Alien resurrection: Absynth 6 delivers a powerful update to a futuristic classic

Back in green: three years after Native Instruments announced its demise, Absynth 6 makes an unexpected return from the dead. What we get is not just a rerelease, but the biggest update for the polysynth in its history, with everything from new filters and engine enhancements to a new UI and MPE. Early review: this is a polysynth you need to explore all over again — or discover for the first time.

The making of Sequential’s all-analog, polyphonic, expressive Fourm

Sequential’s new Fourm is a 4-voice polysynth with an all-analog signal path and polyphonic aftertouch and a price under a grand. To pull it off, Sequential designed an all-new expressive keybed and adapted their signature analog circuitry from the Prophet-5 (and Prophet-10). I spoke to Sequential about their instrument and the engineering that made it all happen.

Peter Kirn - September 23, 2025

Oberheim TEO-5: Tom’s legacy, now on desktop, $1399

They’re built on the same platform, the development of which was overseen by the late Dave Smith. They cost roughly the same price and take up the same amount of space. But TEO-5 is not Take 5. Look to the Oberheim desktop instrument for the SEM multimode filter, linear through-zero FM, and its own unique effects. Here’s the synth Tom and team built.

Peter Kirn - July 1, 2025

Free deals: UA PolyMAX synth, iZotope Ozone Imager, Tonal Balance Control

Peter Kirn - May 25, 2025

Artemis illustration, a ghostly white face with white flowing hair against a black starscape, as pictured by creative director Afroditi Bitzouni.

Artemis combines Dreadbox analog, Sinevibes FX – and the result is lush

Peter Kirn - May 19, 2025

Dirty, punchy, free: this plug-in rendition of the Korg Poly-61 is raw and perfect

Peter Kirn - May 6, 2025

KORG multi/poly native is as satisfying as a desktop plug-in as it in hardware

Peter Kirn - March 6, 2025

Moog just posted an all-star art and tech panel; all that and an Oberheim

Peter Kirn - February 28, 2025

Pigments 6: modal engine, vocoder, more expand this synth playground

Peter Kirn - January 28, 2025

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