Camera Capabilities Unlocked from a MouseThere is a point where taking technology for granted hides some of the incredible capabilities of seemingly simple devices. Optical mice are a great example of this principle, using what are more or less entirely self-contained cameras just for moving the cursor across your screen. Don’t believe us? Check out this camera made from an old optical mouse from [Dycus]!
For those unfamiliar with optical mice, the sensor used for tracking movement, like a camera, is just an array of photosensitive sensors. This allows a simple on-board microcontroller to convert the small changes from the visual sensor into acceleration/movement information to be sent to the computer.
Proving how capable these sensors can truly be, [Dycus]’s camera manages a whole 30×30 array of picture quality. Along with glorious greyscale, the pictures achieved from such a camera are more than recognizable. Putting together the camera didn’t even require anything crazy beyond the sensor itself. What appears to be a Teensy LC board, basic buttons, and a small screen are essentially everything required to replicate the camera’s functionality. Pictures, both standard and “panoramic”, can be viewed in a variety of color palettes stored on board. Along with a surprisingly impressive feature set, the idea is impressive.
Limitations are often the mother of innovation, no matter if self-imposed or not, as seen here. However, [Dycus] still had a whole 30×30 array to photograph. What about a single pixel? Let’s make it even harder; we can’t look directly at the subject! This is exactly what was done here in this impressive demonstration of clever engineering.
Thanks to JohnU and Thinkerer for the tip!

CZ says he was surprised by pardon, denies ties to the Trump familyBinance co-founder CZ pushed back against allegations that his pardon was motivated by close ties or business deals with the Trump family.

Is Wall Street losing faith in AI?A rough week for tech stocks might signal a loss of investor confidence in artificial intelligence.

Get an Ampeg Bass Amp and 2 Bass Pedals FREE for AmpliTube 5 CS in November
IK Multimedia has given low-end enthusiasts an early Christmas present in the form of four bass guitar giveaways for AmpliTube 5 CS users in November. AmpliTube 5 CS is IK’s free guitar and bass workstation, exclusive to 64-bit systems for macOS and Windows.  The November giveaway features the SVX-500 bass amp, matching 2×10 SVX-500 cab, [...]
View post: Get an Ampeg Bass Amp and 2 Bass Pedals FREE for AmpliTube 5 CS in November

Sequential update Take 5 OS Available as a free download from the company’s website, the latest version of the Take 5's OS introduces a new Poly Chain function along with 10 new play modes for the built-in arpeggiator. 

Oberheim TEO-5 updated The latest software update for the TEO-5 sees it gain the same Poly Chain function and arpeggiator updates that have been introduced to the Sequential Take 5.

Rico Nasty Gets Gnarly at the FondaEighty percent of the best new rappers of the last decade have been female. After years and years of misogyny in the music industry that, lets be clear, does still exist, it does at least seem to have gotten through to some of the people at the top of the industry tree that, hey, if there's more than one female rapper in the charts at the same time, the world won't implode.

So, beefs aside, we have Cardi and Nicki, Megan and Doja. Bubbling under, we have a lot more strong, talented women ready to make the break into arena-level shows. Saweetie, Ice Spice, Doechii, Coi Leray, Kash Doll... the list goes on and on. And let's get this right: If Rico Nasty isn't headlining the Kia Forum in two years MAXIMUM, then something's wrong with the world.

She's got it all. Rico Nasty's rhymes are incisive, intelligent and, in the very best possible way, cutting. Her delivery is rapid-fire and, most importantly, very much her own. There's a little snarl in there, that bit of nasty, which is partially why she's so attractive to the contemporary punk crowd. That, and she performs on stage with a live guitarist as well as her DJ.

She's a consummate show-woman. She holds the crowd at the Fonda, Hollywood in the palm of her hand which, given the length of her nails, is a precarious but elevated position to be in.

And then there are her songs which are either gloriously memorable or rabble-rousingly anthemic. Oftentimes, they're both.

Weighing it at about 40 songs, her setlist at the Fonda was lengthy but didn't outstay its welcome by one microsecond.

"WHO WANT IT" and "EAT ME!" gets the crowd yelling along early, and there are some awesome choices of covers (Doechii's "Swamp B*tches" and Doja Cat's "Tia Tamera"). The set flies by, one killer tune after the other. Teezo Touchdown and Molly Santana join Ms. Nasty at various points, and Paramore's Hayley Williams gets up to help her with "Smack a B*tch," increasing the scream volume.

Towards the end, we get set highlight "TEETHSUCKER" and "Son of a Gun," but in truth the set was packed with highlights. Rico Nasty is the real deal--make her huge!

Photo credit: Emily Eizen, @emilyeizenThe post Rico Nasty Gets Gnarly at the Fonda first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Get a free violin synth for Splice INSTRUMENT
Download our free violin preset for Splice INSTRUMENT—grab these presets during the drop window and they’re yours to keep forever.

Rivian gives RJ Scaringe a new pay package worth up to $5BThe company canceled a similar-sized award from 2021, when EV optimism was sky-high, due to the "unlikeliness" that the associated goals could be met.

Medium Format, 3 GigaPixel Camera Puts It All On the Line (Sensor)It’s a bit of a truism that bigger sensors lead to better pictures when it comes to photography. Of course everyone who isn’t a photographer knows that moar megapixles is moar better. So, when [Gigawipf], aka [Yannick Richter] wanted to make a camera, he knew he had to go big or go home. So big he went: a medium format camera with a whopping 3.2 gigapixel resolution.
Now, getting a hold of a sensor like that is not easy, and [Yannick] didn’t even try. The hack starts by tearing down a couple of recent-model Kodak scanners from eBay to get at those sweet CCD line sensors. Yes, this is that classic hack: the scanner camera. Then it’s off to the oscilloscope and the datasheet for some serious reverse-engineering to figure out how to talk to these things. Protocol analysis starts about 4 minutes in of the embedded video, and is worth watching even if you have no interest in photography.
As for what the line sensor will be talking to, why, it’s nothing other than a Rasberry Pi 5, interfacing through a custom PCB that also holds the stepper driver. Remember this is a line sensor camera: the sensor needs to be scanned across the image plane inside the camera, line by line, just as it is in the scanner. He’s using off-the-shelf linear rails to do that job. Technically we suppose you could use a mirror to optically scan the image across a fixed sensor, but scanner cameras have traditionally done it this way and [Yannick] is keeping with tradition. Why not? It works.
Since these images are going to be huge an SD card in the Pi doesn’t cut it, so this is perhaps the only camera out there with an NVMe SSD. The raw data would be 19 GB per image, and though he’s post-processing on the fly to PNG they’re still big pictures.  There probably aren’t too many cameras sporting 8″ touchscreens out there, either, but since the back of the thing is so large, why not? There’s still a CSI camera inside, too, but in this case it’s being used as a digital viewfinder. (Most of us would have made that the camera.) The scanner cam is, of course, far too slow to generate its own previews. The preview camera actually goes onto the same 3D-printed mount as the line sensor, putting it onto the same focal plane as the sensor. Yes, the real-time previews are used to focus the camera.
In many ways, this is the nicest scanner camera we’ve ever featured, but that’s perhaps to be expected: there have been a lot of innovations to facilitate this build since scanner cams were common. Even the 3D printed and aluminum case is professional looking. Of course a big sensor needs a big lens, and after deciding projector lenses weren’t going to cut it, [Yannick] sprung for Pantax 6×7 system lenses, which are made for medium format cameras like this one. Well, not exactly like this one– these lenses were first made for film cameras in the 60s. Still, they offer a huge image, high-quality optics, and manual focus and aperture controls in a format that was easy to 3D-print a mount for.
Is it the most practical camera? Maybe not. Is it an impressive hack? Yes. We’ve always had a soft-spot for scanner cameras, and a in a recent double-ccd camera hack, we were lamenting in the comments that nobody was doing it anymore. So we’re very grateful to [Manawyrm] for sending in the tip.

