“This is all going to be software,” said a Focusrite rep at an AES show in 2004, as he gestured at racks of Focusrite’s beloved racks of audio gear. (Needless to say, that was not on the record.) While not everything can be digital — you’ll still need to get sound into the digital realm, […]

Think you know everything about Moog’s new synth? Think again: surprises like a version that could sell for as little as US$1000 are just the kind of surprises we like to hear. CDM’s Lee Sherman has known some of these details for a while but couldn’t tell any of us (even here at CDM); now […]

Adrian Anders sends along his top picks from the Messe show in Frankfurt that might be under everyone else’s radar. First up: the long-awaited Terratec Producer Komplexer is now finally on its way. This monster soft synth combines virtual analog and wavetable synthesis in a monster of a plug-in. Vocoder? Check. Tons of modulation? Yup. […]

Another pick from CDM correspondent’s Adrian Anders and his Windows-tuned radar: You’ve got an app. You’ve got some VST plug-ins. Only problem is, your app doesn’t support plug-ins. That’s long been a complaint about apps like djDecks, Traktor, and Reason. Developer BEB Digital Audio claims to have solved the problem with a product called Effektor, […]

The Japan Times, an English-language newspaper, reports today that the Japanese government is backpedaling on its plans to ban the sale of used electronics. (Thanks to velocipede for the tip, in comments on our previous story.) It sounds as though musical instruments were at the heart of the controversy, as Ryuichi Sakamoto argued for vintage […]

Sometimes I forget I’m dealing with Moog Music. Apple wanted to dig through the email accounts of websites republishing specs of a rumored audio interface it never shipped. But Moog? They’ve basically said, oh, whoops, we accidentally leaked specs, and have nicely provided official confirmation on the front page of their Website. Basically, what you’ve […]

Reason is more than a soft synth package: it’s a platform, with rich support from a devoted community and, increasingly, an incredible amount of soundware tailored to the program’s unique features. IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality are going hog wild with new sounds for the app, and the quality of their Sonic Refills is very […]

It slices, it dices! It runs in GarageBand! (and every other AudioUnit host on the Mac) How much would you pay for an effect that has a stereo delay, random pattern generator, envelope follower, “glitchy” decimator, ring modulator, low and high shelf filters, lowpass filter, and a randomizer for parameters? That’s not one, not two, […]

Matrixsynth and Music thing have continued their coverage of Japan’s hated new PSE law, set to go in effect April 1, which would ban sales and purchase of used equipment that fails strict electrical certification — read, all that vintage game and music gear you love so much. Trying to follow this story is more […]

Plug-ins are great, and they’re a nightmare. They’re great because you have access to literally tens of thousands of virtual sound making and processing devices, from costly works of art to bizarre free toys. They’re a nightmare because the plug-ins in the latter category — the odd free plug-in you just downloaded — can crash […]