Love Hultén teases bizarre new synth project with mysterious “black goo”Audiovisual artist and woodworker, Love Hultén, has teased a new project in the works on his Instagram page, which appears to be a synth featuring a crazy “black goo” which responds to sound.
The device, which features a screen displaying the black goo in the centre, integrates a Korg Minilogue XD, plus Collider Delay+Reverb.

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Hultén is known for making quirky musical creations, earlier this year he turned a cactus garden into an instrument by integrating a device called Plantwave, which turns biodata from organic objects into MIDI.
The “black goo” used in this new project is inspired by the FAV (Fluid Audio Visualiser) project. This has been developed by South Korean artist, Dakd Jung, at BurnSlap art and tech studio.
Jung has been experimenting with fluid audio visualisation for many years. On his official website, he explains how the “black goo” works: “FAV is a ferrofluid audio visualiser. Ferrofluid is a material first developed by NASA in the 1960s. It has been used for fuel transport in zero-gravity space, spacecraft, and sealing connections in space suits. In modern times, it is used as a damper for high-end speakers, a rotating shaft for motors, and gas sealing.
“The composition of the magnetic fluid is very fine iron particles and a surfactant coated on it, and base oil. It is a liquid magnetic substance that does not sink because it is so small that it is invisible to the naked eye and is evenly distributed in the base oil due to the surfactant component.”
Writing on Instagram, Hultén says of the peculiar synth: “Another project inspired by Dakd Jung and that amazing black goo. Incl Minilogue XD + Collider del/rev. Swipe for video #ferrofluid.”
Take a look below:

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A post shared by Love Hulten (@lovehulten)

Check out more from BurnSlap and Love Hultén via their official websites.
The post Love Hultén teases bizarre new synth project with mysterious “black goo” appeared first on MusicTech.

Ableton to launch Live 12 Live 12 introduces a set of new features designed to spark musical creativity, including new MIDI tools that help to generate unexpected ideas and a range of improvements that allow users to work more intuitively.

RØDECaster Duo is a compact and affordable box of tricks for all your broadcasting needs$499, rode.com
The original, fully fledged RØDECaster Pro is a mixer and recording device that’s a one-stop solution for content creators. Colourful and hugely capable, we covered its most recent iteration in our September 2022 review.

