Yamaha Tenori-On Orange: More Affordable Model, Coming Soon!

The new – and cheaper! – version of the popular Tenori-On is arriving soon at Dolphin Music. This instrument has captured the imagination of musicians and producers all over the world, including artists such as chart-topping Little Boots. Find out more about the new model…

Yamaha Tenori-On Orange – new, and more affordable model!

The new Yamaha Tenori-On ‘Orange’ offers the same levels of creative power as the original Tenori-On, but has been made significantly more affordable!

For example, Yamaha have replaced the very cool but expensive magnesium casing of the original with a heavy duty and durable plastic casing .

The original Tenori-On became an instant hit worldwide, and has been used by several influential artists such as Massive Attack, Bjork and chart-topping Little Boots. Now, this newer, more affordable version is set to make this incredible and innovative instrument even more popular!

All the same features and spec as the original apart from:

• No Magnesium alloy body – white plastic frame on this model
• Has orange LEDs instead of white LEDs
• No screen on the back of it – has the interface
• Does not run on batteries – mains only

The Yamaha Tenori-On Orange will be arriving soon at Dolphin…just in time for Christmas! But stock is limited…so pre-order yours now! Visit the Yamaha Tenori-On Orange product page for more info.

Studies for two Yamaha TENORI-ON(s)

Studies for two TENORI-ON(s) by Smith from Franck Smith on Vimeo.

A chap named Nick Ciontea has created a channel on Vimeo collecting odd videos folks have made with or regarding Moog products.

Artist “Smith” says:

This first test is a prepartory work to a series of solo pieces inspired by John Cage’s experiments for prepared piano and Conlon Nancarrow’s player piano studies.

Yes, things you don’t normally expect to go together: Cage/Nancarrow, Moog, Tenori-On. And he successfully erases the Tenori-On’s beautiful if predictable signature sound. This is what I imagine music boxes would sound like on Alpha Centauri. In other news: I can’t afford this rig.

– 2 TENORI-ON(s)
– MI Audio Pollyanna Octave Synth
– Moog Low Pass Filter (MF-101)
– Moog Ring Modulator (MF-102)
– Moog Bass Murf (MF-105b)
– Jomox M-Resonator
– Rotary Ensemble (Boss RT-20)
– Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for LPF Resonance)
– Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for RM Frequency)
– Boss EV-5 for Rotary Ensemble speed

But, involved as that is, it’s further evidence you can push sound in new ways. And if online videos do nothing else, they can lay the gauntlet down in terms of what you think possible – both by demonstrating the generic and the unusual.

Sorce: createdigitalmusic

Tenori-On: Lowest UK Prices Promo!

GREAT NEWS! Dolphin Music might not Santa, but are giving him a run for his money! For a limited-time only, Dolphin is offering the Tenori-On for a lower price than any other UK retailer…and even better: you’ll get a free Tenori-On t-shirt as well! But hurry up: Offer starts today (Thursday 4th Dec) and ends Sunday 7th December.

Does it need any introduction? If you’re reading this you probably know what the Tenori-On is all about. Since its release over a year ago, the Tenori-On has proved to be one of the most innovative and exciting musical instruments that have ever been invented.

The Tenori-On is a revolutionary new concept, and is not only a very useful and versatile tool for professional musicians and producers, but also a fantastic instrument for those who never thought they could play anything, due to it’s “visible music” interface.

The Tenori-On…causing waves in the world of music.

In the past 15 months or so, many famous artists have adopted the Tenori-On, from legends such as Bjork to celebrated up-and-coming acts such as Little Boots, who recently used one on her debut appearance on the Jools Holland show on BBC2.

A new band even called themselves after the instrument: the three girls who are The Tenori-Ons have been spreading the word, and even appeared on the Paul O’Grady Show!

Now…It’s time for you to join the revolution!

Dolphin Music is offering an exclusive Tenori-On promo! Buy the Tenori-On for just £599, cheaper than at any other retailer in the UK, and get a free Tenori-On t-shirt (size X-large).

But you must hurry up! This deal runs from tomorrow (Thursday 4th December) to Sunday 7th December…so you’ll only have four days to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity!

Get your Tenori-On this Christmas…NOW is the perfect time to join this musical revolution!

Yamaha Tenori-On + Free Tenori-On T-Shirt!

