Crossover VCV Rack modular: Vult goes hardware, as Erica adds free software

Hardware or software? Yes. Modular synthesizers, of all things, are blurring the line between the two. The popular Vult line of software modules for VCV Rack is going hardware, just as Erica Synths offers its popular hardware in a free software form on the same platform. VCV Rack has rapidly established itself as a platform […]

Still image from HOLD ON music video by Holon.

cables.gl, music-friendly 3D browser visuals, now in free public beta

Interactive visuals in the browser now make stunning eye candy live that used to require whole server farms to render. cables.gl – now in a free open beta – lets you harness that, without even knowing how to code. cables.gl is a dataflow (visual patching) development environment that runs entirely in the browser – using […]

Make music with mobile, MeeBlip, and one connection – here’s how (iOS, Android)

It’s liberating – just take your phone or tablet, plug in a USB cable, and you can make music on this hardware synth anywhere. Here’s how to do that, with our MeeBlip geode, plus some tips on the best apps for both iOS and Android. Inspiration is a funny thing, and somehow in the process […]

The Sony cassette recorder that went to space and predicted the Walkman

Sony’s Walkman turned 40 earlier this month. But look to the TC-50 before it for some of the technology and usability innovations that changed the world – and joined the Apollo mission – plus a glimpse of where music might boldly go next.

Etsy buys Reverb.com for $275 mil, signaling growing used music gear market

DIY marketplace Etsy has announced plans for a massive $275 million acquisition of used music instrument market Reverb.com. That’s likely to turn heads both in online retail and musical instruments. As reported by VentureBeat, the deal has an approximate $275 million value, in cash, as the NYC-based Etsy buys out Chicago’s Reverb.com. It’s a massive […]

A tour of a high voltage coil in a rack: Gamechanger’s PLASMA

Rack-mounted audio equipment – once fairly vanilla stuff, now it’s turned to high voltage coils. Meet PLASMA Rack, now in a new full-length video tour from Gamechanger Audio.

Signal adds the modulation Ableton is missing – and now does steps, crossfader

Signal from Isotonik was already a revelation – a powerful toolkit for adding modulation to Ableton Live. But curves, step sequences, and crossfades add real motion and transformation to your music. Darren of Isotonik Studios has been busy documenting how to use this with some no-nonsense, clear video tutorials. It’s the latest episode, adding Steps […]

Techno lovers, don’t miss James Ruskin’s new EP and updated Blueprint catalog

It’s the Detroit-Croydon connection. But for innovative electronic dance sounds, you really don’t want to miss James Ruskin – either his new EP or the refreshed Bandcamp page for Blueprint Records. First, out today, you get a new James Ruskin EP – and it’s brilliant, worth the five year wait from the last one. This […]

Music on the go – Auxy app now has tweakable sounds, Ableton export

For all the app choices in music, a lot feel like plug-ins crammed onto the mobile screen. Auxy may have the essential combination of ingredients – a simple, quick UI, but now the ability to make sketches you finish in Ableton Live, and sounds you can more easily tweak. Auxy always had an elegant, approachable […]

Movers and shakers – Focusrite just bought ADAM [Analysis]

Focusrite went public in 2014, but this week brings its first major acquisition – and it’s a big deal. Monitor maker ADAM from Berlin joins the UK’s Focusrite / Novation / Ampify. Publicly traded companies and fast growing business empires have a bit of a challenge in the music tech business – music creation is […]