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For many though, the full-size Pro is overkill, especially as many podcasts are a solo affair or a conversation between two presenters with the second person often working remotely. And this is where the RØDECaster Duo comes in.
Part of RØDE’s huge 2023 product drop, the new Duo distils the essential functions of its larger sibling into a more compact and affordable package. With its bank of faders, visually-appealing screen and touch pads, the Duo still looks and feels the part, while taking up less space on the desk or tucked away in a bag for work on the move.
The four mic preamps of the Pro are reduced to two on the Duo, there are two headphone preamps instead of four, plus slightly fewer faders and pads. Just like the Pro, there remains the option to record directly to an on-device memory card or external drive to make the most of the tactile nature of the device. Plus, there’s a wide selection of ways to incorporate audio from other devices, using Bluetooth, multiple USB audio streams and even to receive signals from RØDE’s own wireless mics. Clever stuff.
Unboxed
Handling the Duo, everything feels and looks great. The included USB-C power supply has a chunky, long cable, while all the physical controls feel tough – before plugging it in, we wonder whether the pads will do anything at all when pressed, such is their lack of give. Turned on, it’s tastefully lit up (you can customise colour-coding if you wish), the touchscreen has really decent resolution and is more responsive than you’d expect on a device at this price. Rotary encoders for controlling volume and other parameters feel a little toy-like, but aren’t at all flimsy in use.
RØDECaster Duo in use with mic and headphones
Show time
In session, the Duo is remarkably intuitive to use and, despite the online user guide seeming daunting before we get going, any such fears quickly fade away. There’s a lot to it but it’s so simple to get everything set up and then use it in the high-pressure environment of a live broadcast, even if you’re new to this kind of device. It’s truly liberating how much can be done on hardware, without reference to a glaring, distracting computer screen – much like the digital portastudio of old, but with far fewer barriers when you decide it’s time to chuck material across to the computer for an edit or a brush-up.
Show set-up begins with the preamps, where you select the type of input (mic, line or instrument) and even the model of mic you’re plugging in. According to the choice made, the system sets an appropriate level of gain and tweaks a few EQ and dynamics settings, shaping the incoming signal so it’s closer to the eventual finished product. It’s very handy for novices, then, but more seasoned users might prefer to start with a generic ‘Dynamic’ or ‘Condenser’ starting point and set up their own processing from there. We tend to start with the preset settings based on our Shure SM7B, and then back off the more extreme or unnecessary parts of the processing chain.
Just like other devices that run the preamp signal through various effects, there’s always a trade-off with noticeable self-noise, although the noise gate soon puts pay to this. Therefore, the Duo is not as suited to recording quiet, sensitive music in a studio, but that’s not really what the product is intended for.
The onboard headphone amps crank very loud – we don’t once struggle to hear our Shure SM7B microphone in detail, as we do on some audio interfaces. There’s also a sensitivity setting, which makes the output suitable for either low or high-impedance headphones – a neat touch.
Switched to multitrack mode and linked to a computer, the RØDECaster can be used like a more conventional audio interface, even with the additional option of printing the onboard DSP effects to the recorded track. With an electric guitar plugged in, we test out the DI input running with software monitoring switched on and an amp sim plugin inserted on the track, and the level of latency is acceptable for playing through.
The RØDECaster is more than just a podcasting device. It could be a neat addition to the home recording studio, providing comforting EQ and effects to the performer’s headphones, even if these effects aren’t being recorded.
Back of RØDECaster Duo
The full effect
Effects are plentiful and offer detailed control over parameters, unlike products lower in the range (such as the PodMic USB, which lacks a proper EQ section). There are thoughtful graphics too – for example, a real-time graph tracking the opening and closing of the noise gate. Again, unexpected at this price point. It’s a shame there are no amp simulators on board for bringing DI’ed electric guitars to life – this is something that some of the Duo’s closest competitors do have.
Speaking of the gate, this cleans things up nicely without being obviously intrusive, typically only requiring a moderate amount of range to get rid of unwanted background noises – very handy for recording in a less-than-ideal environment. Compression and EQ is flattering; in fact, once you’ve got used to it and then turn it off, everything reduces to a hissy, far weaker signal. In a similar way, the exciter section provides harmonic richness in low mids as well as the more typical high frequency sheen.
Further down the line, there’s also a master limiter which seems to be on by default when creating a new ‘show’ – this helps to make everything sound radio-friendly, but its presence did catch us out slightly! There’s reverb, delay and some voice-changing effects too, but as is often the case, the reverb sounds pretty terrible, so that effectively limits the use of the RØDECaster in mixing a musical performance, as opposed to spoken voice.
There’s latency in the monitored preamp signal that does take a bit of getting used to, just in the way that the phase/tonality of the mic’d voice comes across a little strange when you’re also partially hearing the acoustic signal outside of the cans. Adding effects obviously doesn’t help with latency but actually, once you’ve got a gate switched on a compressor pumping up the signal you tend to focus only on the signal running through the mic, so it becomes far less noticeable.
RØDECaster Duo
There’s endless fun to be had with the pads. Setting up and using them is a breeze, and in a show situation the most useful functions to reach for are playing back a music bed, triggering sound effects and when things get heated, the censorship bleep. Momentary and latching options are available as well as different playback modes; you can also trim and fade audio, but for some reason the playback button on this screen doesn’t seem to work in the current firmware version.
The ducking function is really handy when talking over an incoming track on the Bluetooth stream or similar (the Mic 1 signal ducks other inputs when this is enabled) but there aren’t fine controls for the likes of range and attack/release. More annoyingly, audio playback from the pads doesn’t duck, so you cannot easily talk over a show-opening music bed – perhaps this is an oversight that could be resolved by introducing an extra option in a future firmware update.
Pads also can send MIDI data – especially useful for switching things running in the background in a Stream Deck manner, e.g., selecting between monitor speaker and headphone presets in our correction software without needing to switch windows or mouse around on the computer screen.
The Duo then is indeed a one-stop podcasting and broadcasting platform, just like the bigger Pro. You could argue that RØDE has really hit the sweet spot here, in giving content creators exactly what they need for an incredibly competitive price. If you’re not put off by a bit of preamp noise – and would normally use a noise gate – shortcomings are few and far between.
RØDECaster Duo in use for broadcasting
Key features

