Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of Marc Arsenault March 10th, 2010 - Yoshi Akai, who's apparently a steampunk aficionado, has created a sequencer that uses Lego to program 3 channels and 8 steps. Each coloured block has an embedded resistor, and stacking them controls effects. The website is sparse on details but it looks like the synthesizer is built into the unit, and it doesn't look like there's MIDI out. Still, very cool implementation and bonus points for bringing the original Lego pieces back. Who needs ... Read More

Photo courtesy of mattthegamer463 March 5th, 2010 - Have you ever wanted to ditch all the batteries in your guitar pedal rig? For someone like me that doesn't get out of the studio much, it seems like a waste to use up all those nine volt batteries when I don't really need the portability. Instructable user mattthegamer463, has created a $25 DIY power supply to daisy chain through all your pedals. Of course, dealing with all that electricity can potentially be dangerous, so ... Read More

Photo courtesy of davetron5000 February 25th, 2010 - Sam Greene over at AudioPropellor suggested I missed some points when writing the original "Minimum Gear, Maximum Impact" post almost 2 years ago, and he's definitely right. That article deserves a little refresh so I thought I'd post a few more ideas on the subject. Of course, the biggest improvement to any set up is you. This does not necessarily mean that you need to go to school and get a fancy engineering degree (although that ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Livid Instruments February 23rd, 2010 - Livid Instruments, maker of the Block, has teased us with the MIDI DIY for a while now. Well, it's finally here, but is now encompassed in the Builder series. Livid's Builder starts with the Brain (which replaces the MIDI DIY), and you add modular pieces to complete whatever controller you'd like from there. You can purchase specialized boards for push buttons, one for rotary knobs, and one for linear faders, as well as the associated ... Read More

February 22nd, 2010 - The digital recorder market is pretty saturated right now. From super high-end down to the lower end of the spectrum, it's hard to stand out. So how did Sanyo attempt to break from the tried and true stereo microphone pair? They added 4 more mics bringing the total to 6. The Xacti feature the traditional X-Y pair, an omnidirectional pair, and two other directional mics that are meant to capture sound above 20 kHz. Odd that they're made for ... Read More

February 10th, 2010 - No, unfortunately I don't have a Numa Nero to review, but Dom Leong of Logical Productions does and he's posted up a video on Youtube with his impressions. For those of you unfamiliar with the Numa Nero, it's a $1500 keyboard MIDI controller. What makes it so special? Unlike most keyboards that are semi-weighted, the Numa Nero is fully-weighted. This means that the action and resistance changes depending on where you are playing on the keyboard, just like ... Read More

February 6th, 2010 - Gakken makes some of the coolest DIY kits out there. I have the SX-150 pocket synthesizer and a music box kit. They now have a DIY vinyl gramophone kit that allows you to actually cut your own record, and then play it back. It's powered by a hand-crank (ie. your own muscle power) and it can playback 33/45/78 rpm records. I'd imagine that it's up to you to crank at the correct speed though. If you want your own, ... Read More

February 4th, 2010 - First the 27 inch iMacs and their yellow screen problems, now comes word that the Nehalem Mac Pros have overheating problems, specifically when handling audio processing. Gizmodo reports that the processors use up to 20% of their capacity handling the audio, as well as get 15-20% hotter than normal. This happens even if you use a separate sound card. The new i7 Mac Pros are coming soon, so if you've been thinking of putting down the cash for a ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Rode February 3rd, 2010 - Darren sent me an email asking for condenser microphone recommendations he could use for recording vocals; he wants to spend between $100 to $200. As I was writing a response, it occurred to me that others might be looking at buying microphones as well. So thanks to Darren for the question, and I hope it's alright that I posted it up! Since you're looking at recording vocals, you'll want to look at condensers with large diaphragms. ... Read More

Photo courtesy of LackRack.org February 1st, 2010 - The fellows over at eth-O have hacked an Ikea Lack table into a rack mount for their network gear. Why bring up network rack mounts? Because audio gear is normally at the same standard width of 19 inches. Cheap audio rack anyone? Lack tables can be had for $8 USD, which makes these racks about as inexpensive as you could make on your own from raw materials. They are available in a multitude of colours to ... Read More