SteamPipe from Erica synths and 112db is unlike most synths. Rather than having a linear signal path with simple or complex oscillators and filters, Steampipe pairs an exciter with a tunable resonating filtered delay feedback loop, – or chaos in … Continue reading Erica Synths Steampipe: Sound design in chaotic feedback loops // Physical modeling tutorial, review
P-6 from Roland is the latest in their relatively low-cost compact series of synths and drum machines, and this time the focus is on sampling, sample playback, and granular synthesis. In terms of its feature set – P-6 punches well … Continue reading Roland Compact P-6 Review // Sampling, Granular and Beatmaking tutorial
Moog doesn’t often make analog polyphonic synths, and when they did, they weren’t cheap. Muse is an 8-voice, bi-timbral polyphonic synth from Moog, which, relatively speaking, is priced competitively. It combines an analog signal patch and digital control, and while … Continue reading Moog MUSE // Review, tutorial and plenty of sounds
MPC Key 37 is the latest hardware version of Akai’s MPC platform – which there are now quite a few of. In this video, I take a look at what it’s about, how it compares to Akai’s other MPCs and … Continue reading Review: AKAI MPC KEY 37 vs other MPCs, Force; How it competes as a synth and workstation
SEQTRAK is Yamaha’s return back to the portable groovebox market – it’s got plenty of buttons and hands-on controls, it’s loaded with internal sounds and synths and it can sample too. Yamaha already have a good beginners tutorial for it … Continue reading YAMAHA SEQTRAK: 30 advanced tips and 5 things to know before you buy – Review & Tutorial
microKORG 2 is Korg’s sequel to what is allegedly the best-selling synth of all time. It’s got a totally new sound engine, hi-res screen, a new interface, but they remained loyal to the form factor and design spirit of the … Continue reading MicroKORG 2 vs the original: Here’s a preview of what’s new
KingKORG NEO is a 3-octave version of the original King Korg, in a more compact form factor. Other than a few differences which I discuss in the video, it has the same hands-on workflow, the same all-digital multi-oscillator engine with … Continue reading KingKORG NEO Review: Retro character returns in a new compact form
201 Pocket Piano from Critter and Guitari is a two-in-one bundle of polar opposites. On the one hand, it’s a small synth with a minimal set of controls and no screen. Yet, under the hood, it’s infinitely customizable and tweakable … Continue reading 201 Pocket Piano: a minimalist synth that’s infinitely tweakable – Review & tutorial
Montage M is Yamaha’s latest flagship synth: It builds on the existing popular Montage platform and adds significantly enhanced hands-on controls with new encoders and an extra parameter display, a new virtual analog-style synth engine, on top of the existing … Continue reading Yamaha Montage M Review, What’s new, Poly AT keybed & AN-X explored // M6/M7/M8x Tutorial
Korg’s Kaoss Replay takes inspiration from the XY-pad-centric interface of their old Kaoss products, but is really it’s own thing. It has 16 velocity-sensitive pads; it can sample, resample and play back samples and whole songs, the Kaoss pad is … Continue reading Korg Kaoss Replay Review: Pros & cons vs the competition (SP404 MK2, MPC, Blackbox)