Samson’s new Carbon 49 USB MIDI Controller is piano style keyboard with 49 velocity-sensitive keys, dedicated Transpose and Octave buttons, as well as Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels. Designed with the iPad in mind, the Carbon 49 features an integrated iPad slot and can be used with your favorite MIDI apps via Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit. The Carbon 49 can even be directly powered by the iPad. In addition, this keyboard comes with Native Instruments’ Komplete Elements software, offers a comprehensive selection of studio-quality sounds, effects and tools for modern music production, composition and sound design for your Mac OS X or Windows desktop. The Carbon 49 is available today for $89 at retailers like Best Buy. For more information check www.SamsonTech.com.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: iPad, Music

Carbon 49 – A Fullsized Piano Keyboard Designed With the iPad in Mind originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 17, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

This Solar Guitar Tuner from ThinkGeek has a solar panel to keep its batteries recharged.  The TASCAM TC-15 chromatic tuner has needle, strobe, fine, meter tuning modes, with twelve tone equal temperament tuning and a detection accuracy of within one cent (one hundredth of a semitone).  Tune the guitar by plugging it into the Solar Guitar Tuner with the 1/4″ standard mono jack, or use the built-in microphone to “listen” to the guitar.  The batteries are also USB rechargeable.  The Solar Guitar Tuner is $29.99.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: guitar tuning

Tune Your Guitar with the Power of the Sun originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 10, 2012 at 9:00 am.

Many years ago someone invented a cable lock system that protected your bicycle from theft. Not so long ago, Kensington took that idea and applied it to a cable that was designed to secure your laptop. Now we have another product that uses this basic same idea. It’s the Rock Lock for your guitar. It’s made in the USA of heavy-duty braided steel cable and a special locking clamp that fits across the guitar neck like a capo. The Rock Lock’s clamp has a 2-1/8″ wide by 7/8″ tall opening that has been designed to work with most 6 string acoustic and electric guitars. It will not work with Flamenco, Nylon string, or Spanish guitars but may work with some 12 string or bass guitars depending on the neck size. This device probably won’t prevent someone who is very determined (and has some heavy duty wire cutters) from stealing your instrument, but it should help discourage random grab and run type theivery. The Rock Lock is available for $49.95.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Guitar, Security

Secure your Guitar with a Rock Lock originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 9, 2012 at 2:00 pm.

Most computers and mobile devices have built-in microphones now, and they are fine for phone calls and video calls.  They fall short when you need a higher-quality audio for podcasting or recording music.  There are a variety of microphones on the market, from cheap stalk microphones to studio-quality mics costing hundreds (or thousands) of dollars.  The Meteor Mic USB Studio Microphone from Samson promises to be a “professional, large diaphragm, studio condenser USB microphone” at a reasonable price.  How does it stack up?

The Meteor Mic has a retro look that harkens back to the 1930s.  It folds up into a compact 3.75″ long capsule with an approximately 2″ diameter.  Its chrome-plated body and fold-away legs are sleek, shiny, and beautiful.  The legs have rubber tips to keep the mic from sliding.  When the legs are fully extended, the Meteor stands about 6″ high.  It’s small enough to take with you, and at 9.9 ounces it won’t be too heavy a burden.

It comes with a velveteen storage bag, an approximately 6-ft  USB-to-miniUSB cable, and a manual and booklets.

The Meteor has a dual-stage grill, as seen in the diagram above, to protect the 1″ diaphragm and to reduce wind noise and p-popping (the explosive sound you can get when saying words with “p” in them).

Technical Specifications

• Large (25mm) diaphragm condenser for rich audio recording
• Cardioid pickup pattern
• Smooth, flat frequency response of 20Hz – 20kHz
• CD quality, 16-bit, 44.1/48kHz resolution
• Fold-back leg design provides optimal mic positioning
• Durable chrome-plated body
• Plugs directly into any computer with a USB input, no drivers required
• High-quality A/D and D/A converters
• Compatible with most computer-based digital audio workstation software
• Stereo 1/8-inch headphone jack for no latency monitoring
• Headphone volume control with microphone mute switch
• Microphone mute switch for privacy, and to silence noise during playback
• Computer-controlled analog Input Gain
• Power, Peak, and Mute LED indicator

The back of the mic has a miniUSB port.  No external power source or batteries are needed with the Meteor.  There’s also a 3.5mm audio port with volume control for “zero-latency direct monitoring.”

The legs can be adjusted to find just the right angle for your audio source.

Or you can use the standard 5/8″ thread mount to attach the mic to any microphone stand.

The front of the microphone has a black plastic mute button.  The dial surrounding the mute button is the volume adjustment for the headphone output.  The LED shows blue when the microphone is powered, amber when muted, and it flashes red to show when the input signal is too loud and is clipping.

The Meteor works with both Windows and Mac computers, and it required no drivers when used with my MacBook Pro.  It’s also compatible with most computer-based digital audio workstation software.  I have GarageBand on my MBP, so that’s what I used to make some recordings.  I simply plugged in the Meteor Mic, started up GarageBand, and I was ready to record.  Because of the limited formats supported in WordPress, I saved all these files as MP3 files, at the highest quality available.

