24 devices that have been important to me in 2015

I'd been meaning to post this before Christmas, but just ran out of time before I could get it done, but I thought I'd squeeze it into 2015, just!

1. Teenage Engineering OP-1: A pure genius device from Teenage Engineering, I love it and it just gets better and better with every new version of the OS. I can't wait to see what they add next.
2. Teenage Engineering PO-12:A fantastic little device and possibly the shape of things to come from other manufacturers.
3. Teenage Engineering PO-14: That compliments the PO-12 very nicely and works well with the ...
4. Teenage Engineering PO-16: Which completes the set, and they do work well together. I like the idea of small and well designed hardware. I think that the only thing that TE missed with this series and also the OP-1 was a way to connect and expand the devices with a mobile device. That sounds kind of obvious now, but probably when the OP-1 came out originally it didn't make that much sense.
5. Monotron: The original and excellent Monotron I think it would be interesting to see if more synth makers did a Monotron equivalent. What would that look like for Yamaha? For Roland?
6. Monotron delay: Was a great addition to the line, as was the ...
7. Monotron duo: As was Korg's decision to open source the circuitry. Very nicely done.
8. Casio VL-1: Is where mobile music started off for me, so it's something I'm really fond of.
9. Casio VL-10:
10. Thingamagoop: I've got the 2nd edition of the Thingamagoop but of course the new one comes out in 2016 and I'm really keen to see how good it is. I'm tempted, but haven't ordered one as yet.
11. BC-16: The rarest of rate micro modular synths. Almost impossible to find but really interesting to play with and a device that gives you an appreciation of modular synthesis and analogue work.
12. Handera 330: The first of two of my PDA entries. This one is the rarest of them all. Only ran Palm OS4, but it had an SD card and CF card slots onboard.
13. TRG-Pro: From the same makers, the Pro had a CF card slot and was pretty amazing in its day. Of course it is very good at sending MIDI, and works well with older devices.
14. Nebulophone: Another Bleep Labs device and a cool and cheap noise maker for having fun.
15. DS: I included the DS as, pre-iPhone / iOS, it was a great platform for mobile music and of course had the original DS-10 synth.
16. iRig acoustic: I've been really impressed by the iRig acoustic, especially when using it with my Ukulele and a bunch of effects apps.
17. TouchBoard: I've become a fan of the TouchBoard since using it at our SoundLab play space event. I think that the device has a lot more to offer than perhaps anyone has thought about it so far, and I hope to explore that more in 2016.
18. MuteSynth II: This is an incredible piece of hardware for exploring sounds. I've really enjoyed using it and have found it a great way to lose myself in sound design.
19. Olegtron: Another interesting and very different hardware device. Something that feels like it's going to start growing into more than just a single device, but I'm not sure where it'll end up. That's quite exciting in it's own right though.
20. Littlebits: If you wanted a modular experience and eurorack is too expensive, then this is (or so I'm told) a good alternative. It's also great to learn about how synthesis works.
21. Ototo: A very underrated device with great expansion through sensors and the ability to play anything, like fruit!
22. iRig MIDI 2: For connecting iOS and MIDI hardware, this is it for me. Solid and reliable and that's it.
23. Molecule synth: Rare, unusual, modular and strange. I'd hoped that this could develop into something and there could've been more molecules available, but it's unlikely I guess now.
24. Mixtape alpha: Another rare device which is difficult to play and worse to find one these days, but an interesting design and, in it's own way, quite soothing and pleasant. I like it anyway.

So there's my list. Not the usual list of hardware you might find on a blog, but a list of things I find interesting sonically and inspiring too. I hope you find it useful.

Chimera BC 16 Patchable Synthesizer on eBay

Chimera BC 16 Patchable Synthesizer on eBay. You can buy it for $400, or, bid on it from $0.99 until you get over whatever the reserve is.

Chimera BC 16 Patchable Synthesizer on eBay

Chimeras Synthesizer BC-16 on eBay

Just in case you're interested, here's a nice little BC-16 on eBay, a little suspect that it's not tested though. Not a difficult thing to do I would've thought.

Anyway, I'll leave it up to you.

Chimeras Synthesizer BC-16

A bit of iRig Acoustic unboxing

So, just some standard unboxing photos. I have to say that I've been very impressed with the packaging and also the actual iRig Acoustic package itself as well. I especially like the case that the device comes in. It feels like a really well thought out idea.

