App watch

We report on the latest developments in phone and tablet music making

I love your, Love Tracktion

What your DAW needs now is Love, sweet Love.

Mac daddy

Apple's new desktop and laptop options could speed up your studio, and completely empty your wallet....

Spitfire Audio: Abbey Road Orchestra - High Percussion £399 PC MAC

Finding the perfect high-pitched bash for your cinematic or orchestral productions requires elbow grease. Spitfire is here to lend a hand

Caelum Audio Choric: £49.99 PC MAC

Think you're well-stocked with chorus effects? Think again. Choric could provide you with a whole new galaxy of creative potential

DH Plugins Halo 2 £99 PC MAC

Halo has become known for its capabilities in the bass music realms. We explore what the latest update has to offer

Bitwig Studio 5 - €399 PC MAC LINUX

With version 5, Bitwig is redefining what a DAW is. This latest update sees it become a modulating monster of a DAW and instrument

Apple Logic Pro for iPad - £4.99/$4.99 per month iPAD

Apple has finally brought its flagship DAW to the iPad domain. Is this the next logical progression for the computer-based musician?

Ableton Push 3: €949/€1899 PC MAC

Ableton’s new Push is a game-changer for music production but does it really mean the end of computer music making as we know it?

Nathan Fake

Having released records on Ninja Tune and Border Community, Nathan Fake has become one of the most respected figures in electronic music. On top of his own work, he's remixed the likes of Radiohead and Jon Hopkins and gained a great rep for his amazing live shows. And it turns out he reached all this success via Cool Edit Pro (and magazines like this)

Controlling distortion

Distortion can be great for adding energy to your mix, and in this masterclass, we’re focusing on applying it to specific sounds

Make '80s stereo synth stabs

Ever wondered how you can make your Short and snappy synth sounds even more interesting? It’s all about the stereo

WAVETABLE SYNTHESIS

A synth technique used by elites from Tangerine Dream to Skrillex, wavetable synthesis literally adds whole new dimensions of texture and movement to your sound design. But how does it work? Our comprehensive guide is here to help...

JOAN

With millions of streams, a blossoming global fanbase and a knack for gleaming pop production, Arkansas duo joan are poised to become a very big thing. We caught up with the pair on the heels of their debut album superglue's release to learn more about their home studio working methods and how they've cultivated organic fame

BITWIG STUDIO 8-TRACK GIVEAWAY

Fancy getting yourself a fully-featured DAW absolutely free? Then read on...

Baby Audio BA-1: Evolving everyday softsynth design

Hot on the heels of the launch of its very first, retro-tailored softsynth, we speak to Baby Audio's Caspar Bock to find out more about why the company has taken the leap into the canyon of synth-craft, and learn all about the awesome BA-1

15 questions with...Chace

As the first Chinese DJ to play Tomorrowland, Chace has already broken ground in the world of EDM. He has also been compared to The Weeknd and Disclosure. Oh and Justin Bieber, but let's not go there. However, his producer destiny might not have been fulfilled had he not started 'messing around with a computer' when he was younger...

Spectrasonics Twisted Trees Sonic Extension

If you go down to the woods today, you'll be surprised to find a sounddesigner not so much hugging trees as hitting and twisting them!

W.A. Production KSHMR Reverb

Globally acclaimed music producer KSHMR collaborates with W.A. Production to deliver his first reverb plugin with many distinctive features

Polyverse Supermodal

By using 27 models - ranging from physical bodies to maths formulae Supermodal could well be the filter you didn't know you need

Sonora Cinematic Harmonic Bloom

Bloom is all about extracting harmonics and chaotic waveforms based on noise... but fortunately, it's a lot better than that sounds

Toontrack EZKeys Synthwave & EZX Expansion

Want your track to sound like it was birthed in the technicolor 80s? Toontrack are on hand, transporting us to when synths ruled the waves

Image-Line FL Studio 21

FL Studio 21 is not celebrating a birthday, as the previous version did, but is introducing some significant additions to this most popular of DAWS

Digit Music Cmpsr

A hardware controller that merges accessibility, music, and gaming practices into something everybody can use.... with a very large joystick!

JMG Sound Retronaut

Promising to infuse the crackle of yesteryear into your tracks, Retronaut goes beyond its lo-fi headline to deliver thrilling sound-shaping abilities

Cherry Audio Mercury-6

Cherry Audio's latest softsynth arrives from the orbit of Mercury, with vintage stimulus from one of the biggest gas giants of them all

15 questions with...Suki Sou

Musician, sound designer and radio presenter Suki Sou may have a studio full of bespoke hardware and software that denotes a precision-based mindset, but she’s also big on adaptability. And her music – influenced by everyone from Raymond Scott to Joanna Brouk, Aphex Twin to Teresa Teng – puts that multifaceted approach on show

MANON GRANDJEAN

From working to bring Stormzy's decade-defining debut to life to switching tracks from studio engineer to mixing specialist, Manon Grandjean's expertise has been widely acclaimed by the industry. Following a trio of MPG Award wins, Manon is now keen to expand her career into new areas. We caught up with Manon to learn more about her studio work, and glean some insight on how to make it as a mix engineer...

Gain staging

Being in control of your levels is a vital aspect of mixing, but how should we approach this when mixing in the box?

Make a Gorillaz-style synth string patch

This month, we use a retro sound in an über-contemporary setting, as our synth strings get the Gorillaz treatment