The microphone is suitable for recording voice (speech or singing) and various acoustic musical instruments.  For voice, you should position the mic so that the center line on the front is pointing to your mouth.  You can rotate the center line away from your mouth a bit to minimize p-popping, or you can use a microphone pop filter.  The closer the microphone to your mouth, the more the bass response increases, according to the user’s guide.

The microphone is short, and you may find it difficult to use it on a tabletop with just the built-in legs and still be able to have it the recommended 6-24 inches away from your mouth.  The legs don’t fold together enough to be used as a handle for the mic, but I still decided I’d use the front leg as a handle for my voice recordings.  I don’t have a microphone stand.

I made two speech recordings.  I made them sitting in the bedroom of my house, with everything as quiet as I could make it in the room.  Because my house is beside a busy, cross-town road (runs within 30 feet behind my house), there was the possibility of traffic noise that I couldn’t control or block.  Both recordings were made with GarageBand, using all standard settings.  I made one recording using the MBP’s built-in microphone and one with the Meteor mic.  When I listened to the recordings, I used my Sony MDR-NC200D headphones.  I turned on the noise-cancelling function so I that could block ambient noise while I was listening.

Voice recorded using the MacBook Pro’s built-in microphone: samson-meteor-mic-speaking-mbp-mic

Voice recorded using the Meteor Mic: samson-meteor-mic-speaking-with-meteor

You can hear a definite difference between the two recordings.  Both recordings seemed to be clear and static-free, but I felt the Meteor recording was richer and fuller, especially when I was holding the mic about 6″ from my face.  The built-in mic recording sounded more like voices sound over the telephone than when you’re talking face-to-face with someone.

I asked my husband, Butch, who is an amateur musician (trained pianist and a guitarist), to also listen to these recordings to see what he could hear.  He also used the noise-cancelling headphones for playback.  He agreed that both recordings were clear and static-free.  He said he could hear some background noise in the recording made with the built-in mic, and my voice sounded flat.  With the Meteor mic held six inches from my face, he said the recording sounded like my actual voice, and he said the recording was fuller and had a presence that sounds that of a radio announcer recorded in a studio.  When the Meteor was pulled away from my mouth, he said he could hear some background noises, but the Meteor recording still sounded better than the built-in mic.

I asked Butch to play some music for me to record so I could test how well the Meteor mic works for acoustic music.  We followed the instructions for placement of the meteor mic, and we set the MacBook Pro in the same position when we recorded with its built-in microphone.

Acoustic guitar recorded using the MacBook Pro’s built-in microphone:  samson-meteor-mic-acoustic-guitar-mbp-mic

Acoustic guitar recorded using the Meteor Mic: samson-meteor-mic-acoustic-guitar-meteor

Again, I listened to these files with my Sony headphones with the noise-cancellation turned on.  The guitar recorded with the MBP’s built-in microphone sounded too bright and harsh.  The guitar recorded with the Meteor Mic sounded more like the way it sounded when I listened as we made the recording.  I could still hear the highs, but the bass was fuller and warmer sounding.  Butch says in both cases, he could tell he “was playing an acoustic guitar”.  But with the Meteor Mic recording, he could tell he “was playing Rachel’s 3/4-sized guitar with the buzzing fret.”  With the built-in mic, he said the treble is artifically bright.  He says the Meteor Mic doesn’t lose any of the bass, and the recording sounds to his ears just as it sounded as he recorded it.

Butch also tried out the monitoring feature as he recorded the guitar tracks.  He used the same Sony headphones plugged into the jack on the back of the Meteor Mic.  He said there was no lag or delay in the sound through the headphones.

The Meteor Mic can also be used with an iPad.  You have to use Apple’s iPad camera connection kit to connect the mic’s USB cable to the iPad, and I happened to already have a connection kit.  I also already had GarageBand for my iPad.  I plugged the microphone into the iPad, as shown in the picture above, and I was ready to record.  I was talking as I took the photo, and you can see the needled is blurred because it was in motion as the photo was taken (click for a larger view).

I used all the standard settings and made all the same recordings on the iPad that I had made on the MacBook Pro.  GarageBand on the iPad has more-limited file format selections for saving, so I saved the recordings as M4a files.  These are supported by WordPress, but they may not play for all of you.  I’m including only one file recorded on the iPad.

Acoustic guitar recorded on the iPad using the Meteor Mic: samson-meteor-mic-acoustic-guitar-meteor

Butch and I both used the Sony headphones to listen to the files recorded on the iPad, some using the built-in mic and some using the Meteor mic.  We both agreed that there’s not a lot of difference in the recordings using the iPad’s built-in mic and the MBP’s built-in mic.  The Meteor mic files sounded very similar, regardless of whether they were recorded on the iPad or MBP, and in both cases, they sounded much better than the built-in mic recordings.  I remember saying during one of the voice recordings using the Meteor mic that the recording level needle was in the red zone, but we didn’t hear any distortion in any of the recordings.

