I’ll admit that Rock Band was kind of fun for a while, but I haven’t touched the game for at least a few months now. Normally that’s not a problem since it means the game just goes back on the shelf until I gain interest again, but with Rock Band I also have to find a place to stash a guitar and a drum kit. So I kind of wish I had this portable Rock Band drum kit from Mad Catz instead, since it appears to monopolize far less real estate in your living room.
The durable drum pads are designed to be played on any solid surface (you might want to skip the glass coffee table) and feature rubber drumheads that should withstand over a million strikes from the included soft-tip drumsticks. It also comes with an ultra-thin navigation panel for “easy in-game setup” as well as a compact kick drum pedal. In fact the whole set looks like it could be easily crammed into a backpack, and with a price tag of $59.99 I’m sorely tempted to pick one up to replace my official Rock Band kit.
If you’re a fan of music rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band there’s a good chance your living room is currently filled with a small collection of fake guitars and drum kits. But hopefully there’s still room in the corner for one more music-themed peripheral, since more details of Activision’s upcoming DJ Hero game have surfaced.
The game will come with a wireless turntable peripheral (that probably looks nothing like the Technics SL-DZ 1200 pictured) which includes a platter for scratching, three buttons used for sampling, a cross fader and even a sound effects dial which will work like the whammy bar in Guitar Hero. And keeping with the vinyl record idea, the notes you have to follow will flow down and around a virtual record on-screen, requiring you to scratch while holding the appropriate sample button. As a wannabe scratch DJ who can’t bring himself to spend the money on a pair of real 1200s, I’m definitely intrigued. And oddly enough, the game in its current form (it’s apparently been in development for almost 2 years now) only includes mashups which is probably less of a design choice, and more of an issue regarding licensing actual music. But given how many artists have signed on for games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, I’m sure DJ Hero will manage to secure at least a handful of licensed tunes before it’s released.
If I had to take an educated guess, I would have thought the name ‘Keromin’ was a combination of Kermit (the frog) and Theremin. But it turns out that Kero is actually a Japanese term for the sound a frog makes. Who knew? (I guess anyone who speaks Japanese.) Anyways, the Keromin is a musical instrument that’s loosely based on a Theremin, except that it’s easier to play since all you need to do is stick your hand inside the puppet and open and close its mouth. The pitch is determined by the angle of your thumb and forefinger as you manipulate the mouth, and the volume is controlled by how strongly you grasp the puppet’s right arm.
The Keromin was created by an engineer named Yuji Okuyama and as the video below illustrates, it’s the perfect solution for anyone who’s ever wanted to be a ventriloquist without having to do all the practicing.
I could never see myself buying a coffee table that was just a coffee table. But I could definitely see myself buying a coffee table that was embedded with a collection of drums and other percussion instruments. The Musical Rumba Series tables are hand built by artist Tor Clausen in his Olympia, Washington studio, and each one comes with a collection of interchangeable and rearrangeable percussion inserts. Why you’d want a table you can drum on is kind of hard to explain, so I recommend checking out this video of it in action. (That was all it took to sell me on the idea.)
The tables come in 2×2, 2×4, 3×3 and 4×4 configurations and can include various combinations of the of the 12 different percussion modules like snare drums, chimes, cow bells, high hats and even a cymbal crash. Since the tables are all hand made they range in price from $800 for the 2×2 configuration up to $2,900 for the 4×4 and require half the total price as a deposit.
In an effort to improve the nerdy image of the accordion Roland has added a few high-tech upgrades and improvements to their FR-2b model. Unfortunately though the only thing I know about accordions is what I’ve seen in Weird Al videos, so here’s a list of some of the improvements as taken from the Roland website:
Performance Parameters
The FR-2b has five pads for adding percussive excitement to your performance. Use them as drum pads or to trigger rhythms via Loop Playback Mode. There’s also a Song function for “minus one” play-along fun. The FR-2b contains eight user programs for instant storage and recall of your favorite settings.
