For greater enjoyment, I connected a CD player to the "External In" jack to play along to, but I quickly changed this to my USB Memory Stick and played along to my favourite mp3s and Wav Files and at the same time had the freedom to walk around the house - awesome fun. All I had to do was hold down the Audio Player Button and the display showed me the first three characters of the filename of the audio file. As I continued to hold down the Audio Player button, I could then press the plus or minus buttons to scroll through my songs. If I was a Solo artist, this could be very useful for creating backing tracks on a PC/Laptop and having a whole set on a USB Stick to play over and Sing along with. If you need a Count-In at the beginning of a performance, you just need to press the Modulation bar whilst pressing the Preview button and you will get a two-measure count-in sounded.

Whilst I played some of the preset patches, I found the need for more Reverb or Resonance on some of the sounds, so I started to look at how and by what I could adjust the sound. The Lucina is set up to change Portamento (Off or On), Portamento Time, Volume, Reverb, Release Time, Attack Time, Cutoff and Resonance. To put more Reverb or Resonance on my current sound, I simply held down the Shift Key and pressed the Tone button. The three character display then showed me the selection - e.g. CUt = Cutoff,  rEr = Reverb and rES = Resonance etc.

Looking at the other connections on this keyboard, it has the standard L and R output quarter inch jacks. The headphone socket is the smaller eighth of an inch stereo jack. There is a MIDI Out connector, so for example you could link up to another sound module for additional sounds but you would need something very small to keep it all portable. And, there is a foot pedal jack for Roland's DP - Series pedals or expression pedal and a V-Link which allows music and images to be performed together.

To assist you with getting used to the Lucina's controls, Roland provide a tutorial DVD and a quick guide, along with a handy panel sticker that helps you become quickly familiar with its various functions. I played the DVD and found it to be great at demonstrating the sounds but felt that it could have been a little bit more than just a "Getting Started" DVD. The Manual however is very good. One useful accessory you can buy for the Lucina is its Soft-shell, backpack-style carrying case, which has been specially designed for 37-key instruments such as Roland's GAIA SH-01 and the Lucina AX-09.

Finally, I decided to try the Lucina out in the dark. The blue lights it emitted looked superb. I just wish Roland would have put more lights on it for stage use, but I suppose it would reduce the battery life.

If you think you are going to be stuck with what to buy the whole family at Christmas, then the Lucina is a great buy and fun for all the family of all ages. If on the other hand this fact puts you off the Lucina, then don't be, because this is a very serious instrument giving keyboard players the freedom that every good Keytar should at a very reasonable price. Although Kids will love it, it is not a kids toy and the sounds and effects are every bit Roland.

I have enjoyed my brief time with Lucina, she has behaved very well, been great fun, did everything I asked of her and been and ideal companion for those lonely nights when playing "Air" Guitar in my front room just wasn't doing it for me. You know you are going to love her so buy one today.

For more information and / or a great deal, please visit :- Absolutemusic

Pictures Of People from Black Lab on Vimeo.

I am really pleased that Paul Durham from my favourite band BLACK LAB has included a picture of me in their latest video of their song PICTURES OF PEOPLE.

BLACK LAB are a great rock band from Berkeley in California that have been around for a for a few years now. Their music has a gritty hard edge to it but is also complemented by some really great melodies. Their is a lot of light and shade to it and Paul's vocal has that great American sound. He has a vocal resonance that no matter what he sings, you know it will sound good. Their great songs have also meant they have been picked for film soundtracks - SPIDERMAN, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, VARSITY BLUES, PERMANANT MIDNIGHT , BLADE TRINITY, THE SHIELD, TRANSFORMERS.THE BENCHWARMERS, THE COVENANT, LOVEWRECKED and WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU.

If you haven't heard of BLACK LAB before go out and buy their debut album - YOUR BODY ABOVE ME - I guarantee you will love every track on it.

Paul is real down to earth guy. To give you an idea of the type of person he is, this is an extract from his e-mail this week:-

"I think each of us, over and over, has to answer some version of the question, "am I doing the thing I am best at?  am I doing the right thing with my life?  am I doing what I came here to do?"  maybe we ask it consciously and maybe we ask it unconsciously, maybe we make lists or maybe we shy away from even thinking about it. but whether it's being a good parent, a provider, an artist, a caretaker, a student, a hard worker -- whatever -- I think we ask this question and search for the answer.

One of the reasons I appreciate the community that has formed around black lab is that it helps answer this question for me, again and again, each time it arises. working on the 'pictures of people' video has been a very powerful experience, seeing people's faces over and over, feeling gratitude that so many of you would be generous in sending in your pictures, and just getting this visceral sense of who the community is.

So, thanks again everyone love  Paul"

You can view all of Black Lab's albums etc at their website - http://blacklabworld.com/

I also love the controls on the Fantom. Apart from the normal pitch bend / modulation, it has 8 sliders, one of which can be used to quickly go through all the patch list of sounds which are all sensibly organized into categories – I use this all of the time. There are also 4 control knobs and 2 assignable switches and Roland’s D-Beam – all great fun for live tweaking. There are also 16 Pads that you cannot stop yourself from playing and can be used for a variety of tasks from playing drums or rhythms, MIDI set ups, triggering samples and phrases to inputting numerical data. I was a little disappointed with the feel of these pads at first as they felt quite hard and I felt that the Fantom X’s pads were better but I have got used to their feel now. They are velocity and aftertouch sensitive and are large enough and spaced for accuracy. There are also two expansion board slots for Roland’s new superNATURAL technology in the form of ARX boards. Roland has released 3 boards to date DRUMS, PIANO and BRASS. I am currently waiting to see what they bring out next. I still feel I am only touching the surface of this beast of a Synth Workstation both with this review and my own use. I have not mentioned its great effects, mastering, sampling, connectivity, arpeggiators, drums sounds, rhythm pattern sets and of course it is Roland. I have bought many Roland products and the main thing I can say is “Reliability” – go on go out and buy one.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

The Korg KP3 is loaded with cutting-edge creative effects ranging from Decimators, Real Time Sample Stretching, Compressors and Pitch - Shifting. It gives you capabilities to mangle sounds anyway you can imagine.The KP3 even has the Radius Synth killer effects like Multi mode filter, Vocoder and Drum and Bass and Lead Synth Sounds. The 128 Programs are divided into the following  Program Categories: 16 Filters, 2 EQs, 12 Modulators, 2 Compressors , 25 LFOs , 16 Delays, 6 Reverbs, 5 Grain Shifters,  13 Loopers, 7 Sample Effects, 4 Sample Bank Crossfades, 6 Drums, 10 Synthesizers and 4 Vocoders. I love the Decimator. It is really a Bit Crusher which seems to really get hold of your audio and smash it into Lo-Fi. I also found that they have improved the filters from what I remember of the KP2. Apparently it has been expanded to offer up to 72db cut-off which is "Wow". Add some of the Kaoss resonance and you are in Filter Dreamland. The EQ is also worth a mention. Korg have cleverly placed this around the Control Pad. I found that after a couple of days of use, I was very familiar with how they had placed this which enabled me to control the Kaoss more effectively.