Just one note about playback:  On the MacBook Pro, I could select the output source for monitoring/playback.  I could use either the MBP or the Meteor for playback.  On the iPad, I couldn’t find a way to change that, and only the headphone jack on the Meteor could be used for playback while the mic was connected to the iPad.

Whether you want to record vocals or acoustic instruments for music, voice for podcasts, or you just want to sound better for Skype or Face Time, you can’t go wrong with the Meteor Mic.  At a list price of $150, it’s a high-quality, moderately-priced microphone that will improve any recording or VoIP call you make.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Musical Gear, Reviews

Tagged: microphone, USB

Samson Meteor Mic USB Studio Microphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 9, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Olaf Diegel from the Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand is exploring the limits of 3D printing technologies and applications. Some of his projects are shown on his ODD website.  Case in point his Spider electric guitar which is cut using a EOS Formiga P100 (which I’m guessing is probably a little out of the price range of the average consumer). The guitars have some pretty awesome 3D bodies.  Rock on Olaf!

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: 3d printing, Guitar

3D Printed Guitars Rock originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 14, 2012 at 9:00 am.

I’m not sure how big the market’s going to be for this product.  I mean what’s the criteria?

• A Gadgeteer
• Love your iPad or iPhone
• Love Ukelele

Surely that’s a small market , what are the chances ?

From Amidio comes the Futulele, an upcoming Ukulele synthesizer for iOS. With a special case that holds either an iPad or an iPhone and using  Bluetooth connectivity, you can strum to your hearts content. Each song can have up to 12 chords in it, and chord sets can be changed on the fly.   Amidio is currently looking for manufacturers to assist in producing the Futulele cases, preferably with embedded speakers.

Expected to be released in early April and should be optimised for the Ipad 3.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Guitar, Music, ukulele

Futulele – Ukulele for iPad or iPhone originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2012 at 8:00 am.

We’ve seen effects pedals that incorporate iPads, but the DigiTech iStomp is designed for iPhone – although you can use it with iPod touch and iPads, too.  The iStomp is just like every other stompbox, except you can change which stompbox it is using the free DigiTech Stomp Shop App.  The iStomp comes with DigiTech’s Total Recall digital delay and Redline overdrive boxes to get you started, and you can download one more box for $0.99 when you first set up the device.  Other stompbox definitions are available for $4.99, and there are more than 20 stompboxes available now with more planned.  iStomp and the Stomp Shop App are the first DigiTech products to incorporate the new proprietary DigiTech Smart Cable, designed in conjunction with Apple, that allows direct communication between DigiTech products and iOS devices.  The MSRP for iStomp is $229.95, but it can be found for less.  Check the iStomp page for a list of retailers.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Music effects processor, Stompbox

DigiTech iStomp Effects Pedal for iOS Devices originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 17, 2012 at 12:00 pm.

We all have periods of time throughout the day that are essentially wasted – whether it be during a commute, waiting in a doctor’s office, or restlessly sitting through a three minute commercial break until your show resumes.  What better way to kill that time than by practicing guitar?  Pocketstrings is a mini guitar neck with six strings and four frets and is about the same size as a television remote.  The idea is to work on chords and build muscle memory, not to mention some handy calluses, in places where having an actual guitar would be inconvenient.  There is no way to strum though and no prerecorded “correct” chord sounds, so it’s truly only a way to practice formations.  But it’s an awesome idea for hand fidgeters!

The Pocketstrings plastic neck and sliding base come in seven colors including sunburst, yellow, and blue and retails for about $30.  The site is currently sold out, but is taking names and emails to notify you when they’re back in stock.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: guitar accessory

Build Muscle Memory on the Go with Pocketstrings originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 6, 2012 at 8:00 am.

With forScore, you can carry a complete library of music scores with you.  You can download most any PDF into forScore and even annotate it using text boxes or add common musical notation symbols with the built-in library of stamps or your own, custom-designed stamps.  forScore has an organizational system that lets you sort your music files with six types of metadata.  There’s a metronome that marks time audibly or visually.  Auto-turn and half-turn options let you practice without pauses, and it can even work with AirTurns BT-105 Bluetooth page turner.  You can display the music vertically, or turn the iPad horizontally for a wider view (requires scrolling to see the entire page).  The iPad-only app is $4.99 in the iTunes app store.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Music app

Collect, Annote, and Carry Your Music Scores in Your iPad originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm.

If you’ve ever wished that you could learn to play the piano but don’t want to take weekly lessons miles from home, I have a potential solution for you. It’s software for your PC or Mac and Midi keyboard called Playground Sessions. With this software, you can jump right into learning to play popular songs that you’ve heard on the radio and / or learn to read music and the mechanics of piano playing.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

I’ve wanted to play piano since I was a little kid. My mother played and we had a piano in the house through most of my childhood. I used the same lesson books that she used as a child to teach myself the basics such as the notes on the staff can be remembered by Every Good Boy Does Fine and the letters in the word f-a-c-e. I can pick out a melody but have never taken an actual lesson.

