Midi Controllers
Watch This Guy Turn a Vintage Phone Into a MIDI Controller and Play Daft Punk’s “Around The World”
Creative Daft Punk fans have used calculators and even Tesla coils to preserve the robots’ legacy in the wake of their split. But this one just may take the cake. James “poprhythm” Kolpack has repurposed an old phone and, through the use of an Arduino Diecimila device, turned it into a MIDI controller and vocoder to play Daft Punk’s classic, “Around The World.” “This project takes a vintage touch phone and converts it into a musical instrument, or more specifically, a MIDI controller using the push-buttons to generate the signals for musical notes,” Kolpack writes. Inside of a Southwestern Bell Freedom Phone Model No: FT325 James “poprhythm” Kolpack Once the phone was taken apart, Kolpack began mapping the...
Dave Smith, Synthesizer Pioneer and “Father of MIDI,” Has Died at 72
Dave Smith, a trailblazer in synth design revered as the “father of MIDI,” has died at the age of 72. Sequential, the synthesizer design company Smith founded, announced his death earlier this week in a statement shared via social media. “We’re heartbroken, but take some small solace in knowing he was on the road doing what he loved best in the company of family, friends, and artists,” Sequential wrote. Perhaps Smith’s most impactful creation was the Prophet-5. Built in 1978 while Smith was in his twenties, the Prophet-5 broke ground on two fronts: it was the first synth with an embedded microprocessor and the first fully programmable polyphonic synth. Prior to the invention of the Prophet-5, synths involved manually adjusting cables and knobs with no way of reproducing exact setting...
ROLI Releases Seaboard RISE 2, a Reimagined MIDI Keyboard for Limitless Artistic Expression
ROLI’s new Seaboard RISE 2 rids any creative limits a typical MIDI keyboard may possess. The Seaboard RISE was first launched by ROLI in 2015 and has received praise from producers, musicians, and composers alike. Its diverse feature set and expansive soundscapes have become paramount to the sounds of TV series like Stranger Things and featured on albums like Drake’s Views and Ed Sheeran’s ÷. The new capabilities in the RISE 2 include a new Keywave2 playing surface, more versatile suite of bundled software, a burnished platinum blue aluminum chassis, and expanded compatibility with other instruments via MIDI port and USB-C. The Equator2 synth, Ableton Live Lite, and ROLI Studio are also included. ROLI’s Seaboard RISE 2. ROLI Scroll to Continue Recomme...
ROLI Releases Seaboard RISE 2, a Reimagined MIDI Keyboard for Limitless Artistic Expression
ROLI’s new Seaboard RISE 2 rids any creative limits a typical MIDI keyboard may possess. The Seaboard RISE was first launched by ROLI in 2015 and has received praise from producers, musicians, and composers alike. Its diverse feature set and expansive soundscapes have become paramount to the sounds of TV series like Stranger Things and featured on albums like Drake’s Views and Ed Sheeran’s ÷. The new capabilities in the RISE 2 include a new Keywave2 playing surface, more versatile suite of bundled software, a burnished platinum blue aluminum chassis, and expanded compatibility with other instruments via MIDI port and USB-C. The Equator2 synth, Ableton Live Lite, and ROLI Studio are also included. ROLI’s Seaboard RISE 2. ROLI Scroll to Continue Recomme...
You Can Make Beats By Bouncing This Innovative MIDI Ball
The music hardware market isn’t lacking in creative instruments that make for a unique songwriting experience. A few years ago, Roli delivered their modular Songmaker Kit, which included their Seaboard Block, Lightpad Block, and Loop Block. This time around, ODD has developed a feature-packed MIDI instrument that provides a unique beat-making experience. The ODD Ball is fairly self-explanatory. It’s a spherical device that can be tapped, hit, or bounced to produce a sound. It connects via Bluetooth to a compatible device and is controlled by its own proprietary app. Through the app, users are able to record samples such as kicks, claps, and snares as well as loops or entire beats. Those songs can be shared with other users, allowing for easy and efficient c...
Timbaland’s New Music Contest Offers Ultra-Rare, Molten-Blue MIDI Controllers—And Only 150 Exist
Timbaland is on a constant mission to democratize music creation. With an Energizer Bunny-like motor and a dogged entrepreneurial bug, the fabled music producer is as disruptive to the industry as a heavy metal concert is to a local bed-and-breakfast. He gamified music mixing by developing Beaterator. He’s changing the way people “feel” music with SubPac. He grew Verzuz from an unheralded DJ battle to a global powerhouse webcast series. But despite these subversive accomplishments, his latest venture could be his most impactful. Timbaland is currently gearing up for the launch of Beatclub, a premier music marketplace that gives independent producers access to samples and loops created by the music industry’s most prolific beatmakers. Mike Will Ma...
These Fully Functional, Environmentally Friendly MIDI Pedals are Made from Cardboard
NILSON brand beat bars has been manufacturing some truly impressive MIDI software and hardware since 2015. Experts in 3D modeling, electronics, and computer engineering are the minds behind some of the brand’s work, including MIDI pedals and footswitches that are perfect for musicians who wish they had four hands instead of two. Pedals and footswitches are nothing new, but beat bars’ quality products have consistently garnered positive reviews and have been an effective tool for music makers across the globe for years now. beat bars recently took things a step further, crafting something that is new. The Cardboard Expression Pedal and Cardboard Footswitch are 100% environmentally friendly, using only cardboard and other biodegradable material. That̵...
