The Keyboard Chronicles

Gigging, Gear and Great Music

Tech News

Native Instruments Unveil Pharlight

by Leave a Comment

Native Instruments keep pumping out new Kontakt instruments, with Pharlight the latest release:

KONTAKT instrument for musicians, sound designers, and composers, capable of unconventional melodic leads, pads, textures, and more sourced entirely from the human voice. 

At the heart of PHARLIGHT is a specially-recorded sample library designed to bring the best out of the instrument’s engine. A result of extensive research into different sounds and how they interact with the granular and sample modules, PHARLIGHT’s sample content was created by 15 artists and sound designers to produce unconventional melodic timbres that are distinctly human. 

From beatboxers to vocal artists, multisampled choral sounds, and made-up-words, the result is a curated collection of 319 sound sources and 375 expertly-designed presets that cover an extensive sonic territory including pads, leads, textures, soundscapes, bass, and subs. As well as cinematic textures, PHARLIGHT makes significant additional use of melodic, fast-attack sounds that are ideal for writing hooks and melodies. 

Like Straylight, Pharlight takes two layers of either granular synthesis or sample playback and combines them into a master ‘snapshot’.

Here’s the walk through:

I’m going to be having a closer look at Pharlight – it’s currently being offered at AU $219.00 and has an RRP of AU $299. Maybe a Straylight / Pharlight combo deal down the track NI?

Check it out for yourself here.

Play synth sequences using your C64

by Leave a Comment

I just came across this great video released in recent days, demonstrating the Fastfingers II software. This software goes back to 1990, and shows what an amazing piece of gear the Commodore 64 was, it’s SID chip in particular.

The creator of the Fastfingers II software, Dan Laskowski, demonstrates the intricacies of the C64 and how his software can help you wrangle the best out of it.

You can check out his web page for more details, including the PDF manual.

I for one admire the hell out of people who stick with products and continue to develop them. This is one niche product but one that’s stood the test of time. Anyone out there using a C64 in a live or studio environment? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

MainStage 3.4.3 – What’s New

by Leave a Comment

MainStage has had an update and for those wondering, here’s what’s new:

Stability/Reliability

  • MainStage no longer hangs after adding a Preset Name mapping to a channel strip after several patches have been created in the Concert.

Performance

  • MainStage no longer exhibits stuck MIDI notes and then loses connection to the MIDI interface.
  • The Playback plug-in no longer unexpectedly jumps back to the beginning of the song in certain cases where playing MIDI in to MainStage causes a system overload.
  • There are no longer unexpected System Overloads immediately after loading a Concert or a patch.
  • MainStage no longer hangs when opening a Concert that contains multiple duplicated patches.
  • Performance is improved while switching between patches in Concerts that use a large number of Audio Unit plug-ins.

Plug-ins

  • The Tab key indents text by two spaces as expected when editing in the Scripter plug-in.

General

  • Edited text in inspectors is now reliably updated immediately.
  • Tempo-based Audio Unit plug-ins now maintain sync when MainStage is synced to MIDI Clock.
  • The New Track sheet now shows all available buses for multi-output instruments.
  • Concerts created in MainStage 3.1 or older now open as expected.
  • Duplicating an alias of a patch no longer causes unexpected sound output.
  • The Metronome Division setting is now retained when opening a saved Concert.

Native Instrument Komplete Discount

by Leave a Comment

NI offer half-price discounts on its Komplete software instruments

I own and use Komplete 12 in both my live and recording work, and am quite the fan. One of the reasons I’ve been able to buy the full Komplete suite of products is via sales like this. During the US Thankgiving period they are offering 50% off Komplete instruments.

Here’s the full info straight from the horse’s mouth:

Berlin, November 20, 2019 – Native Instruments today kicks off its biggest ever Thanksgiving sale. KOMPLETE users can upgrade and update to KOMPLETE 12 collections for half price, as well as get 50% off individual full instruments and effects, including new releases NOIRE, STRAYLIGHT, and MASSIVE X, alongside half-price upgrades, updates, Expansions, TRAKTOR PRO 3, and special hardware/software bundles.

For owners of KOMPLETE, it’s the best time to step up to the latest version, or upgrade to a larger collection. KOMPLETE 12 is the most comprehensive version yet of the world’s leading production suite, combining instruments, effects, and Expansions sound packs. During the promotion, users save 50% on all update/upgrade paths available to them.
 

The special also includes deals on hardware and software bundles, combining MASCHINE production systems, KOMPLETE KONTROL keyboards, and KOMPLETE AUDIO interfaces with tailored software packages at discounts of up to $499.50. Bundles range from entry-level packages to professional production workflows. 

