The monome 40h is a reconfigurable grid of sixty-four backlit buttons. It is open source and you can write your own applications for it. The 40h uses usb and talks serial, midi, and open sound control which makes it a really nice device to use with max/msp or reaktor.
Unfortunately though, monome has sold all their 40h stock…
But, if you’re not afraid of DIY, you can now order a logic kit and keypad kit to build your own monome compatible device.
monome kit – the logic kitThe logic kit provides the “brains” for the device, while the keypad kit includes the… keypads!
I’m afraid these kits are not for everyone. Just take a look at this visual assembly guide to see what you’re up against.
monome highly recommends past soldering experience:
- we provide no warranty.
- no returns, sorry.
Visit monome for more information and be sure to read it all before buying these kits.
Brando’s Solar Charger is a great way to power your USB devices.
Brando 2-USB-Ports Multi-Solar ChargerFrom the product page:
It can recharge most known mobile phone types and USB interfacing digital products. This solar charger can be recharged through direct sunlight, AC power or car power. It is convenient for you to take along with when you are out on business, on travel, on a long journey on bus or ship, etc. It is a portable, environmentally-friendly, lightweight, durable and versatile solar charging product.
You can charge two devices at the same time. The Solar Charger is available in silver and black and costs US$59.00.
Link via Geek With Laptop
James Carey, games editor for the UK PC Format magazine, converted a toy guitar into a USB guitar controller.
The controller can be used to play Frets on Fire, a game of musical skill where you play guitar with the keyboard as accurately as possible.
Line 6 has announced the release of TonePort, a line of USB recording and modeling interfaces, bringing Line 6 guitar, bass, and vocal tone to the world of desktop recording. TonePort UX1 and UX2 hardware interfaces are USB-powered and compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. Both TonePort models include Line 6 GearBox modeling software, which provides a collection of guitar and bass amp/cab models, stompbox and studio effects, and models of high-end studio microphone preamps.
TonePort UX1 features a microphone input with preamp, a guitar/bass instrument input, stereo line inputs and outputs, stereo headphone jack, and an analog merge monitoring input. TonePort UX2 adds more features like analog VU meters, a second microphone input and preamp, phantom power for both preamps, stereo digital S/PDIF out, a padded instrument input, dual footswitch jacks assignable to MIDI functions such as start/stop and punch in/out, and independent volume controls for the headphone and main outputs. Both units support 44.1/48KHz with 16/24-bit recording, a 96KHz mode, and drivers for ASIO, WDM, and Core Audio. Both units also feature ToneDirect monitoring — a way of hearing fully processed audio while recording with low latency regardless of the buffer settings in your recording app.
Included with every TonePort is Line 6 GearBox software that offers a hardware-like, simple to operate user interface. GearBox includes 16 amp models and 24 cabinet models from the PODxt, 5 amp and cab models from Bass PODxt, 6 models of the most in-demand microphone preamps ever created, and 24 effects ranging from studio compression to distortion to tape echo with up to 10 at once for adding the perfect vibe to any track. TonePort UX1 and UX2 both ship with Ableton Live Lite.
More information is available at the Line 6 website.
