Friday, August 31, 2007

Pacemaker: Handheld DJ Instrument

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.:Pacemaker.net:.

The folks over at Digital Lifestyles have had the privledged opportunity of demo'ing what I think to be a very unique and very cool looking piece of DJ equipment. What I am talking about is none other than the Tonium Pacemaker, a palm sized DJ tool with a great interface and fantastic LCD screen.

There are not a lot of details on the device as of yet, but what I do know is that the device features a 120GB harddrive, a touch sensitive cross fader, a jog wheel and several LCD's and buttons. At first you might be wondering how this all works. Well fear not, Digital Lifestyles has had the opportunity of filming the little device in action and if the final versions look and work half as well as this prototype I can see this becoming a very cool tool. Price however appears to be rather steep at an estimated 529 Euros, or roughly $1000.

Quote:

The version we played with was the only unit in the world at the time and made of a prototyping material, but still conveyed a quality feel about it. It’s clearly a device that has been deeply thought about during its creation.




More videos and complete info can be found at Digital-Lifestyles.info

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

COSM Live at Evolve New Zealand

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.:COSM Live at Evolve New Zealand:.

This week's liveset comes from an artist that has been featured on the blog before. COSM brings another great set back this week with a performance from the Evolve festival of New Zealand.

Quote:

I've uploaded my electro/breaks set from a few weekends ago at a nightclub party called Evolve for anyone who is keen. I played in a second zone from the main zone, which was blasting trance all night and had Kyau and Albert as the headliners. The second zone was dead. Completley dead.. so I began experimenting hard.. and to my absolute joy it packed out within 5 minutes of me starting. Very bad soundsystem, but enough for punters to go hard on. I pluged my gear into the pioneer 600 line in, moved all the decks and cdjs back and jumped around like a real idiot. It was sponsored event by a mainstream radio station, so i played to quite a few characters who I have never seen in our scene before.. lots of mainstream people (who loved the boom shake the room remix) Hope ya like it. Some of you may recognise a lot from my fetish ball set.
Cheers, and remember to spread this as much as you feel like it helps me a lot.


Bea sure toe check out more of COSM's stuff at his website cosm.co.nz

Roger Linn Adrenalinn III Released

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.:Rogerlinndesign.com:.

Roger Linn as released the latest version of the uber popular beat synced effects box the Adrenalinn.

The new model keeps in step with all of the features and form of its predecessors, but adds 40 additional amp models, better percussion a new reverb and compression algorithm and more. See the complete list below.


Quote:

Like its predecessor, AdrenaLinn III provides a superb guitar modeler plus a wide variety of unique modulation and delay effects--including innovative looped filter sequences--all in synch to the built-in programmable drum machine or MIDI. The new model adds reverb, compression, tuner, enhanced modulation effects and brings the number of amp models up to 40 (including 4 bass amps) with improved tube emulation, presence and tonal accuracy. New MIDI enhancements permit control of nearly all settings from MIDI foot switches and expression pedals, and the functions of the 2 panel foot switches may now be reassigned. User presets and drumbeats are doubled to 200 each and come filled with inspiring new examples of why this unique idea-creation box has earned the praise of Eric Clapton, John Mayer and many others.


Features:
40 amp models, all enhanced for accuracy, presence and improved tube saturation
Stereo reverb
Compression
Tuner
User presets increased to 200 & filled with great new sounds. (For details, download our Preset & Drumbeat Listing.)
User drumbeats increased to 200 & filled with great new beats. (For details, download our Preset & Drumbeat Listing.)
Right foot switch is now named EFFECT and may be assigned per-preset to enable any specific effect or combination. Functions of both foot switches may be reassigned.
Greatly enhanced MIDI pedalboard control: up to 10 MIDI footswitches and 2 MIDI expression pedals may be assigned to control nearly all internal settings and commands
A variable Amp Drive Boost has been added, actuated by panel or MIDI foot switches
Stereo width of modulation effects and delay are now adjustable
Envelope attack & decay times are now adjustable for random filter & random tremolo effects
Four new Modulation Effects are added: Auto Pan, Wah Pedal, Fixed Filter and Sci-Fi
Simple guitar amp distortion now exists for drumbeats, independent of guitar amp models
Internal drums may be triggered from MIDI
Variable- frequency lowpass filters have been added to output of amp models, delay & drumbeats
Improved drum sounds
Noise gate is improved to be virtually unnoticeable

via Sonicstate.com

Monday, August 27, 2007

Daniel Hansson: Founding Member of Elektron Killed in Car Crash

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.:Elektronc.se:.

