Farewell to a legend

At the start of June, we returned to

Synth legend Dave Smith, designer of the Prophet-5, dies

Synth designer Dave Smith, founder of Sequential Circuits and designer of the groundbreaking Prophet-5 synth, has died at the age of 72

Dave Smith: Synth Prophet

‘Legend’ can be an overused term, often diluting its status, but there can be no argument when applying this description to synth pioneer Dave Smith. Here we trace his influential career…

Mavis – the budget-friendly Moog for the masses

This latest analogue semi-modular can be used standalone or as part of a Eurorack system

Softube channel Roland’s SH-101 for the Model 82 synth plugin

>You don’t need to be a synth historian

Neve unveil 88M USB interface, promising console sound for your DAW

>Neve are the latest high-end console manufacturer to

Teenage Engineering release free Pocket Operator for Pixel

>After making headlines with the high-priced OP-1 Field

Melbourne Instruments reveal the Nina synth

>Nina’s motorised knobs were the talk of synth

Focal’s Solo6 and Twin6 get makeover

>Focal have announced their ST6 line of studio

iZotope bring a whiff of Trash to Neutron 4, for smarter auto-mixing

>iZotope have released Neutron 4, the latest version

Go wild with the West Pest, Cre8audio’s buzzy new semi-modular synth

>Cre8audio have unveiled the West Pest, a companion

Groove Synthesis unveil the 3rd Wave

>Hardware newcomers Groove Synthesis have now given us

Henry Greenleaf

With new EP Kirkstone out now, Henry Greenleaf shares his production tips and tricks

Generate new musical ideas in Ableton Live

What tools in Ableton Live can I use to get over creative blocks when they appear in my workflow?

Boys Noize Out Of The Black

Boysnoize Records, 2012

Track by track with Boys Noize

What U Want “The club tracks at that

LIKE IT? TRY THESE…

Snoop Lion Reincarnated For his 12th album Snoop

DESIGN YOUR PERFECT SYSTEM

The beauty of modular synthesis is that you can take it in any direction you like. Design your dream setup with our end-to-end guide

Oscillators

The beating (well, technically oscillating) heart of your modular project

Filters

Introducing the first elements of control…

Sequencers

The brains of the operation

Effects

The cherry on the cake

LFO/modulators

An extra hand

Utilities

Mults, mixers and more

JEFF MILLS

Danny Turner chats to the Detroit icon about taking techno to a new level with new project, The Paradox

Polyend Play

This performance groovebox is a powerful and complex beast. Let’s explore some of its top capabilities

Getting creative with Play’s Fill mode

Let’s see how Play’s Fill mode, variations and more can quickly inspire unique patterns

FLUME

After ten years of stardom, Flume’s Harley Streten ditched LA to return to his native Australia. Danny Turner discovers why

Italo disco

The Italian take on disco established itself as a style in its own right, influencing everything from house to synthwave

TOURIST

Matt Mullen catches up with William Phillips on lockdown limitations, Logic and latest LP Inside Out

Roland JD-08 £349

Roland’s latest Boutique is a recreation of one of their most fascinating synths from the ’90s, the JD-800. Where that was massive, this is tiny but – as Andy Jones discovers – it delivers the crunch of the original and some lovely 2022 features…

Teenage Engineering TX-6 mixer £1199

The Swedes have created a mind blowingly compact mixer but, as Si Truss asks, does the fact they can mean they should?

ADDAC 311 Ultra Floor Controller £350

Rob Redman puts his best foot forward

Arturia V Collection 9 £419

The latest edition of Arturia’s popular bundle takes a slight left turn. Si Truss gets Augmented

1010 Music Nanobox Lemondrop £379

Andy Jones finds the second in the Nanobox range is a touchscreen, palmsize synth with full-size sound… and price

Arturia FX Collection 3 €399

Arturia’s effects bundle is catching up on V Collection in terms of size and scope. Si Truss checks out the latest additions

Audient EVO 16 £400

If you need eight mic inputs, there aren’t that many USB interfaces to choose from. Jon Musgrave plugs up Audient’s EVO 16

In Session Audio – Shimmer Shake Strike 2 $119.99

>In Session Audio have consistently received high scores

Audiotent – Sequent from £37

> Therelease comes in Standard, Preset, and Deluxe

Playfair Audio Dynamic Grading

>Imagine a compressor without attack or release controls,

LET’S EAT GRANDMA

The UK leftfield pop duo tell Matt Mullen how they reshaped their sound for their excellent new album Two Ribbons

SOFTSYNTH BUNDLES

NEW ENTRY Aturia V Collection 9 €599 Full

STANDALONE MUSIC MAKERS

Polyend Play $799 Full Review: FM384 | Play’s

MIDI KEYBOARDS

Novation FLkey 37 £200 Full Review: FM383 There

DIGITAL POLYSYNTHS

ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe £699 Full Review: FM383 |

CREATIVE EFFECT PLUGINS

Arturia Efx Fragments €99 Full Review: FM382 |