Synthmagazine UK | Synth News, Gear & Sound Design

10. July 2026

Espen Kraft Unleashes the Kawai Q-80EX: 32-Track Mayhem from the 80s

Remember when sequencers were built like tanks and had more buttons than your nan’s remote? Espen Kraft dives headfirst into the criminally underrated Kawai Q-80EX, showing why this 32-track MIDI beast deserves a seat at the table with the Roland MC-500 and Yamaha QX3. Expect sharp comparisons, dirty workflow tricks, and a healthy dose of 80s nostalgia—plus a few features that’ll have even modern groovebox heads taking notes. If you think all 80s sequencers are slow and clunky, this one might just change your tune.

Kawai Q-80EX, Roland MC-500, Yamaha QX3

10. July 2026

SPARKY

Molten Music Technology

Molten Music Technology vs. Random: The Random8 Riot

Eight channels of chaos, all dialled in by Molten Music Technology. The Mylar Melodies Random8 isn’t just another random CV generator—it’s a modular weapon, cooked up with Befaco and ready to hijack your rack. Robin Vincent gives it a proper British grilling: from off-the-wall modulation to no-holds-barred preset madness. If you think you know randomness, you don’t—at least not until you’ve seen this in action.

Digitakt, Gemini Dual Filter, Music Thing Modular Turing Machine, Mylar Melodies Random8, O'Toole scope, Pamela's Pro Workout, Proteus, Shroud of Turing, Sycamore from Divergent Waves

10. July 2026

SPARKY

Nu-Trix The Synth Guy

Polyend Play+ in the Hot Seat: Nu-Trix The Synth Guy Gets Real

Nu-Trix The Synth Guy isn’t here to coddle your workflow dreams. In this video, he raves about the Polyend Play+ as a creative beast, then tears into its production-stage pain points with zero filter. From stem export headaches to DAW integration drama, he exposes what slaps and what stalls – all while dropping pragmatic workarounds and a wishlist that Polyend would be mad to ignore. If you’re stuck in the Play+ bottleneck or just want some brutally honest synth banter, this is your groovebox reality check.

Ableton Live, Polyend Play+, Universal Audio Luna

10. July 2026

LUMINA

HAINBACH

HAINBACH and the Sonic Ghosts of Kuzmin: Stories from the Polivoks Nebula

In the dim glow between memory and voltage, HAINBACH drifts through the legacy of Vladimir Kuzmin—the mind behind the Polivoks and so many haunted circuits. This is less a retelling than an immersion, as we follow HAINBACH’s encounters with Kuzmin’s designs and the spectral resonance they leave behind. We glimpse the playful collisions of error and genius, and the invisible threads that connect musicians across borders and decades. Kuzmin’s instruments do not merely play—they haunt, shimmer, and bind a community in shared wonder.

Femi Mark I, Formanta Maestro, Formanta Polivoks

9. July 2026

LYRA

Moog Music

Moog Music: Layering the Messenger with Akai MPC Sample – A Workflow Deep Dive

Moog Music steps into digital territory by pairing the monophonic Messenger synth with the Akai MPC Sample, showing how classic analog tones can be sampled, edited, and layered to create intricate drum beats. This official walkthrough delivers a practical look at capturing, trimming, and tweaking Messenger sounds in the MPC Sample, highlighting the strengths of this focused hybrid rig. While the Messenger provides analog character, the MPC Sample brings rapid sampling and arrangement capabilities to the table—an approach that feels both classic and forward-thinking.

Akai MPC Sample, Moog Messenger

9. July 2026

LYRA

MAKEN0ISE

Make Noise’s N.U.S.S. Firmware Updates: Digital Power for MultiWAVE, PoliMATHS & MultiMod

Make Noise delivers a trio of firmware updates for their New Universal Synthesizer System (N.U.S.S.) modules: MultiWAVE, PoliMATHS, and MultiMod. This video announcement walks through each digital enhancement, from innovative wavetable modulation to expanded offset and mixing tricks, and smarter audio processing. As always with Make Noise, the focus is on pushing modular boundaries while keeping the architecture open and inviting for deep experimentation.

Multimod, MultiWAVE, PoliMATHS

9. July 2026

SPARKY

EZBOT

EZBOT’s Digitakt II Preset Power: Five Dirty Tricks for Maximum Madness

EZBOT rolls into the bunker with the Digitakt II, slinging five preset tricks you’d be mad to ignore. This isn’t just another preset parade—it’s a crash course in making your sampler a chameleon, from elastic loops to MIDI muscle. If you think presets are just for the lazy, this video will make you eat your words. Expect workflow hacks, synth magic, and enough flexibility to turn any boring box into a street weapon. Don’t sleep on the details—catch them in the video for the full rave.

Elektron Analog Heat, Elektron Digitakt II, Novation Bass Station

9. July 2026

SPARKY

Andrew Huang

Andrew Huang’s Studio: Pink Overload, Patch Bay Madness & Sonic Playground

If you thought your home setup was excessive, wait until you’ve seen Andrew Huang’s latest studio tour. He’s gone full pink, wrangled an arsenal of hardware into a creative cave, and wired up everything with enough patching power to make your grandma’s phone exchange jealous. Forget minimalism—this is maximalist groovebox chaos, with Andrew’s usual blend of playful energy and ruthless efficiency. Ready for a wild ride through the candy shop?

AudioScape Pultec EQ, Buso Audio Desk, Elektron Analog Rytm, Flock Audio Patch System, Franklin SS6 Switcher, Genelec Monitors, Korg Pitch Black Pro, Melbourne Rota Control, Osmo 61, PolyBrute 12, Roli MIDI Controller, Solar 42, Solid State Logic Big 6, Universal Audio 1176, Universal Audio Apollo X8P, Universal Audio LA-2A, Verso Orbit Guitar, Waldorf Controller

9. July 2026

SPARKY

Perfect Circuit

Perfect Circuit’s Polybrute 12 Demo: Dirty Details & Massive Moves

Perfect Circuit invites Arturia’s Matt Piper to unleash the Polybrute 12 – a synth so hefty it could anchor a rave bunker. This isn’t your everyday analog – it’s a 12-voice beast loaded with expression, modulation, and more filter flavours than a dodgy kebab shop. Piper dives deep, twisting sounds, abusing aftertouch, and proving that this polysynth is as much a street weapon as a studio tool. If you’re after honest opinions, gnarly sounds and gear you wish you could afford, strap in and keep reading.

Arturia Polybrute 12

8. July 2026

MILES

4ms Company

4ms Company Leveling EQ Amplifier: End-of-Chain Polishing for Eurorack

The Leveling EQ Amplifier (LEQA) from 4ms Company aims to condense compression, EQ, and stereo width processing into a single end-of-chain module for Eurorack. In their latest official tutorial, 4ms walks through the entire signal path, showcasing features inspired by classic studio gear and demonstrating hands-on patch applications. This video-centric article explores how the LEQA shapes sound, integrates with modular systems, and what it genuinely brings to a stereo rack setup—minus the marketing gloss.

Leveling EQ Amplifier (LEQA)

« 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 240 »