COLUMN: Inevitably there are those of us who seem perpetually busy and end up finding gifts at the last minute, regardless of any plan to start early. The holiday just creeps up, and time flies when least wanted. So, what do you get your friend(s) for that last minute gift, or perhaps a stocking stuffer for your significant musician other? Here are some things we found which simply scream cool, cute, must-have, or downright nifty, and which should provide a smile on the face of anyone who gets any of these suggested holiday gifts.

Little red keyboard

For Keyboard players on the go a neat little controller is the bright red (matching Santa’s coat) Behringer U-CONTROL UMA25S USB MIDI Controller ($129 street). If you can remember how to spell the company name when you do a search online, this is one really cool little keyboard controller. Designed for the mobile musician, educator, or anybody who travels a lot and needs something small, but with full size keys.

This is one cool kit, and contains a bright red MIDI keyboard with 25 full size (but half-throw) velocity sensitive keys, plus 8 knobs and 8 buttons one might need for a virtual instrument or looping application. Volume slider, pitch bend, mod wheels, pedal inputs, too. What makes this even cooler for the price is a carry case, audio in (mic in, and RCA), line out, headphone out, MIDI out and USB or external power. It’s not as high quality as some of the other short width, full depth mini-keyboard controllers out there, but at roughly half the price of the better ones, and complete with everything you need including a headset mic, audio recording software (energyXT), and podcasting apps, this is a great little multi-purpose unit.

And at this price you won’t shed a tear if the airplane rolls back over your luggage and it’s lost forever. The overall presentation when you take it out of the box is quite amazing, and the keyboard is quite usable, even though the keys only depress about half the distance of a full size keyboard like you might find on your Triton or Fantom. I love this little keyboard, and it works great with my MacBook Pro.

If you need something more robust with full-depth key travel, and without the audio I/O, and slightly less portable, the M-Audio Axiom 25 is a great little unit ($179 street) for those finicky about the keyboard action.

More information on the UMA25S: www.behringer.com/UMA25S/index.cfm?lang=ENG

Best fit for over the fireplace

The cutest MIDI gear in years: Korg nano series USB controllers ($50-$60 street) simply are too cute to resist. Affordably priced, in three control versions, these little units are about as wide as a typical 15-inch PC notebook, and come in keyboard (nanoKEY), mini drumpad (nanoPAD), and slider/knobs (nanoKONTROL) flavors.

These little fellows are great for mobile musicians, but also for those who have keyboard workstations or controllers and want more knobs for virtual instruments, or drum pads. For example, two of these fit just perfectly on my Open Labs NeKo workstation. The nanoKEY is for those who aren’t obsessed with “real keys” but still want to make music on the road in the smallest possible footprint.

If you can afford it, the Behringer unit above makes a better gift and the carry case can even hold many notebooks, for a travel-ready kit. Still, if you want something that actually fits into a stocking, these little controllers certainly do. Very cool, very cute.

More info on the nano series: korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=NanoSeries&category_id=8 .

Woo woo for Ewoo

Relatively hard to find, but a product I like quite a bit, is the Ewoo HandMusic iPod dock and remote controller. Some folks seem to have had some issues with these due to interference with the wireless remote, but mine works great. Made in France, designed in Switzerland, the overall presentation out of the box is very Apple-like and is packaged to look nice at an Apple Store versus K-Mart. This is a neat item because so many musicians have stopped throwing away CDR discs simply to listen to a song project in their car or living room stereo; by simply putting the track onto their iPod, savvy musicians now take their compositions wherever they want. And, the iPod can import works in progress as either Apple lossless or MP3, so it allows another way to test how a mixed track will play in the real world.

The Ewoo HandMusic is basically a dock you can attach to your stereo at home or to a PC (USB cable included) and has a color LCD remote for you to control your iPod from across the room. The package includes a set of iPod adapter plates for most every model (except old FireWire iPods). What’s more the dock has video out (S-Video) to connect to your TV.

I think these are about $150, but seem to be sold out already most places; but if you see one, they are very cool! A cheaper version seems to be out there for under $90, but hasn’t been well reviewed, so make sure you seek out the “HandMusic” model. If this isn’t available, you might look for a matching “iPod dock” for most major modern stereo systems (Onkyo, Denon, Sony, etc.). I had one for my Onkyo, but I like the Ewoo better.

Also, about the same price, the Ewoo eFizz travel dock, is a little speaker system which runs on a cellphone type battery, and lets you dock your iPod for playback in a very small footprint with Cabasse speaker technology (sounds very good for its size).

More info: www.ewoo.com/products/handmusic.html .

Second skin for iPod and iPhone

Something every music user can appreciate is a highly functional cover for an iPod; something to keep it from getting scratched, help protect if you drop it off the treadmill at the gym, and can help “holding on” to the music player easier since fingers don’t exactly stick to stainless steel. My favorite cover for the iPod and iTouch has been my friends at iSkin who I discovered way back in 2002 for my white click-wheel iPod.

iSkin has models that fit most any model of iPod, iTouch, iPhone, and come in cool colors, with removable belt clip, and rub-on screen protector.

I particularly like the iSkin eVo3 for modern iPod video models (less than $25), which has integrated click wheel protection, port covers for dock and earphones easily move aside for use. Grippy, and has saved me dropping mine numerous times.

More info: www.iskin.com/products_ipod.tpl .

Shine a light on the action

One of my favorite, and very cool little items is the USB powered LED lightbar. This is an extension of the idea that started with the little USB powered single LED gooseneck lamps which would plug-in to a notebook, and provide some light on the keyboard while working in a dark space. The newest versions of these lamps are particularly useful to anybody with a modern keyboard workstation, drum box, or similar that has a powered USB port on the back. For instance, my Korg Triton Extreme, my former Korg Oasys, and my Open Labs NeKo all have USB ports on back, and I can put one of these lamps and position the gooseneck to provide light over my workspace, which is useful for all-black keyboards with little white text (which button is the arpeggiator stop again?… doh!).

These little lamps have from 5 to 10 white LEDs, and produce almost no heat and use almost no power (won’t burn out your keyboard or anything using one of them). These can be used on stage, in a dim studio, or simply in a home studio where the one bedroom overhead light might always put your working area in shadow. They can even plug-in to a modern computer monitor with a USB hub, and (of course) any notebook PC. These cost as little as $5 and can be found at computer stores, on Amazon.com, and eBay (try searching for “LED notebook lamp” or similar).

That’s a Wrap!

Well, time for me to head out and finish MY last minute holiday shopping, so hopefully these selections have provided some assistance in finding something to give to your musician friends at the last minute. And, of course, there’s always that iTunes gift card, if nothing else! Happy holidays!

Technorati Tags: musician stocking stuffers, Christopher Simmons, LED notebook lamp, Ewoo Handmusic dock, Behringer U-CONTROL, UMA25S USB MIDI Controller, Korg nano series USB controllers, iSkin iPod protector

EVENT REVIEW: There used to be a big difference between a concert that sold out and a band that sold out. But for many artists, that difference no longer exists. Many examples of this new economic reality were examined at a fact-packed expo entitled “Bands, Brands & Beyond” produced by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals, or NARIP. (Note: in the spirit of full disclosure I should point out that I am on the board of NARIP.)

There was such a high level of interest in bands/brands topic that speakers and attendees flew in from across the country, and one, Laura Cohn, postponed her honeymoon in order to be at the event.

Money Matters

Why the intensity of response? Consider just a few of the recent examples of bands getting involved with brands: Madonna teamed with Sunsilk to launch her first single off the “Hard Candy” album, using it as the soundtrack for the hair product commercial as well as appearing in the spot. The material girl reportedly pocketed $10,000,000 for this arrangement, and the global publicity for her music was worth far more than that.

Procter & Gamble partnered with the urban music division of the Island Def Jam Music Group to form TAG Records and release new hip-hop acts. If the name of the company sounds a bit familiar it’s because the brand behind it is TAG Body Spray.

Chris Brown’s top-selling single, “Forever,” was created around the marketing phrases of Wrigley’s Doublemint brand. Brown and his music later appeared in the company’s gum commercials.

