Music Production Forum

Developers have announced that JE-8086 - software emulation of the Roland JP-8000 synthesizer - is now out of alpha testing, and is officially available as a free download. … Read More New Roland JP-8000 Emulator Is Free, But There’s A CatchView the full article

With Opal Drums, Denver-based producer Mux Mool and UK turntablist Jon1st are reshaping how electronic duos approach performance. Their debut single, “Burning Hammer,” introduces a world where lush, cinematic sound design meets raw, tactile percussion. The project combines the spontaneity of live musicianship with the precision of modern production, building a conceptual narrative around alien monoliths, transformation, and human curiosity. At the center of Mux Mool’s process is Maschine, a controller that has shaped both his solo work and his collaboration with Jon1st. As a longtime user, he relies on it for sketching rhythms, building performance-ready sequences, and ma…

2025 was probably the best year ever for free VST plugins. And that’s not an exaggeration. We covered well over 200 free plugins on BPB this year, ranging from simple utilities to genuinely mind-blowing tools that rival (and sometimes outperform) commercial software. Narrowing that list down wasn’t easy, but after months of testing, mixing, and [...] View post: These are my 15 favorite FREE music production plugins from 2025 View the full article

2025 was a busy year, but when looking back, it seemed to be a fairly quiet year when it came to big, new releases. This could be down to the fact that, post-COVID, there was a glut of releases in 2024, so this year may well have been some sort of rebalancing. That’s not to say there wasn’t some cool stuff going on and being released, so I decided to look back over the last 12 months and pick out some things that stuck in my mind and my ears. Naturally, this is a purely subjective list, so why not let me know your 2025 synthy highlights in the comments! ... The post My Highlights of 2025 – The Big Winners of My Year appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Turn your pictures into music with these wild examples of visual synthesis: hardware and software synthesizers that use images to generate sound. Making sound with images may sound like a contradiction, but there is a thin but persistent thread throughout the history of electronic instruments that allows you to do just this. Whether this is shining a light on drawings to create sound with sine waves, or dropping image files into a plugin, there are a number of different ways to make music with pictures. Here are five visual synthesis instruments that I’ve come across. Have you found any others? Let me know in the comments... The post Visual Synthesis: 5 Synths to Make Cra…

This video explores modular improvisation along with sounds triggered through sonification of plants' electrical conductivity. … Read More ‘Plant Music’ With PlantWave & The Plantasia Moog ModularView the full article

Touchord - a fully open?source chord?generating MIDI controller - is now available to pre-order as a DIY kit. … Read More Touchord Open Source Chord Generating MIDI Controller Now Available To Pre-OrderView the full article

Here's a modern take on the Novation Nova Desktop, a virtual analog synthesizer, introduced in 1999.… Read More Novation Nova Desktop Vintage Synth ReviewView the full article

(https://jamesm.blog/music-production/best-software-synths-2025/) Software synthesizers in 2025 are a study in contrast and creativity - flagship instruments with deep sonic universes, hybrid engines merging sampling with synthesis, and tools that make sound design feel like both art and play. Below is a panoramic view of the top soft synths this year, each with its release timing and why it matters to your creative workflow. Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 – Released October 21, 2025 Omnisphere’s long‑anticipated third chapter landed in late October, and it’s already a touchstone for sound designers across genres. With tens of thousands of patches, integrated granular and wav…

(https://jamesm.blog/music-production/top-5-grooveboxes-2025/) Grooveboxes are island universes of music creation - sequencing, sampling, synthesis, and performance all in a single box. They let you sketch ideas, build full tracks, jam live, and take your studio wherever you want. In 2025, they’re more powerful and diverse than ever.(musicradar.com) Roland MC-707 (£1,013) The MC‑707 is a flagship groovebox from Roland with a ZEN‑Core sound engine that packs thousands of presets, drum kits, effects, and routing options. Its strength lies in pattern and clip‑based sequencing, deep effects, and live remixing capabilities. Each track can be assigned Tone, Drum, or Looper engi…

https://jamesm.blog/music-production/top-5-sequencers-2025/ Hardware sequencers remain essential for producers who want hands-on control over patterns, rhythms, and melodies. Unlike grooveboxes, sequencers are often designed to drive external synths, modular systems, or entire hardware setups. Here’s a detailed look at the top 5 hardware sequencers in 2025, complete with images, prices, and strengths. (reverb.com) Teenage Engineering OP-XY (~£1,799) The OP-XY is a portable sequencer with integrated synth engines and expressive pattern management. It offers parameter locks, modulation lanes, and performance-friendly workflow. Its unique combination of sequencing and sound …

