MidiController
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DIY iPad music breakout gives pro-grade stage presence, mixes circuitry with art (video)
If you're thinking this iPad audio breakout dock looks remarkably good considering its DIY origins, then you should know it wasn't put together by any old screwball with a soldering iron. Nope, this was made by Qubais "Reed" Ghazala, a very particular old screwball who's been blurring the lines between circuitry, music and art since the Summer of Love (that's 1967 on a normal calendar). His latest invention is all about getting pro-grade sound connections into and out of an iPad 2 -- much like an Alesis dock or Akai SynthStation, but with that special "I made this" charm and minimal price tag. Key ingredients include a Macally aluminium iPad stand and a 30-pin PodBreakout board. Hit the video after the break to get further instructions and hear Ghazala's "bottomless well of chance music" -- both come at your own risk.
Airpiano on sale now, conduct a symphony of soft synths with the wave of a hand (video)
When last we saw the Airpiano way back in 2008 (ah, the halcyon days when people still cared about Spore) it was just a proof of concept, hacked together by interface design student Omer Yosha. Now you can finally order your own online for €1,099 (about $1,607) if you're in Europe, or €1,149 (about $1,680) if you dwell anywhere else on this little, blue marble we call Earth. The theremin-like Airpiano doesn't actually produce any sounds itself, instead it uses proximity sensors to feed MIDI and OSC (open sound control) signals to a computer over USB, allowing musicians and non-musicians alike to command soft synths with only the majestic wave of a hand. It may land you some confused stares from people who still play instruments with strings and keys (you know, Luddites), but it's certainly more dignified than planting yourself in front of a Beamz laser harp. A trio of videos awaits after the break.
The iPad and MIDI hardware working together, here's how.
Create Digital Music has put together an interesting video detailing the various ways that you can connect MIDI gear (synthesizers / keyboards) to your iPad. MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) is the standard means by which musical information is communicated between MIDI capable hardware and software. As Create Digital Music puts it, "... [MIDI] doesn't transmit sound, but it does transmit information like pitch, note events, knob twists, button presses, and clock and transport information." Using various MIDI-compatible apps on your iPad, and the Apple Camera Connection Kit or the Line 6 Midi Mobilizer, it's actually pretty straight forward getting MIDI gear (from today, dating all the way back to the 1980s) to work with your iPad. Since Apple introduced Core MIDI into iOS 4.2 and above, it's easier than ever to get your iPad working with MIDI devices -- and that's what the video after the break demonstrates. If you've found some interesting music apps for your iPad, but you're struggling to integrate them with your music-setup (or even just use a MIDI keyboard with your iPad) then the video after the break is for you. [Via Engadget]
Akai's iPad-docking SynthStation 49 and updated app: eyes-on at NAMM 2011
Remember when everything had an iPhone dock? The coming dock revolution will be just like that, but a lot more massive. Akai is showing off a non-functioning version of its SynthStation 49-key MIDI controller at NAMM this weekend, and it's pretty much the same idea as the smaller iPhone-docking Synthstation25. That said, here you've got nine velocity-sensitive MPC pads, a separate transport section, and 1/4-inch outs. And an adjustable iPad dock, which is a funny thing to see on a keyboard. Software-wise, this younger-bigger bro in the family will also support CoreMIDI -- and an updated version of Akai's SynthStation iOS app for the bigger screen, using the added real estate to allow finer, more direct control over the sound, along with a new recording section and simultaneous drum / synth sequencing. Not a bad piece of kit for the pad-centric musician in your life -- look for it to splash down this June for $199. Check below the break for video of the unit and a runthrough of the new software. %Gallery-114447%
Kinect hack turns you into a punching, waving MIDI controller (video)
If you're looking for an awesome, impractical way to make music with your computer (and who isn't?) please direct your attention to the following Kinect hack. Shinect, the brainchild of a YouTube user named Shinyless, uses motion detection to turn you into a MIDI controller! The current implementation gives the operator two virtual pads that can be activated by the old Jersey Shore fist pump -- and if that ain't enough, the sounds can be pitchshifted by raising / lowering the other arm. Pretty sweet, huh? This thing uses OpenNI, and while he's demonstrating it using FruityLoops it should work with any MIDI device. Things are pretty rough'n ready at the moment, although he promises big things in the future. In the meantime, check out the proof-of-concept in the video after the break.
