Waldorf’s Protein: soul of Microwave in an 8-voice wavetable synth, €329

It’s Thanksgiving in the USA, but Germany’s got your Protein, and what a surprise. The classic Microwave 1 wavetable sound meets a tweakable, compact desktop housing and 4-layer, 8-voice architecture. A Keto diet has never sounded more appetizing. Price? €329 in Europe intro, incl. VAT (€379 after the end of the year.) Out now.

Live 12.3 final is here: what’s new that isn’t Splice or stems

Ableton Live 12.3 is here, and that means built-in Splice support, stem separation, and… uh… well, there was the tremolo thing… and… need a guide? We’ve got you. Here are the rest of the best features to try in 12.3 (and Push 2.3 with Live 12.3), at a glance.

Peter Kirn - November 25, 2025

GForce just made a West Coast, MPE-playable synth playground

GForce’s MAP is all new — it’s not a recreation or a collaboration with other brands. But this synth has been to history class, studying modular designs by Serge Tcherepnin, Random*Source, and Buchla USA. Put that in a very modern interface, add MPE expression, and you get what feels like Massive X or Serum from an alternate universe where they’re all about West Coast synthesis.

Peter Kirn - October 28, 2025

MPE meets modular, strings: AAS Multiphonics CV-3, Osmose, Soliste

Peter Kirn - September 29, 2025

Lush, warm Juno-style 6-voice for Ableton Live: Monomono Maya

Peter Kirn - July 25, 2025

Yamaha’s VL1 launched physical modeling; it’s time to give it its due

Peter Kirn - June 2, 2025

3D masses, springs, soundmakers: Anukari physics-based instrument

Peter Kirn - May 4, 2025

Knobula Monumatic module at angle and front-on view, with mode selectors for oscillator, filter controls, envelope controls, and CV and MIDI (MPE) inputs.

Knobula Monumatic, the 8-voice, multi-algorithm MPE polysynth in 12HP

Peter Kirn - April 16, 2025

Still from Haken Continuum video with hands on the red-and-black horizontal ribbon controller of the Continuum Fingerboard; visualization above with Harmonic Resonator, circles overlaid on keyboard showing multi-dimensional expression.

Haken Continuum deep dive, as composition blurs with sound design

Peter Kirn - March 26, 2025

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