Music Thing: Music and audio gear in Second Life
by Tom Whitwell 
posted Oct 20th 2006 at 4:15PM
Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out, as well as noteworthy vintage equipment:
Now, I've never been inside Second Life, but -- inspired by Reuters, which set up a bureau inside the game, which now has over a million players -- I've spent some time trawling the shops for cool music gear. Dissapointingly, I've found no vintage synths, keytars or mountains of old studio gear. I did find a British virtual instrument-maker called Robbie Dingo, who mainly sells slightly ordinary guitars, drum kits, bagpipes, grand pianos and something called a Hyper Flute, which - disappointingly - is completely safe for work, but allows you to compose your own music within Second Life.
Robbie sells his instruments at SL Boutique - a steel drum set costs L$120 (40 cents in real money), while a Hyper Flute costs L$3,000 (around $10). Most Second Life instruments are really toys -- they'll play a couple of sound loops and animate with your avatar. Some are slightly more advanced: Robbie's 1965 Fender Stratocaster (L$400/$1.40) "loops a funky pattern that can be transposed via the menu system to any key whilst remaining in time." How many real-world guitarists can say the same?
Robbie's greatest claim to fame was creating the guitar used by folk singer Suzanne Vega when she played a gig in Second Life. As far as I can work out, the guitar in this case was just a prop -- she was playing a real guitar into a microphone, whch was beamed into the concert.
Other SL gear manufacturers include Neurocam Audio, who produce headphones and microphones, which really confused me. How does a microphone work? It "serves a purpose: It changes your chat to GREEN in the chat window, allowing the event host the ability to be noticed above noisy crowds!"
Finally, for just L$1 (1/3rd of a cent), you can buy a Cigar Box Guitar, just like the one featured in Make Magazine, which will play a short clip of cigar box guitar jamming. Virtual cigars not included.
Robbie sells his instruments at SL Boutique - a steel drum set costs L$120 (40 cents in real money), while a Hyper Flute costs L$3,000 (around $10). Most Second Life instruments are really toys -- they'll play a couple of sound loops and animate with your avatar. Some are slightly more advanced: Robbie's 1965 Fender Stratocaster (L$400/$1.40) "loops a funky pattern that can be transposed via the menu system to any key whilst remaining in time." How many real-world guitarists can say the same?
Robbie's greatest claim to fame was creating the guitar used by folk singer Suzanne Vega when she played a gig in Second Life. As far as I can work out, the guitar in this case was just a prop -- she was playing a real guitar into a microphone, whch was beamed into the concert.
Other SL gear manufacturers include Neurocam Audio, who produce headphones and microphones, which really confused me. How does a microphone work? It "serves a purpose: It changes your chat to GREEN in the chat window, allowing the event host the ability to be noticed above noisy crowds!"
Finally, for just L$1 (1/3rd of a cent), you can buy a Cigar Box Guitar, just like the one featured in Make Magazine, which will play a short clip of cigar box guitar jamming. Virtual cigars not included.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Gaming
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tarry @ Aug 11th 2008 2:09AM
This is great news!
http://www.chasetheglow.com
Kev50027 @ Oct 20th 2006 5:26PM
Okay.. So? You can also buy cars, houses, guns, and robots in the game..
Robbie Dingo @ Oct 21st 2006 6:14AM
Thanks for the review, although to be fair... I hope you dont mind me adding... that some of these instruments are slightly more sophisticated than the comments suggest, so for the record, many of the the instruments will sync to nearby instruments so that ensembles and drum circles can be assembled. Musical patterns that are 'played'/triggered have been written with this in mind...
The Hyper-Instruments (Flute/Cello/PanPipe) are the result of about a year's worth of work to perfect their sound and compositional system within the big limitations found within of SecondLife in terms of audio. Any melody can be transcribed and played back, or the instuments can be played in real-time from a graphical HUD.
To see / hear a demonstration of the the Hyper-Flute in action please watch this movie:
http://robbiedingo.blip.tv/file/44410
For more info. on the Hyper-Instruments and how they work, please read here:
http://digitaldouble.blogspot.com/2006/06/composing-with-hyper-instruments1.html
and here:
http://digitaldouble.blogspot.com/2006/06/composing-with-hyper-instruments2.html
thanks, and keep up the good work!
Robbie Dingo (yes not my real name!)- AKA. Rob Wright.
Evon F @ Oct 29th 2006 8:28PM
interesting
Ella Rouge @ Oct 24th 2006 2:55PM
We're from Sweeden... and your gonna love our music - check it out: http://www.myspace.com/ellarouge
and leave us a comment, we want to hear from you!
thanks!
Ella Rouge
It turns out that the recipe for rock & roll success isn't a very difficult one at all.
Simply take six talented musicians and isolate them in a cozy studio on an island in the Baltic Sea. Add some outrageous weather, complete with hurricane-force gales, to help concentrate frisky young minds on the task at hand. Sprinkle in a variety of impromptu magical musical moments, and voila!...you have the formula for the amazing self-titled debut album from the sextet of Swedes known as Ella Rouge.