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News, reviews, and hands-on tutorials for music producers and DJs. Browse every article — sorted newest first.

Showing 1–12 of 123 articles

Arturia Rev OCEAN tidal reverb plugin interface
Mixing & Mastering

Arturia Rev OCEAN: A Motion-First FDN Reverb for $49

Arturia Rev OCEAN is a $49 motion-first FDN reverb with Abyss, Tide, and Foam modes plus tail freeze. Here's how it sounds, who it's for, and the cost.

Priya RamanJun 28, 20262 min read
d16 Group PunchBox 2 kick drum design plugin interface
Sound Design

d16 PunchBox 2 Adds a Wavetable Engine for Kick Design

d16 PunchBox 2 adds a wavetable engine, four sound generators, and 1,100+ presets to the kick-design plugin, launching at €79. Here's what changed.

Marcus FeldJun 28, 20263 min read
Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin Version 2 wavetable synthesizer interface
Software

Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin V2: From 8 to 32 Voices

Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin V2 quadruples polyphony to 32 voices and adds two arpeggiators, a new delay, and Robin modes. Here's what changed and the €99 price.

Theo NakamuraJun 28, 20263 min read
Excite Audio Evolve Dark Matter sample-based synthesizer plugin interface
Software

Evolve Dark Matter: A Quad-Engine Synth for Dark D&B

Excite Audio Evolve Dark Matter is a quad-engine sample synth for dark drum and bass and atmospheric techno, with XY morphing and 250 sound sources.

Marcus FeldJun 27, 20264 min read
Novation FLkey 2 49 MIDI keyboard controller for FL Studio, top view
Hardware

Novation FLkey 2: An OLED Screen for FL Studio Users

Novation FLkey 2 is the gen-2 FL Studio MIDI keyboard, now with an OLED display, semi-weighted keys on the 49 and 61, USB-C, and four sizes to pick from.

Theo NakamuraJun 27, 20264 min read
Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II sampler running firmware 2.5
Hardware

EP-133 K.O. II Firmware 2.5 Adds USB Audio, Free

Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II firmware 2.5 is a free update adding USB audio in/out, sample reverse, an arpeggiator, 40-second recording, and auto-chop.

Elena MarshJun 26, 20263 min read
Akai MPC 3.9 oscillator synth engine update on a standalone MPC
Production

Akai MPC 3.9: The Update That Turns Your MPC Into a Synth

Akai MPC 3.9 adds a built-in oscillator synth engine, hybrid keygroups, new Arrange tools, and flexible time signatures. Here's what's new and if it matters.

Marcus FeldJun 23, 20263 min read
Cherry Audio Ensoniq ESQ-1 software synthesizer plugin interface
Software

Cherry Audio Ensoniq ESQ-1: The 1986 Hybrid, Licensed

Cherry Audio's Ensoniq ESQ-1 revives the 1986 hybrid synth as an officially licensed $69 plugin, built from the original 32 waveforms with modern extras.

Theo NakamuraJun 23, 20263 min read
Suno Advanced Stem Separation interface showing multiple extracted stems
Software

Suno Advanced Split: Regenerated Stems, ~100 Instruments

Suno's new Advanced Split regenerates each stem instead of slicing the mix, letting you extract from nearly 100 instruments with far cleaner results.

Priya RamanJun 23, 20263 min read
Akai MPC One G2 and MPC Key 37 G2 standalone grooveboxes
Hardware

Akai MPC One G2 & Key 37 G2: 8-Core, New Synth Engine

The Akai MPC One G2 and Key 37 G2 bring an 8-core CPU, 64GB storage, and the MPC 3.9 OS synthesis engine. Specs, prices, and who should upgrade.

Elena MarshJun 22, 20263 min read
Bitwig Studio 6.1 rebuilt Sampler device interface
Software

Inside Bitwig Studio 6.1: Spectral & Fragments Sampler

Bitwig Studio 6.1 rebuilds the native Sampler with Spectral time-stretch and Fragments granular modes, plus auto tempo and pitch detection and slicing.

Marcus FeldJun 22, 20262 min read
ElevenLabs Music v2 AI music generation interface
Software

ElevenLabs Music v2: Inpainting & Licensed AI Tracks

ElevenLabs Music v2 adds section-level inpainting, embedded SFX, and licensed-only training cleared for commercial use, plus a price cut. What changed and cost.

Priya RamanJun 22, 20262 min read