Roland has updated the OS on their flagship FANTOM 6, 7, and 8 synths. It’s a major update, with everything from a shimmer reverb to Analog Circuit Behavior sounds, stage pianos to some classic synths. If you wanted just one keyboard to play everything Roland, the FANTOM is now that instrument.

From Dieter Doepfer, the fine fellow who coined “Eurorack,” the Basic System 3 looks like a true return to form. This is an open-ended analog system with some room to grow, revealed in a new teaser to start out our week.

In a big synchronized release, Logic Pro for Mac 10.8 and Logic Pro for 1.1 both dropped today. That’s a jam-packed iOS update, new features on both Mac and iPad, and a lot of the new iPad features migrating as expected to the Mac. The upshot: Mac users also benefit from some of the iPad action, even if you’re sticking with the desktop version.

Soundtoys is again giving away their superb Little Plate reverb plug-in – normally $99 – through December 1. It’s a model of the vintage EMT 140 but with extras like infinite Decay Time, a Mod switch, and an adjustable lowpass filter.

What do you do if you make one of the best modulation modules out there? Make it better. That’s the Batumi II and the optional Poti II expander, a complete redesign with more features in the same space.

Finally, here’s a MIDI utility that shows you just the information you need about MIDI activity, instead of dumping a massive list of messages on the screen. ShowMIDI is free and open source, with builds for macOS, Windows, and Linux, thanks to developer Geert Bevin.

Polish software house D16 has been cooking something special for its flagship 909-inspired drum machine, Drumazon 2. It’s an emulation that captures not just the feeling of the original hardware – but the spirit of the music that was made on it. Let’s have a detailed look.

Industry trends and power grabs ultimately suck all our souls dry. So let’s return to the originators making the music, and support both the music and the humans making the music. Akua Grant, aka Femanyst, aka Lady Blacktronika, is one of the most naturally intuitive and imaginative producers I know. She’s also in need, and it’s way past time that the music translates into real sustenance.

Boiler Room? TikTok? They’ve got nothing on Detroit’s “The Scene,” the city’s own dance music show of the 70s and 80s on Black-owned WGPR-TV. And if you need a little groove in dark days, let’s turn the clock back to Halloween and Model 500 techno.

People continue to do wild things with Unreal Engine and MetaSounds. Celebrate Halloween with an interactive Theremin deep dive tutorial, and some classic cinema scenes from Halloween and The Shining recreated as ambient environments.