BBC4's Synth Britannia was a sufficiently comprehensive look into the electronic music of postpunk Britain, from the pioneering soundtrack to "A Clockwork Orange" by Wendy Carlos, to experimental groups like OMD, Throbbing Gristle, and early Human League...

on to the pop greats that were my first real introduction to synth music, Depeche Mode and New Order. It ends in the middle '80s as synth music transitioned to club music and rave culture, getting nowhere near this decade's full-circle acceptance of '80s synth and chip sounds in pop.

A lovely way to spend 90 minutes, especially for dorks of a certain age who felt a kinship between early synth pop and the captivating other of both Britain and anything electronic. Too bad it's not available for watching on the BBC's iPlayer. You'll have to check the box where you keep your synthesized television experience.

The drive is 4GB of musical goodness and available through the BackyardBrand Etsy store. Geez, gadgets like this make me wish I had a lick of aptitude for playing instruments. [Etsy via Coolest Gadgets via OhGizmo!]

I ask because with a Stradivarius, the age is the sound. Those 300-odd years aren't just a bullet point snooty musicians can bring up over cocktails—they add character and uniqueness to the instrument's sound as well. The wood ages, the sound changes, more often than not for the better.

This new Gavari Semiacoustic Violin design from Austrian designer Gerda Hopfgartner lacks all of that. No f-holes (sound holes), a decidedly electric look... I dunno. Like Picard and his books, I think in the far future I'll still be holding onto my archaic, wood violin. [Gavari via Yanko Design via DVICE]

This isn't to say the so-called Polk HitMaster doesn't have a bunch of extra features, which it does. There's 60 watts packed in the unit's 13-lb. frame; a pair of 2.2x5.5-inch horns; and two 1-in. tweeters. Top it all off with a 6.5-in. sub and you have yourself an impressive faux stage monitor. Oh, and there's also iPod support should you want to listen to some real musicians.

Arrives in early 2010 for $100. [Polk Hot Hardware via Engadget]

You tap out sounds with a stylus, and a loop mode lets you build and layer loops using the included percussion, human beatbox, and bass samples. There are also record and scratch modes, plus an MP3 input feature.

The Beatbox started shipping late last month, and follows last year's return of the 1970s Stylophone mini-synthesizer (in physical and iPhone app form). For the uninitiated, the original Dubreq Stylphone was used by Kraftwerk on Pocket Calculator, and has also been used to kitchy effect by everyone from David Bowie to Marilyn Manson to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Oh, and I don't know what's up with the guy in the video below, but he's too super excited not to share. [100milligrams]

Similar to the open-source Monome project (though a little more refined), and smaller and cheaper than Akai's APC40, the Launchpad's LED buttons change color as you launch audio samples in and out of the mix.

The controller also works with other music software, but as you can see in the video below, its big drawcard is that tight integration with Ableton Live. It supports Macs (natch) and PCs, and hits stores later this month for $200. [Novation via Create Digital Music]

It connects to computers via USB, but also has MIDI in/out connections. The line-in jack is what you'd use for any external audio source, including the iPhone. Away from the desk, the Korg can last about 4 hours on 6xAA batteries.

Sample modes include one-shot, gate, loop, key gate, and auto-next. What you record in is mapped onto the keys for you to play and build up layers. Sampling time/internal memory is 42.66 minutes at 24kHz quality, and half that at 48kHz.

The 21 built-in effects include all the usual stuff (distortion, EQ, reverb, delay, chorus, looper, etc), but there's no vocoder (think Daft Punk "Around the World"). Seems a little strange given the attached microphone begs for it.

$750 is also pricey compared to fantastic software like Ableton Live ($450). But, if you're a hardware purist, the microSAMPLER looks like a very cute little board. [Korg via SlashGear]

The Audi Design Team collaborated with piano maker Bosendorfer to construct this grand piano, which was commissioned to celebrate Audi's centennial.

Here is their philosophy:

Generous surface areas ensure formal clarity; there are no decorative applications, the edges and lines are sharply drawn, the joints logically positioned. All these are important aspects of the Audi design.

And coincidentally, none are important aspects of piano design. But that's not the point, I suppose. The piano—brushed aluminum pedals, hood-prop-esque stand, wraparound body and all—will be debuted at the July 16th Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, Germany, and is (probably symbolically) priced at around $140,000. $140,000. [Autoevolution via Newlaunches]

It's a single input, stereo output device, offering 24-bit audio between 44.1 and 48KHz sample rates in a package around the same size (though thicker) than an iPhone. Apogee's putting emphasis on the built-in mic (they even offer a stand so you can treat the whole thing like a handheld mic), though it's got one input for instruments or your own mic. That input is coupled with a preamp, customizable using the ONE's controls.

The ONE is designed to work with Apple's range of audio software, including iTunes, Garage Band, Logic, and Final Cut, though we don't imagine it would have trouble working with non-Apple software as well. It remains to be seen whether the built-in mic is everything Apogee claims; on such a small device, we're skeptical but remain hopeful. It'll be available sometime in "late July" at a pretty reasonable $250. [Apogee]

As you can see from the video, the instrument itself is controlled by an external box that lets you adjust the speed and pitch of the sample. The flashing light is, I guess, just for style. Awesome?

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.[Get Lofi via Hack-a-Day]

Music Radar says this £3300 guitar is the signature axe of Matthew Bellamy, frontman of the band Muse. It lets you run any plug-in you want for effects manipulation, and use it to make your shred sessions even more awesome. The video on Music Radar shows how the guitar fundamentally works—strumming out a chord, then hitting the MIDI pad with your fingers alters the sound of the guitar.

Pre-orders for the MB-1 will begin this summer, and the first units will ship in the fall. Also, it glows in a bunch of ADD-inducing colors. Oooooh. Shiny. [Manson Guitars via Music Radar via Engadget]

Tesla coils have always been a popular instrument for nerdy conductors. Not surprisingly, the arrangement of choice is usually one of two songs: The Imperial March or the theme song to Super Mario Bros. [March and Mario]

Inside you burns the heart of a great musician—but you never learned how to play conventional instruments. However, as a gadget fanatic you are a natural virtuoso when it comes to office equipment. The next time you are bored at work try getting your scanner to play Fur Elise or, if you are ambitious, use multiple gadgets to perform Radiohead's Nude. [Link]

How about gathering all of the phones in the office and spending months neglecting work so that you can play Mozart's Turkish March? Haha...you are so getting fired.

Here comes Mario again—only this time somebody got a little more creative and performed the music using an R/C car and some wine bottles. [Link]

Now here is where things start getting really weird. Like a Japanese "circuit bender" turning Pikachu into a synthesizer. [Kaseo via DVICE]

How about David Byrne using an antique organ connected to hammers and air pumps to "play" the architecture of a 9,000-square-foot building? [David Byrne]

Japan's "Melody Road" utilizes precisely cut grooves in the pavement between 6 and 12mm apart to play a tune as cars drive over. Obviously, the speed at which you travel affects how the music will sound—and the optimal speed is a depressingly low 28 mph. [Oddee]

Finally, we come to the work of performance artist Tim Kaiser. I'm not even sure what the hell is going on here, but the following arrangement really runs the gamut. In some areas it sounds like soothing wind chimes, babbling brooks and church bells—and at other times it sounds like the background music to your nightmares. [Tim Kaiser]

[Image via Flickr]

[Image via Flickr]

You be the judge. I say, resoundingly, yes.

[YouTube via MAKE]

A central hub wirelessly links the Jam finger taps together allowing one, or several people to play sound clips by tapping their fingers on a solid surface. The harder you tap, the louder the volume. You could even change the pitch by dragging your finger along the playing surface. Unfortunately, Jam is only a concept at the moment, so it looks as though I will have to stick with some finger drums to express my deep feelings and thoughts musically. [Yanko]

No, even more bizarre are the guitar pickups: The device uses 12 of them, focused on each of the 12 notes in the musical scale, feeding back what they hear to a speaker transducer positioned at one end of the massive "resonance hull."

Unfortunately, Oddmusic doesn't yet have sample tracks from the Harmonic Generator, which was created by a guy named Isac Zal and was not, as I had initially imagined, a joint effort of Tim Burton and the late Dr. Seuss. The site does at least describe the sound, calling it "a symphony inside the belly of a whale." Somehow, I think that would make ole Theodore Geisel proud. [Oddmusic via Make]

Broken down into a few categories of changeable parts, main body included, the Zoybar itself is best described a series of standardized connectors. It'll be interesting to see what existing instruments can be created with the kit, but the weird, as of yet unrealized contraptions that artists create with the bevy of components have the potential to be amazing, or more realistically completely hilarious. The Zoybar should go on sale in January. [Zoybar via Crunchgear]

Activision has yet to respond to the issues, but apparently their box lists using GH controllers outside of Activision properties as "expressly prohibited." Harmonix, who has traditionally supported cross-compatible instrumentation between the two franchises, has promised that "we are definitely looking into this. We'll keep you posted on updates as soon as more info is available."

It's hard to believe that this lack of compatibility was anything but intentional on Activision's part since they've had access to Rock Band 2 for months...which is a particularly large problem since many gamers are plopping down almost $200 for the Guitar Hero World Tour software and instruments.

Let's hope for some fancy software patches soon, though we're not holding our breath. [Kotaku and Joystiq]