Palm Sounds

Old yet cool news

Browsing around CDM I found this, a thing of complete beauty...

Master chip musician Gijs Gieskes has outdone himself this time: his second Walkman tape sequencer controls the Game Boy music cartridge LSDJ via various knobs and circuitry. His typography is utterly mysterious (in other words, completely illegible), so here’s my translation:

It has got LSDJ sync, because it uses gwems lsdj pitch control as master clock . . . the red potentiometers determine the playback speed of the cassette deck, and the yellow potentiometer controls the clock speed.

In other words, the sequencer he built controls both a Walkman tape deck and a Game Boy.

Now how cool is that!

Software from PDA Musician

This stuff has been around for a long time, but it doesn't seem to have been updated for quite a long time now, which is a bit of a shame really.

If you check out their site there is lots of software there. From sequencers to MIDI apps and even a 4-track. However, the four track takes 4 .wav files and puts them side by side with some control of the volumes of each file. Still, worth a look.

Capers applets... what's going on?

So, in 2006 I posted a few times about the capers applets, and in fact the demos are available on the Palm Sounds site (click title).

I had hoped to be able to make the source code for capers available in case anyone did want to take the project forward. However, to date I've not had a response from the original developer, so I have to say that I don't think it is going to happen now.

I'm sorry if I got anyone's hope's up. If things change I'll let you know.

Downloads

Don't forget to check out the downloads page of the Palm Sounds site with what's available there to download. The stuff is all freeware or demo apps, no commercial stuff at all.

Milkytracker how to videos

A very useful selection I think

KP3 Video

I like this video, I think it shows some of what you can do with a Kaoss Pad. I'd like to think that miniMIXA will give a lot of this functionality when the X-Y pad functionality is introduced, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next since Tao Group have restructured.

tags technorati : Kaoss Pad, Korg, miniMIXA, Tao Group

The Hughes & Kettner Chord Finder

The cool mobile tool for Guitarists. News from Hughes & Kettner:

Have you ever harbored the burning desire to learn how many ways you can voice a B major 7/+9 chord? The new Hughes & Kettner Chord Finder has the answer to this and many other questions composers, enquiring players, and wannabe know-it-alls may have about guitar chords. Turn your mobile into a hip and handy guitar tool! Chord Finder knows all the standard guitar chords and shows their variants in tablature format. You can even audition the chord played with different clean and overdrive sounds at the touch of a button! Now how cool is that for copping tunes and composing songs?

Chord Finder is based on Java software that runs on most current models of mobile phone, and the silent PC version is the perfect tool for home studios. Both versions are now available for free downloading.

I wonder if this will run on a Palm using Java MIDP?

Mobile Music Application Directory

Over the next few weeks / months I plan to compile as complete a list as I can for all the mobile music making applications I know of and can find links to. The final directory will be a post on the blog, but I'll also make it easily available so it can serve as a reference point in the future.

Once the list is done, if you have suggestions for applications to add to it or think of stuff I've missed off, please let me know.

QOTD: Will Mobile Music Making always be a niche?

Or will it one day be as common as using laptops to make music?

More Milkytracker tools soon

Even more goodies coming to Milkytracker soon!

The Official Palm Blog

I do think it is a major step forward for them to have launched their own blog. Well done Palm.

iPhone will have extra apps!!!

Apple said Wednesday it will leverage its proven capability in the area of software development to gradually add new software features and applications to its iPhone and Apple TV products free of charge.

"We are taking this bold step to leverage what we do best," chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said during a conference call with analysts and members of the media.

The software updates and applications will be made available via software updates.

I expect that these kind of applications will be phone related or web related, but maybe, just maybe there'll be some music applications on the horizon? Either way, it means that there might just be some scope for 3rd party applications in there?

tags technorati : Apple, OSX, iPhone

Ubisoft to Publish Jam Sessions

In June, Ubisoft will release Jam Sessions, a game that turns a Nintendo DS portable into a handheld mini-guitar. To play it you use the stylus, your finger or a guitar pick to strum the touch screen, selecting the notes you want (which have been digitally remastered from an acoustic guitar) using the D-pad and a shoulder button.

The game has two modes: Free Play and Tutorial.

In Free Play Mode, no lyrics or notes are provided, you just rock out as you please. In tutorial Mode promises to teach you how to play a guitar from scratch. The game was previously released in Japan under the name Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 to critical acclaim and consumer delight, but it didn't include a save mode. Jam Session does, so you can record your Unplugged masterpiece to entertain your friends. You can further customize your playing style with adjustable reverb, chorus, low/high pass, tremolo and other settings. And on the visual front, you'll be able to change the look of the virtual guitar string and unlock backgrounds for a job well done in performance mode.

Sounds like a very cool addition to the DS music making apps. I think I need to put that one on the Palm Sounds calendar too.

What does Palm Linux mean for audio?

So what does the new Palm Linux based OS mean for music making and audio applications? Will it mean that apps like Audacity will be easier to port over to the PDA? Will it mean easier development for new palm applications? Or, will it mean that existing apps will need to be re-written for another version of the OS meaning cost and time for developers but with little benefit?

MilkyTracker for PSP released!

How did I miss that then!

What with this and PSP Rhythm, the PSP is fast becoming an interesting platform.

tags technorati : PSP, Milkytracker

QOTD: Where do you find new applications?

Given that quite a number of developers have moved away from the likes of PalmGear and Handango because of the high % fees they charge. So, where do you find out about new applications that are coming out?

QOTD: The iPhone as a new music platform?

If Apple keep the platform closed then I doubt that anything will come of it. However, there's quite a lot of people now saying that while it will be closed to start off, but then will open out slowly.

What would you like to see on the iPhone?

I think there are lots of interesting possibilities with the iPhone. Not just because it has a lot of power, but also because it has some of the most interesting input possibilities around for a long time. Apart from the multi-touch interface, it has a proximity sensor, and a sensor to determine portrait or landscape mode (I'm sure there's a better word for that). So with all this power, what could you do with it?

What would be the killer use for those sensors and Mac OSX running on a portable?

tags technorati : iPhone

Wrap around

Whilst I'd love it if there were more music applications for the palm platform than you could poke a stick at, there aren't, but there are lots of supporting applications, or applications that wrap around your music if you like.

What do I mean by this? Well, applications that help you to make music whilst not actually doing any music making. Apps like chord finders or musical databases, or tuners, or spectrum analysers for that matter. There are lots and lots of these kind of applications, and I have reviewed some of them over time.

So, what's your most useful non-music making music application?

Audio input on Dell Axim X51v

I sort of knew that my Axim could take a mic in using the 4-pole 3.5mm adapter. Then I happened to be looking at the Manual for StompBox and I on the first page is a picture of this audio adapter that allows you to connect headphones and a mic simultaneously. In fact you can even make one yourself so it seems.

So, once I've got that sorted out I can have more fun with StompBox, and also see what other possibilities open up.

tags technorati : PocketPC, Stompbox