Podcasting/broadcasting system with touchscreen operation, faders and pads
Standalone operation or connect to computer (USB-C)
Onboard recording to MicroSD or a connected USB drive
2 mic/line/instrument preamps with digital gain and presets for mic type/model
Bluetooth input for music playback/taking call-ins
Wireless receiver for up to 2 RODE Series IV transmitters
DSP effects including noise gate, compressor, EQ, de-esser, exciters, reverb, voice transformation and master limiter
2 headphone outputs with individual level control/sensitivity selection
2 balanced line outs for connecting studio monitors
6 effect/sample/MIDI control pads with 3 switchable banks==
Ethernet/WiFi network connectivity

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Cableguys release ReverbShaper ReverbShaper allows users to create a versatile range of rhythmic reverb effects using editable LFOs and dynamic envelope followers. 

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Cypress Hill, Onyx and Trash Talk at the Novo, Los AngelesWest coast hip hop legends Cypress Hill continued the Haunted Hill Halloween tour at the Novo in Los Angeles with New York hip hop duo Onyx and Punk band Trash Talk. Talk about hardcore hip-hop, platinum group Onyx consisting of duo Fredo Star and Sticky Fingaz generated the raw New York style flavor everyone expected. Hits like "Shut ‘Em Down" sparked a mosh pit amongst the young crowd. Followed by the smash hit "Slam’" Gen X fans remembering a time when hip-hop was pure and uncut. Their energy level was unstoppable, Fredo and Fingaz made sure their fans were awake and not miss one beat. Now in their early 50’s, Starr and Sticky are not slowing down one bit. They recently released their newest album titled ‘Blood on da X’ which was a smash hit. 

Hardcore punk band hailing from Sacramento, CA lit up the night with songs such as "The great escape" which is a cautionary tale of the side effects of excellent hardcore music. One of the crowd favorites, hyper young goers started another mosh pit which pushed people against the barricades. Singer Lee Spielman jumped over the barricades and instructed everyone to settle down. He waited about two minutes before playing "Worthless Nights," the whole crowd was in a roar, with their tongues out and waving their rock hand symbol. Trash talk is most certainly a punk rock band to look out for. Singer Lee Spielman, Spencer Pollard (bass guitar) and Garret Stevenson (guitar) are guys in the mission who has been taking over the hard rock punk scene for years. 

Last but not least the undeniable legendary hip-hop group Cypress Hill graced the stage smoking blunts. Rapper B-real wearing a giant afro and rapper Sen dog sporting a bucket hat. Loyal fans of Cypress Hill wore merch with a marijuana leaf and a skull on it. "Hits from the Bong" started to play as the bass started the boom, you can feel the rumble through out the venue. Since it was Halloween weekend, the B-Real invited a few folks from the crowd on stage for a quick costume contest. Finishing off with the widely known hit "Insane in the Brain" produced by fellow member DJ Muggs is one of the songs that put Cypress Hill on the map. Overall it was a great night, everyone who attended Haunted Hill definitely got their moneys worth. Looking forward to seeing who Cypress Hill will bring to the stage next year. 

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill

Onyx

Onyx

Trash Talk

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