Music

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.   Until next time. Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Over a year after the album has been released 'MIDNIGHT' album has finally been released on cd. The past few weeks i had been working on artwork etc. Click here I am now working on the next album. Due for release 2015.   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Well. It's about that time of year again. What has been your favourite albums of 2014? Here's a few albums that i have liked: SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR- 'Wanderlust' TRADEMARK- 'Trademark' GORGON CITY- 'Sirens'   Until next time   Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

A what album? OK GO are going to release a very special edition of their 'Hungry Ghosts' album as DNA. Sri Kosuri is a biochemist who is working with band. The music will be stored as DNA. It will be stored in a vial. This is certainly a new way of releasing an album. Is it legal to sell the album as DNA? At the moment of writing it is uncertain whether it is legal or not.     Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Would you consider buying a guitar that folds up? Voyage Air are foldable electric guitars. Each comes with its own case. Travel around with your guitar. It does sound like a good idea especially for the touring musician. Voyage Air Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Guitarists are very used to using leads. So what makes this lead different to all the others? The lightlead is an analog optical cable. This enables you to hear the exact sound of you guitar, minimises crackle etc. However, the lead does need an AA battery & last for around 18 hours. Would i like to try the light lead? Yes i think i would. If it minimises interference etc then especially for recording yes its a good idea. At the time of writing this i have not seen a price.   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Some of you may be thinking 'The What?' The 'Yabahar is an acoustic musical instrument that creates sounds like a digital synthesizer. It has been designed by musician Görkem Sen. There's is no electricity involved. To create music there are 2 drum like membranes, long springs & a tall fretted neck. The instrument is played by using either mallets or a bow. (There is a video on youtube). Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

I think a lot of bands, artists etc would like that one song that kick starts their career. Here's some of the best: 'I bet you look good on the dancefloor'- ARTIC MONEKYS 'Mr Brightside'- THE KILLERS 'Smile'-LILY ALLEN 'Creep'- RADIOHEAD 'Like i love you'- JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 'No, no, no'- DESTINY'S CHILD 'Supersonic'- OASIS 'Pon de Replay'- RIHANNA 'Sounds of the Underground'- GIRLS ALOUD 'This is a Call'- FOO FIGHTERS 'Charly'- THE PRODIGY 'Only love can break your heart'- SAINT ETIENNE 'Novacaine for the soul'- EELS 'The Rain (supa dupa fly)'- MISSY ELLIOT 'Caught out there'- KELIS '... Baby one more time'- BRITNEY SPEARS 'Overload'- SUGABABES 'Human Behaviour'- BJORK 'Kiss with a fist'- FLORENCE & THE MACHINE 'Teenage Kicks'- THE UNDERTONES 'Alive'- PEARL JAM 'Has it come to this?'- THE STREETS &#

Its that time of year again. There are a few creepy songs around: 'Tubular Bells'- MIKE OLDFIELD (Theme from 'The Exorcist') 'Somebody 's watching me'- ROCKWELL 'Ghost Town'- THE SPECIALS 'I put a spell on you'- SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS (although this song has been covered a few times) 'Ghostbusters'- RAY PARKER JR 'Monster Mash'- BORIS 'BOBBY' PICKETT 'Thriller'- MICHAEL JACKSON 'The Time Warp'- THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW 'The Addams Family Groove'- MC HAMMER There are many more spooky songs around. What are your favourite Halloween songs or song? Whats mine? Well i do like 'Thriller'- MICHAEL JACKSON & 'Somebody's watching me'- ROCKWELL Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

I'm talking about the 'Roli' Grand Seaboard. What's that? It's a musical instrument. A bit like a piano keyboard, with a continous surface. The advantage of the Continous surface is: Play a note Change pitch Change the volume Change the timbre Better aftertouch The disadvantages: The price (The cheapest seaboard, 37 keywaves is around $1,999 for a limited time. After that the price increases to around $2,999) Would i like to try the seaboard? Yes i would. I am interested to see what it feels like to play.   Until next time.   Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Back in July 2014 i wrote a blog post about 'The Secret Album'. It was by the band WU TANG CLAN. Well, WU TANG CLAN are soon to release another called: 'A Better Tomorrow'. This time they are releasing a limited edition of the album on a portable speaker. The speaker will contain around 8 songs (one song which will be exclusive). Only 3,000 portable speakers will be made. Is this a good idea? Until next time. Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

