Hands-on sound: IRCAM’s ASAP apps transform audio, free on iPad

Reach out and draw and manipulate sounds, directly from the spectrum. IRCAM Forum’s Pierre Guillot lets us know three ASAP apps are now available on iPad, free of charge. It’s what it feels like the iPad was made to do.

The best way to learn Bitwig Grid, Serum 2 is in Japanese from LOBOTIX

LOBOTIX is another reason to have hope in musical imagination. Even without speaking a word of Japanese, these are instantly some of my favorite tutorials. Here, these cover the spectral synthesis modes in Serum 2 and the modular capabilities of Bitwig Grid (and Vital and PhasePlant and more). And thanks to 2020s tech, we get her in the form of an anime character.

Peter Kirn - March 5, 2026

Learn spectral filters and other spectral tricks in Max (or elsewhere)

Spectral tools are all the rage. Ever fancied trying to play with those techniques under the hood? Umut Eldem aka Hearing Glass has a great set of video tutorials. They’re implemented perfectly in Max, but they’re even worth following along from other environments.

Peter Kirn - March 2, 2026

ADPTR Utopia: what makes this spectral reverb one of the best effects of 2025

Peter Kirn - December 3, 2025

UZU is a new rubbery spectral smearing phaser effect from CRQL, Ewan Bristow

Peter Kirn - October 11, 2025

How to get started with SoundThread and CDP: wild free sound tools

Peter Kirn - August 27, 2025

Inertia completes an elegant trio of dynamic-shaping tools from Sinevibes

Peter Kirn - August 22, 2025

Smooth Operator Pro spectral tool adds precise control, more: deep dive

Peter Kirn - April 8, 2025

Three free spectral synths to try after the new Serum spectral oscillator

Peter Kirn - March 19, 2025