More tragic news in the world of music makers. It appears that one of the founding members of Elektron, makers of the uber cool Machinedrum, Monomachine and Sidstation, has been killed in a car accident.

It really is too bad when great music minds are struck down short. Elektron gear is absolutely amazing and some of the best hardware still being produced.

To express your condolences to the Elektron team and Daniel's family you can send an email to condolences (at) elektron.se.

via LivePA.org

Saturday, August 25, 2007

SoundSquare Standoff: Monome vs. Tenori-On | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

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.:SoundSquare Standoff: Monome vs. Tenori-On:.

Cnet.com has a very nice article that outlines a comparison between the Monome and the soon to be released Tenori-on. Good to see some major news outlets picking up on these otherwise obscure product releases.

Quote:

The latest testament to the geek appeal of blinking pixels are two handheld electronic musician interfaces called the Monome and the Tenori-On. Both are slated for a new release in the next few months and while they have a lot in common conceptually, there are a few key differences between the two that I'll explore here.

Even if you couldn't care less about electronic music, these products demonstrate stunning interface design (not to mention eye candy). Remember, it was an obscure music interface company named Jazz Mutant that pioneered the multi-touch screen interface long before the iPhone came to town.

5 303's, an 808 and a 909: The 303 Allstars Rock it at the Lowlands

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I really don't need any more explanation for this one, except that you better love your acid. Man I wish the audio quality was better.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Custom Midi Controller For Use With Reaktor

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Forum member evanm978 at livepa.org has posted information about his custom midi controller and its integration with Reaktor.

Quote:

Ok,
I have been sitting on some of this stuff for awhile but.. here it is.
If you don't know already, i have these led button interfaces that I use with my custom reaktor patch.


The controller is not completely finished yet though and Evan is still looking for people to help on custom Reaktor patches. You can find a demo video of the device at the following link: Here

Also be sure to check out his myspace page at .:Myspace.com/evanmorris:. if you would like to contact him for more information or to offer help.

via Livepa.org

Monday, August 20, 2007

Bitrate Pro: Freeware Media Calculator for Musicians

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.:Bitrate Pro:.

Ever been working on a project where you needed to calculate filesize, length and other variables before your rendered or recorded it? Well Daniel Primley has developed a media calculator just for that purpose.

Quote:

A media calculator for audio-visual professionals. Calculate data rate, file size or duration. There are file size presets for CD, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray Discs, and locally mounted disks. There are data rate presets for DV, DVCPRO, CCIR 601, Avid DNxHD, Sony HDCAM, HDTV, PCM Stereo and Apple ProRes 422. You can even drag and drop any QuickTime supported media file from the Finder to import its properties. Calculate storage requirements for video capture or data rates for encoding, all in one simple elegant tool.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Funkstorung Live from NYC

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.:Funkstorung LIVE from NYC:.

This week's liveset comes from the German IDM duo Funkstorung. This set, performed on a pair of laptops and Kaoss pads, and has a more beat heavy, viceral vibe than their other music.

For more information on the duo head on over to their website at Funkstorung.com


Update: After looking at the duo's website, it appears that they group has split up. Too bad, but be sure to check out some more of their music online.

In search of simple, clean compression.

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The era of cheap, plentiful technology has provided the modern music producer with an increasingly sophisticated array of bang-for-your-buck, all-in-one modules that tie together many different techologies that, in the past, have remained separate. Mixing boards have acquired built-in hard disk recorders and screens, now calling themselves DAWs, while synths, samplers and ROMplers all became basically the same thing; and the latest in compressor mics sports a built-in power supply, a USB port and a headphone jack in addition to exquisite components and that lustworthy compressor mic sound. However, this ceaseless heaping of technology upon itself isn't neccessarily a good thing; a particularly sad victim, in my opinion, has been the standalone audio compressor.

What started out as an innocuous little box with mysteriously labeled knobs and even more mysterious analogue guts has, during the course of our current technology frenzy, been dissected, emulated, cloned, aped, and just plain ripped off so many times that one can find it in more than one form in just about any kind of setup. Like the distortion pedal before it, the compressor has suffered severe dilution in the never-ending push to cram more things into a smaller space for a lower price, and the resultant dive in overall expectation and quality. In short, while most of them can technically perform the task we refer to as audio compression, most also suck terribly.

