Category Archives: Information

Three Yamaha Designs Selected in Good Design Award 2019

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Yamaha announced that three of its designs received Good Design Awards, which is an award sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. Those designs are: CP88/CP73 stage pianos, the STORIA acoustic guitar, and the SoundUD Consortium.

Since 1957, Yamaha has received 288 Good Design Awards in a range of different categories, including the 2017 Grand Award for its casual wind instrument Venova. All of these award-winning designs embody the Yamaha design philosophy, which sets forth five award-winning qualities: designs should have Integrity, should be Innovative, Aesthetic, and Unobtrusive, and should show a commitment to Social Responsibility.

CP88/CP73 Stage Pianos
Powered by over 100 years of piano craftsmanship and 45 years of synthesizer innovation, the CP88 and CP73 stage pianos continue a rich tradition a the newest in the CP Series of keyboards designed for live performances. The CP88/CP73 stage pianos boast authentic acoustic and electric piano sound, realistic piano touch, and an intuitive one-to-one user interface. Durable, yet compact and light, the stage pianos are available in both 88-key and 73-key modes.

STORIA Acoustic Guitar

The STORIA acoustic guitar was created with first-timers in mind, fitting into your life with playability and a design that makes the guitars easy to pick up and play. All three models feature unique colors and finishes that accent and elevate your décor. With a smaller, thinner body, shorter strings, comfortable string height, rounded neck edges, and more, this new series was designed with ultimate playability in mind, making it perfect even for beginners.

SoundUD Consortium

The Sound UD Consortium was established in October 2017 with the aim of creating a society free of unease concerning language an hearing abilities. The consortium’s executive office is administered by Yamaha. At present, the consortium consists of more than 300 participating organizations spanning industry and beyond, including governing bodies, transportation, commercial facilities, entertainment facilities, stadiums, broadcasting, and more. Members cooperate to develop and promote the adoption of products and services using SoundUD with the aim of making universal design for a sound reality.

Razer Introduces the Seiren Emote Microphone

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Razer introduced the Seiren Emote microphone. It was designed for streamers who want to show their microphones on stream and entertain their viewers.

Wow your followers and take your showmanship to new heights with the Razer Seiren Emote – the world’s first USB microphone that uses emoticons to interact with your audience. Keep your streams fresh and fun, and have them coming back for more with an extra level of entertainment that lets you stand out from the rest.

The Razer Seiren Emote microphone works with the Streamer Companion App. You can customize how you use the app to create unique audience interactions with supported Razer hardware. Design your own emoticons and lighting effects with the app’s editor.

With the Streamer Companion App, you can add a new level of audience interaction and have emoticons trigger on the Razer Seiren Emote during different parts of your stream. You can decide when and what emoticons appear on the microphone, and use it to indicate that there has been a new follower or a new sub.

The Seiren Emote microphone has an 8-bit Emoticon LED display powered by Razer’s Emote Engine, which includes a huge collection of over 100 animated and static emoticons.

At its core, the Razer Seiren Emote is a USB microphone designed to record crystal clear, broadcast quality audio. Using a hypercardioid pickup pattern, it’s focused and sensitive enough to capture the nuances of your voice, picking up the smallest shifts in tone while eliminating any background noise that might bring down your stream’s sound quality.

Line 6 has an Instant Rebate on HX Effects

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Line 6 is offering an instant rebate on HX Effects. This offer is good from October 1, 2019, through October 31, 2019.

HX Effects was created for guitarists and bassists who want our flagship Helix effects for traditional amp and pedalboard setups. Powered by the same audio engine as Helix processors, HX Effects includes the full array of Helix effects plus legacy effects from the M-Series and Stompbox Modeler pedals. All in a compact pedal that fits easily on your pedalboard.

There are some terms and conditions to be aware of. The instant rebate on HX Effects is $100 USD. It will be reflected in the final purchase of HX Effects at the time of sale. The offer is only available to Line 6 customers with mailing addresses in the United States.

