It’s that time of year again, where everyone is getting their shopping together for friends and family for the holidays. While everyone else is finding the awkward ties for Dad or that sweater two sizes too big for your lover, if you are a producer (like myself), this season can only really mean one thing–the hunt for more musical gear is on.
Whether you sketch out tracks on your day off or write the next big anthem headed to the majors, these are definite must-haves for your studio.
touchAble for iPad + touchAble MINI for iPhone/iPod
Price: $28.99
There are tons of apps flying around the market that allow you to use your iPhone or iPad as an external controller for Ableton Live, and Berlin-based Zerodebug’s touchAble 3 really pulls out all of the stops. TouchAble has paid attention to nearly every single aspect of Live and put it into their software, allowing you to write music or trigger a live set with a more natural feel to it–perfect for those gigs on the road or even if you want to step away from your desk for a bit. A feature that really sets this apart from other apps is the connectivity: Instead of having to set up an ad-hoc WiFi network for stage or home usage (a fancy way of saying setting up a dedicated WiFi connection)–all that you have to do is plug in your iPad into the computer, fire up the app, and boom! You’re ready to roll. The dedicated server on your device will be managed by your operating platform at all times, allowing you to start or continue at any point.
Check out the touchAble site to see why it has become “the definitive Ableton Live touch controller."
Dubspot + Livid Instruments Ds1 MIDI Mixer
Price: $479
The Ds1 MIDI Mixer collaboration with Livid Instruments and the premier audio-production school Dubspot is as simple as it gets: You plug it in, download whatever templates you need for whatever programs you use that support MIDI capability (which is 99% of the DAW market) and get right to work. With 48 knobs, 9 faders and 24 buttons that are all programmable to whatever you need, the endless possibilities and the usefulness of this mixer will become a great addition to your studio, and will definitely be a game-changing device for the digital instrument history books.
Korg iPolysix (iPad)
Price: $19.99
Korg is always known for making new instruments that would revolutionize the way that people make music, and they rarely sleep on taking key elements of their legendary hardware and turning it directly into software. Take the iPolysix for the iPad, for instance. It is a full-fledged replication of their best selling Polysix synthesizer, using their Component Modeling Technology (CMT) to replicate the sound of this 80s baby to a T.
To top the reproduction of this piece of gear off, Korg went and added two polyphonic synthesizers, a polyphonic sequencer, a sampling drum machine a mixer and plenty of effects into the app, providing you with more than enough to make full tracks, and you can share them with your internet friends or with labels using the Polyshare app, which uploads it to SoundCloud for you (with an account, of course).
M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro
Price: $399
The M-Audio Trigger Finger, a classic device that has been notoriously used by some of dance music’s biggest names has gotten a facelift this year, with RGB assignable LEDs on the 16 pads (with four banks), backlit control buttons, a LED screen that allows you to view any parameters on your VSTs or production software, and a new 64-step sequencer. Along with the included Arsenal software and over 8GB of samples and the AIR instrument Sample pack that's on sale for an extra $99 right now (originally $299), Trigger Finger Pro is going to become the new father of all MIDI pads.
Korg MS-20 Kit
Price: $1399.99
This one is for the proper synth nerds out there. This MS-20 kit is ideal for those have ever wanted to see how the inside of a synth works, are avid fans of circuit-bending, or even want to have that accomplished feeling of building a synth yourself. And the price point is all worth it, as the original MS-20s can sell for even double on auction sites.
One function on the new system is that Korg has provided two filter options that cater to the early and later builds of the MS-20. According to Korg: “Units produced in the earlier period used a filter noted for its distinctive distortion and self-oscillation, while the filter used in later units was a low-noise design with a more mellow character," and all you have to do to use either is move a jumper pin on the MS-20's circuit board to whichever one you prefer.
Arturia BeatStep
Price: $129
Arturia has definitely been one to watch recently, and this new addition to their acclaimed product series is further revolutionizing the portable device market.
At first glance, the BeatStep controller looks simple: 16 pads, 16 knobs, some transport controls and a jog wheel–but it’s oh, so much more. BeatStep also acts as a 16-step analog sequencer that can make musical phrases for anything that uses MIDI, has a CV/GATE feature that can be used to access analog synthesizers, and can interface with an iPad via USB.
Moog Sub 37 Tribute Edition
Price: $1579
Moog has done it again. The Sub 37 Tribute Edition is yet another analog beast that is built around their extremely famous Sub Phatty engine. One of the new features added to the Sub 37 is the Duo Mode, which allows you to play oscillator 1 and oscillator 2 independently–usually unheard of in the Phatty series, but leave it to Moog to break all conventions and give you another diverse addition to your studio or Moog Collection.
This synth is not only a great tribute to the late Dr. Robert Moog, but allows you to give back to the community–a part of the proceeds of every Sub 37 sold will be donated to the Asheville Area School Music Programs in Asheville, North Carolina (the home of Moog Incorporated).
Roland AIRA
Price: TR-8 - $499, TB-3 - $299
The AIRA series has been the most talked about addition to the device market for the past few years now, and Roland finally unleashed the acclaimed line back in April. This series is an upgrade to some of their most famous synths at a very fraction of the cost of what you can buy the original pieces for. While there are four items to choose from in the series (shouts to the SYSTEM-1 synth and the VT-3 vocal transformer), these two have definitely been the most talked about pieces in terms of making dance music rhythms.
The TR-8 is a detail-by-detail combination of their most famous drum machines, the TR-808 and TR-909 series (and has now added a 707/727 series coming soon). The drum machine has all the features of both legendary machines, and has also been graced with Tune and Decay knobs on every instrument as well as Attack, Snappy and Comp knobs on the bass and snare drums, giving you full control over how you want to process your drums for any style of tune. The Scatter knob added to the TR-8 is one of the best features, literally making a groove and using that knob to make some wild changes and grooves to you patterns.
The TB-3 Touch Bassline is the new version of the TB-303, the bassline generator that was responsible for some electronic music’s finest classics. There have been so many kits that attempted to replicate the tones, filters and slides of the 303 (and at an affordable price), but Roland has basically said “nah” and used their very specifications of the circuitry to give you the true, authentic sound. On top of this, they switched out the button-style step programming for touch-sensitive pads and added 134 new sounds to the arsenal, all based off of the classic square and saw waves.
Maschine V2.2 Update
Komplete Kontrol S-Series
Price: S25 - $499, S49 - $599, S61 - $699
Native Instruments has constantly been winning the controller game over the years, introducing the Maschine Studio, X1, S4, and S8 into DJ setups and studios worldwide, but out of all of this, something they didn't have was a keyboard that was made by Native Instruments, for Native Instruments Software–until now. The S-Series comprises of three keyboards (25-key, 49-key, and 61-key, respectively), built to provide a hands-on approach to using their Komplete software series (sold separately), as well as increasing the workflow within the software. The featured highlight (pun intended) of this keyboard is the Light Guide, a set of color-changeable LED lights behind the keys that correspond to whatever you are doing in particular programs. For instance, if you have a cell zone that’s colored blue in Battery 4 (NI's Drum mapping software), whatever root key that the sample is mapped to will light up blue on the keyboard–quite the godsend for anyone that knows the drama that is organizing sample kits and libraries. The S-Series also ditched the physical pitch and modulation wheel for two touch pads, giving greater control over those parameters, and added an option to bounce the modulation up and down or scroll it completely. The Komplete Kontrol software is included with whatever keyboard you choose, giving you a search engine to quickly group and find all of the instruments that you need in whatever Komplete family you need.