Kulshan Studios Smash Bass Soundset for Access Virus TI Series95 brutal Dubstep and lush Future Bass presets, compatible with the Access Virus TI hardware synth series. This soundbank is 100% Bass Music-oriented, which means no weird clangs, effects, drums, or bells. The patches in Smash are based on sounds from songs by Rusko, Droeloe, Subtronics, Seven Lions, Skrillex, Burial, Knife Party, Savant, Marshmello, RIOT, Jauz, Coki, Au5, Benga, and many many more. So this soundset is designed to fully exploit the Virus Sound to its fullest potential. And to cap off the bank, some patches were set to INIT, so you have room to write and store your own patches without overwriting any existing sounds. No 3rd party FX were used in these sounds. Sounds in this preset pack are suitable for the Post-Dubstep, Chillstep, Riddim Dubstep, Tearout Dubstep, and Future Bass genres, and are organized by category into Leads, Plucks, Pads, and Basses, for quick reference. All patches are royalty-free and delivered instantly via email as a 24-hour download link. Requirements: Access Virus TI, TI2, Snow, or Polar synthesizer. Also compatible with Adam Szabo Viper VSTi and the The Usual Suspects OsTIrus. Read More

Sontronics introduce the ARIA 2 The ARIA 2 employs a newly designed capsule, offers a range of technical improvements and comes sporting a stylish new look.

Circvit Bass is a FREE Extended Range Bass Virtual Instrument
You can now get Circvit’s Circvit Bass five-string bass virtual instrument as a free download. The freebie release is for macOS and Windows in VST3, VST, AU, and AAX formats. Circvit Bass was created by sampling the Legator Wraith 37” multi-scale five-string bass, which has Fishman Fluence Modern active humbuckers. The extended range bass plugin [...]
View post: Circvit Bass is a FREE Extended Range Bass Virtual Instrument

“They came to hear the artist, what are you going to do – wait ’til the third song to get it together?”: Drake FOH engineer on what really matters in live sound engineeringDemetrius Moore, who’s been Drake’s FOH engineer since 2010, has lifted the lid on what his role is really like, noting how vocals are most important element to get right when mixing a show live.
Moore has most recently accompanied Drake on his $ome $pecial $hows 4 U Tour with PartyNextDoor in Europe. Within his role, he’s been in charge of some pretty mighty gear including a massive Adamson Systems Engineering PA system, provided by Eighth Day Sound. Drake performed in the round for these shows, so getting the sound right was paramount to completing the immersive environment.

READ MORE: 7 lessons on music-making from a breakfast with Babyface

Speaking to MixOnline in a detailed interview about his role, Moore says the shows were very dynamic, with him needing to cater his mix to a range of musical styles including intimate R&B, Drake’s more bass-heavy rap, and even his Ibiza-style dance music.
“I always start with the vocal,” says Moore. “To quote Prince, ‘If the first words out of an artist’s mouth when they hit the stage aren’t heard, you’re a horrible engineer.’ They came to hear the artist, and what are you going to do – wait ’til the third song to get it together?”
Speaking on the colossal PA that carried the sound at Drake’s arena shows – which was broken up into four corners of hangs – Moore says the system was intended for even coverage: “They feel the impact, that’s for sure, but a lot of people look at the PA and say, ‘Oh my God, this is gonna rip our faces off!’ No, it won’t. We did it this way for even coverage, even dispersion and to have power without killing people.”

View this post on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

MixOnline further reveals how the tour also carried a pair of DiGiCo Quantum852 consoles for Moore and monitor engineer Chris Lee, with both desks on an Optocore network that also supported three SD-Racks and one SD-MiNi Rack.
Moore says he uses his desk “as an instrument”: “It’s definitely an effect-heavy show. The first song is Marvin’s Room, and if you listen to the album, there’s a reverse gate reverb delay that is the whole vocal sound of that song – which we have to recreate live! It’s three effects: The vocal goes into the reverse gate, which goes into the reverb and that goes into the delay.
“I sat there for I don’t know how long, tweaking it until it was as close to the record as possible. It was a little bit of a challenge trying to get it exact, but we’re damn close. Not every song has crazy effects like that, but there are a lot throughout the show,” he says.
Drake’s most recent album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U is available to stream or buy now.
The post “They came to hear the artist, what are you going to do – wait ’til the third song to get it together?”: Drake FOH engineer on what really matters in live sound engineering appeared first on MusicTech.

From Suno getting sued by Koda to Live Nation’s $8.5bn in Q3… it’s MBW’s weekly round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
Source