Category: Music

Categories
Music

The Magnet guitar camera mount tells your visual story when drilling technique

While the old adage about practice makes perfect has a certain amount of truth to it, practicing bad technique leads to bad habits, which in turn leads to limited skills and a lot of frustration trying to fix something that could have been avoided. A good teacher can help their student with technique during a lesson, but what to do in between? The Magnet guitar camera mount works with the user’s smartphone to create the perfect angle for capturing where those mistakes are happening so that they can be corrected. It adjusts to fit nearly any smartphone, and the phone can be used either upright or in landscape position.

An adaptor for the magnet allows for users to capture both their left and right hand at the same time, though two separate phones have to be used to accomplish this. Backers strapped for cash may just want to consider looking in a mirror while playing instead. This campaign seeks to raise $55,000. Early bird backers get one Magnet for $30, with an expected delivery of August 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Music

Mars Bluetooth speakers levitate, more impressive than David Blaine

Should there be a robot-led apocalypse in the future, there’s no doubt the majority of their ground forces will be comprised of portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s easy to see, too: the last few years have witnessed a onslaught of speakers in all manner of sizes, shapes, colors, and prices. With all these options, though, it has become difficult to really capture a consumer’s attention.

For Hong Kong-based crazybaby, this isn’t a problem at all. Their Mars portable Bluetooth speaker has the unique distinction of incorporating levitation in an effort to improve acoustic fidelity, and looking mighty cool while doing so. The speaker sports a 360°, UFO-like shape, so no one in the immediate area is spared audio quality as there’s technically no back to it. Its aircraft-grade aluminum design also makes it a stunner while still being able to take a few tumbles thanks to its shock and waterproof design. Mars is also magnetized, so users can take it along with them and clip to a bike or pretty much anything else for up to eight hours. A successful $100,000 campaign will see the $189 Mars levitating speaker shipped in April 2015.

The Mars levitating speaker is simply impressive, and isn’t as expensive one would think something as sleek and functional would be. A companion app allows users control over neat tricks like proximity-based volume adjustment, an old but well-executed idea that makes the Mars sleeker than it already is. The bullet-like Archt One also spreads sound around equally and looks good too, but the Mars speakers levitate.  

Categories
Music

Guitar Throne provides blended home for instrument and musician

The amount of gear that has to be packed up for a live gig can be daunting. So when a quality product comes along that allows for two or more items to be rolled into one, the average musician will sit up and take some notice. Guitar Throne blends a guitar holder and stool into one. Flip it up for the stand, and down to take a seat. There are also plenty of options: plain Baltic Burch so artists with painting and/or drawing skills can create their own graphic and perhaps use it to advertise their band at live gigs, stained model (backer chooses their preferred stain color), hardwood model (cherry, mahogany or walnut), or custom shop model for which preferred graphic and wood is chosen by the musician.

The measurements for the stool are not noted, but it is featured as a one-size-fits-most type of situation which has been field-tested. Interested backers may also want to check out the Bnd stand, Klin, and SoulPedal campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $25,000 by December 19, 2014. For $150, backers get one Guitar Throne with the natural finish. Estimated delivery is currently set for December 2014.

Categories
Music

Capsule-like gadget turns nearly anything into a speaker

If it’s hollow, it can become a speaker – or so goes the idea in connection with the X-Vibration Speaker capsule. There isn’t a great deal of information on how or why this product actually works. It would help this campaign immensely if the creator had collaborated with someone whose first language is English and had that person help them with the wording of their campaign and video. But based on the pictures and limited words that are there, some sort of vibration technology enables the user’s mobile device to play music through a myriad of interesting options ranging from a basketball to a milk jug to an acoustic guitar or even a bike helmet.

One might hope that the helmet offers a surround sound effect – though this is not specifically stated. Perhaps it is intended to be a knockoff of X-Vibe. This campaign seeks to raise $50,000 by January 15, 2015. Backers who actually want to take a chance on this can do so for $89 with an expected delivery of March 2015.

Categories
Music

Headband-like Dreamphones deliver lullabies, stay on through sleep

Headphones that actually stay put can be a difficult item to find. And trying to sleep while wearing them can be nearly impossible. Most of them lack comfort in a pretty major way.

Wireless headphones may very well be the rave of the future. This would resolve that looming problem that so many people encounter with the constant hassle of untangling. This is one nice feature that Dreamphones has to offer.  Other common issues that this product addresses are keeping earbuds in place while exercising and overall comfort. The headband-style product syncs with any Bluetooth 3.0 device, so even sleeping while listening to music is more comfortable than with standard earbuds. It’s not clear what the headband is made of, but it is indeed washable. The material is thick, and so may be too warm to wear comfortably if one happens to enjoy exercising outside during the warmer months. The user also must be within 30 feet of their Bluetooth device in order for the wireless speakers to function properly.

Overall, this product seems like it will have great appeal to music lovers, exercise enthusiasts, and those who like listening to music while falling asleep at night. It seems like it may be worth exploring further, especially for those who are fed up with the constant annoyance of dealing with tangled and knotted earbud wires. This campaign seeks to raise $5,000. Early bird backers get their own for $59.

Categories
Music

Proper Audio 2 is a mountable Bluetooth speaker that probably won’t abduct you

No, it won’t abduct a person, but it could potentially abduct ears and attention spans. Music lovers always appreciate a good sound system. And Proper Audio 2 offers mini Bluetooth speakers for iPhones that are not only portable, but also mountable. The round shape helps to enhance sound and create a full, home speaker sound for music that is being played through an iPhone. The iPhone can be docked to the speaker, which in turn can be mounted to the wall with a 3M adhesive, or a quick twist of the speaker and the two items can be moved to another location.

While it appears that the speakers are able to be used outdoors, they likely still need to be sheltered from rain or snow, a small detail not taken into account by the creators. This campaign seeks to raise $40,000 by December 9, 2014. Early bird speakers get a set of speakers for $89 with an expected delivery of April 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Music

Skoog is a squishy cube that makes music with its app

The MPC board made famous by the decades of innovative rappers and producers has gotten a 21st century makeover with the Skoog. Originally designed for education, the Skoog is a squishy foam cube that acts as a controller for the two Skoog apps, Skoogmusic and Mogo. Everything together allows you to play any instrument and the sounds associated with it to musically express yourself without limits.

The product connects to supported iOS/Android tablets using Bluetooth LE and to desktops and laptops as well, providing the interface to be as expressive as your mind will allow you to. One of the Skoog’s defining features is its ability to employ ‘physical modelling’ when reproducing an instruments sound. This takes into account not only the instrument’s sound, but also the nuances of a stringed instrument, for example. This makes for exciting possibilities especially when combined with the Skoogmusic and Mogo software that allows you to customize every aspect of your experience.

In any case, Skoog is also compatible with other, leading music software like Ableton or Logic, so you can more deeply connect with your creations on software you are already familiar with. However, the device and the eco-system it creates may prove to be more of a novelty than anything else, and may fit education more than serious music making. Play bass lines and melodies, create your own sounds, and add effects on the fly for just £139 (~$218) by March 2015. Skoog is looking for £75,000 (~$117,600) to get their final production costs down.

Categories
Health and Wellness Music

RealLoud heaphones protect your ear from cranked-up tunes

Our parents always warned us about listening to our music too loudly, but the rebels within all of us never listened, preferring to instead crank it up to the max to enjoy our music. Loud music that crackles in your ear and almost hurts is good after all, right? Well, as much as we might have enjoyed the albums of yesteryear, the increased use of earphones due to the MP3 revolution has clearly shown the auditory consequences of these practices. Unfortunately, the headphone industry has responded to this criticism with larger, louder, and bassier headphones that compound the problem.

The increasing number of both teens and adults with mild to severe hearing loss caught audio legend Stephen D. Ambrose’s attention and he, along with his company Asius Technologies, has created RealLoud Technology as a result. The product reduces harmful pressure experienced by wearing ordinary headphones using bio-mimicry, or the imitation of nature through technology, to include a built-in secondary eardrum to absorb them for you. As a result, louder, more complete sound is produced by eliminating the pressures associated with unnecessary noise, even if actual volume is technically quieter overall. This is the crux of the RealLoud Technology, and the key behind the entire series of 1964|Adel headphones.

Three lines of headphones incorporate the RealLoud Technology. The Ambient line is for casual audiophiles and features up to 12 drivers, the U-Series is an over-the-ear headphone with up to eight drivers, and the A-Series feature up to 12 drivers and are custom to your own ear impressions. With price points ranging from $100 to $1,600, there are options for everyone, all estimated to be delivered between February and May of 2015. The campaign has a funding goal of $200,000.

It’s about time solutions are created for the problems caused by the consumer market itself, and although the 1964|Adel headphones have a pretty high cost of entry, their development is a sign that the technology is being thought about. Soon, they’ll trickle down and hopefully become standard across the board. The cheek is too often turned in the name of profits, and although here profits are still had, at least it’s propped up by actual innovation.

Categories
Music Wearables

Soundglass builds bone-conducting sound into a pair of shades

The next big thing in headphones is to offer extra functions, certain styles, or increased audio fidelity. These features are welcome to those who love to have sound and music with them wherever they go, but it doesn’t really change the fundamental technology.

The Buhel SOUNDglass SG05 is a step in a direction so far out of left field that it’s a complete shot in the arm to headphone technology. It’s a pair of sunglasses that only touches the ears to hold the glasses. Buhel SOUNDglass uses Bone Conduction Technology, a means of audio amplification that sends vibrations through parts of the skull to give users the same kind of sound quality they expect while keeping their ears free and available to hear the world around them. Atellani, the creators of the Buhel SOUNDglass SG05, are trying to raise $110,000 to fund tooling and production. Supporters can get a pair for $165, shipped out in February of next year.

This is a product so revolutionary that it’s easy to get excited over. However, few people have had the opportunity to hear audio through Bone Conduction Technology, and it may be hard to take the risk. This is a truly innovative product however, and could open a whole new product space for future headphone/glasses combinations.

Categories
Connected Objects Music

Bullet-like Archt One wireless speaker system spreads sound around consistently

When it comes to home audio, gone are the days of complex stereo equipment, speakers mounted and positioned just so all over the room, and the treaded jungle known as “the A/V closet.” Now, people want a simple, aesthetic, solitary device to handle it all.

The ARCHT One offers just that. Despite looking more like a coffee brewer or a lava lamp, the ARCHT One delivers room-filling stereo sound despite being a single device. With compact, omnidirectional surround sound speakers, a proprietary digital signal processor and digital analog converter, and intuitive one-touch controls, the ARCHT One just needs to go where it looks best, and the speakers take care of the rest. With support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay, USB, and auxiliary cables, the ARCHT One is perfect for any situation. ARCHT Audio’s fundraising goal is set at $70,000 to handle production and shipping, and those who want one can get an ARCHT One for $349, delivered in February 2015.

With a sense of style all its own and enough power to handle all but the most demanding home audio needs, the ARCHT One is great for entertaining guests, removing cluttering audio devices and speakers, or just enjoying sound from anywhere in the house.