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Form is an all-new hybrid sample synthesizer
Native Instruments has been a pioneer in making tools like Reaktor that employ unique synthesis techniques. But more recently, that power has found its way to self-contained instruments. Tucked into...
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All about the Behringer DeepMind 12, in one place
Okay, enough teasing already. Behringer has a 12-voice polyphonic synth called the DeepMind. And now let’s talk about exactly what to expect, in one place. The Behringer DeepMind 12 teaser campaign has...
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Bengal could be the Ableton synth you’ve been waiting for
Years ago, when Ableton’s Operator FM synth designed by Robert Henke made its debut, it was a revelation. Its clear panel design and flexible architecture made FM synthesis more accessible to countless...
View ArticleThe new MPCs in videos, including how those clips work
Following Akai’s announcement of the new standalone MPC models – MPC X and MPC Live – they’ve also released some videos. Sound on Sound has a walkthrough: And there’s the requisite promo film from...
View ArticleSystem 80 is a control-for-control 808 clone in Eurorack
Wait… I don’t think I’ve ever basically said everything I needed to say in a story right in the headline before, but… yeah. This is a control-for-control 808 clone in Eurorack. And for anyone...
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More details on the $650 Elektron Digitakt – and why we’re into it
The Elektron Digitakt sampler/drum computer may have been sitting silently under glass at last month’s NAMM trade show. But no matter: it was still the gear generating the most buzz. The thing is,...
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STEREO FIELD is a beautiful touchplate instrument and controller
This might just be a real spiritual successor to the Cracklebox. (That’s the classic – and very nicely unpredictable – creation of Michel Waisvisz, one associated with the research program at STEIM and...
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Behringer to make an analog Minimoog clone for around $400
Since the classic synth has made a resurgence, the entry of low-cost remakes was pretty much a given. And no brand is perhaps more associated with cut-rate gear than Behringer. So, while the 12-voice...
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Analog Strings from Output melds string orchestras, string synths
There are string synths. And then there are sample libraries of orchestras. The strings synths produce sounds that are recognizably vintage, and more or less unrelated to actual orchestras. The sample...
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The AS-1 synth from Pioneer and Dave Smith is looking really cool
Here are two quick takeaways about the TORAIZ AS-1 monosynth introduced by Pioneer DJ, in collaboration with Dave Smith. One, it sounds great – but we figured that, given it’s basically a single voice...
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The nerdiest synth meet in the world, plus Tangerine Dream on a boat
Even in the age of the Internet, there’s no substitute for seeing people face to face. It just seems now we want a more concentrated dose – one or two really big international gatherings where we go...
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Novation Mono Station synth sequencer just leaked via retail
Novation’s Circuit drum machine/synth/sequencer combo already found a lot of fans. Now it looks like they’ve got another all-in-one grid instrument – this time, a mono/paraphonic synth with sequencer....
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Eowave’s Quandrantid Swarm is a weird scifi synth like no other
“All synths today just sound the same.” Sure. Fair. Well, but then something comes along that sounds more like it’s ready to produce a trippy soundtrack for a wandering scifi epic about a journey to...
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Bastl’s Thyme is an advanced digital effect inspired by tape
What if you had an effect in hardware that acted like tape – with tape heads, adjustable speed, and so on? But what if that tape were … digital, instead of analog? And what if it were run by a … robot?...
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Roland does for drum pads what stompboxes did for guitar effects
Roland has a simple idea: take digital drum pad hardware, and simplify it. What you get is fun and ready little boxes you can stamp with your foot, play with your hands, or hit with a stick. Instead of...
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Get hands on with the hot new Elektron Digitakt
What do you need your boxes to do? For a lot of people, that’s making grooves, producing nice-sounding drums, manipulating samples, and playing sequencing – and then mucking about with them and...
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PPG Infinite’s touch morphing could make it soft synth of the summer
Over the weekend, PPG mastermind Wolfgang Palm let slip his latest creation: PPG Infinite. In previews for iPad, we see an innovative touch synth full of morphing and wave shaping tools. There are two...
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Zoom figures out mixer + interface + recorder is exactly what we want
Let’s skip the specs and get straight to the point: this should be a product category. Zoom’s new box is a mixer, audio interface, effects, and audio recorder in one. And that’s significant, because...
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Percussa’s new Kickstarter project wants to be the brain of your modular
What if you could merge the patch-ability of modulars with powerful digital DSP – not just circuits? The Percussa SSP is the latest entry to try just that. It was inevitable: modulars, at first...
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What you need to know about the Roland Boutique 101, 808 reboots
Roland keeps adding to its Boutique series remakes of its classic back catalog. Here’s the scoop on the new SH-01A (SH-101) and TR-08 (TR-808). What you get is shrunken-down, modeled editions of the...
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