Yes, it’s that gift-y time of year again, which naturally means among lovers of music technology, thoughts turn to gear wishes and dreams of new hardware. We’ve asked in the past what readers want in their stockings and presents – and, just as interestingly, what they’d give to others. And you’ve come up with fascinating ideas.

This year, I’ll frame the question a bit differently: what, beyond the usual suspects, would you love to have? Books or music collections? Handmade or boutique items? Unique tools and toys that’d help you be creative? And what would you give to others – perhaps out of the gifts you’ve given yourself this year? (Music lessons, for instance?)

We’ll again pull together those ideas for next week. And we’re also looking through the best music of the year. Given the lavish presentation music itself often now has – far from disposable digital downloads, gorgeous vinyl records and limited-edition prints and books and design objects – I imagine those two questions might well merge.

Nor does this has to be raw consumerism: the best gifts, to me, can start a life-long love of music or be an object that embodies a connection to another person. If ever we, the music tech press, may just encourage endless throwaway purchases, I think it’s also our obligation as journalists to find the tools (free or pricey) that will make you musically productive and that you’ll value over a long time. (If you think that we lack that motivation, by the way, you’ve never been buried under a stack of review hardware. Ahem.)

But before I open my own mouth, I’d love to hear what you’re thinking – or what gap we might fill. Fire away.

And if this seems like “filler,” on the contrary, I know from past experience sometimes it’s what gets written in comments that I enjoy the most.

Can’t get enough of the upcoming drum machine, Tempest, by Roger Linn and Dave Smith? Reader Josh Decker sends in this video by Josh’s friend Rob Baker, aka Redivider, tearing up the machine as a performance instrument. Also, follow the comment thread on our previous post for some follow-up from Dave Smith Instruments to reader questions. Dave tells us there will be more to say on the machine, and that we can expect a release date that should come very close to “the end of summer.” (Watch your calendar.) The Tempest may not be for everyone – and some of us simply don’t have the scratch for this kind of gear at the moment – but I nonetheless find it inspiring to see what people are doing, especially in regards to workflow.

Product page: http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/tempest/

Teenage Engineering’s hotly-anticipated synth / music-making hardware OP-1 finally got an official release last week. Early stocks promptly sold out, but new waves of deliveries should refresh availability. We’ll have more from TE on the launch and the instrument soon.

In the meantime, you can thank early-adopter Ludwig Mueller for being brave enough to post early experiments with the instrument. Ludwig is a proud owner of the beta release, one of a handful of people who signed up to get access to the OP-1 prior to its public launch – and even before functionality in firmware was entirely finalized. I’ve heard now from several readers who are beta users, and a variety of reactions to the instrument. Oversimplifying, they appear to break down to those who adore the OP-1′s restrictions and those who curse them (and those who do both). In the video at top, Ludwig shows off the process of layering beats and tracks; he not only plays the OP-1, but uses it as a production and composition tool. I asked him to share some further thoughts on how he likes his OP-1 — and what, exactly, it really is.

The OP-1 in short is a mixup of an [Akai] MPC, a pretty great synth, a radio, a mic, and a DAW [Digital Audio Workstation]. All of these components are rather limited looked at individually, but I guess what you can say here is that the sum is greater than its parts. It is the mixture of these parts and the device’s limits – recording is destructive, [so there's] no undo once you record two or more instruments on one track – force you to think ahead. But at the same time, the OP-1′s layout and abilities make you want to try out things you’d never consider in a DAW. So depending which takes over – your brain or your inner child – your results will vary from one extreme to another.

A thing that I really like about OP-1 is the fact that you can’t overtweak. In a traditional DAW, I’d EQ every track and add a little compression, etc., etc. On the OP-1, there’s no such thing. It either sounds good or it doesn’t – and if it does sound good, you keep going and building the track. At the end you turn up the mastercompressor, which BTW is quite amazing, and you’re done! Again: I love the mastercomp!

I can say that I finish a lot more projects / beats / tracks with the OP-1 than with a DAW. Granted, they feel more raw and have some hiccups here and there, but I’m willing to take that in exchange for the fun I have using that little device. And by now, quite often I actually prefer this rawness to the slick sound of my DAW tracks.

