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

More proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks – LFOstore has released Organica – a new collection of original “organic & unearthly sounds” for the Korg M1, M1R and M1 VST synthesizers.

The sound library showcases both the capabilities and limitations of the Korg M1, and offers a modern alternative to the well-worn original presets.

“We made a challenge to ourselves,” note the developers, “and made analog style patches, with modern vision, and also re-created classic ambient sounds.”

Organica features 100 patches, including:

• Atmospheric & evolving pads
• “Bright, powerful” strings
• Re-creations of famous synth sounds
• Plucks with deep reverbs
• Basses & Leads

Organica is available now for €25.

A sneak preview of the new Audio Enjoyer XR-1 groovebox, which will debut at Machina Bristronica, a ‘festival of knobs’, scheduled for Sept 30th, 2023 in Bristol.

What the developer say about it:

“This is a prototype of the xr-1, a digital drum machine, sampler, and synthesizer. It’s powered by the Teensy 4.1 microcontroller.

It’s a 909 style sequencer (a step can be off, on, or accented), with 16 banks, 16 patterns per bank, 16 tracks per pattern, and a max of 64 steps per track.

There are 4 performance modes (tap, mute, solo, ratchet) and a song arrangement mode.

It has stereo in/out (usb audio in the future). It has 5-pin DIN MIDI I/O, 4 pairs of CV/gate outputs (really 8x CV outs with 0V to +10V range).

A micro SD card is used to store/recall audio samples and project data. Samples can be mono RAW or stereo WAV files. Mono samples can be looped.

There are 16 sample voices available, and 4 voices which can be used as synthesizer voices.

I currently only have a simple 2-oscillator subtractive synthesizer right now. More will be added later.

It has a capacitive touch keyboard which is useful for assigning notes to steps, playing while jamming, performing with ratchets at various beat divisions.

Details are still to be announced.

UJAM has introduced Usynth PIXEL, a new software synth that’s inspired by the sounds of vintage arcade games.

“At UJAM, many of us are passionate gamers who hold a deep appreciation for the iconic soundtracks of the 90s, from classics like Tekken and Donkey Kong to Monkey Island and Zelda,” notes PIXEL co-creator Peter Gorges. “These soundtracks continue to be performed live by orchestras worldwide, and the composers behind them are revered as true legends. We had the privilege of collaborating with one of these legends, the brilliant David Wise. Together, we’ve crafted Usynth PIXEL, a musical tool that allows you to infuse your compositions with the distinctive essence of a 90s video game console.”

Features:

• Retro game multi-synthesis engine
• 100 Synthesizer Presets
• 100 Global Presets
• 30 versatile Sequencer Presets with 180 phrases

Usynth PIXEL is now available for € /$ 79 in VST 2, AU 2 and AAX formats.