Without a travel budget, a trip to the NAMM show is more of a dream than a reality here at TabMuse. Nonetheless, every year we wait with baited breath to see what fresh music technology announcements inspire us. These inspirations naturally occur within the synth realm, and unfortunately many synthesizer makers chose to not attend […]
Virtual Dispatches from NAMM 2017
February 10, 2017 by
The fact that I didn’t attend this year’s NAMM conference doesn’t stop me from writing about a few of the interesting announced products in the synth realm. This same rule applied in both 2015 and 2016. Like many of you, I watch from afar, typically overcome with an acute case of gear lust. Maybe some […]
Review: The Korg SQ-1 is a Perfect MIDI Sync Traffic Cop
August 9, 2016 by
Korg released its SQ-1 sequencer originally as a pair with the re-imagined MS-20 synthesizer. Faced with two Volcas, a Monotribe, a Moog Sub 37, and a Teenage Electronics PO-12, I wondered if the device could essentially serve as a sync traffic cop; keeping all five instruments in rhythmic “harmony” suitable for some long-form Berlin School […]
Korg Gadget, Stroke Machine, and Thor all get Important iOS Updates
September 8, 2014 by
In the past two weeks, three of the leading iOS music apps received vital updates that significantly enhance their functionality. If you want to learn more about Korg Gadget, Stroke Machine, and Thor, check out our previous articles here at TabMuse. Read on further to get the latest news about these updates. Korg Gadget adds […]
Composing a Space Rock Album on the iPad 2: the Story of Kev Ellis — Space Cadet
July 21, 2014 by
(Editor’s note: Kev Ellis cohabitates the same worldwide Space Rock scene as myself. He’s played with Bubbledubble, Kev and Trev, and Spirits Burning among others. In fact, I think we are on the same Spirits Burning track from their Alien Injection album. SB being an Internet-based music outfit, we’ve never met in person. I knew […]
Korg Volca Keys — the Analog Synth Reviewed
June 6, 2014 by
While Korg’s Volca series of portable analog synth boxes intrigued me, I wasn’t really in the market for one. But with a Moog Sub 37 on seemingly perpetual pre-order (its ship date recently moved from mid-May to late-Summer) and two albums from Church of Hed and Quarkspace needing overdubs I began to reconsider. I hoped […]
Korg Gadget — Reviewing the Synths, Part 2
April 24, 2014 by
So we’ve reviewed Korg’s powerful Gadget iOS beatmaking app; we covered its drum modules, and the first half of its synth collection. Naturally, what follows is a look at the other six synth modules of Gadget. Expect these Gadgets to be useful for creating a wide range of electronic and esoteric music. Wolfsburg offers a […]
Korg Gadget — Reviewing the Drum Modules
March 26, 2014 by
Korg’s “studio-in-a-tablet” app, Gadget, continues to amaze with its intuitive interface and versatile collection of sound-producing “gadgets.” We previously gave Gadget a positive review, and also took a closer look at one half of its synth collection followed by the other half. What follows in this article is a more detailed analysis of Gadget’s three […]
Korg Gadget: Reviewing the Synths — Part 1
March 6, 2014 by
Korg’s recent release of Gadget gives iPad musicians something similar to Propellerhead Reason on a tablet computer. Last week’s Gadget update added support for Audiobus. With 15 different gadgets — each essentially the equivalent of a separate iPad synth app — the amount of sonic possibilities can get overwhelming. With that in mind, let’s take […]
The littleBits Synth Kit is Perfect for Teaching Analog Synthesis
February 28, 2014 by
littleBits, a company formed by 21st Century Renaissance woman Ayah Bdeir, has garnered a reputation in the maker community for its unique modular electronic circuits that snap together using magnets. Recently, littleBits teamed up with Korg to release the Synth Kit, a collection of “bits” used to construct a miniature modular analog synthesizer. I picked […]