Nine artists on the Sony label are teamed with Bloomingdale’s for performances, merchandise, and more. The artists are Boys Like Girls, Lenka, Joshua Bell, Teddy Geiger, Nicole Atkins, Michelle Williams, Wyclef Jean, Raphael Saadiq and Cindy Lauper,

AARP is sponsoring Tony Bennett’s tour as part of an extensive audio branding initiative led by industry pioneers DMI.

The list goes on: Jeep sponsors the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill tour; Bacardi sponsors a Groove Armada tour and helps them release their next album; Honda supports Panic At the Disco on tour; Vanity shops offer a CD with a dozen artists as a gift-with-purchase; Kim Crawford Wines sells downloads of emerging artists; and many more.

Coca-Cola not only sponsors music festivals globally, they have a music Web site that is spreading 70 million downloads in Europe alone. This doesn’t even mention their use of music in promotions and ads.

Speaking of ads, don’t overlook such commercial uses of music, including Goldfrapp for Target, Feist for iPod Nano, Jay-Z for Budweiser, Yael Naim for Mac Airbook, and on and on. The David Bowie/Iggy Pop composition, “Lust for Life,” from Pop’s 1977 album, has appeared (minus the striptease, liquor, drug, “torture film” and “flesh machine” references) on ads for cruises, cars, beverages, and more.

Coming Together

So what’s behind the band/brand confluence? Consider the marketing muscle of corporations vs. record labels. A top-level music marketing campaign seems paltry in comparison to the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions put into marketing automobiles, clothing, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, dining, and beverages. Yet all of those marketing efforts probably involve music in some way.

Within the past few years, a special type of executive has emerged, one equally versed in business and beats, music and marketing, songs and sales, creativity and cost/benefit analysis.

Many industry leaders were at NARIP’s expo, among them Maureen Crowe (music supervisor on numerous films, including “The Bodyguard,” “Poseidon” and “Chicago”); and Rob Souriall (VP of Strategic Marketing & Promotions for Hollywood Records). Also on hand were PanPacific’s Peter Jansson; music consultant Thomas White; Erin Love and Rayne Gasper of Davis Shapiro (the law firm that put together the deal between rapper 50 Cent and Vitamin Water); Tom Fritze (manager of Jes, one of 8 artists selected for Coke’s recent global marketing campaign in conjunction with the 2008 Beijing Olympics); and Heidi Richman (of H.R.M.P. a strategic marketing and promotion firm bridging the worlds of fashion, lifestyle and music).

And that was just the audience. On stage were additional noted figures in what is emerging as a new industry.

Who’s Who

Tena Clark is the chief creative officer for DMI Music & Media Solutions which has more than a decade of success in creating, discovering, producing, programming and placing music. An accomplished songwriter and producer herself, Clark’s songs and compositions have appeared on soundtracks, commercials and artist albums. In addition, she produced albums for Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, and others. Clark was interviewed by NARIP president Tess Taylor to begin the day-long program.

Phil Sandhaus has been at the top of his game for a quarter of a century, working on marketing for such artists as The Beatles, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Miles Davis, The Rolling Stones, Garth Brooks, and many others. With past stints at EMI-Capitol and Columbia, he is currently a managing partner at Membrain, where he worked on the recent partnership between Victoria’s Secret and the Spice Girls. Sandhaus was interviewed by Taylor to cap the morning session of the expo.

Umut Özaydinli has the daunting title of Global Music Marketing Manager, Worldwide Sports & Entertainment Marketing for Coca-Cola. The number of festivals, events, promotions, and consumer interactions sponsored by Coke is huge and Özaydinli oversees all uses of music in these ventures.

Martin Pazzani has worked with more than 700 companies on the Fortune 1000. He has been involved with creation of the music and audio logos for Adidas, American Express, Anheuser Busch, AOL, Audi, Cadillac, Chrysler, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Infiniti, Lexus, Microsoft, Nike, Pepsi, Visa, Yahoo, and more.

Mike Tunnicliffe was named by M&M Europe as “one of the top 100 most influential people in global advertising and marketing.” With his own firm, Tuna Music, and with the branded entertainment and alternative marketing company, The Sheppard, he interacts with agencies, corporations, brands, entertainment businesses, and musical artists with the goal of creating new revenue streams and increasing mutual business opportunities between the music and brand industries.

Ed Razanno is a Vice President of Business Development at Ricall, an automated online music licensing firm that is paving the way in defining a new paradigm in the industry. In the past, he has worked at CBS Television, Universal Music Publishing and ad agency DMB&B.

Jeff Rabhan, CEO of Three Ring Projects, guides career moves of such artists as Jermaine Dupri and Lil’ Kim, and is one of the architects of the TAG Records deal with Proctor & Gamble. He has held positions at The Firm, Atlantic Records and Elektra Records and has been integral in the career decisions of Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Korn and Enrique Iglesias.

Jared Rosenberg is at Wright Crear Management where he is the co-manager of international recording artist Janet Jackson.

Notable and Quotable

Mike Tunnicliffe: “The benefits of these deals must work three ways. It’s not just band and brand, it’s band, brand and fan.”

Heidi Richman: “Goals of the brand and artist must match.”

Tena Clark: “At the heart of every brand is a unique sound. You’ve got to work very hard to discover what it is or should be. It’s what we call the soundDNA, something that can build emotional connections with the brand. soundDNA is the answer to the question ‘What is the sound of your brand?’”

Martin Pazzani: “A growing number of marketers are beginning to see the benefits of using audio, the sense of hearing, at a much higher level than ever before. They use music and sound as an integrated, planned, strategic communication tool rather than a lowly production afterthought. These marketers are creating the new discipline of audio brand identity and realizing a new area of competitive advantage.”

“Engagement” is one of the most important aspects in brand/band interaction. “One of the key metrics for brand performance is the level of affinity an audience feels to that brand,” state Philip Daniels and Phil Ashcroft, architects of the Groove Armada/Bacardi deal. A case study they provided attendees carefully outlines the risks and rewards of such interactions.

In putting together band/brand deals, “you must prove ROI (return on investment) through sales, audience response surveys, online hits, event participation or upsell on their services,” notes Tena Clark.

Martin Pazzani: “Interestingly, corporations will spend millions of dollars creating and maintaining their visual equity, yet give little effort to their audio identity. While more than 90% of brands today have a detailed and descriptive visual style guide, with legally protected logos and taglines, fewer than 10% of brands have anything even close to what we call an audio identity guide.”

Umut Özaydinli has excellent advice for artists: “Everyone must become his own brand manager.”

Martin Pazzani: “Fifteen years ago, photography had a higher value than today. Now, it’s digitized, it’s everywhere, it’s nearly instantaneous to find, and it’s devalued. The same thing could happen to music.”

Umut Özaydinli: “Get a young attorney; by that I don’t mean chronologically, but your music business attorney must be aware of the new digital age.”

Passionate About Music

It was very clear from all participants that they care deeply about music. Comments from Clark, Rabhan, Rosenberg, Özaydinli — indeed, all the participants — indicated that they are steeped in music both on and off the job.

Perhaps Tess Taylor’s remarks said it best: “Music is one of the finest inventions of mankind. It’s an art form with high and enduring value, which is why our industry has the enormous cache that corporations and brands would kill for. At its best, music can uplift, transform, delight and amaze us.” As the music business undergoes incredible change, artists must “find a place where they are comfortable turning their value into income. Today, artists increasingly look to brands for support, as do record companies. And brands recognize the emotional power of music and what it can do for their bottom line. Great art must be supported,” Taylor noted, “it’s the only practical way in a society where money is required to live. Without patronage we would not have Bach, Beethoven or Mozart.”

More information: www.narip.com

Photo: (L-R) Three Ring Projects CEO Jeff Rabhan, Coca-Cola’s Global Music Marketing Manager Umut Özaydinli, NARIP President Tess Taylor, Bluestone Partners CEO in Residence Martin Pazzani and Wright Crear Management’s Jared Rosenberg.

