Category Archive for Audio
June 18, 2004
Big Sound, Little Package
Seen recently on the wonderful Kevin Kelly -- Cool Tools blog is the iPAL:
This is a weatherized, rubber-coated radio/speaker that accepts an iPod (or any other music device with a mini-plug). The tiny PAL has an amazing rich and deep sound. You plug an iPod in, turn up the volume, and it uses its internal rechargeable battery to play your musical playlists longer than your iPod battery will last (I can get 8 hours on the PAL in one charge). Clear, marvelous sound from a small, rugged box that has survived rain and being dropped into a pool.
Posted by Turfdigger at 9:47 AM
January 27, 2004
Gotta Love Those Developers
Spied on the OSXAudio.com Forums...
Dent du Midi - MIDI File Converter for GarageBand
Dent du Midi is a drag-and-drop application that takes standard MIDI files and generates AIFF containers for each track which contains note data. These AIFF container files are suitable for dropping into Apple's GarageBand application for use as loops or entire tracks. In simple terms, this application allows you to convert MIDI files into GarageBand files.
Posted by Turfdigger at 2:31 PM
January 17, 2004
GarageBand Implications
Art, the creator of pHATmatik Pro comments on osxaudio.com forums about the ramifications of Apple's new iLife component, GarageBand:
Apple revolutionizes soundwareRead the complete thread here.I've been poking around those innocuous-looking .aif files in the GarageBand loops folder, and I've realized something... these are FAR more than simple ACID-type files or REX2 (or pHATfiles) which simply store transient, tempo and key information.
It appears the Apple Loop file format can store the following
1. A rendered version of the loop (what's in the standard aiff file, and and the reason you can load it into any application that supports aif)
2. Transient, key, and tempo information. (like ACID, Rex2 and pHATfiles)
3. The midi information used to create the loop.
4. The EXS patch used to create the loop (including samples, it appears, but I'm not sure) (!)
5. A 'channel preset' with effects settings for processing the loop.
What's the practical application of this?
Posted by Turfdigger at 5:13 PM
December 24, 2003
Winter Harvest
Back in June , I started major work on a CoreAudio MIDI XML patch name document for the Alesis D4 drum module. After working off and on these last several months, I have harvested the fruits of this labor. Now you can too.
Posted by Turfdigger at 4:12 AM
October 23, 2003
Chip Music - 8 Bit Better?
Malcolm McLaren writes about the 8-bit underground: Wired 11.11: 8-Bit Punk
Posted by Turfdigger at 6:15 PM
July 3, 2003
Rogue Amoeba Does It Again
The wacky developers over at Rogue Amoeba, makers of the super-duper mega-useful Audio Hijack and Audio Hijack Pro, have done it again with their release today of Detour. Detour is $12 shareware ($10 thru the end of July 2003.) Here's a bit from their press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 3rd, 2003
Rogue Amoeba Unveils Detour - Take A Different Path With Your Audio
Princeton, NJ - Rogue Amoeba Software is announcing the immediate availability of Detour, our newest audio utility for Mac OS X. Detour provides the ability to choose the audio output device and relative volume for all of your applications - a capability never before seen on OS X that will appeal to users of all types. From serious audio pros to the computer music lover in all of us, Detour provides the control over your sound that you've always wanted.
With Detour, you can send iTunes music and DVD Player sound to an external set of speakers or headphones while keeping noises from iChat and other programs coming out of the computer's smaller built-in speaker. Keep your music distraction-free and never again be jarred out of a groove session.
Detour can also be used to lower the volume of some applications relative to others. Even users with just one system output will benefit from Detour. Use Detour to lower the volume on your email notifications so they don't cut through music and movies - or selectively mute programs which insist on making noise you don't need to hear.
I own a license for Audio Hijack Pro and have found it to be an invaluable tool. I look forward to adding Detour to my OS X audio toolbox!
Posted by Turfdigger at 3:23 PM
June 29, 2003
Cherry Pickin'
Some months ago, I began the process of creating an XML patch listing for the Alesis D4 drum module; the D4 was not a device that shipped as a FreeMIDI preset, so it was not migrated over to the new XML .midnam format with the release of Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer 4 for OS X. I enjoy the added functionality of drum kit note name listings offered by dp4's drum editor, and there has been no easy way to get the note name info for each of the 61 notes in each of the D4's 21 drum kit presets. Overall, it has been an excruciatingly slow process involving the manual transcription of note names into a spreadsheet for reference and the subsequent entry of those note names into the .midnam file.
I've had this project on the shelf for over two months due to the tedium so inherent in a task of this nature, preferring in the meantime to scour the apparently meager online resources relating to this topic in search of an industrious developer who has already addressed this issue or at the very least, some sort of documentation of the note name information that could serve to eliminate the "turn knob, transcribe note name" workflow from this endeavor. At last, I found Cherry Picker. This bare-bones Cocoa app puts a GUI on the editing process and rather nicely allows for the creation and editing of both patch bank and drum kit note name listings. The note group functionality is not yet implemented, but existing note group data may be parsed and read. Cherry Picker can also read old-school FreeMIDI device name files, allowing for their easy migration over to the new XML .midnam format. This great little piece of freeware has eliminated a number of steps from my initial workflow, and I hope to have my D4.midnam file ready to go by the end of July. Thanks Cherry Picker!
UPDATE: I almost forgot, but another neat feature of this app is the ability to reference .mid files for auditioning patches. There are two popup menus that allow for the setting of MIDI input and output so that a short musical example may be played to audibly audition patches. Cool!!
Posted by Turfdigger at 11:27 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack