midi

OK, I have to admit I've been somewhat selfish with Yamaha's Tenori-On music sequencer ever since it arrived at my desk a few weeks back. Can you blame me, really? The thing meets all my requirements for gadget coveting--it's shiny, futuristic, noisy, and expensive.

I still have a few drum machines at home I want to connect the Tenori-On to before finishing up my full review. In the meantime, I suppose I can share some of the shots we took of the Tenori-On in our CNET photo studio. View the Yamaha Tenori-On photo gallery.

I don't easily give in to the gadget striptease of unboxing videos, but it felt a little like Christmas morning when Yamaha's futuristic Tenori-On music instrument landed on my desk today. Besides, with only 60 Tenori-On instruments on sale in the U.S. (only 17 left at the time of this writing), I figure this video might allow deprived electronic musicians to work through their anguish.

Expect a full review of the Tenori-On to make its way on CNET next week. By the looks of my video, I'll need some time to figure this thing out.

For … Read more

Yamaha's elusive Tenori-On music sequencer officially goes on sale today in the U.S. Yamaha is asking $1,200 for the Tenori-On, which isn't a bad deal when held up to comparable devices such as the Akai MPC1000.

With only 60 units in stock, and a rabid throng of electronic musicians champing at the bit for these things, we expect Yamaha will sell through its supply by the time you read this. For the rest of you, there's always the T-shirt.

Does your mastery of the accordion already have groupies beating a path to your polka nights? Then turn back now, lest you glimpse the power of the most futuristic, and dynamic accordion ever made: the Roland FR-2.

Roland's FR-2 V-Accordion is no mere squeezebox. Announced at January's NAMM expo, the FR-2 charts out the future of the already thrilling world of accordion performance. It has eight virtual accordion sound presets, MIDI input/output, AA-battery power, high-resolution bellows pressure sensors, chorus and reverb sound effects, an integrated digital metronome, and pad triggers for sampled percussion (cowbell not included).

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The 2008 NAMM expo (National Association of Music Merchants) kicks off today in Anaheim, Calif., and with it comes a treasure trove of slick digital DJ gear. The first cool announcement to hit my in-box has to be the SC series, Stanton's latest take on the laptop DJ interface.

At first glance, the SC setup looks like a traditional analog turntable and mixing board, but in reality it's an all-digital system (look, Ma--no tonearm!) that makes DJing from your laptop a much more physical and engaging experience. The Stanton SC rig comes in two parts: the SCS.1d virtual turntable ($1,499); and the SCS.1m virtual mixer ($999). Both parts of the system are each rad in their own right, so here's the breakdown on features (with photos).… Read more

All my ranting and whining must have finally paid off because this week I finally got some time with Yamaha's mystery-enshrouded Tenori-On music sequencer.

Prototypes of the Tenori-On have traveled the globe, popping up in the U.K. and Germany, but rarely in the United States. I couldn't believe my luck when San Francisco electronic musician retailer Robotspeak (my former employer) gave me the heads-up that Yamaha would be dropping by the shop for a rare demonstration.… Read more

If you read Crave regularly, chances are you've got at least one gadget fetish; we, of course, have many. But there's one in particular that even we can't explain: keyboards. Not just any types, mind you, but exceedingly complicated ones, which are often expensive as well.

The "Terpstra" from Cortex Design is a MIDI keyboard controller that looks more like an unraveled beehive than a piece of studio equipment. Its 280 keys are "velocity sensitive," which supposedly gives it more control flexibility in handling microtonal music, according to Gizmowatch. Take that, Optimus Maximus.… Read more

The latest testament to the geek appeal of blinking pixels are two handheld electronic musician interfaces called the Monome and the Tenori-On. Both are slated for a new release in the next few months and while they have a lot in common conceptually, there are a few key differences between the two that I'll explore here.

Even if you couldn't care less about electronic music, these products demonstrate stunning interface design (not to mention eye candy). Remember, it was an obscure music interface company named Jazz Mutant that pioneered the multi-touch screen interface long before the iPhone came to town. (Videos after the break.)… Read more

When pro-audio manufacturer Korg announced that they'd be making a palm-sized, battery-powered version of their long-beloved Kaoss Pad effects processor the first thing I thought of was using it as a portable iPod effects box or just having one permanently integrated into my home stereo system.

The Kaoss Pad has been a mainstay of DJs and electronic musicians for years. It's a touch pad that lets you use your fingers to apply sound effects to an incoming audio signal. If the idea of mutilating your music collection with pitch-shifting and dub delay effects sounds like a fun way … Read more