Namm 2012 and it is amazing how many small items sound so huge. Korg have a couple of updated items with so much more but they have become very small – The Korg Kaossilator 2 which is a palm-size phrase synthesizer and the Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2 a great little effects processor. I think this You Tube Clip says it all. Have a blast with these:-
Aug
31
Here is something a little bit different that can capture the sounds of India and I am sure will bring out the Hippy in you (Love and Peace Man). It is the new stomp box pedal from Electro-Harmonix called the Ravish Sitar Pedal and it should be available in the next few weeks. With this pedal you can transform your guitar into the harmonic and dynamic flexibility of a sitar.
Electro-Harmonix state that they have streamlined the essence of the sitar into a compact enclosure that offers a polyphonic lead voice and tunable sympathetic string drones that dynamically react to your playing. You can also create your own custom scales for the sympathetic strings while you set the decay time for the lead voice. There are two expression pedal inputs which allow you to bend the pitch of the lead voice and control the volume of the sympathetic strings simultaneously. These unique controls offer the player the ability to program the Ravish to become a totally unique and organic instrument unto itself. The Ravish is a truly new design with the flexibility to be a crossover tonal wonder.
Aug
28
7 KNOBS ARE BETTER THAN ONE
Here is something that I would like to try. Those clever guys at Waves have come up with something simple and brilliant – The Waves OneKnob Native Plug-in Bundle. It has been designed for anyone who wants to get better-sounding tracks fast and has seven individual plug-ins for seven particular effects – controlled by a single knob. The idea is to provide a quick facility that will focus on one type of sound enhancement, and do it really well. The great thing is that the processors used behind the OneKnob are the same high-quality processors that are used in creating many hit records.
We are all impatient today and we just want results, we don’t necessarily want to learn at that very moment how for example a Reverb works, we just want to ‘get there’ and remain focused on the music rather than the process of mixing. These OneKnob plug-ins are apparently perfect for that. I wish I had a set built into my DAW. Here is a quick look at what each can do:-
Mar
6
INTRODUCTION
Well here is a Blast from the Past. I am writing this review because despite the fact that I have written to Roland and Boss on the matter of upgrading this machine, 6 years have passed and this is still their top drum machine – why is that? Whilst I know I like hardware drum machines, a great many people prefer to use software but this machine was aimed at a slightly different market – the guitarist. The Roland Boss DR-880 is much more than a drum machine; it is also also partly a bass guitar synthesizer and partly guitarist effects package with built-in COSM Drive/Amp models and effects such as chorus, delay, reverb, wah, crunch, and others. Add to this a direct input connection for a guitar, a built-in chromatic tuner and a Composition function for drum and bass sounds, guitar players just love this and you can’t blame them. You don’t have to be a guitarist to make use of this unit as it can be used by any musician wanting a drum and bass guitar backing. It is really an excellent tool to jam along with providing you with both rhythmic and melodic ideas for song creation.
Jan
23
I am a great fan of both Imogen Heap and TC Helicon Vocal hardware so it was good to see Imogen and the VoiceLive 2 being used on stage. Imogen really knows how to get the best out of today’s technology and makes a great effort to discover a wide range of products to create herindividual sound. Her child-like approach to touch and play with everything around her musical life has trained her to be a master of today’s musical inovations. The vocal complexities that she achieves both live and in the studio need the type of products that TC are producing today. I have thought that there has been a wide gap in the market for a number of years for vocal hardware. There are too many pedals in the world for the guitarist and nowhere near enough for the vocal performer. I hope TC continue to produce these products.
Have a look at Imogen:-
Nov
30
TC VOICELIVE TOUCH
INTRODUCTION
I am very familiar with the quality of products from the TC Group especially TC Helicon and their ever-growing vocal range. It is great to see a company bringing the possibilities of vocal sounds of hit songs of today to the home studio musician or live performer.
Aug
22
INTRODUCTION TO THE KORG KAOSS PAD KP3 MULTI–EFFECTS
Korg describe the Kaoss Pad KP3 as ” More than a processor, the KP3 is a complete instrument allowing you to manage, recall, and play back samples; sample on the fly; and add dynamic processing to any audio signal or to the samples themselves”. It has the X-Y touch pad to control multi -effect parameters in real time and it has been around since October 2006 and is still being widely used by musicians, producers and DJ’s. It is Korg’s third version of it’s Kaoss Pad and I wonder as this is nearly four years old now, will there ever be a KP4? The KP3 was upgraded to Version 2 on 9th July 2009. This Kaoss Pad is not just a great hands-on effects module it is also quite a remarkable Midi controller.
If you are considering buying a KP3 and want the best price possible, please click here :- Absolutemusic
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