For the lover of musical instruments and technology, southern California’s NAMM show is a giant toy shop. It’s work for many of its attendees, of course, but we know many of our readers dream of the objects that will make their next creations. And sure, inspiring lust is not our aim; on the contrary, there is some love that goes into these things. In the ideal, that’s the relationship of creator and consumer. These are things not to be bought and discarded, but kept and really used.

So, we have a different look at the NAMM show, through the lens of CDM contributor Marsha Vdovin, who has been at this show more times than she might like to count. I’ve added some comments about what these devices are and why they’re important. And the next time we see them, these inventions pictured in silence here, we expect them to be working hard on music far from the din and flourescent glare of the trade show floor.

As always, click for larger images. Photos by Marsha Vdovin; words by Peter Kirn:

Roland’s V-Guitar marks a surprising collaboration, bringing the famed American guitar maker Fender together with the Japanese electronic maker to make an “electronic guitar,” merging the two company’s tech on a digitally-augmented Stratocaster. More on this soon – but the extended playing techniques won over many guitarists.

The Danish design aesthetes of AIAIAI have improved upon their TMA-1 headphones with a studio model. Same drivers, same basic design, but a “flatter” response to sound (rather than beefed-up, DJ-ready bass) and closed ear design. It’s impossible to hear anything at NAMM, but I can attest that the new design is far, far more comfy to wear. Actually, if I could have kept these on the whole show to drown out the sound, it would have been great.

An easy place to spot a talented celebrity was at the Dave Smith Instruments booth, at which artists clustered around Dave and Roger Linn. They were on-hand with plenty of tweaks to their stellar Tempest drum machine.

Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 grew up, with new features (drum sounds! MIDI sync – at last), and grew out, with a companion product for connecting sensors and USB host mode that could be a boutique item for music DIYers. We’ll go hands-on with each this year, and while readers were disappointed on a lack of some details (will the OpLab be open source?), we expect to get more details from the Teenagers when the product is ready in the coming months.

Readers of tech blogs (ahem) may miss out on the fact that the vast majority of NAMM is really for guitarists, drummers, and traditional instrumentalists. And yes, that includes glittery, pink products from Daisy Rock Guitars. We’ve concluded this model will be perfect for Sparkle Pony. (And really, if you’re not watching Portlandia to get that reference, get on it. Also, Jenny Conlee is crazy awesome.)

Thin, responsive, and expressive, the QuNeo from Keith McMillen – funded on Kickstarter – proves it’s really happening. With continuous pressure response on its touch controls and bi-directional control, it could be the most anyone will ever have gotten from a US$200 controller. Yes, we’ll be watching.

Pioneer wasn’t showing anything new at this show — they timed those launches over the fall with new controllers like the Ergo. But they did have a glossly all-white lacquer set of limited-edition devices that looked absurdly gorgeous. Now if I want to do my flat over in the style of a Stanley Kubrick set, I know what DJ gear I’ll be buying. (If you don’t know what I mean, watch the end of 2001 again – or the living room in Tron: Legacy, which is more or less a copy.) White is the new generic-dull-charcoal.

Akai’s MPC Renaissance is unlike any other mass-market controller we’ve seen. It’s actually substantial, something that feels like a vintage MPC even though it’s designed to work with software (pictured). The audio circuitry is straight out of the modern MPC, but there’s a switch for “vintage” modes – think 12-bit output when the MPC60 is enabled, for instance. Akai told CDM they built the software in-house, but we also learned at NAMM that they licensed time-stretch tech from iZotope, giving their upcoming MPC software generous audio-manipulation abilities.

The Renaissance will cost you, with a street expected well over a grand, but that makes it even more welcome that the same superb pads and response curves are also on the maker’s MAX49 keyboard and cheaper MPC Model.

Just expect to wait: these were prototypes, and there were still some bugs to work out.

The Renaissance is for the MPC die-hard; the MPC Studio is the model that will directly take on Native Instruments and Maschine. It’s slim, sleek, and still has great-feeling controls. And while that makes it compelling competition for Maschine, I’m gratified to see this whole market expanding, new workflows for performance and production, and a push to better quality in the controllers. The days when computer gear meant “cheap and plastic-y” are mercifully at an end. Speaking of which –

Akai’s MAX49 keyboard could be a new model to beat. The keyboard action is satisfyingly springy, with a new keybed not seen in previous models. The pads are identical to those on the Renaissance, and feel more the way proper MPC pads should. Not everyone will love the light-up, touch-sensitive resistive faders, but I found with a bit of pressure, they worked well – and that means never having to worry about a fader catching up with the value in software. You also get serious features: Control Voltage, a full complement of MIDI ports, and aftertouch. Did I mention Control Voltage? It’s nice to see a controller keyboard with a slightly premium price, build, and features.