As a musician i do like to try & play instruments. Recently i finally got round to purchasing a bass guitar. I had played bass guitar in a band very briefly over 10 years ago (i was really the keyboard player & i did play the guitar at times too). Now i can learn to play the bass properly. I'll be honest i was'nt to sure if i would enjoy playing the bass as much as the guitar or keyboard. However, i've been surprised i do enjoy playing the bass, more than what i thought. Im still learning new techniques eg. Slap bass, tapping etc. So the past few weeks i've been recording various different bass guitar parts for the new EP/ album i'm working on, at the moment. Until next time. Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

The 'Earth Harp' is the largest stringed instruments in the world. It was created by William Close in around 1999. The first time the 'Earth Harp' was installed it the strings were around 1000 ft long, from one side of a valley to another. How is it played? The player wears violin rosin gloves & runs their hands alomg the strings to create cello like tones. There are a few videos on youtube demonstrating 'The Earth Harp'.   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Apps for smartphones etc have been around for quite a few years now. Nowadays there are lots of various different music apps eg. Synths, Drums, Guitar etc. I've used various different music apps eg. Animoog, Propellerhead Thor & Figure, imaschine, Garageband, midi controllers (for Ableton etc) etc.There are some interesting music apps e.g 'Biophillia'-BJORK & the apps made by Wizdom music (Jordan Rudess). My favourites are: Propellerhead Thor Novation Launchpad Steinberg Nanologue What is your favourite music app?   Until next time Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Have you seen 'The Neverending Staircase (or 'Penrose Staircase') picture? 'The Shepherd Tone' is the kind of audio version of that picture. It is named after Roger Shepherd. What is it? It is an audio sound of overlapping waves separated by octaves. It creates an illusion that an audio tone ascends or descends in pitch but never seems to get any higher or lower. It has also been described as a 'Sonic Barbers Pole'. Heres 2 examples of 'The Shepherd Tone' Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)

Over the past year i started recording what i thought would be another album. However, as i started writing songs i noticed that some songs turned out with a different kind of feel to others. I thought it would probably be best to split the songs & record 2 EP's instead. The first is called: 'Dark Times' EP. You can hear it here (Image © copyright Law Wood, July 2014) The next EP is due end of 2014/ early 2015.   Until next time Law   Official Website LW MUSIC SERVICES Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Today there is lots of various audio speakers to choose that suits all budgets etc. So what about a floating bluetooth speaker? Om Audio have created just that, the Om/ one. The speaker itself is round & comes with a base. The om/ one levitates above the base, using a magnetic base. It looks impressive. What does it sound like? Well at the moment it has not yet been released. Due December 2014.     Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Vinyl was very popular between the 1950's to 1990's. I was born in the early 80's. Most of the music i listened was via vinyl or cassette. In the late 1960's DJ's started using vinyl for beat making. However, nowadays a lot of Dj's use laptops or CDJ's. (Some DJ's i think still do use vinyl). The other day i went to into HMV & the first thing i noticed in the music section was a Vinyl albums. Do i think Vinyl is making a comeback? Yes i think it is. What time to do you think? Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services (online mixing) Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Soundmachines seem to think so. They have created a hardware device called: 'B1 Brainterface'. The B1 is a Midi/ CV control of musical instruments. It is compatible withe Neurosky Mindwavemobile® headset. There will be 2 different versions: Eurorack Standalone The Brainterface will transform your brainwaves to midi messages & control voltages. It features: 11 Analog outputs 1 Gate etc The B1 Brainterface is due for release in September 2014. I'm all for new technology. Yes this is something that i probably would like to try. Would you try something like this?   Until next time Law Official website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

