Pure Data (Pd) 0.57 inbound, enduring free software for tinkering with sound

Technology keeps asking us to speed up. Pd is happy to let you slow down: tinker, patch, make mistakes, obsess over a number or signal routing, and do it all visually. The free and open source software is getting a nice 0.57 update with new features, relevant to Pd and tools like libpd and plugdata that are based on it.

Cook every day: read Suzanne Ciani’s 1976 Buchla Cookbook, for free

In 1976, Suzanne Ciani reported back to the USA’s National Endowment for the Arts with a report on her compositions, in the form of a modular cookbook. Now you can read her notes and follow along using entirely free software, complete with sound examples. I love overusing the cookbook metaphor, maybe just because food is […]

Peter Kirn - September 21, 2026

x0xb0x, the synth that launched an open-source hardware boom, is reborn

Based on the legendary TB-303, the x0xb0x was an underground legend all its own, one that helped popularize the open-source hardware movement. And now it’s back, in a digital emulation of the original hardware, from x0xb0x’s original creator.

Peter Kirn - September 17, 2026

Scales among updates to the free Ardour DAW — with tuning on the way

Peter Kirn - September 7, 2026

Audacity 4, free and open-source audio editor, arrives with a revamped UI

Peter Kirn - September 3, 2026

MIDI Tape Recorder, precise capture, now standalone for macOS, iOS

Peter Kirn - August 31, 2026

The TR-808 is getting an MSW open-source firmware and a Tubbutec mod

Peter Kirn - August 11, 2026

The PlayStation Vita just got a new sampling groovebox and synth

Peter Kirn - August 6, 2026

The delicate, tiny sound machines in the world of Kuro Kasetto

Peter Kirn - July 24, 2026