Justin Winokur Photography, courtesy of NARIP

Technorati Tags: NARIP, Tess Taylor, music, advertising, branding, marketing, Tena Clark, Phil Sandhaus, Martin Pazzani, Umut Ozaydinli, Mike Tunnicliffe, Ed Razanno, Jeff Rabhan, Jared Rosenberg, Coca-Cola

REVIEW: The concept of the so-called workstation keyboard is certainly not new; with a wide range of current such products on the market from big guns like Korg, Roland and Yamaha, stretching back in time to the Korg M-1. These products seek to fill the needs of the “one keyboard does all” set-up, for composing, comping, or touring, and may include ROMpler sound sets, virtual analog, drum sounds, on board sampling, multi-track MIDI sequencing, built-in FX; and more often these days, some level of audio recording capability.

The Timbaland Special Edition NeKo from Open Labs is a truly unique instrument, part keyboard, part PC DAW, part virtual instrument player, part DJ performance control station. It is perhaps, the ultimate expression of the workstation concept, because it finally brings together all the elements needed to play, compose, record and produce modern music; and with the advent of more affordable and more powerful computer parts, the NeKo TSE is one of the most powerful keyboards of any kind ever built.

I’ve been using MIDI gear since it was invented, and this is perhaps the coolest thing since sliced bread, or perhaps since electronic music instruments began talking to each other and learning to do more than make noises all alone. But is it right for you? What other options are out there? Does it work as advertised? Well, as a recent new owner of one of these bad boys, let me tell you the tale of a fateful trip into the land of buying and using such beasts as these.

The Back Story

Into this arena of “workstation” products, a few years back, came a bunch of folks out of Austin Texas who had the idea to take this multi-purpose keyboard idea a step further, or perhaps reinvent the category, and combine the idea of a workstation keyboard with a PC; then put it all together as a value-add product. These folks, headed by founder Victor Wong, called themselves Open Labs, and their initial products were pricey and yet innovative. Some “got it” right away, and Open Labs has developed a core following over the past few years, in much the same way products like the Muse Receptor have their adherents and detractors.

The initial products included the Open Labs MiKo and NeKo; with the MiKo being a 37-key iteration, and the NeKo being a 61-key (or larger) iteration. These workstations included a quality key action (from Fatar, using the same wonderfully playable actions found in the Kurzweil line), control surface for mixing or controlling ADSR in plug-ins, PC keyboard for data entry, a touch-sensitive 15-inch LCD screen (touch panel), and custom plug-in navigation controls. The “open” part of the equation came in when they chose to use open source and “affordable” applications that run under Windows XP, for sequencing, recording, and virtual instruments.

They cleverly took Windows, put a custom “shell” GUI (graphical user interface) on top of that, and made easy to use “kiosk style” on-screen buttons to get to the most used functions a finger touch away. So, inside the “keyboard” was not the typical circuit board with custom chips and I/O from a music instrument manufacturer, but your everyday hand built AMD or Intel PC motherboard, memory, hard drive, video, and a high quality off-the-shelf audio and MIDI interface with multiple I/O and headphone support.

The whole really was much more than the sum of its parts. Arguably the one downside was the high cost of computer parts at the time. Today, 4GB of high quality RAM is the same cost as 1GB of second-tier memory three years ago, and a multi-core Intel CPU is the same price as what a single core processor once cost; more CPU power means you can run that big reverb along side your dozen virtual instruments all while recording live vocals, and not having it crash. This also includes cost of motherboard, hard drive storage, and the rest. Because of the cost of using high quality parts, and building everything by hand, an Open Labs product could easily run in the $8K range, which put it up there with products like Korg’s OASYS workstation and, well, there really wasn’t anything else like the NeKo or MiKo.

Thanks to the fact they were on to something, a lot of musicians doing good (read: successful) could afford to buy something like this; because they saw the value in the final product and that it did, indeed, fit a need that many recording artists, particularly keyboard players, could “grok.” Artists like Keith Emerson, Sheila E, Dave Cohen, Lil Jon, Jesse Carmichael (of Maroon 5), Karl “Charlie” Steinberg (father of Cubase software), and producer Timbaland (among many others, see: openlabs.com/artists.html) all use Open Labs products.

I always thought the product was a good idea, but had been turned off by the high price and the hands-on understanding of the downside to having an overheating Pentium or AMD PC inside a keyboard; I don’t have air conditioning and actually melted a DAW workstation due to the “run hot” properties of the then state of the art Intel Pentium IV. Ironically, I ended up buying a Korg OASYS 88, which I actually hated and sold less than 6 months later.

Enter the NeKo Timbaland Edition

When Open Labs announced the new version of their product, developed with producer Timbaland, I had just kicked the OASYS out of my studio (I was so disappointed with the OASYS, I could write a treatise on it, but will spare you), and so was sensitized to this new version. I put in an order for the 61-key NeKo after sending off some techie questions to Open Labs (who responded quickly and coherently), and had to wait about 10 days as there was already a waiting list.

Whether you know who Timbaland (timbalandmusic.com) is or not, it’s useful to know that what he brought to the table in working with Open Labs was the desire for a more streamlined keyboard case decked out in shiny all-white livery, a DJ fader and quick access knobs below the screen, and a special software package that includes the full complement of sounds from the popular Ensoniq (E-MU) ASR-10 keyboard and ASRx beat box/sampler, the EPS (son of the Mirage) and ZR/MR keyboards. Any fan of the defunct Ensoniq products will really enjoy this sound library (more on software, below). This new design makes it more attractive on-stage, but also a little less cluttered from the perspective of a keyboard player. You do lose some of the knobs and sliders, which might not suit a recording studio set-up as well, but considering it’s now about $3,000 less and about twice as powerful, I think it’s a very smart trade-off for most people.

The specs on the new workstation, often called the “TSE” edition, include 2.4GHz Intel Core2Quad (runs cooler than prior generation Core2 or Pentium processors), 4GB RAM, Dual Layer DVD burner, 15-inch touch panel, second video out, 1TB of storage (500MB system, 500MB audio SATA II drives), audio and MIDI I/O via PreSonus FireBox with front and back panel I/O and 24/96 support, sustain and expression pedal inputs, 2 USB ports, 1 FireWire 400 port, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The whole shebang comes in at about 46 lbs.

Custom Workstation Software

Much like the Muse Receptor, the NeKo TSE has a lot of open-source (or “free”) software on board, but more importantly it has a lot of licensed and rebranded/tweaked software brought together for a seamless “sit down and play” experience. You really could live with nothing more than this one system and the vast bundle of usable sounds and virtual instruments for the majority of gigging, song writing, and recording tasks. Really.

Perhaps most notable is a rebranded version of Brainspawn’s Forte VST synth rack ($129 from publisher), called Open Labs Karsyn in this implementation. Not just a product with a new logo and skin, this version has a wealth of pre-sets based on the shipped software bundle to let you quickly jump to a category from the touch panel, like “acoustic piano” or “horns.” A lot of work has gone into these set-ups, and it really makes this a keyboard you can sit down and play as easily as a Korg Triton. Turn it on, press a button, make music.

For sequencing and recording, Open Labs has similarly outfitted the TSE with a customized version of the popular Cockos Reaper ($225 from publisher) multitrack audio and MIDI recording application. This suite has a 64-bit audio engine, built-in effects, no track limit, support for both VST and DX plug-ins, and can even support network FX processing to use unused processor cycles on a spare PC you may have on your network. This is no cut-rate freebie recording system, and puts anything found on normal keyboard workstations to shame; and gives more expensive DAW software a run for their money. Of course, you can run any Windows application on the NeKo, whether you prefer Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, or whatever. Again, Open Labs didn’t stop at just putting the application in the menu, they went in and set-up some really useful templates, including a quick-start template for hook-up to an Akai MPC.

For those who need to capture their vintage gear and bring that one sound from their Prophet 5, or Matrix 12 on tour, the Open Labs Mimik application provides an easy to use sample and go option. While they don’t say so, it looks to be the same application included with the E-MU EmulatorX2 software sampler, where it’s called SynthSwipe EX2 Automated Sampling. Since the TSE includes the E-MU Proteus X2 instrument, this would make sense. I’ve not used Mimik yet, but have used the E-MU version previously, and it really is easy to use and does work as advertised.

