Keeping to the theme of Tony’s video with his Windows Mobile device, here (via a reminder on comments from its creator) is Pocket Griff. There’s no gimmick here: this is all about taking your software studio / sequencer and putting it in your pocket so if inspiration strikes you on the go, you can actually make something. And because of the ready availability of powerful PDAs that run Windows Mobile – including some impressive refurb / used models and devices that aren’t also trying to be a phone – it’s not hard to find a gadget that can run this.

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:

It’s easy enough to dismiss mobile music devices as toys, and I’d add, there’s really nothing wrong with toys. But the test – a personal one – is whether or not you can develop your musical ideas with them. Some of the deepest, most consistently satisfying tools for mobile devices are the ones that shrink down real production capabilities to a handheld size. Look closely at these apps, and you’ll see software that could easily have passed for “advanced” sequencers on computers fifteen years ago. (Indeed, I think arguably we’ve lost some usability with the complexity we’ve added since.)

While the iPhone phenomenon continues to grow, don’t write off Windows Mobile for music. Tony Stone sends a video showing off the piano roll-style sequencer in an app called AudioBox. It goes beautifully with the stylus – precision input that isn’t possible with your finger on the iPhone.

AudioBox Micro Composer is available at various online software stores. Here’s where Tony says he picked it up:

AudioBox Micro Composer @ ClickApps

AudioBox Product Page @ 4pockets [developer]

AudioBox has come up many times on Palm Sounds; see the interview with the developer

US$44.95, but for that you get the sequencer, an analog synth, a string pad synth, a samples, a drum machine, 16 channels of mixing, effects, editing capabilities, and “device automation” (not sure what that last one means). Part of the reason this is all possible is that developing for Windows Mobile is very much like developing for Windows – and unlike Google’s Android, you can write the apps in C/C++. If you’re not a developer, what that means it that you’re basically getting desktop-like apps.

Tony is worth checking out, too. He’s a Christian hip-hop artist, beatmaker and producer, and youth minister, and he’s promised some very interesting DIY projects coming soon. See his blog and MySpace page. We actually have a whole lot of readers making music in communities of faith, demonstrating that there’s a lot more diversity of musicians working with technology. It’s not at all limited to the view people have of the club or DJ scenes.

Side note: Microsoft should never have gotten rid of the Pocket PC moniker.

Much as we love computers, who hasn’t dreamed of a dedicated hardware box for gigging that plays your plug-ins seamlessly? The Muse Receptor does this already, and it’s a very effective solution – everyone I know who’s got one loves it. But it is a full rackmount space, and prices start around US$2000 (though it does look like you can snag a refurb for less). That could be well worth it, but I’m sure for some potential customers, weighing the bulk and cost against a computer makes it tougher to bite.

That makes the V-Machine pretty impressive on paper: it’s more compact, like “throw it in a backpack” compact, and promises to list for only US$599. That’s so impressive, in fact, the “this is too good to be true” effect starts to set in – at least until we see one in person. But at least on paper, here’s what it promises:

• VST/VSTi playback
• External MIDI controller support for all parameters
• Three USB connections, which you can use for sample storage, installation of plug-ins, dongles (ewww), or connecting controllers
• MIDI-in jack (no MIDI out jack, which says to me you’d want to slave this to something else for tempo sync, not the other way around)
• Control configuration via Windows and Mac
• Load software via USB when connected to your computer
• Aluminum case (so far, we only have the mock-up above, not actual product photography)

Looking closer at the specs, there are a couple of catches:

• 1GHz CPU / 512M RAM / 1G flash disk (meaning this could be the catch; i.e., it’s likely to be a bit underpowered for some plugs)
• 1 audio input, 1 headphone out, both minijacks (minijacks, really?)
• 2 unbalanced TS audio outs (hmmm, no balanced? no XLR?)

Without the audio I/O and more powerful computer specs, I don’t think it’s likely to rival the Muse Receptor. But given the small size and low price, it could be ideal for someone who wants something simple and portable – it’s just a different market.

At US$599. Available at the end of this month. And it all comes from SM Pro Audio, who are something of a known quantity in the business.

Stay tuned. SM, I’d like one here, please, even if just for a few days.

V-Machine Press Release

V-Machine Product Page

slicedbread, on behalf of The Covert Operators, has released a free Windows utility that generates “endless harmonic oscillators” for Ableton Live’s Simpler and Sampler instruments. (Since this was a released, a Mac build has been made available, as well; see link below.) Even if you don’t intend to use the utility directly, pay attention – The Covert Ops already have a sample pack up full of oscillators, and you can bet the presence of this utility means more will come. (Even Robert Henke was impressed on the forums.)