Of course there are times when I crawl back to the laptop, and do another track dissecting every element. But this doesn’t last for too long usually. With the OP-1, I can focus more on the music than on the technical side of things; it’s so immediate: No long boot up, loading programs, plugging in things. It’s just a switch and 5-second wait and you’re good to go. It also really fits the bill regarding the overall sound I want to achieve: it’s warm yet punchy. You can actually overdrive the output quite nicely using the mastercompressor within the unit. The achieved overdrive can be quite pleasing to the ear, I think.

I have heard many people say that TE should bring out an OP-1 iPad App. I am 100% certain that a touchscreen can not give you the same feel as a nicely-designed device with quality buttons and encoders.

Right now, I am on the latest OS (the one that is also available for download on TE’s site) and I didn’t have any problems at all since upgrading to that version.

If you visit www.soundcloud.com/yellow-tangerine there is a set on my page called “OP-1 Stuff”. All these tracks are exclusively OP-1 and nothing else.

Let’s give that OP-1 Stuff a listen, indeed:
OP-1 Stuff by YΞll❍W T∆ΠgΞriΠΞ

Thanks, Ludwig, for the thoughts. Plenty of design and workflow thoughts to chew over here, I think, even if you aren’t using an OP-1 – some of these same ideas about limitation can be applied to other hardware and even to software. So I’m curious to hear people respond to the musical ideas here, and not just the issues specific to the OP-1.

I welcome any reactions from OP-1 users — praise and criticism alike.

For the latest from Teenage:
http://now.teenageengineering.com/

Given the vastness of music available today online, “best of…” lists, while nice to have, can be disappointingly predictable. Not so with music selected by readers of this site. We asked for your favorite albums of last year, and you responded with extraordinary variety. I’ve selected entries from readers – some must-have inclusions, some that were simply well-described or surprising – for your enjoyment here. In these mid-January doldrums, it’s a perfect time to catch up on musical inspiration, then hole up and create some digital music of your own. I’ve called attention to some specific choices with images and videos and audio embeds, too, as you’ll see.

If you’re like me, creating often must begin with listening. Here’s plenty of listening to get you started.

Hollow
36
36, Album (full-length)
http://3six.net/album/hollow

Fine musician with an ear for ambient texture and melody. People ought to pay attention!

Suggested by Peter Dines http://modulations.noisepages.com

2010
$.99 Dreams
Bandcamp/$.99 Dreams, Album (full-length)
http://ninetyninecentdreams.com/

2nd album delivers a novel mix of dark jazz, instrumental hip hop, and a raw improvised aesthetic.

Suggested by Mat

Music for motion pictures
Åbäke
Åbäke, Album (full-length)
http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/music-for-motion-pictures/id403203224

Cosy and cute. This is a soundtrack that fits all seasons of the year and I always listen to it when I travel by train!

Suggested by Lars Jönsson

Mimikry
Alva Noto and Blixa Bargeld
Raster Noton, Album (full-length)

Suggested by strunkdts

Cavalier
Antix
Iboga, Album (full-length)
http://soundcloud.com/mpdqx/sets/antix-cavalier

A buddy of mine put this CD in his Oldsmobile in the middle of the Snoqualmie National Forest at about 2am. Pitch back outside. Damp from the moisture of the forest, and smelly from the smoke of the campfire. I was in the back seat and I remember being transported by this album. It really is a trancey record. The bass feels warm, and the percussion is so nicely done and crisp. I love the different noise sweeps and use of side-chain compression. The first disk of the album plays back in the form of a Mixed set, however all of the songs are by Antix. The second disk contains single versions and remixes of the album’s songs. Check out Manta (Beckers Remix) for some good cheese. Mmmm. Cheese. It’s both smooth and crunchy at the same time. I chose this record because I really don’t think it should be missed. It is a great trance record.

Suggested by Adam

In D
Arandel
Infiné, Album (full-length)
http://www.myspace.com/arandelmusic

Got impressed by this string-techno-driven-glitch mixture… great album!!!

Suggested by flogistox

Consume, Adapt, Create
Architect
Hymen Records, Album (full-length)
http://www.hymen-records.com/all/y781.html

A perfect mix of dubtep, ebm, experimental, techno, ambient, cinematic, Daniel Myer is a master sound designer and an expert hook maker

Suggested by cooptrol cooptrol.com

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)

Old bastards don’t miss a hit in my opinion… This new full-length is brilliant!