The half-price offer also extends to over 190 full instruments and effects, as well as upgrade and update paths – including industry-standard sampling platform KONTAKT 6, REAKTOR 6, and MASCHINE 2, plus recent high-profile releases including MASSIVE X, NOIRE, SUPER 8, and STRAYLIGHT, plus many more. 

Native’s flagship DJ software TRAKTOR PRO 3 is up for grabs at $49.50, and existing users can update to the latest version for just $24.50.

The THANKSGIVING XXL sale runs until December 9. Full details about all offers can be found at the Native Instruments website. 
Pricing and availability

The THANKSGIVING XXL special offer is valid until December 9, 2019, at the Native Instruments Online Shop.  

E-vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with special offers. All upgrades, updates, and crossgrades require a qualifying base product to remain registered to your account. Should the base product no longer be registered, additional costs may apply.
Further product information and press material

Additional information about Thanksgiving XXL 2019 is available at

https://www.native-instruments.com/specials/thanksgiving-xxl-2019/

There you have it. If you’re a developer or manufacturer offering a discount, drop us a line. If you’re a player that’s aware of a great deal, post it in comments!

Arturia MiniLab Inverted Released

by Leave a Comment

New ‘all-black’ version will turn some heads

Arturia love a good colour variant of their keyboards, and today sees them release the inverted version of their MiniLab Mk II. For what it’s worth, I love the look of this and am mightily tempted. My only concern is how easy it will be to see under lower stage lighting – maybe that’ll force me to play by feel a little more!

What do you think?

Find out more here.

Apple Introduces 16-inch Macbook Pro

by Leave a Comment

The speculation is true

As had been expected, Apple have released a 16-inch version of the MacBook Pro. This will appeal to some gigging keyboard players out there using software and applications like MainStage or Gig Performer. Have a read of all the details below: is this something you’ll be pulling the trigger on?

Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook
All-New MacBook Pro Features an Immersive 16-Inch Retina Display, Up to 80 Percent Faster Performance and a New Magic Keyboard 
Cupertino, California — 14 November 2019 — Apple today unveiled an all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro — the world’s best pro notebook — designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, scientists, music producers and anyone who relies on a Mac to create their life’s best work. The all-new MacBook Pro features a brilliant 16-inch Retina Display, the latest 8-core processors, up to 64GB of memory, next-generation graphics with up to 8GB of VRAM and a new advanced thermal design, making it the most powerful MacBook Pro ever. 
Featuring a new Magic Keyboard with a redesigned scissor mechanism and 1mm travel for a more satisfying key feel, the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers the best typing experience ever in a Mac notebook. The 16-inch MacBook Pro also includes a six-speaker sound system, longer battery life, Touch Bar, Touch ID, the Force Touch trackpad and the Apple T2 Security Chip.
“Our pro customers tell us they want their next MacBook Pro to have a larger display, blazing-fast performance, the biggest battery possible, the best notebook keyboard ever, awesome speakers and massive amounts of storage, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers all of that and more,” said Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing. “With its brilliant 16-inch Retina display, 8-core processors, next-gen pro graphics, even better thermal design, new Magic Keyboard, six-speaker sound system, 100Wh battery, up to 8TB of storage and 64GB of fast memory, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is the world’s best pro notebook.” 
Largest Retina Notebook Display EverPros love the brilliant 500 nit, P3 wide colour gamut Retina display on MacBook Pro, and at 16 inches, it’s the largest Retina notebook display ever. Featuring a resolution of 3072×1920 and a higher pixel density of 226 ppi, the 16-inch Retina display delivers nearly 6 million pixels and an even more immersive front-of-screen experience. Each display is individually calibrated in the factory for accurate gamma, white point and primary colours.
New Magic Keyboard The 16-inch MacBook Pro features a new Magic Keyboard with a refined scissor mechanism that delivers 1mm of key travel and a stable key feel, as well as an Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press. Incorporating extensive research and user studies focused on human factors and key design, the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers a keyboard with a comfortable, satisfying and quiet typing experience. The new Magic Keyboard also features a physical Escape key and an inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys, along with Touch Bar and Touch ID, for a keyboard that delivers the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook.
More Advanced Thermal Design The 16-inch MacBook Pro uses the most advanced thermal architecture ever in a Mac notebook to enable the system to run at higher power for sustained periods of time. The sophisticated fan design features a larger impeller with extended blades along with bigger vents, resulting in a 28 percent increase in airflow, while the heat sink is 35 percent larger, enabling significantly more heat dissipation than before. Together, these advancements in cooling capacity allow the 16-inch MacBook Pro to sustain up to 12 more watts during intensive workloads than the previous design.
Powerful Processors and Faster MemoryWhether compiling code, editing multi-cam video or doing 3D animation, MacBook Pro customers need pro-level compute power they can take on the go. To deliver blazing fast performance, the 16-inch MacBook Pro features the latest 6- and 8-core 9th-generation processors with Turbo Boost speeds up to 5.0 GHz, which deliver up to 2.1 times faster performance than the quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro.1 Its powerful CPUs, combined with faster memory up to 64GB for the first time, and its more advanced thermal design, will enable pro workflows never before possible on a MacBook Pro. 
When compared to the fastest quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro: 