All guitars need to be tuned (apart from maybe Gibson's auto tuning guitar). Nowadays there are various different tuners about. However, a particular tuner that caught my eye. Why? Well to start with it uses a free app & bluetooth. It's called: Roadie (picture). You connect roadie to tuning peg. It can wind & unwind strings. The roadie app allows to alternate & custom tunings, strings quality etc. Roadie does'nt just work on guitar it will work with any string instrument that does not have wooden pegs.     Until next time Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Is this possible? Mix Genius seems to think so. They have created Landr. You can upload a song (drag & drop) & Landr will master your track live. Is this a good idea? Would you use a service like this? I have to say i am very unsure about using a service like this. Why? Well, maybe its just me, but to start with how does the computer software know how loud the song should be? What about EQ & compression? Hmmmmmmmmmm!     Until next time Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

An album with total silence. Would you stream it? Well fans of US band VULFPECK did. VULFBECK put the album 'Sleepify' on Spotify. The album consists of 10 tracks of complete silence. Why? The band wanted to raise cash to fund their next tour. In a video on youtube the band explained to fans how they could stream the album whilst sleeping. The band earned around nearly $20,000. Spotify has since taken the album down.   Was this a good idea? What do you think?   Until next time   Law Official Website LW Music Services (online mixing) Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

When listening to audio we hear it either in stereo or mono. I know that we already have 5.1 surround sound for films & music. What is 3D Audio? This is where you can hear 3 Dimensional sounds through stereo headphones/ earpods. You may hear sounds from: above, below or behind etc. To do this you can use a technique called Binaural Recording. This is where you use to 2 microphones, often using a 'Dummy Head' (this is where a mannequin is fitted with 2 microphones in each ear). What does 3D audio sound like? There are a few places on the internet where you can gear 3D audio: youtube Soundcloud 'Propeller Seeds'- IMOGEN HEAP (Taken from her new album 'Sparks') ' The Death of Bunny Munro'- NICK CAVE (Audio Book) Various websites Until next time   Law   Official Website LW Music Services Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services) Twitter  

A few years ago i came across a video (via youtube) which i was very impressed with. It was by Animusic. After i had watched that video i watched a few more videos by Animusic. I was equally impressed. I find the whole thing very clever. What is Animusic? Animusic (originally called Visual Music) was founded in 1995 by Wayne Lytle and David Crognale. An American based company. Animusic is computer generated animations. The animations are in time to the music. All the music is instrumental. So far 2 VHS & DVDS have been created. I think a 3rd DVD is being made. The first VHS came out in 2001 (& later on DVD in 2004, with extra material). The second DVD was released in 2005. One of their famous videos (& one of my favorites) is 'Pipe Dreams' http://youtu.be/hyCIpKAIFyo Another favourite video of mine is: 'Starship Groove' http://youtu.be/XBOQcQO0IFI   I would clearly like to state that both video (youtube) links i have used is owned & copyrighted

How technology has changed over the years. However, still in studios you see cables everywhere. Will there be a time one day that there will be no cables & all equipment will work wirelessly? (I don't mean by using a smartphone or ipad etc). At the moment we already have: wireless headphones, wireless microphones, wireless mixers (Alesis multimix 10), wireless midi & wireless guitar systems. What if we could have wireless synths, wireless computer, wireless effects units etc? Would that be a good idea? How would it work? Wireless equipment at the moment use bluetooth or RF systems. The lower cost solution is bluetooth. However, the downside of this is high latency issues. The alternative would be more expensive & this would be RF system. Again there is a downside to this. Some gear can be sensitive to RF interference. What do you think? Do you think in the future we could have a wireless recording studio?   Until next time Law   Official website LW Music Services Twi

Richard D James (APHEX TWIN) wrote an album under the name CAUSTIC LOVE. Only 5 copies were released in 1994, acter being scrapped at the pressing stage. One copy made its way onto ebay around 20 years later. A kickstarter project started by APHEX TWINS fans, raised around £40,000 to buy the vinyl. The money made from the album is thought to be split evenly between the people who contributed to kickstarter & a charity (which is yet to be decided). It has been reported that the creator of 'Minecraft' (Markus "Notch" Persson) has brought the Vinyl. Is any album worth £40,000? Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services) Twitter  

