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

DAW not doing it for you? Cantor is a free “music playground” for looping, sampling and sound design software. A self-contained app that can be used for improvising, jamming and performing.

Developer Jonatan Krogh says that he’s been working on Cantor, his free “music playground”, for 10 years, but only now is he ready to release version 1.0. It looks like it might have been worth the wait, though, because this currently MacOS-exclusive app (A Windows version is in development) packs in a whole lot of functionality.

Although not a DAW in the traditional sense, Cantor enables you to make music across eight stereo looping tracks. There are built-in synths, plus VST/AU plugin support so that you can bring in your own third-party instruments. The Quick Sampler enables you to capture incoming sound and map it to your keyboard, and loop lengths can run to minutes if you wish.

Cantor also offers 32 effects that you can combine across eight processors. And, because all sync and quantization options are defined as fractions, you should easily be able to generate polyrhythms.

On the recording side, your entire session can be captured with a single button press, while multitrack recording is also available. All loops can instantly be bounced down, too.

Cantor is funded exclusively by donations, so if you do like the look of it, you might want to think about handing over some money. More details and the free download can be found on the Cantor website.

Developer Cem Olcay has released BounceBud, a physics-based MIDI generator app for Mac and iOS.

BounceBud is a physics-based, generative MIDI sequencer. Each side of the app has a customizable keyboard that sends a MIDI note when a ball collides with its key. You can specify the ball count, speed and size on the main screen with the knob controls.

In the settings menu, you can set the key/scale, velocity range, octave. range and MIDI channel settings of the keyboards.

You can also specify the notes individually per keyboard. All keyboards share the same key/scale that could also be changed with BrainBud.

Each keyboard has its own MIDI output, so you can play different audio apps with BounceBud. Or you can disable the keyboard sides you don’t want to use.

With a MIDI input (from a MIDI keyboard or a MIDI sequencer app) you can ‘shoot walls’ from the keyboards. Balls can interact with the walls and it introduce more randomness to your generative sequence. You can control each keyboard by assigning them different MIDI input channels in the settings menu.

In addition, you can toggle the ball collision behavior in the settings menu. Whether balls can collide with each other or not, it creates different sequences every time.

The size variety and ball variety can be change in the ball settings section in the settings menu. It adds randomization to the size and speed values.

*Note: BounceBud is a MIDI app and it does not produce any sound on its own. You need to route BounceBud’s MIDI outs to your audio app’s MIDI input. The AUv3 plugin app needs an AUv3 host app such as AUM, Loopy Pro, Logic Pro, Cubasis, Nanostudio, apeMatrix etc.

BounceBud is available now for $4.99.

JoMoX – Berlin synth maker announced today that they are now shipping the Mod FM synthesizer, an analog/digital hybrid that combines FM synthesis with analog filters and VCAs.

The JoMoX Mod FM, originally introduced at Superbooth 2021, is an 8-voice multi-timbral FM synth in Eurorack format.

It provides 4 Operators and 2 LFOs/VCOs per voice. Additionally, it has 2 analog filters and analog VCAs per voice. Each voice has own CV/Gate inputs and an individual output. There is a mix output which separates even and odd voices. Here you can mix internal effects, like delay and reverb, to the stereo output signal.

The ‘best of both worlds’ approach means that you can combine FM sounds with analog filters, save patches and control the synth using MIDI or CV/Gate signals.

Features:

• 8 voices fully multi-timbral FM synth
• 4 operators per voice
• Full modulation matrix / 26 algorithms
• 2 LFO/VCOs per voice
• CV/Gate per voice
• CV modulation inputs per operator
• Outputs for each voice plus mix out
• True audio FM modulation inputs
• True analog filters per voice
• 24db low pass
• 12dB multimode LP/BP/HP cont. shape
• True analog VCAs per voice
• Midi TRS type A
• USB C device
• Digital reverb, 2x stereo delay
• Full storeability, also CV amounts
• 128 presets, 118 multi sets
• 2x 128x64px OLED displays

The JoMoX Mod FM synthesizer is available now price at € 999.00.