Pricing Details for Korg Volca Series

So after word that the Korg Volca series of grooveboxes is a real product, we now have pricing info via Peter Kirn over at Create Digital Music.  Apparently they'll retail for only $149 a piece.  At that price, I think Korg is going to have trouble keeping these on the shelves when they're released in July.

U-he Flirts with the Hardware World?

Very interesting!

[via Sonicstate]

Studio Electronics Introduces Boomstar Series

Yesterday, Studio Electronics announced the latest in their line of analog synths, the Boomstar series. The synths all share the same two oscillator architecture, but each one has a unique filter. The filters are emulations of the filters from the Arp 2600, Oberheim SEM, Minimoog, and Roland TB-303. Each retails for $799.

Propellerheads Announce Reason 6.5, Rack Extensions

Propellerheads have just announced Reason 6.5, which includes a feature called Rack Extensions. These are essentially "plug-ins" that are developed specifically for Reason, extending the sonic palette of the program significantly. Few details have come out just yet, but we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

Propellerheads also announced the release of Figure, an mobile OS app...

Update: The update will be a free one to registered Reason 6 users. David Spiers of Gforce has dropped hints that Gforce will be developing a Rack Extension or two...

Yes, Please

Sonic State Looks at the Korg Monotribe

Monotribe Analog Ribbon Station Announced

After the disappointing details of Roland's Jupiter-80 leaked out, it's nice to see that there is still a major synth manufacturer willing to do something different. Korg announced the product on its page today and it looks like another winner! (UPDATE: Looks like Korg took the page down. I expect it will be back when the formal announcement is made...)

The Monotribe appears to be a slightly expanded Monotron (it adds selectable waveforms), as well as channels for "noise", bass drum, snare drum, and highhats, all attached to a MIDI-syncable step sequencer.

If this is priced reasonably, these things are going to fly off the shelves.

Will the Real Roland Jupiter-80 Please Stand Up?

(Click picture to enlarge)

So yesterday's post about the upcoming Roland Jupiter-80 was obviously a joke. But as it turns out, details about the real deal have leaked, mostly by way of a scan from an upcoming issue of Keyboard magazine.

Disappointingly, it appears this is just another case of Roland bastardizing the name of one of its legendary synths as a marketing gimmick. The latest is that the Jupiter-80 will be a performance-oriented synth combining sampled sounds and physical modeling. Apparently, the sampled sounds, which Roland is referring to as "SuperNatural" are aimed at replicating the performance techniques of real-world, acoustic instruments via normal keyboard playing.

Obviously, this seems to be aimed at live performers, but can enough of them afford $4,000 for a workstation that doesn't even have a sequencer? I guess time will tell. Here's hoping the Korg Monotribe doesn't turn out to be a similar disappointment.

[via Gearslutz]

Rhizome - Awesome Groove Machine

Via Ihavesynth:

Musicmesse turned out to be a lot more exciting than NAMM was. This was one of the coolest of the new products they rolled out, in my opinion. How fun does this thing look?

Elektron Demos Prototype of Octatrack

Via gear4music1:

Korg Introduces Tiny New ANALOG Synth

Video via Moogulator

Musikmesse is already looking a bit more interesting than NAMM was.  Check this out, for example.  The first new analog synth from Korg since... well, a really long time.  Called the Monotron, it actually contains the same filter as Korg's famous MS-10/MS-20.  There's not much control as far as programming goes, but the fact that it's about the size of an iPhone and is kind of an odd product almost ensures this will become a mandatory part of indie hipster bands everywhere.

And be sure to check out Synthtopia's excellent coverage of Musicmesse for more news...

Cool Hexagonal Modular Synth at Musicmesse

(Picture by Sequencer.de)

As you may or may not know, Musicmesse (the European equivalent of NAMM) has been going on this week. There hasn't been too much announced that has really set my socks on fire, but this innovative approach to modular synthesis from Klangwabe looks promising. Info is pretty hard to come by, though. Anyone have any details?