Audio Gear Highlights at Macworld Expo

Just like in previous years, those interested in making music would find lots of getting-started information at the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and the Macworld Music Studio at Moscone. But there were also a few exhibitors who presented new products at Macworld Expo 2009 that were targeted at musicians and audiophiles. From what I saw at Moscone last week, these are my favorites.

"Learn to Play" classes in GarageBand '09

Thanks to digital audio, music has become completely pervasive in recent years: you can listen to music anytime and anywhere, and, thanks to file-based distribution, you can even acquire it anytime and anywhere. As a result, it appears that many listeners do not value music as much as was the case when an exchange of something physical, like a vinyl record or CD, was part of the process and it took generally more effort go get your hands no music. In essence, music has become a commodity for many, regardless of how much effort and talent went into creating the tunes that we enjoy.

Playing a musical instrument, however, does wonders to our appreciation of music, as well as our willingness to explore music at a deeper level versus perceiving it as just a pleasurable soundtrack to our lives that blares away in the background. That is why I love the new "Learn to Play" feature in GarageBand '09.

Its MIDI and audio recording capabilities notwithstanding, the first versions of GarageBand more or less focused on loop-based "music construction kit" features as did, and still do, competing products. But, despite their more-than-decent production values, dragging around those loops is just not the same as playing a "real" instrument. And "Learn to Play" aspires to teach users of GarageBand just that.

The "Learn to Play" window is divided into a video at the top, in which a teacher explains playing technique and shows how to play the tune, which is displayed below the video as a musical score or as finger positions on the fretboard or keyboard in real time. Below that is a simplified timeline of the class, and at the bottom you'll find some controls, including one to slow down the tune.

Computer-based classes like this one will not be able to replace a human teacher, because what you need as a musician, especially when you just start out with learning how to play an instrument, is someone who can provide you with competent feedback on both your technique as well as musical style. That is something a software application simply cannot do. However, the classes inside GarageBand may be just what a (young?) music fan will need to get started and take the first steps towards mastering an instrument.

Apple wouldn't be Apple if they didn't add a fresh perspective to the idea of computer-based music learning, and that is Artist Lessons: (more or less) famous performers including such greats as Sting or John Fogerty present a lesson on one of their signature tracks, teach you how to play it (in a simplified version), and -- and this is the really interesting part -- provide background insight, e.g. about what inspired the track, what went on during the recording sessions, etc. At $4.99 per lesson, that's a lot of inspiration per buck for your repertoire.

GarageBand '09 comes with basic intro classes for Guitar and Piano, and to buy more classes or an Artist Lesson, the software as a built-in store. It would be nice if Apple eventually added more instruments -- how about at least bass guitar and drums? -- and introduced Artist Lessons for advanced musicians. E.g., I'd gladly be willing to pay a premium to learn Jim Beard's solo on "Fever" or get a run-down of "Ra" by Jordan Rudess himself.

Keyboards and keyboard skins for A/V applications

Professional A/V applications like Apple Logic Pro or Steinberg Nuendo have such vast numbers of keyboard shortcuts that even experienced users often have a hard time remembering them all. Keyboards and keyboard skins that have the common shortcuts printed on the keys make it much easier to use these applications efficiently.

Such keyboards have existed for years, with the first ones I remember being for Avid video editing software back in the eighties, or so. But the range of applications that are now covered, as well as the number of manufacturers have increased in recent years, so it makes sense to put these products back into focus.

At this year's Macworld Expo, there were no less than three companies -- KB Keyboards, LogicKeyboard, and XSKN -- that offer complete keyboards with customized key caps or rubber keyboard skins that you put on top of your existing keyboard, and which also work great for laptops, too.

Note the color-coded modifier keys on this keyboard for Apple Logic Pro. The yellow tool icons linked to the Escape key are especially neat.

