Arturia SparkLE – MusikMesse Video
At the MusikMesse, instead of all the marketing and PR words, we asked Arturia to just show us the new SparkLE drummachine/sampler, Spark‘s little brother. Michael Hosker from Arturia creates a beat on the fly.
Synths and workstations
Something For The Weekend: Interview with the creators of the Korg MS-20
One of the real suprises at the NAMM earlier this year was the announcement by Korg to resurrect the MS-20 mono synth. The original has a special place in many hearts of true synth heads since 1978. Especially the thick, robust sound, its powerful, iconic analog filter, and its versatile patching options make it a synth that’s treasured by many. With the new MS-20 Mini Korg is giving new users the opportunity to enjoy the analog sound in our digital world today!
Jomox New Modules – MusikMesse video
On the Jomox stand/booth, at this years MusikMesse, we saw something unknown to us. Jomox was introducing modular system modules. A new territory for them (and us). Jürgen Michaelis from Jomox gave us a little demonstration of the ModBase 09 Bass Drum Module and the Mod.Brane 11 Percussion Module.
Dualo – Innovative Hexagonal Keyboard instrument – MusikMesse Video
At the MusikMesse we met with Bruno Verbrugghe and Jules Hotrique from Dualo. Dualo is a new way of thinking and practicing music. The first step of the dualo project is a new instrument featuring the innovative hexagonal keyboard, and lot’s more.
Native Instruments releases Pulswerk – Maschine expansion
Native Instruments released PULSWERK – a new MASCHINE Expansion designed for minimalistic house and techno. Aside from its 30 drum kits, PULSWERK contains 20 unique Special Kits created exclusively with pitched sound sources. The Expansion also features an array of Multi-Effect Kits containing pre-sequenced, tempo synced effect chains and 60 new specially-designed MASSIVE presets. Combining these, PULSWERK provides an extensive toolkit for producers eager to turn deep sonic experimentation into finished professional productions. PULSWERK is out now for MASCHINE, MASCHINE MIKRO, and iMASCHINE.
Extra Online Content for Rob Papen: The 4 Element Synth
Last year globally renowned sound designer Rob Papen published The 4 Element Synth book with four accompanying DVDs totalling over 10 hours of tutorial content to critical acclaim. According to fellow sound designer Ian Boddy, “The whole package comes in a beautifully packaged book. Superbly bound and elegantly printed, it has the feel of a quality coffee table book — it even has such nice details as a silk bookmark and pull-out 4 Element Synth chart, complete with four DVDs stuffed to the brim to watch in conjunction with the contents of the book.”
Novation Bass Station II – MusikMesse Video
Below is our short demonstration we got from the guys at Novation. We met up with them at the Messe to let us see and hear what the new Bass Station II was all about. Like we said it is a short demonstration but it pretty much lets you hear the analog strength this synth has.
Free Supernova Soundpack for MiniNova and UltraNova
Novation have made a FREE soundbank available for the MiniNova and UltraNova synthesizers.This free soundbank is based on the sounds of the legendary Supernova synth. Novation’s ground-breaking Supernova set the standard for virtual analogue synthesisers when it was released in 1998. With its comprehensive modelling of traditional analogue subtractive synthesis, uniquely powerful multi-effects engine and expressive filter, the award-winning rack-mount Supernova and its successor, Supernova II, were the most powerful synths of their time –class leaders, still revered today.
Korg M1 Synth on your Nintendo
The KORG M01D is a music workstation based on the KORG M1 the world’s first widely known music workstation. The M1 was released in 1988 by KORG Inc., one of the most famous and leading electronic musical instrument companies. The KORG M01D reproduces the M1’s unforgettable digital sounds of the 80s such as the “M1 piano”, still heard on many songs today.
Elektron Spotlight on Twardowski
That the Polish producer Tomasz Twardowski knows his gear is evident from listening to his latest 12″, A Soundtrack To Growing Up EP. Everything is in the right place. The dance floor not set on fire by the sound, feel, groove and character of his neo-disco boogie is not worth its name.
New Sounds and Samples on Sample Saturday
After the absence of Sample Saturday last week, due to the MusikMesse, we return. Below are some of the new releases we have encountered this week on the Loops and Samples front. Just like the quality of the audio software we use these days the quality of the content we use (loops and samples) equally matches the high standards of this software. Below is this weeks selection.
Gearjunkies MusikMesse 2013 Roundup
The MusikMesse 2013 show is over again, and the traditional Gearjunkies Roundup looks back at what we have been seeing and hearing. We give us our take on the coolest gear that was introduced at MusikMesse in our gear categories. We didn’t know what to expect in these crisis years, but making music is of all times, and we were met with quite some cool surprises! It looks like smartphones and tablets are already beyond the hype and are integrated in so many equipment, like from M-Audio, Arturia, Behringer, etc. But there’s always room for more news.
MiniMapper: A PPG In The Palm Of Your Hand
Now you can have music beating out of your hand with this new app from Wolfgang Palm, the originator of wavetable synthesis and founder/owner of PPG. PPG MiniMapper is an easy to use performance synthesizer with a wide range of sounds for iOS devices including iPhone and iPod Touch*.
New Producertech Course: Maschine – The Complete Guide
Producertech are proud to announce the release of a new course on Native Instrument’s Maschine, which takes you through every aspect of the powerful groove production studio. The Complete Guide is a 5-hour series of tutorials, which explores all of the main stages of making music with Maschine, covering numerous production techniques in various different styles of music along the way. The lessons are delivered via streamed movies, with accompanying written notes, Maschine projects and additional Loopmasters samples.
Version 1.1 update for iMini app from Arturia available
Arturia have announced that an 1.1. update for the Moog emulation iMini app is avaialble now. This new version adds Audiobus support, background audio, MIDI enhancements as well as bug fixes. Visit the iMini web pages to learn more about those improvements.