Recording Made Simple – Recordings Made by You!

Ever fancied your hand at recording but never quite took the plunge for what ever reason? Maybe you didn’t know how, or you didn’t have the right gear, or you simply thought you weren’t good enough to worry about making a recording of yourself.

AUDIOGRAM 6

 

AUDIOGRAM 3

 

Whether you’re starting out on the path to become a Grammy award winning producer, recording a song as a gift for someone special, or simply recording a voice over for a home video or a podcast, there is absolutely no reason in this day and age to not at least give recording a go – just like learning to play an instrument, making your own recordings is great fun. One things for sure – every note you play, every word you sing, every laugh you create is lost forever ……….. if you don’t record it!

With the introduction of AUDIOGRAM 3 and AUDIOGRAM 6 recording systems, Yamaha have created a simple, understandable and affordable solution for turning any USB equipped desktop or laptop computer into a powerful yet intuitive tool for recording and editing audio.

Sold as a complete kit the AUDIOGRAM 3 and AUDIOGRAM 6 each bundle together a hardware USB interface that adds a variety of useful audio inputs and outputs to your computer, CUBASE AI4 software for recording audio and producing music, and a USB cable for connecting the audio interface.

What’s more, setup is as easy as installing the bundled music-production application, CUBASE AI, on your computer and connecting the audio interface using the USB cable provided! You’re then ready to connect instruments, microphones, CD players, MP3 players, and even old tape players for recording straight into CUBASE AI.

Because AUDIOGRAM hardware is designed and built using the same basic principles and skills as Yamaha’s leading analog consoles – used at many major events around the world – you can be confident that the sound quality is great as each unit undergoes the same rigorous QC and part selection that you’d expect with any of our mixers – whether they cost £90 or £90k.

The Soft Approach

AUDIOGRAM series includes Steinberg’s full-featured Cubase AI4 software. Cubase AI4 is a comprehensive music production software based on the flagship Cubase 4 program that has been specially created for Yamaha hardware users. It gives you up to 48 simultaneous audio tracks and 64 MIDI tracks, plus a variety of VST plug-in software synths and effects, as well as full VSTi compatibility. The ‘AI’ in Cubase AI4 stands for Advanced Integration, and this new software delivers sophisticated functions and a level of hardware/software integration that other programs can’t match.

More Info:

Yamaha Audiogram 6

Yamaha Audiogram 3

Yamaha opts for Auralex

Acoustics specialist helps tune artist services facility drum studio.

Yamaha has employed by acoustic treatment brand Auralex to assist with its drum showroom’s acoustical issues.

The space, located in the Yamaha artist services facility includes its artist relations drum and snare showrooms along with a recording studio, used for both drums and guitars.

Reserved for the Yamaha’s elite artists, and only available via appointment, the audio quality of the studio as well as the showroom needed to be top-notch in order to showcase the range in sounds of the drum kits on display, in addition to being used as an in-house R&D facility for new and upgraded drum and guitar products.

“Our goal with the Auralex acoustical treatments was to create a more deadened sound to the room,” says Ken Dapron, director of Yamaha artist services. “Auralex’s ProPanels not only helped with the isolation issues we were experiencing, but it tuned the room perfectly, enabling us to achieve a more natural drum tone.”

Auralex acoustically analysed the room and the main acoustical renovation involved was absorption and diffusion, while also increasing the spaces’ isolation properties. In the main drum showroom, which contains several drum kits of varying models, sizes and configurations, Yamaha installed 12 Elite CT45 ProPanels, three on each corner of the space and 72 ELiTE B24 ProPanels tactically scattered throughout the rooms’ four walls.

The snare drum room includes four T-Fuser diffusers, which were installed on the ceiling, and two boxes of 96 AudioTile Shockwave (48 right concave, 48 left concave, 48 right convex and 48 left convex) that were strategically arranged throughout the room’s walls as well as placed in the center of the ceiling.

The recording studio was outfitted with 24 of Auralex’s ELiTE B22 ProPanels, which were installed on the walls, 3 ELiTE c24 ProPanels on three of the four walls, 3 ELiTE CT45 ProPanels in each corner of the room minus the corner closest to the door, and 6 SpaceArray Diffusors located on both the ceiling and walls of the space.

