Laurie Spiegel’s Music Mouse, the Mac’s first instrument, in Eventide reboot

It’s 1986. Laurie Spiegel creates something unlike any software available at the time — an “intelligent,” algorithmic composer you can play as an instrument, for Mac, Amiga, and Atari ST. You’re at NAMM, and it’s 2026. Surprising everyone, Eventide announces they’re working with Spiegel to bring the original software to modern computers, preserving a breakthrough moment in digital music making. The mouse is back.

ANIMEVOX by castpixel is a free retro anime-style sound fx generator

Sparkle! Slash! PowerUP! This deceptively simple, stupidly fun free browser tool/download generates sound effects in the style of 80s and 90s Japanese animation, all thanks to a clever signal chain. And you can export WAV files, so you could use it to build instruments/drum racks, too.

Peter Kirn - January 18, 2026

Get Universal Audio’s 610 tube channel strips for free — DSP or native

For a limited time, you can grab UA’s 610-A and 610-B models for free, emulating tube amps, transformers, and EQ circuitry in software form. That includes both the UAD Native version you can run anywhere, plus the DSP version that integrates with their Apollo hardware. Here are some details.

Peter Kirn - January 13, 2026

Watch as a telephone is transformed into a DIY analog drum machine

Peter Kirn - January 9, 2026

Forget channel closures: watch every decade of MTV music videos online

Peter Kirn - January 8, 2026

OB-Xf, free and open-source Oberheim-inspired synth, is now in beta

Peter Kirn - January 2, 2026

Boxing Day: get those xmas freebies and be serenaded by an Atari ST

Peter Kirn - December 26, 2025

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

Peter Kirn - November 27, 2025

A free Winamp clone, for macOS, with FLAC and Milkdrop visualizations

Peter Kirn - November 14, 2025

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