Live 6 introduced the file format for “Ableton Meta Sounds.” Bjorn Vayner is currently breaking down how the format works, but the short upshot is that you can make oscillator sources that won’t alias for sound design in Simpler and Sampler. The AMS File Utility does more, too – export tunings (even microtuned stuff), and make oscillator variations. It’s sampling for people who like synthesis. In fact, not only is it fun to make additive synthesis-style oscillators dragging individual harmonics, but it’s a total breeze to change the offset and make equal-tempered stuff, negative scales, and other tunings.

Description on the forums:

AMS File Utility for Microtonal/Traditional Tunings

And from the very awesome Covert Operators site, some of the behind-the-scenes action, plus the Mac build (updated with additional links!):

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 1

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 2

Meta Files: Uncovering the .ams format, Part 3

Mac OS X Meta Application

Thanks for reminding us of this, Tony. I’m a bit behind on all this, but better late than never. Since I am lagging, has anyone made some AMS packs since this came out in September?

Sick of hearing about music apps for the iPhone?

This is going to make you feel much worse. In fact, you might just want to go somewhere else right now.

Okay, before you start throwing your cell phones at me, they are experimenting with some nice ideas:

• Tilt
• “Wind input” using the mic
• Finger placement over multi-touch holes on the device

Breath controllers haven’t gotten the play recently they once did. What this demonstrates is that you can use a mic input to fake it – though they don’t make that input variable; that is, you can’t blow harder or lighter to get different results. (In fairness, that doesn’t work quite as well with a mic, at least not without some effort.) So there’s plenty here to experiment with – and nothing stopping you from, say, using the internal mic on your laptop to play around.

Whether or not it’s a serious musical instrument, as a toy it’s a bit like a 21st Century kazoo. There’s even online sharing of songs. So I can’t knock it as a toy. I’d just like to see someone make a DIY breath controller – any ideas? (Musical breathalyzer?)

The software is $0.99. I’ll be they sell a whole bunch of them. But if you do a Zelda cover, dress up in the green suit – it helps the effect. [iTunes link]

Also on Synthtopia, who grabbed this first.

Mobile Apple users, I’ve got a couple of recording solutions for you – a hardware mic for the iPod (not the touch), and a multitrack audio app for the iPhone and second-generation iPod touch. I’m sure they’ll be a godsend to some people out there. But this time, I’m not waiting for commenters to say “I’m sick of iPhone apps.” I have to offer some healthy skepticism of my own this time around – and a bit of regret that the first-generation iPod touch is getting left out in the cold. But don’t let that stop you if this happens to be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

You hear plenty of chatter about the powers of OpenSoundControl, the open, high-res, network-savvy control protocol for music and visuals. But standards are no good without implementation — and some implementations just aren’t very good. Now, users, you can go have a sandwich or whatever, but developers, pay attention. (And users, enjoy that sandwich in the knowledge that someone somewhere is giving you better toys to play with soon!)

Our friend Ray, co-developer of live visual app VDMX, has put up a Cocoa, Mac-based framework for OSC. While it’s all in Objective-C (natch), it wouldn’t be too hard to port a similar framework to other open-source languages and platforms. Ray is working on a kind of best-practices OSC implementation. Worth a peek — and if you’re a Cocoa dev, of course, even better.

Described thusly:

VVOSC is an Objective-c framework for assembling, sending, and receiving OSC (Open Sound Control) messages on OS X. A
simple sample application which sends and receives OSC messages is also included.

more information on OSC:
http://opensoundcontrol.org/

VVOSC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

vvosc [Code+Examples]

Cocoa fans, they’ve also whipped up an Objective-C framework for MIDI:

VMIDI is an Objective-c framework which simplifies working with MIDI in OS X. A sample application capable of sending and receiving MIDI built from the framework is included.

vvmidi

(Insert here: “Daddy? Tell me more stories about MIDI and how you used to use values from 0 to 127 back in the day!”)

“vvosc” is likely to cause confusion with the Windows-only vvvv — which is also visual, also wonderful, and also supports OSC — but hopefully you can sort that out.

Now that I have your attention, developers, I’m curious: got questions about OSC? Challenges with implementation on different operating systems and in different frameworks? What are the best implementations you’ve seen in common environments like C++, Java, and Python?

Well, this is the first time I can remember this happening. Tuesday, I covered a GBP20 Max object for independent tempo and pitch modification in Max 5:
elastic~: Pitch, Speed Control Module for Your Max 5 Patch

I wasn’t personally so blown away by it, but it looked interesting, and it uses algorithms used in a number of commercial projects. But Max guru Devin Kerr put his money where his mouth was — or is that, no money where his … um … ears are — and released a free version. Unlike elastic~, it uses all included Max objects. Aside from saving you some dough, that has the significant advantage of being able to easily share patches based on his patch with fellow Max users.

Devin writes:

So I took 15 minutes and made a simple patch and video demonstrating what I’m calling “Free_Elastic”. This Max patch uses high-quality, FFT pitch shifting and is based on the standard groove~ object. It allows for much more control and customization (fft size, overlap, etc.) than “elastic~” does, and it’s FREE!