When the people at Playground Sessions contacted me to see if I would be interested in writing about their video piano learning software, I was happy to give it a try. The software is compatible with PCs and Macs and requires a Midi keyboard, which I already happened to have. Installation was quick and painless and the setup immediately found the M-audio Keystation 49e keyboard that I plugged into my iMac via USB.

The actual lessons aren’t part of the initial software download. They all have to be downloaded through the interface. The software is priced at $149.00 and comes with 3 songs of your choice and 27 bootcamp lessons for rookie (beginner) to intermediate. The video lessons can take quite a while to download depending on your broadband connection and have to be downloaded one at a time.

Their song library currently only has 15 songs to choose from. The first one I downloaded was I’ll Be There by the Jackson 5. But there are more contemporary songs from One Republic, The Fray, Five for Fighting and other bands. Each song has several different types of lessons available that range from beginner to advanced. The versions of each song can be purchased with or without a video walk through lesson from David Sides the instructor. Like I mentioned the initial purchase of the software will get you 3 songs.

If you want additional songs, they will cost you $6 with the video walk through or $4 without. That’s the price for each version of the song. So it can get expensive if you purchase the $6 rookie version + $6 intermediate version + $6 advanced version (not every song in their library has an advanced lesson). One song could cost you $18. What do you get for your $6 per version?

Each song lesson version has several parts. The I’ll Be There rookie version that I started with has 11 different video parts because David breaks the song down into manageable chunks like Opening, Verse, Chorus and then each of those parts is broken down further into Left hand, Right hand and both hands. The keys on the onscreen keyboard play along as David plays each part so you can see the notes and positions.

You can practice each section in slow or normal tempo with a metronome that can be turned on or off to help you keep time with the music. You can also toggle drums and bass back up instruments while practicing. As you play along, the notes you play correctly will turn Green, wrong notes will turn Red and notes you almost got right will turn Pink. This gives you immediate feedback to let you know if you’re playing the section correctly and gives your practice session a slight video game feel.  If you want to work on a specific section of the song, it can be highlighted and looped as many times as you need.

I do wish that there was an option to slow the tempo even further or have the option to play the notes without any time constraints at all. I tend to get flustered when I miss a note and then it’s hard to get back into the rhythm of the song.

After each practice session, you’ll be shown a progress chart with your accuracy level and a segmented chart that displays your percentage of right notes, wrong notes and almost right notes.

You can track your progress with each song that you’re learning and the time you’ve devoted to it.

You can even let your friends know about your progress via Facebook and compare your stats to others using the software.

I found the Playground Sessions software easy to use and the video lessons easy to understand and follow. But unlike with a real live instructor, the software does not really motivate you to practice more.  It would be great if you could win credits to purchase additional lessons by improving your stats as you practice songs. As is, you’ll have to supply your own motivation and $’s when you want to learn new songs.

$149.00 is a lot to pay for a software package and the relatively small selection of songs is a concern. Luckily there is a demo version which includes 1 free song lesson and 1 free bootcamp lesson. It’s good for 7 days, which gives you a chance to at least try it before you buy.

Have you used software to help you learn to play an instrument? What has been your experience?

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Musical instruments

Playground Sessions Piano Lesson Software Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 15, 2012 at 10:00 am.

(Disclosure: Yonac Inc. provided a promotional copy of this app.)

The iPad is a great platform for musicians, at least those of the electronic or guitar-playing variety. But what if you fit into both of those categories? Then maybe Shredder by Yonac Inc. is for you. Shredder is a full featured guitar-driven synthesizer, meaning that it tracks what notes you play on the guitar and uses them to drive a modeled analog synth engine. Doing this without an iPad usually involves a special pickup on the guitar plus a synthesizer that works with it, but Shredder does it just by listening to your input.

While this is not a full review, I tried Shredder using an iRig and so far it seems to track well. (No, I am not going to record a demo… I’m not that good of a guitarist yet!) A large number of presets are provided to show off the synth engine’s range or act as a jumping off point for your own tweaks. And if you have another favorite synth you’d like to control, iOS or external, Shredder supports virtual and physical MIDI out. It even has a couple of modeled stompboxes and a way to record and play back your playing.

Apps like this are one of the reasons I recently ditched my Android tablet for an iPad. I’m not the most serious or skilled guitarist out there and there is no way I could justify the hundreds of dollars a typical guitar synth rig would cost, but the iPad can do it for, basically, pocket change? Yes please. (Although we got a promo copy, I am pretty sure I would have bought it anyway.)

Shredder is currently on sale in the App Store for $5.99; after the holidays it will go up to its regular price of $14.99.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged:

Shredder – Guitar-Controlled Synthesizer for iPad originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 15, 2011 at 3:28 pm.