I'm going to post again about my first impressions of the iRig Acoustic, so expect that in a day or so.

SoundLab Play Space Shout Out: Bare Conductive

I've been a fan of Bare Conductive's TouchBoard for a long time, even though I'm not sure that a lot of people get how it can be used in a musical context. I think it has a really interesting set of possibilities for use in all kinds of musical contexts, and hopefully we'll be showing some of these at the SoundLab Play Space on Wednesday.

So if you're coming along to the Play Space on Wednesday then take a look at what's possible using the TouchBoard.

Arpeggio has arrived on Kickstarter and it's even better than I was expecting!

So Arpeggio is on Kickstarter right on schedule and in its first day is doing really well, with nearly a quarter of its funding goal already hit! And that's in just a few hours. I feel sure that this one is going to go places.

One thing that I'm really impressed with is what they're trying to do in terms of integrating the hardware with a companion app. That's clever, a really smart, and, these days, a really important step. Here's what they plan that you'll be able to do with the app:

• Connect to Arpeggio via bluetooth or usb
• Create backups of Arpeggio data including sequences/songs/sets, advanced sequencer settings, MIDI and I/O settings, synth patches and parameter values.
• Edit the sequences stored on Arpeggio
• Edit synth parameters of the patches stored on Arpeggio, create new synth patches and upload individual synth patches to Arpeggio. 
• Export sequences, songs, and sets as standard MIDI files or other format useful for DAWs
• Share sequences, songs, sets, and synth patches over bluetooth from one Arpeggio to another.
• Adjust the advanced sequencer settings, MIDI and I/O settings on Arpeggio
• Update firmware, on Arpeggio, restore to factory defaults.
• Cross platform application iOS / Android / OSX / Windows

That in itself is a pretty impressive list of features.

And if that wasn't enough, guess who's in the media list ...

So, please do check it out, take a look at all they've got to say about the device and how they've got to where they are.

Chimera Instruments Ltd bC16 mk5 modular synthesizer on eBay

Another even more rare bC16 on eBay now. I quite liked the description on eBay:

"I ordered a Chimera bC16 synth sometime around the start of Obama's first term. It arrived in January. In the intervening time, I have acquired more than enough gear and frankly want this albatross out of my house.

Patchable with mini banana cables.

Used by Throbbing Gristle & a bunch of fancy brits with the clout to get their synths delivered on time.

Absolutely mint condition. Includes MIDI Din adapter, power supply, inverter, 1/4" jack to 2mm banana cable, 10 mini banana (2mm) patch cables"

Chimera Instruments Ltd bC16 mk5 modular synthesizer on eBay

And just a little bit more about MIDI Thing

Thanks to everyone who was interested in the hardware device I've been working on. The whole team has been really encouraged by the feedback we've had so far.

I thought I'd make a little video today just showing MIDI Thing working with some iOS apps. In this video you'll see MIDI Thing controlling FM4, iSEM, NLog and Cassini. In addition it is sending MIDI clock to MoDrum as well.

Hopefully you'll be able to see some creative possibilities from using it, and as always, I'd really like to hear your feedback.

So I promised to tell you more about the black box, well for starters we're calling it MIDI Thing ...

Which has actually been the name we've used for it for quite a long time now. We call it MIDI Thing for two reasons.

1. It's a thing ...
2. It does MIDI, in fact, it only does MIDI

Which is why it's a ... MIDI Thing!

So, what does it actually do? Good question. Here's an overview:

MIDI Thing is a portable battery powered MIDI looper. It takes a MIDI signal in on any channel and puts the same MIDI data out. So, to give you an example:

If you record a 4 bar bassline on channel 1 it'll continue to play that on channel 1 until you tell it to stop. You then record a chord sequence on channel 2, and it'll put that out on channel 2 as well as the bassline on channel 1. You can do this on all 16 MIDI channels and it'll keep on playing everything until you erase a channel, or switch it off!

It listens on all channels simultaneously so you don't need to do any switching around and it has a very simple interface. In fact, it has just 2 switches on it. One is the on/off switch, the other puts the device into command mode, and this is where it gets clever.

The MIDI Thing get its instructions from what ever keyboard controller is being used for MIDI input. We thought that would make sense as you've already got a keyboard in front of you and you wouldn't want to have to navigate through lots of menus on a tiny box.

So, here's what the commands look like ...

