VST is 30 years old, and Steinberg is giving away some of its earliest plugins

It’s the format that changed software music making forever: the VST plug-in format turns 30 this year. Steinberg is giving away updated versions of Neon, CS-40, Karlette, VB1, and LM7 — some of its earliest plug-ins — to celebrate. And that means you can run these vintage instruments (plus one tape delay) on your modern Mac or PC.

Push Hack, very unauthorized access to Push 3’s display, files, MIDI, and more

If you don’t like unauthorized hacking, this isn’t for you. If you don’t like things built with AI-assisted coding agents, this isn’t for you. But if you’re up for a very unofficial hack that gives you full takeover access to Push 3’s display, drives, MIDI, and more, Federico Pepe has just unveiled Push Hack. Here’s […]

Peter Kirn - August 3, 2026

Vintage Max patches revived: free downloads, Leafcutter John and Suren

Suren Seneviratne (My Panda Shall Fly) has been painstakingly cataloging lost software, oldschool patches, and retro musical practices, reviving old machines and software and breathing new life into them. But now, we get some classic Max patches, remade for the current era of Max patches. Download them for free, and listen in as Suren interviews Leafcutter John and John interviews Suren.

Peter Kirn - July 31, 2026

Impactor, Rupture 2 by Rawton Forge are perfect percussion synths for Live

Peter Kirn - July 31, 2026

DeafMan transforms Ableton Live with custom colors, interactive editor

Peter Kirn - July 29, 2026

Last call on these summer sales on gear and software

Peter Kirn - July 27, 2026

In Expressive E’s Noisy 2.6 synth, expression everywhere, MIDI to MPE

Peter Kirn - July 23, 2026

Digital Arabic Maqām Archive and open-source MIDI plug-in now available

Peter Kirn - July 22, 2026

Free BEAST Repeat for Ableton Live is so good, you’ll switch genres to IDM

Peter Kirn - July 22, 2026