The faderTouch 3.0 isn’t just your run-of-the-mill sequencer. Nope, the unique portable device features an innovative rear-projection system that allows not only VJ, but his audience to watch the on-screen action. By installing a bright projector inside a briefcase, and aiming it at an angular projection screen, the display can be viewed from either side.

In addition to the projector, the screen has an infrared touch panel overlay which allows him to interact with his custom performance interface which was programmed using Processing, and acts as a MIDI controller for Ableton Live. Here’s a couple of videos showing off the system in action:

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And if you check out the next clip, you can see the faderTouch being used in a live performance at the recent Wham Bam Thank You NAMM show- very cool indeed.

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Like what you saw and heard? You can check out a whole bunch of VJ Fader’s performances over on his YouTube page.

What is it exactly? The Misa Digital Guitar is a pressure-sensitive touchscreen MIDI controller that’s been built into a guitar body.

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No word on pricing for the Misa, but if you’re interested in buying one, you can contact them here.

[via Make:]

That’s what synth hacker Denkitribe did when he rewired an old Famicom/NES Power Glove to control an Arduino-based controller circuit. The Arduino translates finger movements into MIDI CC messages, which in turn control a digital synthesizer. Want to hear what it sounds like? Then check out this video clip…

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The initial prototype still uses the old-school ultrasonic microphone sensors from the original Power Glove, but Denkitribe plans on eventually upgrading the glove to use modern accelerometer technology. But once he does that, I doubt he’ll be able to play any more Super Glove Ball or Bad Street Brawler anymore. Oh, the things we do in the name of hacking.

Tom Hobson taps his feet, but now, thanks to the magic of an Arduino controller, he can do it with honest-to-goodness drum sounds. From a distance, this seems awesome. If I was in the same room… well, I’m not, so everybody wins.

Friendly and helpful fellow that he is, Tom wants you to be able to rock out at all times, too, so there’s a helpful how-to on his site. Go forth, tappers, and make your own Beat Sneaks. But check out this video first.

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[Beat Sneaks via MAKE]

AudioCubes are designed to be played in live performances, and let you control sounds by manipulating the position, angles and relationships between the palm-sized cubes.

Not to be confused with gadget shop with the same name, Percussa’s AudioCubes are actually cubes. Designed as a reinvention of other devices like trigger pads, knobs, and other sound manipulation controllers, these colorful little boxes can actually pass a ton of control information to your computer or other MIDI device.

Each 3-inch cube uses infrared sensors to both influence its own sounds and to transmit data wirelessly between each other. While you can make music with just one cube, to 100 cubes can work in harmony if you really want to go crazy.

The cubes ship with a collection of software from Percussa that makes it easy to use them as MIDI controllers, and to control VST plug-ins, letting you use them with popular digital audio workstations like Abelton Live and Steinberg Cubase.

And if you’re interested in going off the beaten path, each AudioCube actually has it’s own sound generator built-in, which lets you connect them directly to a mixer, and push out some truly odd machine-generated sounds.

This introductory video gives you a really good idea of how these little guys work:

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Or if you just want to cut past the mind-numbing instructional video and see and hear the cubes in action:

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Prices for AudioCubes start at €219 (appx. $299 USD), but there are substantial discounts for purchasing multiples. You can find info more over at the Percussa shop.

[via Core77 via The Awesomer]

For starters, there’s the nanoKEY, which offers a 25-key velocity-sensitive piano keyboard, that can control your music creation software. There’s even the ability to quickly switch between octaves, so you can access the entire range of a full-size keyboard if you want.

Next up is the nanoPAD, which is great for playing digital percussion or other sound effects. The nanoPAD has a dozen trigger pads, each of which can send up to eight notes or MIDI control messages. There’s also an X/Y touchpad which can use for pitch-bending or other MIDI control messages. You can even set up individual pads to trigger chords.

Last, but certainly not least is the nanoKONTROL, which lets you easily control your mixing board software, providing 9 faders, 9 knobs, 18 switches, playback and recording controls.

The entire Nano series is available over at ProSound and Stage Lighting, with the nanoKEY selling for $49.99 (USD), and the nanoPAD and nanoKONTROL retailing for $59.99.

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If you have any interest in electronic music, you owe it to yourself to check out these mini-marvels.