A good example of this is called "effect compression", and a good (or terrible, rather) example can be found on the Korg Electribe samplers. While still based on the same mathematical principles as its analogue ancestors, it is a cheap-sounding digital effect that apes real compression only in its barest form, whittling the process down to two knobs that basically control an ugly, brattish pumping noise that is guaranteed to sound like shit in any mix. These sorts of pseudo-compressors are often included by manufacturers as weak additions to fill in ad copy and push up the hype/price machine, usually as one of several dozen equally bad emulated features. In many cases, such as the Roland V-series DAWs, the machine's hardware supports the technical possibility of supporting something that isn't attrocious, but hasty programming usually mangles any potential that may have been there. The same can be said for most of the line's "renowned" guitar amp modeling effects. Unfortunately, a good cross section of the music producing community hasn't seemed to catch on to this sad industry-wide sleight, and continue to mix with the assumption that these features are somehow of a standard quality and fit for studio use. Examples can be found in hardware units like the Roland V-series DAWs, particularly the earlier models, and in any number of VST plugins. Bad compression is everywhere.

On the flip side of the issue, hardware compressors are still around, and can be had new; but like anything, it's a gamble. Units like the Phonic i7200 offer surgical precision, but an ultimately sterile sound. Reputed models like the Gates Sta-Level Tube Compressor guarantee a gateway to mixdown bliss, but only at a price tag that rivals a vacation in Europe. There are software suites available as well, many of them quite good, but again, they come with a price tag coupled with the tedious (and often dubiously legal) task of combing through a sea of weak software with good ad copy in search of a diamond in the rough that costs less than next month's rent. (Raise your hand if you're using pirated software! *whistles*)

After delving into this issue several times over the past few years, the best solution I have come across comes from the folks at FMR Audio, in their RNC1773 unit. Featuring an all-analogue signal path hemmed with digital controls, this little standalone box is everything a classy compressor ought to be. Have a peek at the specs page for all the pertinent details on its I/O and dimensions. Users rave about its clean and "expensive" sound, which is damned odd for a price tag of $199 American. And in contrast to all the Electribe-quality horrible sluge-machine compression effects, the RNC1773 holds up like a trooper even under extreme compression ratios, and even features a switchable "Super Nice" mode for signals with a really wide dynamic range.

In an age where our technology seems to fold in on itself more and more every day, perhaps it's worth it to make room for standalone units like this. Not to mention, I would personally love to see more analog/digital hybrid hardware hit the market. This is one of the boxes that showed up on a metal tour where I was sound tech, and after using it once I immediately felt cheated by every other compressor I have ever used. It's that good.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Results of the 1st LivePA Poll: What do you use for your LivePA?

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Well the results are in on the first poll. Man, I gotta say I was expecting more of you out there to respond. Only 20 votes? Now we are by no means a huge traffic site, if anything we are about as niche as you can get, but we are getting well of 100 hits a day on the low end.

Perhaps I was just naive to think that many readers were actually performing live.

Besides all that though, the results came up to be pretty interesting. I was not expecting so many people to be using hardware only these days. It also looks like our strongest group also then swayed to the Mac+Gear camp. That sure debunks my impression of most LivePA artists rocking out on a Dell with Ableton Live.

So anyone have any suggestions for another poll?

Korg EM-1: The Forgotten Electribe?

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When it comes to live performance hardware, the Electribe series has undoubtedly been a fantastic success for Korg. Electribes quite often find their way into LivePA artist's setups because of their ease of use, durability and great hands on tweaking capabilities. What is even more is that they are almost always simple, but extremely effective at what they do.

Now all of Korg's line has seen its share of fanfare and the original electribes are still used a lot, that is except for the EM-1. The EM-1 seems to be the lost child of the group. The EA-1, ES-1 and ER-1 all saw cosmetic/feature upgrades. But the EM-1 did not. Sure it may have been upgraded into the EMX-1, but it would have been nice to see the original EM-1 follow suit with its brethren and get the cosmetic upgrade to a metal case. This little box can be easily had on ebay these days for around $200, sometimes even less. For the price you are getting a pretty good little box. It has a total of 12 parts; 2 synths, 8 percussion, 1 synth accent and 1 percussion accent. It also offers up 11 different effects and an expanded 64 step sequencer. All in all, not a bad little setup.

