Native Instruments is struggling to provide customer support following changes

Changes this year to customer support channels have left some customers frustrated, according to sources familiar with the matter and user complaints. Despite promises from NI management that the direction of the company would “improve the experience for all users of our products,” users may see constrained support options and increased service backlogs. Native Instruments […]

This video makes it easy to mod KORG’s ultra-cheap monotron for analog CV

Punk, inexpensive analog, anyone? The KORG monotron is an easy choice for modding for your synthesis needs – and now this video makes the process easier.

What if your gear could MIDI map itself? This open schema and iOS app do it now

So, you’ve got a plug-in or a hardware synth – and you want to control part of the sound with a physical knob or some iPad modulation. One clever iPad app and an open source scheme could make what happens next happen faster.

Review: 1010 Blackbox, sampling workstation hardware in a little square

This cute little box promises to let you manipulate sound and play live with samples without a computer. Andreas Roman returns to CDM with another in-depth, hands-on hardware review.

Video premiere: Caustic alien dreams and handmade electronics from Balfa

Balfa sucks us into dystopian reveries, as we premiere a new video – and see some of the home-built instruments making such wonderfully acerbic sounds. First, let’s set the mood with the video, which pairs music artist Balfa with artist/animator Maria Mendes of Portugal. Whatever is rendering in that skin, that’s more or less how […]

LiveCore is a free low-level, live patching for Reaktor

Reaktor lovers no longer have to be jealous of live coders – now they get a performance-ready, free, low-level tool of their own. Sonic mayhem awaits you.

Novation Launchkey Mini MK3 is yet another tiny keyboard – so how does it stack up?

Mobile keyboards continue to be fruitful and multiply. But Novation’s latest includes standalone mode, so it isn’t just a computer accessory – so let’s see how this category looks now.

Extreme dub delay, in the new Ninja Tune-Erica Zen Delay

We can talk a lot about engineering. But at some point, you pack vacuum tubes and DSP and chips together, and you get a delay that’s extreme enough to have Ninja Tune and Coldcut printed on it.

How focusing on one tool cured writers block, and made one sharp, chilly, ‘stoic’ EP

Tools and technology are often described as obstacles. But sometimes focusing on a tool can refine musical process and composition – as main(void) reveals.

Here’s the editor-plugin the underrated Elektron Model:Samples is missing

We’ve been following Momo Müller’s software add-ons for a while. But this latest addition for Elektron’s Model:Samples is special, because it unlocks some of the power of this budget box.