Nowadays there are lots of cover versions around (especially on youtube ). Some of the them are really good whilst others are not good at all. For many years well known bands & artists have covered songs. What are you favourite cover versions? Here are some of mine: 'Hallelujah'- JEFF BUCKLEY 'Nothing compares 2 u'- SINEAD O CONNOR 'Don't leave me this way'- THE COMMUNARDS 'Girls just want to have fun'- CYNDI LAUPER     Until next time   Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Artwork can be just as important as the music. An album cover really needs to stand out. Here are some of my favourite album covers (in no particular order): 'Deloused in a Comatorium'- THE MARS VOLTA ('Storm Thorgerson' artwork) 'The Division Bell'- PINK FLOYD ('Storm Thorgerson') 'Dark Side of the Moon'- PINK FLOYD (A classic album cover) 'Tree of Half Life'- PINK FLOYD (Another 'Storm Thorgerson' artwork) 'Mer De Noms'- A PERFECT CIRCLE As you can probably tell i like artwork by Storm Thorgerson.lol.   What are your favourite album covers?   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Do you listen to music whilst working? If so what genre of music do you like to listen to? Does it make a difference what genre of music you listen to whilst working? When working on Admin i like to listen to either: Deep House, Chilled, Ambient or Trance. Does music improve productivity? For me personally i think it does. However, not everyone is the same. Some people might not like listening to music & prefer listening to nature or silence instead. Music can help get that particular boring task done quicker. Instrumental music can be better. Its best to choose music whilst working on songs you've heard before, this is because your brain may release to much dopamine. This is means you will focus more on the music & not the task you are doing. Until next time   Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Recently 'Jack White' announced that his new album 'Lazaretto' will be released on Vinyl.For the 'Ultra' version of this vinyl album there will be unexpected features. What new features can we expect? Well to start with Side A is played from the inside out. Both sides have a locked group that repeats (this has been seen before The Beatles LP 'Sgt. Pepper etc). Also you can put the record needle onto the label of the Vinyl & it will play. The one feature that particular stands out to me is the 3D floating hologram. It's a hand-etched hologram by Tristan Duke. The hologram is of an angel. I think this a very clever idea that i don't think as ever been done before. Also when the Vinyl album was mastered the mastering engineer (Bob Ludwig) used NO Compression. It was Analogue to Anologue, Tape to Tape.   Until next time. Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services  

You've recorded a song. You feel happy with it. Then you start to think that something is missing (maybe an extra guitar part, or more vocals etc). You try various different ideas. Some work, some don't. A quote i have used before is: 'Less is More'. Sometimes we start to add more & more instruments. The song starts to feel cluttered. I suppose its like an artist. Sometimes when an artist paints, draws etc they too may feel the need to add more. Again the question's could be eg, 'Is my painting finished?' Or should i add more? So 'Is a recorded song ever finished'?   Until next time Law Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Today i'm going to talk about a female vocalist who has featured in over 100,000 songs worldwide, 900,000 fans on facebook, one of the biggest acts in Asia. Lady Gaga has revealed that this singer will open her 'ArtRave' tour. So who am i talking about? Any ideas? I'm talking about Hatsune Miku. Hatsune is a virtual popstar, 3D hologram. The name comes from Hatsu (First), ne (Sound) & Miku (Future), which means "First voice of the Future". The voice itself is sampled from the actress 'Saki Fujita'. Yes that's right she does'nt really exist only in the virtual world. She has sold out 3D concerts in LA, Taipei, Singapore, Tokyo & Hong Kong. Miku has a human band playing real instruments. Some fans will travel miles to see one of her concerts. Others may dress like her. Hatsune was created by Crypton Future Media & uses Yamaha's technology 'Vocaloid'. What is Vocaloid? Its a 'singing synthesizer. You input the text.

