Double-Checking NASA’s Eclipse Estimate at HomeIf you were lucky enough to be near the path of totality, and didn’t have your view obscured by clouds, yesterday’s eclipse provided some very memorable views. But you know what’s even better than making memories? Having cold hard data to back it up.
Hackaday contributor [Bob Baddeley] was in Madison, Wisconsin for the big event, which NASA’s Eclipse Explorer website predicted would see about 87% coverage. Watching the eclipse through the appropriate gear at the local hackerspace was fun, but the real nerding out happened when he got home and could pull the data from his solar system.
A graph of the system’s generated power shows a very clear dip during the duration of the eclipse, which let him determine exactly when the occlusion started, peaked, and ended.

What’s more, by comparing the output of the panels at their lowest with the pre-eclipse peak, [Bob] was able to calculate that the light falling on them dropped by roughly 87 to 90% — right where NASA pegged it. Similarly, the timing of the eclipse as experienced by his solar system lined up within a few minutes of what the website predicted.

That the world’s leading space agency was able to properly model one of the biggest celestial events in recent memory is perhaps not overly surprising. That’s part of what we’re paying them for, honestly. But it’s always good to run a second set of eyes over the numbers.

Canada an unsung heavyweight of global music, but new Canadian content law could backfire: reportCanadian artists rank third behind only US and UK artists in their share of the world’s top 1,000 singles, a new report says
Source

Arturia unveil AstroLab stage keyboard Arturia's new standalone keyboard packs in 35 sound engines, bringing the power and sound of their virtual instruments to the stage. 

Arturia AstroLab puts all of the brand’s synth emulations in one hardware unitArturia announces AstroLab today during a 25th-anniversary livestream event on its YouTube channel.

READ MORE: Behringer releases its first synth plugin, Vintage, for free…or does it?

AstroLab is a 61-key stage keyboard that combines an ecosystem of software synths and intuitive tactility, with a wide range of both classic and modern sounds. It boasts ten synthesis engines, 35 engines, and over 1,300 presets to cater to myriad genres and eras.

The AstroLab ecosystem can be used to expand, manage, and control sounds and settings, and integrate with any DAW, thanks to Analog Lab, so it becomes easier for musicians to go live with their custom settings and sounds. It’s made with live musicians in mind, allowing them to personalise their own unique stage setup.
With the navigation wheel and screen, you can scroll through the vast library of presets, while there are delay and reverb controls to let you customise with up to 12 insert FX to choose from.
Another option is to plug in an external mic to AstroLab and send your voice through its vocoder and harness multi-octave vocal transformation. Combine with Vocoder V to boost supported voice-input presets. And with the chord, scale, and arpeggio modes, you can embellish your performance while staying in key and prompting more vibrant sequences all simultaneously.
You can loop any sound by up to 32 bars with AstroLab, too, which should come in useful if you want to add a back-bone melody or chord progression for freeform play. It captures the MIDI, too, so you can change to any instrument.
Don’t forget the mobile app, AstroLab Connect, either, which allows users to organise AstroLab’s library, find sounds faster, and get more sounds from the store. Meanwhile, there’s a desktop app, too, with over 2,000 sounds.
You can find out more about AstroLab on Arturia’s website.
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.MUSIC is giving away 1 million free domains: Get Yours Now!.MUSIC, the new top-level domain dedicated to music, is giving away a million free MUISIC domains through May 24th.....
The post .MUSIC is giving away 1 million free domains: Get Yours Now! appeared first on Hypebot.

How are artist and royalty disputes resolved on SoundExchange?Artist and royalty disputes often happen when there is an overlap in royalty splits, or the cause could be as simple as a typo. Sound Exchange explains how they resolve these disputes.....
The post How are artist and royalty disputes resolved on SoundExchange? appeared first on Hypebot.

Shure announce MV7+ Podcast Microphone Shure's updated MV7+ boasts a new visual design, and benefits from software upgrades designed with the needs of modern content creators in mind.

“God bless Auto-Tune, it saves us, but modern vocal production makes everyone sound too similar,” says Vampire Weekend’s Ezra KoenigVampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig has discussed the pitfalls of modern vocal production techniques in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe — and he seems to have mixed opinions on the sounds of contemporary artists.

