Gear Music tech Software Tech
FLpad 8×8 grid comes to FL Studio — can you add a grid to a speedrun?
The Novation Launchpad grid has its original lineage in Ableton Live integration. But it’s now come to the land of Fruity Loops. FLpad is available in both a standard, velocity-sensitive model and an FLpad mini. For a user base known for shortcuts and speedrunning, can finger-drumming and pad programming find a home?
Read more
Intellijel made Swells a playable reverb with faders, rise, fall, ebb, and flow
Let’s hear it for reverbs you can play, morph, squash, and swell — not just set and forget. That’s Intellijel Swells, the “Multi-Model Reverb Module with Swell Generator,” or perhaps more aptly, “a lush reverb with a bunch of faders you can jam on.”
Peter Kirn - April 14, 2026
Gear Modular-Analog Music tech Tech
Massive power, every format: the BB-777 brings back a boombox icon
It was arguably the moment the boombox peaked: the GF-909/GF-777 from Sharp boasted dual cassettes, radio, and massive sound. Now, Bumpboxx has decided to reboot that boom box for 2026, with a modern machine that can do everything — CDs, tapes, radio, USB, Bluetooth connectivity, the works. It could be a holy grail across every generation burned out on soulless streaming and ready to love music all over again.
Peter Kirn - March 27, 2026
Tech
Komplete 14 adds Kontakt 7, expands bundle, but M1/M2 support is spotty — at a glance
Peter Kirn - September 8, 2022
Music tech Software Tech
Roland releases JUNO-X polysynth, which can be a vintage JUNO, or a lot more
Peter Kirn - April 27, 2022
Tech
