Mark of the Unicorn had one huge announcement that I already covered, the note that the upcoming Digital Performer 8 would support Windows 7 as well as Mac OS X. But now we learn that MOTU is also introducing a new version of the well-received MicroBook audio interface. MicroBook was released in 2010 and was straightforward in design – 1/4″ inputs and outputs giving you a 4-in/2-out audio interface for your computer that delivered excellent sound quality and performance. So hwo did MOTU up their game for the new version? It is now a 4-in/6-out, giving you mich more recording flexibility. It also has an enhanced USB 2 connection, and rather… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last year we were amazed at iTar concept that promised to turn your iPad into a guitar. While that product has yet to ship, in the fall the concept was made reality by the cool and innovative Misa Kitara Synth Guitar – which is a fully digital instrument that utilizes the iPad as a core part of the instrument. So naturally there was a line forming to This year at NAMM we had not one, not two but THREE eerily similar new iPad-based guitar instruments. None have strings, all stick the iPad in the string area, and are functionally fairly similar. Here we go! ION Audio Announces the iPad-Based Guitar Apprentice Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Each year when I check out the news from NAMM I look at cool new stuff as well as what is happening with companies I already known and love. Mackie Designs is one of those companies. For a long time they were a mixer-only company, and about 20 years ago when I was transitioning from trying to use my Tascam Portastudio as a pseudo-mixer into having a real home studio, the Mackie 1202 provided everything I need in a well made, high quality package at a budget price – and it is still going strong today for myself and my son! At Winter NAMM they introduced a great looking new mixer based around… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Back in the early 90′s object-oriented technology was a happening buzzword, and Roland introduced COSM – Composite Object Sound Modeling – with their next-generation guitar synthesizer system, the VG-8. But rather than just a guitar synth, it introduced the concept of a ‘virtual guitar’. The thought was that rather than just playing Pat Metheny-esque lead lines, guitarists would be better served if they had a system that provided maximum flexibility of sound. COSM allows string-by-string tuning, processing, and pitch shifting. This allows for on-the-fly tuning changes, virtual capos, and the ability to emulate nearly any other guitar sound from a single instrument … although the results now sound more quaint than realistic. Now more… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Way back at the dawn of MIDI in the very early 80′s, I started learning about controlling digital instruments using arcane control bits using the fresh communications standard called ‘Musical Instrument Digital Interface’. The following year I took my first class in ‘computer music’. The studio setup was a massive mess of wires and re-tooled Prophet V’s and so on … and one little Macintosh computer. The program? Performer by Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU). Through the years Performer has been a constant companion – it was the one thing that kept me on the Mac in the mid-90′s until CakeWalk matured enough to be a workable PC solution … and one of the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

NAMM 2012 just keeps rolling … and more and more great products are appearing. Given that I grew up with analog synthesis and all of the good (the sound) and bad (everything else) that went along with it, I have always been amused by the fascination younger folks have with analog synthesizers. I still have a 90′s sound module that used a combination of digital sampling and waveform manipulation to provide analog-like sounds, but recently we have seen and heard much greater use of the massive bass waveforms by artists in electronica and dance music. This week at NAMM we have seen two awesome analog syths for under $750 that take different approaches… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week I wrote about the cool looking series of iPad music docks from Alesis introduced at the NAMM trade show, and now over the weekend we got news of competing iPad IO docking systems. Both offer a variety of cabling interfaces to get the most out of that powerful iPad in a musical setting! Let’s take a quick look!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Open Labs makes products I drool over – they incorporate full-spec Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 computers (some with keyboards) into their music production systems … and they are priced in accordance to their monster capabilities! One thing that has grown out of the awesome hardware and software they make is a product called ‘Music OS’ – a program with so many features and such flexible modularity it goes beyond the capabilities of most music apps. Now at NAMM 2012 Open Labs annouced a major new update: SoundCloud™ Direct Integration – With SoundCloud undoubtedly the ‘cloud standard’ for millions of online music creators, Music OS projects and session files Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Tascam is a company I have loved for decades, working with their awesome PortaStudio cassette multi-track in the days before digital audio. While I bought and was disappointed when they brought a lackluster PortaStudio to the iPad in 2010, I am glad they have persevered – because now we get awesome products like the iU2 announced at NAMM 2012! Here are a few details: TASCAM’s iU2 is a premium sound quality audio interface for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It includes all of the features of TASCAM’s best-selling USB audio interfaces, including a pair of great-sounding microphone inputs. The XLR inputs have phantom power for use with high-quality condenser microphones. These feed an Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The folks at Teenage Engineering gained fame a couple of years ago when they started showing their prototype OP-1 keyboard that looked more like one of those dinky Casio keyboards from the early 80′s than a serious musical instrument. But when they finally showed fully functional systems … suddenly they had legions of believers. So when they teased a modular music system … people were intrigued. Now they have introduced the OpLab Musical Experimental Board. It is a bare bones breadboard design that allows you to hook up just about anything in any possible configuration. The website has amazing diagrams and details, here are just a few: The Oplab Musical Experimental Board allows you Continue reading on Gear Diary …

While for many the term auto-tune brings up horrifying thoughts of T-Pain and Katy Perry’s severe lack of natural talent, the actual applications are pretty cool when applied correctly. For example, I have been watching old rock videos a lot lately, and you know the biggest problem: tuning! You constantly see someone tweaking a tuner mid song trying to get things right – yet it seldom it. The other issue is intonation – making sure that the string length ratio is maintained over the entire fretboard. Applying electronics seems like a perfect solution – and that is what Antares has done! Here is their description: – Instant String Tuning With Auto-Tune for Guitar Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Alesis is a company that came out of Rhode Island in the digital boom of the mid-80′s and after ups and downs continues to be a force of innovation in the music hardware arena. They have three cool new iPad-related products introduced at the Winter NAMM show worth highlighting. Alesis AmpDock •The first professional guitar processor to use your iPad or iPad 2 for signal processing •Works with GarageBand, AmpliTube, JamUp, and virtually any audio or CoreMIDI app •Includes a rugged pedalboard controller with program, effect, bypass, volume and continuous controls •Guitar Input 1 and switchable Mic/Line/Guitar Input 2; professional outputs, and MIDI jacks •Kickstand allows for stable positioning on top of guitar Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This week is the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade show, and as such a number of new products are coming out. Of particular interest are products that integrate highly functional musical capabilities and our everyday mobile products. Since that is what IK Multimedia does, I was not surprised to see some cool announcements from them again this week! After announcing the iRig Pre microphone interface, now IK is back with the iKlip Studio, a fully adjustable stand designed to help musicians. Here is some more info: IK Multimedia is proud to announce iKlip™ Studio, the adjustable iPad desktop stand designed specifically for musicians. iKlip Studio holds the iPad firmly on studio Continue reading on Gear Diary …