READ MORE: Researchers claim to have invented a better version of Auto-Tune that uses AI

“God bless Auto-Tune,” says the Vampire Weekend frontman and son-in-law of Quincy Jones. “It saves us…but everybody’s voice sounds the same.”
He references the 1985 charity single We Are the World, produced by Quincy, which featured many of the era’s biggest stars: “Why that song is interesting to listen to and why people still get excited 30 years later watching the documentary is because people had really different voices. A modern We Are the World would not hit the same…because…everybody’s voice sounds the same”
“You think we’ve evolved as a species towards the Auto-Tune? Unconsciously, we’re becoming the AI?” asks Zane Lowe, as Koenig continues:
“If you take the 10 biggest pop stars [in 2024] and you throw in some indie rockers or whatever, our voices will be different but, with the quality of modern recording, it’s not going to be [like] when you hear Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and Bob Dylan on the same song. They’re so different and it’s so clear.
“I’m just saying, God bless all these people, but even if you did it with The Weeknd and Ariana Granda and Lana Del Rey, it’s not gonna be the same,” he continues, before joking, “And millions will die because of this, because they won’t raise the money, because the vocal quality of modern recording is too similar. Whereas back then, lives were saved.”
Vampire Weekend have also been in the news this week for their album release, Only God Was Above Us, and accompanying show in Austin, Texas, which took place during the solar eclipse yesterday (8 April), which also coincided with Koenig’s 40th birthday.
If you missed it, it’s available on-demand on the streaming platform Veeps, exclusively for Veeps All Access subscribers.
To see the rest of the Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, check out the video below:

Read more MusicTech news.
The post “God bless Auto-Tune, it saves us, but modern vocal production makes everyone sound too similar,” says Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig appeared first on MusicTech.

QUICK HITS: Secretly adds labels • Feedfm + Cynite • Image-Line buys MSXII • Bella Figura funding • KobaltSecretly Distribution is adding Jazz Is Dead and Linear Labs to its growing independent record label distribution roster.....
The post QUICK HITS: Secretly adds labels • Feedfm + Cynite • Image-Line buys MSXII • Bella Figura funding • Kobalt appeared first on Hypebot.

Chroma Console pedal from Hologram Electronics Hologram Electronics' new pedal is equipped with an intuitive set of controls designed to avoid the pitfalls associated with multi-effects units. 

Yooz Music Updates BL-303 Bassline Synth Plugin To 3.0
The BL-303 by Yooz Music was recently updated to 3.0 and comes with a few enticing features. We talked a bit about the legendary TB-303, and it seems like everyone and their uncle is trying to recreate one of the most well-known synths in history.  If you’re looking for a free acid line generator, this might be [...]
View post: Yooz Music Updates BL-303 Bassline Synth Plugin To 3.0

Behringer releases its first synth plugin, Vintage, for free…or does it?After surprising fans with the launch of the MS-5 last week, Behringer is back at it again — this time, with the release of its first synth plugin, Vintage.
Based on “meticulous modelling of the analogue circuitry of legendary vintage synthesizers”, the Vintage synth engine is said to deliver all the lush, classic synth tones that defined the 70s and 80s.

READ MORE: Best new mixing plugins, effects and VST instruments out this week

Most surprising of all is that the synth is totally free — if you can get your hands on it, that is. At the time of writing, the Behringer Vintage webpage appears to be broken. There is no messaging from the brand about the plugin and only a small number of producers have managed to download it. Some details have been reported, thankfully.
According to Behringer (via GearNews), the plugin features two oscillators with a hard sync function and selectable waveform: sine, square, saw, noise and sub-oscillator. Pulse width modulation of the square wave oscillator is included, in addition to a noise generator with a colour knob to control the low pass cut-off frequency.
There are two versatile filters featuring 12/24 dB switchable low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, notch and formant modes, plus selectable drive curves for lush harmonic saturation. A flexible routing scheme, meanwhile, allows for serial or parallel filtering. The audio signal path ends with two amplifier modules with a built-in ADSR envelope, panning, and levelling controls.
In terms of modulation, the synth has two LFOs to modulate the oscillators, filters and amplifiers. Each LFO features a separate control for rate, attack, delay, retrig and waveform, which encompasses triangle, sine, random and square wave with pulse width control.
The community’s impressions of the plugin are pretty mixed so far, with some saying that it sounds strikingly digital and “boring,” also claiming some aesthetic similarities between Vintage and Tone2 Saurus. Others, however, have their fingers crossed that a fix is on the way. In the meantime, you can check out a demo video of the plugin in action below.

