Gearwire Gossip

The Wavedrum was one unique instrument that had a cult following during its heyday in the 90s. Bringing back the nostalgia with a today's updated technology, the Korg Wavedrum WD-X has been sighted in Japan alongside the SV-1 and the microSAMPLER.  

Word on the street is Korg is issuing a new stage piano modeled after vintage electronic keyboard instruments. Vintage aesthetics meets vintage and modern sounds through the Korg SV1.  

Keyboard Wizard is such a site that's fun to play with, mess around, and be shocked at what Jordan Rudess can do. Time for you to do your fair share of wizardry via the Keyboard Wizard Contest if you want to get an Asus Notebook and other goodies for free.  

Those of you who have been watching out news about the Fairlight CMI 30A are in for a treat. Peter Vogel had begun revealing some insights about this 30th Anniversary Edition release.  

The Fairlight CMI was proclaimed as the first sampling synthesizer in history. After 30 years since the inception of the CMI Series I, Fairlight has just put out a site dedicated to the new Fairlight CMI 30A in commemoration of its 30th Anniversary, which is bound to make this a highly anticipated release.  

Got the chops, the power, the time-keeping precision, and the musicality behind the kit yet still unknown and undiscovered? Challenge yourself and set your goals high up into drum stardom by competing in the Guitar Center Drum Off '09.  

Two heads are better than one, so they say. In recognition of this fact, Native Instruments announced its partnership with Scarbee to make Scarbee brand instruments more available.  

There will come a time when "micronization" will be a thing of the past and the trend shifts to implanted electronic devices. The Jim Mielke Digital Tattoo Interface enables control of Bluetooth devices right under your skin, including musical ones.  

Guitar Center has made the announcement of the return of their contest called The King Of The Blues. Do you have juice enough to go after it? Find out by reading this.  

In a radical twist, Native Instruments proclaims that they will no longer participate in trade shows. Why so? Read more to find out.  

M-Audio and N2IT are taking their problems to court. N2IT, a Holland-based company, is suing M-Audio for technologies that went into Torq, which they claim violates a patent they've held. So long as they're not all hopped up on hash and windmill fumes, this could mean trouble for M-Audio . . . and yes, that is Judge Reinhold.  

They said it couldn't be done, but Yi-Luen Tan has finally designed the perfect half-upside down guitar. With tuners where the sun don't shine, this wood creation looks good, but is it's beauty only surface deep?  

MIT Media Lab student Amit Zoran has designed The Chameleon Guitar, an instrument that combines acoustic resonance with digital processing for a warm, natural woody sound that can be manipulated beyond its physical limits. I guess those geniuses over at MIT are pretty smart after all.  

Amin Bhatia began writing music for Toto before moving on to a successful film and television scoring career. For the past several years, however, he has been developing a project with a scope of vast historical proportions.  

In a move only promising to fellow bloggers, Music Thing shuts down after over four years as operator Tom Whitwell has accepted a very prestigious role with The Times online. Music Thing, undoubtedly, will be missed.  

Bill Holland might not review everything that came into Gearwire.com this year, but there are a few things that did leave a lasting impression. 2008 was a crazy year, and there's no way in hell he could have digested it all in one sitting.  

While it's hard to deny the iconic status that Gibson's guitars enjoy, and the high-regard in which they're rightfully held by many a guitarist, it's not often we musicians think about Gibson the company. Behind the name and storied history, Gibson is simply a corporation and an employer just like yours. . . unless you actually like your employer, that is. In that case, Gibson is nothing like your employer.  

Are you stuck on an isolated island / have paralyzing agoraphobia, but are just silly with half-baked musical ideas that scream for external input? Minimum Noise (minimumnoise.com) is a new website that's hosting a global music mixer in an attempt to foster creative competition. Plus, there's money in it.  

The behemoth that owns the Mackie, Ampeg, Alvarez, Crate, Tapco and EAW brands (among others) has made an announcement that sounds like an ominous bellwether for companies that rely heavily on Chinese manufacturing. Loud Technologies, Inc. has announced that it's going to have to try and find a new supplier for their Chinese-made products, as their key supplier suddenly shut down production back in August.  

As much as you may like your pedalboard, it'd make a pretty terrible pillow. Luckily for you, Softmachines allows you to rest your head on your dream gear with their new line of gear shaped pillows.  

Since Bill Holland's current Steampunk obsession seems to be taking over his life these days, Gearwire decided to let him vent a little of that "steam." While surfing on the internet during a coffee break the other day, he came across a wonderful work of circuitry in wood and brass.  

With Dr. Pepper's promises of free cola for all Americans pending the release of Chinese Democracy crashing down like it was 1991 all over again for Axl Rose, it appears the veteran rocker will finally get his come uppance. It just goes to show, never trust doctors.  

Based on computer calculated essences of songs, mufin (which stands for MUsic FINder) presents you with a songs you might like based on other songs you do like. It's not the first discovery engine, but it does have some uniqueness to it.  

For those couples looking for a truly unique way of commemorating their day-of-union, jewelry artist Sakurako Shimizu presents the Waveform Wedding band, a pair of matrimonial rings featuring waveforms of the betrothed saying "I do." If things don't work out, the bands' waveforms' represented sounds can always be reverse-engineered and analyzed to see which party didn't really mean it.  

Seems like the Winter NAMM rumor-mill starts earlier and earlier every year, doesn't it? Already there's murmurs on ye olde web threads about a 1200-watt Genz-Benz Shuttle head that weighs under 7 lbs. Who would start a nasty rumor like that, I ask you?  

Have you ever wondered what Pikachu would look like if he were possessed by the dark lord Satan? Turns out, "a little like Hellraiser" is the answer. If you want to hear what he sounds like. . .  

Do you live in Brooklyn? Here's a simple way to find out!

Q: How ya doin'?

A) I'm doing swell, thanks!
B) "I'd be lying if I said my life was perfect before my cheeks started melting, but it was better than this."
C) How ya doin'?

If you answered "C," then congratulations. You ARE from Brooklyn, and if you're here at Gearwire, perhaps you're interested in EtsyLabs class on making your very own Junk Guitar.

 

It looks like Tascam GigaStudio and related products will not live to see 2009. Reports indicate that Tascam's Marketing Manager has confirmed that the GigaStudio line is already finished in terms of development and sales and support are scheduled to stop by year's end.  

The increasingly avuncular Peter Gabriel has announced the beta launch of a website called -- simply and somewhat ominously -- "The Filter." Gabriel promises that the site will make it easier for people to discover new music by limiting your listening choices.  

Remember when we were warning against the auto-update to OS X 10.5.2 a few weeks ago? Well, guess what. . . you can revert to your usual blind adherence to everything Apple; 10.5.3 fixes all your audio problems! Sort of.