I found the layout of KP3 to be very simple and user friendly. There are 3 main knobs which let you instantly adjust Input Volume, effect depth (which is similar to dry-wet setting),  and BPM. The BPM is adjusted by pressing the knob and turning it, alternatively you can adjust it by tapping. The KP3 has fast accurate BPM detection and automatically syncs the delay and LFO effects to the incoming signal's tempo.  The hold button lets you freeze your position on the pad when you find that precious sweet spot. You can also use the hold function to tap on the pad modulating the effect to your own rhythm. The Mute button cuts the input signal momentarily as you hold it down but the effected signal continues to play. I tried to create that Transformer technique that you hear DJ's do. You have to get a continuous sound going and then quickly tap the mute button to create your rhythmic effects. I think as a drummer I did quite well and was proud of the results. The FX release lever assists you with making the transition smoothly from a very hard sounding effect (like Distortion) back to the original unaffected signal. Above the X-Y pad at the top you have the Input Select Switch for MIC or LINE and the Peak indicator which lights Green then Orange and finally Red where you need to adjust the Input Volume. I enjoyed the Pad motion button. This let me record my own finger movements and then play them forward or backward- great fun. There are 8 function buttons above the X-Y Pad and you can use these to store and recall your eight favourite effects. At the bottom are four Sample buttons. Each of these can hold a one-shot or a looped sample and they are colour coded - Green for a loop and Red for a one-shot. These samples measured in beats rather than seconds, can be sped up or slowed down in real time just by adjusting the tempo. 

I had a go at Sampling from this month's Computer Music DVD. I found the Sampling on the KP3 to be easy, and very powerful. Basically all you have to do is hit the Sample button and then the Pad you want to sample into. To re-sample you just hold down the Shift button first. Korg state that "All samples are recorded using high resolution 24-bit converters, and are stored in16-bit/48 kHz format. Samples can be saved on a Secure Digital (SD) card or transferred to computer via USB. With both mic and line inputs, the KP3 allows you to sample from a wide variety of sources".

The KP3 has a reasonable amount of connections on the front and back to connect up in your studio or live setup. I have already mentioned the RCA inputs and outputs but in addition to these on the back there is a Direct / Send switch so you can use it in an effects loop. There are also Midi In and Outputs plus a USB connection. The USB port is great for sending Samples To and From the KP3. On the front are Mic and Headphone connections with a Volume and Trim control and an SD card slot to save up to 2 MB of samples. You can also import 8, 16, and 24-bit mono or stereo WAV or AIFF files at 44.1 or 48 kHz; the KP3 converts the file to 48 kHz and truncates the length to 16 beats. Samples can be saved to and loaded from the SD card as well, although they must be named with 2-digit numbers, not text.You can also use the included Editor Software to manage your Samples, Reorder effects Programs and Setup external Control. I installed the KP3 MIDI driver and editor-librarian on my Windows XP. I had no trouble transferring my samples from and to the PC.

As a MIDI Controller you can transmit MIDI messages from the X-Y Pad, the Slider, the effects knobs and the whole sample and function buttons. You can even setup the Pad to control 8 faders at once in your DAW and have visual feedback to show when your levels are set. If you then setup the Sample buttons for Rewind, Play, Stop and fast forward, you have the perfect control surface. In addition to sensing fingertip position, the pad also detects taps, which you can assign to MIDI events such as Note On commands. It doesn't, however, detect Velocity or Pressure. I can also see some people using the X-Y control pad to control Filters and resonance on their Soft Synths.

The Korg KP3 Kaoss Pad is great fun, delivers great results and is really easy to use. It is awesome at beat sync and matching of effects and samples. I really enjoyed playing with the Pad Motion facility  and putting a Mic through it.  You can always have more and more facilities but these always come with increased cost. What you have here is a cost-effective sound mangling effects processor, sampler and midi controller  for you to add some Kaoss to your music - very useful indeed.

Go on Buy yourself one today -

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

When I receive a new product, the first thing I like to do is play with it without reading the manual. This is partly because I cannot wait but more importantly I want to test how use-friendly the item is. I am pleased to say that the Kaossilator was ready to go the minute I put in the four batteries and plugged in my favourite headphones. You switch her on and start to run your fingers across her touch-sensitive surface or tap away rhythmically and an assortment of cutting - edge sounds phases, flanges or auto-pans across your disbelieving ears. Why do you disbelieve? Well for a start its coming from something that is only approximately 5 x 4 inches in size.

As I played away previewing the brilliant presets I quickly became aware that I would not be able to play notes in the same way as I do on a keyboard. I was amazed by the way you could bend, slide, have portamento and additional sounds and effects come into play by a simple move of one finger across the surface. Movement along the horizontal axis changes the note or pitch, while the vertical axis brings in the fun elements such as cutoff, modulation and feedback. The 100 presets had a great variety of sounds, some of them with very delicate subtleties and nuances that added just that right amount of interest to have you wanting more. Squelchy acid sounds, trance plucks, vocal loops, reverbed piano and drums that on the fly you could build from a single bass drum to a bass drum and hi-hat through to a complete kit, again with simple moves of a finger. There are 20 lead sounds, 20 bass sounds, 20 sound effects, 10 drum sounds, 10 drum patterns, 10 chords and 10 acoustic sounds.

There are not too many controls on this mini Kaossilator for you to learn. The layout is a small 3 character LCD, a large PROGRAM/VALUE knob, a TAP/BPM button, a LOOP REC/PLAY, a SCALE  button and the TOUCH-PAD. There are also two indicators for LOOP STATUS and GATE ARP. Around the sides you have the volume control which solely controls headphone volume, a HEADPHONES jack socket, a GATE/ARP button, the ON/STANDBY switch, a DC jack and the LINE OUT jacks.

I really like the GATE ARP button. It lets you produce specific patterns of notes in sync with the user specified tempo. When you press this the GATE ARP indicator lights and as you play, the Kaossilator will "gate" the sound using the currently selected gate arpeggiator pattern. However, if you press and hold the GATE ARP button it will show you the pattern number. You can then select from any of the 50 patterns G.00 to G.49. I found that some Arps suited some sounds better than others but generally they were all good.

Changing the tempo (BPM) is relatively easy although I did find that the user-friendliness of this operation was not as I expected. I found that reading the manual in this case did the trick which says "Press the Tap button and the current BPM will be displayed. Turn the  PROGRAM / VALUE knob value while the BPM button is displayed to change the BPM setting. As I am reading this back to myself,  I am thinking that this all seems very logical however, when you first try to change the tempo, you feel that you should be holding the TAP button whilst turning the PROGRAM / VALUE knob.

Another little handy extra is the scale button. I think this is useful to the musician and non-musician. It strange again to think that a small movement of one finger can produce for example the "Gypsy" scale. Musicians spend ages practicing scales and here you can go up and down at lightening speed with a whole range of scales. There are 31 in all covering chromatic, diminished, major and minor blues and the pentatonic scale and also some unusual scales like Spanish, Ryukyu, and Raga. When you turn the power off it reverts to the default - Ionian. Also if you hold down the Scale button and press the TAP button it will display the current key which you can change by using the PROGRAM/VALUE knob.

OK so that's the basics, now for the interesting stuff - Recording Phrases. The Kaossilator is designed to record and playback loop style phrases and patterns that you play using the touch-pad. For this operation (being right-handed) I found it best to turn the Kaossilator upside down because you need to press and hold the LOOP REC/PLAY button and play the touch pad. I really want to play the touch pad with my right hand but the LOOP REC/PLAY button is located on the right. It is a shame this button was not located on the left side of the unit, next to the POWER ON / STANDBY Switch. Anyway recording upside down worked OK for me. When you release the LOOP REC/PLAY button, playback continues but the recording will stop. You can also delete elements of recorded phrases. I found this a little bit tricky and thought that it would be something I would get better at in time. I found this operation to be good and bad - I found by deleting, I would not end up with what I had planned but I could end up with something better.

Once you have recorded your awesome phrase, you can either play along with it or record another layer over the top and build up your loop with a variety of sounds, delete elements and also set the length of each phrase. This is where the real fun is and it is surprising what people achieve. I saw a You Tube clip of a girl who with no musical knowledge, recorded complex loops with her toes. I think this was trying to advertise how easy the Kaossilator is to use. As well as Overdubbing (layering) your recorded sounds and deleting elements you can also set the length of each phrase.

The Kaossilator is a cute small item and as such has been packaged this way. I was a little disappointed to start with to find that the AC Adaptor 4.5v was an optional extra; however the unit worked well and was more portable with batteries which last up to 5 hours. I enjoyed the fact that I  could make music anywhere. From a marketing point of view, Korg can tap into a larger than normal audience because although in my opinion the optional colours PINK or YELLOW do not give it a professional look, the sound it produces have professional uses to both the musician and the DJ. On top of this it opens up to a whole new audience of non-musicians. I think this product is a great alternative for children from the usual games machines that they buy because it does a great job of bringing the world of musical creativity to anyone.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

or from AMAZON.CO.UK

Come on what are you waiting for ?

Tracks are only 79 pence or 99 Cents each.   -    Treat yourself to some great music

Brass to me is one of those strange sounds that whilst it is not particularly modern and has certainly been around awhile, it can still be used in todays sounds in any genre of music. It can be used to create fun, punch, haunting, rhythmic and sexy sounds in a variety of ways. In order for you to use these sounds correctly in your songs you need something to give you all the nuances and tweakability as if you had a whole brass section at your disposal. With the ARX-03 board, I believe Roland have attempted to do this.

Installing the board seemed very straightforward and the instructions were very clear. I removed the screws and the metal plate to expose the area where two expansion boards could be fitted. The width of this area seemed only just big enough to hold the board without touching the important parts and then try to clip it in. Personally I feel that this area should have been 1 inch wider for ease of installation, but no doubt Roland had their reasons for the size.

Obviously you do not want to unnecessarily expose too much of  the inside of the Fantom either. I think I am very much of the same opinion as all the other Fantom G owners. Having a great keyboard with a great amount of unused space inside seems a real shame when you can only install 2 expansion boards. Roland only have 3 expansion boards at present but we are hoping more will be made very shortly.  As I now only have one slot left I will need to consider my next purchase very wisely.

OK with the board installed away I go. The expressivenees of the sounds and the warmth is fantastic. I love the idea of  being able to decide whether of not you want a "DOIT" on your sound or not. Each of the 50 patches  gives you four choices  - Normal  / Staccato / Fall / Doit,  so it feels like you have 200 patches not 50. With the "DOIT" patches I have on my synths they either are or they are not, but with this board I can put it on any patch I create.

You can also add breath  at the beginning of a tone. This is done with the pitch bend left side, ranging from pure breath at the utmost left position and then blending into very smooth brass tone to pure brass in the center position. The right side of pitch bend works as it would normally. You can also configure the Fantom's controllers ( S1 / S2, D Beam and Pitchbend) for these different expressions.

Many users of the ARX-03 have criticized Roland's ability to create good preset patches. Their defence seems to be that they have made them this way to demonstrate all the potential of the board. I am not convinced by this and feel that they have the resources to do a much better job than they have.Whilst this board is a great deal of fun as well as being very expressive, the presets could have been a bit more usable immediately rather than give you just a basic patch for you to work on.  There was nothing here that really hit you or growled like a Lion, but the fact that you can customise evey instrument with effects, growl and noise etc means I have got some work to do. I will probably do this when I am recording a song into my DAW. If I want something brass in a particular way to suit the song I am recording then I now have the tools to create it.

The basic structure of the ARX-03 is explained in the manual as:- The “player” is the smallest unit of sound on the ARX-03 Brass. For each player, you can select an instrument of eight types, such as trumpet, trombone, or sax. The ARX-03 Brass can simultaneously use up to six players. Settings for six players, MFX (multi-effect) settings, and reverb settings can be collectively saved as a ”patch.” The ARX-03 Brass contains fifty such patches.

This is a great feature of this board because you can play a section performance consisting of up to six players. The ARX-03 will automatically assign the notes among the six players according to your playing on the keyboard, allowing you to play the brass section by yourself. When playing a section you can choose one of the two following performance modes:-  Unison mode  or  Stack mode. This is fun having a different instrument in each finger, now I can trully get some whole Brass band sounds in my chords.

Something I did not expect was "Feeling" settings. Here you can adjust the tone by making settings that control aspects of the performer’s personality, such as the accuracy of the performance (Stability) and the prominence of their playing (Personality). If you set the Stability to "0" then the initial pitch at the beginning of each note will be unstable. There will also be a greater spread between the timing of each player’snotes. With the maximum value, the pitch at the beginning of each note and the timing of the notes will both be accurate. If you set Personality to "0" then the volume and timing will be according to your keyboard playing. With the maximum value, the volume will be somewhat louder than your keyboard playing. Additionally, the end of the note will be somewhat later, causing that instrument to be more prominent in the ensemble. "Personality" emphasizes that "player" just slightly more then the other players.

According to Roland, "Personality" was actually going to be labeled "Ego" on the original release of the board. However, "ego" does not translate well  between different languages, so they changed that to "personality". With Breath settings, Grown sensitivity, Turbidity and breath noise as well detailed EQ and effects there is a lot to adjust here to get your desired brass sound. Here is a list of its specifications:-

*   Maximum Polyphony - 14 voices (varies according to the sound generator load)
*   Parts - 1 part
*   User Memory - Patch: 50 (including pre-loaded data) (CC#0 = 66, CC#32 = 0, PC = 1–50)
*   Effects - EQ: 6 systems (1 system par instrument) MASTER EQ:1 system
*   Multi-Effects(MFX):1 system, 15 types - STEREO EQ, ENHANCER, AUTO WAH, HEXA-CHORUS, COMPRESSOR,            LIMITER, LOFI COMPRESS, TELEPHONE, PHONOGRAPH, TAPE ECHO, GATED REVERB, STEREO DELAY, MODULATION DELAY, TRIPLE TAP DELAY, REVERSE DELAY
*   Reverb: 1 system, 8 types -  ROOM, HALL, PLATE, STUDIO, CHURCH, SRV ROOM, SRV HALL, SRV PLATE
*   Customize Functions - Stability, Personality, Growl, Tubid, Noise, Control Assign
*   Miscellaneous - 6-channel Mixer Screen
*   Accessories - Owner’s manual, Screwdriver

If you want a great deal - the best price around - visit :- Absolutemusic

Another little nice one from Roland - The GAIA SH-01. Good decision on Colour. I don't wish to sound like a girl, but it is amazing how many times you see Artists who have products made specially in white. Why ? - because they look so good on stage. Access did it with their "Limited Edition" Virus. If people like the"White" look, why is it that manufacturers do not get this fact from their market research?

Anyway, back to the GAIA. GAIA is a word from Greek Mythology meaning "Goddess of the Earth". Well it certainly gives that impression when you first see this white keyboard with a black panel full of colourful lights and tweakable knobs to create powerful analogue sounds easily. All the controls are laid out for you in a very logical fashion. Roland have designed this instrument vey much like it's predessors to be a fun and very inviting,
pulling you in to make your own fat sounds.