If you’re looking for a cool gift for your favorite ukulele player, this is it. It’s a kit for a folding soprano ukulele. The parts are made of laser cut bamboo. All you need is some sandpaper, glue and a few other miscellaneous items and you’ll be able to build your own instrument that just happens to fold up into a nifty little package that can easily stow in your backpack. The resulting uke won’t sound as good as a traditionally built instrument, but it will make a fun do-it-yourself project. There are two kit designs to choose from, which are priced from $75-$87.50 (pictured). If you don’t want to take the time to build the kit, you can even buy them already finished… but for the price of the finished kits ($250 – $375), you could buy a decent regular uke. Check out these kits here.

Filed in categories: Do-It-Yourself, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: DIY, Musical instruments

Ukulele taking up too much space? Fold it. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 26, 2011 at 11:49 am.

There’s a lot of software available for the iPad that lets you record and edit music, but you need some sort of adapter to connect the instrument to the iPad.  Instead of needing an arsenal of different adapters, the Alesis iO Dock Pro Audio Dock for iPad and iPad 2 lets you connect any of your instruments, microphones, professional speaker and PA systems, MIDI controllers, sound modules, and video projectors using their normal cables.  (Click the image for a better look at all the inputs.)  ”Built to accommodate all current app-development standards including Core MIDI, the iO Dock is a universal device that bridges your choice of music-creation apps, instruments, and devices.”  With the Alesis and your iPad or iPad 2 you can create, record, and perform music.  Go to the Alesis site to read much more about the dock and its capabilities and to find a dealer near you.  The Alesis iO Dock Pro Audio Dock is also available at various online retailers for $170-$200, depending on the seller.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Musical interface

Alesis iO Dock Pro Audio Dock for iPad & iPad 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 19, 2011 at 9:00 am.

The K-Bow from Keith McMillen is a Bluetooth enabled bow for the violin, viola, cello and bass, which is constructed of Kevlar and graphite. While the K-Bow may look similar to a normal bow, it’s actually a real-time controller that will allow you to manipulate the sounds coming out of the stringed instrument for which the bow is being used. The bow has sensors for grip, bow tension, force, angle, and more. The sensor data is used with the included software to translate to MIDI or for live looping, reverb, etc. The K-Bow is available now at prices starting at $2995.00.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Bluetooth Gear, Musical instruments, Violin

Play The Devil Went Down to Georgia on your Fiddle with the Bluetooth K-Bow originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 29, 2011 at 2:30 pm.

Did you know it was National Drum Month?  Me neither.  But it’s not to late to celebrate it, and Korg has just the portable device to kick your drumming up a notch.  The Wavedrum Mini uses Korg’s legendary Wavedrum technology, but it’s packed into a device small enough to take with you.  Tap the dynamic pad surface with your fingers to play any of the 100 ready-to-play sounds.  Attach the included sensor clip to any surface to add a second sound simultaneously.  The Mini also has 100 rhythm patterns and 10 preset effects, and it has a built-in looper for unlimited overdub layering.  It’s powered by batteries or by the included AC adapter.  It has a headphone jack and a built-in speaker.  There’s even a strap to attach it securely to your thigh .  The Korg Wavedrum Mini is about $300 and is available at a variety of retailers.

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: drums, Musical instruments

Celebrate National Drum Month with the Korg Wavedrum Mini originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 12, 2011 at 11:00 am.

The GuitarJack from Sonoma Wire Works allows you to connect a variety of instruments and / or microphones to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The GuitarJack plugs into the dock connector of your iOS device and features a 1/4 inch instrument jack and a 1/8 inch stereo mic/line input. It can record voice and an instrument simultaneously via a 4 track style app. The GuitarJack Model 2 is priced at $149 and will be available in 4-6 weeks.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Guitar, iOS, Music

GuitarJack Model 2 Audio Interface Now Compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm.

The Korg microPIANO is a miniature grand piano that even has a lid that opens. It’s about 31 inches long and 12 inches deep, with 61 velocity sensitive keys. It has 60 built-in sounds, 25 one-touch musical phrases and 40 demo songs. The microPIANO has built in speakers and it can be plugged into into AC or power it for up to 15hrs with 6 AA batteries. It’s available with either a Black or Red lid and is priced at $299.99. I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to learn Chopsticks right now!

Filed in categories: Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Piano

Celebrate National Piano Month with a Korg microPIANO originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 19, 2011 at 4:47 pm.

Last year I reviewed the Yeti USB microphone. At the time, I really liked the microphone, and over the last year using it, my opinion of it has only improved. Honestly, when it comes to my needs, the Yeti was definitely a 10. When they released the Yeti Pro, I was intrigued to see what they did to improve on it, and fortunately I was offered the opportunity to review one.

So, as the philosopher Nigel Tufnel once observed: “You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, … Where can you go from there? Where?” Where indeed. Let’s take a look at the Yeti Pro, and see how it compares to it’s non-pro cousin.

The Yeti Basics

Just like the Yeti, the Yeti Pro has a triple capsule design that can be used to cover four different recording patterns:

• Stereo
• Cardiod
• Omni
• Bidirectional

The Yeti Pro Additions

The first thing you will notice about the pro is color. The pro is decked out in black instead of the silver finish of the original Yeti.

