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The Tascam Mixcast 4 Podcast Workstation looks like a modern-day Portastudio; – a home recording studio for the internet generation.

The new Mixcast 4 is designed not just for podcast creation but also live streaming, event production and voiceover work, this enables you to mix and record multiple audio sources to SD card, and comes with its own companion software editing app so that you don’t have to go anywhere near a DAW.

There are four TRS/XLR combo jack mic inputs and four headphone outputs – ideal for roundtable podcasts with multiple participants. Auto-mixing functionality means that levels are set for you, and a 5-inch colour touchscreen enables you to dive into menus and adjust settings.

In addition, there are eight customizable sound pads that can be used to trigger preset effects and sounds, so that you can add interest to your recordings. The Mixcast 4 also functions as a 14-in/2-out USB audio interface, while Bluetooth connectivity makes it easy for you to record phone calls or background music from paired devices.

You can also plug your phone in via one of the four stereo line inputs, which can accept instruments, too. Other connectivity options include a front top panel 3.5mm TRRS headphone out that can mirror the output of headphone 1, stereo 1/4-inch TRS main monitor outputs and a 3.5mm stereo line out.

The companion Tascam Podcast Editor software, meanwhile, is designed to offer simple audio editing, track arming, and the ability to configure and assign sound effects and background music to the pads. It promises full integration with the Mixcast 4 hardware, and runs on Windows, macOS and iOS. An Android version is in the works, too.

The Tascam Mixcast 4 Podcast Station is now available. Find out more on the Tascam website.

SuperBooth 2021 is set to go ahead as a physical event for the first time since 2019, taking place this September from the 15^th-18^th at FEZ-Berlin.

Following last year’s cancellation, the Berlin-based synth exhibition and trade show returns with a Safety First Edition. The event will be running at reduced capacity and located across four stages, adding two new venues, the Fuchsbau and the Finnhütten, where techno label and nightclub Tresor will be hosting a stage.

A host of manufacturers will be represented at the exhibition, including Korg, Moog, Novation, Sequential and Arturia. The program features a variety of workshops, presentations, and talks, on top of concerts from the Modular Synthesizer Ensemble, Pole and Yann Tiersen, who will be premiering his new album, “Kerber”.

Those unable to attend in person will be able to live-stream a number of talks, concerts and presentations remotely.

Watch Superbooth founder HerrSchneider introduce the program, or learn more on their website.

Swiss-based music software company Samplab has introduced Samplab, a plugin that lets you edit and rearrange pitches in polyphonic audio samples.

Could the power of AI give you Melodyne-style editing for nothing?

Here’s what the developers say about the plugin:

“When you drag and drop an audio file into the plugin, it is sent to our server for processing. Once this is completed, you recieve the result with all the notes in the audio separated. In order to edit the notes, we generate a MIDI file that you can drag into the Samplab track.

From now on, the plugin acts like a virtual instrument: It gets the MIDI events as input from your DAW and plays the (edited) notes. If you don’t make any changes to the MIDI, the result should sound the same as the original audio. Of course, you can also just use the MIDI file for other things.”

Yesteryear, the idea that you could one day be able to edit the individual notes in a polyphonic audio sample seemed like a pipedream. Then Melodyne Direct Note Access technology came along, providing exactly that kind of functionality. Now, thanks to the power of AI, Samplab puts this functionality into a free plugin.

Though it is not as sophisticated as Melodyne, but the Samplab demo is still very impressive.

Import a sample into one of your DAW’s audio tracks, open the plugin on a MIDI track and then drag the sample into it. The individual notes are then displayed in your piano roll ready for editing.

As processing is done on the Samplab server, therefore, it requires an internet connection to work. Samplab is currently limited to editing samples with a maximum of 127 notes. Though only short samples can be separated, but the developers say that they are working on adding support for longer audio files.

Samplab runs in VST/AU formats on Windows and Mac, and is available now as a free download from the Samplab website.