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Known as MAD's Maddest Writer, co-host of The Giz Wiz with OMGchad at www.GizWiz.TV, The Giz Wiz on ABC's World News Now, and on Tech Guy Labs with Leo Laporte on www.TWiT.TV. 

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« Clickfree Transformer for iPod – Launches today, August 10th! | Main | Here’s one of the first fully digital portable TV’s. »
Thursday
Aug062009

And the Beat Didn’t Go On! Another inventive gadget from Wild Planet.

DateAugust 6, 2009 Comments Off

Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse, Friday, August 7th, 2009 Netcast 890

 

Beat Blenders were a very high tech musical gadget for kids; actually anyone who liked music and gadgets! It lived for just one year. It came out in fall 2004; won all sorts of awards, but didn’t survive. Wild Planet’s Eric Shank, the guy behind Skeleflex and Spy Gear stuff created it. Beat Blenders were an easy-to-use hand-held music system that let you create songs by layering and looping pre-recorded tracks. After mastering one Beat Blender, you could showcase your skills by linking additional Beat Blender units together to make your songs longer. A cable from one Beat Blender just plugged into the next one and they automatically played in sequence. Beat Blenders sold for as little as $9.99 each! You could collect and connect all six Beat Blender genres for a full and strange musical experience. Each unit was a mini studio with multiple drum, bass and guitar measures. You scrolled through the sounds and created your own favorite combinations. Then you adjusted the tempo, selected the drum, rhythm and lead components for each measure. Then the Beat Blender would play your picks consecutively and repeatedly, allowing you to add and edit. Beat Blenders launched six models - two licensed units, Hot Hits featuring music from recording artists Smash Mouth, Lil’ Romeo, North Mississippi Allstars and Vengaboys; and sounds from Shrek 2; as well as genre-specific music in the categories of Hip Hop, Techno, Alternative Rock, and Power Rock. (However no Giz Wiz theme were composed on a Beat Blender because they were ahead of their time!)

 

More on inventor Eric Shank:  http://www.wizardworld.com/ericshank.html

 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw890