Hasta La Gadget!

What’s this? Two Q*bert posts in a week? Yeah, you got me. I guess I’m on a roll.

Remember how Q*bert used to let out that weird stream of gibberish expletives when one of his enemies got him? Well, one electronic musician decided to build himself a gadget which solely swears like Q*bert.

The Mr. @#?%! obscenity generator uses a variety of audio chips, including the classic Votrax SC-01A analog speech synthesizer. It was made by Count Funkula, using entirely parts that were available back in 1982, at the time the arcade machine came out. Check out some of the wondrous obscenities that stream forth from the orange guy’s proboscis…

Man, that little dude can swear like a truck driver. You can check out the schematics and read more about how Count Funkula built the Mr. @#?%! obscenity generator here. I’ll give you a hint – it doesn’t involve dropping balls and coiled-up snakes on anything.

Korg USA is going big at Winter NAMM 2013, introducing the world to two of its newest synthesizers. One of these is aimed at professionals and newbies alike, while the other is aimed at people who need a solid synth but don’t have the room for a full-size machine. Both will probably be quite expensive as a result, but those who are serious about their music rarely seem to care about price anyway.

We’ll start off with the new King Korg, which is primed and ready for the stage right out of the box. Featuring a 3-oscillator, 2-timbre design, the King Korg comes equipped with a number of oscillator algorithms and filters that can “accurately model sought-after vintage analog synths.” Korg’s Xpanded Modeling Technology helps with that as well, while the controls have been laid out in a way that Korg is hoping will appeal to veterans while at the same time drawing newcomers in.

Next up is the MS-20 Mini. If you’ve been following Korg for years, this will probably look pretty familiar to you. It has all of the functionality of the original MS-20 synth, only this time, engineers have squeezed all of that into a package that’s 86% smaller than the original. The MS-20 Mini still features self-oscillating high-pass/low-pass filters and an external signal processor, with Korg saying that it replicates everything about the original. If you liked the first MS-20 but want something similar that doesn’t take up as much space, this sounds like it’s for you.

There aren’t any pricing details listed, but as we stated above, don’t expect these to be necessarily cheap. Just the same, availability details are nowhere to be seen, but taking a quick look at Korg’s website, it appears that both are available now. Are any of you planning to pick one of these up?

Korg USA announces two new synthesizers at Winter NAMM 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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The Roland TB-303 bass sequencer is one of electronic music’s founding fathers, which had its heyday in the early 1980s, and later became the backbeat to just about every piece of house and rave music ever recorded, and is still popular with musicians today. And while Roland is no longer making this seminal synthesizer, at least you can now eat one. Say what?

What you’re looking at here isn’t a synthesizer at all, but a delicious Japanese sushi dish, prepared to look like a TB-303.

I’m not sure what all of the ingredients are, but there’s definitely plenty of rice, and some salty salmon roe in place of the LEDs. In the immortal words of Blondie, Eat to the Beat!

[via Ableton Live School via Wired Italy]

Nowadays, anyone with a laptop, a dream and a vague grasp on tonality can lay down their own DIY demo. But for those with more serious musical aspirations, Korg’s MicroStation might be worth a look. The shrunken-down sequencer arrives as a $399 My First Synth of sorts, combining dual arpeggiators, 480 effects and 61 “natural touch” keys in a compact form factor that should play nice with novice musicians. The keyboard also features an SD slot for saving and transporting your future Top 40 (college radio) hits, a USB port for easy connection to your home or studio computer and comes packaged with editing software: MicroStation Editor and MicroStation Plug-in Editor. If any or all of that rings your bell, you can snag it now at the source below.

Continue reading Korg MicroStation shrinks down the synth for first-timers

Filed under: Peripherals

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Source: Korg

Elektron makes button-heavy synths and samplers, it also makes great teaser videos. If you needed any proof, then its newest offering, Analog Four (and accompanying video), should be plenty. This time, we have a little exclusive advanced info to go with it. The latest box of sonic tricks is a four voice analog synth (with two analog oscillators each), comes with an internal step-sequencer, plus multiple LFOs and the usual array of filters and effects. One other nice addition is the inclusion of CV/Gate and DIN outputs, meaning you can also control some of those older pre-MIDI synths you might have lying around (there is MIDI functionality too, of course). There’s also a live performance mode, so you can shake up the pattern on the fly, along with other creative tools like arpeggio toggling. Features are all good and well, but what does it sound like? Well, head past the break for a demo, plus that extravagant teaser vid. If, however, you were sold at “four voice analog synth,” keep your eyes (and filters) open for December 3rd availability

Continue reading Elektron announces Analog Four synthesizer, spends the naming budget on viral teaser (video)

Filed under: Misc

Elektron announces Analog Four synthesizer, spends the naming budget on viral teaser (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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