Airheads work as a standard MIDI controller, you can connect them to most synthesizers or even a drum machine, so you can play some serious air drums. (Assuming you don’t mind gesticulating wildly when you’re playing your tunes.)

Each Airheads controller uses an array of LEDs paired up with infrared sensors to work its auditory magic.

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A starter kit (soldering and assembly required), including a single Airheads controller and all necessary parts and cables is available from MakerSHED for $99.95 (USD). You can check out more videos of Airheads in action over on Flickr.

Modder subatomicglue’s MidiboxSID may have started life as a C64, but now it’s nearly unrecognizable thanks to a serious synth rehab. I especially love the backlit reddish-orange potentiometers and LED illumination throughout the box, making this retro synth perfect for cranking out beeps and blips out in a darkened nightclub or concert gig.

This isn’t any old stock C64 either. Subatomicglue embedded 8 SID chips under the covers of this puppy, which lets it generate 4 stereo pairs of sound, and 4 synthesizer “voices” at the same time. The controls expose plenty of flexibility to tune and tweak every nuance of the system’s 8-bit chip sounds, and of course, it can be MIDI controlled for sequencing purposes.

The cool thing is that the specs for building Midibox SID are available for anyone cares to make one for themselves. As a matter of fact, the one featured in this article is based on a reference design by Midibox SID originator “TK” (Thorsten Klose). Here’s a video of TK’s original in action.

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Check out the full worklog to see how it all came together, and learn about building your own C64 Midibox here.

The Tonal Plexus series of keyboards is a micro-tonal input device featuring rows and rows of buttons which generate tones with far more precision than an 88-key piano can handle.

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Created by H-Pi Intstruments, the Tonal Plexus comes in variants from a compact 2-octave, 422 key controller, all the way up to a gigantic 8-octave keyboard with a whopping 1688 keys.

The keyboard layout is based on a traditional piano keyboard pattern of 7 white and 5 black keys, but each key gets a bunch of additional variants, including 7 naturals, 7 sharps, 7 flats, 7 double-sharps, 7 double flats, 6 triple-sharps and 6 triple-flats.

In case you’re keeping count, that’s 211 unique keys per octave. For some reason, I don’t think that you’ll ever run out of notes on this keyboard.

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Prices range from about $1300 to $3800, depending on the number of keys and whether or not you choose to include the optional synthesizer/amplifier module, or you just need a MIDI controller. You can check out the complete catalog here.

[via DeviantSynth]

Once folded in two, the keyboard measures in at just 23.3″ (w) x 14.5″ (l), which should fall below the FAA regulation carry-on size, assuming it’s less than about 7-inches thick when it’s in its carrying bag. The Vax 77 weighs in at about 25 pounds, which should make it a bit easier to haul around than other keyboards, which usually weigh around twice as much.

The keyboard features 76 weighted keys and can control any MIDI or USB connected synthesizer module. The keyboard can pass all kinds of detailed data about key presses to a sound module including pressure, attack and release velocity. It even offers what’s considered a holy grail in electronic keyboards, polyphonic aftertouch.

Once released, each Vax 77 will be custom made to order, and buyers can choose from several colors as well as the weighting of your keys. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the makers of the keyboard hope to keep the price in reach for working musicians, whatever that means.

If they figure out how to fold up a baby grand piano, I’ll buy one.

[via Music Thing]

The new Disklavier Radio system allows the pianos to play live music broadcasts, including accompaniments to streamed, pre-recorded performances. The new digital radio stations will include music across a variety of genres including Broadway, Classical, Country, Great Piano Solos, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock, Soundtracks and Standards. In addition to playing live streams, many additional tracks can purchased through Yamaha’s new DisklavierMusic Store, and saved directly to the piano for later playback.

The streaming service works with Yamaha’s Disklavier Mark IV pianos, running software version 2.0 or later. It’s available on a subscription basis for $19.95 monthly or $199.50 per year.

[via SlipperyBrick]

The Flame Talking Synth can also be driven by a MIDI controller so you can really compose some serious electronica using one of these and composition software. The device incorporates a couple of Speakjet chips to produce a variety of sound and speech effects. The Flame is capable of cranking out 72 different speech elements, 43 sound effects and 12 telephone touch tones. Be sure to check out the audio samples here.

Available from analoguehaven for $549, the Flame is definitely geared to the professional electronic musician rather than the casual sound hacker.

[via MAKE]