Here is it's high points:-
   
    * Huge sound with three virtual analogue engines onboard, each with a dedicated oscillator, filter, amplifier, envelope, and LFO
    * Layer up to five simultaneous effects, including distortion, flanger, delay, reverb, low boost, and more
    * 64-voice polyphony for massive sounds without note drop out
    * Fun, hands-on control panel
    * Lightweight - only 4.2 kgs (9lbs 5oz), compact body with 37 full-size keys - velocity sensitive
    * Runs on AC or battery power for about 5 hours for portable convenience
    * D Beam, arpeggiator with 64 preset patterns, and Phrase Recorder onboard
    * USB ports for saving user patches to USB flash drives, and for audio/MIDI connection to computers
    * Great Price

Pads sound like a Jupiter 8, bass sounds are very powerful and there are some very intersting arpeggiators. Gritty acid sounds. It has amazing filters too and nine envelope generators. Once you get your teeth into it's triple-stacked virtual analogue engine of three complete synths you will be creating incredible thick, poweful sounds. The EXT input lets you connect external audio sources such as an MP3-player to play along with your favorite
songs or backing tracks.Alternatively you can even manipulate the incoming audio with three Center Cancel modes, which let you eliminate pre-recorded vocals, guitars, or bass.

The effects chain can be stacked with up to 5 effects being used simultaneously, the effects include reverb, distortion, fuzz, bit crash, flanger, phaser, pitch shifter, low boost, and delay with panning and tempo sync, whilst dedicated control knobs are provided for tweaking the effects in real time.

This is a great little synth for about $650 / £490

Full Specifications:-
■ Keyboard 37 keys (velocity sensitive)
■ Maximum Polyphony 64 voices
 ■ Sound Generator Section - Virtual analog synthesizer sound generator (Number of part: 1), (Oscillator + Filter + Amp + Envelopes
for each section + LFO) x 3, PCM sound generator (Number of parts: 15)
■ Patch Memory Preset: 64, User: 64
■ OSC Section Oscillator waveform: SAW, SQUARE, PULSE/PWM, TRIANGLE, SINE, NOISE, SUPER SAW, Knobs/Sliders: PITCH, DETUNE, Pulse Width, Pulse Width Modulation, Envelope: Attack, Decay, Envelope Depth, Modulation: Oscillator Sync, Ring Modulation (Tone 2’s OSC 2 is applied as modulation to Tone 1’s OSC 1.)
■ FILTER Section Filter Type: LPF, HPF, BPF, PKG (-12 dB / -24 dB), BYPASS, knobs: CUTOFF, RESONANCE, KEY FOLLOW, Envelope: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release, Envelope Depth
■ AMP Section Knobs: LEVEL, Envelope: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release
■ LFO Section LFO Shape:
TRIANGLE, SINE, SAW, SQUARE, Sample&Hold, Random, Knobs/Sliders: RATE, FADE TIME, PITCH DEPTH, FILTER DEPTH, AMP DEPTH, Tempo Sync: ON/OFF
■ Effects DIST: Distortion, Fuzz, Bit Crash, FLANGER: Flanger, Phaser, Pitch Shifter, DELAY: Delay, Panning Delay (with tempo sync function), REVERB: REVERB, LOW BOOST: LOW BOOST, Knobs: CONTROL 1, LEVEL ■ Controllers Pitch Bend/Modulation lever, D BEAM Controller
■ Arpeggiator Preset pattern: 64
■ Phrase Recorder User: 8, Number of Track: 1
■ Jacks/Connectors OUTPUT jacks (L/MONO, R) (1/4 inch phone type), Headphone jack (Stereo 1/4 inch phone type), PEDAL jack (TRS phone type), MIDI Connectors (IN, OUT), USB COMPUTER (supports USB Hi-Speed Audio/MIDI), USB MEMORY (supports USB 2.0 Hi-Speed flash memory), EXT IN jack (Stereo miniature phone type), DC IN jack ■ Power Supply DC 9 V (AC Adaptor or rechargeable nickel-metal hydride AA batteries (sold separately) x 8)
■ Current Draw 600 mA, Battery life for continuous use (differs depending on the conditions of use), Rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries: Approximately 5 hours (approximately 4 hours if USB memory is connected), Zinc-carbon batteries or alkaline batteries cannot be used
■ Dimensions 689.3 (W) x 316.9 (D) x 99.5 (H) mm/27-3/16 (W) x 12-1/2 (D) x 3-15/16 (H) inches
■ Weight 4.2 kg/9 lbs 5 oz (excluding AC Adaptor)
■ Accessories Owner’s Manual, Guide Book, CD-ROM (USB DRIVER), DVD Video, AC Adaptor, Power Cord
■ Options Keyboard Stand: KS-18Z (Make sure that this instrument is mounted at a height that is no higher than 1 meter.), Pedal Switch: DP series, Expression Pedal: EV-5, USB Memory (M-UF2G)

More info and a great price at :-
Absolutemusic

It is strange but I often think why sometimes it takes so long for a product like this to come out. I am sure it has a great many uses for DJays and musicians and the technology is not new, it is the simple and logical idea of putting it all together in one package.

I hope there will be a few more videos on-line about this product soon as I want to see it in action. There is a German YouTube Clip that shows its colourful retro layout and it great looking touch screen in Colour. It has so far been desribed by Korg as:-

" the perfect musical companion for mobile entertainers, solo keyboardists, singers and amateur musicians. The revolutionary all-in-one KORG MP-10 Pro media player brings together Korg's powerful EDS sound engine, TC Helicon Voice Processor, a slew of on-board effects, a massive 120 GB hard drive, and two premium song players – each capable of playing MIDI or MP3 files.

Thousands of files (MIDI or MP3) can be stored on the internal hard drive and cataloged for instant recall. These two independent players allow DJ-style mixing and crossfading - with a motorized 60mm crossfader - offering a real non-stop music experience in any environment.

Reliable and easy to use, the MP-10 Pro's hardware interface is centered on Korg's huge color TouchView display. This intuitive design allows the MP-10 Pro to deliver a wealth of useful features that anyone can quickly understand and enjoy. A comprehensive set of connections provide the MP-10 Pro with maximum versatility.

In addition to MIDI and USB connections, there are connections for a PC keyboard that makes naming and cataloging songs very efficient. Two XLR microphone inputs assure compatibility with nearly any mic. The video outputs (S-Video and Composite) allow karaoke style lyrics, chord changes, or even full scores to be displayed on an external video monitor.

Add to that the assignable foot pedal control, headphone outputs, and Advanced Vocal Remover, and the MP-10 Pro rises to the top of its class".

The KORG MP-10 Pro includes a powerful database [iTunes compatible] to easily manage thousands of music files. Finding the right song has never been so easy, thanks to a variety of viewing options and compatible functions. I like the idea of taking all of my MP3s and MIDI files out of my computer and putting them all in one place.

The Mixer section includes access to everything needed to control the Voice Processor, the four performance Pads, the Master FX, the EQ of each track, data from a MIDI keyboard, and of course, the mixer itself. SMF Song Edit tools are also found in this section.

KORG MP-10 Pro featues include:

    * Versatile Media player
    * Intuitive design
    * Large colour touch screen
    * iTunes Compatible
    * EDS sound engine
    * TC Helicon Voice Processor
    * Onboard effects
    * 120 GB hard drive
    * Two premium song players capable of playing MIDI or MP3 files
    * DJ-Style mixing with motorized 60mm crossfader
    * Two XLR microphone inputs
    * Video outputs: S-Video and Composite

I really like the thinking behind this product. I could see this being extremely useful for lots of different reasons.
iPhone users who think they can do everything better because they have a million apps to play and tweet about while on the bus -- The rest of us can do the same, now that Korg has introduced the MP-10 Pro Professional Media Player, an all-in-one mobile music maker / music player designed to be taken on the go.

