Month in Music Tech, July 2017
04 Aug 2017
Let's see. It's been awhile since the last Month in Music Tech update. I've been heads down learning C++ and the JUCE library over the last month or so. Hopefully in a few more months I'll have a new app to unleash on the world thanks to JUCE's new licensing model, which makes it more accessible to indie developers via a personal license option.
Alright, on to the goings on over the past month-ish...
Elektron Digitakt Firmware Upgrade
https://www.elektron.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Digitakt_OS1.04_readme.pdf
Elektron released an updated version of firmware for their Digitakt sampler/sequencer. The update includes some performance optimizations, expanded keyboard range when a MIDI track is active, and grid record mode can be toggled while in chromatic mode. Nothing mind blowing but it's always nice to get performance improvements.
To load the firmware onto a Digitakt don't forget to download the Elektron Transfer software, which you can grab from https://www.elektron.se/support/?connection=digitakt#resources.
I picked up a Digitakt about a month back. I've yet to spend a lot of time with it (see earlier comment about JUCE) but it sounds great and I'm looking forward to getting the new firmware installed.
Beatstep Pro Firmware Upgrade
https://www.arturia.com/beatstep-pro-firmware-update-2
Arturia's BSP got a nice firmware update (in late June) that adds variable length patterns for drum sequencer tracks, an arpeggiator function via the roller strip, pattern chain saving, along with a bunch of other enhancements.
CDM and PalmSounds Join Forces
http://cdm.link/2017/07/welcome-to-palm-sounds-newswires-and-a-new-cdm-chapter/
In the music tech blogosphere the big news is that Peter Kirn of CDM and Ashley Elsdon of PalmSounds have combined forces and Ashley is publishing under the CDM umbrella. I've enjoyed reading CDM for a long time and have followed Ashley via PalmSounds for a few years as well. Seems like a sensible merger and it's great to see the CDM network grow.
In addition to Ashley publishing under CDM, I caught the below guest post a few weeks back by David Abravanel. It contemplates electronic music production using trackers back in the dark days before the Internet was mainstream and includes a video of an Aphex Twin track playing in PlayerPro.
http://cdm.link/2017/07/aphex-twin-gave-us-peek-inside-90s-classic-heres-learned/
SoundCloud Troubles
And, of course, there were the layoffs and financial struggles of SoundCloud, chronicled by many people.
Here's a nice New York Times article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/magazine/if-soundcloud-disappears-what-happens-to-its-music-culture.html
And CDM has a bunch of thoughtful posts about it, too.