Once I’d heard ‘Are Friends’ Electric?” by Tubeway Army, I knew synthesizers would be a huge part of my life. Despite drums becoming my main instrument for many years, I dabbled and lusted after countless pieces of gear and started using computers to help me make my own music with a Commodore 64 and a copy of Electrosound.
Over the years, I eventually progressed to more professional tools and began to truly indulge my love of electronic music making, slowly building a collection of gear that covered most synthesis methods, from sampling to physical modelling and beyond. However, my love of the gear that soundtracked my formative years was strong and I was fortunate enough to be asked to work with the inventor of the Fairlight CMI on their more recent projects. This then led to me restoring Fairlight CMI’s, something I still do to this day.
My home studio is now filled with classic vintage gear of the 80s and 90s, as well as modern classics. In recent years, I have been producing podcasts for Sound On Sound, as well as writing articles for them and I also present a weekly live stream for the Pro Synth Network. I still drum, albeit now on e-Drum kits, which are far easier to move around and a lot quieter when practising! You can often find me delivering seminars & lectures and at various synth shows around the world, talking about and demonstrating iconic synths.
This week's Sounds and Presets takes a distinctly digital turn and features patches for three modern digital instruments!
SUPERBOOTH
Icelandic synth manufacturer, Love Synthesizers, announce their debut synth and aims to make FM synthesis both easy & fun. Challenge accepted!
SONICWARE continue their exploration of Lo-Fi sampling with the Lofi-12 XT, a portable, hand-held groovebox sampler with some cool twists.
Everyone loves a freebie and this week we have some great free sounds and patches and a bank for the modwave for pennies!
Arturia Augmented YANGTZE sees it blending traditional Chinese instruments with contemporary sound design.
This week's excellent e-Drum Kit Deals feature three of the top brands in e-Drumming and a wealth of savings!
After the surprise release of the MS-5, Behringer Vintage was the super free surprise none of us were expecting!
SUPERBOOTH
Already a stellar synth in every sense of the word, the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar now has a colour scheme to match!
KORG KAOSS Replay brings its motion control expression technology to a standalone performance and creation tool for musicians and DJs alike.
This week's Sounds & Patches visits one of my favourite music sites, a free patch repository & some great patches from France!
Tracktion is building a reputation for delivering fascinating instruments. Is Dawesome MYTH something new or just a pretty interface?
After last week's launch of the Astrolab, we take a look at great sounds to fill your Arturia synths with, including from Arturia themselves!
Two great deals on kits at either end of the price scale, and Roland's class-leading e-Drum module all with healthy savings this week!
This week we have a dollop of synth sounds and patches for a bargain soft synth and classic synths for your hardware.
Hand-picked from our affiliate partner's anniversary best drum deals, we have a Pearl Kit, Zildjian cymbals, a Sonor pedal and a DW Throne!
Four years in the making, the Behringer MS-5 finally hits stores. Will it be enough to sate the appetite of synth buffs & money-savers alike?
Need some authentic Flutes? Or sound effects for a movie? We have just the thing for you, as well as a cool browser-based SysEx Librarian.
Two of Roland's range-topping V-Drum Acoustic Design kits receive huge discounts in Thomann's 70th Anniversary celebrations!
Ever wanted that JUPITER-8 sound with the crisp punch of a JUNO-60, layered with a JD-800? Well, now you can with Roland's GALAXIAS!
This week's sonic smorgasbord contains sample packs for SEQTRAK and Kontakt, free CS-80 style sounds for modwave and new vintage KORG storage
Roland GO:KEYS Music Creation Keyboard's brings their powerful synth platform to the home keyboard market with smart colours & cool features!
Is the new VONGON Replay a poly synth for hipsters, a bold design statement or something rather useful? This correspondent is confused.
Quite a variety of new sounds and samples including a superb expansion for Osmose, Woodwinds for action and spaced-out beats!
Following the likes of M-Tron Pro, Oddity Minimonsta, GForce Software's Virtual String Machine is brought up to date with a new UI & more.