As a media player, the MP-10 Pro features two independent media song players that are able to play both MP3 and MIDI files (.mid, .mid+G, .kar, .xf, .mp3 + lyrics, .mp3+G) directly from the player's 120 GB internal hard drive. The motorized 60 mm crossfader allows for DJ-style mixing, while the Browser and Find functions let you easily save songs into playlists, sort them, and search them within a customizable database.

As a MIDI instrument, the MP-10 Pro can play MIDI files from the song players. The internal sound engine uses the same EDS (Enhanced Definition Synthesis) found in the Korg Pa500 arranger keyboard and can also be played from an external MIDI device. The front panel offers four assignable performance pads for triggering sound effects and musical phrases, and onboard effects are available for the internal players and MIDI engine.

As a vocalist, I love the fact that the MP-10 Pro has a TC Helicon vocal processor with compression, EQ, and delay. A pitch shifter for changing keys, a time stretch function for changing the tempo, and an advanced vocal remover allow MP3 files to be tweaked to your style.

The MP-10 Pro also offers a big, color TouchView display, MIDI and USB connections, two microphone inputs (XLR and ¼-inch), video outputs (S-Video and Composite), and a headphone-based cue system.

Korg intends to release the MP-10 Pro in July of 2010 at a yet-to-be determined price. I hope this is not too expensive - I feel I need to save some pennies quick. 

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Well what is there not to like about an Access Virus Ti2? For a start I did not have time to preview all of the presets - Why? - well that is because there are so many of them. There are 512 RAM patches and 26 banks of 128 ROM patches making an overwhelming total of 3840 patches. If that is not enough to keep you going on the long winter nights then you can download more free from various places (including Access themselves) or purchase from some of the many sound creators around the globe that have put packages together for modest sums.

I love this beast of a synth, it has been around a while now and is still going strong. It has an amazing spec - just look at the Sound Engine specifications:-

Sound Engine

    * Various oscillator models including Virtual Analog, Wavetable, HyperSaw, Grain- and Formant Table types.
    * A maximum of 192 parallel effects in total. Reverb and delay, chorus, phaser, frequency shifter, ring modulator, distortion, 3-band EQ and new Character processors.
    * 2 independent multi-mode filters (HP, LP, BP, BS) and the Analog Filter which was modeled after the Moog MiniMoog™ cascade filter with 6-24 dB Slope and self-oscillation.
    * 32-step user-programmable arpeggiator pattern for every patch.
    * Modulation Matrix with 6 slots each featuring 1 source and 3 destinations.
    * 3 LFOs with 68 waveforms to choose from. 2 fast ADSTR envelopes.
    * Knob quantise for creating stepped controller movements. The stepping automatically syncs to the Virus clock or an incoming MIDI clock.
    * Adaptive control smoothing for jitter-free modulations on all important parameters.
    * Multi mode with embedded patches.

The patches I did preview were just great. I sure could use some of those gritty trance sounds in my setup and you have so many controls to tweek the sound as you wish - absolutely great fun. To get an idea yourself without me struggling to explain - check out the many YouTube clips available. I am certain that most of what you will hear you will love.

There are only two things that annoy me - the first is the selection of patches. There are so many of them, this product deserves a big selection dial - like the one found on the Roland Fantom G. On my visit I only found one way to select sounds which was continually pushing a button. I hate these methods because in a few years these buttons would have worn out. I have made a quick read of the  manuals to find out if there are alternative ways of selecting sounds but I could not find anything. If you know of any other ways please let me know.

The second annoying thing as I have said before and I have stated this to Access direct is about the colour. The white look is sexy and stunning. If I was in charge of this company every product would be white. It looks so much better than the dreary black, blue and brown. I asked Access about their limited 100 White editions of the Virus desktop and this is their reply:- "I'm sorry to say but we're completely sold out with the "Whiteout edition" of the TI2 Desktop.  At this point we cannot tell whether this ever will be repeated again. Currently there are definitely no plans for this."

It is a shame I had to leave the shop and not stay there all night tinkering away, but when I got home I looked up details of the new O/S due to be released shortly as a free update for all Virus TI users. Most of the the users on the Access forum are wondering exactly when this will be released but believe it will be no later than the end of March 2010. This is what Access say about O/S 4 :-

"Six meticulously modeled overdrive stomp boxes greatly complement with the existing arsenal of distortion algorithms in the effect section. The new speaker cabinet emulation is a fantastic and easy-to-use toolkit to add further character; especially to roaring acid lead and sync sounds. You like retro style? Our new Vowel filter will be your best friend, offering a sonic pallet from Talk Box to WahWah sounds.The Comb filter puts the metallic shine on your patches known from many glitch and progressive tracks. And The new arpeggiator allows you to modulate any of the parameters available to the modulation matrix."

Well there you have it - the Access Virus may be an old synth but it now has yet another lease of life in 2010.

For more information on all Access Virus Synths and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Since Youtube began, I have noticed a large increase in the number of videos that show and explain so many things for today's up and coming musicians. Many of today's music students are using YouTube to connect with other musicians all over the world. I have used this myself on many occasions and find it to be an invaluable resource.

You can watch how other people play particular songs, you can learn tips and tricks, how to read music. You can see demonstrations of products old and new and learn how to get the best out of them. You can learn additional skills of things perhaps you have not looked at things like mixing and mastering.

This is also great for teachers too. They can teach a vast audience with this educational tool. All they need is a computer and internet access and it costs them nothing.

There is now a book on the subject released by Hal Leonard - YouTube in Music Education. This book has been designed for YouTube beginners and experts and it covers the entire topic  from how to set up a YouTube account to how to create and upload original videos. It has 10 chapters covering:-

Copyright laws, the best equipment setup to present online videos in the classroom, how to download videos for offline viewing, and a tour of YouTube's features, including subscriptions, playlists, and customizations.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.halleonard.com/.

We had the rubber pad and then the mesh head and now Yamaha have released a new playing surface on the DTX-PAD with Textured Cellular Silicone (T.C.S.) technology, which offers musicians an expressive playing experience. With no sound on,  these heads are actualy more quiet  than conventional rubber electronic drums.  The T.C.S. head uses a  process that puts small air bubbles into foamed silicone to provide playability and feel unlike any other pad. Top drummers were consulted as they wanted the feel of the drums to be more like an acoustic kit so these heads were designed to bring out every nuance and detail so that every acoustic drummer will feel right at home with these drums. The toms have a softer feel than the snare and all of them can be quickly and easily tuned by the singular knob on the drum. They are three zone drums and even have a form of suspension so they "give" a bit as you lay into them. The heads have also been coated to feel like a normal head and to be more durable.

These new drums have been designed for two new kits, the DTX900 and the DTX950.

The DTX900K is a 5 Piece drum set with a 12" Snare Pad, 3 x 10" Tom Pads and the 12" Kick Pad. For the cymbal pads the DTX900 features a 15" Cymbal Pad and 2 x 13" Cymbal Pads designed to give natural feel and sway of a cymbal all with the 3 zone function so that you can play the Bell, Ride an Bow independently, these cymbal pads can also be choked. To complete the set is the 13" hi hat Pad which is controlled using a real hi hat stand with the pad moving up and down to allow for fine control over the range of sounds, you can even play foot splashes. These pads are mounted on the sturdy and compact RS130 drum rack.

The DTX950K is a 6 Piece drum set  with a 12" Snare Pad, 2 x 10" Tom Pads and 2 x 12" Tom Pads and the 12" Kick Pad. And like the DTX900K the cymbal pads the DTX950K features a 15" Cymbal Pad and 2 x 13" Cymbal Pads along with the 13" hi hat Pad which is controlled using a real hi hat stand. These pads are mounted on the Hexrack, originally developed for Yamaha acoustic drums.