  • Music producers can play back massive multi-track projects with up to 2.1 times more Amp Designer plug-ins in Logic Pro X.
  • Scientists and researchers will benefit from 2.1 times faster simulation of dynamical systems in MATLAB.
  • Developers using Xcode can compile code up to 1.8 times faster. 
  • Photographers can apply complex edits to photographs 1.7 times faster in Photoshop. 

Next-Generation GraphicsGraphics performance is critical to pros, whether they’re creating the next big game title, rendering a complex 3D scene or colour grading a blockbuster film. The 16-inch MacBook Pro features new AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series graphics — the first 7nm mobile discrete GPUs for pro users. Paired with GDDR6 video memory and with an 8GB VRAM option for the first time, pro users will be able to tackle GPU-intensive tasks faster than ever. Customers who choose the standard configuration will see 2.1 times faster graphics performance than the previous standard configuration. Those who opt for the highest-end graphics options will see up to 80 percent faster performance than the previous high-end configuration.1
When compared to the previous-generation 8-core 15-inch MacBook Pro with the highest graphics options:  

  • Video editors using DaVinci Resolve will see up to 1.8 times faster effects rendering when colour grading.
  • Gamers will enjoy smoother gameplay with up to 1.6 times faster performance in games like Fortnite.
  • In Unity, developers will experience 1.4 times faster fly-through performance during game development.

To power all this performance, MacBook Pro features a 100Wh battery — the largest ever in a Mac notebook — for an additional hour of battery life of up to 11 hours of wireless web browsing or Apple TV app video playback.
First 8TB NotebookFor pros with massive asset libraries and large projects that need even more storage in a notebook, the new MacBook Pro doubles the SSD storage to 512GB and 1TB on standard configurations. And for the first time, MacBook Pro can be configured with a staggering 8TB of storage — the largest SSD ever in a notebook.
Higher Fidelity Audio Experience The 16-inch MacBook Pro introduces a completely redesigned six-speaker, high-fidelity sound system designed to bring musicians, podcasters and video editors the most advanced audio experience ever in a notebook. New Apple-patented force-canceling woofers use dual opposed speaker drivers to reduce unwanted vibrations that distort sound. As a result, music sounds more clear and natural than ever before, and the bass can go half an octave deeper. An upgraded high-performance mic array delivers a 40 percent reduction in hiss and an improved signal-to-noise ratio that rivals that of popular professional-grade digital microphones, delivering super-clean recordings that capture even the quietest details.
macOS, Designed for ProsPro users love the power, reliability and productivity built into macOS — designed to take full advantage of Mac hardware, deliver robust features with the highest possible performance and work seamlessly with other Apple devices. Dark Mode highlights pro content while controls recede into the background on the Mac’s stunning Retina display. Sidecar, a new feature in macOS Catalina, lets users leverage iPad as a second display or as a high-precision tablet input device using Apple Pencil. Files on macOS can be quickly browsed with visuals and easy access to metadata with Gallery View in Finder. Along with a robust ecosystem of third-party apps and devices, macOS includes Apple apps like Safari, Mail, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, and supports high-performance apps like Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X and Xcode.
Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR Today, Apple also announced that the all-new Mac Pro, the world’s best pro desktop, and Apple Pro Display XDR, the world’s best pro display, will be available in December. Designed for maximum performance, expansion and configurability, Mac Pro features workstation-class Xeon processors up to 28 cores, a high-performance memory system with a massive 1.5TB capacity, eight PCIe expansion slots and a graphics architecture featuring the world’s most powerful graphics card. Pro Display XDR features a 32-inch Retina 6K display with P3 wide and 10-bit colour, 1,600 nits of peak brightness, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a superwide viewing angle, all at a breakthrough price point.
Pricing and Availability

  • Starting at RRP A$3,799 inc GST, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is available today through apple.com and the Apple Store app. It will be in Apple Stores and Apple Authorised Resellers in the US later this week and coming soon to stores around the world.. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/au/mac.
  • Mac Pro starts at US$5,999 and Pro Display XDR starts at US$4,999 — local pricing to be confirmed. Both will be available to order in December through apple.com. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available at apple.com/au/mac-pro and apple.com/au/pro-display-xdr.

