Boss release Katana:Go headphone amp The latest addition to the Boss Katana series packs much of the same functionality into a compact headphone amp that connects directly to an instrument, offering users with a versatile solution for on-the-go practise.

Fortnite players can now rock out with an iconic Fender Stratocaster or Precision Bass in-gameFender and Epic Games have joined forces, bringing the iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar and Precision Bass to Fortnite.
The guitars are now available in a range of finishes from the Item Shop. Players can equip these digital instruments in Fortnite Festival – Epic Games’ brand-new music game  – as well in the classic Battle Royale.

READ MORE: Avenged Sevenfold launch Fortnite-style Season Pass – allowing devoted fans to rack up points and earn rewards

“Over the years, through numerous live in-game performances to music video debuts, Epic has shown that Fortnite and music go hand in hand,” a press release on the launch says. “The latest partnership with Fender further solidifies the game’s commitment to working with the most established and forward-thinking brands in music.”
Users can now play the guitars alongside their friends to popular songs in Fortnite Festival’s Main Stage, or create their own unique mix in Fortnite Festival’s Jam Stage and in Battle Royale. The Fender Stratocaster is available in Black, Fiesta Red and Lake Placid Blue finishes, with the Precision Bass arriving in Black, Buttercream and Tidepool.
Fortnite Festival launched in December last year, and lets players play in a band with friends or perform solo on stage along to chart-topping music, all available for free within Fortnite.
Take a look at the Strat in-game below:

Amp up the crowd with the new Windmill Stomp Emote, available in the Shop now!
And yes, it does display whatever Guitar you’ve currently got equipped in your Locker… like this sweet new @Fender Stratocaster pic.twitter.com/5QSKWWMq8x
— Fortnite Festival (@FNFestival) March 14, 2024

Epic Games isn’t the only company bringing music into the world of gaming. Roblox has also been hosting a range of music performances and events in its metaverse over the last few years, from the likes of PinkPantheress and Paris Hilton.
And who knows, as Epic Games is continually developing its “commitment” to working with large music brands, maybe can hope for a brand collaboration on a synth or two in Fortnite Festival in the future.
Find out more about Fortnite, and view the full real-life product range from Fender.
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Crow Hill Vault Will Release FREE Studio Drums On March 15th
The latest addition to the Crow Hill Vaults selection is the Studio Drums, an alt-rock-style drum kit plugin. The library will be released for free on March 15th. There is no shortage of drum samples to be found on the internet. When it comes to free multi-sampled drum plugins, the pickings are a little slimmer [...]
View post: Crow Hill Vault Will Release FREE Studio Drums On March 15th

Justice: “We heard Sicko Mode by Travis Scott and said, ‘Wow, we’re still thinking about music in an ancient way’”Justice have revealed that Travis Scott’s 2018 single Sicko Mode made them re-evaluate how they think about music.
The duo are set to release their first album in eight years, Hyperdrama, on 26 April this year. The first three singles – Generator, One Night/All Night, and Incognito – are out now.

READ MORE: How to create Justice-style distorted synths

Sicko Mode was hugely successful following its release. The track features guest vocals from Drake, Swae Lee and Big Hawk, and became the first hip-hop song in history to spend at least 30 weeks in the US Billboard Hot 100 top ten. It was also nominated for both Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 61st Grammy Awards, and is certified double platinum in the UK.

In a new interview, Justice say the track shifted how they approached song structure for this new era. As the pair were gearing up to make new music, they wanted to create with a “fresh heart”. Speaking to Billboard, Xavier de Rosnay states, “We tried to unlearn a bit of what we knew as musicians and producers and try to step into making an album with a fresh heart — not even a fresh mind.
“We were listening to SICKO MODE by Travis Scott and that song was a huge hit; you have an intro, then 20 seconds of Drake then it goes to something else. We heard that and went, ‘Wow, we’re still thinking about music in an ancient way. Almost by reflex.’ So we tried to put all of that aside.”