Eligible purchases of HX Effects must be purchased as new from an authorized reseller. Instant rebates are not available for remanufactured, demonstration, or non-new products. Purchases from online auctions are not eligible. The Instant Rebate offer is only good while supplies last.

Get Ozone Elements from iZotope Free – For a Limited Time

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iZotope has announced that they are offering Ozone Elements version 8 for free through October 2, 2019. The reason is because Ozone 9 is coming soon.

Ozone 9 is just around the corner, and to celebrate, Ozone Elements is free to keep forever – but this offer is only available until October 9, 2019. With an AI-powered Master Assistant, Ozone Elements is the quickest way to add final polish and loudness to your track.

Ozone Elements Version 8 includes:

Master Assistant: Let Ozone 8’s Master Assistant analyze your mix to suggest targets, signal chain, and processor settings so you can get back to what’s most important – adding your personal sonic signature.

Spectral Shaper: This module lets you apply frequency-specific excitement and dynamics. Whether used surgically or for broad strokes, Spectral Shaper offers endless sonic possibilities.

Inter-plugin Communication: Ozone, meet Neutron. Tonal Balance Control can also interact with Neutron instances in your projects, allowing you more immediate and flexible control over your mix and master.

Tonal Balance Control: This plug-in communicates with instances of Ozone in your session and lets you edit them within a single plug-in window. Quickly give your master a professional-sounding balance for any genre.

Ozone 9 is “coming soon”. There isn’t much information about it on the iZotope website at the time I am writing this blog post. A fifteen-second video, which is lovely and a bit mysterious, but lacks specific details.

Canon Announced Development of Photography Solution for Live Events

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Canon announced that its parent company, Canon Inc., is developing a remote-control solution that will allow for operation of the company’s interchangeable-lens cameras.

Remote operation of cameras has been growing in popularity among photo agencies and media outlets, as seen in today’s coverage of global sporting and news events. Canon is excited to develop a powerful solution that reflects years of testing and feedback from the organizations that will benefit the most from this device.

The solution, currently under development, utilizes a system that enables the camera’s optical axis to be perpendicular to the device’s axis of revolution. This intuitive alignment will provide users with operation capabilities that feel similar to handheld or tripod shooting.

The hardware and software solution allows a photographer to control multiple cameras at once, with the ability to control multiple remote-control or static remote systems from a single computer. Photographers will be able to operate each device to pan, tilt or rotate the camera and zoom the lens, and images can transmit via a network connection to a centralized location, a feature that will prove to be very useful for news outlets and agencies.

The new solution will allow for image capture from a variety of angles and viewpoints that might not have been possible through conventional shooting methods. Moving forward, Canon’s goal is to create a system suited for a wide range of shooting needs that go beyond live sporting and news events, including e-commerce, product photography and more. By developing these types of innovative image-capture solutions, Canon is helping to provide new perspectives to the events that shape the world around us.

Gibson to Showcase New Products at Shanghai International Expo Centre

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Gibson announced that it will showcase an array of new guitars, top talent, and a handful of rare guitars at Music China 2019 – Asia’s largest trade show in the music industry – October 10-13 at the Shanghai International Expo Centre.

At Music China 2019, Gibson will be on the ground to connect with Dealers, Strategic partners, and Distributors, to forge new relationships and explore throughout the region. Gibson’s new CEO and President James “JC” will visit, marking his first time in a decade a top executive at Gibson has visited Music China 2019.

The Gibson booth and experience at Music China will feature exciting, award-winning new products from the brand including the new G-45 Series Collection – the G-45 Standard and G-45 Studio guitars. Hand-crafted by skilled artisans at the Gibson acoustic facility in Bozeman, Montana – who build the most cherished and iconic acoustic models – the G-Series offers acoustic players of all levels the perfect mix of tone and performance with traditional Gibson style and value.

