Old meets new

This issue of FM sees us looking both

Rhodes unveil full Mk8 details

The revived brand’s new electric piano blends retro styling with modern design

Native Instruments celebrate 25th year with new free instrument and one-off hardware

> Native Instruments are turning 25 this year.

Arturia’s V4.0 MicroFreak firmware update adds WaveUser synth engine and 64 new presets

> Arturia have announced the release of a

Ableton release Extended Sounds Pack curated by Modeselektor

> Ableton’s Extended Sounds is described as an

Behringer takes on the DFAM with Edge percussion synth

> After a quiet spell, Behringer have just

PreSonus’ second-generation R-Series monitors promise more control and improved performance

> PreSonus have updated their studio monitor range

Ursula 1000 Kinda’ Kinky

Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, 2002

Nightmares on Wax Shout Out! To Freedom

Warp Records

Nils Frahm Old Friends New Friends

LEITER

Ross From Friends Tread

Brainfeeder

Connan Mockasin Jassbusters Two

Mexican Summer

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT ANALOGUE SYNTHS?

Much like vinyl, ‘analogue’ technology is held in

The quick guide to analogue synthesis

Getting into analogue synthesis for the first time? Our quick guide will get you up and running in no time!

ANALOGUE SEQUENCING

It’s not just the synths themselves, but also how we interact with them that creates magic. Rob  Redman steps up

What’s all the noise about?

> Sometimes it isn’t all about individual note

THREE OF THE BEST

Arturia Keystep Pro £359 1 Three melodic and

Hard versus soft

FXpansion Geist – an in-the-box solution to help

Rival Consoles

Rival Consoles’ soundtrack to the dance production Overflow is a dark, complex body exploring the sinister side of digital media. Danny Turner finds out more

Roland SP-404 MKII

Long-time fans of Roland’s storied beatmaker may be in for an unexpected treat with the latest model. Leo Maymind gives some background and tips…

10 ways to get more out of your SP-404 MKII

Think you know all there is to know about the famed SP line? Think again, as Roland has upped the ante with the brand new MKII

Using the new Roland app to manage samples

Roland’s brought the 404 into the 21st century with even more ways to work

Bleep (and bass)

Growing out of the north of England in the ’80s, this unique take on techno helped forge Britain’s dance music scene

HIGH-END ANALOGUE SYNTHS

Sequential Prophet-5 £3,000 Full Review: FM374 | The

HARDWARE SEQUENCERS

Korg SQ-64 £269 Full Review: FM367 | An

DAWS

Bitwig Studio 4 $399 Full Review: FM373 On

“Sometimes I start with a melody that is stuck in my head and other times just with a kick”

Regal

GHOST TRACK FOR SIDECHAIN

“Don’t use the sidechain on the kick on

Generate new musical ideas in Ableton Live

Widen your synths with a revamped take on a classic trick

Danny Byrd

We get the lowdown from Danny on how his latest single, Selecta ft D Double E, came together

Ross From Friends

Felix Clary Weatheralls’ second Ross from Friends album recontextualises his love of nostalgia via the self-made plugin, Thresho. Danny Turner discusses its creation

Jon Hopkins

Electronic music doyen Jon Hopkins deletes the beats and downs tempo for career-best new album, Music For Psychedelic Therapy. Hamish Mackintosh happily takes the medicine

Roland SP-404 MKII £440

Roland’s SP-404 is a modern cult classic that’s inspired a generation of beatmakers and performers. Leo Maymind takes this update for a spin…

512 Audio Limelight £145

512 Audio’s new dynamic voice mic is aimed at podcasters and YouTubers. Simon Fellows steps into the limelight…

Arturia MiniFuse 2 €149

These French developers know a thing or two about audio. Jon Musgrave fires up one of their latest USB interfaces

Focusrite FAST Verb From £5.99 per month

The AI-powered Collective plugins branch out into reverb. Si Truss goes into space

Erica Synths Matrix Mixer £499

Erica Synths aim is to make modular patching more flexible. Rob Redman grabs some cables to find out if they’ve succeeded

Machine Room 204D Dual VCF £250

Rob Redman takes the Minimoog-inspired 204D for a spin

Focusrite Clarett+ 2Pre £440

Want to upscale your interface? Jon Musgrave could have just the thing

Excite Audio Lifeline Expanse

> Lifeline Expanse is a channel strip-comemulti-effect designed

Heavyocity – Mosaic Pluck $119

> Any Kontakt user who came to it

Native Instruments – Ashlight £179

> Ashlight is the final instalment in the

That Sound – Bohemian Breaks From $7.99/month

> Really great drum break crate from the

Vocal Roads – Euphoric Dimensions £29.95

Emotionally-weighted vocal pack, full of delicate lead lines

Singomakers – Modern Tech House £29.95

Bring your beats bang up-to-date with this on-trend

Audiotent – Quest Standard: £17 Deluxe: £27

Greetings, weary traveller. Your quest to find the

Sample Magic – UK House 2 From $7.99/mth

Slightly slimmer set of samples this time, but

Behringer RD-8 £230

Does the low price of this ‘analogue 808’ bring long-term value? Si Truss put one to the test