 
The synth is available for both Windows 10+ and macOS 10.13+ and as a VST3 and AU plugin. A standalone version is also included. All you have to do is visit the Behringer website and sign up with your email. Any donations, entirely optional by the way, made for the plugin will be directed to the Playing For Change foundation.
Find more music production news in the MusicTech news section. 
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Behringer Releases FREE Vintage Synthesizer Plugin But There’s A Twist
Behringer launched Vintage, a free analog modeling synth, and the German company’s first synth plugin. However, there’s a twist – the plugin isn’t available for download right now. The Mac and Windows release is a Prophet-inspired synth that Behringer states they modelled on the analogue circuitry of iconic vintage synths.  However there’s been a bit [...]
View post: Behringer Releases FREE Vintage Synthesizer Plugin But There’s A Twist

Does your track sound good even when a DJ plays in the red? G-Sonique’s PA Club Soundsystem Emulator lets you find outEver tried playing your music in the club, only to find that it sounds completely different — or maybe worse — than it did in your studio? The discrepancy between small monitors or home systems and powerful PA setups used in clubs can amplify flaws in your mix, causing frequency collisions to become glaringly apparent.
For producers of electronic dance music especially, making sure your tracks sound great in club environments is crucial, but testing each mix in an actual club setting is often impractical. Here’s where G-Sonique’s new PA Club Soundsystem Emulator comes in.

READ MORE: Best free plugins and freeware of the month: April 2024

As its name suggests, the plugin lets you test and hear tracks as they would sound in a real club PA. It accounts for not only various sound systems (advanced IR response + modelling technology), but also amplifiers and processors such as the amplifier’s Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).
The interface is pretty straightforward: you get a giant volume knob in the middle, a dropdown menu for selecting club presets (there are 10), and a bypass switch.
But is it actually useful and practical? Peter Kirn at CDM thinks so, saying that “at this price, it’s a no-brainer to recommend as a learning tool to novice producers…It’s convincing enough that you can hear the strain of the amp and mixer (and my stress level as I watch a DJ redline from the booth), as you turn up the knob.”
G-Sonique has also included a variety of venue sizes and sound system conditions ranging from “a spatially divided club” with “many acoustic obstacles” and “a DJ who plays too loudly sometimes into clipping” to the perfectly tuned PA system with the listener standing right where they should be.
The brand also notes that in addition to DSP engineers, they’ve involved live sound engineers, DJs and producers such as Toxic Elements, Synthaix, DJ Byg Byzniss or DJ Adidaso with Slovakian slav squad in the plugin’s development process.
G-Sonique’s PA Club Soundsystem emulator is available as a 32-bit or 64-bit Windows VST, and will cost you €30 The first 70 customers can enjoy an introductory price of €18
Check out the plugin in action below.

Learn more at G-Sonique.
The post Does your track sound good even when a DJ plays in the red? G-Sonique’s PA Club Soundsystem Emulator lets you find out appeared first on MusicTech.

Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows on his “biggest problem with Spotify” and why Web3 is the solutionAvenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows has spoken about how Web3 can revolutionise the music industry by offering both artists and fans fairer rewards.
In 2021, A7X launched Deathbats Club — an NFT-based fanclub that rewards members with real-world merch discounts and opportunities for meet and greets.
Three years on, with the launch of Season Pass, a Fortnite-style progression system that lets fans earn points and unlock rewards, the band continues to advocate blockchain technology, arguing that Web3’s decentralised nature affords artists greater control over their music and their revenue.

READ MORE: “VR concerts are here to stay but people will always complain”: Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows

“Not every artist deserves to be rich. You have to have market share,” Shadows tells MusicTech in a new interview. “People have to want to listen to you. It’s not, ‘Oh, I’m an artist, I should get paid more.’ It’s just not how it works.”
He adds that “the reason a lot of people don’t get paid a lot on Spotify is that they have shitty record deals.”
“We had a shitty record deal. And the fact that you signed in 1999 when you were 18 and you had no money, that’s a lot different than all of a sudden the internet coming along, streaming services being born and you still make 24 cents on the dollar, and Spotify is paying what it pays.”
According to Shadows, the “biggest problem with Spotify is that they don’t share the data with the artist” — an issue Web3 takes care of: “You can take your data as an artist and go somewhere else,” the singer explains. “So I don’t hate Spotify, I just wish they’d share with us who our listeners are, and they don’t.”
Beyond financial benefits, he says the technology also has the potential to revolutionise artist-fan relations.
“[Corporations] want to come to the artist and say, ‘We’ve built a business off of you, and now we want to reward the fan, but you can’t reward the fan, we want you to allow us to reward the fan in our own way,’” Shadows says.
“And [A7X is] taking that power away from them, and saying, ‘No, we’re gonna reward the fan – who is the same fan that participates in all of your corporate networks – and we’re gonna reward them in the way that we feel is the most meaningful, which is access to us, things that we want to give them, not through [corporate networks] but through us.’”
Read the full interview on MusicTech. 
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