The newly released Gibson Original, Modern and Custom Shop Collections as well as the recently launched String Collections will be on display in full at Music China. Featuring the Les Paul Standard 50s, Les Paul Standard 60’s, Les Paul Special in TV Yellow, Les Paul Junior in Tobacco Burst, the SG 61 Standard with factory stop-tail, Mastro and Sideways vibrolas, SG Special and Junior, the classic ES-335 Figures and DOT, Firebird, Flying V and Explorer, the J-45 and Hummingbird as well as the J-200, the Gibson Original Collection brings classic design, innovation and authenticity back into the hands of Gibson fans.

The Gibson Modern Collection builds on Gibson’s solid legacy of coveted innovation by introducing modern features players have embraced, such as lighter-weight bodies, push-pull systems to switch between the Burst Bucker and P90 sounds, innovative taper necks with asymmetrical profiles, shaved heels for effortless access to the highest frets as well as maximum sustain and stability. The Les Paul and SG Modern, Les Paul Studio and Tribute models, the new ES-235 and modern versions of the ES-335, Flying V and Explorer B-2, and modern Hummingbird, J-45 and J-15 as well as the Parlor acoustic models round out the Gibson Modern Collection.

Roland Debuts All-New Synthesizer Lineup

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Roland introduces JUPITER-X, a new series of premium synthesizers that feature a diverse selection of sounds and advanced composition and performance features. Starting with the release of the JUPITER-4 in 1978, the JUPITER name has represented the pinnacle of innovation and quality in Roland synthesizers.

JUPITER-X continues this tradition, combining classic Roland design and exceptional build quality with an all-new synth engine and the finest keyboard actions to date.

Flexible and deep, JUPITER-X’s next-generation sound engine lets users tap into Roland’s long history of genre-defining sounds and morph them together to explore unmapped sonic territory. Sought-after analog classics like the JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, SH-101, and more are authentically reproduced, as well as digital machines like the vintage XV-5080 and modern RD pianos. Also available are Roland drum machine sounds that form the foundation of electronic and dance music, including TR-808, TR-909, TR-707, CR-78, and others.

JUPITER-X’s cutting-edge I-Arpeggio feature users artificial intelligence to accompany user performances and inspire new musical ideas. I-Arpeggio takes player-created notes, rhythms, and phrases and uses them to develop complementary drum parts, basslines, chords, and arpeggiated lines in real time. It works on each of JUPITER-X’s five parts simultaneously and generated patterns can be customized and even exported to a DAW.

JUPITER-X’s sound structure includes five parts: four for synths and one for drums. Its engine can power multiple authentic Roland classics like the JX-8P or JUPITER-8 with enough polyphony to create thick layers and complex backing parts. With so much polyphony on hand, users can freely create layered sounds, splits, and backing parts without limiting complex chords or musical ideas.

The flagship JUPITER-X model features a spacious, full-size control layout and a 61-note keyboard with supreme playability. Compact yet extremely powerful, the JUPITER-Xm model is a complete electronic production and performance environment with 37-note slim keyboard and support for battery-powered operation.

Yamaha Brings its Professional Audio and Sound Products to AES 2019

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Yamaha announced that it will highlight its newest professional audio and live sound products, as well as the latest tools from Steinberg Media Technologies and loudspeakers from NEXO, both Yamaha companies, at next month’s Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention.

Attendees will experience demonstrations of the RIVAGE, CL and TF series of digital mixing consoles, the newly released STAGEPAS 1K portable PA system, the new point source NEXO P12/L15 loudspeaker system, DZR loudspeakers with expanded Dante audio networking connectivity, and the latest version of Steinberg’s Dorico 3 professional scoring software.

Firmware update V4.0 for Yamaha TF Series Digital Mixers adds enhanced control and versatility through a Selected Channel View providing access to main parameters for selected input channels in a single display. A new scene fade time function for scene management is useful for engineers mixing in theatrical applications.

Support for Yamaha DZR-D and DXS-XLF-D Series speakers is added with speaker amp mute control directly from the mixer display. V4.0 expands the selection of QuickPro Presets for microphones, in-ear monitors and speakers and the TF StageMix iPad app allows control of playback and recording through a connected USB storage device.