So if anyone out there is looking for a fun little box to add to their setup perhaps give the EM-1 a look.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Novation Announces ReMOTE SL Compact

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Looks like Novation has announced a new model of their ReMOTE SL keyboards. These new compact keyboards offer almost all of the same features as the bigger brother, but saving a little room.

Whats more is that the superb automap feature remains intact, and the backlight parameters make it all the cooler for that dark club gig.

Features include
25- or 49-key semi-weighted keyboards with aftertouch
Assignable pitch and mod wheels
USB bus power (as on the previous SL)
Full Automap support (as on the SL)
Eight encoders and buttons with LEDs
Eight velocity-sensitive triggers
Single, large display
Group select switches allow 64 parameters in manual template mode or unlimited controls in Automap mode

Pricing is listed as £219.95 for 25 keys and £269.95 for 49 keys. That comes out to around $400 and $500 if conversion holds true.

via Sonicstate.com

Soundtribe Sector 9 Demonstrating Custom Monome

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Here is a vide of David Phipps demonstrating some of the features of his custom Monome.

via CreateDigitalMusic.com

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Anyone Using FLstudio Live Mode?

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FLStudio 7 had the release of a new Live Mode. The feature however has gone relatively under the radar for just about everyone. Most FLstudio users that I have talked to are not even aware of the feature. Is there a great live environment lurking out there that we just aren't utilizing?

So has anyone out there explored FLstudio's live mode at all? Anyone care to share some details on it? Here is the best information I could find on it.


6. Live Mode
Turns on/off the live mode feature of the Playlist. In live mode, you can see an on/off switch next to the name of each pattern track (8), enabling you to quickly turn a playing pattern on and off without drawing a fixed sequence with bars. As the name suggests, this feature is useful primarily for live performances and for testing various Playlist arrangements 'on the fly'.

You can also control the on/off switches and jumping to time markers using the keys on your MIDI keyboard (see MIDI Settings).

Note: In Live Mode the song marker will only jump to the next bar/time marker when the playing bar is finished, in order to keeping the timing intact. This differs from standard mode in which the jump is immediate

TB-303 Symphony

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Fun video of 10 musicians, each with a TB-303 performing live. Too bad the audio is rather poor. Anyone have a better recording of this?

via EM411.com

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Ripple9: Free Service to Deliver Gig/Concert Info via SMS.

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.:Ripple9.com:.

There is a new startup service out there called Ripple9. Ripple9 is a free service that allows artists and bands to deliver information to people such as their concert announcements and more. Very cool if you ask me.

Quote:


Ripple9 is a free service that broadens your fan base by delivering your music, pictures and reminders of your upcoming gigs directly into the mobile phones of your fans.

Ripple9 allows you to promote your music in a new way by putting your music where it should be, in the hands of your fans.

Mobile flyer - Deliver a text message “mobile-flyer” leading your fans to band info, gig alerts, ring tones, wall paper, & more...

Gig alerts - Fans receive a text message automatically reminding them to show up to your next gig. They'll forward along to their friends!

Mobile posts - You and your fans post pictures & videos from their mobile phones to a "mobile billboard" on your MySpace page and web site.

Friends - Grow your fan list while you're on the road! Get fans to join your fan list via text messaging. Reach fans on mobile, IM, and email in a single blast!


So is there a catch? Probably some advertising for the company in there, but I don't know myself. If anyone out there gives it a try, let us know in the comments section how it works for you.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Palm Sounds: Creating Music with Handheld Devices

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.:Palm Sounds:.

Happened across a fantastic little blog this morning: Palm Sounds.

Palm Sounds is a blog focusing on mobile music applications that run on Palm, Windows Mobile and similar devices and operating systems. There is some very cool information on this site, including software that run on anything from your cellphone to a Gameboy as well as a a nice collection of videos.

If you are at all interested in chiptunes or mobile music, then definitely check this site out.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Do You Dig the LivePA Podcast? Then Please Digg Us!!!!!

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So I just heard about this new little startup of a site called Digg. Have you guys heard of it?

