Sonora Cinematic release Movimento Strings Inflections Movimento Strings Inflections builds on the capabilities of its predecessor by introducing extended techniques that promise to bring some “new textures and fresh colours” to users’ cinematic strings palettes.

Darkpalace Studio PiranhaPIRANHA is our highly advanced multi-band waveshaper and clipper designed to unlock the full creative potential of modern music production. It comes with a big library of waveshaping functions including hard and soft clippers, transfer curves, bitcrushers, and time-dependent modules inside a modern, intuitive UI. PIRANHA allows you to distort, crush, saturate and clip your input signals without limits, opening up new ways to explore both precision mastering and bold sound design. Read More

Uryan Modular releases Vaelyra Stryn, a FREE resonant string/pluck synth
Uryan Modula, a company specialising in hand-built Eurorack cases and enclosures, has released Vaelyra Stryn, a free resonant string/pluck synth for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The Hungarian modular experts also offer free plugins, samples, and theory guides. At the time of writing, Uryan Modular has the following plugins on offer: Waeler Aether Drift Elysa Morph [...]
View post: Uryan Modular releases Vaelyra Stryn, a FREE resonant string/pluck synth

Rekkerd Sounds preset packs for Massive, Serum, Spire, and Sylenth1 are now FREE
Rekkerd Sounds has made several sound packs available as pay-what-you-like downloads, which means you can grab them for free by entering zero as the price. The packs were originally released around ten years ago, but they are still worth checking out if you use any of the featured synths. There are four soundsets available, covering [...]
View post: Rekkerd Sounds preset packs for Massive, Serum, Spire, and Sylenth1 are now FREE

GearExpo UK: Home Studio Acoustics Talk At GearExpo UK, James Nugent and Mark Ashfield of Present Day Production will join Jesco Lohan of Acoustics Insider for a straight-talking look at why small rooms are so unforgiving.

Chordalys Chordalys MoodChordalys Mood Chordalys Mood is a MIDI chord generator designed to turn simple note input into expressive harmonies without requiring deep music theory knowledge. Play a single note and let Chordalys Mood generate musical chord variations based on intuitive mood settings such as Bright, Warm, Dreamy, and Mysterious. The focus is on creativity, inspiration, and discovering ideas quickly rather than navigating complex theory concepts. Whether you're a producer looking for fresh chord progressions, a songwriter searching for inspiration, or a musician who wants to experiment with new harmonic textures, Chordalys Mood helps transform simple ideas into rich musical foundations. Key Features * Generate chords from single MIDI notes * Intuitive mood-based chord generation * Adjustable chord depth from simple intervals to richer harmonies * Designed to encourage creative exploration and "happy accidents" * Lightweight and easy to use * MIDI FX workflow suitable for songwriting, production, and experimentation. Ideal For * Electronic music producers * Synthwave artists * Ambient and cinematic composers * Songwriters * Musicians who want inspiration without theory complexity. Philosophy Chordalys Mood is built around a simple idea: Music software should inspire creativity first. Instead of presenting users with pages of music theory terminology, Chordalys Mood focuses on emotional intent and musical discovery, helping you spend less time configuring and more time creating. Read More

Arturia announce the MiniLab 37 The new MiniLab 37 promises to retain everything that made the original a hit, but offers an enhanced playing experience thanks to an additional 12 slim keys. 

Novation reveal the Launchkey 61 MK4 White Following user requests, the 61-key model in the Launchkey MK4 line-up is now available in the same finish as the Launchkey Mini 37 White and Launchkey 49 White.