The Crow Hill Company is currently running a £25 voucher promotion that you can use to claim the Pocket Strings (£10) library for FREE or get a £4 bargain of your choice. The coupon code crowmas25 knocks £25 off any purchase in the Crow Hill store, with no minimum spend required. The no minimum spend [...] View post: Get the Pocket Strings library for FREE for a limited time View the full article

SoundMorph has launched a time-limited holiday deal that lets you take $49 off anything in their store, with no minimum spending required. If you play it right, that means you can grab select plugins or sound libraries completely free of charge. The discount is applied using the code Christmas49, and it’s valid until December 27 [...] View post: Get a FREE SoundMorph product with $49 OFF coupon (ends December 27) View the full article

The Novation Circuit range looks pretty cool, use Tracks for synth-led sketches and full ideas, use Rhythm for sample-driven beats and performance. Both look fun, immediate, and play nicely with other gear. Circuit Tracks is the all-rounder: two synth tracks, four drum tracks, slick pattern workflow, and great MIDI control. Ideal if you want melodies and beats in one box. Circuit Rhythm is all about sampling and groove: fast recording, slicing, resampling, and hands-on performance. Feels built for beatmakers who like to mangle audio live.

I genuinely can’t get over how mental the Reliq from Reliq Instruments is. Not just in features - physically. This thing is huge. The 16×16 grid dominates the unit and makes everything else look small by comparison. It’s less “desktop groovebox” and more “command bridge of a spaceship.” You’re sequencing, routing, mixing, and launching clips on a surface that looks like it could run an entire studio by itself - because it basically can. Specs aside, the scale alone is wild. It’s clearly designed to be the centre of everything, not something you casually tuck next to a synth. If you want a subtle box, this is not it. If you want a single, imposing brain that screams commit…

This is a fast-paced comparison of a wide range of synths, grooveboxes, drum machines, and oddball gear, covering a lot of modern synths, classic digital gear, pocket operators, grooveboxes, and a dawless jam at the end. Gear covered in the video; Novation Peak ASM Hydrasynth Polyend Tracker Korg Electribe EMX-1 Roland MC-101 Korg opsix Casio CZ-101 Roland S-1 vs 1010music Blackbox Korg Wavestate MK2 Roland TB-3 Roland Cloud Teenage Engineering PO-33 KO! Korg Volca Modular Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator Modular 400 Elektron Digitakt II Korg Minilogue XD Boss DR-5

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=625544

Since I first saw it demonstrated on the BBC TV programme ‘Tomorrow’s World’ in 1980, I have been fascinated and obsessed with the Fairlight CMI, a remarkable machine that changed the way we make music and whose DNA remains in the way we use computers in music to this very day. Its inventors should, in my very humble opinion, be held in the same regard as Bob Moog, Tom Oberheim, Dave Smith, Ikutaro Kakehashi, et al, such was their impact on the way we make music and how it shaped modern culture. Since 2013, I’ve been involved with restoring and repairing Fairlight CMIs and have become somewhat intimately knowledgeable about them. I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to mee…

Image-Line has introduced FL Studio Web, a browser-based version of the popular digital audio workstation. … Read More FL Studio Web Now Available In Your Web BrowserView the full article

Black Octopus Sound has released Christmas Gift – Starter Deck Sampler, a huge free sample pack available for a limited time, and a 100% discount for a full Starter Deck of your choice. I downloaded the pack out of curiosity, expecting little more than a generous teaser, but this is a proper sound library. Black [...] View post: Black Octopus Sound releases Christmas Starter Deck Sampler with 3 GB of FREE sounds View the full article

