Once I’d heard ‘Are Friends’ Electric?” by Tubeway Army, I knew synthesizers would be a huge part of my life. Despite drums becoming my main instrument for many years, I dabbled and lusted after countless pieces of gear and started using computers to help me make my own music with a Commodore 64 and a copy of Electrosound.
Over the years, I eventually progressed to more professional tools and began to truly indulge my love of electronic music making, slowly building a collection of gear that covered most synthesis methods, from sampling to physical modelling and beyond. However, my love of the gear that soundtracked my formative years was strong and I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the inventor of the Fairlight CMI on their more recent projects. This then led to me restoring Fairlight CMI’s, something I still do to this day.
My home studio is now filled with classic vintage gear of the 80s and 90s, as well as modern classics. In recent years, I have been producing podcasts for Sound On Sound, as well as writing articles for them and I also present a weekly live stream for the Pro Synth Network. I still drum, albeit now on e-Drum kits, which are far easier to move around and a lot quieter when practising! You can often find me delivering seminars & lectures and at various synth shows around the world, talking about and demonstrating iconic synths.
Elusive Mellotron sounds in the form of the London Tapes from the Streetly Archive, via GForce Software, and a beautiful Chamber Orchestra recorded in Berlin.
If you're limited for space in the studio or on stage, it doesn't mean you have to compromise on quality. Check out these deals on small synths that pack a punch.
Before the dawn of the Linn LM-1, all of our beats came from analogue drum machines. These approximations ranged from crunchy to punchy, and their appeal has never waned!
In what some may say was an inevitable update, Arturia introduce the MiniFreak Vocoder. Same MiniFreak but with a new engine and additional gooseneck microphone.
We've got patches for both hardware and software synths this week, with a couple of packs for Arturia's JUP-8000 V and Pigments 6, plus two new banks for Behringer's Wave!
Like Fender and Gibson, Rhodes and Wurlitzer are synonymous with their speciality products. The Rhodes Wurli is their take on their so-called rival's product.
DeftAudio release a versatile MIDI interface in both pre-built and kit form, plus we check out other synth stories that may have fallen through the cracks!
KORG's multi/poly garners more superb patches, alongside new sounds for MiniFreak, Pigments and the Prophet Rev.2.
It's been a year since Arturia launched the original AstroLab. Now the AstroLab 88 aims to take things up a level.
Moog Music update the Muse firmware to v1.4 with a wealth of new modulation sources and destinations, as well as a complete MIDI overhaul and 64 new patches to show it all off.
How do you fit a Jupiter 4 into an Arturia MicroFreak? Why, you sample the heck out of one and load it into the other!
Arturia's littlest controller in their Lab range, the MicroLab, gets the Mk.3 treatment in the hope that it can persuade you to stick it in your backpack for music-making on the go.
We've got free sounds for your Moog Muse, a new bank of patches for Xils Labs excellent 'The Eighty', and an excellent sound pack for the KORG multi/poly.
NAMM
Available to buy now, the new Roland DrumLink products deliver wireless connectivity for the cable-conscious V-Drummer.
ASM's Hydrasynth is already an expressive synth, but why not try using a ROLI Seaboard to take it even further?
SUPERBOOTH
1010music continues to innovate and deliver super-useful products with the launch of bento, an all-in-one music creation device!
SUPERBOOTH
Wolfgang Palm and Cornel Hecht have joined forces to resurrect the last fully analogue PPG synth, the classic PPG 1002 and it looks and sounds incredible!
The Supercritical Redshift 6 is now multitimbral, allowing you to play up to six different sounds in a number of different ways!
SUPERBOOTH
Superbooth 25 hasn't even started yet, but the Frap Tools Magnolia may well have stolen the best in show title before all the fun begins!
This week, we show you some great banks created specifically for Arturia's V Collection, which just got updated to 11!
GForce Software continues its association with Oberheim with the release of the TVS Pro.
Looking for a one-stop-shop for your synth plugins? There are some very decent collections out there, all with something to offer. We take a look and try and figure out which one is the best!
As Arturia's V Collection 11 breaks cover, we check out the updates and new editions and see if it is a worthy upgrade on the previous iteration.
KORG takes us on a trip back in time with Shoulder Pads, whilst Void & Vista give us Frames, another innovative and inspiring library to embellish our productions.