iOS 4.2 CoreMIDI apps begin to arrive on the App Store
When we got word a few weeks ago that Apple was introducing CoreMIDI into iOS 4.2, our minds began to ponder the new possibilities it would present. Since the release of iOS 4.2, however, with all the buzz surrounding the latest iOS software update, we forgot all about CoreMIDI. And that's because we hadn't seen any apps on the App Store taking advantage of it, until now. Apple has now begun to approve apps for the App Store that take advantage of the CoreMIDI API. Interestingly enough, one of the first apps to take advantage of CoreMIDI isn't a music app at all. It's Luminair for iPad -- a DMX-compatible lighting console app for your theatrical or concert lighting rig -- and it takes advantage of the CoreMIDI API via Apple's USB Camera Connection Kit for iPad or over WiFi. Most importantly, this is now achieved without the need for specialized third-party hardware, like the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer. We're looking forward to seeing what other apps pop up on the App Store that take advantage of this exciting development. If you've noticed anything on the App Store, or if you see anything in the coming days, let us know in the comments below. For now, check out Luminair using the CoreMIDI API by clicking on the read button. [via iLounge]
Snyderphonics Manta controller takes on Ableton Live, looks (and sounds) great doing it (video)
We sure do love our obscure instruments here at Engadget. Even something as simple as the Monome, with its grid of 64 pads (and little else) can get the creative juices flowin' when partnered with the right software. Well, we just received word that SevenUpLive, the driver that gets Monome to play nice with Ableton Live (via Max / MSP), has just received support for Snyderphonics' handsome Manta controller. What's this all mean? Well, besides looking great, Manta features velocity sensitive plates and polyphonic aftertouch, which means a higher level of control than many of your boutique controllers. But you need a demonstration, right? Why didn't you say so? Video after the break.
Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer gets priced at $799, can't hold out on us much longer
Not since the debut of the Tenori-On have we seen so much buzz surrounding a niche music maker, and Teenage Engineering's OP-1 might just be the most anticipated synthesizer in the history of mankind. We've already seen just what it's capable of, and now it's starring in its very own music video. Better still, it's inching ever closer to shipping, with a recent newsletter affirming that it's 90 percent complete with respect to functionality. We're also told that it'll ship with a half dozen synthesizer engines and two sampler types, and a beta test is said to be "approaching." The outfit has just received its "golden sample" for the keyboard module, and it's waiting for a few more component suppliers to come through before belting out a final ship date. But hey -- at least you know it'll run $799 / €799, eventually. No time like the present to start pinching those pennies, right?
Pianist Pro 1.5 for the iPad adds MIDI Mobilizer support from Line 6
From MooCowMusic comes the latest iteration of their renowned iPad app, Pianist Pro 1.5 (£5.99). Most notably, Pianist Pro now incorporates the MIDI Mobilizer technology from Line 6, enabling Pianist Pro on your iPad, with the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer adapter (£45) or wirelessly over Wi-Fi, to be used as a MIDI controller as well as connecting with your existing MIDI devices and your DAW. Pianist Pro has been extended further to work seamlessly with MIDI. Two of Its best features, the programmable arpeggiator and the Scale Piano (allowing for scales to be soloed with the swipe of a finger), are both now MIDI compatible, making the functionality of these features applicable to other MIDI devices. Pianist Pro becomes more than just a passive keyboard. The built-in sampled sounds can also be used with an external MIDI hardware device or DAW, allowing Pianist Pro to become a sound source in itself (taking full advantage of its 88 key professionally-sampled virtual piano as well as the sampled organ, synth sounds and guitars). And let's not forget the drum machine, too. Another of Pianist Pro's features is recording and overdubbing. Now, being MIDI compatible, you can do some composing / performing on the road, save it, and when you're ready, export it in a Standard Midi File (SMF) for use with other compatible MIDI devices or your favorite DAW. And don't worry, Piano Pro 1.5 imports SMFs, too. MooCowMusic describes Piano Pro as a "a musical scratchpad or live performance tool." Now with built-in MIDI support, thanks to Line 6's MIDI Mobilizer adapter, it's that, but to a whole new level! Check out the demo video after the break.
Homebrew MIDI controller takes performance to a new, flashier level (video)
While programs like Ableton Live have truly democratized electronic music making, most hardware interfaces can't hold a candle style-wise to traditional instruments (or even the MIDI gear of the Awesome 80s). Rather than merely bemoan this depressing fact, however, a musician from Zurich named Zander Ander has built his own controller -- and it's truly a thing of beauty. Based on the uCApps.de MIDI hardware platform, this thing employs custom acrylic knobs, colored LEDs, and a whole bunch of buttons to bring his DAW controls into the real world -- while kicking the ass of controllers like AKAI's APC40 in the process. But don't take our word for it! Check it out for yourself after the break.
Turn your iPad into a MIDI controller in 3,700 easy steps
It was only a matter of time before someone took a look at that 9.7-inch display and decided they wanted to do some serious dancefloor damage with it. Not to be outdone by the likes of Looptastic HD or iElectribe, our man Ryan Noise (dot com) has just posted a video detailing his experiments with the iPad as MIDI controller and, as long as you don't have your heart set on your instrument providing some sort of tactile response, it looks like things are working out pretty well. Using a combination of the TouchOSC open sound control app, Osculator, a Python script, and Ableton Live 8, we've seen this basic setup before: the iPad (or iPhone, or iPod touch) sends open sound commands to the Mac, which translates them into MIDI commands for your instrument / DAW of choice. But why read when you can watch? Peep the video after the break for the gist, and hit that source link for technical details.
