Elektron is halting sharing of mods and hacks on its forums; official comments

Music gearmaker Elektron last week announced it would not allow sharing hacks and modifications for its devices on its official Elektronauts forum or social media channels. In a statement, the company says a sudden surge in firmware hacking, apparently driven at least in part by AI, helped motivate the decision. Here are the details.

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

From Michigan, the land where the TR-808 met techno, comes an open-source effort to extend the 808’s life and expand its features. A new 808 firmware joins firmware for the TR-606 and TR-303. Meet SuperOS-808.From Michigan, the land where the TR-808 met techno, comes an open-source effort to extend the 808’s life and expand its features. A new 808 firmware joins firmware for the TR-606 and TR-303. Meet SuperOS-808.

Peter Kirn - August 11, 2026

The PlayStation Vita just got a new sampling groovebox and synth

Sony may have abandoned the PS Vita, but homebrew is ready to keep it alive. And the gorgeous handheld gaming console now gets a new identity as an all-in-one groovebox — with free, open-source software. It even supports multichannel audio over USB via a custom kernel plug-in. Meet DS-8 Drumstream, portable beatmaker.

Peter Kirn - August 6, 2026

Push Hack, very unauthorized access to Push 3’s display, files, MIDI, and more

Peter Kirn - August 3, 2026

DeafMan transforms Ableton Live with custom colors, interactive editor

Peter Kirn - July 29, 2026

Ableton Live and Push can now run on Linux, unofficially

Peter Kirn - July 15, 2026

Making music on the TI graphing calculator — and a TI-inspired plug-in synth

Peter Kirn - March 6, 2026

Ableton Move hardware, compact grid-based standalone groovebox, running Move Everything, showing overlay of (streamed) display wit OB-Xd open source Oberheim model and cutoff parameter

Move Everything hacks Ableton Move for custom devices — and accessibility

Peter Kirn - February 19, 2026

Bastl’s Kastle 2 and Citadel Eurorack are now DIY kits, open source platforms

Peter Kirn - January 21, 2026