Developer Majetone is offering Pantomime 4, a virtual synthesizer with plenty of character, free for a limited time during the holidays. To download this, head to the Pantomime 4 product page, scroll down, and enter your email address. Once you sign up for the Majetone mailing list, a 100% discount code is automatically applied at [...] View post: Majetone offers Pantomime 4 virtual synth FREE for email subscribers View the full article

Happy Holidays, everyone! Before we get ready for the new year, it’s time to look back at my personal gear highlights of 2025. Spoiler alert: no synths this time! I mostly write about synths at GEARNEWS. But I don’t want to waste your time with yet another list of the best synths of the year (apart from a pair of stunning groove machines that no recap of 2025 can do without). So here’s my list of the other things I found exciting or interesting this year, outside of my main area of focus... The post Highlights of the Year: My Favorite Gear of 2025 appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

ginTronic shared this sneak preview of the transparentSea – a creative multi-effect device that features stereo delays, modulation, and 'tempo-sync magic'.… Read More ginTronic transparentSea Creative Multi-Effect Sneak PreviewView the full article

HoRNet Plugins has released HoRNet TapeLite, a free tape saturation plugin for macOS and Windows. TapeLite is a straightforward tape machine emulation designed to add non-linear behavior to clean digital recordings. There’s no trial period and no copy protection for this one. You just create a free HoRNet account, download the freebie, and keep it [...] View post: HoRNet Plugins releases FREE HoRNet TapeLite tape saturation plugin View the full article

On Saturday, The Crow Hill Company launched its new Tuned Gongs library for Vaults, which is now available for free download. The Vaults range of plugins runs on macOS and Windows in AU, VST3, VST, and AAX formats. Tuned Gongs features four… wait for it… tuned gongs that the dev suggests were cast for gong [...] View post: Tuned Gongs is a new FREE library for the Vaults plugin View the full article

A few days ago, I mentioned that we hadn’t seen many sample packs on our freebie desk over the last few weeks. Now, a few days later, as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and we’re amid a shower of free sample packs with more on the way. The latest offerings are two [...] View post: Sounds of Horror and Junk Store Finds: Get two free and unusual sample packs View the full article

KuramaSound has released AnalogChannel, a free VST3 channel strip plugin for Windows that combines several Airwindows (among others) DSP algorithms into one convenient workflow. AnalogChannel feels like a curated compilation of some of the best free DSP algorithms around, wrapped into a single, practical signal chain. The developer behind KuramaSound has pulled together faithful ports [...] View post: KuramaSound releases FREE AnalogChannel plugin for Windows View the full article

Just in time for the holidays, Universal Audio’s Holiday Freebie adds a little sparkle to our plugin collection. Instead of discount codes or time-limited demos, here’s something tangible: a completely free plugin from a selection of genuine studio classics. It’s the perfect gift for anyone looking to experiment with new sounds between Christmas and New Year’s or refine their mix with a fresh character. The best part? Universal Audio offers ten high-quality tools to choose from, ranging from the legendary LA-2A compressor to the modern PolyMAX synth. What are you waiting for? ... The post Holiday Freebie: Universal Audio is Giving Away Legendary Plugins! appeared first on…

Shattered Glass Audio has released Phoenix LT, a free analog tube preamp simulation plugin for desktop platforms and iOS. This release caught my attention because Phoenix LT is essentially the successor to the discontinued SGA1566 preamp. In my opinion, SGA1566 was one of the best free tube preamp plugins on the market for years, and [...] View post: Shattered Glass Audio releases Phoenix LT, a FREE tube preamp plugin for desktop and iOS View the full article

PSP AudioWare has released PSP stereoAnalyser2, a free stereo metering plugin for macOS and Windows, just in time for the holiday season. This isn’t a “free for a limited time” promo that later turns into a paid product, either. PSP stereoAnalyser2 is a permanently free plugin, and it’s essentially an updated and improved version of [...] View post: PSP AudioWare releases PSP stereoAnalyser2 plugin for FREE View the full article