Additionally, the TSE has an application called Open Labs mFusion which is a master controller set-up and management control panel. This is where you can change the DJ slider to send breath controller MIDI data, or assign the faders and buttons as needed.

Sounds and More Sounds

While you may think that Open Labs has simply taken a bunch of free VST instruments off the web, dumped them into a synth rack application, and then called it a day, you would be so far wrong I would need to scold you for your misassumptions.

In addition to the fairly large library of classic Ensoniq sounds, which you can’t get anywhere else on a new keyboard instrument, the TSE includes E-MU’s Proteus X2 instrument, which is basically the Emulator X2 without the sampling capability. However, with Mimik, you can auto-sample hardware and virtual instruments, and this is what the majority of folks actually use sampling for these days outside of professional sound design. Good choices on both counts. Not content with the bundled sounds of the stock Proteus X2 instrument, Open Labs has licensed the majority of the huge archival E-MU library, which alone is worth hundreds of dollars (ahem, I know: I bought them previously to use with Emulator X2).

So, this means you’re getting the E-MU Vintage X bundle of classic synths and keyboards: samples of vintage gear like ARP, Moog, Roland Jupiter 8 and JX8P, Sequential Circuit Prophet 10 and 600, Mellotron, Oberheim OB, B-3 organ, Rhodes and Clavinet, and way more than I plan to list here. And they all sound really good. But, wait, there’s more! For fans of the classic ROMpler rack mount boxes, the TSE comes with the Proteus 2000 (all 1,024 presets of the rack mount box) and Mo Phatt module sounds.

Bundled virtual instruments include 4Front Truepianos (Diamond and Emerald), WusikStation V4 with added libraries (hybrid vector and wavesequencer, sampler instrument), Lennar Digital Sylenth (quite nice virtual analog synth), and Luxonix Purity (I’d likely call this akin to a Korg Triton in software).

Other useful things include Disco DSP Discovery OL edition, Vertigo, Crystal, UltraSonique, Cubix; and more than 40 other goodies to go sonic exploring with. It’s really easy to stack some of the one trick ponies in Karsyn to make entirely new instruments, too.

So, all told it really would cost you a bundle (at least $1,000) to go out and buy all the bundled software included in the box.

Out of Box Experience

I had a little bit of hesitation in choosing to buy the NeKo TSE, since on paper it looked really really good, but dropping nearly $5K on anything these days can be a real deal breaker when there are so many options for music making gear. Luckily my business has been doing really well this year, despite the economy, and I had recently sold my Korg OASYS 88 on eBay, so I started the research phase. This included a bunch of emails off to the Open Labs support team regarding various things, and they had good answers to my questions. Prompt and coherent, as I like to say.

After watching the videos on their website (www.openlabs.com) and on YouTube, reading forum questions and answers, older reviews in the major magazines, etc., I ended up ordering one from the AudioMidi.com folks here in California (also always nice to work with). I do buy a lot from the folks at Sweetwater (shout out to Delvin Wolf), but they didn’t carry the NeKo. Apparently others made the jump on this new model the same time I did, so there was a waiting list (the 37-key version shipped first, which is perhaps more popular with the hip-hop/DJ crowd thanks to smaller size).

Getting the box from UPS after about 10 days was a delight as the box was professionally silk screened with Open Labs logos (unexpected quality there), and the packing was very competent for a product of this kind (see photo). Had very much a Christmas morning feel, which is always a good sign. It was not quite as obsessive as some of the Yamaha gear I’ve bought where they must have a custom cardboard factory someplace for all the engineering they put into packing, but far better than a Roland V-Synth keyboard I got where the packing practically had to be broken to get the gear out.

I was a little surprised there were no CD/DVDs, a printed manual, or anything inside the accessory box aside from a hex wrench, a getting started sheet (11×17, color), and power cable. Of course, I then realized that with two 500GB hard drives, the help files, video tutorials and whatnot would be on the TSE, which they were. I still would have liked a small printed manual, but perhaps my dinosaur bones are starting to show on that - in this era of reducing paper waste, and the fact that just about any tech manual is obsolete months after it’s been printed, it’s a good environmental and cost-saving choice.

Once out of the box and on a stand (I’m using the Standtastic 103KSB, seen in the photo) it was a quick shot to plug-in speakers, a second monitor, and start making noise. Thanks to its use of Windows versus a custom version of Linux (ala Muse Receptor), installing virtual synths like IK’s SampleMoog (see photo) or Arturia’s CS80 emulation was as simple as putting the disc in, exiting the GUI, installing the applications under Windows, connected to net for authorization, and done. It took the better part of a day to install various things I wanted to play with like the Korg Legacy collection, some East West instruments, and the now defunct Gigastudio VST instrument.

I really like the front panel (below the pitch/mod wheels) audio controls on the FireBox, for setting headphone and monitor out levels. Having two mic or instrument inputs “right there” at hand is nice, too, without having to remember which input is which on the back or pulling it off the rack to plug something in. The snazzy metal audio knobs have detents so you can actually set a headphone level “just right” and go back to it later. I have been a long time fan of Echo Audio products, and was new to the PreSonus line, but am really liking what they do. Aside from ergonomics, it appears this was a very good choice for “quality” and not just size. Open Labs has pre-set everything installed to run with the drivers (via ASIO), so you don’t have to worry about manually setting anything; and switching from 44 to 48Khz was simple using the ASIO panel.

The Player in the House

One of the things which make this product really fun as a keyboard player is finally being able to treat a virtual instrument as a keyboard. Sure, you may think using a notebook and a MIDI keyboard controller is just as nice, but not as far as I’m concerned. Being able to load up the Korg Legacy Collection Wavestation instrument on the NeKo TSE, and play it “right there” as if the keyboard had morphed into a real Wavestation (I’ve missed mine for years). You can even use your fingertip to move the virtual joystick on screen. Not as fluid as a real joystick, but much better than using the mouse in my opinion. Basically, any virtual instrument which has a standalone mode seems entirely new again when played on the TSE. I had a blast playing IK Multimedia’s SampleMoog on the TSE while writing a review of the software (see photo).

And, for others without a standalone mode, you’re a few taps away from loading something into Karsyn. I was impressed that Karsyn even has a drop-down menu of “recently added” instruments and “recently used” plug-ins, so when you first install something like Spectrasonics Omnisphere, you don’t have to go hunting through dozens of instrument menus to load it up.

There were some minor problems which came up, which was the pitch bend didn’t “center” properly every time, which I hadn’t run into as a problem since the days of my Oberheim XK keyboard controller with levers in lieu of wheels. Also, I found the final D# and F# keys made a “clacking” sound on release. I determined that the metal case top was a hair lower than it could be, and simply taking off the right end panel and holding the case top and re-tightening the right hand side screws solved that. For the pitch bend problem, tech support confirmed this was an issue that they could reproduce, and a week later they had a firmware update which they installed remotely for me over the Internet. No trouble since.

I requested they consider adding an option in mFusion to route the aftertouch to the mod wheel for those applications which don’t support MIDI aftertouch (many don’t), as it can be strange in this day and age to apply pressure and nothing happen. This is not a problem with the NeKo, as some non-owner forum trolls will assert, but lack of aftertouch support in the virtual instrument being played.

The fit and finish of the case is very nice with the exception of a little area under the left side of the keyboard which looked like it should have been sanded prior to painting, as it has a bit of a coin edge versus being smooth which seems out of place with all the rest of the edges on the case.

The controllers work well, although the notebook PC style touch pad for mousing takes a bit getting used to, and is a bit twitchy on some screens, just like a real notebook. I sometimes felt the touch pad was too sensitive and the select buttons required too much pressure. Generally, I found myself using the LCD panel whenever I could. I may end up adding a Logitech cordless USB trackball, maybe not.

The overall presentation feels good; not quite the industrial grade manufacture of some big name workstations, but way way beyond the built-in-garage hot rod approach. This is a mature, commercial product line and it shows.