Teenage Engineering OP-1 synth gets the hands-on treatment (video)
We see so many great concepts disappear from view before becoming reality that you could excuse us if by now we're a little jaded. That said, we've been holding on to hope that Teenage Engineering's pocket sequencer / synth / sampler / controller was the real deal. And what is this? According to the gang at Create Digital Music, who got hold of one of these things at NAMM 2010, the thing is real -- and it's coming soon. Even for a prototype, the OP-1 appears to be an impressive creature: aside from sporting the aforementioned synth, this bad boy sports a four-track virtual tape recorder (with "virtual splicing" for editing your audio), a sampling feature that allows you to change the record speed in real time (for analog-like editing effects), and a dazzling display screen (at least when compared to the displays on current hardware). But that ain't all! Get a closer look in the video below, and with any luck we might be seeing it become available this year, for a price below $1,000.
Misa Digital Guitar cuts the strings, brings the noise
The intersection of the classical instrument known as a guitar and the modernist urge to modify everything has resulted in plenty of nutty, zany, and just plain questionable products in its time. It's quite a pleasure, therefore, to point you in the direction of a so-called Digital Guitar that keeps the axe looking refreshingly familiar, while turning it into something that poses a legitimate threat of actually being useful. Essentially a MIDI controller, the Misa guitar has 24 frets and a large multifunctional touchscreen, which you can use to interface with the appropriate software on your pc. We've got a video demonstration after the break, and you can hit up the source link for more info including details on how you might be able to buy one for yourself.
Moldover's limited edition Mojo MIDI controller for serious musicians with seriously deep pockets (video)
When 21st century renaissance man Moldover couldn't find the controller with, and we quote: ""the intuitive tactile response" that he needed to supply the blips and buzzes that are his stock and trade as a performing musician, he built his own. And he'll sell you one -- for about $1,800 bucks. Mojo is a 12-inch by 18-inch (give or take) mahogany box with all the touch strips, arcade console buttons, knobs, faders, and toggle switches you need to rock the house party, club, or where ever it is that you move bodies (the morgue maybe? Sorry, that was a bad joke). This is a USB MIDI device, and as such there are no drivers to install -- but the dude does kindly supply an Ableton Live MIDI map. Oh, and the faceplate is scratch-resistant anodized aluminum. What -- you're still reading this? You'd better hurry up and order, only twenty will be made. Ships in March. Video after the break.
Gambridge Z line MIDI guitars compatible with Rock Band, sort of sound like guitars
There's always someone that will tell you that you can make the Rock Band experience more "realistic," as if there was something more realistic than pressing buttons on a piece of plastic that vaguely resembles a guitar. And believe us, there was no shortage of companies with Guitar Hero / Rock Band controllers at CES -- including Gambridge, whose Z line of dual game / MIDI guitars are full-sized instruments with built in sound modules that also function as game controllers, compatible with all major music video game titles. And, judging by what we saw at the company's booth, their industrial design assures that no one will ever dream of stealing one from you. Pricing and availability to be announced.
DMC champ DJ Rafik puts Native Instruments' Traktor Kontrol X1 through its paces (video)
That Traktor Kontrol X1 hardware controller that one eagle-eyed trainspotter hepped us to a while back isn't out until February, but in the meantime Native Instruments (and the editors of Engadget) thought you might enjoy seeing the thing in action. Going for $229, this bad boy connects to your Mac or PC via USB and integrates fully with Traktor to allow you all the access to controls and effects normally reserved for the mouse / trackpad -- as you know, there really is nothing less "rock'n'roll" (er, "rave") than a mouse or a trackpad. Go past the break to get your block rocked (or something) by DMC world champ DJ Rafik.
Native Instruments working on a $200-ish Traktor controller, blinkenlights guaranteed
International musician and man-about-town Richie Hawtin has a track record of collaborating with Native Instruments on its DJ products, frequently putting stuff through its paces well before it's made available to the public at large -- and once again, the dude's been caught using some unknown gear at a show in Berlin. Seems like pretty much everyone and their mother has made a controller compatible with the company's Traktor line of software at this point save for Native Instruments itself, and that's where this new hotness comes into play -- check out the video after the break starting around 19 seconds, where you can clearly make out a couple NI-branded boxes allegedly designed to control two decks at a time (so a grand total of two, like Hawtin has here, would be enough to control a four-deck Traktor setup). We've heard rumors from inside the company that it'll be available for around $200, which would be extremely competitive for a pro-level box that's specifically matched to Traktor's capabilities. Even if you don't have the slightest urge to get on the decks at any point in your life, the lights sure are pretty, aren't they? [Via Engadget German and De:Bug]
Stanton DJ intros touch-sensitive DaScratch USB-MIDI controller
Not too certain what brainiac reckoned that "DaScratch" was a suitable name for Stanton DJ's new touch-sensitive controller, but if we had our way, we'd have that guy / gal promoted on the double. Nomenclature aside, the device you see above is the outfit's newest member of the SC System family. The USB-MIDI controller was designed for mobility and to allow Funkmasters and Beatslayers alike to use "traditional performance motions and gestures on a touchpad style surface." Scratching, scrubbing, and navigating through digital audio files can all be handled with just a few flicks of the fingertips, and there's even support for multiple-finger gestures to "prompt quick kills on EQ's or transform effects on volume." Not a bad spin for $299, huh? Full release after the jump.