Yamaha requested that all ProPanels be obsidian in color in order to match the existing décor. For additional low frequency control, Auralex also recommended that the B24 and C24 ProPanels be mounted with 2’x4’s to create an air gap behind the panels.

“A special adherence to low frequency nodes was needed for the install at Yamaha’s drum showroom,” says Tim Martin, director of sales and marketing at Auralex Acoustics. “Auralex needed to create a sound environment that best reflected the natural low frequency of the drums while offering added sound control to the space as a whole. By carefully analysing the current state of the space, our team of engineers was able to carefully and accurately select the appropriate placement and treatments involved to both properly highlight Yamaha’s line of products while preventing the sounds from bleeding into neighbouring spaces.”

View Auralex at Dolphin

Pocketrak 2G – A practical road-test

The new POCKETRAK 2G Digital Pocket Recorder is ideal for all kinds of audio applications. Rather than simply listing these we thought it would be great to do a proper, real-life road test. This road-test however would not take place in the obvious band or studio environment though….

Yamaha lent one to their own Jean Ketley who put it through its paces during her unique educational stage production. Jean speaks about how she used it during rehearsals and the performance.

Jean said: “I’ve worked for Yamaha for nearly 27 years and in that time have worked for both the sales side and the Music Schools. Prior to this I was a professional musician and singer for 15 years so it’s no surprise to find that in my spare (!) time I run a 20 strong choir. For accompaniment I turn to either a Yamaha digital piano or the Tyros keyboard, but as I conduct as well, I often write arrangements that I then record onto the Tyros to use during performances.

For the past 7 years, working with the choir we have been involved with the local primary school and each year we stage a 2 hour concert there, transforming the hall into a theatre complete with staging, lights, video projection and smoke machine (which is very popular with the children!).

I work with years 5 & 6 – they have their own 15 minute performance of a popular musical, joining the choir in 2 or 3 numbers, competing amongst themselves for a part in the Stars In Their Eyes/X Factor/Pop Idol part of the show which includes my making short, quick fire videos to screen just prior to the performance of each “act”.

Yamaha Pocketrack 2G

The new

Pocketrak 2G pocket recorder was an innovation for me this year. I was able to use it in several ways:

As the Pocketrak has its own rechargeable battery, during rehearsal I was able to very simply record the children’s performance by placing the Pocketrak on a table in front of them – it’s easy one-press record function and the tilt-up microphone stops any sound bouncing from the table top. Then by connecting the recorder using a standard mini-jack lead to the PA or convenient amplifier I could replay the recordings to them and review it instantly – they then understood the need for voice projection etc. I did the same for the 20-strong choir by securing the Pocketrak on to a projector suspended from the ceiling of my music room where we rehearse. The sound quality is simply remarkable thanks to the highly sensitive stereo microphone. It is also possible to attach Pocketrak to a camera tripod which makes placement very simple and convenient.

My videos include voice-overs which I record separately to the filming. Instead of using a mini-disc player and microphone which then have to be recorded to PC, the Pocketrak was much simpler and easier, but more importantly the sound quality was significantly better. Oddly enough I had made a couple of voice-overs on mini-disc prior to testing the Pocketrak but found the method of extracting the sound files was taking too long – to get round this I simply hooked the Pocketrak up to the mini-disc player with one lead and then recorded the files back onto the Pocketrak which I subsequently connected to the PC by its own internal USB connector. So simple!

I also find learning songs a little tedious so always use my in-car driving time to try and learn them on the way home. I would normally record the music with and without vocals onto a CD. However my car only has a cassette player so I have to use a portable CD player which has the separate tape adapter – because the Pocketrak also doubles up as a personal stereo I was able to import my music from a computer into the Pocketrak and by connecting it into the car hi-fi was able to play back. Importing files into the Pocketrak is also extremely simple – I just connect the inbuilt USB connector to the computer and drag and drop either WAV files or MP3 files into the Pocketrak which appears like an external drive. The file name shows in the playback window so it’s easy to recognize each piece. I could see that this could be helpful to drama students learning lines too; and of course if I wanted to remind myself of a task to do I could also use it as a Dictaphone – it has several folders which allows work to be recorded and stored in an organized fashion…..crucial for anyone working in education.

During the live show performance I had planned to connect Pocketrak directly to the mixing desk but since we had a professional in who used a DAT recorder I simply positioned the Pocketrak on top of the mixing desk and recorded the ambient sound – very live.