Both of these kits have an upgraded brain which  features a broad spectrum of voices taken from the world renowned MOTIF series synthesizers for a grand total of 1326 voices. It is equipped with rich and powerful DSP effects. In addition to reverb and chorus effects that can be used commonly throughout the whole system, there are variation effects that can be used on each drum kit to bring out the perfect sound which you need. It also has a  AUX IN/SAMPLING IN connector. You can connect it to an external sound source or use a microphone and sample your own voice. In addition you can load original voices from USB flash memory and assign them to different pads. What more do you need - I am going to play one of these as soon as they are in store. 

For Electronic Drum information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I can't really make up my mind about the new Korg SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano. It is advertised as "New Body - Old Soul". I have tried this keyboard out a couple of times now in my local music store. The first thing that grabs your attention is it design, shape and Colour. Keyboards should be Exciting, Dazzling, Colourful and Innovative and we do not see enough of this from the keyboard manufacturing giants. Keyboard players not only want to sound good but look good on stage they also want to compete with their guitarist. If you compare the number of guitar designs and colours used you would appreciate how few there are in the keyboard world.This keyboard comes in two models a 73 note and a 88 note. I really like the 73 note for its weight and portability and that it is red, it had curves with a great layout angled back and upright in front of you.

The controls are all in front of you. You don't have any menus or displays the entire front panel is always live with clearly marked knobs to create the sound you want. If  you are not happy with the sound you have made and want to change your mind you can simply tap the knob to recall the original value. The panel is laid out from left to right as follows:- Master Volume, 3-Band EQ, Pre-FX, Amp Model, 8 Favourite buttons, Sound, Modulation FX, Reverb/Delay. I have heard a few complaints that it is easy to accidently catch the controls whilst you are playing. I tried to play hard and fast in the shop but i was unable to recreate this problem

The Korg SV-1 has only 36 sounds covering Accousic and Electric Pianos, Organs, Clavs and Strings (See specifications below).  I really liked its electro - mechanical, trasistorised and tape driven sounds and loved its retro organs, although I was not too impressed with its string sounds. The thing that bothers me is its price to amount of quality sounds ratio. This keyboard  is very expensive and does not cover all my needs. I would need either another keyboard or have to buy a Sound Module to augment the sound pallete and this would make the overall price too expensive.

Sound Engine: 
      EDS (Enhanced Definition Synthesis)       RX (Real eXperience) Technology

Polyphony: 80 notes

Sounds: 36; 6 Banks x 6 sounds
      Bank 1; Electric Piano 1:   Tine Electric Piano (x4); VPM Piano (X2)
      Bank 2; Electric Piano 2:   Reed Electric Piano (x2);   Electro-Acoustic Grand; Korg SG-1D;  80's Synth Piano; MIDI Grand
      Bank 3; Clav: Clav (x4); Plucked Reed Piano-ette; Transistor Piano
      Bank 4; Piano: Bright Japanese Grand; Smooth European Grand; Mono Grand; Upright Piano; Piano + Strings; Piano + Pad
      Bank 5; Organ: Tonewheel (x3); USA Tube Console; Italian Combo; VOX Combo
      Bank 6; Other: Real Strings; Tape Strings; String Machine; Real Choir; Synth Brass; Sharp Brass

      Effects/Processing: Five Individual Sections
      Equalizer: On/Off Switch; Bass, Mid, Treble Knobs
      Pre-FX:  On/Off Switch; Speed Knob, Intensity Knob; Compressor, Boost, U-Vibe, Vibrato, Tremolo, VoxWah (Auto/Pedal Switch)
      Amp Model: On/Off Switch; Drive Knob; Clean, California, Tweed, AC30, Mod'ed OverDrive, Organ Hi-Gain OverDrive
      Modulation FX: On/Off Switch; Speed Knob, Intensity Knob; Chorus 1, Chorus 2, Phaser 1, Phaser 2, Flanger, Rotary (Fast/Slow Switch)
      Reverb/Delay:  On/Off Switch; Depth Knob; Room, Plate, Hall, Spring, Tape Echo, Stereo Delay (Tap-Tempo Button)
      Valve Reactor Tube: 1 x 12AX7
Other Panel Controls: Master Volume Knob, Transpose Button, Local Off Button, Function Button.
      Demo Songs:  6; Press Transpose + Local Off buttons to access
Connections:
      Audio Outputs:    Left/Mono, Right (1/4" Unbalanced); Left, Right (XLR Balanced)
      Audio Inputs:      Left/Mono, Right (1/4")
MIDI: Standard In, Out; USB/MIDI port
Damper Pedal:     Damper (fixed)
Pedal 1:   Switch Type; Sostenuto or Rotary Speaker Fast/Slow functions
Pedal 2:  Sweep Type; Volume/Expression or Wah functions  Switch Type; Soft Pedal (Una Corda) function
Headphones: Stereo 1/4"
SV-1 73 Dimensions:   45.0" × 13.66" × 6.1"; Weight: 38.5 lbs (without music stand)
SV-1 88 Dimensions:  53.3" × 13.66" × 6.1"; Weight: 45.3 lbs (without music stand)
 Accessories Included:  Power cable, Quick Guide, Accessory CD,  Music stand, Damper Pedal (Korg DS-2H)

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

10) Yamaha Tenori On v2.0, a free firmware update for the Tenori On. I am not sure whether or not I like these. They certainly look a lot of fun, perhaps I will check them out in store to be fair to the product. You can get all the info from Yamaha here:- http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/entertainment/tenori_on/tnr_o/?mode=overview

Well there you have it - I hope I haven't missed anything but these are the best 10 I have looked at. Can't wait untill Summer Namm - talk about wish your life away.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I have just been onto http://www.access-music.de/page/render/lang/en/p/1/do/The_Virus_TI___Totally_Integrated_Synthesizers.html This is the home of the great Access Virus Synth. I have always wanted one of these. They are a bit expensive but have a great sound.

The good news is at the NAMM Show in a couple of days time they are going to anounce an update to the Virus TI operating system. However, they are kindly letting us have a sneak preview of the new sounds now. You can download an mp3 to hear in advance of NAMM. They state that " This is a audio preview of a future Virus TI operating system. All patches were specifically designed to illustrate new features to be announced on the NAMM show 2010. We only used single sounds and no additional effects."

I really like these sounds, some are subtle but still somehow retain that familiar Virus grittyness.

The only thing that annoys me about the Access Virus is the Colour. They do this gorgeous white look on a limited basis. To me they should make all of their products like this, they look so much more professional and great in any studio or on stage. Go on have a listen to the audio demo now - see what you think.

For more information on all Access Virus Synths and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Their website http://trashaudio.blogspot.com/2010/01/roland-tr-808-sample-pack.html  has a statement from Surachi that states :- 

"Justin graciously let me borrow his Roland TR-808 and when trying to program some patterns I noticed a few problems.
        * A) I’m clearly too stupid to work this machine – I eventually figured it out but off the bat, both the Pattern knob the Auto Fill In knob were double teaming my brain and left me staring at shifting patterns that mocked me with changing tempos.
        * B) The sequencing buttons themselves have been accumulating grime over the years which makes it difficult to activate a note. I would gladly take this thing apart and clean it but it’s not mine.
        * C) It’s outdated. While the interface is preferred for many people, I’d rather do this on a computer or something more flexible like a Machinedrum.

    Long story short, I decided to sample it and save people the hassle of finding/buying one. Oh yeah and it’s free."

I have just downloaded this - thanks very much guys.