The black finish is a nice touch, and the stand on the Yeti Pro also has a titanium finish. There is no longer a THX logo on the front of the microphone. I asked about this, and the rep explained that the THX certification for microphones is not continuing, but all the specs on the Yeti Pro meet or exceed the Yeti.

A less cosmetic change are the connections. The Yeti Pro has the USB and Headphone jack of the Yeti, but also adds a stereo XLR jack on the bottom.

It also retains the standard threaded mic stand mount.

First Impressions

As with the Yeti, and other blue products, a lot of thought and design went into the packaging. The Yeti comes with a short manual, an XLR breakout cable (for the right and left channels of the XLR output) and a USB cable.

Not only is the packaging design attractive, it is also very informational. They include a nice chart to break down which of the four recording patterns are best for different applications.

The Specs

Having XLR outputs is enough to label this a Pro, but they also bumped the specifications of the microphone. Here are the specs for the Yeti Pro, with the Yeti’s in blue and parenthesis where different:

Microphone

Power Required/Consumption: 5V 500mA (USB)/48V DC (analog) (up from 150mA)
Sample Rate: 192 kHz (up from 48 kHz)
Bit Rate: 24bit  (up from 16bit)
Capsules: 3 Blue-proprietary 14mm condenser capsules
Polar Patterns: Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional, Stereo
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Sensitivity: 4.5mV/Pa (1 kHz)
Max SPL: 120dB (THD: 0.5% 1kHz)

Headphone Amplifier

Impedance: >16 ohms
Power Output (RMS): 130 mW
THD: 0.009%
Frequency Response: 15 Hz – 22 kHz
Signal to Noise: 114dB (up from 100dB)

Setup

As with the Yeti, setup with the Yeti Pro was fairly simple. It is a little different in terms of drivers, but I was able to plug and play on my MacBook Pro, and after installing the driver for Windows 7, had not issue using the microphone with Bootcamp on my MacBook Pro.

Controls

The Yeti Pro has a dial to control gain (sensitivity) and the recording pattern on the back of the microphone:

The front of the microphone contains controls to mute the microphone and to control the volume on the headphone:

These controls only work when you are using the microphone in USB mode. If you are using the XLR connections, the headphone volume and mute do not work. The Blue tech I talked to explained that the this part of the microphone is powered by the USB port, so naturally they are not available in XLR mode. This should not be an issue, though, as all those functions are better controlled on the mixing board when using the XLR connections.

When using the USB connection, a solid red light on the mute button means the microphone is on and working, a blinking light means that mute is on. I find this an odd way of displaying the information. If the the LED was not on the button, I think it would make more sense. It does not take long to keep that straight, though. Also, since volume can now be controlled digitally, the volume button does not have a clear minimum or maximum setting. You simply turn clockwise to make it louder, and counter-clockwise to make it softer.

Performance

I have replaced my Yeti with the Yeti Pro and have had no issues with the new microphone. I think my demonstration from my review of the original Yeti on recording patterns still suffices for those features.

Unfortunately, I am not a pro, so I can’t really show off the difference in quality. My primary use for a microphone is to record audio for web-delivered content. Frankly, the higher sample and bit rates offered by the Yeti Pro are not going to be readily apparent in my use of the microphone, since I tend to compress the audio and was not utilizing the full quality from the Yeti. I guess the best analogy is my dSLR. Sure I take a 10 Megapixel picture, but by the time I resize them for the web, you are not getting the full effect. However, it captures more information when I first take the picture, so the end-result is better than my camera phone.

Is It One Louder?

As I mentioned up top, I was a huge fan of the Yeti, and I wondered how will they would improve it. Did it go to 11? Actually I think it goes to 12. The bump in specifications (even if I can’t fully exploit them for my applications) takes it to 11, and then the addition of the XLR output takes it to 12.

I am not a professional musician, but I have good friends who are. I have also filled in on sound boards at times, so I know professionals can get a little sentimental about their microphones. The flexibility of using this microphone as a USB mic in casual settings, and then turning around and hooking it up to a professional sound board should be appealing to pros and semi-pros.

Is It Worth It?

The answer to this is the universal answer: it depends. If you are looking to have the best microphone you can for USB, Blue has taken their top-of-class Yeti and made it more responsive. If you are looking for the ability to go beyond USB and hook up your microphone to a professional sound board, the stereo XLR output will be worth it. If you need a microphone for recording podcasts, and you don’t need the XLR outputs, then you are probably better off saving a $100 and sticking with the Yeti. You are not really settling with that microphone.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Musical Gear, Reviews

Tagged: microphone, xlr, yeti

Yeti Pro by Blue Microphone Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm.

Combine the 25-key lighted keyboard from ION with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, and you’re on your way to learning to play piano.  You  use the free teaching app in iTunes with the Piano Apprentice keyboard, and you follow along with the lights on the keys as they guide you to learning to play the music.  The iOS screen will display the sheet music or you can watch a pair of hands as they play to guide you.  The Piano Apprentice keyboard runs on batteries or with the optional AC adapter.  Amazon has the keyboard for $99.99, a $50 savings from the list price.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Musical instruments, Teaching

Learn to Play Piano with the ION Piano Apprentice originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 12, 2011 at 11:00 am.

