tahti, free browser groovebox, is now improved and has an open source sample library

It’s a stunningly powerful groovebox you can run in a browser tab – and now, not only is it improved, but there’s a new default open sample library. Of course, that means you’ve got open sounds and patterns for use in other projects, too.

Bitwig 4.2: Note Grid for modular note processing and generation, plus a bunch of new effects

Okay, weekend warriors – Bitwig Studio 4.2 beta is here, and it’s got a good reason to get on the Grid modular patching train. Think note processing and generation in a really intuitive way. Plus whether or not that’s your speed, they’ve got 3 audio effects x 4 characters = stuff most everyone will want.

Cables, free browser visual patching, is now way more shiny and pointy and better

An interactive visual programming tool with patching right in the browser, Cables was already appealing. This month’s release adds shiny new features like – well, a feature for making things shiny and new.

With AudioThing Noises, a noise generator becomes more than a noise generator

It all started with “a mixture of river, wind in the trees, and Autobahn,” the sounds Hainbach heard where he grew up, he tells us. And the new AudioThing plug-in grew from there, into something deep enough for you to explore, too.

20 years on, FAX, Murcof, and Static Discos are fresher than ever

2002, Tijuana, twenty years ago this week: Murcof and FAX released their first albums and launched the label Static Discos. Sounds come in cycles, and they can easily sound new all over again – doubly so with a beautiful new remix compilation to celebrate. Let’s listen.

Mutable Instruments Plaits is now free for Reason, in a beautiful reimagining called Macro

Macro promises to be an essential building block for some terrific Reason patches, with a new look for the interface that’s both attractive and at home in Reason’s Rack. Plus it’s free.

Audio Damage has released 33 classic legacy plug-ins for free – here’s a guide and a stupid test

Beloved boutique plug-in house Audio Damage has found a heck of a retirement for 33 of its vintage plug-ins: it’s giving them away for free for macOS and Windows. Here’s a complete guide and an ill-advised test scenario. Audio Damage’s Chris Randall explains in a blog post: Everything Old Is New Again… Here’s the skinny: […]

Teenage Engineering made a robotic LFO out of LEGO – and now offers barebones modules

Ever taught a synthesis course? At some point, you invariably try to explain an LFO as being like a machine turning the knob instead of your hand. Welp – Teenage Engineering just made that illustration literal. They also now have a line of barebones modules for €29 each a la carte, adaptable to Eurorack with some extra gear.

Legendary Syncussion SY-1 1970s 2-voice drum module is now a playable Mac plug-in

Once upon a time in 1979, Pearl – yeah, the drum maker Pearl – made its own drum module. And it’s been sought after ever since, as well as enjoying a nice renaissance thanks to hardware remakes. Now at last, you can get it in plug-in form, with that friendly, playable panel layout. Cost: just a few bucks.

Eyeballs, errors, and animal keys: Reed Ghazala’s wild circuit-bent electronics keep evolving

Reed Ghazala’s latest generation of instruments is here, gazing back at us with glass eyeballs and dubbed with names like “photon clarinet.” The father of circuit bending also espouses a new conceptual frame and philosophy – errism. And to err is human, but also is cat.