Music tech Software Tech
VST is 30 years old, and Steinberg is giving away some of its earliest plugins
It’s the format that changed software music making forever: the VST plug-in format turns 30 this year. Steinberg is giving away updated versions of Neon, CS-40, Karlette, VB1, and LM7 — some of its earliest plug-ins — to celebrate. And that means you can run these vintage instruments (plus one tape delay) on your modern Mac or PC.
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Vintage Max patches revived: free downloads, Leafcutter John and Suren
Suren Seneviratne (My Panda Shall Fly) has been painstakingly cataloging lost software, oldschool patches, and retro musical practices, reviving old machines and software and breathing new life into them. But now, we get some classic Max patches, remade for the current era of Max patches. Download them for free, and listen in as Suren interviews Leafcutter John and John interviews Suren.
Peter Kirn - July 31, 2026
DIY + Unusual Music Music tech Software Stories Tech
Amiga Lagoon and the enduring power of marine aquarium screen savers
Long before anyone was teetotaling screen time like it was some kind of vice, we once stared into our displays for no reason at all, as long as possible. Friends, I’m here to tell you that that dream is alive, and everything from your latest smartphone to computer to flat panel TV can again come to life as a virtual undersea world. And for aquarium love, no one compares to computer artist Jim Sachs.
A poetic, open-source video made on 1979’s Apple II+ and BASIC
Peter Kirn - September 16, 2025
DIY + Unusual Gear Motion Music Tech
The best Microsoft Songsmith mash-ups, from an age before generative AI
Peter Kirn - May 30, 2025
Music Music tech Software Tech
Arturia V Collection 11 hands-on: Pure LoFi, Jup-8000 join latest update
Peter Kirn - April 24, 2025
Music tech Reviews Software Tech
ALM’s new MCO mk2 packs a studio of classic digital synths into 6HP, VCV
Peter Kirn - December 3, 2024
Gear Modular-Analog Music tech Reviews Tech
