Tag Archives: musical instrument

Erica Synths SYNTRX review: A classic reimagined

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Sometimes I hate having to score reviews. A number can’t always capture the nuances of a reviewer’s opinion, or make clear who might want to buy something and why. Often practical considerations drag down a device’s score, regardless of an individual...

Korg goes for the sequencing crown with the modular-friendly SQ-64

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Korg’s SQ-1 is a bit under appreciated. It’s a simple and affordable two track eight step sequencer. It can play nice with Korg’s analog and semi modular fair like the MS-20 Mini as well as eurorack modular synths and basically anything else that wil...

Roland TR-6S review: An impressively small and powerful drum machine

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In 2018 Roland introduced the TR-8S drum machine and instantly won the heart of my colleague Roberto Baldwin. Then, last year it resurrected its MC line of grooveboxes, and launched the portable, battery powered MC-101. My fellow editor James Trew wa...

Novation and Aphex Twin’s limited-edition Bass Station II embraces the weird

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Novation’s Bass Station II is considered a modern classic in the synth world. And, the company deserves a lot of credit for constantly issuing updates and expanding its feature set. In fact, even though the core three-oscillator analog sound engine i...

Moog Matriarch and Grandmother synths get retro ‘Dark’ makeovers

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The Grandmother and Matriarch quickly became staples of the modern Moog era when they were released. Their designs are undeniably retro, but the color scheme didn’t really fit in with any of the company’s legacy products. So today the two flagship se...

Arturia’s PolyBrute is a beastly analog synth with infinite control

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Arturia’s analog Brute series covers a good amount of ground. From the tiny and affordable MicroBrute (a gnarly mono synth built for bass), to the DrumBrute (a performance-friendly love letter to drum machines of the ‘80s), all the way up to the Matr...

Arturia’s KeyStep 37 is a $199 MIDI controller with scale and strum modes

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Arturia's KeyStep family is getting a bit bigger with the announcement of the KeyStep 37. The new $199 controller fits in between the $149 KeyStep and $449 KeyStep Pro. As you might have guessed from its name, it features 37 velocity-sensitive slimke...

Native Instruments crams its powerful music-making software in a standalone groovebox

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Basically everyone in the music world right now is trying to break away from the PC. It’s not that DAWs and VSTs don’t have their place. But there’s a growing desire to put actual hardware in front of people and all the better if that hardware works...

Korg’s Volca Sample 2 is a huge upgrade in almost every way

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Korg’s Volca Sample is one of the most beloved members of beloved family of affordable and portable instruments. But it’s far from perfect. Now, after almost six years since its introduction, the Sample is getting a sequel. The Volca Sample 2 is visu...