Manufacturers have attempted to make USB connections for audio and MIDI more transparent before. We’ve seen mics with USB cords instead of XLR, and USB cables with little humps in the middle with built-in circuitry for MIDI connections. But new cables announced this week by Chinese manufacturer CME go further: a USB/MIDI cable that’s as thin as a standard USB connection, a USB mic interface with integrated +48V phantom power, and a guitar/bass/keyboard USB interface.

The U2MIDI is a USB 2.0 (not the usual 1.1) MIDI interface, with plug-and-play driver-less connection to Windows, Linux, and Mac. You can even use multiple cables on the same setup. This could be a perfect complement to the MIDI-only Faderfox control hardware beloved by Traktor and Ableton users.

The U2GKB plugs guitars, keyboards, and bass into a USB 2.0 connection, with a minijack for plugging in headphones for monitoring. The U2MIC does the same for microphones, but surprisingly with +48V phantom power (according to CME, the “first” such device to do so). Conveniently enough, both include a dedicated mute switch and pre-amp on/off buttons.

The big question for me on the audio devices is quality. CME promises “high-quality” A/D converters and pre-amps, but since I’ve never seen a press release that promises “low-grade, cheap electronics”, there’s no saying for sure until this ships. Keep your fingers crossed. I’m certainly excited about the MIDI cables. With most of my gear having gone USB, this could be just the thing for the last holdovers when I want to reduce cables and gear — and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Availability: Spring 2007
Pricing: US$34.95 and up

CME Products Site

1. New keyboard integration with Steinberg and Arturia software
2. Motif XS and MM6 synths, based on the MO series
3. New MIDI/USB controllers and USB MIDI adapters from CME, plus an expanded wireless line (though we’re still waiting on the existing wireless hardware to ship from CME)


4. New PSR and EZ series portable keyboards and DD drum kits
5. A new music lab for schools
6. 500-watt compact PA

A couple of interesting items here. CME has had plenty of surprises when it comes to MIDI hardware, some hits and some not. New synths are nice, as well.

Also on the NAMM radar, M-Audio are promising new stuff, including their Torq DJ line, and if Apple announces an update to Logic or anything else music-related, I’d expect they’ll do it at NAMM rather than at Macworld following past tradition.

I know some of you have made New Years Resolutions not to be distracted by new gear, so I’ll trust you to ignore those stories. Those of you who are researching purchases, though, or are just curious know you can rely on CDM.

The M-Audio MidAir 37 is a 37-key version of the previous, wireless 25-key model. That leaves room for extra controllers (9 faders, to be exact) and makes a more playable instrument. US$299, and runs 20 hours on AA batteries. The only problem: it’s not a strap-on, so other than reducing some cables or accommodating a tricky stage setup, you might be better off going with M-Audio’s higher-grade, cheaper wired keyboards instead.

More interesting is the new standalone MidAir adapter. At US$149, it turns any instrument with MIDI into a wireless device. Now we’re talking; at that price, you can buy a couple and start turning everything in your studio into a wireless unit. M-Audio has actually thought through how the adapter will work, with a very compact clip-on unit, and coiled cables (so you don’t get tangled).

Keytars are the first logical application here, and the ability to make a vintage, battery-powered keytar into a wireless device, you have to admit, has some geek-chic appeal. But why stop there? Most of the compact keyboards in my studio are now battery-powered, like the tiny Novation Xiosynth that just arrived. I could even see this used on DIY gear. The MIDIsense board, for instance, or (if you add MIDI ports) Arduino both run happily on a 9V battery. Plug in the sensors of your choice, and your new gyroscope – accelerometer – touch sensor – light sensor – blinkie thing can be set free, wirelessly — all without having to tune the wireless function yourself.

A number of you asked what happened to the competing WIDI line from CME. The answer is, simply, I don’t know; I haven’t seen a shipping version here in the US yet, and those of you who have ordered one haven’t seen it yet. I do notice that the WIDI standalone device looks a little clunkier. If any of you have ordered one and actually got it, let us know. (I also notice the CME looks a little clunkier than the new MidAir.) Until CME can actually ship their device, the M-Audio wins by forfeit.

Let us know what happens to your orders, though.

