It’s just an alpha version, but it’s already impressive: the open source visual programming tools Pd is running in a browser window, even with externals.

It’s the ultimate open source ugly duckling story. Once an awkward, esoteric tool, Blender has grown into a 3D modeling and animation standard that’s slick and pretty – and free.

Get ready for some tablet patching. A developer has revealed a port of popular open source modular environment VCV Rack to the iPad.

Vember Audio’s Surge synth could be an ideal choice for an older machine or a tight budget – with deep modulation and loads of wavetables, now free and open source.

AudioKit Synth One has arrived. The first wholly open source synth app on the iOS platform is here and is of course free to download. You can find all the specs for the synth right here

It’s the full SuperCollider synth, without the installation. You can add it to any site (self-hosted). It performs seamlessly via WebAssembly. But most importantly, it’s fun, colorful, and comes with examples and an OSC API so it can interface with live coding tools like Tidal (or your favorite). And you can mess around with it right now, for free.

OneLibrary to rule them all? AlphaTheta hopes so, with a new library format that works across software and hardware without conversion, and with all your playlists, cue points, beatgrids, and so on intact. That may sound like a tall order, but it’s already launching with support for Pioneer hardware, Rekordbox, Traktor, and djay Pro.

plugdata, the visual programming environment for sound and media based on Pure Data (Pd), is becoming its own scene. It’s a great place to start patching your own sonic experiments, and if you haven’t already done that, you should. But it’s also becoming a treasure trove of free and paid tools and toys for musicians even if you never touch the wires inside. v.0.9.2 makes that better for developers and users alike. And did I mention it’s free, on Mac, Windows, Linux, and iOS/iPad?

You may think you know the Yamaha DX7 from those couple of presets that dominated the 80s. But Oliver Greschke’s Elastic OSC for iPhone and iPad is a reminder of just how much potential Yamaha’s breakthrough FM synth can offer. And now Elastic OSC app can easily import those sounds, with a bunch of unique presets to get you started — plus a link to a cool generative tool that works with anything.

Composers Desktop Project has been producing secret sauce of sound spelunkers since the cooperative began in 1986. But it’s receiving newfound attention — partly because of the revelation Aphex Twin used it, but mostly because we finally get a usable GUI. Here’s your guide to how to install this on Mac, Windows, or Linux, and how to dive into the rabbit hole.