DIY + Unusual Gear Modular-Analog Music tech Tech
Bastl’s Kastle 2 and Citadel Eurorack are now DIY kits, open source platforms
It started with Kastle 2, Bastl Instruments’ cute and clever handheld. It could be a multi-effect, a sample player, a synth. Then Citadel modules came along and did those things in Eurorack. Now, Bastl’s got a surprise: you can buy these as DIY kits, and a big chunk of the Raspberry Pi-powered platforms are being released as open source. Here are all the details.
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What’s new in the DIY world of Music Thing’s Workshop System
It’s a Very Workshop System Jamuary. Music Thing’s patchable music lab-in-a-lunchbox has proved that small-batch personal hardware can attract a select, dedicated community sharing great stuff with one another. Let’s catch up with what’s been happening in that magical village of synth wonder in the past year. Don’t forget, the ideas and code here are all open — meaning this could inspire more.
Peter Kirn - January 7, 2026
DIY + Unusual Modular-Analog Music tech Stories Tech
JW-Modules free Grains, Buffer are must-downloads for VCV Rack
We’ve had a deluge of superb VCV Rack modules, carrying straight over into the first days of the new year. But let’s skip to this one: Jeremy Wentworth’s free Grains is the granular sampler you’ve been waiting for, now available for VCV Rack and 4ms MetaModule. Bonus: my guide to other granular modules in Rack… and a surprise teaser.
Peter Kirn - January 6, 2026
Modular-Analog Music tech Software Tech
OB-Xf, free and open-source Oberheim-inspired synth, is now in beta
Peter Kirn - January 2, 2026
Music tech Software Tech
A free emulator of Roland JP-8000 and the love of supersaws and trance
Peter Kirn - December 30, 2025
Gear Music tech Software Tech
Airwindows VerbThic, VerbTiny let you go even more rabid for reverb, for free
Peter Kirn - December 3, 2025
Music tech Reviews Software Tech
Free Envion Deepscan turns your hard drive’s lost files into a soundscape
Peter Kirn - October 29, 2025
DIY + Unusual Music tech Software Tech
Open Steinberg: VST3 and ASIO SDKs now have open source licenses
Peter Kirn - October 29, 2025
Motion Music tech Software Tech
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