About over 6 months ago i came across this video of a live performance by the fusion band SNARKY PUPPY FT LALAH HATHAWAY. The song was called: 'Something'. After 6 mins into the song Lalah does something incredible with her vocals. She is able to sing a 2 part harmony by herself (No external Vocal or Harmony effects). I have never heard anything like this before. I was amazed. How is Lalah able to sing these harmonies? According to an interview Lalah said that she has been able to do this since she was 12-13 and still does'nt know how she does it. However, there are other vocalists that claim that they too can do this. One possible explaination could be Overtone singing. This is where the singer manipulates the resonances. There are different variants of this (Tuvan throat singing , Inuit throat singing etc). Have you got any other explainations how this could be done? Until next time.   Law   Official website Twitter Facebook (LW Music Services) Facebook (Law)  

As i'm a fan of House Music. I would like to pay tribute to DJ, producer & remixer Frankie Knuckles who sadly passed away 31st March 2014. Frankie Knuckles played an important role popularizing 'House' music during the 80's. The name 'House' music came from the club he DJ'ed in 'The Warehouse'. He inspired & influenced many DJ's, musicians etc over the years. His most famous hits include: 'Your Love' & 'The Whistle Song' As 'House' music today continues to change over the years. I doubt any of this would be possible without Frankie Knuckles. Frankie's legacy will live on. Frankie Knuckles ('The Godfather of House') RIP   Until next time. Law Official Website Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Most bands & musicians would love to sell millions of copies of their album to fans. However, Wu Tang Clan have decided they will only have one copy of the album for sale. This will be a collectors item. Apparently, the album will not be available to download on itunes etc. (Certain venues may have the album for you to listen to). How much will this album cost? Rumours are a lot of money. Is this a good idea? I think at the moment it is hard to say. What do you think?   Until next time Law   Official Website Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Anyone that owns a pet may of had music playing in the background whilst there pet was around. Some of you may say that their pet likes the music that is being played. Is that true though? Scientists believe that animals hear music differently to what we do. For example dogs & bats hear higher frequencies than what humans do. Could this be why people say that some pets like classical music? In some classical music there instruments that have a high frequencies eg. Flute, piccolo etc. I suppose we assume that our pets like the music that we like. Do they though? Or do they just tolerate it? Maybe we will never know.   Until next time   Law   Official Website Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services) Itunes  

After January's NAMM show it's now been this year's MUSIKMESSE. So what did MUSIKMESSE have in store for us this year? Here's a few highlights: AKAI RHYTHM WOLF- A drum machine & bass synth. 32 step sequencer. MPC Pads etc. ROLAND SYSTEM-1 - This is part of the Aira collection. A plug out synth. I have to say it does looking interesting. I would like to try this synth to find out what is capable of. MFB DOMINION 1- A 37 key Analog synth. Arpeggiator, sequencer, VCO's, LFO's etc. This synth has got some good features. Did you have any favourite music gear that was announced at musikmesse? If so what were they? Until next time LAW   Official Website Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

What's the first thing you notice about a song? What makes you want to listen to more of a song? Is it the Intro? Sometimes Intro's can make you want to listen to more of the song. There could be something about an Intro that you really like. What are your favourite song Intro's? Here's a few of mine: 'Say It Right'- NELLY FURTADO 'Cookie Jar'- GYM CLASS HEROES 'Lucky Pressure- RONI SIZE & REPRAZENT 'Come and Get It'- SELENA GOMEZ 'Titanium'- DAVID GUETTA FT. SIA Until next time   Law Official Website Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Firstly i would like to say i'm not talking about modular synths. KORG recently announced that you could build your own MS-20. But, what if you don't want something as much as that well?, KORG have also teamed up with LITTLE BITS & created a mini analog synth. A lot cheaper & looks a lot more simple to build. I think this is a good idea for DIY musicians. If you could buy the kit for a synth would you build it yourself? Would i? If it was simple, not to expensive, i would prob consider the idea.   Law Official Website Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

