Ohm Force has announced the Ohm Studio, a music workstation allowing real-time online music collaboration. They're already accepting subscriptions for the beta-test. Several people will be able to make music together in a virtual studio session.
The Ohm Studio workstation is composed of a standalone real-time collaborative music making application (DAW/sequencer) in addition to a web-based collaboration platform and a music driven online "cohmunity". We're also talking about real time collaborative MIDI/audio editing, envelopes, a piano roll, audio effects, and virtual instruments: the very same tools we computer based musicians already enjoy, but that you'll now be able to use with your friends, online.
How is this possible? Using an audio core made from scratch, of course, an adaptive audio transfer protocol, a transactional document management engine, some Ohm-style interface innovation, an integrated web Cohmunity, server based projects and much more.
Online music collaboration made easier
With Ohm Studio, it will be possible to set up a productive workspace to make music together and with ease. No more big files transfers, no more endless set up incompatibilities. And as with a conventional studio session, communicate with each others thanks to the in-app chat system that makes it simple to share any thought, instruction or comment.
When searching for music partners, you will now be able to search for musicians from around the world. Through the Ohm Studio Cohmunity you will discover collaborative projects that appeal to you and find new people with whom to make music, searching by style, mood, skill, city, country and more. You may discover that the drummer or the singer you have always been looking for is only a few clicks away.
Ohm Studio will also be an elegant tool to showcase your own work and skills, in order to be discovered and/or be invited into groups or sessions. Could it be that you have just the right profile those Brazilian guys need for their funky nu-soul project?
For those who have a traditional "local" band/project, made up of people from the same town who actually enjoy meeting and playing together, Ohm Studio will be a great way of expanding their workflow, as the creation process will no longer be limited by the 2 hours they're actually able to share the same physical place. All of those ideas that always seem hit to come the second one gets back from the studio will not be lost anymore. And the work will continue, even if Peter's garage is not available for the next few weeks.
Cohmunity
The Cohmunity is the place where all Ohm Studio users will gather to find partners to make music with, view others profiles, create groups with others, share ideas on the forums or post projects mixdowns. Mixdowns can be posted on the group's profile, as demos. In short, the Cohmunity will be a one stop place for collaborative work. It will be possible to access the Ohm Studio's Cohmunity features from the application itself or from any web browser.
The bottom line
Today, music apps have become exceedingly powerful with near unlimited creative potential, but still one feature has been relegated to the world of dreams and fantasy: real time collaboration. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to work with your friends while sharing the same tools at the same time, as if you were all together in a studio?
Ohm Studio is a complete solution to making music, both alone or together in realtime, finding musical partners, listening to their music and showing them your own, sharing production skills and musical knowledge at the public forums, talking music, breathing music.
Some Ohm Studio Facts:
- When will Ohm Studio be officially released? By the end of 2010, as beta testing ends and we'll have ensured that no animals have been hurt during our experiments.
- How can I apply for the beta testing program and when will it take place? It will take place in 2010 Q3 and anyone interested in participating will be able to apply on www.ohmstudio.com, where the application form is already available.
- Will Ohm Studio support third party plug-ins? Yes, it will support third party VST plug-ins.
- How much will it cost? This will be announced after we have completed beta testing. Music innovation should not be only for the rich, so be ready for competitive and fair prices.
- How many people will be able to work together? Technically, up to 256. But we don't recommend this many, unless you and your 255 partners are paranormal maestros doped on kryptohnite.
- Is Ohm Studio supposed to replace current sequencers such as Ableton Live, Logic, Cubase and etc in someone's setup? Yes and no. These applications have features that you will not find in the Ohm Studio and will certainly be more suited to certain aspects of the musical production process. However, the Ohm Studio has its own strengths and innovations in term of usability and ease of use. And as a DAW with realtime musical collaboration, it's THE choice to be made.