Awhile back Julie wrote about the Orpheus wallet, a wallet for guitar players.  The company selling that wallet is currently out of business, awaiting a relaunch, but it seemed that from that article’s feedback the price ($107) was a bit much for the average gadgeteer.  Whipping Post, makers of a gorgeous line of guitar cases, has recently released their own picker’s wallet.  It’s a slimline, bare bones model, but is elegant in its simplicity. The wallet is full grain leather and holds three credit cards, has a cash compartment, clear-paneled driver’s license panel, and a stitched pocket for a guitar pick.  Two colors are available, tan and dark brown, and can be purchased directly through Whipping Post for $30.

Filed in categories: Gear, Musical Gear, News, Wallets

Tagged: Guitar, guitar pick, Wallet, whipping post

Whipping Post Picker’s Wallets originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 10, 2011 at 1:00 pm.

The FlashHarp is a 2GB flash drive that doubles as a harmonica. Yeah, you read that right – a harmonica. It even comes with a 10 minute instructional video stored right on the drive so that you’ll be blowing “Oh Susanna” in no time. Play a tune then copy files to your computer. Just be careful that your spit doesn’t short out your laptop The FlashHarp is available from Supermarket for $49.95

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Memory, Music

FlashHarp – Mini Harmonica with a Built-in 2GB Flash Drive originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 31, 2011 at 11:00 am.

The Griffin StompBox is a programmable multi-functional foot controller that interfaces with the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, enabling virtual guitar effects for any instrument that takes a 1/4-inch jack such as a guitar, bass guitar, electric violin or keyboard. StompBox was created to work with Frontier Design’s iShred LIVE app to allow musicians to switch effects with their feet, without taking their hands off the instrument.The $99.99 StompBox comes with a professional quality 4-button foot controller and the Griffin GuitarConnect cable that enables a connection to an instrument, headphones and an iOS device at the same time.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Guitar, iPad, Music

Channel your inner Jimmy Hendrix with the Griffin StompBox originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 25, 2011 at 4:00 pm.

DigiTech has announced a new programmable pedalboard and iPad application that together allow a guitarist to replace a floor full of effects pedals.  The iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard “combines the simplicity of a pedalboard with the flexibility of a multi-effect system.”  The Audio DNA2 inside the iPB-10 provides no-latency, high-definition signal processing.  The iPB-Nexus app lets you choose from 87 pedals, 54 amps, and 27 cabinets.  Design a pedalboard by dragging and dropping up to 10 pedals to each pedalboard, then add an amp and a cabinet to complete the design.  You can have a complete library of pedalboard definitions, so you can easily switch your setup for a show, between songs, or even within a song.  The iPB-10 works with iPad and iPad 2.  It’s available now at DigiTech and at retailers, and it has a retail price of $699.95.  The app is free in the iTunes store.  You’ll need to supply your own iPad.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: Guitar effects, Pedalboard

DigiTech iPB-10 Programmable Pedalboard originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 29, 2011 at 11:00 am.

The iBamboo speaker is another innovation seeking funding through Kickstarter.  It’s a speaker exclusively for the iPhone 4 that is literally a piece of foot-long bamboo with a carved iPhone dock opening.  That’s it.  There are no cables, no batteries, no need for electricity whatsoever.  Once the iPhone is placed in the dock, the bamboo acts as a natural stereo amplifier for the phone’s native speaker.  The sound quality is actually better than expected, though it seems intended more for classical and instrumental music as evidenced by the inventor’s demo videos.

iBamboo is not only eco-friendly (made from sustainable materials and requiring no electricity to operate) but also a rather unique conversation piece.  iBamboo isn’t in production just yet, but is expected to retail between $25-$30.  The project page on Kickstarter is running through July 9th and a $25 donation up until that point will reserve you an iBamboo and case.

Filed in categories: Home Tech, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Musical Gear, News

Tagged: ibamboo, iPhone/iPod speaker

iBamboo Speaker for iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 16, 2011 at 11:00 am.

I love to listen to music on my various gadgets, and I have a bunch, including some Android gadgets.  So once I got my invitation I was excited to try the new Google Music Beta.  It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am fed up with iTunes.  I am a Windows pc user and iTunes on Windows pcs just isn’t that great, in my humble, two-cents worth, opinion, which is another long story for another day.  I have used iPods and iTunes since 2003 and owned a half dozen iPods, so I have plenty of experience to speak from.  iTunes sucks.  So did I like Google Music?  Would I recommend it to others? Will it replace my iPod/iTunes solution that I have lived with for 8 years?  Let’s find out.