Inside the Box

When looking inside the case to add some options (see photo), I was really impressed by the Zalman case fan, high quality power supply, high quality memory, very efficient wire routing and tie down, as well as epoxy glue on some of the connectors to keep them from coming loose in transport (essential for gigging). The glue was a nice touch, as I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to open my DSI Poly Evolver rack mount synth to push the little connector for the front screen that hair’s width needed to make it work again.

For the trolls in some of the forums who complain that the NeKo is nothing more than a PC and a keyboard controller bolted together, it’s worth mentioning the plethora of custom circuit boards inside the case (not shown) which handily disproves that assertion. There is way more engineering in place for this than even I (being a techie guy from way back) was expecting. That’s why it works so well: it’s engineered, not cobbled together.

I’ve also customized my NeKo TSE by adding an internal FireWire card (mandatory if you want to use another audio I/O box while the FireBox is installed on the main FireWire bus), adding a mini USB hub inside to mount my iLok and Syncrosoft keys, and I’ve added another 500GB hard drive to use for sample libraries. This was done under the auspices of normal upgrades which won’t void my warranty, but you must be careful here if you don’t know what you’re doing (see added note regarding warranty, below -editor).

My only complaint was the cost of the brackets to mount the third hard drive, which was about $100 for two brackets and some screws from Open Labs. Sure, it’s custom cut premium aluminum, with grommets for vibration, but considering you can buy an entire Antec PC case for that, it was tempting to simply use the leftover parts I had laying about and tape down an Antec bracket I had (actually I did just that while waiting for the parts to arrive in the mail). Still, the OEM part is nice, but it cost as much as the 500GB hard drive, which seemed wrong somehow. Not evil mind you, just pricey.

Editorial note: after this story had been published, Open Labs requested I add the following note regarding the warranty: “This warranty does not apply: … b) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not an Open Labs Authorized Service Provider; c) to a product or a part that has been modified without the written permission of Open Labs.” — which basically means if you don’t know how to install a hard drive into a PC already, don’t mess with your NeKo! As I’ve mentioned in my postings to the Open Labs tech support forum, you should always consult the tech gurus at OL prior to doing anything inside your keyboard, unless you truly know what you’re doing. More info: openlabs.com/warranty.html .

Other Choices

There isn’t a lot of competition for this product on the market. The Korg OASYS is a closed system, and suffers from a “let’s make everything new” mentality, which walks away from the huge library of sounds of the Triton era, and while it can sort of morph into a few vintage instruments like the MS-20, it can’t become a Wavestation, or stack instruments in place within “combis” to make hybrids of the various technologies included, and the OASYS recording environment is inferior to most software tools, such as Reaper included with the TSE.

The Muse Receptor (www.museresearch.com) is a versatile instrument for touring and studio use, and works very well, but it’s not a keyboard instrument in the same way a workstation like the TSE is. You “hook up” to the Receptor, you don’t “play it.” The Receptor is also currently hampered by the fact it’s running a version of Linux and can’t easily load many Windows plug-ins without special installers. If you need a dedicated box to run Native Instruments or IK Multimedia’s libraries, it’s a good choice for that, but it still requires a DAW and MIDI controller. I found the built-in synth rack to be versatile, but cumbersome, and it is really setup for those who want to program live sets versus just loading something and playing it.

Similarly, the SM Pro Audio V-Machine (www.smproaudio.com) is a standalone VST player in a box, but adds support for Magix Samplitude 9 SE, as well as a nice selection of virtual instruments. The initial product is more geared for musicians using a notebook, and the box has only a 1GHz CPU, so you won’t likely be recording full on game soundtracks with it, but it’s insanely affordable for what it is.

And, yes, you can simply go out and buy a keyboard controller, a notebook, and a USB sound box for portable composing. In fact, I considered buying a top of the line CME or Novation controller with all the knobs and sliders, along with a PreSonus FireStudio, and a new HP TouchSmart 20″ LCD PC and “rolling my own” type of product along these lines. What I found, however, is that the “value add” provided by Open Labs with the NeKo TSE made it exactly what I wanted. The integration of the pieces (the control surface is pre-set to work with the E-MU sound library for instance), and the huge amount of work which has gone in to the pre-sets and a “clean” install of everything on board. It works for me, and I have no regrets about “should have done blah instead.”

Bottom Line

In practice I’ve had zero crashes, downtime, glitches or problems beyond a personal adventure in replacing the FireBox with a couple of PreSonus FireStudio models as the main audio I/O (another story). I now have both working and can choose which to use, depending on what I’m doing. I’ve also added the PreSonus FaderPort and the monitor controller for the FireStudio, which sit perfectly above the PC keyboard on the top left side of the TSE. For those who need additional controllers like drum pads, the new Korg Nano line is perfect as an add-on to the NeKo.

As far as running other DAW applications, Cakewalk Sonar 8 works great, and the only glitch of any kind I’ve had has been the streaming option turned on within Omnisphere, and the screen redraw in most recent update of East West Play engine. However, I don’t consider these to be issues related to the NeKo TSE.

For any keyboard player who wants a real workstation, complete with a vast sound palette, truly usable recording system, and those who also want a great live performance instrument, the NeKo is an excellent and unique choice. Some may find it pricey, but in my opinion it is well worth every penny once you discover everything you’re actually getting.

Summary:

Open Labs NeKo Timbaland Special Edition (TSE)
www.openlabs.com

61-key workstation based on Intel Core2Quad processor, 4GB RAM, two 500GB Hard Drives, dual-layer DVD burner, PreSonus FireBox audio and MIDI I/O. Exclusive sound libraries with 35GB of premium sounds; custom licensed versions of instruments and DAW recording applications. List price: $4999.

PROS:
Good value when all the pieces are priced alone; great integration between instruments and bundled software. Good ergonomics. Great technical support; including remote fixes/updates, prompt email and phone call-back support. They even monitor the tech support forum on their site daily. Extremely playable. It is compatible with all Windows XP applications. PreSonus audio hardware an excellent choice; ASIO drivers seem to work with everything. Upgradeable as technology changes (new motherboard/processors) via upgrade path policy.

CONS:
No printed documentation beyond hook-up sheet; lacking documentation of any kind for certain things like video card settings to enable second display. Bracket for third HD is a bit pricey. A PC build sheet outlining motherboard model, video card capability (resolutions and timings supported), CD/DVD burner specs (in case of firmware update needed); used/open SATA, USB and FireWire ports, and similar data would have been nice to have in the unlikely event the company disappeared.

More information and tech specs on the NeKo TSE:
openlabs.com/neko-tse-tech-specs.html .

All photographs are the exclusive property of, and are Copr. © 2008 by Christopher Simmons, all rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: Christopher Simmons, Open Labs NeKo TSE, Timbaland Special Edition, keyboard workstation, MIDI recording studio

EVENT REVIEW: Blue Microphones this past week threw a private party (November 6, 2008), to demonstrate their latest products and it turned out to have the most security of any event in the city. The site was the Gibson/Baldwin Showroom which is right next to the Beverly Hills Police Department. The BHPD was apparently calling in every available officer to handle protests at the Mormon compound located only a few miles away and the street next to the Gibson entrance was being used as a staging area.

Rounding the corner from the nearby Live Nation offices, I walked past police cars, police vans, a police bus that resembled a rolling jail, and plenty of officers standing by vehicles of various shapes and sizes. Since the protesters were nowhere near, our little corner of Beverly Hills seemed very safe indeed.

Once inside, attendees did exactly what you’d expect at such affairs: mingling, networking, munching, and so forth. Me, too. More importantly, many of us took advantage of the fact that brand new Blue products were set-up for one-on-one demos at computer workstations in the main room and in a soundproof booth located deeper inside the building.

The Look of Blue

Since its founding in 1995 by Skipper Wise and Martins Saulespurens, Blue has developed a strong reputation for creating microphones that not only look unique, but also offer a distinctive sonic personality. This approach can lead to an extraordinary level of product loyalty from artists because you can find a Blue mic that perfectly meshes with your own audio personality.

