Music Production Forum

Solid State Logic has released SpringVerb, a vintage-inspired spring reverb plugin for macOS and Windows, and it’s currently available at a discount along with some pretty awesome bonus freebies at Plugin Boutique. I’ve had a soft spot for spring reverb ever since I fell down the dub music rabbit hole roughly 25 years ago (Your [...] View post: Get the new Solid State Logic SpringVerb for $29 + a Plugin Boutique freebie View the full article

When a software instrument becomes a standard in multiple industries— the way that Omnisphere did almost immediately after its release in 2008— it’s easy for a developer to become progressively complacent. Omnisphere is such a household name by now that I’ve even heard naysayers refer to it as a “mere ROMpler” in an attempt to discredit or invalidate its status... The post Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere 3 review: Still ahead of the competition appeared first on MusicTech. View the full article

Boutique synth designer Love Hultén has announced Works II - a new retrospective of his recent custom synthesizer designs and mods. … Read More New Book Looks At Unique Synth Designs Of Love HulténView the full article

I decided to take a look at some of the more expressive synths of the last 40 years that I have owned and used. From mighty digital giants to emotive analog beasts, I explore instruments in my collection that have used innovative ways to add expression to your keyboard performances. I’m not the most proficient keyboard player, hence my need to surround myself with enough technology to help eke out the ideas in my head into some sort of musical product. But when I discovered the KORG Prophecy on the mid/late 90s, I found a synthesizer whose expression capabilities actually made me sound like I knew what I was doing! So here, along with the Prophecy, I wanted to talk about …

Soundtoys is giving away Little MicroShift for free today as part of its annual 12 Days of Christmas promotion, and if you’ve been following BPB for a while, you’ll know this is a big deal. Little MicroShift is hands down my favorite Soundtoys freebie. I originally grabbed it during a similar promotion back in 2020, [...] View post: Soundtoys offers Little MicroShift for FREE in its 12 Days of Christmas promotion View the full article

U-He has announced that Zebra 3 is now available as a public beta. … Read More U-He Zebra 3 Now Available As BetaView the full article

KV331 Audio has made SynthMaster One free until January 4th (and you can, of course, keep your free license afterwards). The popular wavetable synth is yet another fantastic Christmas giveaway we’ve seen this month, following the freebies from Soundtoys, Universal Audio, iZotope, and others. SynthMaster One typically costs $49 (and often sells for around $25 [...] View post: KV331 Audio makes SynthMaster One FREE until January 4 View the full article

North Carolina-based synth maker GLX Audio shared this preview of the Balsam 8-Voice Modal Synthesizer.… Read More Balsam 8-Voice Modal Synthesizer First LookView the full article

Developer nakst has announced that Integrate, a virtual analog synthesizer for Windows and Linux, is now available for free. The instrument was initially priced at $54.99 when released in 2022. Integrate takes inspiration from classic virtual analog synths but isn’t a straight emulation of any single piece of hardware. Instead, it feels like a modern [...] View post: nakst Integrate virtual analog synthesizer for Windows and Linux is now FREE View the full article

Not too long ago, during the chaos of Black Friday promotions, Universal Audio offered us one free plugin from a collection of ten products. The good news is that anyone who missed out on the Black Friday giveaway now has a second chance to grab one of those ten plugins for free. The even better [...] View post: Universal Audio follows up its Black Friday freebie with another holiday giveaway View the full article

Insight 2 is a comprehensive metering and audio analysis plugin for macOS and Windows, and it’s available for free until December 31 at Plugin Boutique. The plugin is available in AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX formats (VST2 is only available in DAWs/NLEs opened in Rosetta on Apple Silicon Macs) You can pick up Insight 2 [...] View post: iZotope Insight 2 metering and audio analysis plugin is FREE for a limited time View the full article

Chris Bryant, or S1gns Of L1fe as he’s better known, is a musician who wears many hats. The California-based ambient music producer, sound designer, and record label founder can now add the title of plugin developer to his resumé, thanks to this collaboration with Dawesome and its newly released reverb plugin – SOL. Dawesome is [...] View post: S1gns Of L1fe and Dawesome release SOL, a FREE reverb plugin for macOS and Windows View the full article

Broaden your range of expression and explore MIDI polyphonic aftertouch with these five hardware synths with MPE. Synthesizers are constantly improving. For the price, the ones we have at our disposal in 2025 are magnitudes more powerful than those from 40 or 50 years ago. Onboard effects, sheer variety of synthesis architectures, and modulation possibilities are but three of the areas where we’re currently blessed. Another is MPE. Also known as MIDI Polyphonic Expression, MPE gives you new ways to play keyboards, with per-note control over parameters in three dimensions: horizontally, vertically, and instantaneous pressure. MPE does this by changing how the machine uses…

The USB-C interface can connect to your desktop or mobile devices, and features 2 combo Mic/Inst/Line XLR inputs and 2 1/4" TRS balanced line outputs. … Read More Arturia MiniFuse 2 OTG (On The Go)View the full article

AudioBench uses a visual approach to audio design.… Read More AudioBench Modular Audio Laboratory Now Available For macOSView the full article