I see this device as an invaluable tool for recording performance (including GCSE & A level); for evaluating rehearsal; for learning; for easy playback and saving data. And it’s so easy – you don’t have to be a “Techie” to do it!”

View Pocketrak 2G Page at Dolphin

Swayzak and the art of Tenori-on

Can it really be 10 years since Snowboarding in Argentina – Swayzak’s debut long player – was named album of the year by Mixer magazine?

It is indeed, but in that time James Taylor and David Brown have been keeping themselves busy both live and in the studio, all the while building a global reputation that’s as organic as the deep, home-grown dub-house they’ve become synonymous with.

Few artists straddle the thin divide between underground and mainstream quite like Swayzak. Their music, like their production style, almost relies on the haphazard, lo-fi ethic that’s been a constant mainstay of their back catalogue. Yet despite being five albums in (as well as two mix compilations), they’re as keen to follow their own path as they always have been – re-releasing Snowboarding, ambitions to make an album featuring 80s vocalists, David’s perennial obsession with vinyl…

“James and I have been buddies since 1989 when we worked at a record label together,” David begins, “but it wasn’t until 1992 that we actually started making music together.”

“I’d been into music since I was very young. The first thing I had was a Bontempi organ, and by the time I was 12 I was a young punk. I was lucky enough to see Joy Division as my first live band, and I guess that set the tone! I got my first synth – a Yamaha CS01 – when I was about 15, I think. Then I got a Boss drum machine, a Roland MC-202 – can you believe the guy in the store actually talked me out of getting a TB-303! But overall what I discovered was that the sound was better without guitars.”

Despite this penchant for a retro minimalism that pervades their music, they recently adopted Yamaha’s uber-futuristic Tenori-on as a way of exploring new directions with their music. David first heard about the Tenori-on from a friend who’d emailed him some details on this brushed magnesium frame.

“At first I didn’t really understand it and thought it was nothing more than a toy. But then one day I was looking for a new machine for our live show and by chance I heard the Tenori-on in a London store and thought it would be just perfect for our sound.”

“To begin with it was the bleepy sounds and the lights that drew me to it, but we’ve now incorporated it into our live show in a number of ways. We’ll process it with some tape delay and reverb, sync it to a laptop running Ableton Live… and just for fun last weekend we used a 1960s WEM Copicat to make some strange live sounds. Studio-wise, I’ve been recording it through various effects. The one that’s giving the best results is Korg’s KP3 – these two together are sounding very cool!

“Tenori-on helps us to make a more improvised sound when we’re playing live. Sometimes the laptops can be a bit boring, which is why we always have real outboard effects such as delay and reverb to hand. This way we can play with the sounds on the desk. And now the Tenori-on can throw in extra bleeps and clicks.”

“For the live set we’re running it with Ableton Live, two laptops and various outboard FX, and we’ll just jam with the Tenori-on to add bleeps and beats. Essentially I like the simplicity of the sequencing… and that it’s always in tune!”

“We used Tenori-on in Tokyo recently, and people were freaking out. They’d never seen it before, which is pretty unreal for Japan. Occasionally I’ll use it on a flight, and people are always wondering what sort of game it is I’m playing!”

The Tenori-on fits perfectly with the simplicity of the Swayzak sound, as David explains.

“Our philosophy to making music is quite simple, I guess. Do what you feel, not what you think will make you money. Many people follow trends – and to a certain extent we’re all guilty of that – but we’ve always experimented with our sound and taken risks. Some good, some bad, but we like to try to be different. There aren’t many electronic acts like us. We released on Minus Records in 1999 and Sony in 2000, and since 2002 K7 has been a good home for us. Like us, they are somewhere between underground and major label. And as an electronic outfit we’re big in the underground but small in the mainstream.”

View Tenori-On page at Dolphin

Other Links:

www.tenori-on.co.uk  
www.swayzak.com

Win a A Pair Of Yamaha MSP7s!

To celebrate the inaugural issue of Music Planet, Dolphin created some really cool competitions…and this one is just GREAT – your chance to win a pair of the new Yamaha MSP7 Monitors!

Yamaha’s monitors always demand scrutiny.

The MSP7 delivers a clear top-end that doesn’t tire over time. The bass extension of the 6.5-inch bass drivers is also very natural and delivers a well reasoned amount of low-end woofer movement without any excessive hype.

