Piqued contributor
Richard
Published articles by Richard.
DivKid patches drum sounds with u-he's MELT filter
DivKid's second video on u-he's MELT filter patches kicks, snares and bass rumbles. Posted 22 September 2026, sponsored by u-he, and running 20 minutes.
EMW previews the S-8000, a microSD sample synth
EMW has previewed the S-8000, a compact hardware sample synth that plays single and multi-samples from a microSD card. Price and ship date are unannounced.
Polyend announces Loop, a four-track looper with a built-in drum machine
Polyend has announced Loop, a $599 pedal with four loop tracks, a four-track drum machine and over 100 effects. Pre-orders are open, shipping mid-October.
Starsky Carr scores the Frap Tools Magnolia against a Roland Jupiter-8
Starsky Carr scores the Frap Tools Magnolia against a Roland Jupiter-8 on price, features, reliability, repairability and sound in a new video comparison.
Musica.Studio releases FSVR, a free software rebuild of the Yamaha FS1R
Musica.Studio has released FSVR, a free GPLv3 rebuild of the 1998 Yamaha FS1R for Windows, macOS and Linux, built from the synth's decompiled firmware.
BitByBit Synths previews MixTape, an analog eurorack interface for tape decks
BitByBit Synths has shown a prototype of MixTape, a 4HP analog eurorack module that sends signal to a tape deck and back. No price or release date yet.
The Usual Suspects releases 88EmuPlayer, a free Roland Sound Canvas emulator
The Usual Suspects has released 88EmuPlayer, a free standalone app that runs original Roland Sound Canvas firmware on emulated chips for Mac, Windows and Linux.
Befaco posts a features video for the ARK eurorack groovebox
Befaco published a features video on 18 September for ARK, the 16-track eurorack groovebox built with Tesseract Modular, due late in 2026 at 666 euros.
Intellijel walks through an ambient patch across Atlantix, Shifty and Metropolix
Intellijel posted a chaptered ambient patch walkthrough to YouTube on 17 September, using Atlantix, Shifty, Metropolix, Multigrain, Swells and Sealegs.
Chase Bliss ships the 2026 Lost + Found run with firmware 2.0
Chase Bliss has closed orders on the 2026 Small Batch run of its Lost + Found multi-effect. Units ship in September with firmware 2.0 for the resonator.
Michigan Synth Works shows the Digix0x, a digital x0xb0x, at Knobcon
Michigan Synth Works previewed the Digix0x at Knobcon 2026, an open source digital emulation of the x0xb0x that it says comes from the original's designer.
Music Thing Modular releases the Radio Music mk2, a rebuilt Eurorack sample player
Music Thing Modular has rebuilt its 4HP Eurorack sample player on an RP2040. Kits start at £115 and assembled modules at £149, shipping from Thonk in October.
Sonicware releases the ELZ_1 core, a desktop module version of the ELZ_1 play
Sonicware's ELZ_1 core puts the ELZ_1 play's 18 oscillator engines into a desktop module with no keyboard or looper. It costs $499 and is built to order.
Oddment Audio ports the ODD-1 granular engine to a plugin, ODD-1V
ODD-1V runs the ODD-1 hardware's granular engine as a plugin in the DAW. It is free for ODD-1 owners and $149 in early access, rising to $199 afterwards.
KB Live Solutions launches param8, an eight-encoder MIDI controller
param8 is KB Live Solutions' first hardware: eight encoders, two OLED screens and two Ableton Live modes. It costs €189, with delivery set for December.
Sugar Bytes releases Transfigure for iPad
Sugar Bytes has brought its spectral and resynthesis effect Transfigure to iPadOS, as a free download with a $24.99 in-app purchase to unlock it in full.
LukHash bundles SID Synth, a live Commodore 64 synthesizer, with Neon Airlines
SID Synth ships on 6 November as a bonus download with LukHash's 11-track album Neon Airlines, which is open for pre-order on Bandcamp now at £7 or more.
ALM Busy Circuits adds an eight-channel mixer to the Stem Ripper
ALM Busy Circuits has released With Mixer, an 8HP expander that adds an eight-channel stereo mixer to its Stem Ripper multitrack recorder. It costs £299.
Hakai Labs releases three eurorack modules for live performance
Hakai Labs released DEFCON 2, DEFCON 2 Satellite and Dead Flip on 14 September, three eurorack modules for signal routing and gate triggering on stage.
Sa Pa releases Rhythm From Ambient, the second record on Dub Techno For Life
Sa Pa released Rhythm From Ambient on 14 September, the second record on the Dub Techno For Life label, out on 12-inch vinyl and digitally via Bandcamp.
Joe Landers publishes free Machinedrum and Monomachine emulations
Joe Landers has published free Machinedrum and Monomachine emulations as standalone apps and VST3 plugins. Users must supply their own Elektron firmware files.
Dirtywave previews the MX, a battery-powered performance mixer for the M8
Dirtywave has previewed the MX, a battery-powered aluminium performance mixer for the M8, with punch-in effects and MIDI. Price is TBA and it is due in 2027.
The best hardware sound trackers for live performance 2026
We break down our favorite hardware music trackers and explore why and how they are being used in modern electronic music workflows.
20CC shows the TXX-1 Spectron, a tape-sample oscillator, at Knobcon
20CC previewed the TXX-1 Spectron at Knobcon, a 16 HP dual oscillator built on more than 20 sampled tapes. Pre-orders soon, shipping November or December.