Tag Archives: Drums

New eurorack Bass Drum module from soundlazer

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A modern approach to a classic design. This Bass Drum Eurorack module can really THUMP!

The Soundlazer Bass Drum is a modern approach to a classic design. Using only state of the art components with a quality not achievable in the 1980’s when it was originally conceived.  This Eurorack module delivers a unique heavy bass drum sound.

Be careful with the volume knobs on your amplifiers because this Bass Drum Eurorack module can really THUMP!

The Soundlazer Bass Drum is our flagship entry into the Eurorack module scene. Many more modules will be added so keep coming back for more!

More info available at the soundlazer site https://www.soundlazer.com/product/bass-drum/

Bass Drum

Keith McMillen Instruments Partners with Pearl Corp.

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Pearl Announces North American Distribution Deal with Keith McMillen Instruments Further Expanding KMI’s Reach

Nashville, TN and Berkley, CA – June 15, 2018 – Pearl Corporation, a leading provider and manufacturer of acoustic and electronic drum and percussion products, together with Keith McMillen Instruments announce a distribution partnership to grow the availability and awareness of KMI products while expanding KMI’s reach into new markets.

This new distribution connection between Pearl and Keith McMillen Instruments will enhance the availability of KMI products and grow Pearl’s ever increasing footprint in the MI landscape. Pearl will also utilize its expertise in the School and Educational markets to introduce the many benefits of KMI instruments to music students and educators at all levels.

Pearl’s relationship with the Keith McMillen team began in 2015 as the two companies collaborated to develop Pearl’s MalletSTATION powered by KMI’s Smart Fabric Technology. MalletSTATION is a slim, modern, USB powered mallet controller that has been named the Best New Performance Tool for 2018 by School Band & Orchestra magazine and has received a 2018 Editor’s Choice Award from Music Inc.

Developing MalletSTATION gave Pearl a great understanding of just how disruptive KMI’s groundbreaking Smart Fabric Technology can truly be in the musical instrument space, stated Terry West, Pearl Corporation President and C.E.O. After reviewing KMI’s current product line it became evident to us all that Pearl’s reach and marketing abilities could bring added awareness and availability to the KMI brand. We are honored to represent KMI’s innovative products and extremely excited to see where this collaboration and distribution partnership might lead us in the future.

“While working with Pearl on the design of the MalletSTATION we came to appreciate their commitment to the highest quality and playability of musical instruments. Pearl understands what it takes to make an electronic controller behave in a most musical manner. We share that commitment. KMI has always focused on producing these new instruments while Pearl has also created a world class sales and marketing team. It makes perfect sense to have our instruments distributed by people who understand what makes a professional tool and how to support these instruments in the field” said KMI Founder and C.E.O. Keith McMillen.

The KMI product portfolio includes such innovative products as the Bop Pad, K-Mix, QuNeo, and QuNexus. Pearl will begin accepting orders for KMI products effective June 18, 2018.

For more information about Pearl please visit www.pearldrum.com and www.keithmcmillen.com for more information about KMI.

Pearl Corporation is a division of Pearl Musical Instruments, a world-wide leading manufacturer of acoustic and electronic drums, concert and marching percussion instruments, hand percussion and flutes.  Pearl Corporation is also the exclusive U.S. distributor of Adams Musical Instruments and Keith McMillen Instruments. Pearl Corporation is based in Nashville, TN.

Getting the most out of older gear Part 1: MPC 1000 fat pad upgrade

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These days there are a ton of options for the upcoming producer and selecting which tools you use can be daunting. Factors such as price range, hardware vs software, analog vs digital and workflow can all be major factors. Luckily for those in the know, there are some real deals to be had these days.  This series will focus of finding production equipment deals, older gear that still holds a lot of useful abilities, and breathing new life into that gear. To help get the best bang for your production dollar, I have decided to grab a few of these pieces of gear and show how to revamp them, what to look out for, and how to use them in todays modern environment.

So lets start off with arguably the center of most production setups, the sequencer/drum sampler.  I have chosen the MPC 1000 for a few reasons. 1) it is affordably priced and readily available. 2) with its compact flash slot, hard drive and USB connection, this MPC can easily connect to a modern studio set up with ease. 3) the MPC 1000 is to this day one of the most powerful portable samplers available.Screen Shot 2016-04-19 at 6.27.34 PM

Continue reading →

Live Modular Drum Logic using the XXX_or

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Most people are aware of my affinity for finger drumming and live performance, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that I want to preform live unsequenced finger drumming with my Modular system. However when I began setting up patches to do this sort of thing I ran into a problem. I wanted to use 1 module for both open and closed hi hats, while triggering this single module from 2 gate sources without running into the issue of the closed hi hat opening up the decay envelope. ENTER LOGIC. In order to complete such a task I need to separate the closed hi hat trigger from the open hi hat trigger (while there is only one trigger input on the module). To do this I use the Animodule XXX_or . This module allows me to send two separate triggers to the same destination and other destinations without the risk of back feeding and having the closed hi hat trigger the decay envelope. Normally this back feeding wouldn’t be an issue if I was simply using a sequencer, but in a live performance real it is important that the open hi hat pad and the closed hi hat pad both trigger the sound independently. Take a look at the video below to see how I did it.

Buy the XXX_Or here

Buy the Audio Damage Neuron here 

Arturia unleashes iSpark for iPad, why you should care.

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So below I’ll post the regular press release and info but lets talk about why this release actually matters.Menu

  1. you can use your SparkLE usb controller with this app, that means you have an actual tactile hands on drum machine experience with just a iPad as the processing power… think about this for live shows or that “stand alone drum machine” feel… thats pretty dope right?
  2. its available for iPad air and above… why does that matter? well because it means they are jamming serious power into this app and not letting older iPad units hold it back with lack of processing power. This is a double edged sword because I’m sure Arturia risks missing out sales from owners of older iPad devices. It also means the writing is now on the wall for those of us with older iPads (I currently own an iPad 4 and was hoping to get one last year out of it.)Studio2
  3. the in app store looks to have a promising host of content. Already there are three promising expansions with more to come. I love new sounds at affordable prices.Library2
  4. ableton link is already tested and working along with a host of other sync abilities. very nice to see this app playing nicely in a host of varied environments. Continue reading →

Push 2 IS HERE!!! Fluxwithit has hands on!

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Push 2 has finally landed and it is a BEAST

 

Now with the large full color screen across the top, all new solid construction and slick knobs the user is treated to a amazingly well thought out and luxurious workspace. No longer are we going to stare at hollowed orange LEDs when trying to manipulate our sounds. The real change however is on the software side! Live 9.5 features a totally reworked sampling experience complete with chopping slicing capturing and mangling all done right from the controller.

Now you can easily zoom in and cut up sounds on the fly with the Push 2 controller. You also have access to a large host of new analog modeled filters.

Live 9.5 also features an enhanced browser allowing you to browse all of your plugins samples effects templates… everything right from the hardware!

More news to follow for now we are enjoying just getting to bash about on what looks to be the true next wave of beat making devices!

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Follow on instagram @Flux302 for more videos and info as well!