To activate a command all you do is hold the command key on the MIDI Thing and press the key on your keyboard. It's that simple, and actually you get used to it ever so quickly.

Of course MIDI Thing can support multiple in and out connections if you've got a MIDI thru box.

As you can see above we used a number of output MIDI devices on the teaser video we showed recently. The CZ101 simply acted as a controller driving several channels on the MU15, the meeblip Anode, and the Waldorf Rocket (out of shot). We could have added more, but I ran out of MIDI cables!

Hopefully that gives you a good overview of the device and what it can do. We've built 4 prototypes so far and it all works very well.

So I've got a few questions for you ... Is it something you'd be interested in, and if you would, what sort of price would you pay for it?

Mute Synth II unboxing ...

I have to say that the Mute Synth II does look really nice and it's smaller than I expected somehow, which is a good thing I think.

I'm looking forward to playing with it, and when I do I'll share some videos and thoughts about the device.

The bitLab opens ... littleBits brings us a user generated hardware store, and it's going to be awesome

This is an amazing step forward in my view. I've been a fan of littleBits from the start and they've consistently delivered new and completely innovative modules on a regular basis. This latest development takes them into a whole new space. With their hardware development kit costing only $40 and having the ability to vote on modules from the community is amazing.

Already there are some great modules that you can reserve, the MakeyMakey module, and the Bare Conductive sensor (although I haven't actually received my Touch Board as yet). Even more exciting is the bleepDrum module, and the possibility of so many more audio and music related modules that could take littleBits into all sorts of directions.

I think that the bitLab is going to through up some really interesting ideas in the very near future. The only drawback, I'm going to end up buying them.

So this is coming and will make the Atmegatron owners very happy

You might remember that I did a video (below) and interview a while ago with Paul from Soulsby Synths. Well I bumped into him at the Music Tech Fest Hack on Saturday and Sunday as well, and he showed me the picture above which is going to be Lemur template for working with the Atmegatron. Sorry for the slightly blurred picture, but I was in a hurry!

If you've no idea about what the Atmegatron is, here's a little video tour ...



I'm also waiting patiently for the Atmegatron mini too. I think that'll be pretty awesome to make. So we expect great things from Soulsby Synths, and I didn't even get a chance to see his hack yesterday!

Focusrite announce iTrack Pocket for your iPhone

Now this looks like something truly awesome and also like a bit of hardware I'd really like to get my hands on too.

Here's what they have to say about it:

"iTrack Pocket is a portable, high quality stereo microphone and guitar input that lets you create and share exceptional videos using your iPhone.

Designed for singer-songwriters who want their YouTube videos to sound as great as they look, it lets you easily apply mastering effects and share directly to YouTube with outstanding quality your subscribers will love."

"iPhone microphones are great for making phone calls, but they struggle to capture musical performances. They simply aren’t designed to do justice to the sound of vocals and guitar.

That’s why Apple officially approved iTrack Pocket. It holds your iPhone at the perfect angle for recording, then captures your performance using a stereo microphone that eclipses the quality of your iPhone mic and a dedicated guitar input with built-in amp simulation."

"iTrack Pockets lets you capture audio in any of your favourite iPhone recording apps, including GarageBand.

Alternatively, for the quickest and easiest way to create truly exceptional sounding music videos on your iPhone, we recommend you download our free Impact app.

It enhances the sound quality of your videos using powerful mastering and audio effects, which you can apply with a few taps. Find out more about it now or download it for free here."

This page at focusrite has lots more detail about the interface and specs too.

So for now you can use that page to sign up to find out more and also get their new app, Impact, which is probably worth a look too.

Up a bit closer with iRig MIDI 2

I have to say that the iRig MIDI 2 is very nice, very neat, and just does what it says it will. I will write a longer review of it soon, but for now you can expect me to say that I like it a lot.

I do like the standard DIN sockets too. Perhaps that's just me though?

IK Multimedia's iRig MIDI 2, unboxing ...

iRig MIDI 2. The packaging is substantial, nicely put together and clear. Pretty much what you'd expect from IK Multimedia.

Inside the box is the usual materials from IK Multimedia. You know the kind of thing.

Inside the box is the device itself and its two cables set separately in their own little box.

Here's the whole thing, separated from it packaging, nice as it is. The two cable s are standard USB and a lightening cable for use with an iOS device.

In my next post I'll be seeing how the iRig MIDI 2 works out with a number of apps on my iPad Mini.