Synths & Sound Design

Editorial | Dec 28, 2018 by Hollin Jones

Kontakt-based instruments just keep getting better, and 2018 saw some of the most ambitious and great-sounding releases ever. Here are the boldest and best Kontakt instruments of the year.

Editorial | Dec 27, 2018 by Hollin Jones

2018 saw a raft of updates and new releases, from emulations of vintage gear to new and totally unique soft synthesizers. There's never been a better time to make music with virtual synths.

Editorial | Dec 26, 2018 by Hollin Jones

2018 has been a great year for new, expanded and upgraded music-making apps on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Here are some of the best, from beat makers to full DAWs.

Editorial | Dec 23, 2018 by Hollin Jones

This year saw updates and new releases covering everything from keyboards and Eurorack modules to chord assistants and MIDI guitars. Here's our roundup of the best MIDI controllers of 2018.

Tutorial | Dec 06, 2018 by Lynda Arnold

The Health and Wellness industry is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Here are some tips from an experienced practitioner of making sonic textures for yoga and meditation.

Tutorial | Nov 20, 2018 by Joe Albano

What if you need to change not just the structure of a vocal sequence, but the intonation of individual words? Salvation is here in the form of iZotope RX7's Dialog Contour Module.

Tutorial | Nov 14, 2018 by Hollin Jones

Using carefully selected plug ins and a little care, you too can sculpt an earth-shaking 808 sub bass sound. Here's how.

Editorial | Nov 01, 2018 by Hollin Jones

MIDI keyboards are a studio staple, but there's so much more out there than boring black boxes. Here are 5 MIDI keyboard controllers with a range of talents. Which one catches your eye?

Editorial | Oct 31, 2018 by Rounik Sethi

is the new iPad Pro 2018 Apple announced yesterday really able to replace a modern laptop? How will musicians and producers and DJs cope without a headphone connection on this premium machine?

Editorial | Oct 25, 2018 by Hollin Jones

You’ve heard them on countless records and some have even helped to define entire genres of music. Here are 7 of the most legendary drum machines of all time.

Tutorial | Oct 18, 2018 by Hollin Jones

Big Room is a huge-sounding genre of EDM and in this video, Olav Basoski shares his top tips for exactly which synths to use to get that classic sound.

Tutorial | Oct 09, 2018 by Matt Vanacoro

Get the absolute maximum out of your Yamaha Montage and MODX hardware with these free software add-ons - some are only free for a limited time so act now!

Tutorial | Oct 06, 2018 by G.W. Childs IV

Reason has some of the easiest yet most powerful modulation capabilities of any DAW. In this tutorial, learn how to harness it to make a bass patch come to life.

Tutorial | Sep 29, 2018 by Scott Riesterer

The open design of most Eurorack systems means it's easy to introduce external instruments into the signal path. And there are very good reasons for doing so, as Scott Riesterer explains.

Tutorial | Sep 28, 2018 by Hollin Jones

Use Layers' four modules and library of oscillators sampled from legendary synths to create fat bass sounds and more to punch up your productions.