Cosmolab, open DSP development kit, in final hours of crowdfunding

Italy’s Faselunare have done lots of great stuff over the years, and they’re entering the final hours of crowdfunding for Cosmolab, a powerful modular DSP kit powered by Electrosmith’s Daisy Seed. Let’s have a quick look. There are a number of these ideas, and with good reason — choice is at the heart of why […]

Native Instruments statement on continued support for customers and partners

Native Instruments has posted an official statement from CEO Nick Williams, reassuring customers and partners that support for NI products will continue through the restructuring.

More Logic Pro 12 tweaks, MainStage 4 with Ableton Link: details

Apple has just made its release notes for MainStage 4 and Logic Pro 12 public, and we get some extra little details, from MIDI 2.0 in the Logic Step Sequencer to Ableton Link support in MainStage.

Logic Pro 12’s new harmonic intelligence and Chord ID: hands-on

Logic Pro 12 is available now. Both iPad and Mac versions are included as part of Apple’s new $13/mo Creators Studio, but this is also still a free upgrade for all existing Logic owners, and one-off purchases remain available. So let’s talk about Logic’s banner feature, Chord ID, and the Synth Players and other features that can take advantage of it. They’re deeper than you might think.

Plugin Alliance says it is “business as usual”

Plugin Alliance, with operations in the US and Langenfeld, Germany, says it is not part of Native Instruments’ insolvency filing.

Native Instruments GmbH is in preliminary insolvency

According to insolvency documents, Berlin-based Native Instruments GmbH (also parent to iZotope, Plugin Alliance, and Brainworx) is in preliminary insolvency proceedings. This is significant news for one of the biggest brands in music-making technology.

Generalmusic revives GEM and LEM, legendary Italian music tech brands

GEM and LEM are the lost Italian legends you may not know, but should. Toto, Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Italian icons — all users. But the moniker was retired, and most of us assumed we’d never see it again. Surprise: Generalmusic (now Finnish-owned) just announced it’s making GEM and LEM gear again with an Italian leadership team, starting early this year. No idea what any of this us? Don’t worry — just 90s the **** out anyway!

Laurie Spiegel’s Music Mouse, the Mac’s first instrument, in Eventide reboot

It’s 1986. Laurie Spiegel creates something unlike any software available at the time — an “intelligent,” algorithmic composer you can play as an instrument, for Mac, Amiga, and Atari ST. You’re at NAMM, and it’s 2026. Surprising everyone, Eventide announces they’re working with Spiegel to bring the original software to modern computers, preserving a breakthrough moment in digital music making. The mouse is back.

Casio’s expressive guitar strap controller was inspired by a chopstick case

Surprise! Casio has something unexpected — Dimension Shifter, a spring-powered expressive wireless controller that attaches to your guitar strap. And it was the invention of one employee, inspired by his kid’s school-lunch retracting chopstick and cutlery case.

KORG’s phase8 “acoustic synthesizer” is now a product for sale

The experimental electromechanical 8-voice instrument, after a long gestation period at KORG Berlin’s skunkworks R&D, is now going public. That means this unique set of sequenced steel resonators is making its way off the laboratory table and into the wild.