    * 10 natural feeling velocity sensitive pads for realistic performance
    * 2 auxiliary inputs and 2 velocity-sensitive pedal inputs (1 hi-hat and 1 general) for added performance options
    * Voices can be assigned to any pad
    * Large Backlit LCD display for easy viewing and editing
    * 100 drum kits (41 preset + 59 user)
    * 100 patterns sets (50 preset + 50 user)
    * 100 user songs
    * Built in Metronome for
    * DC 9V
    * USB connectivity
    * MIDI input and output
    * Headphone jack for quiet practicing
    * AC adapter and easy to read manual
    * Audio outputs: master (left/mono and right) and phones output (stereo)
    * Aux input: TRS 1/4"
    * USB port: USB2.0 full speed
    * MIDI port: MIDI input and output (soft thru supported)
    * Drum/percussion voices: 731
    * Polyphony: 64
    * Timing resolution: 192ppqn
    * Tempo range: 20~255bpm
    * Sample/DAC: 16/24 bit
    * Power: DC 9V
    * Display: Backlit LCD and LED indicators
    * PC connection: Data download from and upload to PC software via USB

I'll reserve judgement until I have played one. If anyone has any experience of one of these, please let me know

For Electronic Drum information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I am quite taken with new Roland AX-Synth. Many Bands are using them at the moment. I even saw Hawkwind with one a couple of weeks ago. Not only do they give keyboard players that freedom to move around and compete with the Guitar player, they now have onboard Fantom G sounds so you don't need any midi connections. I can't help it - they do look good and I want one. It seem so much fun. It has  a Ribbon controller, D Beam, modulation bar, knobs, and easy-to-see display for stage use. It also has an Innovative bender mode for expressive solos, for example you could play a guitar chord and just bend the last note. The AX-Synth has many great solo sounds onboard, but if you want to customize your sounds, you can download the dedicated PC software editor / librarian application. It connects to a PC via USB Midi. It has 128 patches, 49 velocity sensitive keys, 256 Tones + 8 Special Tones (including SuperNATURAL).

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Here is a great website I have come across :- http://www.melodycatcher.com. - I have just added this to my favourites. Do you have a melody stuck in your head, you can't think what it is but you know how it goes?  The MelodyCatcher is a music search engine in which you can enter a melody or musical line via a simple keyboard-like Java applet interface. The melody is then searched in their database and the closest matches, if any, are returned. Each search result is presented with a link to the original audio file along with its source on the Internet, and a play button for instant playback. Although songs can also be searched using text, what makes the MelodyCatcher different from conventional search engines is that it is not limited to just text. The MelodyCatcher can be highly useful to those searching for songs for which little or no textual data are available, e.g., the song is an instrumental, or the user does not remember the artist, title, or any lyrics samples.

Their site shows some hints for entering the melody:-

    * The rhythm is ignored in the search engine. When you enter the melody on the keyboard, you can do that note by note.
    * You do not need to enter the full melody: the first 5-7 notes will usually be sufficient to identify a melody.
    * the key of the melody is not important; you can start with any note you choose as long as the replayed melody sounds similar to the wanted melody.

Although song titles can also be searched using text, the Melody Catcher is especially useful to make accessible the on-line MIDI world by melody input. In many cases, the system can also be of help to find and compare more or less similar MIDIs.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.melodycatcher.com/.

I have received a comment from J L van OS in the Netherlands who has added that :- "Of any played theme all notes are described as text in the field called  "Notes”.  With the commands Ctrl-C  and Ctrl-V these notes can be copied and pasted.  This text can be used for instance to mail this  theme to a friend who then can use the same commands in the Melodycatcher to listen to it".

Another great item has been released by Big Fish Audio just before Christmas if you love to produce hip-hop and R&Bmusic - G-SUITE.

Producers Terry Lindsey and Gerald Brooks have used all their expertise and put together 40 hot urban construction kits with 6GB of fantastic content.

Each kit  has a  full drum track loops and single hits. There is so much here that you can use it should keep you going for months. There are 2,376 loops to send you you spinning with tempos from 82 BPM to 124 BPM.

The format is in Apple Loops/REX/WAV/RMX/Acid all contained in  very sexy packaging. For more information, visit their web site at :- http://www.bigfishaudio.com where you will find a Free samplepack featuring one free kit of loops and samples. This pack contains WAV, REX, and Apple Loop versions of each loop or sample. Download Size: 143MB - Great stuff - I am downloading now and can't wait to hear this.

For Computer Music Software information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

For Computer Music Software information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

This caught my eye today - The new Yamaha DTX-MULTI 12 Electronic Percussion Pad.  I love products like this. This looks a little bit different in that it is split-level. It takes its sounds from the flagship Motif XS synthesizer and the DTXTREME III drum trigger module - 1,249 of them.  I want a go on this - I understand you can use sticks or hands and even your fingers.

It has 12 touch sensitive pads, you can load samples and and up to four sounds can be velocity switched or layered onto each pad  - what more do you want? Well  the unit is also equipped with a built-in sequencer, preset loops, pro-quality effects and a five-band EQ. You want more?  - how about  5 trigger inputs, plus hi-hat and foot pedal jacks for expanding the setup and finally Cubase AI 5?

It should be available in January - I want one.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

CD Baby

As a keyboard player, I hate the way chords and bass notes are expressed as the chord first slash the bass note. For example a Gm7 with a C bass is Gm7/C.

I prefer my own system whereby the bass note for my left hand is on the left and the chord in my right hand is on the right. So I would write the above example as c-Gm7. Visually and logically my brain takes these in naturally without having to cross them over. This has always worked for me but I am sure those guitarist out there would disagree, especially as most of them leave out the other notes. They will probably want the Gm7 to be their first thought and then as an after thought think about the possibility of playing the C bass - only kidding. Seriously from a keyboard point of view I have found this is far easier.

TC Electronic.com

We all seem to like different things in music and like the idea that a friend or partner likes similar bands or songs. As a musician, it is often said that we have natural abilities built in to us. My Dad used to say this to me and I disagreed on the basis that it was all hard work and determination to learn. However, over the years I have often wondered what gave me that drive and determination to learn an instrument in the first place.

A recent study seems to confirm this but also that there is something in us that makes us like certain types of music. A study carried out on 4,000 twins show that a person's genes can affect which genres of music they prefer.  The strongest influences were found in people that like hip-hop, rap, classical music and pop and it seems that about half of our musical taste is predetermined for us.

Well, there you have it - the music you like is in your Genes - you were born to love Ice Berg, Eminem, Lady Ga Ga, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas, and Beethoven.

I know it is software but it had 1,684 sounds in 24bit resolution. This electronic software library has been put together from 14 drum machines and 9 analog devises. Each of the sounds has been edited with some analog processing to get a tight punchy sound. I downloaded their free 100 waves for a listen.  They certainly have a nice Analog warmth about them, the sounds are rich and deep electronic and they have that right amount of buzz that you would feel at volume.

Drum Machines Used:-
Elektron Machine Drum, Symbolic Sound Kyma Capybara, Eventide H8000FW, Korg ER-1, E-mu SP-1200, Oberheim DMX, Emu Mo Phatt, Yamaha DX200, Roland TR909, TR808, TR707, TR606, Vermona DRM-1 MKIII, and Jomox MBase 11

 Processed through the following:-
Thermionic Culture Vulture, Anamod ATS-1, Neve 1073 Preamp, Atlas Pro Juggernaut Twin, A-Design EM-Gold, Source + Plus Tube Amp, Empirical Labs Distressor, Moog MF101, and Mutronics Mutator

Their website shows that the sounds are organized extremely well. The strange thing is only 997 copies will be made available.

