WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

IK Multimedia’s new Beat Machines is a nostalgic tour through analogue drum machine history, giving you the sounds of 100 classic boxes and more than 300 MIDI patterns to trigger them. It runs in both SampleTank 4 and the free-to-download SampleTank CS.

Beat Machines takes in everything from early Ace Tone devices to the obligatory TR-808 and 909 kits, while also encompassing more esoteric and lesser-known models and even a few modern offerings.

You get more than 200 kit presets to play with, all configured according to the General MIDI drum mapping standard, which should make it easy to mix and match kit components or to layer entire kits.

Additionally, there are loads of ‘single element’ presets, so you can easily use SampleTank 4’s Multi Mode to combine sounds. This mode also gives you access to five effect slots for each of the kit elements, and you can add a further five effects on the master bus.

All 100 drum machines are powered by round robin samples to aid authenticity, with SampleTank’s DRIFT algorithm adding even more analogue-style variation and vibe.

Beat Machines sound library for SampleTank 4 available now , it cost $80/€80.

Find out more on the IK Multimedia Music Products.

Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover plugin is now instantly free for everyone.

Previously available either for $49 or as a free download to anyone who was prepared to answer a questionnaire and thereafter wait 14 days.

Discover is designed to be an easy-to-use entry point into the world of orchestral composition. It features 33 instruments (these cover strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion) and 47 playing techniques, all mixed into a single signal.

The instrument offers simple controls and weighs in at just 200MB, though Spitfire claims that the sound is “remarkable” nonetheless.

“Our ambition for… Discover is that it becomes the absolute entry point for anybody wanting to discover orchestral music, with all of the instruments that you would need to create basic orchestrations, but with a very much reduced footprint and reduced articulations,” says Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson.

Available for PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats, BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover can be downloaded for free from the Spitfire Audio website. Anyone who has purchased Discover in the last month will receive a gift card to the value of $49/£49/€49, which can be redeemed by contacting Spitfire Audio’s customer service team.

The 001:model D, a new MIDI controller from Delta MIDI that promises to offer a 1:1 recreation of the classic Minimoog interface.

Minimoog is the most famous synth in history, so it is not surprising that it is one of the most frequently emulated in software. If you are looking for an authentic hands-on experience, try the 001:model D, a new MIDI controller offers a  1:1 recreation of the classic Minimoog interface.

The MIDI 001:model D is designed to work with the likes of the Arturia Mini V, Native Instruments Monark, UAD Minimoog and GForce Minimonsta. It features 21 analogue potentiometers, six six-stage knobs, 15 toggle switches, two lever switches and three LED indicators. That’s 44 controls in total.

In addition, there’s a sync button that will instantly transfer the settings, and a map button that enables you to change the MIDI channel and MIDI CC to ensure maximum compatibility.

001:model D can be powered over USB  and will be open-source, making it hackable. It’s based on the Arduino platform.

Available in black with gold-plated lettering, the MIDI 001:model D features three layers of fibreglass reinforced laminate and an additional sheet layer of aluminium. It is Eurorack-compatible and hand-assembled in Poland.

The MIDI 001:model D is currently on Kickstarter, with early-bird prices starting at £159/€188 and having an estimated delivery on November 2022.

Find out more on the Delta MIDI website.