Music

IK Multimedia's iRig range has included microphones and audio interfaces in the past, but now the company is looking to make life easier for musicians, live bloggers, podcasters and creators with one device that combines the two.

Roland has announced the FP-E50, a portable piano and creativity workstation that's designed as an easy intro for beginners while including enough advanced features to keep the pros happy, including Roland's flagship synthesis engine.

There's often quite a price premium for folks who opt for hi-res portable audio. Indeed, the company who kicked off personal groove machines has been known to charge a small fortune – which makes the latest Walkman something of a pleasant surprise.

Astell&Kern has launched a combined a digital audio player and desktop headphone amplifier that's built around a dual-tube Triple Amp System and is the first product to feature the latest flagship DAC from ESS.

The world's greatest living musical genius (IMHO) is mastering an extraordinary new instrument: a dance-controlled human pipe organ with a built-in drum kit, built from scratch every night in real time, with the sonic horsepower of a football crowd.

It's ironic that while violins are popular instruments for children to learn to play, they can also be pricey. The Montreal-based AVIVA Young Artists Program has set out to change that, by creating an inexpensive yet nice-sounding 3D-printed violin.

Many mobile devices either rock a poor quality audio jack or don't have one at all, so if you want to plug in your favorite legacy ear candy you'll need a USB DAC. Luxury audio brand Astell&Kern's cable DAC has just entered its third generation.

Synth wizards Critter & Guitari have launched a successor to the company's first product – the Pocket Piano – in the shape of a portable music box called the 201, which sports six sound engines, a built-in speaker and a bunch of funky wooden keys.

From the eerie tones of classic B-movies to atmospheric warbling on modern music tracks, the Theremin is instantly recognizable. An open-source version called the Theremotion uses a Leap controller to add a new layer of expressive control.

Following a small pilot production run back in 2016, Moog Music has announced the return to full production of the mighty Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer, which helped shape modern music from the 1970s onwards.

The first project from Teenage Engineering was a 2007 art installation comprising 22 wooden dolls that formed a singing ensemble. The absolut choir has now inspired the creation of a smaller collection that can voice a bunch of classic songs.

"Hey," says Sonic Lamb's voiceover guy, "we're here to give you an eargasm." Sorry, I've just been rowing and I'm worn out from an Earth-shattering oargasm. But these hybrid-drive headphones do certainly take sub-bass frequencies to another level.

Canada's this.is.Noise has launched an interesting MIDI controller on Indiegogo called the MIDI Blaster, which brings a new level of gesture control to music creation while also adding a visual element.

Unless you can afford to pay roadies, one of the great pains of being a gigging musician is lugging around heavy equipment like amps and cabs. Bruce Thigpen of Eminent Technology has come up with a guitar speaker design that lightens the load.

Japanese music gear titan Roland is celebrating 50 years in business this year, and has combined the timeless beauty of wood with cutting-edge digital technology for its latest party piece – the 50th Anniversary Concept Model Piano.