Suggested by Gilieu

Oversteps
Autechre
Warp, Album (full-length)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vWoxs47oiE

It’s ridiculous. It’s probably one of the best albums ever. The sounds, the music, the algorithms (at least it sounds very algorithmic (in a good way), in Treale for example). I don’t know what to say really. But it feels like I’m about to rethink everything I thought I thought was important in music. Again. A good thing, i guess.

Suggested by Max Wainwright soundcloud.com/maxwainwright

As the inevitable “best music of 2010″ arrive, so, too, do complaints. Why are the lists the same? Why is an obvious choice overlooked? Why is a less-known choice overlooked?

So, it’s time again for readers to discuss. What was your favorite music of 2010? Mixes, albums, singles? Unless your favorite was recorded entirely to tape, nearly any genre and instrumentation has gone through the filter of digital recording, mixing, and mastering. Almost anything might be said, rightfully, to qualify as digital music. What were the albums that inspired you, sonically, compositionally? What were your favorite performances?

In particular, I hear regular complaints, even from people who develop music software, that electronic music lacks the element of human musical performance. Even without the criterion of virtuosity, what music challenged you? Obvious choices from major labels should not be overlooked, but so, too, should unknown netlabels and Creative Commons recordings.

Let us know, and wherever possible, do include a link to the music. You can also use our Google form below if you’d rather not just discuss, unstructured, in comments.

Direct link to the form

See also our call for the Best Music of 2010 on our sister site.

We’ll celebrate the New Year with a round-up of a few of your choices and editorial choices to go with it. Also, I hope we can get input from some record shops and curators, so if you’re in that capacity, do get in touch. It’s always a nice way to spend January, revisiting the best music of the previous year.

We hear your opinions in comments (sometimes loudly). Now it’s time to be counted. Which computing platforms do you own, and which do you use for music – desktop Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile iOS, Linux, Android? We’re not interested in what you don’t want to see (sorry, trolls), but we do want to know what you want to see more of. Connecting to the platforms you care about is important to CDM. This isn’t a popularity contest – I always enjoy the chance to write to an underserved minority. But it is a chance for us to look at who’s out there, and we’ll share the results. (It’s been a couple of years since our last survey, and a lot has happened.)

I’m not offering an incentive for this survey, for fear it might bias the results, but tell your CDM reading friends to answer – it’s democracy in action.

Answer now… Survey closes 11:59pm Sunday, August 8!

Direct link: [mobile device-friendly for iPhone/Android/etc.]
http://cdm.platform.sgizmo.com/s3/

Want to register your vote on the visual side? See our parallel survey for Create Digital Motion.

Embedded survey below. (RSS readers will likely need to click through to the site.)

This site has always been about making music with computers and digital technology. Today, we increasingly have access to powerful computers in mobile form factors. But, despite the simple fact that all of these are ultimately computers, I’ve quickly learned that mobile music production is a divisive issue. Some of you are as passionate about hating mobile tech as others of you are about loving it, perhaps propelled by a strong uptick of iPhone hype and accompanying resentment. Don’t worry — I won’t be swayed too much by either group; I’m committed to computers in all forms, tiny and large, and accompanying digital synths. And analog synths. And, really, anything that makes sound.

That said, the survey results we did on mobile tech are very interesting. Story topics for CDM aren’t a popularity contest, but your responses do reveal a lot. (The best reading turns out to be the write-in portion.)

First up, here’s a look at what mobile platforms people own. I expect the survey is somewhat self-selecting (some of you in the “none of the above” category likely didn’t respond), but note how the game platforms dominate.

That’s platforms you already own. But which are you interested in reading about? The margin on each device increases significantly. (Sony’s PSP doubles; Linux triples.) So that demonstrates that people are interested in learning about the larger landscape, and may be basing future purchase decisions on what’s available for music creation. (It also appeared that stronger support for PSP and Linux came from Europe than North America, possibly in part due to painfully-inflated costs for iPod touch and iPhone in that market.)

