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

Developer Rupert Renevier let us know about Pipo Interfaces, a new set of open source MIDI controllers that turn sensor data into wireless MIDI or OSC signals.

Pipo modules are plug-and-play, standalone boards that can be used independently or together, wired or wirelessly. They share many core features: an onboard lithium battery charger, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, a USB Type-C port, and practical mounting holes.

There are currently three Pipo module designs:

• Pipo Motion allows you to trigger actions using its spatial orientation, acceleration, taps, or vibrations.
• Pipo Range can be used for distance sensing and object detection. It can sense hands (like a theremin) or detect bigger objects like walls, obstacles, or people up to a few meters away.
• Pipo Analog is the ‘Swiss army knife’ of the family. Using standard Grove-type connectors, any signal between 3.3 and 12 V can be used with your Pipo-based project, making it compatible with a long list of existing sensors made for Arduino. The capacitive touch inputs let you create buttons using various common conductive materials or objects: wires, metallic tape, vegetables, conductive paint…or anything else you can imagine.

What Renevier has to say about Pipo:

“Pipo is a collection of three modules aimed at enabling dynamic, live interaction with audiovisual and music software. They turn sensors into standard input devices—in seconds.

Pipo supports MIDI, OSC, and USB HID protocols, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of computing platforms.

The Pipo ecosystem offers a versatile platform for exploring alternative inputs for everything from music to gaming. It provides a configurable open-source sensor solution with a simple browser-based interface.

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, you’ll find a reason to love Pipo—it gives superpowers to creatives and is a time-saving, feature-rich solution for makers.”

Details on pricing and availability are to come. You can sign up for notifications on Renevier’s project page.

Eternal Engine Electronic Music Instruments shared this brief demo of the MARS Polyphonic Tube Synthesizer, before shipping it out.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

“MARS – the first polyphonic synthesizer based on vacuum tubes. The power and flexibility of oscillators based on the famous R-2R DAC TDA1387, combined with the original fully tube audio path based on the APPARATUS synthesizer circuit, allow you to create a wide range of sounds from punchy aggressive FM leads and acid basslines to soft classic pads and strings.

The synthesizer supports full software control and easily integrates into any DAW using the original plugin. All synthesizers are assembled by hand and produced in limited quantities.”

Specifications:

• Compact RACK format, 5 units high
• Fully tube audio path based on the APPARATUS synthesizer
• Four oscillators operating in modes: BASIC (Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Fixed Pulse Width 1/2, 1/4, 1/8); PULSE; ENSEMBLE and Noise with Hi-Pass and Low-Pass filters
• Voltage-controlled tube filter of the second order with self-oscillation with overload
• Voltage-controlled amplifier, following the traditional architecture of tube opto compressors
• Triode asymmetric overdrive
• Indicator based on Nixie lamps
• Full software control using the plugin
• Four channels of 4xCV and Gate for integration with Eurorack format synthesizers
• External Input for processing the audio signal of external audio devices
• Two HADSR envelope generators with pre-delay and multiple retriggers
• Sub-audio frequency generator LFO with restart and synchronization Clock, smooth waveform transition sawtooth-triangle-sawtooth, pulse-square-pulse, as well as Sample & Hold and Noise with reconfigurable Hi-Pass and Low-Pass filters
• Auto and continuous modes of portamento / legato
• Mono, duo, and 4-voice polyphony modes
• Flexible 4-channel modulation matrix
• Plugin for integration with DAW
• PC connection with galvanic isolation

Audio Demos:

The Eternal Engine EMI MARS Polyphonic Tube Synthesizer is available now for $2,199.

Native Instruments heads east for Scene: Lotus, its latest cinematic instrument

Having launched its new Scenes series with Scene: Saffron, a quick route for composers to find lush atmospheres with rich textures constructed from strings, synths, brass, and beyond, NI is now travelling to the far east for Scene: Lotus, a new instrument inspired by the sounds of Japan.

Once again, configured as a one-stop route to a ‘cinematic sound’, Lotus features new breathy shakuhachi and hichiriki alongside other timeless instruments from Japan such as the delicate plucks of the koto, all teamed with orchestral swells and radiant synths.

Native Instruments has been working hard to simplify its offerings and the Scenes series is its current roadmap for delivering keenly priced, powerful ‘instruments’ made up of hybrid synth and samples that focus on specific sonic duties – most specifically delivering instant, production-ready sounds built from multiple sources, delivered under one simple interface.

In the background there’s Native Instruments’ long-established sampling and sample manipulation skills of their Kontakt standard plus the synth-and-sequencer construction kit power of their Reaktor engine, but you don’t need to know that… Instead Scenes act as standalone instruments, appearing as instrument plugins, easily assignable to a track in your DAW then instantly producing sounds that sound like you’ve spent weeks building them.

All their power is kept neatly behind the scenes, with simple and intuitive controls and an X/Y pad allowing players to fine tune and perfect their sound to perfectly fit its purpose and then automate and animate the performance as it plays.

And with 16 hybrid sound layers and effects there’s plenty to play with inside Scene: Lotus. Lotus’s tuning modes keep its output perfectly in key with your choice of scales and modes while composers morph between textures and effects for evolving soundscapes that transition from serene to intense.

Native Instruments promises it’s the perfect way to achieve ambiences that are ready-to-go for film scoring, game soundtracks and music production.

Scene: Lotus is available now for $29 / €29. Find out more at Native instruments site.