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ALM has introduced Stem Ripper, a compact 8-channel audio recorder that’s designed to let you do ‘full patch recording’, without the need for external hardware.

Patch stems are recorded directly to a micro SD card which can then be transferred to a computer to mix, edit or archive patches.

Each input is recorded as an individual track in a 16 bit 44.1kHz multichannel date-stamped WAV file. Record time is limited only by SD Card size.

Two additional tracks within the output WAV contain a configurable stereo mix down of the inputs.

The module has large 20Vpp per input headroom with LED clip indication if exceeded.

An optional 2HP ‘Thru’ output expander duplicates the 8 inputs to a row of unbuffered outputs, eliminating the potential need for stacking patch cables.

A 64Gb SD card is included with the unit.

Features:

• Simple quick full patch audio recording.
• 8 independent 16 bit 44.1kHz audio tracks.
• Direct recording to a micro SD card with recording time limited only by SD card size.
• Multichannel WAV file output for easy drag and drop functionality.
• Additional fixed stereo mix tracks with configurable levels.
• Accurate automatic date stamping of recordings with battery backed clock.
• 20 Vpp headroom per input with LEDs for clip indication and recording status.
• Optional ’Thru’ expander that allows signal to pass unbuffered through the Stem Ripper.
• Up to 1Tb sized SD cards supported.
• Skiff friendly with reverse power protection.
• 2 Year Warranty.

The ALM Stem Ripper is available now, priced at $375.

Composer + synthesist Marius Leicht shared this live performance of Nachtblau, featuring the sound of the Oberheim Matrix 1000 synthesizer.

“The piece Nachtblau has gone full circle,” he notes. “I originally wrote it as a synthesizer piece, when I got GForce Software’s Oberheim Eight Voice emulation, OB-E for review.”

“While recording my first solo album, Weltmaschine, I transformed it into a piano piece and recorded it with Nils Frahm’s Zwicki Piano at his studio in Funkhaus, Berlin.”

“As there is not always a piano available when I play live shows, I rarely played that piece on stage. But since it gets requested a lot, I now went on to create a sound on my Oberheim Matrix 1000 which can be played very nuanced in dynamics and color, so I can do this expressive piece justice.”

In the video, the Open Reel Ensemble, a Japanese band known for their use of open-reel recordings to create music, performs with bowed audio tape.

This is a trio performance on the “JIGAKKYU,” a traditional folk instrument, made by stretching magnetic tape across bamboo. Tape loops are attached to a bamboo bow, which is used to control how the tape moves through a reel-to-real tape deck.

The track is composed by the Open Reel Ensemble (Ei Wada, Haruka Yoshida and Masaru Yoshida).