Year-end lists, while valuable, can blur into vague hype, dizzying lists of artists and tracks. Let’s start by spending some time listening.

Not just for gamers any more: Razer’s high-spec Blade laptop holds promise for music making, too. I’ve taken one for an extended test to see how it holds up.

A defining feature of the original SH-101 was its ability to take trigger ins as clock. Here’s what that means and how to use it on the new Roland SH-01A.

Roli’s NOISE update brings the feature I’ve been wanting all along. Overdubbing arrives and I’m betting it will make NOISE a whole lot more useful

Maschine’s Audio module has arrived, with looping and time stretching. And that makes the perfect time to look at some new ways of playing Maschine.

ChordFlow 2.1 brings a new ‘Melody Tracks’ feature which allows users to create whole songs and tracks with the app, plus there’s much more too

It looks a bit like what would happen if an iPad, a KAOSS Pad, and a plug-in folder had a love child. It’s the new iOS app from the makers of Elastic Drums.

The tiny, 80 Euro, 8-bit Kastle synth from Bastl just got better. A 1.5 revision updates the case, sound, and features.

The day after Behringer posted a lineup of remakes of classic analog synth and drum machines, the company is calling it an error – and making no promises.

You’ve got the gear. You’ve got the gifts. Now … a place to put it, on the go, or setting up onstage. That’s BlipCase, and in December it’s just $39.95.