Audio > Features

Rick "Loop.pooL" Walker's shows veer from hypnotic to energizing to amusing in the space of a single minute. Follow along as he whips DayGlo orange plastic, bar glasses, vibrators, and digital electronics into a swirling cloud of sound. Includes nine MP3s.

tags: creativity, music, music composition, music technology

Audio > Features

One of the biggest hassles in the home studio has always been recording drums and percussion. DrumCore, the database of celebrity grooves you play like an instrument, aims to make building better drum tracks drag-and-drop simple. Is it the breakthrough songwriters have been waiting for? Producer Tim Tully digs deep.

tags: digital music, audio editing, computer music, drums

Audio > Features

The palm-size GT-R1 combines a 24-bit stereo WAV recorder with guitar effects, drum patterns, infinite overdubbing, and even a looper for practicing. "What we have here," says impressed reviewer Mark Nelson, "is a recorder that will make you a better musician."

tags: audio recording, music, review

Audio > Features

NI has fused six of its high-end synths and effects into a single "greatest hits" instrument and piled on an elegant hardware control surface. Kore 2 delivers the full sound of the component instruments in a streamlined package at a friendly price. Jochen Wolters dives deep and comes away impressed.

tags: digital music, music, music technology

Audio > Features

There are a whole lot of things that sound good the second you start making noise on them: Door springs. PVC pipes. Waterlogged Gertie balls. The Fat Man demonstrates how a DIY, Maker approach can help you find your signature sound.

tags: digital music, how-to, music, podcast

Audio > Features

Podcasting Tricks author (and former radio DJ) Daniel Steinberg checks out two compact, affordable ways to upgrade your sound: The Blue Snowflake USB microphone and the SM Pro Audio Mic Thing baffle. Hear the difference with the original WAV files.

tags: audio recording, noise reduction, podcasting, review

Audio > Features

As tiny as a pocket voice recorder but packing full-resolution WAV audio, the half-inch-thick Yamaha Pocketrak breaks new ground in sound and portability. Is this thumb-size studio right for you? Mark Nelson flips it open at an acoustic jam to find out.

tags: audio recording, podcasting, review

Audio > Features

In pop music, the beat is the foundation. And one of the fastest, easiest ways to build a beat is with a drum loop. But don't just settle for the loops everyone else is using. Jim Aikin demonstrates a variety of ways to customize beats in GarageBand and other drag-and-drop music programs.

tags: audio production, computer music, digital music, how-to

Audio > Features

Composer Steve Horowitz has written soundtracks for movies, dance, video games, TV, live orchestra, and even computerized piano. Now comes the world premiere of his multimedia extravaganza Invasion from the Chicken Planet, and New York City may never be the same.

tags: digital music, interview, music composition, podcast

Audio > Features

Want to play MP3s on your site (or others')? Here's a super-easy way, an easy yet highly customizable way, and an offbeat experimental way — and each one is free. From one-click page-hacking to automatic e-commerce, these three web audio players point the way to a musical online future.

tags: computer music, digital music, mp3, mp3 player