Roland Fantom Gets Its First Sound Expansions

by Leave a Comment

Roland aren’t resting on their laurels with their new Fantom models

Roland’s new Fantom 6, 7 and 8 have only been in the wild six weeks or so, but some sound expansion sets are starting to hit the market. Roland themselves have released six sound sets and they’re free – at least for now.

The six sets are:

EXZ006 EXZ World Instruments

EXZ005 EXZ Studio Sounds

EXZ Power Drums

EXZ003 Session Drums

EXZ002 EZX Stage Piano 2

EXZ001 EZX Stage Piano 1

I’ve had a listen and there’s some damn nice sounds in there that will catch the eye of potential buyers. Some of the sounds from the Studio Sounds and Stage Piano sets particularly appealed to me.

However, the elephant in the room remains: organs. Hopefully that’s something to be remedied in the near future.

Have a listen to all the sound sets for yourself, right here.

Would love to hear your thoughts after you have a listen.

Yamaha MODX OS Update 2.0

by Leave a Comment

Yamaha have released their first substantial OS update, with substantial the operative word. We tell you what’s new and how to update your MODX board to version 2.

Updating the OS of a keyboard can be daunting at the best of times, and the now released 2.0 update for the MODX is one that will require a modicum of discipline. More on that later, but first here’s what you get with the update:

New features;

  • New effect types have been added.
  • New Performances have been added.
  • The Pattern Sequencer function has been added.
  • You can now play songs, patterns and audio files from the Live Set display.
  • Super Knob Link has been added to the data that is recorded in the Scene function.
  • Keyboard Control has been added to the data that is recorded in the Scene function.
  • Increased the range of the LFO Speed parameter.
  • You can now connect MIDI equipment via the USB TO DEVICE terminal.
  • The Global Micro Tuning settings have been added.
  • The Audition Loop setting has been added.
  • Improvements have been made to the user interface.
  • The Note capacity (total area in Store) has been increased from 130,000 to 520,000 (for Songs) and 520,000 (for Patterns).

Now onto the update process itself. Essentially you will need to back up everything, initialise everything, install the new update from a MODX-formatted USB thumb drive, then restore your backed-up settings.

The details (and never fear, these instructions come in the 384 MB installer file you download form here):

  1. Press the [UTILITY] button to open the Utility display.
  2. Touch [Settings] tab -> [System] tab at the left side of the display.
  3. The following message appears in the bottom of the display:
  MODX Firmware Version : *.**.*         (c)2018 Yamaha Corporation

The unit’s version is indicated by ” MODX Firmware Version : .. “
Only the numbers up to the two decimal places after the first dot are important in reading the version number, you can ignore the numbers after the second dot.
Ex.) 1.02.0 =1.02 , 1.10.0= 1.10

Updating Procedure

NOTICE:

All User memory (Library data, User data, User sample and so on) will be initialized by this updater.

Please make sure that you save all User data to a USB flash drive before performing this update.

Required Items

  • One USB flash drive of over 1GB capacity formatted on the MODX
  1. After downloading, copy the following uncompressed files to a USB flash drive that has been formatted on the MODX. No other files should be present on the USB flash drive.
    8Q86OS_.PGM
  2. Power off the MODX.
  3. Connect the USB flash drive prepared in step 1 to the [USB TO DEVICE] terminal of the MODX. Power on the MODX while holding down the [Cursor UP] and [UTILITY] buttons until the “YAMAHA” logo appears on screen.
    At this time, please do not press buttons other than [Cursor UP] or [UTILITY] buttons.
  4. The MODX OS updater will begin with the message “Searching for the updater…” and “MODX updater ..“.
    When the message “Finish. Please turn off.” appears, turn off the MODX and remove the USB flash drive. (note WARNING below)
  5. Power on the MODX
  6. Execute the Initialize All function ([UTILITY] > [Settings] > [System]).

WARNING:
DO NOT power off or remove the USB flash drive from the MODX until the “Finish. Please turn off.” message appears. If power is accidently interrupted while running the updater (by disconnecting the AC cord, etc.), the unit may become inoperable. If this happens, run the updater again. If the unit still does not function after doing this, please contact your nearest Yamaha service center.

This completes the update process.

So there you have it. May it all go smoothly for you!