The last surprise from Akai was this MPC DJ. The company says it’s a prototype only, and had little more to say about it, but it’s fascinating to see the MPC and turntable controls converge.

Moog’s Minitaur was my favorite synth of the show. It just sounds consistently brilliant, no matter which way you turn it or play it – and I accordingly noticed it was the synth the most people were actually playing on the show floor.

This is what a 24-karet KORG MonoTribe looks like, alongside a silver-plated model. There’s little more one can say. It is, of course, one of a kind — and already spoken for.

The other thing of beauty at the KORG booth: a limited-edition reverse-key SV-1 keyboard.

iOS accessories were numerous, but a few were genuinely useful. IK Multimedia’s iRig Mic “Cast,” for instance, is coupled with handy software for podcasters, as a quick tool for interviewing or podcast recording.

It’s not a new product, but one of the reviews to which I’m most looking forward is this Eers product. It promises custom in-ears you make yourself, rather than the enormous cost of getting them custom-made. Stay tuned on this one – protecting your hearing and making on-stage gigs go well is perhaps as essential as gear can get.

The just-intonation Hymnatron from the Dewanatron crew was one of the most compositionally-compelling instruments at the show, with a unique sound, tuning, and key layout. And it looks mighty handsome in this one-off wooden case.

LiveWire’s modular was among the many dreamy modular rigs at Big City Music and Analog Haven, two Los Angeles hotspots for analog modulars. Did we mention space was more plentiful and inexpensive, and gigs more generous, in LA than in NYC, Chicago, or San Francisco? Funny coincidence, that.

Many modules graced this show, but the most intriguing was not analog, but digital – think digital algorithms in an analog, patch-cord-modular hardware workflow. Tom Erbe, maker of long-beloved SoundHack (the app, and then more recently the plug-ins) put some of his sonic wizardry into a module, collaborating with one of our favorite modular builders, MakeNoise. The result: the MakeNoise Echofon. As such, it’s a perfect emblem of our Create Digital Music, Create Analog Music philosophy. Dear Berlin friends: let’s plug this into your monster modulars, okay?

Big City Music is a wonderful place. The other candidate for best new module: brilliant creations by Metasonix, as previewed here. We’ll be watching for these to be patch-able, too.

Casio had its classic CZ-1000 synth on-hand at its booth. The Casio XW isn’t quite a successor to the CZ, though it does include some of those waveforms and phase distortion sounds. What it does appear to be is a very affordable, do-just-about-everything workstation at a fraction of the price of any of its rivals. For someone who wants a jack-of-all-trades gigging keyboard, this could very much be a contender.

Our friends at Beatport are evidently getting into the hardware business. The most interesting launch wasn’t a set of TMA headphones with Slimer-green cords (I’ll take the Studio model, thanks, or just a non-Danish set of studio cans). Instead, I was intrigued by the eminently-practical line of gigging cords Beatport is working on with Hosa. They include features live digital musicians and DJs badly need, like color-coded cords you can find easily at a show, and hinged USB cords you can cram into tight spaces. More on those soon.

Thanks, all. Lastly, I want to thank everyone I got to spend time with at the NAMM show, and particularly Marsha Vdovin, who is responsible for these photos and keeping our schedule together. NAMM is always too crowded and too short, but it can lay groundwork for a whole year. And I’m excited for this Year of the Dragon. Be seeing you.

For the rest of our NAMM coverage:
http://createdigitalmusic.com/tag/namm/

Photos by Marsha Vdovin / Words by Peter Kirn.

IK Multimedia this week is shipping both their SampleTank virtual instrument and iRig hardware MIDI interface for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It’s not the first software instrument for iThings, but it is arguably the first appearance of a major, conventional computer soft synth in mobile form. MIDI interfaces, likewise, would require a comparison of some competing gear, but it’s the combination of the two in IK’s demo video that I think might give someone pause.

Music making tech has since the 1980s often involved some kind of computer. You might buy that computer in a piece of hardware that looks like a keyboard, or you might run software on a general-purpose computer. What has happened with Apple’s mobile devices is a third category. Observations:

1. Here’s a computer that’s a lot easier to fit on your music stand than a laptop is.
2. Here’s a demo that’s stunningly unchanged from what you might have done 20 years ago. (You’re even using the same hard-wired interface you were using 20+ years ago.)
3. This same instrument is more flexible and more powerful – though more challenging and time-consuming in setup – on a conventional computer. Of course, you may own both.

IK’s offerings:
SampleTank for iPhone / iPod touch
iRig MIDI interface, with Core MIDI compatibility for maximal application compatibility (including, incidentally, a recent update to Bjørk’s apps – more on that soon)

Side notes:

As for point 3, yes, a number of iOS developers are working now on routing MIDI between applications. It’s an interesting idea, but you have greater horsepower to run multiple applications simultaneously on, say, a MacBook Air than on an iPad 2, and I’m concerned that the mechanism for inter-app communication on iOS is not officially sanctioned by Apple. (I think those developers may be hoping that a critical mass of applications will protect them in the future, and there, they may be right.)

Another reality: all the fundamental technologies on which Apple are building, particularly the embedded platforms, are readily available. Challenging Apple in the consumer space is a massive challenge, as illustrated by the spectacular failure of some very awful – and some fairly nice – tablet entries in the last year or so. But building upon the same low-heat, low-power, low-cost, small-size boards could be something we see others do. (That’s a topic for another post, but worth considering while marveling at how much more convenient the form factor here is relative to a big, hinged laptop.)

It’s an interesting time – perhaps. The software isn’t really anything new. But convenience an make a small thing a big deal.

For connecting music hardware from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and today, you can’t beat MIDI and the standard MIDI connector (5-pin DIN). This week, both IK Multimedia and Line 6 announced adapters that support Core MIDI. Previously possible on iPad via the Camera Connection Kit, the new adapters support the 30-pin dock connector for the iPad (no additional adapter needed), iPhone, and iPod touch.

IK’s iRig MIDI has a number of features that set it apart from previously-available iOS adapters:

It’s got MIDI Thru. MIDI Thru means you can route MIDI into your iOS device, so an external keyboard can play an iPhone synth, for instance, and route that same signal “Thru” to another device – say, if you want to also record your playing, or layer another synth with the same notes an octave higher. (I can rant about the disappearance of Thru on other hardware some other time; it’s great to see it here.)

There’s a USB power port. This one’s huge, especially having tested Line6′s adapter. Normally, any hardware you plug into your iOS device takes over the jack you’d use for power – so you have to watch your battery life as you use it. By adding an additional USB jack for power, you can connect both MIDI and power – problem solved. That’s especially essential if you plan on using this a lot, or onstage.

A Gig of Sounds, to Go… IK Multimedia is also bundling a new SampleTank app for iOS so that anyone buying the adapter gets sounds straight out of the box. SampleTank has 1 GB of sounds (500 of them), 20 insert effects, and a master reverb-delay — yes, really on iOS, for free. (8 GB owners may not be thrilled about that, but those of you with more storage might.) You get acoustic, electric, and electronic instruments, and even orchestral and sampled Moog sounds.

Samples of those samples, via SoundCloud:
Two New Products Coming Soon by ikmultimedia

Other specs:
Detachable cables; “pocketable” (also true on the Line 6)

IK claims the hardware is “lightweight” so that you don’t hurt the fragile connector on the iOS gadgets

iRig Recorder for free MIDI recording and playback (there’s a similar feature on the Line 6 offering)

Pricing:
iRig MIDI, US$69.

SampleTank for iOS, price TBD.

iKlipMini is a little adapter for clipping an iPod touch or iPhone to a mic stand. US$39.

www.irigmidi.com
www.sampletank.com/ios
www.ikmultimedia.com/iklipmini

With previews and teasers, it’s sometimes easy to miss when useful new tools actually become available to you. Two tools this week became available, each potentially high on the utility end of the spectrum.

There’s no shortage of variety in iOS music creation apps, but when people really want to get down to music making, many of them want to focus on one tool, not twenty. (That’s not universal – ask Richard Devine‘s screaming VST plug-in folder – but you ought to at least be able to make such a choice.) It’s therefore little surprise that there’s been a lot of buzz around NanoStudio.

NanoStudio incorporates a range of tools in one app. There’s a virtual analog synth, a 4×4 pad for sampling and sample playback, a sequencer for notes and control, a mixer and rack of mastering effects. The emphasis is clearly on completing entire productions. In more lightweight form, it reflects some of the appeal of tools like Reason and FL Studio (particularly recalling, say, the simpler early releases of Fruity Loops). That’s not a totally new idea on iOS – Intua’s Beatmaker was an early entry for those wanting an integrated studio – but it’s an especially nice take here.

In control and sampling, NanoStudio looks really flexible. The virtual analog synth has extensive envelope and LFO controls, and input from X/Y controllers, pitch bend, and your iPhone accelerometer. You can even insert up for four independent synths. The sampler will work with the built in mic, it’ll bring in samples from your PC or Mac, and – best of all – you can resample from NanoStudio.

All in all, it looks like NanoStudio could be the more comprehensive production studio on iOS yet, without sacrificing simplicity and large, readable interfaces. You can buy it now on the App store for GBP8.99, and there’s a free trial of a development version for Windows and Mac (minus the touch features) so you can see if you like it first.

Full details at the developer site: http://www.blipinteractive.co.uk/index.php, or follow on Twitter

In other news, IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube package of virtual guitar amp/effects/tools is now available for iPad. In a basic version, it’s actually free, with three stompboxes, one amp/cabinet, and two mics. The idea is to get you hooked, and either collect additional tools via a la carte downloads, or get the full collection for US$19.99. Without external hardware, AmpliTube isn’t much use, but you can buy interfaces from IK and other vendors. (You can also use an existing class-compliant USB audio interface with the iPad.) Consensus from readers is that these mobile guitar tools would be best as on-the-go practice tools. As opposed to the iPhone, the iPad gets a big, gorgeous, readable interface. It’s still not a stage tool – not until Apple finds a way to perfect iPad input with your feet. (Hey, that may not stop someone from stripping their socks off, putting their iPod on the floor, and using this with their toes.) But as a practice tool, it’s another option.

iRig for iPad Information [IK Multimedia]

It’s still not shipping, but one of IK’s rivals has fleshed out their website since I covered them last; see AmpKit. And you will, incidentally, be able to mix and match apps and interfaces, meaning even IK fans may want to keep an eye out.

Previously: Virtual Reality: Guitar Notation, Amps, and Effects Appear on Apple Mobiles

Diego Stocco – Bassoforte from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Odds are you don’t have a dismantled piano you keep in the garden, awaiting conversion to a fantastic, imaginative electro-acoustic instrument. But that’s unlikely to make you covet the instrument above any less.

Diego Stocco is a composer, instrumentalist, sound designer, and mad inventor. Among many recent accomplishments, he’s responsible, in collaboration with Hans Zimmer, for some of the imaginative sounds that populated Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes.” In many ways, he’s a reminder that the expressive potential of digital music isn’t limited to the virtual. He couples raw acoustic materials from sand to modified instruments with recording and digital processes. In the case of the Bassoforte, that means the use of IK Multimedia’s tone-rich amp models and effects in their flagship AmpliTube software. Hold a mic to something, or add a pickup, and the sound takes on a new form.

The Bassoforte’s construction was an exploration, building resonance out atop the mechanical construction at its heart with unexpected additions like a chimney cap. Then, its musical realization, too, calls upon Diego’s unique talents as a player and composer. He explains some of the process to CDM:

I built this thing by combining a bunch of different parts, including cabinet handles as bridges : )

It came out fun to play because I can interact with it in different ways, but it’s also tricky to control, because the tuning is a thing on its own.

He explains the tuning idiosyncrasies on the gallery of the instrument:

The neck is slightly tilted, so when I press a key I can push all four strings at the same time. But because the piano keys are not perpendicular to the frets, the tuning is imprecise (which I like), and can also generate in-between semitones. How strong I push the keys also affects the tuning.

It can be a little tricky to play, but overall, I’m very happy about how it came out.

He also tells CDM about how he’s relating to the instrument now that it’s built:

I’m still discovering it because I just built it, but it sounds [as if] for each [note], there’s also a secondary note that gets produced by the other half of the strings (on the side of the bell), so the higher the pitch, the louder this secondary note is. It creates these bi-chords that can sound very interesting.

The idea for the track I created came to me exactly because of that; I was just pressing the keys randomly trying to figure out what to do and then I found one very nice bi-chord, then a second one, and from there I got the idea for the rest. It wasn’t really a conscius decision to create a “Western” tune, it just happened that way

If you’re loving the track as much as I am, you can grab it on Bandcamp for $.99 in various high-quality formats, along with other albums with self-explanatory names like “Music from a Tree” and “Music from Sand.”

And for more information, check out the gallery Diego has posted, which includes additional notes from behind the scenes:
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Bassoforte/535175

Previously:
Real for Reel: The Amazing Sherlock Holmes Experibass, and More Winter Cinema Sounds

Ah, amplifiers and stompboxes. We hardly knew ye. Once exclusively the stuff of tubes, wires, cabinets, aluminum, and electronics, guitar amps and pedals have for years been available in growingly-sophisticated software models. Once the electronics of sound become software, there’s nothing stopping them from running on any computer – which now includes computers disguised as mobile phones, like the iPhone. (In fact, I expect that trend will accelerate; mobile processors are providing expanded access to native DSP functions.)

Before anyone gets to ask whether a phone is the ideal device for such a task, in the spirit of technological advancement, you’ll see simulated guitar processing from various parties.

In the past 24 hours, not one but two developers made official announcements. Agile Partners, makers of iOS’ Star6 music making software, TabToolkit tab notation tool (also on iPad), and GuitarToolkit tuner + metronome + chords and scales, partners with Peavey. IK Multimedia, makers of the industry-standby AmpliTube guitar emulation software, offer their own iPhone-specific release of AmpliTube.

AmpKit LiNK hardware [Peavey, with pre-order info]

http://ampkitapp.com [Official site]

AmpliTube iRig [IK Multimedia]

Dueling Banjos: Two Upcoming Simulations, Close Feature Sets

Here’s a quick comparison of IK’s AmpliTube and Agile/Peavey’s AmpKIT.

Hardware: Onboard audio hardware clearly won’t cut it, so both AmpliTube and AmpKIT offer specialized hardware connections. AmpKit LiNK promises to “raise the audio fidelity bar” and includes built-in cross-talk elimination for reducing feedback. iRig has its own electrical impedance adaption for line- and guitar-level input. Both cost $39.99, both have audio inputs and outputs, and most importantly, since they appear simply as audio devices, both work with any iPhone audio app. So, if IK’s software turns out to be better and Peavey’s hardware, or visa versa, you’ll be able to mix and match. Only Peavey has a skinny dude with no shirt on.

The models: AmpliTube includes 3 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, 2 mics in a free app, two addition stompboxes in the US$2.99 LE, or a full 11 stompboxes, 5 amps + cabinets, and 2 mics for US$19.99. There are also a la carte models for $2.99-$4.99 each.

What’s included? IK says it will offer, in the full version: “5 amp models (clean, crunch, lead, metal, bass) with full tone and drive controls, 11 stompbox effects (delay, flanger, phaser, overdrive, distortion, filter, wah, fuzz, octaver, chorus, noise filter), 5 speaker cabinets (1×12”, 2×12”, 4×12” A & B”, 1×15) and 2 microphones (dynamic and condenser).”

AmpKit has 10 amps, 12 cabinets, 12 pedals, and 6 mics, and will also offer add-ons. Software pricing and details are currently unavailable; I’ve requested more details and will update the story when I get them.

So, both are pretty cheap; it’ll just be a matter of which software works better, and which models sound better.

Extras: AmpliTube also includes importable song playback for backing tracks (complete with real-time effects), 36 presets, and an onboard tuner and metronome, apparently in all editions – even the free one.

AmpKit also has backing tracks, custom setups with up to 12 pedals each, unlimited presets (instead of just 36), a tuner, and metronome.

Compatibility: Both work on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Bottom line: These are nearly-identical products with nearly-identical feature sets. So, may the best one win.

Will people actually want it? To me, the key feature here is as a practice tool. With the iPod touch well under $200 (especially with refurbs), and no contract, guitarists get an interface that’s cheap, portable, and allows them to practice and jam anywhere. As a replacement for full-blown amp rigs, it’s probably still too limited, but that isn’t the point. If you’re recording a track or playing a live gig, it’s likely worth the extra effort to use a computer. The competition for these devices isn’t that, or even real amps; it’s the little handheld devices we’ve seen in the past for practicing, and this shouldn’t have a hard time blowing those things out of the water on price, performance, and ease of use.

Of course, the one thing you don’t get is an actual speaker. And neither of these tools has a solution for actually controlling the stomp boxes – since those would defeat the portability factor. As long as humans have ears, amps and portable amps will remain a big hit. But as practice tools, they’re likely to be big hits.

Guitar tab on iPad

Pocketable practice amps are fun, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point to TabToolkit. It’s the only music software to be awarded an Apple Design Award this year at the World Wide Developer Conference. The feature set is pretty extraordinary, especially on the iPad: it’s the first really usable-looking, full-featured notation software on iOS. US$9.99 buys you the ability to import notation from a variety of formats — Guitar Pro, Power Tab, PDF and text tab. With the amount of text tab online, that’s a pretty big deal. It then provides tablature and standard notation views. Sure, you could just, you know, print this stuff out, and for that reason, it’s probably not going to be enough on its own to justify an iPad purchase. Likewise, you lose something in the translation from paper: it’s not quite as easy to just pick up a pencil and make a quick fingering note while you’re learning a score. But it’s nonetheless a pretty impressive way to manage access to a variety of scores, a sort of virtual fakebook of sorts, it assists people learning to play guitar with interactive fret display, and it looks like a powerful tool for play and practice.

Also, good choice of song:

Virtual backlash?

It was interesting as always to read comments last week as I reflected that phones aren’t everything in music and subsequently composed a set of haikus to try to restore perspective.

Here’s my short prediction: iPhones, iPods, and iPads are tools, and they do demonstrate how powerful mobile processors can be. At the same time, just as with computer software, musicians may find that they get a certain amount of virtual fatigue, and long for actual hardware. I think part of what will keep all of this in balance is that, for every polished and controlled device like the iPhone, there will be greater interest in DIY and music-dedicated software and devices, for everything shiny, consumer gadget with virtual software, a renewed interest in raunchy, physical hardware. And that’s a good thing.

Understood this way, a practice tool you can put in your pocket is pretty amazing. It’s not a replacement for a trusted, beloved amp. In fact, it might make you see the latter in new ways.

Analysis elsewhere:
iPhone amp modelling arms race escalates! [MusicRadar]

That seems going a bit far. I’d say this is more like when those two asteroid movies came out at the exact same time.

The iPhone has become an almost absurdly-popular platform for music apps this year, even given more capable, more plentiful PCs. But to those who don’t yet “get” the appeal, talk to a mobile music addict: having the ability to be creatively musically in corners of time that would otherwise go unused, like a cramped bus ride, can be a beautiful thing. (Now, you start talking about taking away my PC/Mac experience, and I will start screaming in agony – but that’s a topic for a separate post.) The question is, what form should that app take? Today, I’ve got an iPhone round-up going as I clear out my news inbox, but that thread lies beneath all the stories…

I’m working on putting together a collection of truly productive, non-gimmicky/non-toy music apps now that the platform is maturing. But two apps released this week I think deserve special mention, and mention together – partly because of the different angle they take.

They’re both essentially handheld grooveboxes. They’re both relatively powerful, bringing desktop-style production to the platform. They’re both good options, and at this price, you might go buy both. But as I go off to test these two apps, I’m already struck by the contrast between the two.

One is the kind of app that we’re seeing a whole lot of on the iPhone, just as we once saw it in me-too apps on desktop computers. It assumes that the way to reach more people is to give them a whole bunch of canned loops that already sound like the styles they might want to play, and assume they’ll be pretty limited in their ability to do much with those loops.

The other of the two apps eschews the obligatory audio loops for real synthesis, and strips out the usual “let’s try to look like hardware” interface for something a lot more minimal and (I think) touch device friendly. That’s a design lesson that might well be applied beyond the iPhone, too.

First, consider the looped audio approach.

From IK Multimedia, GrooveMaker is a real-time app for manipulating audio loops. Interestingly, IK brought it over from the Mac/PC software. There are some powerful features, real-time control over audio, WiFi upload to your computer. It’s all well and good, so far.

The problem is that GrooveMaker is yet another app that assumes the only way people can have fun is to start with a bunch of canned loops and genres. GrooveMaker comes with hundreds of loops in house, hip-hop, and club styles. But that’s it – there’s no way to really easily start a track from scratch. (Update: Note that I should say you can at least sequence from scratch, but only with the stock content – which would have made GrooveMaker bigger news on this platform were it not for the release of iDrum and BeatMaker first.)

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-sample. It’s not my own working style because it just doesn’t inspire me, but that’s a personal feeling, and not one I’d impose on anyone else. In fact, some of my best friends (ahem) are capable of doing things with sampled loops that blow my mind. The problem I have is with lowest-common-denominator thinking. In fact, I think synthesized tracks, tracks that give you real control over the sound, are often more fun for beginners.

Take, for instance, Smule. As founder Ge Wang discussed with CDM, their Ocarina and Leaf Trombone app are aimed really at non-musicians. But because these instruments use synthesized sound, people are free to really play with them and make whatever noise with them they like, rather than getting stuck with canned sounds to “remix.”

Now, perhaps a future version of GrooveMaker will make it easier to bring in other audio. Even then, it’ll have a lot of catching up to do with Intua’s far more powerful BeatMaker having been on the market for some time and offering features like integration with noise.io’s soft synth. But let’s talk for a moment about the flexibility of synthesis.

More Funner, with Synths?

bleep!BOX takes a different approach. Now, there have already been some 808 and 909 emulations on the iPhone. But you really have to see this instrument in action. Creator David Wallin has done some interesting work to make lots of sound parameters accessible.

David writes us:

I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that my iPhone groove box app is finally approved and live in the app store. It features 10 drum/synth parts (808 / 909 emulations of snares, hihats, etc and 4x 2-Oscillator analog synth parts). All sounds are generated realtime and are highly tweakable – no samples are used.

Compare the results: with the canned loop, you get something that sounds good right away – though it also sound predictable. It then actually requires a fair amount of effort to make that sound your own, if you succeed at all.

Using synthesized sound, on the other hand, you initially get, well, nothing at all. But you can very quickly get to something you’ve created yourself, even if your skill level isn’t all that high.

That’s an oversimplification, of course, but I think it’s at least born out in the design philosophies here; bleep!BOX allows the user to be more constructive than passive. (Audio manipulation techniques are capable of some tricks all their own – especially when you get into time manipulation and granular resynthesis. But that’s just the means to the end. There’s a difference between synthesizing music and consuming – or even passively remixing – music.)

I’m looking forward to spending some time with bleep!BOX as a sketchpad for beats. I’ll be interested to see how it might evolve to allow easier integration with desktop music workflows.

But notice what you can do with synthesized sounds – you can actually play. I think this is part of what made the Korg DS-10 such a smash hit on the Nintendo DS, even given the DS’ extremely constrained audio fidelity. (The iPhone – and, incidentally, Sony’s PSP – fare much better.)

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced user, “play” and expression are really what it’s about. A kazoo, for instance, doesn’t have canned sounds. It doesn’t come with presets. It can, frankly, embarrass you. But it’s fun to play, because you can feel a certain amount of freedom with it.

Ironically, I think it actually requires a fairly advanced user to have that kind of freedom with pre-canned loops. Aiming at a “lowest common denominator” is too often disparaged, when it can really mean aiming at a large public.

But maybe the reason “lowest common denominator” gets a bad name is that more advanced tools are often more fun. I’d love to see more work done on synthesized sound that’s really fun to play with.

The choice is yours, naturally. The two instruments:

http://www.groovemaker.com/
http://www.bleepboxapp.com/

So, iPhone/iPod touch users – now that the novelty has worn off, have you found apps you continue to use over time?

And, since you do come to CDM for opinions, anyone care to disagree with my take (or nod approvingly)?

Today is set to be an orgy of computer music-y, Abletronic, drum machine-loaded, Max-patching news, so let’s throw one out to the guitarists. IK Multimedia has two new announcements today that are actually quite cool. The StealthPedal is a Wah pedal that’s actually an audio interface, sort of like a James Bond pen that’s also a gun. And IK also landed the only official Fender-endorsed software amp emulation.

Here’s a quick look at the specs. By the way, I’ve consulted everyone I know (especially as I’m not a guitarist), and basically what we’ve come up with is that a whole bunch of the guitar emulations out there (Apple, IK, NI, and Waves) are pretty damned good. Apple recently upgraded their own guitar emulations, meaning even what you get in GarageBand ‘09 is a big leap forward (and I have it on good authority that they sound terrific). NI has a guitar announcement coming later today, too. I’d choose based on taste, basically; each has a unique personality.

AmpliTube Fender

• 12 Fender guitar amps (Twin Reverb, ‘59 Bassman LTD, Super-Sonic, Metalhead)
• 12 matching cabinets
• 9 microphones
• 6 stomp effects, 6 rack effects (tape echo, Fender reverb, fuzz/wah, triangle flanger, wah, the works)
• Digital tuner, stomp pedal board, amp head, cabinet plus mic, rack effects. (Here’s one point of differentiation: NI, for instance, has more toys here; IK plays it a little more conventionally; that’s a matter of taste.)
• SpeedTrainer, RiffWorks T4 recording included
• “Certified” by Fender
• US$229.99 for the full set, or get the LE (4 amps, 5 cabinets, 2 stomp, 2 mic, 2 rack FX) with the StealthPlug USB audio interface for US$139.99
• Available late February

It’s a pretty stunning deal if you’re a Fender fan.

http://www.amplitube.com/fender

Stealth Pedal

• Looks like a wah pedal – same form factor
• Works as a controller (it’s basically an assignable expression pedal)
• Comes with a double foot switch, and you can optionally add a second expression pedal via a foot input
• Also a USB audio interface (24-bit, 44.1/48)
• “Low-noise” input stage
• Headphone out, volume control, LEDs for use as a tuner or level indicator
• ASIO PC, Core Audio Mac drivers
• Software bundle
• US$269.99
• Available late April

This looks just incredibly functional for someone wanting something compact. There have been controller/audio interface bundles before from IK, NI, and others, but this you can throw easily in your case.

http://www.stealthpedal.com

Americans are busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and … everyone is busy, anyway. But there’s still time to:

1. Tell us what makes you musically thankful – we’ll feature your responses on CDM.

2. Tell us if you’d like to get handcrafted, human-written exclusive notes in your inbox occasionally from CDM (totally optional).

3. Get a chance to win the deluxe edition of T-rackS 3, the tasty mixing and mastering suite, with lots of new routing, models, and metering.

I’m actually working on a way to visualize all of these “reasons we’re thankful” in Processing, so I’d love lots of responses! Keep them coming!

You have until the end of the day Friday, November 28 NYC time.

Answer below (takes about a minute), or head to:

http://cdm.thanksgiving.sgizmo.com/

Thanksgiving is an American holiday on this international site, but the basic ideal for which the day has come to stand – giving thanks – is a noble one. So we want to do three things here for CDM:

1. Ask you what for you’re thankful, musically speaking. It might be a synth, or a collaborator, or an album, or a song, or the metronome you’ve used since you started playing, or having more discipline practicing. It could be tech (you know the slant of this site), or not. I’ll be putting together the answers in a big, warm heap for us to share, like virtual pumpkin pie.

2. Meet CDM Notes. Like you need another mailing list, I know. This one will be different – it won’t just be an automated dump of headlines; it’ll actually be an email from me with personal notes on the week’s events in music and motion, and some exclusive tidbits not elsewhere. You don’t have to sign up for the mailing list, but this is a chance to do it if you like. And it’ll include some things to be thankful for.

3. You could win a copy of T-RackS 3 Deluxe. Whether you opt for the mailing list or not, you’ll be entered to win a copy of IK Multimedia’s latest release of their mixing and mastering suite. (I’m playing with it now; watch for a review soon.)

Enter now: http://cdm.thanksgiving.sgizmo.com/

T-RackS 3 has a bunch of new stuff in it, too, so I expect we’ll make someone very happy. It’s basically a bundle of emulations of tube and digital models for mastering, with new mixing, metering, and models. (Mmmmm, alliteration.) The latest release adds new vintage and analog emulations and modeling tech, additional chaining options, extensive new metering, new oversampling, and both standalone and plug-in versions in all the formats. We’re giving you the Deluxe copy, so you get an extensive collection of tools. And if you lose, as I said, stay tuned for our full review once I’ve had sufficient time with it. (I’m calling in a couple of my mastering friends, since they have better ears than I do.)

Unlucky in these things? IK reminds us that they’re doing the one million installation giveaway; you can win up to $17,000 in toys and everyone gets to choose from one piece of free software.

1 Million Installation Celebration / giveaway / contest

… but of course, we hope you enter ours, too!

But on to being thankful – we look forward to hearing from you.

Fill out the embedded survey, or head directly to:

http://cdm.thanksgiving.sgizmo.com/