In what you could call a case of ‘the dog wagging the synth’s mod wheel’, we came up with the name of our cover feature – 60 Years Of The Synth – well before checking the actual facts. But luckily, we then discovered that, yes the first synth proper, really did come out in 1962. Phew. Of course, there are many arguments that it came out earlier, but we also have those covered with an introductory feature on synth and electronic music on page 14 that goes back further –a lot further – to preelectricity times to find out about some very early manipulators of sound. But, really, we know that most people talk ‘synths’ in electronic and keyboard terms so we’re standing by our Synth Ket. The best part of the feature, though, is that, once again, we’ve deployed the mighty Computer Music Plugin Suite, this time to recreate some of the most iconic synth sounds in those 60 years, so you can take a trip down this particular time tunnel for free. And as promised, there’s even more news on the way concerning the Suite. Next issue marks something of a relaunch of this most iconic set of plugins as we bolster it with some all-new and recent arrivals and trim some of the excess wood. We’ll also bring you some all-new workshops on how to get the best from the Suite’s latest titles. It’s been a long-time coming so look out for that. And enjoy our 60(ish) synth years celebration. We knew it was the right title all along. Honest guv.