Sequential finishes out 2022 with something new: a deep polysynth with an architecture that draws on the legacy of the Prophet-6 and OB-6, but stands next to them as a third classic electronic instrument.

The 1970 instrument is still the most iconic and influential keyboard synth of all time. And now it’s back in production for the first time this decade. But don’t worry – if you can’t afford a new synth right now, there’s also a discount on their excellent app and, uh, a very nice t-shirt.

The Golden Cage is a deeply intimate work by Berlin-based Prequel Tapes, who strings together electronic sounds and voice to grapple with his feelings about his father. That sense of physical-emotional effort also sees realization in movement with a video featuring dance and performance artist Hana Stojaković.

Soundmit – XODES Kickstarter for 808-style 1U modules is live. These are fun, bite-sized modules and I can also say – they sound great. There’s more good 1U stuff in store, too.

Strap in, because this is an announcement that’s very specific. Dipole v2 is a through-zero flanger that sounds… well kind of like a jet flying by. And it runs on KORG hardware. But what makes this cool? v2 has updated this particular sonic spice to some next-level processing abilities. And it’s in stereo.

Novation’s Circuit Rhythm is back, and it suddenly makes a lot more sense. The effects are editable, you can make scenes, you can sample in time (with fixed length recording), and in a first for samplers, there’s an explicit feature intended to let you beat match.

It’s more than a dual-algorithm successor to the H9. Think of the new H90 as a baby H9000 – all the latest Eventide digital processing powers in a compact size. At US$899 with this many tools inside, it even rivals plug-in suites for value.

“Father of Circuit Bending” Reed Ghazala isn’t done transforming musical bending techniques. For starters, there’s this magnetic-patch, chip-talk, chance-based aleatron reincarnation of a Casio keyboard – now with plasma-based radiation. You know, like the energy weapons in sci-fi films. Oh, and a glass eyeball and underlighting.

It’s fall, the leaves are changing in the northern hemisphere, pumpkin spice lattes are back, and there’s a macOS update you should… probably not install yet.

’22 has been a banner year for Cycling ’74. In addition to the new ground-up creation of RNBO, Max and Jitter have seen some big updates. Jitter, the visual/matrix side of Max, got its turn with Jitter 8.5. Let’s catch up, if we can.