Last week i talked about Roland releasing some new product or products (Aira). Well Roland having finally announced what Aira is. Its 4 new products.   TR-08 - A drum machine that blends the sounds of the TR-808 & TR-909. TB-3 - A bassline that recreates the TB-303 SYSTEM 1- Plug out Synth VT-3 - Vocal Transformer So were these products worth the hype? Yes & No really. I mean they all recreate what Roland have done in the past. The TR-08 is digital. Looks very nice & does sound good & certainly going to be cheaper than the original. Would i like one? Ok yes it would be nice. Honestly not essential right now though TB-3 - This recreation has been brought up to date with a touchscreen. It is also a usb midi interface (Quite handy). Again looks nice & will be cheaper than the original. To be honest im not sure whether having a touchscreen was the right thing to do. Hmmmmm! SYSTEM 1- Now, What's this mini synth then? This looks interesting. A plug out synth. It o

As i am a big fan of music technology, i do like when music manufacturers announce a new product. Some manufacturers will try & keep people guessing what the new product is by releasing a mystery video or picture. Right now that is just what Roland are doing with ARIA? For weeks now Roland have been releasing a brief photo or video of what the ARIA is. As usual various rumours have been circulating the internet. Is it a remake of the TR 808 or 909? Is that a keyboard i see in that particular photo? Maybe a remake of the TB-303 as well, Is it one product or is it a few? All i can say is that we may find out out from 14th Feb. (Thats what i have read anyway). All i will say is that whatever it is, it better be worth the hype! Law   Official Website LW Music Services Twitter Facebook (Law) Facebook (LW Music Services)  

I'm sure most of you have woken up singing a song that is stuck in your head. You end up singing that one song ALL day. Sometimes not the one song. Oh no. Even two songs. However, you don't really sing ALL the song just either a few lines of the verse or chorus. It's like that part of the song is stuck on repeat in your head. I find this a bit annoying. Some songs get stuck in you head more times than others. So what songs have been stuck in my head before (more than once): 'Spectrum'- FLORENCE & THE MACHINE (The first verse in particular) 'Never let me go'- FLORENCE & THE MACHINE (Chorus) 'Set fire to the rain'- ADELE (Chorus) 'Flatline'-MKS (Mainly the Chorus) 'Its up to you (Shining Through)-LAYO & BUSHWACKA 'Bad Romance'- LADY GAGA 'Marry The Night'- LADY GAGA 'Wildest Dreams'- JESSIE WARE Why do we get songs stuck in our head? One theory is Earworms (No not

Its that time of year again. Thats right NAMM 2014.The world's largest music products trade fair held in California. Did i go? Unfortunately not. However, i did try & keep up to date with what music products were being released. Here's a few that stood out to me: BEHRINGER X TOUCH, X TOUCH COMPACT & X TOUCH MINI- Behringer are back with new control surfaces. Again they do look good. The X Touch & X Touch Compact do have 9 touch sensitive motorised faders (For me thats a plus point), Rotary Knobs & buttons etc. Could this be a future controller for my studio? We'll have to wait & see. DS1 MIDI MIXER CONTROLLER- Dubspot & Livid Instruments have created this midi mixer. It has 9 faders, 44 rotary knobs & 25 buttons. I have to say it does look rather good. The only downside for me at the moment is that it doesn't have motorised faders (That would probably push the price up) IZOTOPE BREAKTWEAKER (Software)- Another collaboration with

Well another year has gone by. Another year with new instruments, software & pro audio being released. Of course each year presents us with lots of new gear we want to find out about & want to try. So what did 2013 have in store for us then? To start with it had some notable synths eg. Arturia Microbrute, Nord Lead 4, Dave Smith Prophet 12, Korg King Korg, Yamaha MOXF, Moog Sub Phatty etc. My favourite synths released were: Novation Mininova- Great powerful little synth with vocoder. This is a synth i just had to try. I was not disappointed. If you have'nt tried it, it's a fun synth to play. Novation Bass Station II- After 20 years Novation decided to release a new version of their original Bass Station. Was it worth it? Yes i think it was. It's been re-created for the 21st century. I got a chance to try this & have to say i enjoyed playing this mini synth. Korg MS-20 Mini- Another recreation. The original was released in 1978 & was discontinued