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

Today, Bitwig has announced a sizeable point update, adding a range of new drum instruments, a playful and creative sequencer, an all-new Master Recording section and support for Windows on ARM. There’s also a glut of speed improvements, in tandem with the swift auto-configuring of any external hardware. Nice.

Bitwig Studio adds an impressive amount of new stuff for a mere point update, and there’s rather a lot to unpack – so let’s take it one section at a time. Firstly, the headline here is those 25 new drum devices. These are organised into three distinct groups (or ‘families’).

There’s the 808-inspired set (v8) a 909-leaning collection (v9) and a lovely smattering of wonky and weird digital drum synths (v0). Bitwig say that these new instruments – though partly inspired by the legendary Roland beat behemoths – are laden with new possibilities via expanded parameters and (as with everything in Bitwig’s universe) vaster modulation options.

The v8 family
The 808-inspired v8 range consists of ten devices which include v8 Kick, v8 Snare, and v8 Tom alongside some of the characteristic percussion instruments its inspiration sported (think maracas and cowbells!). Greater colouration and edit-ability beyond the original hardware instrument’s singular tone control is granted, of course! As Bitwig state, this allows users to ‘break past the familiar’.

The v9 family
Bitwig’s spin on the 909, the v9 family spans nine devices that encompass all the instruments found on the 1983 original. These include the open and closed hats to v9 Rides, v9 Crashes and many more.

The v0 family
The v0 family is a little more tricky to get a handle on, but Bitwig say that this family collates six ‘digital mavericks’. These are grouped together as the v0 Kick, Zap Kick, Tom, Snare, Hat and Cymbal.

These reflect a more outside-the-box approach to digital drum synthesis (such as detuned oscillator banks, FM and physical models and harmonic filters). These kits can sound quite unlike anything else, basically – or they can sound incredibly tactile and acoustic. Just tweak those parameters and see where it takes you…

Stepwise Sequencer
Freshly introduced with this update is Stepwise. This is a note device that takes familiar pattern sequencing in – what Bitwig describe – ‘a playful and fun direction’. Essentially, eight rows trigger different notes, with steps set to either off, normal, or accented.

All these rows can play at 16 steps long and move forward at 16th notes. “Or not…” Bitwig say, “switch a row to follow eighth notes, or maybe triplets. Use

the global groove for some lanes, or Offset others to give a little wonk. And with independent Length for each lane, drifting patterns and polyrhythms are ready before you modulate anything.” Sounds fun – we’re looking forward to getting hands-on.

The Master Recording section
A Master Recording section has now been added to Bitwig Studio’s Transport header. This features a meter of the outgoing level and a ‘Record’ button. Essentially, this makes it possible to capture whatever is going on at that moment in time regardless of whether the project transport is playing, potentially being hugely useful for seizing on spontaneous performances and keeping them going in tandem with Bitwig’s Sampler.

Windows on ARM support
The company have now made it possible to run Bitwig Studio natively on Windows on ARM, and the most impressive aspect is that even third-party plug-ins that haven’t been recompiled for ARM can run pretty seamlessly under emulation. A massive boon for those Windows-based producers who want to have the best of all worlds

Speed improvements and other additions
Bitwig have also shared that this new version will load significantly faster, with their ‘just-in-time’ compilation of instruments and FX, meaning that everything you fire-up will be on your screen and ready to go with impressive haste.

There’s also the software’s acknowledgement of previously used audio hardware, seamlessly switching between your toolkit as and when it detects a new input (which it can now auto-configure) You can personalise this via a dedicated editor, with customisations saved for each interface.

If you thought this was already quite a lot for a simple point update, there’s also a smattering of new Grid Modules, including a new analog style Freq Shift+ and a Pitch Shift with a phase control. Crikey…

The update is currently in beta but should drop for users before the end of the year. It will be a free upgrade to all license holders with an active Upgrade Plan. If you have a Producer or Essentials license then you will generously receive the all-new v8 drum family as well as the Stepwise Sequencer. For more info visit the Bitwig site.

Swedish synth maker Nyström Instruments has introduced the Crum Hum, described as a ‘generative, experimental soundscaping machine’.

Crum Hum is a 3-voice experimental and expressive soundscaping instrument with generative, ever evolving melodic and harmonic creation.

The official Crum Hum intro video:

Features:

• 3 melodic voices with expressive touch control
• 12 different Sound engines
• Generative & randomized melodic and chord generation
• 12 different Scales
• Delay, Reverb, Overdrive, LFO
• 5mm CV output
• 5mm Clock input
• Send and receive Midi sequencing and Midi CC.

The Nyström Instruments Crum Hum is expected to be available in Dec 2024, priced at €310 ex. VAT.

Today, Korg introduced the nanoKEY Fold, as its name suggests, a foldable MIDI control keyboard that’s designed to make it even smaller to fit in your pocket.

The Korg nanoKEY Fold is about the size of a smartphone when closed, but unfolds to offer a two octave range of silent membrane buttons with scalable velocity. In fact, we’re told that it’s designed to be ‘as mobile as your smartphone’.

It’s available in 5 colors: Black, Alpine Green, Lava Orange, Sand Beige and White.

Korg nanoKEY Fold Intro Video:

Taking design cues from the new wave of foldable phones, the nanoKey Fold genuinely can be transported in your pocket, ready to be unfurled whenever you need it. What’s up, the silent membrane keybed is said to be silent, so you won’t annoy your fellow passengers if you whip it out on a train or plane. You can adjust the velocity settings of the keyboard to suit your playing style.

The nanoKey Fold might be small, but Korg has still managed to pack in quite a few of the features that you’d hope to see on a full-sized contemporary keyboard. These include Scale and Chord modes – always useful for non-players – and an arpeggiator.

Although the midi keyboard controller has only 25 keys, you still have the option to split the keyboard and have each side operating independently, so you can play two parts at once.

The nanoKey Fold has both USB-C and TRS-MIDI outputs, and comes supplied with a TRS-to-MIDI DIN adapter. There’s no Bluetooth connectivity – a cost-saving measure, perhaps? – but the keyboard can be bus-powered over USB.

Key Features:

• Silent keybed – The membrane keyboard buttons have been designed to provide a comfortable action, with just the right amount of feel while remaining completely silent, so you can create music anytime, anywhere without disturbing those around you. Velocity can be customized to your feel with 13 different levels.
• Scale Guide – Choose from 15 built-in scales, and let the nanoKEY Fold LEDs guide your playing. “Easy Scale” mode ensures you play the right note with every key press. By assigning a scale to a touch slider you can easily play within the scale in new and creative ways.
• Chord mode – Chords can be automatically assigned to each key, based on the selected scale and key. Use it on its own or in combination with other modes.
• Flexible arpeggiator – The nanoKEY features a powerful built-in arpeggiator with a wide array of arpeggio types and rhythm patterns.
• Two touch sliders for performance and control – The touch slid ers that control Pitch and Modulation can be assigned to control specific CC values or directly play notes in the selected scale.
• Split function – This versatile function allows you to assign and play different modes for the left and right parts of nanoKEY Fold, allowing you to play your own combinations of chords, scales, and melody, or Control / Program changes.

The Korg nanoKEY Fold is available now for $119.99.