Zany Write-In Response

Okay, enough demographics. The best part of doing the poll was getting your write-in responses.
Google’s Android platform unsurprisingly got a number of write-in votes; GP2X got fewer, but I expect people just (rightfully) answered “Linux.” We did get some interesting responses, though:

Mobile device suggestions:

• Boss Micro BR
• Buddha Machine
• Graphing calculators (careful; with the readers here, you might get your wish
• Korg Kaossilator
• MPC 500
• Psion organizers
• “steam powered”
• Yamaha QY100
• Speak and Spell
• PlayStation 1 (that’s mobile?)
• Nokia N-gage (but now I know you’re joking)

And then there was the hater/lover argument:
“PLEASE GIVE THE IPHONE A REST! BORING YUPPIE TOY. soz for capitals.”
“Not all of us have tiny little girlie fingers!!!” (ouch!)
“The above statement should be “I really couldn’t care less.” As it happens, I am interested in all of them, so I really could care less.”
“mobile audio coverage is getting ridiculous”
“Just keep it to a minimum, guys =)” (Well, it is by definition miniature, right?)
“more iphone!!!! screw the haters”
“Everything. If there’s something new and interesting done with a C64, it could be worth going out to buy a setup.”
“every – f***ing – thing !”

At least someone said “whatever, it’s all good.” Sir, you may be alone in your calm attitude, but the editorial staff appreciates it. Meanwhile, I’ll be exercising my tiny girlie fingers over a variety of devices. (They give me uncanny accuracy in touch apps. So there.)

BeatMaker Update and Workflow

A new BeatMaker video (below)

One of the biggest objections — and a fair one — boils down to “but how do you use this in real life?” The “it’s a toy” argument is a legitimate one if it means you have software you play around with, but that you can’t use as an instrument effectively or work into your own music. (By that token, for instance, my toy piano is actually a valuable instrument.)

So it’s big news that, as many people had hoped, Intua’s BeatMaker has added MIDI export. That means you can assemble ideas and patterns on BeatMaker and bring them into your desktop music software of choice. I’m already hearing from people using this with Ableton Live. This isn’t a new feature — Windows Mobile and Palm apps have offered the same thing — but it’s a big part of the draw of these devices. BeatMaker also has an improved manual, more videos, and Bonjour support:

intua.net

Intua’s Mathieu also tells us “We’re working on the new BeatMaker killer-update now. Should be interesting !” Indeed.

For the record, that means some of the interesting workflow possibilities now available include the likes of:

• Building MIDI patterns and audio loops for use elsewhere (PSP Rhythm, PSP; BeatMaker, iPhone/iPod; many others)
• Building complete tracks using unusual synths (PSPSEQ, PSP)
• Working on drum patterns, with samples, in a round-trip with desktop software (iDrum, iPhone/iPod)
• Using your mobile device as a touch/stylus controller, etc. (DSMI, DS; various tools, iPhone/iPod)

All good stuff. Of course, by the same token, there are clear disadvantages of mobile devices — cramped screen space and controls, limited processing power, a lack of full-sized and full-fidelity audio I/O, and the like. But that’s why I’ve always felt conventional form factor computers aren’t really going anywhere. They work really well; these augment what they can do.

First and foremost, thank you. In just over three years of CDM — and roughly five thousand stories on Create Digital Music and Create Digital Motion — you have blown me away. You’ve shared countless news tips, ideas, discussion, projects, art and music, and helped create a unique spot on the Web. That success allows us to deliver hundreds of thousands of views each month, and more importantly, has helped CDM be recognized beyond even musicians and visualists as a leading resource for creative technology. That’s really your success: the ideas you’ve given us, and your work in spreading this stuff to everyone else.

Three years is often the point where people experience some fatigue, but we’re feeling quite the opposite. We want to do more than we’ve done in the past. But we need your help.

CDM Costs, and a New Ad Policy

Running CDM costs money. At the beginning of 2007, after a horrible period of site outages that nearly caused me to shut down CDM permanently, we made the move to a dedicated server, because in hosting, you tend to get what you pay for. That server, bandwidth, and other direct costs of the site have cost me thousands of dollars — nearly all of which I’ve paid out of pocket. More importantly, CDM requires an enormous investment of time, much of it behind the scenes administering the site — and to do what we want to do on CDM, it’s going to take more time.

