metronome
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Chaos Audio's multieffects guitar pedal links to your smartphone
Chaos Audio has unveiled a digital multi-effects guitar pedal on Kickstarter that could be ideal for budget-minded beginners.
Soundbrenner watch includes a metronome, tuner and decibel meter
Soundbrenner is far from a household name in the music industry, but having apparently sold over 50,000 Pulse wearable metronomes with endorsement from notable musicians, this Hong Kong startup isn't doing so bad. Today, the company hopes to make a bigger bang with a follow-up model. Using the original Pulse as the foundation, the new Soundbrenner Core adds three functionalities in the hopes of making life easier for musicians: It's also a watch, a tuner and a sound level meter. "We see ourselves as one of the few players in the music-making space... that solve real problems," said Soundbrenner CEO Florian Simmendinger. "Our goal is to create a must-have companion device for musicians, from beginners all the way to professionals."
ArenaNet hints at next GW2 update with meatspace metronome
ArenaNet is stalking game journos in meatspace again, this time by sending a cryptic package to GamerZines.com that ostensibly has something to do with Guild Wars 2's January 21st update. The package contains a metronome with an inscription that reads as follows: Thump, Thump. Time to jump. Wipe all resistance from your mind There's a secret deep below to find If you'd only seen the things I've seen You'd wake up screaming from The Dream This next part will sting, but it brings me joy Sometimes to change you must destroy A fire is rising you cannot contain Tyria will burn, while I remain. [Thanks Siphaed!]
Korg's KR Mini rhythm controller puts a backing band in your gig bag (video)
Sometimes a metronome just won't cut it when you're playing an instrument alone. That's where Korg's KR Mini comes in, providing the galloping metal beat that bridges into a poppy chorus for your bass, guitar or keyboard jam session. You can even chain the unit's nine presets -- 8-beat, 16-beat, dance, jazz, Latin, metal, pop, R&B and rock -- together with a plethora of fills to make your own backing tracks to shred along to. The box's 16 velocity sensitive-pads do double duty too, allowing for finger drumming if none of the onboard loops do the trick. If you need inputs to run your existing effects pedal-board or foot controls into, the KR Mini has you covered there too. No monitor? No problem. The built-in speakers can provide the sound you need at a moment's notice, with a trio of AAs providing the juice if you aren't near a wall outlet. Considering the company's storied drum machine-heritage, it's cool to see Korg honoring that legacy with this latest KR model. The Mini ships in November for $79.99, and while it may not be the ego-free backing band of your dreams, it probably comes close. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Tunable app shows musicians what pitch-perfect means as they play (video)
Musicians who've had some degree of practice will know the lack of sophistication involved in getting an instrument in tune and on time: a light-up tuning box and a swinging metronome may be their only real resources. Affinity Blue knows that mobile apps allow better, and recently unveiled Tunable as a one-stop shop for more exacting performers. The Android and iOS release provides a live graph that shows where the sweet spot is for pitch, and how closely the music has followed along for the past few seconds -- a boon for brass players, vocalists and others who need to sustain a note for more than a moment. There's also a simple tone generator and a customizable metronome that's easily seen from a distance. While it's $1 to try Tunable, that might be a pittance for anyone who'd rather spend time mastering a riff than rehashing the basics.
My Keepon drops by for a brief hands-on, we can't handle the cuteness (video)
See that little dude up there? That's My Keepon, and it should look familiar if you're a fan of Spoon or keeping up with autism and related human interaction research. It was just about four years ago when we glimpsed the original dancing research robot by BeatBots dubbed Keepon, and now the $50 toy version we'd been teased is finally set to make its debut this holiday season. Considering its Pro sibling costs nearly $30k, we were curious to see how well this version made by Wow! Stuff would keep the original's essence in tow. To find out, we spent some time with a pre-production unit and had Marek Michalowski, co-inventor of the robot, walk us through it. %Gallery-133464%
Count the beats: Tuning and more with Guitar Toolkit for iPhone / iPod touch
Any musician worth his/her credit knows that accurate tuning is a given. It's a crucial starting point to playing any instrument at home, on the job, in the studio, or on the road, and an embarrassment when it isn't. Some time ago I was doing an unplugged acoustic gig when my regular stomp box tuner broke down mid-rehearsal. I was in desperate need of a reliable tuner, without a music store in sight. Roll on Agile Partners Guitar Toolkit [iTunes link] for the iPhone/iPod Touch at £5.99I had heard about various tuner apps on the App Store, but I was reluctant to try any of them. I could not believe that a tuner on my phone would provide the same accurate and reliable tuning that my current (expensive) tuners could. However, I was desperate, so I took the plunge.Utilizing the iPhone's built in microphone (or the iPod Touch with a microphone headset), Guitar Toolkit's chromatic tuner performed just like using any other quality tuner. It was simple, effective and to my delight, it got the job done. After the gig, upon further inspection, I soon realized that there was much more than just a common guitar tuner in this app. Guitar Toolkit comprises a chromatic tuner, a metronome, a chord section, and a scale section too (practice your scales!!).The chromatic tuner can be used to tune a variety of stringed instruments. By changing the 'mode' selector on the tuner, from standard 6-string EADGBE guitar tuning to 'all notes' tuning, you'll be able to tune almost any musical instrument. Or, you can preselect a particular stringed instrument, from a custom list, for that instruments specific tuning arrangement (guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, etcetera). If you're feeling creative, why not come up with your own custom tuning arrangement and input it into the tuner for later reference, or choose one from the alternate guitar tuning selection. DADGAD anyone? For advanced tuning, you can alter the standard reference pitch from 440.0 Hz to whatever you'd like (some orchestras play at varying reference pitches). I've used it to tune a violin perfectly, and for all you bass players Guitar Toolkit, using the iPhone's microphone, picks up those low notes as well. There are a few noticeable nice touches here and there. On the tuner, there is the option to alter the display to a 'high contrast mode' for tuning in low ambient light conditions. Also, when the app is open, the power saving/auto-lock features of the iPhone are disabled so the tuner remains usable until you're finished.Short of being able to plug an instrument line directly in, I can't find a fault with the the Guitar Toolkit tuner.
DSMetronome makes your handheld more useful
Why clutter up your house with a real metronome when you can use your trusty DS to achieve the same effect? Thanks to the homebrew community's continuing effort to turn the DS into the Swiss army knife of portable devices, soon, we anticipate the DS will be able to do just about anything ... and official releases offer a lot of practical options, too.DSMetronome is the product of Demented, who noticed a hole in the system's abilties and filled it in tremendous fashion, building a clean application with built-in help. It may be simple, but DSMetronome does exactly what it's supposed to do, and does it well. Some games have included metronomes, but if that's all you need or want, this app may work well for you.
Ask X3F: WTF happened to The City of Metronome edition
Woo boy, we got a lotta Ask X3F questions this week. Sure, we answer questions about VGA cables, 360 hard drive security, and gamer pictures, but the prize winning question this week is definitely "What the hell happened to The City of Metronome?" If you've never heard of it, we suggest you get acquainted. Find a wealth of knowledge (and a smidgeon of reader berating) after the break.Got a question for Ask X3F? Maybe you have a story or some information you'd like to share? Send it all to ask [at] xbox360fanboy [dot] com.