The progression of Blue has seemed inevitable, but they have faced interesting challenges. As Wise puts it, “We started with the Bottle mic, making it tough on ourselves! Tough, because it was our top-of-the-line microphone, and we have since trickled down to our most inexpensive mic to date, the Baby Bottle. But it’s not about being inexpensive. We don’t consider the Baby Bottle a cheaper choice than the most expensive mic. It does something different. Because we make capsules, the most important part of a microphone, we can create different sounds so that each mic does something different.”

New Products

Introduced recently by Blue was the Snowball, a direct plug-and-play microphone for Mac or PC. It features a dual capsule design and offers three different patterns at the flip of a switch: cardioid, cardioid with -10dB pad, and omni. Obviously it works perfectly for podcasting.

Unveiled at the event were the Icicle, the Mikey and the Eyeball. The Icicle is a mic preamp with 48V phantom power that lets you connect an XLR mic to your computer via USB. The Mikey is specifically for the iPod 4G, 5G, 6G, iPod Nano 2G, 3G and iPod Classic and is compatible with most protective cases. The Eyeball is a web cam with a condenser capsule, premium lens, and adapter for positioning on virtually any laptop or desktop monitor.

Music that’s Alive

Most exciting was the entertainment, in which indie recording artist Chris Pierce performed using Blue mics, thus proving they can not only stand up to the rigors of a high energy, world-class live act, but come through with flying colors. Pierce, who was also the first artist to use the Icicle with Blue’s Bottle mic to record directly into a computer, has been thrilling audiences a decade and will soon be the opening act for B.B. King. I’ve seen full shows by both artists and let me assure you that audiences on that tour are in for a treat.

Opening his too-brief set with an a cappella wail of such power and passion that he instantly silenced a crowded room full of schmoozers, Pierce launched into a wild amalgamation of funk, folk and rock that was the very definition of vigorous. Pierce seems to operate on raw energy crossed with lightning as he climbs all over his clever lyrics and deftly beats the hell out of his big Epiphone jazzbox.

As if Pierce wasn’t powerful enough, his band features cool controlled explosions from bassist Orlando Sims, percussionist David Leach and drummer Bryon Holley. These guys could make nursery rhymes sound dangerous and their ability to propel each verse and chorus with just the right amount of gunpowder was beautiful to behold. Steve Aguilar’s keyboards and Jon Butcher’s electric guitar work were alternately silky smooth or razor sharp. The interplay and dynamics of these six musicians simply cannot be topped.

More information and product specs for Blue Mics: www.bluemic.com.

More information and music about Chris Pierce: www.chrispierce.com.

Photography by: SNOOK/Immedia Wire Service.

Technorati Tags: Blue Microphones, studio recording, pop music, audio gear, USB converter, Skipper Wise, Martins Saulespurens, Chris Pierce, rock

COLUMN: Artists need publicity, public relations, media management, hype, hoopla, and buzz. In every major city can be found oodles of failed screenwriters, unpublished novelists, unsung musicians, and nameless poets who call themselves PR specialists. Does that sound unfair? Remember, I’m one of them. Sure, I’ve actually gotten a screenplay produced, two books published, and 8 albums released, but always under names other than John Scott G or Scott G, so I still fit into that category.

Let’s face facts: to a certain extent we’re flacks, hypemeisters and blurb mongers. Yet so much of what gets published and posted begins with our work. Simple press releases and media announcements serve as the calling card for new works in almost every segment of commerce. In many cases, our releases are run word for word.

So, be careful who you select for your creating and disseminating your media announcements. The wrong words can determine the success or failure of your current efforts.

Recently, I received a link to information about an artist I will call Robin Battler (the name has been changed because my beef is with the artist’s publicity people; the artist may be great and undeserving of poor PR). Actually, the way it was presented was “Award Winning Artist Robin Battler.”

Okay, right away I’ve got a problem. If an award means anything, then mention it by name, as in “Grammy Winning Artist” or “Oscar Winning Artist.” Whenever someone is described as “award winning” I immediately think fondly of Victor Spinetti petulantly stating “I won an award” in “A Hard Day’s Night.”

Considering what came next, the “award winning” hype was a drop in the ocean. This is the opening paragraph of this artist’s online presentation:

“Robin’s dynamic vocals and honest lyrics have been compared to John Mayer, Tom Petty and Peter Gabriel. His sound has been described as reminiscent of George Martin’s arrangements with strings and textural guitars — a bit British meets old school with contemporary and clever lyrics. His songwriting comes from a Dylan-esque ‘fly on the wall’ storytelling perspective — the way he views the world. ‘Even when a song seems to be on the surface “about a girl” often times that girl is a metaphor for something deeper and larger in scope,’ shares Robin.”

Hysterical!

Allow me to retort: “Even when hype seems to be on the surface ‘a bunch of bullshit,’ often times that bullshit is a metaphor for something deeper and larger in scope,” shares Scott.

Technorati Tags: Scott G, publicity, public relations, music PR, hype, marketing, writing

REVIEW: These Thousand Emotions — Have you ever thought about what is inside the sounds you like to hear? Harmonics and overtones are in there, for a start, but it can go way beyond that with some artists. A few special people are able to capture raw emotion and inject it into notes and chords. Such an artist is Claire Tchaikowski. On her quietly propulsive album, “Those Thousand Seas,” listeners are presented with ten exquisite songs that are a wonderful blend of musicianship, poetics and passion. The effect is akin to swimming through a 200-proof cocktail.

The title track wasn’t playing for more than sixty seconds before I was being pulled in two directions; on the one hand, bliss, but on the other, an upsurge of adrenaline. This dichotomy continued for every minute of the album all three times I played it.

First of all, the sonics are exquisite and the production by Mike Hedges (The Cure, Dido) is spectacular. Second, with Tchaikowski’s ethereal vocals, you can relax and simply float along on a musical excursion seemingly through the core of a young artist. Yet percolating underneath each well-crafted track is a torrent of feeling. “Those Thousand Seas” proudly presents a multiplicity of sensations: love and longing, joy and loss, knowledge and awe.

My apologies if my words seem to be overselling this album. I recognize that part of the pleasure awaiting you with this new work lies in discovering these delights for yourself. But still, I’d like to be the first to say that the last time I had such a reaction to an album was with work by Peter Gabriel.

This doesn’t seem to be a generational reaction; I played the first four tracks for my son, who said it was okay and then paid it his highest compliment by asking if he could borrow it to play the rest.

I could go on but I will only make three more observations: There is majesty in these sounds. There is magic in the performances. There is magnificence in this debut.

ALBUM SUMMARY:
Artist: Claire Tchaikowski
Album: “Those Thousand Seas” - 10 tracks, 2008
Genre: Ethereal Pop
Label: Gra Mor Records
Available at: iTunes.com

iLike: www.ilike.com/artist/Claire+Tchaikowski

Technorati Tags: Claire Tchaikowski, Gra Mor, pop music, college radio, indie music, singer songwriter, rock

REVIEW: I’ve been a fan of the late (and sadly missed) Bob Moog’s various sound creation inventions since the mid 1970s. I first saw one of his theremins at a Southern California museum and while the rest of my family perused the other modern art; I spent most of the day at the theremin making other-worldly tones with a wave of my hands. This led to a very short batch of piano lessons, from a family friend, but those lasted only a couple of weeks since he moved his family to a commune in Oregon. During this time I learned about other keyboards, and the nascent synthesizers being built at that time by Mr. Moog (pronounced like rogue, NOT like a cow mooing).

I was intrigued by Isao Tomita’s album “Snowflakes are Dancing,” played with Moog gear, which my mother had bought (my parent’s musical tastes were a bit eclectic), and the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith for the film Logan’s Run which I saw in super-surround at the Los Angeles Cinerama dome on its premiere.

In 1975 (at age 13), I got to play with a Minitmoog for a week, and even though I was asking my parental units for photography gear to pursue my interests in the creative arts, they gave me a choice of the Moog (owned by a business associate who wanted to sell the small keyboard), or a 35mm SLR. I chose the Fujica ST701 camera, bought at a Long Beach pawn shop.

