Music Technology

E Touch̩ РNew Expression Controller

E Touché – New Expression Controller   The evolution of electronic instruments can prove to be slower than the growth of electronic music. A key difference between electronic and acoustic instruments is the lack of expression on the electronic side. We’ve seen recent products, like the the ROLI Seaboard, attempt, (and succeed, to a certain extent,) in minimizing that gap, but nothing like the Express E Touché has been seen before. A hyper sensitive macro control, built into a sleek wood casing, is designed to add expression to any electronic instrument. The idea behind the Touché is best explained by the founders themselves: Synthesizers allow for a vast variety of complex sounds. Nonetheless, knobs and faders are sometimes not suitable for expressive play. Touché’s wood surface has been designed to react to the smallest vibration, the slightest pressure of your hand, allowing synth players to shape sounds spontaneously, like an acoustic instrument. Its companion …

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Palette – An Additive Controller

Palette – An Additive Controller   Palette Gear has been developing a photography geared controller system, which is also MIDI capable, that is structured in a completely original way. Palette works with a system of small, magnetic, add-on parameters, like knobs sliders, and arcade style buttons. The idea behind the project is to allow the user to be their own modular MIDI builder. Designed with a sleek finish and a receptive software called Palette App, Palette is an interesting controller system that minimize the excess in your controller options. Palette has four key components: the core, the dial, the button and a slider. The core is the brain of the group, enabling the controller to connect through USB. The dial is an infinite rotation dial. Palette is also equipped with a classic arcade style button, and a an ordinary slider. You are also able to color coordinate each piece, to help …

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ZOOM ARQ – From Recorders to Controllers

ZOOM ARQ – From Recorders to Controllers   Japanese based company, Zoom, known for their high quality portable recorders, released a new performance based piece of equipment that allows the user to run free from the booth. The Zoom Arq is a sequencer, drum machine, synthesizer, clip launcher, looper, and a MIDI controller, packed into a portable ring.   su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6YtdBMdx2w” showinfo=”no” rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes”   When looking at the ARQ, we notice two main components: the ring and the deck. Deck The base deck is essentially the brain of the machine, programmed with 468 different sampled drum sounds, 70 synthesizer sounds, and different types effect types. The samples are one shot samples meaning that what you hear is what you get. It is equipped with a 1/4 headphone jack, 1/4″ line-level outputs, a USB for MIDI, and an SD card slot which lets you save drum loops and synth sequences, and …

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Korg Minilogue – Powerful Analog Synth on a Budget

Korg Minilogue – Powerful Analog Synth on a Budget   Korg has been a front runner of the analog synthesizer world since the production of the Prototype No.1 in the 1970’s. Since then, they have continuously pioneered the scene by reinventing themselves, while sticking true to their roots. Korg may have just pushed the envelope again with the release of the Minilogue, a compact, powerful and affordable polyphonic synthesizer. The Minilogue provides you with a classic analog sound with a maximum of four voices. There are 200 programs, with 100 presets and 100 programmable slots. There is a 16 step polyphonic sequencer with a motion sequencer that can be assigned up to four different parameters. Korg provided you 41 control parameters which allows you to have immediate control over your sound. Some of the more noteworthy, the “standout,” features if we may, is the OLED oscilloscope and the voice mode option.     The oscilloscope …

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Apple Music Memos

Apple Music Memos   The musical process can be highly methodical or extremely spontaneous and in those spontaneous moments potential ideas can get long lost in the motion of a moment. Apple has developed an app to not only capture those moments with clean uncompressed audio, but to work off of those ideas, through an iPhone or iPad, right there in the moment. You are able to use Music Memo with your iPhone or iPad’s built in microphone or plug in an external microphone to record audio. (The app is optimized for guitar and piano but you can use other instruments as well.) The coolest part, what makes the Music Memo the Music Memo, is the intelligent audio analyzer. The app recognizes the feel of your audio recording and backs you up with a suggested chord progression and a synced up drum pattern.     Apple allows you to move your audio …

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Celemony Melodyne 4 – Advanced Sound Editing

Celemony Melodyne 4 – Advanced Sound Editing   The long awaited Melodyne 4 has been released with its most extensive update in the history of its existence. Packed with new features, enhanced elements, and a modernized facelift, the Melodyne 4 is a whole new sort of monster, awarded with a ProTools Editors Choice Award. A new sound editor analyzes and enhances your sound by working off of note recognition technologies, which adapt to the timbre and overtones of your sound, rather than shaping them. You are also able to play with multitrack note editing, which allows you to dive into an unlimited amount of tracks and edit any given note, which is extremely useful when you have a number of tracks. Since the Melodyne 4 is semi-suited for live recording, a brand new tempo technology adapts to live tempo as oppose to setting a static beat.   su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PaDDG6-DjA” showinfo=”no” …

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