Elsewhere in the interview, de Rosnay also reveals that they made more than 200 versions of one song for this new record due to their “almost unhealthy relationship with details”: “For almost every song we have to write, produce and record the human version of it and then the electronic version of it, too,” he says. “If you want to get the best out of it, you have to go to a studio and perform all those things.”
Justice are set to perform at this year’s Coachella Festival. You can view all of their live dates via their official website.
The post Justice: “We heard Sicko Mode by Travis Scott and said, ‘Wow, we’re still thinking about music in an ancient way’” appeared first on MusicTech.

Tidal introduces Circles, a social network for musicians to discuss their experiences in the industryStreaming platform Tidal is slowly introducing Circles – an artist-to-artist forum – to a small number of creators.
Currently, Circles is in early access and is only open to artists in the Tidal Rising programme and general rising artists using Tidal Artist Home. No further details on when it will become more widely available have yet been shared.

READ MORE: The music streaming revolution is here, thanks to these new streaming platforms

As reported by Digital Trends, Tidal describes Circles as an “artist-to-artist forum for artists to discuss their career experiences and connect with their peers on how to navigate the music industry”. The artist umbrella includes musicians, DJs, and anyone else who creates content on the platform who have claimed their artist page on Tidal.
Once you’ve registered for the new social network, you can then browse four main forum topics. These are: Touring & Booking, Fans & Social, Merchandise, and Music Creation. Users are also able to contribute to discussions under their own name or anonymously, but interactions are moderated.
Last summer, Tidal rolled out hi-res FLAC (free lossless audio codec) streaming on its platform. Playback in up to 24-bit/192kHz quality was made available to Tidal’s Early Access Programme (EAP) users on iOS.
The following winter, Tidal’s parent company, Block, Inc., announced it would lay off 10 percent of  the Tidal workforce, with the company founder Jack Dorsey stating, “The growth of our company has far outpaced the growth of our business,” in November.
Currently, Spotify is the most popular music streaming platform in the world, with over 350 million users globally. The platform pays artists at an average royalty rate of $0.003 per stream.
In the US, a Living Wage for Musicians Act has been put to US Congress with the aim of ensuring that artists are compensated at a minimum rate of a penny per stream. At MusicTech, we’ve created a new guide listing the best streaming platform alternatives to Spotify.
Find out more about Tidal. Circles is free to use and can be accessed directly from the Tidal Artist Home area.
The post Tidal introduces Circles, a social network for musicians to discuss their experiences in the industry appeared first on MusicTech.

Check out this Teenage Engineering-inspired gaming console built by a university studentA designer studying at Karnavati University in India has created a Teenage Engineering-inspired gaming console, similar to that of the Nintendo Switch.
Nidharshan Suresh, who studies Industrial Design at the university, has showcased his work online. The console follows the minimalist and futuristic design approach taken by the brand, featuring pops of orange colour as often seen across its product range.

READ MORE: Teenage Engineering co-founder on ‘Fadergate’: “We guessed there would be transport damage, but not at this rate”

To create the concept, Suresh and his team – Nishi Shah, Anoushka Pawar, Dhananjay Vispute, Aditi Rakhunde and Vishesh Jaiswal – looked at the designs of TE’s OP-1 field synthesiser, sampler and drum machine, as well as its TP-7 audio recorder. They also studied the different types of gamers, and the sorts of consoles they may play – for example, gamers who like to play on the go, or those who like to play in a social context and try different games out.
According to Suresh’s Behance page, Rapid Cad was implemented into the design process to more easily visualise interaction, form and function of the product.
“Mastering minimalism was a key takeaway from this project. Every detail matters in achieving clean, functional design,” writes Suresh. “This project journey also gave me knowledge on Design for manufacturing (DFM), intricate product detailing, aesthetics and how design communicates brand values and target markets.”
Check out more images of the design below:
Credit: Nidharshan Suresh
Credit: Nidharshan Suresh
Last November, Teenage Engineering dropped its EP-133 K.O.II pocket sampler/composer, to much excitement from fans of the brand. Following the release, David Eriksson (co-founder and head of hardware at the brand) told MusicTech of the response to its launch, “It was a bit overwhelming — we knew it would be popular, but that popular? I think we had different opinions.”
He added, “We’re not at all market-driven. I mean, most big companies on this planet are; they try to predict what might sell well. I think we’re probably the opposite.”
Check out more of Nidharshan Suresh’s work via Behance, and view all of Teenage Engineering’s latest official products.
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AlphaTheta Euphonia rotary DJ mixer is a digital/analogue hybrid with Rupert Neve Designs components /AlphaTheta, previously known as Pioneer DJ, has released a rotary DJ mixer for the first time in its 30-year history. The Euphonia is a seriously luxe mixer combining digital and analogue technology, including a transformer circuit from Rupert Neve Designs that AlphaTheta promises “enhances harmonics in your music to create an energetic and polished sound.”
READ MORE: The best rotary mixers to buy in 2024: 12 best mixers for DJs
The Euphonia is the first DJ mixer with the new AlphaTheta logo stamped on it. And it seems like it’s built to last — we checked it ahead of release and can confirm that it feels like a truly well-considered design. AlphaTheta says that “after extensive testing, the perfect knob sizes were chosen…the rotary faders feature a carefully developed design.
“You’ll notice a difference in the feel of the knobs when you turn them at different speeds. A higher load is applied when you turn a knob slowly for delicate fine-tuning and a lower load is applied when you turn a knob quickly to instantly reach your intended volume level.”

According to AlphaTheta, the Euphonia combines analogue and digital to boast a sound that’s “never been heard before”. It uses 32-bit A/D and D/A converters plus a 96kHz/64-bit floating point mixing processor thanks to digital signal processing tech. The audio passes through the transformer circuit co-designed by Rupert Neve Designs — the maker of some of the most coveted analogue gear and mixing desks on the market right now.
The custom-made transformer circuit introduces third-order harmonics to bring a “glossy and energetic sound that’s smoother for mixing,” says AlphaTheta.
For mixing, you can use the “next-generation” 3Band Master Isolator for precise control over sound shaping. Meanwhile, a Boost Level will increase the volume of each frequency band depending on the setting you select; +12dB is for dynamic performances, +6dB for sound quality adjustments, and +0dB for spatial effects without any boost.

The Energy Visualizer is the display in the top right of the mixer, which sports AlphaTheta’s spin on a traditional VU meter, the Mix Level Meter. This shows a level needle per channel, giving you a quick glance at all levels at the same time. A Spectrum Analyzer also lets you keep an eye on the Euphonia’s spectral output.
A built-in digital effects section lets you apply delay, tape echo, echo verb, reverb, shimmer and a high-pass filter to get even more creative with your mixing.

The catch? Probably the price. At $3,799/£3,249/€3,799, this falls well outside the budget of hobbyist mixers and it’s a pretty big workflow change for pro DJs used to AlphaTheta/Pioneer DJ’s four-channel fader mixers such as the DJM-A9. This is definitely a niche mixer suited to DJs who are deeply passionate about sound quality and precise blending.
But, who knows, you may well see this pop up in your local hi-fi bar and maybe even some clubs.
Learn more at alphatheta.
 
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AlphaTheta dives into rotary world with launch of the euphonia: a 4-channel rotary mixerAlphaTheta Corporation announced the release of the company’s first-ever rotary mixer: the euphonia. The 4-channel mixer is the also the first piece of hardware from the company that features the AlphaTheta brand logo, replacing the Pioneer DJ branding. euphonia is a combination digital/analog mixer with rotary faders that features a custom-designed 3Band Master Isolator, built-in […]
The post AlphaTheta dives into rotary world with launch of the euphonia: a 4-channel rotary mixer appeared first on DJ TechTools.

OpenAI’s deals with publishers could spell trouble for rivalsOpenAI’s legal battle with The New York Times over data to train its AI models might still be brewing. But OpenAI’s forging ahead on deals with other publishers, including some of France’s and Spain’s largest news publishers. OpenAI on Wednesday announced that it signed contracts with Le Monde and Prisa Media to bring French and […]
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Goldilocks Beverage Coaster Tells You When It’s Just RightIf you ask us, morning is the only excuse we need for a hot caffeinated beverage — weather be damned. Wherever [gokux] is, they may be experiencing actual winter this year, given that they are out there getting cozy with a hot cup of what-have-you. But how do they know it’s at the right temperature for drinking? Enter the temperature-monitoring smart coaster.
At the heart of this build is a GY-906 infrared temperature sensor, which senses the warmth (or lack thereof) and displays the degrees on a small OLED screen thanks to a Seeed Xiao SAMD21. To make things simple, there is also an ideogram that corresponds to the current temperature — snowflake for too cold, danger sign for too hot, and thumbs up for that just-right range. Although this coaster is mostly 3D-printed, the mug sits on a slotted piece of aluminium that is removable for easy cleaning. This would be a good-looking and useful addition to any desk.
This is isn’t the first temperature-indicating beverage coaster we’ve seen. The most recent one ultimately used a probe, which is likely about as accurate (and messy) as you can get with these things.