We are tuning our advertising and affiliate models, and we have some other income ideas we’re developing. But we also know we want our ad model to be different, because it needs to fit CDM. We’ve decided that, beyond Google Ads, any direct ads we take on CDM will be considered an endorsement. That means we need to believe in — and personally use — anything we advertise. We want to remain content-driven rather than ad-driven. If you think you would like to partner with us, do contact us, as we have some affordable schemes for providing ads that are useful to readers — just be aware we do things a little differently. We are serious about advertising — but we’re serious about keeping it in the spirit of the site, as we move forward.

And doing things differently means we can’t continue to survive without some reader support.

Real Reader-Supported Content

I want to do better than simply asking for your support, though. I want to make a promise: support CDM, and we’ll turn that support into content. We want to do more on CDM than we’ve done in the past. We want 2008 to be a breakthrough year for the site, and we’ve got a lot of ideas. We will absolutely make it clear that CDM is publishing some reader-supported stories, and we’d love to hear what you’d like that to be. Got ideas for the kind of videos or articles you’d want to see? Let us know in comments here, or on the CDM Forums.

Donating just a few dollars will make a difference.

I also have ten copies of my book Real World Digital Audio, a near-600-page guide to making music on computers, which I can ship to the first ten people to donate over US$50 (which is actually the book’s list price). If you want the book, don’t forget your address and specify an amount of $50.00 or greater.

I know a lot of you are on a tight budget as we are. But we really do appreciate your support — and with your help, CDM can be an even better free online resource in the future.

Pay what you can, pay what you want. Thanks for your support, and thanks for reading.

1. Play out more: I’ve been in a cycle, personally, of going back to develop material and ideas and get out of the playing-out mode, and I’m ready to cycle back and go play some more. How about you?
2. Practice: It’s all too easy as an electronic musician to let your chops go to slush. Fortunately, I have the staff of Keyboard Magazine to intimidate me, and the fact that they’re such brilliant players is easily enough to drive me back to running some scales and finger exercises and getting back in shape. For added inspiration, you can fire up GarageBand or another easy looping program to build some interactive accompaniments (or go to the old-fashioned method and put on a Jamey Aebersold CD). Trust me: scales are a lot more fun when there’s a rhythm section behind you, even as a classically-trained player.
3. Build some software patches: I’ve been spending time teaching tools like Max/MSP and haven’t gotten to build my own performance patches. Fortunately, it’s possible to keep your projects on a manageable scale, something I’ve learned from my students. Find a simple solution and solve that is usually the advice I give, and now I’ll go take it myself. With tools like Ableton Live, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to performance: it’s easy enough to add custom tools built in Reaktor or Max/MSP to Live.

I’ll be checking my own progress against some of these goals. But I’m curious what our readers have as resolutions for 2007. What are your goals for the year?

Sofie writes:

This bundle of joy came this afternoon and I couldn’t help but take a few happy snaps to celebrate its arrival. My initial comments are â€Å“yayâ€Â? and â€Å“woohoo.â€Â? It looks and feels solid, great key action (no skimping on key size depth), it has pink and blue buttons (extremely important) and rotary LED knobs. The layout is simple and easy to use, and its controls are chosen to emphasise its role as a chunky sounding monophonic synth. And above all it sounds like a moog. My thirst for tangible analogue aesthetic has been quenched. Every girl should have one.

And it glows in the dark. (Hint to product makers: as a reviewer, I instantly put that in my “pros” column.) I don’t own a Moog here, sadly, but I will say, if you haven’t played the Voyager or Little Phatty, you really should get a hands-on experience. The total user experience of the Moog instruments is truly greater than just the sum of their parts; they are fantastic designs.

Sofie, who says she’s also a CDM reader, is an interesting figure herself. In addition to various compositional projects, she helped put together the record label Southern Outpost (as in Southern Hemisphere, I presume), which now has a deal with Submerge in Detroit, has worked with a lot of really cool people, has played SONAR as a laptop artist, and, well, go read her bio. And she has her Little Phatty under a Roland SH1000, a rig that will make any synth-loving boy or girl happy!

For more:

my first moog
my first moog part 2
flickr stream

(Apologies to Matrixsynth readers, who are now experiencing the new Sofie Moog meme.)

We’re always happy to hear reader stories, so all you good folks, feel free to share any time you like.