Free_Elastic: Independent Pitch/Speed Control in Max [Devin Kerr's blog]

Even if you like elastic~, you can’t really argue with the nice work Devin did on his patch. Hope this leads to some other great patching work. Now, can we get a Pd (Pure Data) port for a truly free experience, anyone?

More Goodies

Andreas Wetterberg (of Covert Operators) points to Mattijs Kneppers’ wonderful work. Object-oriented patching? Check. An MPC-inspired drum sampler? You got it.

And most notably in this context:

Real-time, natural sounding granular time stretcher / pitch shifter, version 009, patches only. Download test sounds here.

Time stretching and pitch shifting without artifacts (Max 5 only).

This patch uses the pitch~ object by CNMAT, that you can download here:
http://cnmat.berkeley.edu/downloads.

Granular time stretching has the advantage over a spectrum-based (phase vocoder) approach that it has no inherent latency. This patch aims for the same sound quality (absence of artifacts) as the time stretching features of mainstream applications such as Ableton Live or Reaktor.

That said, actually, you might enjoy those artifacts. But if you’re a Max user (or Pd user willing to do a little bit of porting), this should more than satisfy your appetite for warping. And, Andreas, I’m with you … I prefer the granular stretching sound. (Because it’s really a grain sampler and not just a delay, you may also want to check out the terrific video tutorial Peter Dines did in Reaktor. And there’s a lot more of this stuff elsewhere, as well.)

To me, the ideal kind of music tech writing is when you get to spend quality time with tools for musical reasons - not simply to talk about the technology, but to make stuff. Over the past weeks, we’ve been gradually assembling ideas, sound designs, knowledge, and tutorials into a string of blog-style posts on the CDM Kore site. I’ve organized those into an evolving guide to working with Kore as a musician, from getting a handle on the basics (including some stuff that initially befuddled us when we tried to use it!), to some “experimental” techniques for pushing the envelope.

Using Kore

We’ve been spending a lot of time with Reaktor, too, so expect a follow-up with that. The idea isn’t really to advocate any tool over another one — on the contrary, for me it’s about figuring out, okay, now you’ve got something, what do you do with it?

It’s been great to get all this input from Peter Dines, Eoin, and the readers, as well (particularly Jonathan Adams Leonard) — the guide above is sort of a “collective knowledge” about the tool. Having written a book and various magazine articles, it’s a totally different experience: more learning than teaching.

On the same lines, I’ve also put together a guide to working with the Kore controller without touching the mouse. That’s part of the whole appeal to me of the Kore system, but it may not be immediately obvious how to do it. If you’ve got Kore in front of you, this will walk you in front of how to do it. I’m still learning to assimilate this with my live sets, but when I get it going it makes me really happy — I’m able to focus directly on sound.

Reference: How to Navigate Kore 2 with Hardware - No Mouse!

This is good timing, as I’m just now back from Berlin where I got to do a short set which happened to combine Ableton Live and Kore. So, separate from this other stuff, I do want to say a big thank you to everyone in Berlin who came out. It was great to meet you, and I hope to come back soon — you have a really fantastic town; I loved being there. It was really creatively inspiring.

Several bloggers were nice enough to write up / photograph the evening:
MIDI Mechanics
Hundertmarknow

– both blogs in German, but they look great; just added them to my RSS so I can keep practicing my German reading skills.

Big thanks, as well, to everyone at the DEAF Festival and in Dublin, in another wonderful and energizing town. I’ll be putting together my notes from the DEAF presentation soon to share.

If you’re looking for pitch- and speed-independent warping and other sonic effects, and Max 5 is your modular patching tool of choice, a new tool is now available to add to your arsenal. elastic~ is an object similar that allows high-quality audio warping. The developer claims it uses the “same algorhythm as software giants Cubase, Ableton Live, and Kontakt.” I’m personally still quite happy with granular tools in software like Reaktor — and have recently gotten interested in exploring implementations in the free and open source SuperCollider, but of course there are great advantages to working in Max, and the implementation here seems unusually elegant and easy to use.

The developer writes:

With elastic~ it’s easy to tempo match loops together (either to each other or a global tempo); create a sampler that doesn’t change the speed of your sample as you change pitch; correct out of tune samples; create harmonizers; and just generally loop and bend and warp and stretch and……

elastic~ Product Page

The software is the creation of Simon Adcock and Joe Jarlett.

Product price is GBP20 — though thanks to the US Dollar surging against the Sterling, that’s not so bad. If you grab this and make stuff with it, let us know. Got an external you prefer, or other tool (a la SuperCollider) for audio warping, let us know that, too. (Warping audio is a personal and intimate process. I can’t imagine you’d share it with just any tool.)

Update: The engine in question is Elastique — quite nice, in fact, to have this “ported” effectively to Max/MSP! (And check out how many places it’s used — fascinating.)