DIY + Unusual Music tech Software Tech

plugdata, cyclone get major updates — free stuff for patchers and end users

Recent updates for the visual programming environment plugdata (a wrapped for Pure Data) and the powerful object library cyclone are keeping the goodness going. Whether you’re looking to do patching and development in a graphical tool or just enjoy the free stuff people are making with Pd, that’s great news.

Ardour 9.2, free and open DAW, grants user wishes — Region FX, anyone?

If you haven’t tried Ardour in a while — or if you’re new to the idea that a DAW could be free and open source — you might be surprised. Major updates and a lot of listening to users means you don’t have to sacrifice features like clip recording and editing (including looping), piano roll windows, and more. Plus you get things a lot of tools can’t do, like region effects. Ardour is worth downloading on macOS, Windows, or Linux — any of them.

Peter Kirn - February 23, 2026

Music tech Software Tech

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Poly Flanger: a guide to Minimal Audio’s new tunable 8-voice FX

Minimal Audio’s Poly Flanger is a “musical” stereo flanger — with tuning options, scale quantization, three modes, and 1-8 voices, plus deep modulation and timbral options. “Flanger” is accurate, but almost unfair — this is a deep 8-voice comb resonator that you can set in key with your project or turn into a liquid, sound-transforming, even glitchy beast. Here’s a deep-dive guide to how to get the most out of it.