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Apogee debuts GiO USB guitar interface and controller for Macs

by Donald Melanson posted Jul 24th 2009 at 4:57PM

You're going to need to practice on a lot more than Rock Band or Guitar Hero to fully make use of this rig, but Mac users looking to go a step beyond basic GarageBand recording may want to consider Apogee's new GiO guitar interface and controller, which is fully compatible with GarageBand 09, as well as Logic Studio 9 and MainStage 2. Designed to more or less give you full hands-free recording, the device packs five Stompbox buttons that are dynamically color coded to match software effects, plus five Transport control buttons that are dynamically lit when engaged, not to mention all the ports you'd expect, including a 1/4" instrument input, a 1/4" MIDI Expression pedal input, a headphone jack, and that all-important USB port, which just so happens to also conveniently power the device. You're still going to have to make do with your current setup for a bit longer, however, as this one's only set to launch sometime in September for a fairly reasonable (as far as Apogee products go) $395.

IPEVO's TR-10 speakerphone makes nice with iChat

by Samuel Axon posted Oct 15th 2008 at 10:56AM

Seems like there's a VoIP device for every temperament -- you can go supa classy, or you can try to be as bland as possible, but most of them are intended for Skype. Not IPEVO's TR-10, though; it's designed for iChat, and it does VoIP with support for four-way conferencing as both a speakerphone and a handset. If geeky rebel radio is your thing, it records podcasts in tandem with GarageBand, too -- all IPEVO asks is that you fork over $79.90 before you start living the iLife with Bruce Willis.

GarageBand 4.1.1 brings custom tones to iPhone

by Sean Cooper posted Dec 14th 2007 at 10:55AM

As the pic says ladies and gents, Apple has decided that if you're clever enough to work in GarageBand -- and really, aren't we all? -- you deserve custom tones. To get this working all you need do is grab at the fresh GarageBand 4.1.1 update released yesterday, select a cycle region in your song -- a cycle region is just an area in the song's timeline you want to repeat -- then "share" and select "send ringtone to iTunes" option. Of course, your iPhone will need to be at version 1.1.2 to accomplish this little feat of magic, but we're sure most of you out there have sorted updates by now. Enjoy the music and feel free to drop us a note with how things go.

[Via TUAW]

Read - Create custom ringtones in iTunes
Read - GarageBand 4.1.1 update

Music Thing: The USB Lightsnake and other ways to connect your axe

by Marc Perton posted Apr 28th 2006 at 2:07PM

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:

Connecting a guitar to a USB socket is one of those technical questions that nobody has ever asked, but lots of people have tried to answer. The latest, and possibly neatest, solution is the SoundTech Lightsnake, a simple 10-foot guitar cable with a quarter-inch jack on one end and a USB plug on the other. Plug it into a USB socket and it will glow green (mmm… retro!), and it promises to pump your guitar neatly into GarageBand or whatever.

There’s a big cultural barrier between the two ends of the cable. Quarter-inch jacks are indestructible, ancient and roadworthy. They were introduced in 1878, for use in telephone exchanges, and they’re still in almost any piece of musical equipment you’d ever want to use, from a Les Paul to a Moog Modular. They never break, and if they do happen to fray, can be mended by anyone who knows which end of a soldering iron to hold. With no tools, a combination of sharp teeth and nimble fingers can make a workable repair.

Meanwhile the new-fangled USB plug, introduced in 1995, has no place in rock’n’roll. It’s invariably plastic, and was literally designed by a committee. Neutrik does produce a nickel-housed USB socket that could almost fit on a guitar amp, but would be unlikely to survive attack from a flying bottle of beer.

In the last year, USB/Guitar hybrids have been everywhere. The GuitarPlug does the same job as the Lightsnake, without the attached cable or the glowing LED. Towards the end of 2005 there was a rash of USB guitars, released by many, bought by few, culminating in the Behringer iAxe, a $149 guitar with a built-in USB socket and a bundle of free software. I’m sure it sounds great.