I have added the LivePA Podcast over to the Digg podcast page. Please help spread the word and if you dig any of the shows, please support the artists in that liveset and digg that episode. It brings them more recognition, and more traffic for their sites.

.:LivePA Podcast @ Digg.com:.

and while you are at it, give "The Electronic Musician" a digg as well, or check it out for the first time if you have not heard it before.

.:The Electronic Musician @ Digg.com:.

Just A Reminder: Vote in Our First Poll!!!

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Just a reminder to our readers out there, come on over to the main page of the site and give our first poll a quick vote. Come on, I know you are out there. I can see you on my site stats, but we only have 17 votes so far!!!! We get more hits then that in an hour.

Lets see some votes people....Only four days left!!!

Björn Bommersheim & M.Keller LivePA 2/08/07

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.:Björn Bommersheim & Keller LivePA 2/08/07:.

Here is a liveset from what appears to be a duo of artists from last February. The site self describes this set as minimalist, and both artists appear to be German.

Not much other information posted on this one regarding place or what gear was used. Be sure to check out both artist's Myspace pages to find more of their music.

myspace.com/bbommersheim

myspace.com/mariuskeller

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Daft Punk Live Video From Lollapalooza 2007

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Here is a surprisingly good video of Daft Punk rocking Lollapalooza 2007 in Chicago. Say what you want about Daft Punk, but the crowd is going nuts, and they know how to put on a good stage show.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Live Timestretching with Korg PadKontrol

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This video has a great demonstration of how a Korg PadKontrol can be used live in combination with time stretching for a great granular synthesis effect.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Tenori-On Offically Arriving September 4th

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The very cool experimental, and soon to be released touch interface called Tenori-On is scheduled to be making its public debut in London starting September 4th at several venues.

.:Tenori-On Offical Wesbite:.

This September, Yamaha will be showcasing this brand new and visually stunning interactive live performance instrument through a selection of carefully selected record shops across the country.
From 4th September, Tenori-On will be on display at these record shops:

ALT VINYL, Newcastle
BLACK MARKET, London
EDGEWORLD, Brighton
FAT CITY RECORDS, Manchester
NOG GALLERY, London
PHONICA RECORDS, London
ROOTED RECORDS, Bristol
RUB A DUB RECORDS, Glasgow
TEMPEST RECORDS, Birmingham
UNDERGROUND SOLUSHUN, Edinburgh

Launch event
Phonica Records, London - Tues 4th September, 6pm, FREE.
The launch event will see inventor Toshio Iwai talk and answer questions on the TENORI-ON plus live performances from a selection of artists lucky enough to be asked to road test this exciting new instrument, including: Robert Lippok (To Rococo Rot), Secondo (Dreck Records), Capracara (Soul Jazz Records) + More.

TENORI-ON Launch Event in Mancheter
Futuresonic festival presents a live performance event at Mint Lounge Wed 5th September. Toshio will be joined by Robert Lippok, Secondo and Graham Massey. More information.



No word yet on pricing, but for more information head on over to pixelsumo.com

Template Upgrade Mostly Complete

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Well, just to give readers a slight update. The template update is mostly complete. As you can see I have changed the color scheme of the site and also added Digg buttons to each post for users to Digg pages they like.

You have have also noticed that I added some Google Adsense to the page. Yes, I know....But I figured hey, I'll give it a shot, and maybe the LivePA writers can get a little compensation for the work we all put in.

I am in all honesty thinking not much money will come of it, but I figure I will give it a go. I tried to keep the ads as minimally invasive as possible.

If anyone has any other tips they would like to share, post them in the comments.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Protien DScratch: Homebrew Scratch Software for the Nintendo DS

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Despite the limitations and Nintendo's best efforts to stop homebrew, the scene on the DS is doing surprisingly well. The above video is another example of an interesting homebrew project developing scratching software. The project appears to be in the very early stages thus far, but the scratching algorithm and loop capabilities seems rather decent so far. It will be interesting to see how this continues to develop.

You other crazy homebrew DS music fans should also be sure to check out Nitrotracker

via DSfanboy.com

Layout upgrades in the next 24 hours

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Just a heads up to all of the readers out there. I plan on upgrading the blog layout within the next 24 hours, so don't be surprised if you see some odd page behavior or formatting.

Everything should remain readable however during this update, and I do not expect any issues at all related to those readers who read via RSS/ATOM.