Latest News & Articles
Crosley Radio announces battery-powered USB turntable
Crosley Radio, the premier vintage electronics manufacturer, has taken the turntable out of the box with its new USB portable, battery-powered, two-speed turntable – the Crosley Revolution.
Little visit to the Rob Papen Studio
One of our team members, Marc, had a little visit at the studio of Rob Papen where he does his magic with the instruments and effects he developes. A short visit turned into a long stay as they discussed past and future products. Most interesting of all were of course the future ones. A known fact is that Rob is working on a drum instrument called Punch. Rob showed Marc the early lay out without the final GUI. As Marc is a beta tester voor many of the Rob Papen instruments and having experience in sound design himself, he got an invite from Rob to create sounds for this drum VSTi.
Red Bull launched BPM DJ apps
This past week Red Bull had a luanch party in Amsterdam for the BPM app for DJ’s. Turn your mobile phone into a complete DJ set-up and hit the road with the new Red Bull BPM range of apps for your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Whether you’re a pro DJ mixing at a club or mixing music in your bedroom, the range of Red Bull BPM Player apps can put a complete mobile DJ booth in your pocket. Quick to install and easy to understand, the apps are compatible with a wide range of sound formats. You can use it on it’s own and even in harmony with your traditional vinyl decks or CD-player. Just add an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.
Difficult to remember how we ever took four years to make a record – ROGER O’DONNELL
Since we (Gearjunkies) entered the world of the social media communities, we got the opportunity to connect with lots of cool people and even fellow ‘gear enthusiasts’ like ourselves. One of those people is Roger O’Donnel. He is an artist, producer, musician from the UK with which I had the pleasure to have a conversation with. I asked him about his methods, his projects and of course his gear. With his experience in the industry he had to perfect view on how the ‘way-of-working’ has changed over the years: “… difficult to remember how we ever took four years to make a record…“
Sampler Album from Trent Reznor – The Social Network
Trent Reznor, together with Atticus Ross, are responsible for the score of the coming motion picture The Social Network (october 1st). This is the much anticipated movie about the story of Mark Zuckenberg, the (co-) founder of facebook. As mentioned Trent and Atticus have written the score for this movie. The original sound track is available for pre-order but the good news is that Trent has released a FREE five track sampler EP. Download your sampler and pre-order at Reznor’s Null Corporation site. You can also stream the FREE sampler EP at Soundcloud.
Something for the Weekend: Bond, One and Alicia Keys
It is the Weekend again, so again some time to show you a few fun videos. It is just some videos I came across this week that I thought it owuld be cool to share with you. First off it is the Eigenharp. An instrument Eigenlabs introduced to us last year. In the video below Marc and Dave play the theme from James Bond on two Eigenharps. Well just take a look and see for yourself that it is pretty cool!
New Sounds and Samples on Sample Saturday
These are the 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.
Denon DN-X1600 now TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO certified
Denon DJ, a leading manufacturer of premium-grade DJ equipment, announces that its popular DN-X1600 Digital DJ Mixer has received Native Instruments TRAKTOR® SCRATCH PRO certification. “TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO”-certified products are premium-quality mixers with integrated audio interfaces (sound cards) that meet the highest standards for professional sound quality and seamless integration within a TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO setup. The certification will ensure that the DN-X1600 will work in perfect harmony with TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO.
Introduction to Machine – A Unique Compilation Album
Machine is a unique compilation album and collaborative effort, produced by the Elektron-Users community. Machine – a single word and concept that has guided the imagination of electronic musicians for decades: one word that has captured the attention of electronic music makers, from the early pioneers to the electronic luminaries of today. As relevant as ever, we have chosen this concept to provide a starting point for the Machine compilation album. The compilation seeks to investigate various aspects of this term, and bring some new interpretations to the table.
Allen & Heath Xone:DB4 – No it is not a car!
Here is a rumour (well kinda) that we can bring you! Because … it comes from Allen & Heath themselves. On their website they have started teasing us with the Xone:DB4. No picture, no details, just the name. We have to wait two weeks untill the DB4 will be released.
Suckers they be saying they can take out Adam Horovitz!
The Beastie Boys could probably lay claim to a few very prestigious titles. They are one of the longest surviving acts in Hip Hop, one of the best selling, one of the most respected, and one of the most experimental. During the last 3 decades they have gone from Hardcore Punk to Rap and just about everywhere else in the genre catalog, spawning hit after hit in the process.
Steinberg Wavelab 7 has arrived
Steinberg is proud to announce the release of WaveLab’s latest incarnation, WaveLab 7. Adding new facilities to its previous versions for Windows, the seventh version now also sets a benchmark for audio editing and mastering under Mac OS X.
Xylo – Xylophone and Bass Marimba add-on for Pianoteq
MODARTT releases Pianoteq add-on Xylo which includes a Xylophone and a Bass Marimba. Simultaneously, MODARTT announces two new add-ons collections: Chromatic Percussions (Vibes, Celeste, Xylo) and Rock collection (Electric Pianos, Clavinet, Rock Piano).
Avid Mbox 3 Family – Video Overview
Meet the next-generation Pro Tools Mbox family, the highest quality, most flexible personal recording systems ever. Designed by the same engineering team behind our top-of-the-line Pro Tools|HD systems, the Mbox interface features advanced recording technology for exceptional quality. A premium analog signal path and high-performance converters deliver pristine 24-bit, 96kHz sound. Stringent testing standards ensure rock-solid performance in the most demanding environments. And of course, Mbox is designed for ultra-tight integration with the included Pro Tools LE® software, which is based on the same platform trusted by professional musicians, engineers, and producers around the world.
FREE Soundpack for the Korg SV-1 available
Korg has released the SV-1 Sound Pack 2 for its acclaimed Stage Vintage (SV-1) Piano. The Sound Pack features a wide assortment of sounds, including many that were inspired by user feedback. Some of these requested sounds include darker tine pianos, an acoustic piano with more sustain and a wider variety of organ sounds. Of special note, for the first time there are split sounds, including left hand basses (a surprise hidden in the ROM, until now). This free, downloadable* Sound Pack is available at www.korg.com/sv1.