VCV Rack, the free and open-source host, has added a new illustrated manual for all its free modules. (Free docs, free host, free modules – got it?) It’s a great intro or refresher — those pictures illustrate a lot of concepts that can elude even advanced synthesists. That makes this worth a look whether you’ve got a hardware Eurorack rig or are just getting started in software.

Arturia just refreshed their FX Collection to version 4. That adds all the newest stuff, including a few I’ve written up here – plus one surprise, the new _Rotary CLS-222 emulation of the Dynacord emulation of the Leslie speaker. Here’s what’s new.

Drift is a friendly, MPE-ready, hardware-inspired synth that’s now included in Live 11.3. Since anyone with Live 11 – even Live Lite users – will get it free, let’s go straight to the source to understand the instrument. We took the chance to talk to Marc Resibois, the instrument’s creator, about how Drift was developed – and get his tips on sound creation and some of the sound features you might otherwise miss.

Whirl, the delightful barber-pole phaser effect (and its seemingly endlessly swirling peaks) now has added two crucial features: syncable frequency, and bidirectional stereo width. That makes this already terrific and accessible effect tool even more useful.

The semi-modular Sleepy Circuits Hypno is a unique generative visual and video looping/processing device based on Raspberry Pi. Mylar Memories made this cute walkthrough video showing how you might use it. (Photosensitive trigger warning.)

You might have missed it or thought this was about Push, but RNBO is included for all Max for Live users in Live 11.3. And in other RNBO news, folks are already combining sound and visuals on the Web with RNBO and JavaScript.

XP for Ableton Live delivers a complete real time spatial audio experience inside Live for just 80€ – and it now does head tracking with hardware as accessible as this £69 Head Tracker hardware.

The MPC One Plus now adds WiFi and Bluetooth, 16 GB of storage, and brings this entry-level standalone up to the CPU specs of Akai’s other boxes. And it runs the just-announced Juno-60-inspired plugin from AIR, too (also available as software plug-in). Plus that US$699 price is appealing.

You can BBQ and think about synths. Memorial Day in the USA is bringing a bunch of music tech discounts – including some surprisingly steep ones. Here’s a guide.

How does the new Ableton Push perform as an instrument – with those new expressive pads? We invited artist Kyoka (Raster) to try out Push in live improvisation.