A Casio in Iraq

Ok, not technically a synth, but check this out. It’s a Casio AT-40 with Arabic labels spotted in Iraq of all places. Via Daniel: “A casio AT-40 with arabic lettering that I spotted in Hewler/Arbil in northern Iraq in december last year. I should have bought it!” Yeah he should have. : ) Click here for the full sized shot. It does make me wonder how much, if any, electronic music is being made in Iraq. I seem to vaguely remember there being an online music site from the country. If you know of any, please do comment. I ran a quick search and I did find one artist that goes by “phreaque modi” in Baghdad. Click here for the site with full tracks. It’s inspirational to think music like this is making its way through a situation like that.

A TB-303 Birthday

Check out this TB-303 Birthday cake, also from Daniel.

“When I turned 30 one of my friends gave me this utterly nerdy cake. The colours look a bit funny but it really was gray at first. The knobs were eatable too!”

Very nice. I suddenly want a life sized Matrix-12 birthday cake.

Click here for a full sized shot. It kind of reminds me of a giant techno bling napoleon.

Homebrewers continue to dream up new ways of making music with mobile game systems. Sometimes the results are useful as actual tools, and sometimes they’re more of a fascinating novelty. In the latter category is the truly unusual Soundcells, a virtual “ukelele” inspired by the grid-based music interface of Toshio Iwai’s Tenori-On. The interface looks like a fretboard but acts as a grid. The results sound about as much like a ukelele as a car alarm sounds like a trombone concerto, but it’s nothing if not unique, and it looks like fun to play:

(See the video after the jump for what starts to sound like an 8-bit bagpipe, if you can imagine that.)

Patryk (developer) hosted site
Via Soundcells for DS [onetonnemusic], analysis by CDM’s resident graphic designer Nat, and originally on the brilliant Nintendo-loving site 4 color rebellion

A USB-powered ukulele: strange, you say? Believe it, thanks to the technology from the Brian Moore iGuitar. The iUke ukulele built by Brian Moore for Mac maven Andy Ihnatko is making its rounds on the Web (Boing Boing), but here are some details, just to clarify:

It’s audio-only. USB on this device only carries audio signal for the moment, not MIDI for controlling soft synths.

It will work with any audio app. Class-compliance would make it show up automatically on any Windows or Mac system, not just in GarageBand.

iGuitar.USB will have MIDI, too. Well, sort of. The iGuitars (including non-USB models) can send audio signal over a 13-pin connector that, with the assistance of a box like Roland’s GI-20 can transmit MIDI over USB. Not the iUke, though; it has audio and nothin’ else.

So why not send audio and MIDI on the same USB cable? I think you’ll see that soon on a guitar, but it’s not available yet. You can’t even buy a guitar with USB audio currently. Even the iGuitar.USB is currently unannounced, though it’s coming soon — more on that once it’s official. As for your very own iUke — uh, you’ll have to petition Brian Moore on that one. The company’s spokeperson, Robin Palmer, tells CDM:

This is a VERY “one off” type product, I doubt they will go into production, more of a lark for the Mac show, just to show how our technology has almost infinite applications in stringed (and other) instruments. It’s done with RMC piezo saddles and our proprietary iGuitar.USB digital electronics, and ONLY a USB output, no 1/4″ cables.”

As for showing what iGuitar.USB can do, of course, it’s fab. Now about that digital mandolin . . . and banjo . . . and sitar . . . and . . .

iUke Flickr page from Andy Ihnatko

PS, I now know how to spell ukulele. ;-) -PK

Now off on my whirlwind travels, including a day in Boston at Macworld Expo. For a glimpse of bloggers complaining about how boring the show is, see TUAW. But say hi if you’re at my session! More on the iUke and other things if I can post . . . then boatloads of content stacked up for next week. Cheers! -Peter, editor-in-chief

[Updated: More Details on iUke]

I’ve had to delay my arrival at Macworld Expo until Thursday. Look what I’ve missed: a USB-enabled ukulele. iGuitar custom-built the instrument for Mac personality and notorious uke player Andy Ihnakto. (Thanks, TUAW!) I’m guessing the USB carries only audio, not control — the company’s iGuitar.USB uses USB for audio but requires a separate converter to change signal from the specialized onboard pickups into MIDI control.

I’m going to try to find out more about this from my friends at iGuitar. More soon.