For your chance to own a pair of these fantastic studio monitors of the 7-inch bass drivers, just visit this page!

Yamaha Download – Great New Service For Yamaha Users!

The Yamaha Download brings you the latest news and views from Yamaha UK. It has exclusive interviews, gear demos and live music as we talk to the artists who use Yamaha instruments in session and on some of the biggest stages in the world.

In this month’s edition they speak exclusively with Jamie Cullum about his new album, go stateside with emerging blues legend Joe Bonamassa and listen to Antonio Forcione put the new handcrafted L series guitars through their paces.

Yamaha also have a live track from Doal Drummer, this month’s Band for a Grand. Yamaha have set themselves the challenge of creating a full band set up for under a thousand pounds. Each month they select a band from all the MP3s that are offered by you to their website and invite them to come along to Yamaha HQ to record a song for the Download. All the songs are being stored on the Yamaha Download website and later in the year you’ll get a chance to vote for your favourite.

To subscribe to the Yamaha Download visit iTunes and if you want to check out the Yamaha Download back catalogue and listen to recent Band for a Grand performers, visit www.yamahapodcasts.co.uk

Tenori-on: you’ve seen the lights, now meet the group!

It’s a girl-band like no other: there are three of them, they’re called The Tenorions and the only instruments they play are – you guessed it – three Yamaha Tenori-ons!

It’s little wonder that in its short life the Tenori-on has had such a profound impact on music makers the world over. Artists are already creating albums using nothing but the Tenori-on, such is the power contained within that diminutive, brushed-aluminium casing. But Jason Air is taking the Tenori-on concept to a new level. With success in the worlds of Drum & Bass and Hip Hop, his latest venture sees him as the driving force behind the world’s first band to create music exclusively with the Tenori-on. Fittingly, this trio of Oriental techno-heads goes by the name of… The Tenorions.

The band comprises core members Nynn and Cici, who write the uncompromising and driving techno tracks that have already become The Tenorions trademark sound. With increasing bookings for live gigs, third Tenorion Fiona joins them on stage to complete the trio. They’ve recently returned from a tour of Spain and Portugal and have further bookings coming in from around the world. Perhaps their strangest booking to date, but clearly the most high profile, has been a performance on the Paul O Grady Show in April of this year.

Jason puts their initial success down to the popularity of the Youtube videos he posted throughout the Spring, and as a result they’ve garnered coverage in the NME, The Independent, and dozens of tech and music blogs.

Here’s the unbelievable Tenorions appearance on daytime tv, at the Paul O’Grady show:

For Nynn, Cici and Fiona, a lifetime either studying or producing music has prepared them well for life in the Tenorions. To begin with Nynn and Cici would write the tunes, taking responsibility for melody and percussion respectively, but as time has passed they’ve both seen a natural progression towards composing complete tracks in their own right – and all, of course, within the confines of that hand-held silver box.

But just what is it about this unique instrument that’s made the Tenorions and the Tenori-on such a hit with people worldwide? It’s surely no coincidence that the girls are booked to play gigs almost for the rest of this year and into the next.

“I haven’t seen anything like it before,” Nynn tells us. “For us it shows a totally new way of creating music. And it’s so much fun to play – it’s as easy and intuitive to pick up as Nintendo, but the results… well, we’re creating art!”

But, of course, the concept of working within new boundaries comes with a lot of fresh challenges, as Jason is quick to outline.

“It’s totally changed the way we write music, for one thing. It’s nothing like writing in [Apple] Logic, you know! One aspect of Tenori-on that makes it such an instant tool for composing is that there are no filters or complicated plug-ins to program or convoluted menus to navigate. As a result it makes us think of the music in a more ‘musical’ way, if that, er… makes any sense?! It’s really easy to focus on the music and not get so caught up in the production side of making music. Ask any producer with a well-equipped modern studio and they’ll all tell you that it’s pretty easy to get side-tracked by the technology!”

“The great thing about composing with Tenori-on is that it’s all right there at your fingertips. I guess that’s the whole ethos of Tenori-on though. In Japanese it roughly translates to ‘in the palm’, and that’s exactly what the Tenori-on system gives you – a way to create melodies and program rhythms right there in the palm of your hand.”

The Tenori-On is available now

Tenorions Myspace Page