One product I find especially appealing is a keyboard (also available as a skin) that has colored modifier keys -- Command, Option, Control, and Shift -- and similarly color-coded commands printed on the keys for easy association between the two. In a future post, I'll have a closer look at keyboard skins for Logic Pro, including this color-coded one.

 BIAS iProRecorder

Talking of pro-oriented products, BIAS, the makers of the Mac-only Peak audio editor, have introduced iProRecorder, an audio recording application for the iPhone that has some unusual features.

iProRecorder records from the iPhone's built-in microphone or any third-party mic and it offers three recording qualities at 44kHz, 22kHz, and 11kHz sampling rate, or "CD-quality", "radio-quality", or "dictation-quality" in Bias parlance. When using the software to record via the built-in microphone, you can turn the iPhone on its head to make the mic point towards the person who's speaking (you, an interview partner, etc.), and, courtesy of the iPhone's acceleration sensors and the BIAS developers' coding skills, the UI will turn 180°, too, so you can read it more easily.

iProRecorders polished main UI.

When you're done recording, you can navigate through the audio file with a jog shuttle, append it with additional audio, and there's a handy volume boost so you can listen to the recording at reasonable volumes even via the iPhone's built-in speaker. iProRecorder also supports a useful set of metadata for each recording, including the location via geotagging, or adding a photo of the person you talked to with the built-in camera.

There are three ways to get the recordings off the iPhone: send them via email; transfer them to a Mac running BIAS Peak via (W)LAN; or via a web browser, as iProRecorder has a built-in web server for listening to, and downloading, any recordings stored on the phone.

We will test iProRecorder soon to gauge just how accessible and reliable these features are.

 Focal XS speakers

There are countless aftermarket speakers available for use with your computer or portable music player, but only few of those target the higher end of market in terms of both price tag and output quality. At Expo, French manufacturer Focal presented their take on high-end computer speakers, called Focal XS.

The Focal XS is a 2.1 system with two 30W satellites and a 70W subwoofer that connects to the computer via USB. The base of the right satellite provides three buttons for power and volume control as well as an iPod dock, which not only allows using the iPod as the input source for the speakers, but also supports synchronizing the iPod with your computer.

To control the iPod, as well as the speaker volume, a small remote with basic commands is included in the package. The remote has a magnet built in so you can attach it to the mounting arms of one of the satellite speakers for storage.

The people from Focal brought along some music files in 1.4kbps AIFF format to show off the system's capabilities: the imaging of this speaker set, but also the "distribution" of low, mid, and high frequencies between the speakers and the subwoofer seemed much more natural than when listening to other "personal speaker systems." And it did not even take a direct comparison, as for example the airiness of the output and the precision of the bass were easily detectable.

Focal's demo station for the Focal XS speakers. Igloo sold separately.

I may be biased because I use a pair of Focal speakers with my home stereo. And still I have to say that, simply put, the Focal XS are the best computer speakers I have ever listened to. At $599, they are hardly a steal, but I do consider them excellent value, not least because the great sound quality is equalled by the impeccable mechanical finish and build quality of the speakers.

To learn more about the Focal XS, visit the company's web page and navigate to "Home Audio" > "Focal XS."

 Ge Wang, computer musician

Some people seem to have an endless supply of inspiration and creativity. Like Ge Wang, who was one of the guests on David Pogue's Macworld LIVE! talkshow. Ge is an assistant professor for computer music at Stanford University and has come up with some unusual ways to create and perform music on computers.

Ge Wang during Macworld LIVE!

One of his more well-known creations is the virtual Ocarina for the iPhone, which he demonstrated during the Macworld LIVE! session. Another of Ge's activities revolves around the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, which you have to see to believe.

If you're a performing musician and a bit short on creative ideas right now, do visit Ge Wang's website for a few starting points for your own musical endeavors.

What did you find?

Even a comparatively small trade show like Macworld Expo has too many interesting products and events for one person to discover. So, what have you seen at Moscone last week that you would like fellow-musicians and audio-geeks to know about?