Steinberg recently announced the highly anticipated latest version of its professional scoring software, Dorico 3. Every feature in the new version helps musicians spend less time in front of their computers and more time making music.

Also planned for the Yamaha AES exhibit are new audio interface products and the newest WaveLab mastering, editing, and refinement tools.

The Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K system an all-in-one portable PA system enabling performers to quickly transform any location into a stage. The system is driven by a high-frequency array speaker packed with 10 small-diameter 1.5-inch drivers that provide professional-level accuracy and clarity. A 1000 W Class-D amplifier gives the system a significant upgrade in power. A new 12-inch subwoofer houses the sizable speaker and improves portability with its streamlined construction and reduced weight.

Blue Introduces Yeti X Microphone

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Blue introduced the Yeti X. It is a professional USB microphone for gaming, streaming and podcasting. It can be pre-ordered at Best Buy for $169.99.

The Blue Yeti X is a state-of-the-art flagship USB microphone for professional-level gaming, Twitch streaming, podcasting and YouTube productions. With an all new four-capsule condenser array inside, Yeti X delivers legendary Blue broadcast sound with greater focus and clarity than ever – in four versatile pickup patterns. An illuminated multi-function smart knob lets you monitor and adjust your voice level in real time, providing precise control over your audio stream.

Building on the #1-selling Blue Yeti’s innovative design, Yeti X features a four-capsule condenser array inside for clearer, more focused pickup patterns. Switch between cardioid for recording and streaming, omni for conferences calls, bi-directional for podcast interviews and stereo for immersive experiences like ASMR recordings.

Take control of your on-stream sound with Yeti X’s 11-segment LED meter. At a glance, you can check if your voice level is too high or too low and adjust accordingly. A game changer for live streamers, the LED meter allows you to easily maintain professional sound quality while live on camera.

The Yeti X USB microphone includes advanced Blue VOICE audio software, a suite of broadcast vocal effects that makes it easier than ever to achieve professional on-stream sound quality. With Blue VOICE, you can make Yeti X sound the way you want using presets for crisp and modern, warm and vintage, classic radio voice, or make your own unique signature sound.

Blue VOICE effects include de-popper, noise reduction, expander, gate, de-esser, EQ, compression and limiter, and presets from pro streamers to get you sounding fantastic quickly.

Fujifilm Introduced Stylish FUJIFILM X-A7 Camera

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Fujifilm announced that it will launch the FUJIFILM X-A7 in Autumn 2019. It is a new addition to the X Series of compact and lightweight mirrorless digital cameras that deliver outstanding image quality with the company’s unique color reproduction technology.

Weighing just 320g, stylish X-A7 carries a newly-developed 24.24MP APS-C sensor to deliver premium image quality with the company’s proprietary color reproduction technology. The sensor uses copper wiring to enable high-speed data readout, and features phase detection pixels across the entire sensor surface to enhance AF speed and accuracy. This enables AF tracking of a moving subject as well as Face / Eye detection AF with ease. The camera also records smooth 4K/30fps video and high-speed video, catering to the ever-growing need for high-quality video for use in Vlog and other media.

The camera has a large 3.5-inch LCD monitor with the maximum luminous intensity of approx. 1,000 candelas to guarantee intuitive operability on the rear panel. Furthermore, this is the first X Series model that features a “vari-angle” monitor that users can adjust to any angles. It can be used in conjunction with the Portrait Enhancer Mode for self-portraits of advanced quality.

The X-47 is a perfect choice for those who want to upgrade their photography from smartphone pictures, offering a broad range of applications from casual snapshots of everyday scenes to travel photography and full-fledged photographic creations.

Main Features:

  • Newly-developed image sensor delivering premium image quality and outstanding AF performance
  • A stylish camera body weighing just 320g and capable of shooting approx. 440 frames per charge
  • Enhanced video recording functions
  • Bright and large rear panel LCD monitor for excellent operability
  • Diverse shooting modes to facilitate your photographic creativity
  • Reinforced connectivity and connection stability with smartphones and tablet devices