[tags]CME, M-Audio, hardware, interfaces, MIDI, USB, wireless, preview[/tags]

In a bizarrely, inadvertently awesome piece of marketing propaganda, Chinese keyboard maker CME (the Centrl Music Company, distributed here by Yamaha America) has posted a surreal music video of pop rockers singing a rock anthem.

The lyrics, at least from their translation, could well be the theme song of the music technology blogger / commenter / forum troll. And as if the stiff pop stars jamming on CME ‘boards weren’t strange enough, then a bunch of guys in gas masks show up to repaint their gear using white household latex paint. Things kind of getting stranger from there. (And to think, Tom of Music thing thought white synths jumped the shark during the Madonna tour. Now I think they may have eaten the shark, or the shark bought a keytar, or something.)

Tell me this is not the music technology blogosphere’s new revolutionary anthem. Together, we shall overthrow the tyranny of … something. Because we are sure we are always right. No body can stop us, or our revolution. Erm, but first we go to Home Depot — someone has to paint over those ridiculously ugly factory paint jobs on the CME synths.

I don’t care other people’s comments
I am self determined
I’m the ruler of my world
No one no body can stops me

Maybe other people like to follow but I do not
They let other people think for themselves
Anyway I am the self determined one
I am sure I am always right

I am self-determined and always true
Do not say that I am aggressive
I am assertive and have my own mind
I do not mind other’s eyesight
I am self-determined so be crazy with be
Do not say that I am aggressive
I am self-determined and that’s what I am
That’s what I am

In other news: we have yet more need for t-shirts. (”Create Digital Music: So be crazy with be!“)

If you want to try downloading this, head to the CME Pro website and click the MTV link. (That either means this is airing as an ad on MTV China, or they just use MTV to mean all music videos.) For faster access, YouTube video after the jump.

UF Design Contest

Now, I have to admit, I am a little disappointed, because when I first read the press release from CME I thought they meant we got to design the whole keyboard instead of just the skin. My mind flashed to a musical equivalent of Homer designing a car on The Simpsons. Let’s see, my keyboard will have 9 octaves, cupholders, an espresso maker, and a detachable wireless flexible ribbon controller.

But designing a skin sounds just as good to me. You’d better get in there fast, because so far the entries all look ridiculously ugly. Apparently, the goal was to put as many graphics on a keyboard as possible, even if it means combining images of an Apple Airport with those Nintendo hamster things. Or, at the opposite extreme, turning the monstrous, control-laden CME keyboards into something pink and flowery, as pictured here. I think we need to get our site designer Nat on this one for something with some subtlety. I’ll buy a Natboard.

Now, if we can just get CME to run a contest to redesign their website so we can actually navigate and read it . . .

Both vendors are claiming “first” (which isn’t really true no matter how you slice it). The big difference between the CME gear and M-Audio’s interface and keyboards is range. CME promises “full duplex” and an 80 meter range, unobstructed (should be less indoors). Let’s see, convert M-Audio’s 30 feet to metric, and, uh . . . well, basically CME wins on range. Of course, if you’re not planning on bodysurfing while playing your keytar, that’s unlikely to be the main factor, so what I really want to do is take these two units head-to-head.

CME also gives us a detail M-Audio left out: how many adapter pairs can work at the same time. They promise a somewhat incredible 64 simultaneous pairs, which would be nice indeed.

Other than those issues, the CME piece is almost identical to the M-Audio interface: 2.4GHz spectrum, AA batteries, plug-and-play USB (meaning it should be class-compliant on Mac, Windows, and Linux). The two even look alike, although the CME unit is much less compact than M-Audio’s. In fact, I’m extremely interested in the fact that these came out at the same time — makes you wonder if some key component became available and CME and M-Audio both decided to jump on it. If you want a keyboard with wireless, M-Audio is still your only choice, though CME may follow suit.

I haven’t been this excited about two rival products since there were those two made-for-TV movies about asteroids hitting Earth. As soon as I can get both units in, I’ll be checking resistance to interference, latency, compatibility, reliability, and — out in Battery Park — outdoor range. Did I miss anything?

WIDI X-8 Product Page

Previously: boards, Wireless MIDI Interface, Full Details