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

Critter and Guitari looks to carve out a niche in the standalone music production space.

Critter and Guitari has introduced 5 Moons, a mobile multi-track recorder and looper. It is designed to be simple, easy to use and portable.

5 Moons could be the wooden multitrack recorder and looper that is missing from your life. This unassuming wooden box is in fact a five-channel multitrack recorder with looping and bounce-down functions. So, although you can use it in a linear manner if you wish, the real creative boon might come when you start looping and layering.

There is no screen – just plug in, hit the record button and you’re off. Once you’ve created five tracks you can bounce these down to a single track in a new song, giving you a further four tracks to work with. Bounce down again and you’ve got another four tracks; you can repeat this process as many times as you like, effectively giving you an infinite number of tracks.

A USB-C port provides power and data transfer, and controls comprise just volume sliders, some buttons and a master output knob. An 8GB microSD card contains the operating system and is used for storage – around 20 hours of recording time. Input is on 1/8-inch monophonic jack and the output is the same. Recordings are made at 16-bit/48kHz.

Features:

• Audio Input/Output:
  • 1/8″ Monophonic Audio Input
  • 1/8″ Monophonic Audio Output
• Five Track Volume Sliders
• Master Output Volume Potentiometer
• Audio Format:
  • Record Sample Rate: 48KHz
  • Record Bit Depth: 16-bit
• Included Storage:
  • An 8GB microSD card holds the operating system and audio storage.
  • There is ~7GB for available for audio storage.
• This is about 20 hours total record time.

5 Moons is available now for $325.

Roland has announced that its Jupiter-4, Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 synth plugins have been updated to version 2.0. Vintage instrument emulations promise to look better than before but sound more analogue than ever.

Roland’s updated Jupiter-4, Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 plugins come with a Circuit Mod feature so you can play at being a synth technician.

The new features are common to all three instruments, starting with the refined interfaces. The newly developed high-res GUIs promise to look great on bigger screens, and layouts have been refined to create a more “seamless” experience.

The browsers have also been changed; you can now search and rate sounds across every installed patch bank, including the all-new bank of fresh tones that each synth comes with. And, each browser has an integrated Tweak Panel, so you can customise sounds right there.

And most intriguingly, you can take each of the three synths to the ‘mod shop’. This gives you virtual access to the internal trim controls that technicians used to tweak the analogue components of vintage Roland synths when they went out of spec.

Though you don’t experience these sorts of ‘problems’ with the digital emulations, but as Roland points out, ‘out of spec’ can mean a different kind of sound that some people find desirable.

Now, using its ACB technology, the company has introduced a Circuit Mod function that enables you to sweep through multiple trims using a macro control. Coupled with the Condition parameter, which simulates the effects of ageing, this means that you can make your synth sound like it is fresh out of the factory.

Jupiter-4, Jupiter-8 and Juno-106 version 2.0 are available to all Pro and Ultimate subscribers to the Roland Cloud or for $199 each if you want a Lifetime Key. Find out more on the Roland website.

MOD Audio, the company formerly known as MOD Devices, has announced the release of AIDA-X, an AI neural model player developed in partnership with AIDA DSP. AIDA-X adds to the quality of the MOD Audio ecosystem with neural amp models that have been trained on high-quality audio data, giving musicians the dynamic response and sound they expect from a real guitar amp.

With AIDA-X, musicians can easily load and play a wide range of amp models, and carry an unlimited number of realistic-sounding amplifiers – all inside the portable MOD Dwarf. Additionally, AIDA-X offers a flexible set of controls for the modeled amps, so that it’s easier to craft the perfect tone.

A simplified training process allows users to capture their own physical gear and share these models with the community. Professionally curated models of iconic amplifiers will also be released soon together with AIDA DSP, providing users with a broad collection of plug-and-play sounds.

In addition to being an important part of the MOD platform, AIDA-X is also available both as a plugin and standalone version for any DAW. Model files for AIDA-X can be loaded in all versions of the software, providing a “seamless experience” at home, in the studio or onstage.

Alongside the release of AIDA-X, MOD Audio advances with the development of the MOD Assistant, an AI-based tool that provides tone suggestions to guitarists, subsidized by a German innovation program. The MOD Community already has access to a beta version and is helping to improve it with valuable feedback. The incorporation of Neural Models in the repertoire of the MOD Assistant will be the next stage.

“We’re thrilled to bring AIDA-X to the market and see the incredible potential it holds for the future” said Gianfranco Ceccolini, Co-Founder and CEO of MOD Audio. “With its advanced AI processing and cross-platform compatibility, we believe AIDA-X lifts the MOD platform to a new level, with incredibly good sounding gear modelling powered by strong community exchange of models”

AIDA-X is available for free for the MOD Dwarf and as a free plugin for computer users, via the MOD Audio website. There is also a browser-based version for testing, and discussion and support in the neural category on the MOD Audio forum.