PDP-10 Fits in Your Living Room[Oscar] at Obsolescence Guaranteed is well-known for fun replicas of the PDP-8 and PDP-11 using the Raspberry Pi (along with some other simulated vintage computers). His latest attempt is the PDP-10, and you can see how it looks in the demo video below.
Watching the video will remind you of every old movie or TV show you’ve ever seen with a computer, complete with typing noise. The PDP-10, also known as a DECsystem-10, was a mainframe computer that usually ran TOPS-10. These were technically “mainframes” in 1966, although the VAX eclipsed the system. By 1983 (the end of the PDP-10’s run), around 1,500 had been sold, including ones that ran at Harvard, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, and — of course — MIT. They also found homes at CompuServe and Tymshare.
The original 36-bit machine used transistors and was relatively slow. By the 1970s, newer variants used ICs or ECL and gained some speed. A cheap version using the AM2901 bit-slice CPU and a familiar 8080 controlling the system showed up in 1978 and billed itself as “the world’s lowest cost mainframe.”
The Knight terminals were very unusual for the day. They each used a PDP-11 and had impressive graphics capability compared to similar devices from the early 1970s. You can see some of that in the demo video.
Naturally, anyone who used a PDP-10 would think a Raspberry Pi was a supercomputer, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Still, these machines were the launching pad for Adventure, Zork, and Altair Basic, which spawned Microsoft.
The cheap version of these used bitslice which we’ve been talking about lately. [Oscar] is also known for the KIMUno, which we converted into a COSMAC Elf.

Believe generated $952.7m in annual revenues last year, up 15.7% YoYThe company’s full-year financial results were published on Wednesday, March 13
Source

Stu Bergen named interim CEO of DeezerAnnouncement follows the departure of Deezer CEO, Jeronimo Folgueira
Source

Critter & Guitari’s Kaleidoloop returns for the first time since 2016 with all-new featuresCritter & Guitari has released a new version of its portable looper Kaleidoloop with extra features, including new playing modes.
The Kaleidoloop was discontinued in 2016, but it’s back. It’s now white and has a smaller form factor to make it more portable, while the interface has been adjusted slightly too.

READ MORE: iZotope’s revived distortion plugin is Trash – no, seriously

The mono input and output have moved over to the left, while the button keys are in different positions too. But it’s not all change – it’s still a great looper to travel with or use on the go, while you can sample into it with the goose-neck microphone. And, everything you record gets saved to the microSD card.
There are six different playback modes, three speed manipulation modes, and three effects. And previously, the looping would stop when you recorded another sound, but in the new version, looping continues, making it easier to build layers without any additional equipment.
Credit: Critter & Guitari
One of the most eye-catching features, however, is the way in which users can customise the modes coded in Pure Data. You can create new modes, or upload modes that other people have shared. As a result, you can turn the Kaleidoloop into, for example, a granular or spectral processor.
It has a USB-C port on the back, while you can also use batteries. There’s a microSD slot with an 8GB card for 7GB of storage and around 20 hours of recording time, and a USB-A host port.
While Critter & Guitari hasn’t released a promo video for the new version, we’ll take any excuse to share the video for the 2016 model, which you can check out below:

The Kaleidoloop is available for $375, and you can learn more at Critter & Guitari.
The post Critter & Guitari’s Kaleidoloop returns for the first time since 2016 with all-new features appeared first on MusicTech.