Studio Kozak releases FALA, a FREE BBD chorus plugin
Studio Kozak has released FALA, a free vintage-inspired BBD chorus plugin for macOS and Windows. This is another guitar stompbox-style plugin we have covered this week. The last one was GRIM3 Overdrive from Aurora DSP, while FALA is a chorus plugin shaped like a simple guitar pedal. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it [...]
View post: Studio Kozak releases FALA, a FREE BBD chorus plugin

Fender Studio Pro 8.1 puts an AI assistant and Moises stem separation inside the DAW
Fender Studio Pro has received the 8.1 update, offering a brand-new AI assistant (public beta) and Moises Studio integration. As if we haven’t talked about Fender enough recently, here we are again with the legendary manufacturer as the topic of the day. This time, we’re not talking about guitars or lawsuits, well, not directly, anyway. [...]
View post: Fender Studio Pro 8.1 puts an AI assistant and Moises stem separation inside the DAW

ebbandflow launch with deFORM Designed to “shape sanity out of chaos and instability”, the new arrival captures and an array of the company’s favourite synths and sets its sights on big-screen soundtrack composition.

Vital vs Surge XT: How To Pick Your Free Synthesizer in 2026
Every few weeks, someone asks me some version of the same question. Should I learn Vital or Surge XT? It’s a tough question because these are the two best free synths you can download in 2026, and either one can realistically be called the greatest free synth of all time. So I decided to test [...]
View post: Vital vs Surge XT: How To Pick Your Free Synthesizer in 2026

Aurora DSP This Heavy Earth Suite (Early Access)This Heavy Earth Suite This Heavy Earth Suite is a complete high-gain guitar production environment developed by Aurora DSP in collaboration with This Heavy Earth Effects. Built around boutique hardware circuits and designed specifically for modern heavy music, the suite combines amp simulation, pedal effects, cabinet processing, modulation, delay, reverb, and utility tools in a single plugin. Based on the Fleshrot amplifier and a growing collection of This Heavy Earth pedals, the suite delivers an end-to-end signal chain for aggressive guitar and bass tones, eliminating the need for complex pedalboard setups while providing extensive tone-shaping flexibility. Key Features Fleshrot high-gain amplifier simulation. Integrated cabinet section with two distinct voicings. GRIM3 overdrive pedal. Spectral Gate noise gate. Additional This Heavy Earth pedal models planned for future updates. SpeakerX nonlinear speaker simulation technology. Graphic output EQ for final tone shaping. Built-in chorus, tremolo, delay and reverb effects. Integrated tuner, recorder and metronome. Transpose control for instant down-tuning. Studio Environment monitoring option. Preset management system. GateMate noise gate technology. Full MIDI compatibility. Built for Modern Heavy Guitar Production At the core of the suite is the Fleshrot amplifier, a high-gain design created for aggressive rhythm tones, articulate leads, and modern metal production. Combined with the included cabinet section and output EQ, users can quickly move from tight, focused tones to massive doom-inspired textures. Pedals Inspired by This Heavy Earth Effects The suite includes software versions of boutique pedals from This Heavy Earth Effects. The included GRIM3 overdrive is designed to tighten low frequencies and push the front end of an amplifier, while Spectral Gate provides transparent noise reduction. Future updates are planned to expand the pedal collection with additional distortion, boost, delay and reverb effects. SpeakerX Technology SpeakerX is Aurora DSP's proprietary speaker modeling engine designed to recreate the nonlinear behavior of real guitar speakers. By simulating speaker coloration, dynamics and diffraction effects, SpeakerX adds depth, realism and a more natural cabinet response compared to traditional static processing. Integrated Effects and Utilities Beyond amp and pedal processing, This Heavy Earth Suite includes a complete post-effects rack with chorus, tremolo, delay and reverb. Utility tools such as a tuner, recorder, metronome, transpose control and MIDI support make it suitable for both studio production and practice workflows. Formats Available in VST3, AU, AAX and Standalone formats for Windows and macOS. Read More

MONO Music Conference 2026 Set to take place on November 13-14 2026 at The Midway in San Francisco, CA, the MONO Music Conference will bring together more than 750 music creators for two days of connection, creativity and growth. 

Aurora DSP releases GRIM3 FREE overdrive plugin
Aurora DSP has released GRIM3, a free overdrive plugin based on the feel of a guitar pedal. You can put GRIM3 before an amp or amp sim and use it to tighten the low end, add a bit of midrange overdrive, or push the input stage harder. Aurora DSP optimized it for modern high-gain guitars, [...]
View post: Aurora DSP releases GRIM3 FREE overdrive plugin