Driven Machine Drums is available in two packages:

Driven Machine Drums (26 Guru Kits, 24bit Wav + 24bit Aif) $77
Driven Machine Drums Deluxe (Kontakt, EXS-24, 24bit Wav/Aif) $87<-->

For Computer Music Software information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

The answer is to have an extremely large library of drum sounds. Native Instruments Maschine provides this ( 5 GB of sounds) but this is a dumb hardware drum machine, with software running it and all of the sounds stored on your PC. If this had been a complete hardware product, I would have rushed out and bought it.

The nearest thing that seems on the horizon is the new Beat Thang by the Beatkangz . It has:-

Sampling

3.5 inch video grade color LCD

On-board rechargeable NiCad battery.

Over 3000 Blazin' Brand new sounds designed by The Beat Kangz

16 Track MIDI sequencer (sequence external instruments)

500 production ready Platinum beats and loops created by The Beat Kangz

Sleek design and styling with customizable “Paintz” and “Grillz”

Convenient, light-weight portable design with internal rechargable battery

USB In & Out 

Pitch and Mod Wheels

On Board FX including Reverb, Delay, Automated Filters and tons of Crazy "Freak FX" including "Chopped and Screwed"!!!!

On Board "Mo Bang" Mastering with EQ and Limiting

256 MB Ram standard

2 High Speed SD Card Slots (16 Gigabytes/ card)

Export Beats to a Mac or PC  (supports AIFF and WAV format)

Intuitive user interface.

Have a listen at :-  http://www.beatkangz.com/

For more information on other hardware drum machines and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

1.    ADAM SX Series Monitors

2.   AKG C 414 XLS/XL II Microphones

3.   Audient Zen Console

4.    Audio-Technica AT4080/4081 Ribbon Mics

5.    BIAS SoundSoap Pro 2

6.    Cakewalk SONAR Version 8.5

7.   Dangerous Music BAX Equalizer

8.    Elysia Museq Equalizer

9.     Genelec 8260A Monitors

  10.  Grace Design M103 Channel Strip

  11.  iZotope Alloy

12.  Mackie Onyx-i Series Consoles

13.  Manley MicMAID

14. Neumann TLM 102 Microphone

15.  Radial Workhorse 5000 

16. Solid State Logic Duality SE Console

17.  Sonnox Restore

18. SoundToys Decapitator

19.  Trident HG3 Monitors

20.   Waves Vocal Rider Plug-In

           
For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Have a look at the list of Exhibitors at :- http://www.musiclive.co.uk/exhibitor_a-z.php

My favorite music store will be there – Absolutemusic

Does anyone remember the Quasimidi Sirius?  Over 10 years ago, Future Music did an article on this great machine and questioned "Was the Sirius the definitive dance tool?" This was a keyboard that I always wanted but never actually purchased. It just sounded so much fun. I remember listening to the sounds on the CD that I was sent demonstrating it’s capabilities. I loved it’s drum sounds. It reminded me of music made with software rather than hardware. A bit like making music with Reason and Thor but having an actual keyboard in front of you.

Yes it is German and has that very 90’s German analog Synth sound. If I remember correctly Kraftwerk did a couple of the demos for this.

It even has a random sound button. I tried this in a store at the time and was very surprised what it came up with. Maybe I should buy one now second-hand on e-bay?

For the best in today's Synths - more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I had a play on the S90SX this week. This is a great keyboard; the weight of the whole thing is fantastic, given the fact that it has 88 note weighted keys. The feel of the keyboard was very good and it is impossible to find a keyboard like this anywhere. They even make a 76 note version that is even lighter. For a gigging musician, this is a godsend. I still do not understand why this has taken so long to produce. Nearly every keyboard player out on the road, wants good weighted keys a great piano sound and a vast range of synth sounds but hates the thought of lugging a great heavy keyboard around. This has them all - with the Motif as its sound engine and the addition of a huge additional 146 megabytes just for piano waveforms on top.

I had one disappointment and that is the screen size. Yamaha maintain that this is not an issue, due to the large array of controls. This was difficult to assess because I was not familiar with the controls. I am used to a large screen to easily edit splits and layers and the composition of Combis, however with this screen it showed little more than the patch name. I think this is a big error on Yamaha’s part and they should have catered for a larger audience so individuals could choose their preferred method of editing. No doubt this would have added to weight and the price which is already over the £2000 price range – rrp £2700.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

The Dorian mode is symmetric in its pattern of tones going up or down. it is made up of  a whole step, a half step, a whole step, a whole step, a whole step, a half step and a whole step. You could also say it is a Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone , Semitone, Tone.

The sound of the Dorian mode is brighter than the natural minor scale and is used quite frequently in solos.

How useful is it ? – Well it makes more sense when you have a least two chords. For example if you were going from Dm7 to G7 – the B in the G7 implies a Dorian mode, because in Dm the B would be Bb.

Try doing some solos over these chords using the Dorian mode.

These recorders are great just to pop into your pocket and take anywhere. They are ideal for songwriters especially once that carry acoustic guitars. Wherever you are as soon as an idea presents itself you can get the idea recorded – great!

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

This training course update encompasses a number of important new features in Sonar 8.5 including the Matrix View, the PX-64 Percussion Strip, Session Drummer 3, Step Sequencer 2, Audio Snap 2, and the VX-64 Vocal Strip.

Sonar 8 - Know It All! contains over 3 hours of interactive videos which cover all major aspects of audio and midi recording, editing, mixing, and mastering using the Sonar 8 Digital Audio Workstation. The Quick Start section reviews the new features in Sonar and contains an introduction to Sonar projects as well editing and mixing.

The Audio section provides in-depth coverage on recording, mixing and mastering digital audio using Sonar 8. The Loops & Remix section demonstrates the tools used for Grooves and Acidized clips, including the AudioSnap features.

There is a comprehensive section on MIDI which explains setting up Sonar to work with Virtual Instruments, Rewire, and hardware MIDI devices as well as recording and editing. The Tools & Techniques section includes tutorials on Cakewalk Drum Tools as well as Surround Sound Mixing.

Sonar 8 - Know It All! is published using Adobe Flash and is available in DVD and digital download formats for Microsoft Windows XP/Vista. The Sonar 8.5 course update is available as a free digital download from the Digital Music Doctor website and it designed to operate in conjunction with an installed version of Sonar 8 - Know It All!

Sonar 8 - Know It All! is available at the Digital Music Doctor website www.digitalmusicdoctor.com and Amazon.com as well as various online publishers and pro audio dealers. The Digital Music Doctor website also features demos of the course.

For Computer Music Software infomation and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

Sonar 8.5 Funny Video

For Computer Music Products or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

One of the main reasons why a novice sounds so bad when he attempts to play an acoustic drum kit is that he hits part of the drum kit that he doesn’t intend to such as the metal rims or he doesn’t hit the drum on the best part of the head to “make” the sound. With Roland electronic drums both of these issues can easily be eliminated.

With V drum pads it is easy to sound very professional by changing the sound of the rim to another drum completely. For example, if you have four Rock Toms, you could also have four Power Toms on the rims instead of the normal rim sound. If a novice then hits the rim by mistake, it does not sound like a mistake, it sounds like he has purposefully hit another drum with a different sound characteristic.

As the novice practices he will then soon discover the advantages of mixing the rim hits with drum hits and the tonal variation that this provides.

I find it strange that Roland themselves do not promote this idea but seem more concerned with making their electronic drums sound and feel as close as possible to their acoustic counterparts.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic