Zoom’s R8 promises to be everything you’d ever want to take with you on the go in one device. If they’ve pulled it off, it could be more invaluable in your backpack than even your computer. The R8 is a little bit of everything: stereo recording, multitrack editing, a 2×2 audio interface, an 8-voice sampler (complete with little pads), a drum machine (seriously), an effects box with modeling, a guitar tuner, a metronome, and a MIDI control surface. The big surprise: all of this is compact and lightweight and runs without a wall wart – USB power or batteries will do the trick.

I could talk dimensions, but I like Zoom’s way of describing it: “small enough to fit in a guitar case.”

Basic specs:
Recording and editing. Up to 24-bit, 48kHz recording of two simultaneous tracks. Mix up to eight tracks. Undo/redo. And if you forget your mic, there’s a built-in stereo mic, as we’ve seen on previous Zoom project gear. Record on SD for up to 32GB of space.

Onboard I/O. It’s simple, but significant for something this small: you get two balanced combo XLR – 1/4″ jacks for inputs, phantom power, and one channel has a Hi-Z switch for guitars and the like. Output is on two 1/4″ jacks.

Audio interface and control surface. The I/O and faders and knobs don’t go to waste when you’re connected to a computer via USB; you get 2×2 audio operation, plus a MIDI control surface. (I’m not sure if that’s class-compliant for iOS / Android / Linux, but I’ll find out.) Both the mixing and transport functions are active with your DAW on the control surface side.

Sampler, “rhythm machine.” Sample, loop, time-stretch, and trim samples which you can trigger along with track playback for quick composition. It’s no rival for a full sampler – sampler controls have to compete with mixing and editing controls, and it appears functions like slicing aren’t included – but getting this on a budget mobile project studio is pretty nice. You also get a 10-kit drum machine (or “rhythm machine,” as they prefer to call it), with step sequencer and phrase variations. The drum kit doesn’t appear to function with recorded samples, but … again, come on, your Portastudio didn’t do this, at least not without a separate drum machine plugged in.

Insert and send-return effects and amp models. 146 effect types are included, as well. You can use them to add a quick amp model and effects as you record your guitar, or add them live when the box is functioning as an audio interface.

Utilities. Guitar tuner. Metronome. There’s also Windows and Mac support, USB 2.0-speed file transfer of your WAV files from your sessions, and a footswitch input with optional footswitch accessory. Pop in four AA batteries, and you can run for up to five hours, say Zoom. There’s also a copy of Cubase LE included.

Full specs and features are up on the Zoom Japan site:
http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/r8/features/

Questions for Zoom? Want to see a review – and if so, any requests for how it’s conducted? Let us know.

The svelte compactness of a laptop poses a challenge for computer musicians: how do you play the thing? A typically-sized music keyboard kills the laptop’s portability and small footprint. That makes a compact keyboard a no-brainer.

This month, both Alesis and Korg have new compact offerings, each USB-powered, small, and cheap. And as a side note, I see a very different product opportunity not served by either one …but more on that in a bit.

Korg microKEY

Korg’s microKEY fits 37 mini keys from the microKORG XL and microSTATION into a USB-powered keyboard. I actually quite like playing the microKORG: the action and size could certainly be described as “toy-like,” but they’re consistent enough to be good fun. It’s a badly-needed product offering, because Korg’s otherwise terrific nano Series is marred by the awful keyboard, which offers few advantages over your laptop’s existing QWERTY keyboard in feel or control and has key caps that chronically fall off.

The microKEY looks much better:

• 2.21 lbs, fitting into 22.24″ x 5.47″ x 2.13″
• Driver-free operation, and two USB ports to turn the keyboard into a hub (nice)
• Something fun to play right away: the M1 Le soft synth and Lounge Lizard Session, among other bundled “lite” software
• Octave shift buttons
• Pitch Bend wheel and Modulation wheel
• November 2010, price TBD

The Korg also nicely trumps Akai’s LPK25, seen below. The LPK has mini keys, but only 25 of them. The Akai sports an arpeggiator and tap tempo, which is cool, but I expect most users would rather have pitch and mod. And while the Akai is USB-powered, it lacks the USB hub. I also really don’t like the feel of the LPK, personally, so I think the Korg bed wins out.

Korg microKEY

But wait — Numark/Akai/Alesis respond within days with their own offering!

Alesis Q25

The Alesis Q25 is more of a grown-up alternative to the Akai-branded LPK25. And it has wheels. Specs:

• Pitch and modulation wheels, octave up and down buttons, and an assignable “data slider”
• Class-compliant, bus-powered USB MIDI
• Full-sized keys – but still compact (updated): Dimensions: 19″ (w) x 7.25″(d) x 2 3/8″ (h) Weight: 4.6 lbs. That’s heavier than the Korg, but you get full-sized keys. And it’s actually roughly the same size. The Korg is, in fact, wider, if shallower and ever-so-slightly less tall, at 22.24″ x 5.47″ x 2.13″.
• Fall 2010 (maybe, say, November?), price… US$79
• UPDATED – yes, we have MIDI. As echolevel notes in comments, there is indeed MIDI DIN on this keyboard. So there you go – that counts as an advantage over the Korg.

So, the Alesis is also absurdly-cheap. Instead of being ultra-compact as the LPK and Korg pieces are, it falls more into “very compact.” That may make it perhaps more of a rival for M-Audio’s Oxygen – minus the handy knobs and transport controls – than the Korg above.

I’m waiting on final specs on weight and size from Alesis; stay tuned, as I’ll update the story. (Follow us on Twitter for the latest.)

Alesis Q25

Which one would I choose? Well, as I said, if we’re going to go ultra-compact, I’d choose one that goes all the way and is fun to have around. While we don’t know the price, that means the Korg looks to me like the winner – I’ve got plenty of full-sized keys around, as do you, I suspect, so why not cram 37 little keys next to your desk? It’ll be just fine for playing fun little synth lines.

On the other hand, I can absolutely see some people picking the full-sized keys. So, if two octaves is enough for you, you actually get a narrower keyboard in the Alesis that only adds a little bit of depth and weight versus the Korg. I’d rather have 37 keys than 24, but if you’re playing basslines, that could make the Alesis a winner.

Of course, all bets are off until we see the actual models.

And what I really, really want isn’t here.

The Keyboard That Lives Only in My Head

I have no doubt that Alesis/Akai and Korg are dead-on in terms of what will sell well in the market. But indulge me for a moment: what if we had something really unique for more boutique interests?

I love the idea of ultra-compact keyboards. But “cheap” isn’t as important to me. The portable controller of my dreams would have:

• Class-compliant USB (good so far)
• A MIDI port, so it could be used with portable synths and not just computers. Don’t want to take up the space for a giant DIN? Why not use S-Video on one end, MIDI on the other?
• Ruggedized construction: something that feels great and holds up to regular transportation, even if that adds to weight. (Now, let’s be honest – some of this is psychological. Plastic is a great material. Metal is more fun.)
• A higher-quality synth action bed. (I need to check Fatar to see if they offer something in the two-octave variety that’d work.)

Updated: Readers are already suggesting some existing offerings… check comments.

In other words, I’m actually asking for something more expensive – but something I’d buy once and use forever. And I want something that’d work with hardware, minus the computer. The market clearly wants cheap and light, whereas I want expensive and heavy.

I don’t think the industry is going to do it any time soon, which suggests what we really want is a DIY effort. Now, DIY keybeds are out of the question, but presuming you could order a reasonable quantity of beds and get custom casing, this otherwise isn’t impossible. And open, kit-based design means people could customize such things with novelties like ribbon controllers or tilt sensors.

The DIY community has thus far limited itself to mainly simple designs – the monome, gorgeous as it is, is just a light-up grid of buttons. Maybe it’s time for an open keyboard.

Keeping price down isn’t easy for the industry in big volumes; in small quantities, it’s a major, major problem. So how much would you pay for such a thing? And anyone want to comment on feasibility, or whether I’ve just lost my mind?

Oh, and in the meantime, yes, I’m sure a lot of those Alesis and Korg keyboards will sell. We’ll have a look and let you know how they are. So, feel free to comment on / ask questions about either the real-world or pipe-dream possibilities.

PSP lgpt port [fundable]

You’ll need to hack your PSP, of course, until Sony sees the light and allows arcane music downloads via its official store. But hacking isn’t so bad. We’ll keep you posted!

As seen in September on Palm Sounds, though worth repeating here.

Griff Promo Movie from Daniel Webb on Vimeo.

Promos are good, but actually learning how to use the tool is often the best way to judge it musically. It’s well worth going through the whole walkthrough, as that should give you an idea of whether or not this way of working is your style:

Griff Walkthrough from Daniel Webb on Vimeo.

Head to the official Griff site for more:

planetgriff.com

And you know, while we’ve seen some apps come close, we really haven’t seen an iPhone app quite this comprehensive.

Quick: you’ve got to sell UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC’s) to a mass market! How to do it? Well, Intel decided to show off pro audio and music production on the Linux-based Transmission, from Trinity Audio, as we saw earlier this week. I’m not entirely sure what got Intel thinking our geeky way, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts. And in all seriousness, Linux really an ideal OS choice here, because of its ability to be customized to the application.

The other flipside: low-power is the future. Computers now suck up 15% of the electricity in the US — electricity that produces a lot of our pollution and greenhouse gases. You do the math. A lot of that power gets used up in data centers, but the aggregate of all those homes counts, too. That will impact the future of all end-user operating systems.

Trinity has sent us some photos of the Intel booth at CES. Yes, Linux audio is getting some wider exposure. And even if you’re attached to Mac or Windows as your desktop/laptop platform, a mobile Linux device could be an ideal companion in the near future. We’ll have a chance to look at Trinity’s own device next week at NAMM and see how it stacks up.

Open-source music and audio is finally delivering the goods: useful and unique tools that make sense even alongside commercial/proprietary software. And as a sign that the mainstream could get a taste of these tools soon, Intel is exhibiting at the massive Las Vegas CES consumer electronics show with Transmission, says Trinity Audio’s Ronald Stewart.

Transmission is Trinity Audio’s open source software bundle and live Linux distribution. It’s built for Trinity’s Linux-powered Trinity mobile studio device, which we’ll be seeing more of soon. At CES, it’s running at the Intel booth on the Samsung Q1 Ultra Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). (The advantage of the Trinity over the UMPC for audio folks: XLR jacks, among other things.) But you can also run this free software on your PC — try the live CD link below. Haven’t tried it on Intel Mac yet, but that should work, too, theoretically.

Audacity [the open-source waveform editor]

Burn is a cd burn app

DJ is IDJ for live podcasting ( i love this with a mic)

Drum is Hydrogen [the simple but fun software drum machine]

Mixer is the Gnome ALSA mixer [for mixing virtual channels of audio on your system -- something not nearly as functional on Mac or Windows]

Mixxx 1.6 beta (rips with the touch screen grabbing the tracks and faders)

Record is Ardourino (Ardour is so awesome) [the open-source DAW]

Sequencer is Qtractor (another great app)

Synth is amsynth

Upload is an ftp app [so you can upload your tracks]

Zynaddsubfx is another great synth

For more description and links to the individual tools — an excellent selection of the creme de la creme on Linux — check the Transmission site. (warning: auto-plays audio!)

Transmission

But no need to have a UMPC or Trinity device to give this a spin. This live CD will do the trick. For Mac users, it even includes the native (non-Linux) Ardour for Mac, an excellent free and open source DAW for Mac users.

Trinity Live Master CD

Even as someone dedicated to proprietary software I really can’t live without (hello, Ableton!), I think there’s huge potential in using these applications for specific applications (like mobile devices), for collaboration, and file exchange. If we were really lucky, some of those major developers would start to build in support for, say, Ardour’s file format. But that’s the subject of another story.

Below: the Trinity mobile device getting celebrity treatment.

Wavosaur is a free audio editor for Windows that just hit version 1.0. It’s really good stuff: not only is it free, but the whole app is tiny (488kb), it’s designed to fit on a portable USB key, it hosts VSTs, and it’s an elegant waveform editor reminiscent of early versions of SoundForge. Even if you’ve got a wave editor of choice, might be worth sticking this on your USB key when you’re on the go — especially since it supports Windows 98, XP, and Vista. And it doesn’t have an installer or touch the Registry.

I just gave it a spin on my Vista install, and really enjoy it — clean interface, lots of features.

Basic features:

• Multiple file editing
• All the editing and processing you need (convert channels, normalize, cut and paste, trim, fade in / out, the usual)
• Pitch shift, vocal removal (karaoke, whoo!), loop points and markers
• ASIO, VST support
• Support for MP3, Akai, Amiga, and many other file formats
• Analysis features (2D, 3D)

Hmmm, look out — some more popular wave editors might get a run for their money. Thanks to Art from Russia for the tip!

Wavosaur Site