Few things are as universally awesome as a cheap keyboard or drum machine. As a child of the '80s, I can vividly remember the first time I got my hands on a toy Casio keyboard and spent the afternoon sampling obscenities into the built-in microphone and playing through all the different preset sounds (I can still hear the Casio demo song in my head).
The Stylophone Beatbox ($25) is a retro music toy of a slightly different breed than my Casio, fusing together the design of a 1967 Stylophone pocket synthesizer with the sampled percussion layout of a modern day Akai MPC or Roland HandSonic.
However you choose to categorize it, the Stylophone Beatbox is exactly the sort of weird, noisy, cheap piece of tech I go nuts for. It's surprisingly sophisticated, too, allowing you to record loops of sounds, route in an MP3 player, and even adjust pitch and tempo. Check out some clever demo videos after the break.... Read more
At last month's Logitech preview in New York, we got our hands on some serious musical instrument accessories coming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that are licensed by Activision to work with Guitar Hero games.
The Logitech Wireless Drum Controller has fully adjustable drum heads and cymbals. When we quickly demoed the kit we noticed the heads are also fitted with a unique padding--which we're told reduces noise when hit. The entire kit is collapsible, too, which is good when floor space is an issue. The company claims it'll get up to 50 hours of playtime on just two AA batteries. The Logitech Wireless Drum Controller will cost $230 when it goes on sale later this month. It's compatible with the PlayStation 3 as well well as the PS2.
Strings more your speed? Introduced in June, the Logitech Wireless Guitar for Xbox 360 has a very realistic weight to it--almost identical to that of a standard electric guitar. Also included is a rosewood fingerboard and metal frets, which both add to the realism. We had a moment to rock out with the axe and were impressed by how silent the buttons performed when pressed. The 360 version costs $200. (Logitech had released a wireless guitar controller for the PS3/PS2 last year.)
Jaime Oliver's Silent Drum is a drum shell with an elastic spandex head that uses shapes and shadows to compute and control sound.
(Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology)Updated at 10:40 a.m. PDT, Wednesday, March 11, with more details on the instrument that took second place.
Imagine Keith Moon relentlessly pounding away with a set of drumsticks. Now imagine him making sounds simply by moving his hands around the head of the drum.
That's more or less what he'd be doing were he using inventor Jaime Oliver's Silent Drum Controller.
First place winner in the first Guthman Musical Instrument Competition sponsored by Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, it's a transparent drum shell, illuminated from the inside, with an elastic head. As one presses it, the head deforms and a variety of shapes with peaks are created reflecting the shape of the mallet or hand.
A video camera captures these shapes and sends the images to the computer, which analyzes them and outputs the tracked parameters.
Not a drum you'd find in the music shop at the mall, but that was exactly the idea behind the contest, which solicited new instruments--in physical or virtual manifestations, and played by humans, robots, or computers--that enhance music performance and creation.
Nearly 30 inventors from seven countries performed on Georgia Tech's campus to demonstrate their instrument's musicality, design, and engineering features and compete for prizes--$5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, and free copies of the Rock Band for those nabbing fourth through sixth place.
... Read more
(Credit:
ThinkGeek)
The days of beating your chest, Tarzan style, are way over. These days, it's cooler to rap out a beat instead, heavy-metal drummer Dave Lombardo style, thanks to ThinkGeek's $29.99 interactive Electric Drum Kit Shirt. It features--get this--seven actual playable drums. There's even an embedded speaker with volume control, powered by four AAA batteries.
Wear it to the next Guitar Hero World Tour party where, even if your buddies run out of instruments, you'll never feel left out as you can always front your own rock band. Ba-dum! Catch this fun gimmick in action in the video below.
(Via Crave Asia)
Are you ready for a pep-rally, the likes of which you've never experienced before? Today's show is all about power. We also attempt to define the act of desserting someone. Urban dictionary, here we come!
Listen now: Download today's podcast
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EPISODE 108 |
Get energy efficient with the Advent Eco PC
iYo Yo Yo charger makes for some seriously useful gaming
Brick-like USB multicellular phone charger
Furutech Powerflux $1,800 power cord
BMW builds luxury hybrid sedan
BoomCooler is good for booming, not so much for cooling
Tool Time--Band Edition
Thinkgeek drum kit shirt
I love the finger keyboard, it's so "bad!"
Memorex SingStand--Talent not included
Pink Watch: What the hell edition
High heels and phones should not be rolled into one
The USB MIA vibrator: So you can let your colleagues know just what you did last night
Kill Me
Sony Ericsson to launch phone for girls who like to rock (don’t boys like to rock too?)
It’s about time
Trouble getting up? Try a Tantrum
VOICE MAIL
Heidi: I took the test! A lot!
On Crossfade TV this week, the Download Music crew checks out a cool new set of previously unreleased recordings and interviews from the late jazz/blues/gospel/soul artist Nina Simone called Protest Anthology; a few new songs from electronic artist UFO! (not to be confused with the Brits who brought you the classic-rock staple "Too Hot Too Handle"); and the brand-new album from Sun Kil Moon, the name Mark Kozelek seems to be sticking with (after long-ago retiring his previous band name, Red House Painters).
Crossfade TV is a collaboration between Download Music and CNET TV.
(Credit:
Spotswood Custom Computers)
Some cynics out there might have thought the drum cases from Spotswood Custom Computers were just silly novelty items. Au contraire: Not only have they been popular, but there's a new model that's bigger and--depending on one's point of view--better than ever.
The L-24 is part of the company's "water-cooling" line, measuring 24 inches in diameter and 18 inches deep. That's big enough to house 12 fans, "three triple-fan water-cooling radiators, extra-long graphics cards, a 1600W (or larger) power supply, two 5.25-inch CD/DVD drives and 15 3.5-inch hard drives," according to GeekAlerts, as well as "ample room for pumps, reservoirs, and tubing." (Is this a computer or a plumbing system?)
It's a wonder that they've stuck with the maple veneers for the drums themselves. With all that water running through them, we'd worry about wood rot.
(Credit:
ThinkGeek)
Next to guitars--real, virtual or something in-between--the most popular musical instruments we've seen on Crave are drums. From fingertip pads to several types of rollaway versions, percussive gadgets appear to be everywhere. But they usually don't look like a cookie sheet.
That's what the "Ion Digital Drum Station" resembles, though ThinkGeek nevertheless claims that it has "eight natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads." They also come with their own sticks, headphones and MP3 inputs to help create custom tunes, or you can just play along to programmed patterns with 233 sounds available for any pad.
That's all fine, yet we can't help but think it strange that the only things we've seen lately that actually look like drums are computer cases.
(Credit:
Suissa Computers)
(Credit:
Spotswood)
How's this for the latest in PC designs? Drums. Yes, like the kind that you bang on, all day if you must, with or without sticks.
When fellow Craver Brian Cooley posted an item months ago about the Spotswood kick-drum computer, we assumed it was just something from one of the obscure sites he surfs, in between 007 blogs and single-malt scotch retailers. As it turns out, he may actually have been on the cutting edge of a new trend, the latest example being the "Shadow" hard drive from Suissa Computers.
Although it's not a full PC, the Shadow makes up for it with its unique design and capacity. SCI FI Tech says the 750GB peripheral resembles a hatbox, but we think it looks more like something from the percussive family. Either way, it comes encased in maple with the option of the decorative glass top like the one pictured here. On second thought, maybe it's not such a good idea to bang on it after all.
(Credit:
Robot Watch)
It's good to see that the Japanese haven't forgotten about cultural entertainment in their apparent quest for a human-free society. At least their robots haven't, anyway.
The recently unveiled "Motoman" was initially assigned to such mundane tasks as sorting mail, for example, but it's already showing that it's got rhythm too. Four of them, to be exact--two twin-armed models and two welding versions.
The robots displayed their prowess on the taiko drums at the Kokura Gion Daiko Festival, an event that Pink Tentacle says is almost 400 years old and is known for its competition in the traditional percussion. After viewing the eerie performance on the video below, we're not sure whether to be impressed or scared for our lives.