It was years later before I got back into synthesizers, but played a family two-tier organ for many years. The first synth I ever purchased brand new was a Sequential Circuits Pro One the week they were released. Dozens of keyboards later, stints in bands, some pro soundtrack work, and the usual, I finally got a cheap Concertmate Moog from Radio Shack, and a couple of years ago finally got a Moog Voyager. I’ve owned four Moogs personally, and played many others.

So, I was pretty interested to see the new virtual synth from IK Multimedia, which takes on the Moog and creates something of a “living museum” of arguably the best sounds from the history of instruments to bear Bob’s name (even he didn’t design some of them), would play. And, the theremin of my youth (ahem, 30+ years ago) is even one of the instruments to be included. IK wisely chose to sample the instruments, and then put these samples into what looks to be a re-skinned version of their SampleTank LE product.

Inside the box there’s two install discs, a nice-sized manual (kudos for including something us dinosaurs can read while watching 60 Minutes and not have to suffer through some illiterate web pages, YouTube videos or endless PDF tutorials to get started!) and registration card. The install is simple, and I actually appreciated having a separate installer on each disc for those sample folders, versus one giant multi-disc install. I’ve had a few problems with those 5-disc installs, where something goes wrong (are you listening Native Instruments?) on one of the discs, or something is missing, and it takes a second try, or skipping the missing data to get to the launch screen.

The layout is similar to other IK instruments, as you would expect, except there are vintage looking knobs across the bottom which give you a “feel” of a classic analog, without attempting to fully recreate any specific synth interface (see the included screen shot image). For example, rather than having all the knobs visible, you toggle to different groups for things like ENV1 (envelope 1, a nice AHDSR setup), or ENV2, filter controls, LFO1 and 2, velocity, key range, and sample engine options (normal sample engine, or STRETCH engine which allows some resynthesis options to mess with the sound a bit more than possible using typical sample playback and filtering).

It’s a nice mix of “simple” with some added features to go deep if you want to. So, while it’s not a virtual “emulation” of any one instrument, it does provide some features to modify, mix, and make your own patches from the included sample elements.

An included multi-effects unit provides 32 effects, with four effects slots. I was very happy to see a classic spring reverb, as my first mixer from Peavey had that, as well as my keyboard amp which had a “Marlboro sound blender” with spring reverb and delay. Vintage all the way. Typical DSP FX include reverb, ambience, delay, filters, wah, chorus, phaser, flanger, panning, tremolo, distortion, phonograph, crusher, and even some guitar cabinet and amp modeling. While these may seem like a bit out there for a keyboard sample player, or some garden variety DSP FX module re-purposed from another plug-in, the reality is that back in the ’70s and ’80s, the Moog was actually run through guitar amps, vocal boxes, stomp boxes, and other gear to make the electronic instrument sound weirder, bigger, wider, or just plain distorted since electronic keyboards did not contain any built-in effects in those days before DSP chips.

Ironically, when I first launched the SampleMoog, I was a little disappointed that the standard Minimoog patches all seemed to be “stereoized” when the original instrument was mono (not stereo). Since I own a Voyager and run the output in mono, the patches didn’t sound right, until my brain caught up and remembered that almost everybody runs the thing through either a stereo chorus, and/or delay pedal. Ahem, including me. So, when you listen to many of those old records with a Moog lead, it’s usually running through a chorus with comb filter to fatten it up to stereo, and a delay to create the echo-tail and thickening. So, after I started to go through the sounds, I got it.

IK and their sister company, Sonic Reality, have done a good job of creating “playable” sounds, and then very interesting multis/combis to give you a “produced” instrument sound — which is more like what you’d hear from a famous Moog artist, than what you would hear noodling with the actual keyboard at your local music store. However, you do have access to the original samples as patch elements, and you can easily switch from stereo, to mono, to spot-on legato modes of any main patch.

So, what instruments does SampleMoog cover? It contains a wide variety of the known and lesser known instruments, including three Modular Moog set-ups, a classic Minimoog Model D, Polymoog (best known perhaps from songs by Gary Numan), Taurus 1, Prodigy, Multimoog, Vocoder, Concertmate MG-1, Source, Rogue, Memorymoog, Etherwave theremin, Minimoog Voyager, and the more recent Little Phatty.

The manual includes a paragraph on each for historical purposes, but when using the virtual instrument your only feedback to which instrument you’re using is a tiny red outline icon mid right on-screen (similar to what is found in other virtual instruments like Arturia’s Analog Factory). I would have preferred something larger, perhaps in color for the nostalgic sense of using sounds from the vintage instrument, but since this instrument appears based on the SampleTank layout, there isn’t a lot of room for customization of the layout. In fact, this is my only real complaint with either the standalone or plug-in versions, is the lack of ability to change the interface; specifically the colors. Much like SampleTank, this instrument uses the “company colors” of LED-like red-on-black, which looks cool, but is generally difficult to read on a 15-inch LCD and for anybody having some aging eyes, color/contrast vision problems, and the like. Being able to switch the background color to white-on-black, or the snazzy black-on-blue of their SonikSynth instrument, or the yellow-on-black of the SampleTron, would seem to be a much-needed feature for all of IK’s standalone products.

In fact, I found out earlier this year when I was originally going to review this product that I had cataracts (congenital, which kicked in when I hit 40), I was unable to read the screen very well at all, and the screens in the manual were big black/grey blobs. Even after surgery and having my eyes back to 20/20, the elements are not as easy to read as they could be. Adding a color toggle to the right of the MIDI control button at top left would be a much welcome feature.

Regardless of that minor issue (unless you’re going blind), this collection is like a mini-museum of sounds that capture the flavor of Bob’s legacy at a fraction of the cost of buying even one of the actual instruments. For most musicians, there is no need to have the “actual” keyboards to put that famous Moog sound into the mix, thanks to SampleMoog. With over 1,700 sounds, and some really nice options to make the sounds your own beyond simple attack-decay filters, this is a pretty neat package. And, while I love some of the emulation instruments on the market, the benefit of “sampled” instruments is that you’re hearing the real Moog filter, not a recreation, and that unique combination of electricity running through wires and Bob’s circuit design is what makes the Moog instruments stand out, remain viable and highly desirable today.

Adding to its street cred, the product was developed in cooperation with Moog Music, and so it’s not a typical sample library with suggestive names like “mog lead” or “classic 70s.”

I can highly recommend this product to anybody who loves the sound, even if they already own a Moog or two (as I do), because the choices made in instruments and sounds to include is spot-on. The FX and filter controls give you tweaking power over the core elements of the products’ sound, without having to worry about the reliability (or lack thereof) of vintage hardware. SampleMoog is also perhaps a better choice for those who want a wider palette of Moog juicy goodness than some of the emulations of Moog instruments on the market, since the difference in sound between the various models is sometimes very notable (take the Memorymoog, the Taurus pedal, and the Little Phatty, for example). Since the Memorymoog sounded more like an Oberheim than some other Moogs, when you layer that with the Taurus you get some really really cool things happening in your ears. If you want a Moog and can’t afford the current hardware keyboards available from Moog Music, then this is a no-brainer. All in all, a first class product and a nice combination of features to appeal to the widest range of musicians.

Available most everywhere that sells music software, for $269-$329, depending on cross grade, or street pricing. (See the IK website for cross-grade information.)

More information: www.ikmultimedia.com/samplemoog .

