There’s little that excites us more than a DIY synth, but slapping an arcade-style joystick onto a fuzzy, glitchy, beeping analog monster practically pushes us over the edge. Synth-master Unearthed Circuits has combined four oscillators with various levels of pitch adjustment and come up with Drone Machine; the joystick individually mutes or activates each one.
Ultrasone announced a brand new pair of headphones today called Zino. These headphones are meant to be used with all sorts of portable music players and include several technologies including ULE and S-Logic that help prevent injury.
eMusic announced today that they will be offering up songs from Sony Music, with one important stipulation attached. The songs have to be more than two years old in order to be added to the online music store.
So, what does this mean for subscribers? You’ll find that your monthly fees increase a bit and that the number of downloads you can make a month is reduced. By Q3, several classic songs will be added to the store from the likes of Johnny Cash and Billy Joel.
Currently, the basic plan is $12/month which allots you 24 downloads. What makes this interesting is that most music labels are against this format because the songs are in MP3 format and not protected in anyway. However, we’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out and whether or not it’s a successful plan.
Who doesn’t like a little bit of entertainment when lounging in the pool? But it can be difficult to bring out speakers and audio equipment for fear of it being damaged by the water. Luckily, there’s the Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker to solve all your music and pool-related problems.
Sometimes portable speakers just aren’t all that attractive, but that’s not something you’ll need to worry about with the Chill Pill portable speakers from Koyono. These speakers were designed to complement Apple iPods and iPhones and possess a unique form factor sure to attract attention.
Numark have released details on their SCRATCH DECK controller for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ on Xbox 360 and PS3. The controller – which can be flipped around to suit left- and right-handed gamers – comprises of a free-spinning, touch-sensitive turntable and five drum pads, used for triggering either in-game samples or those recorded using a USB microphone.
Those mock up photos leaked earlier in the month turned out to be the real deal. Microsoft announced the Zune HD today. The device is meant to compete with Apple’s iPod Touch. The HD comes from the device’s support of HD Radio and 720P HD video (through the optional docking station) and will feature a 3.3″ 16:9 multi-touch OLED display. This makes it the first portable media player to include HD radio, giving it a higher quality sound than standard definition radio.
I wish I was a DJ. Or at least, I wish I was talented enough to use the Tonium Pacemaker Pocket DJ effectively. I play drums but I can’t mix beats, so I had to call in reinforcements. My good friend DJ T.A.I. offered to help out with taking a look at the Pacemaker, and he was able to throw together a short demo for us in the very short amount of time he had the device.
Anything that can help you save energy or protect the environment is bound to do pretty well these days with so many people’s minds on being green. But the new Q-SOUND headphones are just plain practical in that they are solar-powered.
Sony are tipped to be negotiating music deals that would see the PSP gaming handheld get on-device downloads. According to unnamed sources within the music industry, Sony has been talking to “some of the major recording companies” about the prospect of offering music downloads through the PlayStation Network.
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