver the same powerful sound, from deep, growling basses to crisp, rounded leads.
One of the most well-known – and still most sought after – characteristics of the original MS-20 was its powerful filters, which provided both high-pass and low-pass with peak/resonance. Maximizing the peak/resonance would cause the filter to self-oscillate; producing a distinctive and dramatic tonal change that was acclaimed as inimitable, and was used many years later on Korg’s monotron and monotribe. The filter circuit was changed mid-way through the production lifecycle of the MS-20; the MS-20 mini uses the earlier filter, which was felt to be superior due to its more radical sound.
The ESP (External Signal Processor) functionality carries on the experimental spirit of MS-20, allowing users to utilize the pitch or volume of an external audio source to control the synthesizer. For example, an electric guitar can be used as an input signal, and the MS-20 mini can be used as a guitar synthesizer, or the mic input can allow it to be used it as a vocal synthesizer.
The patching system enables the creation of complex sounds by allowing the rerouting of both modulation and audio (both the internal oscillators and external audio). Different combinations of the modulation input/output and trigger, sample and hold, and noise generator can produce an incredible variety of sounds. By patching according to the MS-20 flow chart printed on the panel, musicians of all levels can take advantage of these possibilities right away.
To make it even more approachable, the MS-20 mini has been shrunk to 86% of the size of the original, with meticulous care taken to accurately reproduce the knob design and the printing. The patch cables have been changed from 1/4″ phone plugs to mini-plugs, and the newly-designed keyboard is 86% of the original size as well.
The MS-20 mini is equipped with a MIDI IN jack for receiving note messages, and a USB-MIDI connector that can transmit and receive note messages. Users can also connect the MS20 mini to a computer and play it from an external sequencer.
For added authenticity, the MS-20 mini packaging replicates much of the original. Also included are the original MS-20 owner’s manual and settings chart.
The Korg MS-20 Mini will be available April 2013 for a U.S. Street price of $599.00 Additional product information is available at Korg.com.
DATAMASKIN