It’s that time of year again, when you’re going to hear some of the cheesiest music ever recorded, whether you like it or not. With that in mind, Somerville Sounds released Christmas Percussion for all the free sleigh bells you can handle! Christmas is a time of year when everyone gets a free pass to [...] View post: Somerville Sounds releases Christmas Percussion, all the FREE sleigh bells you can handle View the full article

10 Phantom Rooms has already built a strong footprint in the NKS ecosystem. Now, they’re expanding that connection with RSI 2, a new instrument built exclusively for NKS. Made from two of Berlin’s rarest synths, RSI 2 brings processed samples from the Jomox SunSyn and the Resonator Neuronium into a focused creative tool for modern producers. We spoke with Tobias about the ideas behind the instrument, the team’s ongoing design philosophy, and what’s coming next for 10 Phantom Rooms... The post 10 Phantom Rooms on RSI 2: how rare Berlin synths shape the future of NKS first appeared on Native Instruments Blog. View the full article

Yes, you read the headline correctly. I first started creating music with Cubase all the way back in 1989 when, as a budding young music technology student, my college updated the MIDI sequencing software on its suite of Atari STs from Steinberg Pro24 to the new, shiny, and much more advanced Cubase. While I have acquired wrinkles and grey hair (and wisdom, I hope!) since that time, Cubase has remained evergreen, accumulating features and abilities that have kept it close to the cutting edge of technology... The post I’ve used Cubase for 36 years — here’s what I honestly think about Cubase 15’s AI tools appeared first on MusicTech. View the full article

The Protein is an inexpensive, compact 8-voice polyphonic wavetable synthesizer, based on the original Microwave 1 ASIC oscillators and combined with modern features of Waldorf's Iridium heritage.… Read More Waldorf Protein Synthesizer Hands-On ReviewView the full article

While the ContinuuMini is a simpler, scaled-down version of Haken's Continuum, it's a unique, expressive instrument in its own right.… Read More Composing With The Haken ContinuuMini SynthesizerView the full article

In the video, Clevinger shares his take on the new version, highlights the new presets from Brian Eno, explores the Patch page and more. … Read More An Introduction To Absynth 6 With Creator Brian ClevingerView the full article

Faselunare has launched a crowdfunding campaign for Cosmolab, an open-source modular development platform for sound and multimedia. … Read More Cosmolab Open-Source Modular DSP Kit Now Available To PreorderView the full article

There isn’t much more to say about Zebralette; it has been among the best free software synths for a very, very long time, and the excitement about this new release is merited. For anyone new to Zebralette, it’s the much-loved little brother of u-he’s premium synth Zebra, and you can find out more about it [...] View post: u-he announces Zebralette 3.0 RC, improving one of the best FREE synthesizers View the full article

Celebrate your Absynth 6 purchase by adding a ton of brilliant presets to it for just €9.99! Plus we have free patches for Arturia Analog Lab V! It truly MUST be Xmas as Native Instruments brought back Absynth from the dusty plugin cupboard of history yesterday with the release of Absynth 6! There was a collective uproar followed by the five stages of grief when NI pulled the plug on Absynth back in September of 2022... The post Bought Absynth 6? Stack It Full of Great Patches! – Sounds and Presets appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

The Behringer Meatball is a clone of a classic 1995 boutique envelope filter, used by many famous players. Making a boutique, highly desirable pedal affordable for the masses, Behringer has created a spicy meatball for all! ... The post Behringer Meatball: Budget Take on a ’90s Classic appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

That time of year has come again, when you’re wracking your brain to come up with gift ideas for your music producer friend or family member. As a long-time producer myself, I can tell you that they probably have a very specific idea of the items they’d want when it comes to expanding their studio. Unless they’ve specifically asked for something, it’s probably not a good idea to take a chance on a random expensive synth or MIDI controller, as there are so many options out there. They probably don’t want an extra pair of budget headphones when they have a decent pair already… The post Best gifts for musicians and producers this holiday season appeared first on MusicTech. V…

When I visited Subtronics’ studio in his new home perched on a rolling peak of the Hollywood Hills, I expected to see hundreds of dancing lights and colourful knobs primed for the kind of eclectic, intense sound design that fuels his aggressive and diverse interpretation of dubstep. Instead, the only studio gear was his MacBook Pro and two PMC Micro Main 27 monitors. His computer is suitably stocked with plugins, but for Subtronics, real name Jesse Kardon, the speakers and a properly tuned room are the most important aspects of his creative process... The post Subtronics has a complex relationship with studio monitors: “I’m superstitious. Every speaker sounds a little bit…

Francis Cofone & Markus Reuter have released a unique new record, featuring electric guitar paired with the classic '70s string synth sound of the ARP Solina.… Read More New Album Features Classic ARP Solina String Ensemble SoundView the full article

All the band members play synths at various times during the performance, along with drums, acoustic guitar, Rhodes and more.… Read More Air Tiny Desk ConcertView the full article

Native Instruments revives its iconic semi-modular instrument with modern performance features, AI-powered navigation, and expanded creative depth. Native Instruments has officially unveiled Absynth 6, bringing back one of electronic music’s most influential soft synths with a fully modernized design. Developed in partnership with original creator Brian Clevinger, the latest version preserves Absynth’s unmistakable identity – [...] The post Absynth 6 Marks the Return of a Legendary Soft Synth for a New Generation appeared first on DJ Life Magazine. View the full article