Specifications (the laundry list):
Software features
Works as a standalone application, as well as a plug-in
Fully compatible with Mac OS X (Universal Binary), and Windows (XP / Vista)
Supported plug-in formats: VST, RTAS, and AU
Over 600 multi-sampled sounds, over 1,000 preset patches, and more than 4 GB of samples included
16 part multitimbral
256 notes polyphony
16 individual stereo outputs
Mix view and full mix parameters control
32 DSP-based multi-effects (see Effects List)
Range Control allows for creating complex splits and layers
Total sound editing with full access to 50 Synth-Sampler engine controls
Instrument browsing
BPM syncable LFOs
Portamento Time control
Zone feature for single sample accurate editing
Part Volume / Pan controls
Expanded easy to use full MIDI control
Part and Combi preset save features
Convenient back-up function
Search function
Sounds can be read by SampleTank 2

2 Synth Engines
Newly enhanced STRETCH(tm)
Traditional Resampling

Effects list
Reverb, Spring Reverb, Reverb Delay, Ambience, Delay
Filter, Envelope Filter, Multi Filter, Wah-Wah
Chorus, Multi Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Envelope Flanger
AM Modulation, FM Modulation
Auto Pan, Tremolo, Rotary Speaker
Lo-Fi, Distortion, Phonograph, Crusher, Overdrive
Pre Amp, Tone Control, Cabinet
Parametric EQ, Channel Strip, Compressor, Limiter, Slicer

3 Performance Modes
Poly
Mono
Legato 1-2

Technorati Tags: IK Multimedia SampleMoog, virtual moog synth, sampletank instrument, electronic music pioneer, Bob Moog, Christopher Simmons

COLUMN: Proving you can’t keep good analog down, venerable synth designer and “my name is my business” owner Dave Smith, has released a new one-voice analog sound box called “Mopho” (with emphasis on the Os). Basically it’s a single voice of the new generation DSI Prophet 08 synth keyboard, in a bright yellow “fun” package, complete with a single trigger “push it!’ button on the front. My first “brand new” synth I ever bought was the Sequential Circuits Pro One the week it first came out, so I always have a warm and fuzzy whenever I see something new from Dave. So, what the heck is the Mopho?

Overview from the DSI website:

“Mopho is a compact and affordable—but powerful—monophonic analog synthesizer. The voice architecture is identical to a single voice of the Prophet ‘08, but with a couple of unique twists to distinguish it from its award-winning sibling. We have added two sub-octave generators—one per oscillator—for additional girth and crushing basses. It also has an audio input that lets you process external audio and mix Mopho’s own audio output back in pre-filter for feedback effects that can range from subtle distortion to extreme skronk. The Push It button is a manual trigger that lets you play a specific note or latch notes and sequences on. It can also step through a sequence to play short melodic lines without a keyboard. Of course, Mopho can also be used with a MIDI controller or external sequencer.”

Mopho is fully programmable and all the parameters can be tweaked from the front panel. The four Assignable Parameters controls are assignable per program for optimum performance control. A free editor is available for Mac OS and Windows to facilitate programming. (And, if you already have a Prophet ‘08, most of Mopho’s parameters can be controlled from the Prophet’s front panel via MIDI!)

Mopho is perfect for people who want to learn the ins and outs of real analog synthesis without spending a bundle, DJs looking to add some old school sonic spice to their setups, and musicians who will appreciate a great-sounding, very portable mono synth.

Affordable, fully programmable mono synth with a 100% analog signal path.
Classic, real analog sound—including legendary Curtis analog low-pass filter.
Process external audio through the filter and envelopes.
Just 7.5″ x 5″ (19.05 cm x 12.7 cm).
Free editor for Mac OS and Windows.

Specifications

100% analog signal path
Two oscillators
One classic Curtis low-pass filter (switchable 2- or 4-pole)
Analog VCAs
Three envelope generators (ADSR plus delay)
Two sub-octave generators (one octave down and two octaves down)
External audio input with feedback
Four assignable performance controls per program
Gated 16 x 4 step sequencer (one sequence per program)
Arpeggiator
Fully programmable (includes free downloadable software editor for Mac OS and Windows)
384 programs
I/O: MIDI In, MIDI Out/Thru, Audio In, Left and Right Audio Out, Headphone Out
7.5” L x 5” W x 1.4” H (19.05 cm x 12.7 cm x 3.56 cm)
1.5 lb. (0.7 kg).

Get the fullo mopho info hereo:
davesmithinstruments.com/products/mopho/index.php .

Oh yeah… street price should be about US$399. and many shops have it in stock right now.

Technorati Tags: DSI monophonic synth, Dave Smith Mopho instrument, analog synthesizer

COLUMN: As a long time user of Cakewalk’s (formerly Twelve Tone Systems) flagship DAW, SONAR, I’ve been anxious to see “what’s new” in this Fall’s iteration of the software. Yesterday, we discovered numerous new features to be found in Sonar Producer 8, including new synth instruments, new FX plug-ins, and more. The full features won’t be announced until the week of Sept. 22nd, but here is a preview. New features in Cakewalk Sonar Producer Edition 8 (aka Sonar PE8) include Beatscape Loop Instrument, and Cakewalk’s ROMpler/synth Dimension PRO is now included in the package. Hopefully there will be a staggered upgrade path for those of us (ahem, me) who recently purchased the full version of Dimension.

Most notable for recording and mix-heads is the TL-64 Tube Leveler, which presumably does what it sounds like, but most folks are always cautious when the word tube is put into the context of a virtual plug-in, since obviously there is no actual tube circuitry, which is the hallmark of some pretty expensive modern and vintage gear. The TS-64 Transient Shaper is another addition.

For those who wanted a piano as part of the Sonar family production kit, the newest version of Sonar includes the 4Front TruePianos AMBER module. I currently use two of these modules myself and find them to be lively and realistic piano simulations, and this should not disappoint those who have perhaps wanted to noodle with piano, but hadn’t yet opted to purchase one of the many virtual piano sims on the market.

Guitar Rig 3 LE is now included, which should benefit those playing guitar or who are trying to simulate a guitar environment with virtual instruments or samplers. While not exactly an exciting new feature, this does at least provide some parity with the “bundles of LE” products included with some other vendor’s DAWS.

Of particular interest will be the promised “lower latency high track performance” claim, and loop explorer view for audio and MIDI. A Channel Tools plug-in should bring more options for mixing and recording in traditional mixer forms.

Other features previewed include “integrated synth tracks” which could be almost anything, which we’ll discover next week.

Technorati Tags: Cakewalk Sonar Producer Edition 8

COLUMN: Payola is a fun-sounding word that may make you remember coloring with a Crayola 64-pack when you were three, but the word essentially refers to bribery. To be precise, bribery in exchange for promotion of a product, as in payoffs for the airing of recordings. Which brings us to the use of music in broadcast, cable and satellite television. Much is made these days about helping spread the word about a new musical artist by placing a song in a television show or commercial. It worked for Feist (”1234″ for Apple iPod Nano). It worked for Goldfrapp (”Fly Me Away” for Target and “Strict Machine” for Verizon). It worked for Sara Bareilles (”Love Song” for Rhapsody). It worked for Cansei De Ser Sexy (”Music is My Hot Hot Sex” for Apple iPod Touch). And so on.

This type of thing occurs with regular programming as well. I receive press releases every week about some alt-rock or urban band having a song placed in a scene for a teen angst television drama. Sometimes the band goes on to become well known. Most times not.

This sales technique is not new. The most notable use of it probably was for Moby’s “Play” album, where every track was licensed for something or other.

But here’s the thing. Are programs about to begin charging artists to place songs on their soundtracks? It is, after all, a form of product placement. You know, that deal-e-o where someone on screen JUST HAPPENS to use a product whose logo is seen. . . and whose marketing department laid out some cash to the makers of the show (or to the network that is airing the show). As when the American Idol judges are sipping branded product on camera in exchange for money. Seems as if song placement could be considered the same thing as product placement, yes?

At the moment, the official story is that money is being paid from the show to the artists. But for some time now a little scam has been under way. The artists often must give up from fifty to one hundred percent of their publishing rights in order to get a song in a show. This ripoff is paid to so-called middlemen but who’s to say they are not in bed with the shows they serve. And with that as the first step, it’s not too far-fetched to think they might just break down the ethics door completely and welcome in the new payola.

I think we’ll be reading about this soon. It’ll start with an under-the-table deal so the TV producers can still make a big deal about paying fees for songs, but the story will leak out that it was really a case of “we pay you three grand after you pay us eight grand.”

Come to think of it, perhaps it’s already happening on scripted programming. While advertisers are paying for excellent songs in their commercials, there is often a distinct drop off in quality for the music in the shows themselves. Perhaps the reason for it is the new payola.

Technorati Tags: music, payola, commercials, television