After using my Google account to log into Google Music I installed the Google Music Manager utility on my computer.  The music manager gives you the options of specifying which folders of music on your computer you want to upload, or you can let it grab all your music in iTunes to upload.  I keep all my music in iTunes, so that is the option I choose.  Also, you can’t upload music through the browser, you have to use the Music Manager to do that.  Some good news is that you can set the Music Manager to automatically upload any music that is added to those folders that you specify, or schedule it to upload every hour, etc.  So in my case, if I ever add any music to iTunes, it will automatically upload to Google Music, which is a nice touch.  Also, you can pick and choose which songs to upload, so I picked only the songs and playlists that I wanted to upload.  The Music Manager runs in the background and uploads while you do other things.  I did notice my computer slow down somewhat during that process, so it isn’t as ‘behind the scenes’ as some people will like.

Here is a screenshot of the Music Manager main screen:

To listen to your music, delete your music, manage your playlists (which it thankfully grabbed from my iTunes playlists), edit song information, etc, you use the Music Player which is entirely browser based.  So that means you must have an internet connection to do so.  Which I guess is the whole point.  There is a downside of course to that, because if you don’t have an internet connection, you are sunk.   You have a search feature in the Player to quickly search for any song you have, which of course I would expect being a Google product.  You can also sort the view of your music by playlists, artists, albums, songs, etc.

Before I tell you any more good stuff, let me get the bad stuff out of the way.

After I uploaded all my music I then downloaded the Android app from the Market and fired it up.  And I guess this is where my frustration began with Google Music.  The Android app is truly Beta. It needs updating, like now.  Compared to the Amazon Cloud Music player app, this app is just pitiful in my opinion.  First of all, the app combed my Android phone for music files to see if it could add any files.  It found all sorts of sound files on my phone that are associated with apps installed on my phone.  So there are tons of 1 and 2 second sound files from game apps on my phone that are now sitting inside my Google Music app.  That is just not cool.

In addition, the app wouldn’t show me the songs from my Google Music collection that is now sitting inside Google Music. After poking around the sparse help files (which I guess is to be expected at this point) I found out that you have to set up your phone to ‘auto-sync’ to be able to see your music.   After the app ‘syncs’ and you can see your music, you can turn off auto-sync.  But if I add more music to Google Music I assume that I’ll have to turn auto-sync back on before the app can see the new music.  Again, not cool.  I shouldn’t have to turn on ‘auto-sync’ (which is a better drain) to see my music, the app should be able to communicate with Google Music and see my music. The Amazon Cloud Player doesn’t make me do that so why does Google Music?  Google, you should have told me somewhere (preferably in the app on my phone) that I needed to do this instead of making me search around the help files to find the answer.  It would have saved me alot of frustration. Or maybe I just don’t get it, which is possible.

Another huge item that is missing with Google Music is that there is no iTunes equivalent software for Google Music on your pc.  It is all based in the cloud and you use your browser to listen to your music, edit song information, add them to playlists, purchase more songs online, etc.  So when it comes to managing the music on my pc, I still have to use a piece of software like iTunes, or something else, and that is a bummer.   The Music Manager that I mentioned before simply uploads music to the service, and that’s it. Have I mentioned how much I hate iTunes? Looks like I am stuck using it a bit longer till Google comes out with some software, which I hope they will.

It takes a long time to upload music.  I have over 2,600 songs in my library and it took me over 6 hours to upload the songs using my enterprise-level, high speed network here at work.  It just crawled.  When I was at home on my DSL connection to see how long it would take to upload the entire collection, my home connection was going to take over 30 hours to upload.  Maybe I am spoiled with the speed of internet services that we now enjoy in the mainstream, but that just seems too slow to me.

Having said all that, I guess you are expecting me to now tell you that I simply don’t like Google Music, and you would be wrong.

I love it.  Even with the issues that it has, I love it.

I have loved Pandora for a long time, because it gives me access to music anywhere I go on my phone that I have with me 24/7.  But I can’t pick the songs I want to hear on Pandora.  Sometimes I just want to listen to a song that I know I have in my collection.  Google Music allows me to do just that.  This is a fulfillment of the promises of cloud computing I think.  As long as Verizon doesn’t lock me down in the future with metered data plans, I can happily live with this.  Google Music, and Amazon Cloud Music as well, are only going to get better and I greatly prefer them over any of the music management apps that are currently available to get music from your pc onto your phone.  I gave up on those type of apps because it just turned out to be a hassle, especially when switching phones.  Cloud music is where it’s at.  Do I recommend it to others?  Oh yes.  Will it replace my iPod/iTunes setup? Oh yes, at some point.

Now, Google needs to get busy updating that app, like now, and making software for my pc to manage my music.  Are you listening Google? Don’t keep this in Beta for 3 years like you do everything else.  You have a legion of people like me who are ready and willing to break up with Apple.

UPDATE:  I was made aware of the fact that even though you can have Google music on multiple devices, you can’t listen to your music at the same time on multiple devices.  That takes some of the shine off the product for me, but hey, I guess you can’t have it all.

Filed in categories: Android related, Musical Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Android, Cloud, Google Music

Google Music Beta Review… The Promise & the Peril originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 11, 2011 at 1:19 pm.