GRAMMY(R) NOMINATED JOHN ONDRASIK OF FIVE FOR FIGHTING PARTNERS WITH THE TULLMAN FAMILY FOR THE “MUSIC MATTERS CHALLENGE”Tying in with "Music In Our Schools Month," GRAMMY® nominated John Ondrasik of FIVE FOR FIGHTING and The Tullman Family Office, through its operational philanthropic wing Tullman Community Ventures, announce the “Music Matters Challenge,” which will launch on March 26, running through April 30;  with the Grand Prize winners to be announced on May 14.  The national online music challenge asks Americans to create an original rendition of the song “Let Music Fill My World,” a song recorded and written by Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik and students of the Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois; while sharing their own story of a time where music greatly impacted them, changed their life, or moved them to where they remember that story today.   The challenge is designed to spotlight the magic of music and bring awareness to the generational impact of removing music from schools.  To enter the contest, visit: www.letmusicfillmyworld.com.  Listen to “Let Music Fill My World” HERE.

The “Music Matters Challenge” is hosted by “Let Music Fill My World,” an organization founded by The Tullman Family Office, and is on a mission to ensure that every child in America has access to music education in their schools.  Two Grand Prize winners will be awarded – one for individual entries: $10,000 in cash, plus the opportunity to participate in selecting a music teacher for an under-resourced school to receive a salary of up to $300,000 for three years;  and one for school entries, where the winning school receives a $25,000 school grant.

The idea for the competition began in 2023, when Cayley Tullman, President of The Tullman Family Office, partnered with Ondrasik of FIVE FOR FIGHTING to write a song with students from Farragut Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois.  Ondrasik, Tullman, and a group of eight students participated in weekly after-school workshops and composed an original song, “Let Music Fill My World,” which passionately expressed why music matters in their lives.  The students wrote all of the verses in the song themselves, and had the opportunity to professionally record their song and create a music video with the help of seasoned industry music producers. As a part of this effort, the Tullman Family Office fully funded a full-time music teacher for the students at Farragut Career Academy, which propelled the idea to create the “Music Matters Challenge.”  Check out video message from John Ondrasik and Cayley Tullman.

Says Ondrasik, "In speaking with philanthropist Cayley Tullman about how we can best support music in the schools in inner-city Chicago, I thought of my mom, Anna Marie.  Mom was a USC music grad and piano teacher. When LA Unified cut all music funding for schools in the 1970s, she volunteered at Van Gogh Elementary School and began putting on full musicals with the 5th and 6th grade classes.  The impact that my mother had on me, and my classmates resonates over 50 years later. Many students still keep in touch with my mom, and for the most, music has continued to be instrumental in their lives. That is why I was so proud to collaborate with students at Farragut Academy in Chicago in writing “Let Music Fill my World.” Though the title was mine, the lyrics are the kids! That effort, due to the Tullman Family Office, now provides a full-time music teacher for three years at Farragut! Lives will be changed for the better. The “Music Matters Challenge” will bring our mission and efforts to the nation, raising awareness for music in the schools while letting everyone sing and lend their voice to such a critical cause while having fun, and again, participating in a prize that will bring another full-time music teacher to a school in desperate need.”

Adds Cayley Tullman, President of The Tullman Family Office and former U.S. Diplomat: "I remember sitting on the floor in front of the couch at my grandparents’ home in California, mesmerized watching my Uncle Stan play guitar and sing. Stan struggled with mental health and addiction, but when playing music, he shined so bright.  Looking back, I believe music was his solace and gave him a way to express himself that he could not do with words alone.  I miss him a lot and know he would be proud of our mission to connect more young people with the magic of music.”

After the initial round of submissions, 10 public entries and 10 school entries will be selected for the finals, which will be voted on by the public. The top 10 winners will be selected through a combination of digital views and a panel of judges, including John Ondrasik and Cayley Tullman (additional judges TBA).

During the 2008-2009 recession, public school per-pupil spending dropped by 7% nationally, leading to drastic reductions in art and music classes. Music programs have since not recovered, with only 19 out of 50 schools including arts as a key area of their state accountability system. Students are not only losing a creative outlet. Music programs have been shown to increase standardized test scores, reduce disciplinary infractions, and improve graduation and attendance rates (College Board, 2002), (Bowen et al, 2019), (NAMM Foundation, 2015).  With the “Music Matters Challenge,” The Tullman Family Office, with the help of Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik, is creating this initiative to help turn around these statistics.