Connections
The connection options of the FR-2b allow you to perform in any situation. A headphone output is provided for private practice. The Line output lets you plug into amplifiers and mixers onstage or in the studio. MIDI output allows you to play external keyboards and other MIDI-compatible instruments from your V-Accordion.
Adjustable Bellows Pressure
The improved Bellows Resistance Regulator on the FR-2b V-Accordion allows you to fine-tune the bellows pressure according to your strength, ability, and personal style — another FR-2b advantage for comfort and playability.
The FR-2b runs on 8 AA batteries, but even with them installed it still weighs almost half as much as a traditional accordion model. So if you spend your weekends rocking out at polka concerts or Polish weddings it might be able to improve both your image and your sore back. But if you’re looking to buy the Roland FR-2b you might want to book paying gigs all week long since it has a list price of $3,999.
Last week I wrote about the E-Paper Music Score concept that basically replaced a traditional book of sheet music with a flexible e-paper display. Well given it was just a concept you won’t be able to buy one anytime soon, but it looks like there’s a similar solution already on the market. Instead of e-paper the MusicPad Pro uses a readily available 12.1 inch TFT color display. While the 1024 x 768 resolution is probably more than adequate, it’s also a touch screen allowing musicians to annotate the music or jot notes in multiple colors.
As Apple has shown with iTunes, available content is just as important as the technology, so FreeHand also has an online store with over 98,000 titles of downloadable sheet music already available. The average price seems to be about $3.95, though some titles are slightly cheaper ($1.95) and some are considerably more expensive. ($59.95)
Though with a price tag of $899 on the FreeHand website, I think the MusicPad Pro should include more than just 64MB of memory, particularly since I don’t see any mention of being able to expand that limited amount with flash memory cards.
The Stylophone was apparently a big hit back in the 70’s, but since it was before my time I’ve never actually heard of the device. For those wondering it’s an electronic instrument that’s played by placing the tip of a stylus against a series of metal keys. As the stylus makes contact with each key it completes a circuit causing a particular set of transistors, resistors or diodes to produce a unique electronic sound.
While the re-issued version of the Stylophone looks and sounds exactly like the original, it does include a few upgrades like a volume control, some new sounds and a vibrato knob. If you’re curious what a Stylophone sounds like (as was I) check out this video of Finnish duo Mann Gegen Mann playing it alongside a drum machine.
For those trying to find their niche in the world of street busking or performing I suggest ditching the accordion and upgrading to a Stylophone. I guarantee your hat will be overflowing with quarters in just a few hours.
You can find the Stylophone Original at Firebox for about $30.
I’m no musician, but I can’t imagine the difficulty one would have transporting their instruments. Taking something such as a keyboard onto an airplane just doesn’t sound like something that’s going to happen. That is unless you’ve got an Infinite Response Vax 77.
This cool keyboard actually folds in half and comes with a nice carrying case that is slightly smaller than the FAA regulation carry-on size. This isn’t just handy when flying on a plane, as keyboards are something of a pain to carry around anyway. The Vax 77 keyboards are custom made, so you’ll have to contact them for pricing details. I’m pretty sure that there’s an old saying that applies here. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
The Terpstra MIDI Keyboard definitely takes the quantity over quality approach, and while 280 keys sounds impressive, I think they could have gone the extra mile to hit the magic 300.
Each key is velocity sensitive and can be used to trigger a specific MIDI event whether it be a musical note, sound effect or controlling the massive, over-the-top Hallowe’en display on your front lawn. The keycaps are also swappable and customizable so you don’t need 280 pieces of masking tape and a Sharpie to keep track of what each one does.
And while the layout of the Terpstra keyboard might look like a complicated mess the connectors on the back remain surprisingly simple with jacks for a foot switch, volume pedal, MIDI in & out and standard 120V AC power.
Related Tags: Gaming, Instruments
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By Andrew Liszewski
