Waved Studio is a FREE browser-based wavetable editor
Speight Audio has released Waved Studio, a free browser-native wavetable editor for producers and sound designers. I wasn’t expecting too much when the developer first sent this over (I’ve seen quite a few lackluster browser-based tools for music producers), but Waved Studio is far more advanced than a quick browser toy. I’m not sure how [...]
View post: Waved Studio is a FREE browser-based wavetable editor

Meet Anukari, a strange virtual instrument that is “part synth, part virtual physics playground”A new virtual instrument called Anukari lets users build virtual objects like masses, springs, mallets, and bows, then play them to create kooky sounds.
Described as part synth, part virtual physics playground, Anukari has just launched following a beta testing phase and several years of development. It works as a plugin or standalone instrument, but is said to be “built more like a game”.

READ MORE: ADDAC System has designed a modular synth that can be played like a guitar

Anukari is visually malleable, and its outputs are shareable on social media. It functions as both a virtual instrument and an effects processor, able to process external audio sources such as vocals, guitars, and other instruments.
Users can shape and change how their object creations behave and place virtual microphones around them. Designed as an alternative to efficiency-based music tools that are popular across the market, Anukari is built for experimentation and discovery instead.
Evan Mezeske, founder and creator of Anukari, is a musician, autodidact, and a former engineering leader at Google with “a long history of playing with tech”.
“I grew up in my granddad’s autoshop surrounded by pistons and crankshafts. Perhaps because of that, I like machines and building things. Translating mechanical things into a simulation tickles that part of my brain that loves mechanical contraptions, and it makes playing Anukari feel different from other synths,” he explains.
“Chips or transistors are very abstract, but with 3D graphics and physics, you see what it’s doing in real time, it’s tactile. ‘It’s jiggling like this and making a sound.’”
See how it works in the videos below:

“I built Anukari for the intrepid sonic explorer. They may simply want to play and discover, or they may be a professional artist or producer looking for inspiration or a new sound to work with. Either way, I want people to push it, try to break it, and to see what surprises emerge in the process. I thought it was cool, and I want to invite others to make cool shit. That’s really our whole mission,” continues Mezeske.
“Lots of people assume Anukari is an audio engine with a cute visualiser on top, but the reality is it wouldn’t work without the graphics. The 3D visuals make the audio happen, not the other way around. Anukari is ridiculously efficient thanks to the way it’s designed.
“My past work at Google involved extremely large-scale systems, coordinating work across thousands of machines that have to cooperate. What I had learned about distributed systems applied to building an audio plugin and coordinating things happening in parallel.”
Anukari currently has an introductory price of $99 ($149 standard). You can find out more or try it for free by heading over to the Anukari website.
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Audiolatry releases Apus, a FREE lo-fi virtual instrument
Audiolatry has released Apus, a free/pay-what-you-want lo-fi virtual instrument for macOS and Windows. I haven’t seen anything new from Audiolatry for a while, so I was happy to get an email about this one. We’ve featured quite a few Audiolatry releases on BPB in the past, including LoQuest last year and Easy Strings in 2023. [...]
View post: Audiolatry releases Apus, a FREE lo-fi virtual instrument

Softube’s new Console 1 Compact brings hands-on mixing to even the smallest studiosSoftube has unveiled the Console 1 Compact, a new downsized version of its acclaimed Console 1 controller designed to bring hands-on mixing to producers and engineers short on desk space.
Described as an ultra-portable and more affordable take on the Console 1 concept, the Compact aims to bring the sound, feel and workflow of a large-format studio console to smaller studios and mobile setups.

READ MORE: Softube’s new Bus Processor plugin brings you the “essence of the legendary 670” for just $99

Like its larger siblings, Console 1 Compact’s layered one-to-one workflow lets you sculpt your mix with control over input, preamps, tape, filters, shape, EQ, compression, and output drive. Each knob or fader corresponds to a specific parameter, and no mapping is necessary. And like the rest of the Console 1 ecosystem, Compact integrates with all major DAWs, including Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live and Pro Tools. Users can also customise channel strips using Softube’s own software alongside supported plug-ins from developers such as FabFilter, Universal Audio and Plugin Alliance.

Physically, the unit packs 16 touch-sensitive Analogue Feel potentiometers (with an increase of more than “ten times the resolution” over the Console 1 Mk II generation), a high-resolution smart screen and RGB LED feedback that changes according to the user’s movements between layers and their mixing choices. The goal, says Softube, is to recreate the tactile experience of working with expensive outboard gear while keeping the controller compact enough for even the most crowded studio desks.
Finished in a bead-blasted aluminium chassis with a ‘Nordic Night Sky’ finish, Console 1 Compact also features USB-C connectivity and support for VESA and Softube’s Single Unit Stand mounting solution.
“Console 1 Compact is the perfect travel companion for Console 1 Channel Mk III users, the perfect upgrade for Console 1 Mk II users, the perfect way for Flow Studio users to tighten up the final details of a mix, and the perfect way for Flow Suite subscribers to take advantage of their channels strips and take control of their plug-ins in a truly hands-on way,” says the company.
For more information, visit Softube.
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Traxsource to introduce labels to identify both human-made and AI-assisted musicMusic download store Traxsource is introducing human-made and AI-assisted music labels across its platform from 1 July.
Traxsource has partnered with two AI detection companies, SH Labs and SoundPatrol, to support the identification and classification of music submitted to its platform. The system will flag fully AI-generated music for removal and provide the data used to classify the remaining music as either AI-assisted or human-made within the Traxsource classification system.

READ MORE: Is AI seriously in mics now?

The move follows the publication of Traxsource’s Our Position on AI Music statement, released in February this year, in which it acknowledged the legitimate use of AI “as a production tool” to “assist within a larger human-driven creative process”, but stated that entirely AI-generated music “does not belong on Traxsource”.
The AI labels are designed to help listeners make informed decisions based on their individual preferences regarding AI. Traxsource is continuing to actively remove fully AI-generated music daily and has a rebuttal process for content providers to submit disputes if they feel their music has been mislabeled.

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Brian Tappert, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Traxsource, says: “We realise that everything that got us here came from strong convictions and the guts to act on them. Our musical direction, starting Soulfuric, the crazy notion of launching a website selling digital files while the vinyl market was collapsing from online piracy.
“This AI moment feels like one of those all over again. We do not believe AI is going away. Everything we’re doing is about finding a way to live with it, and making sure the value stays where it belongs, with human-created works.”
Marc Pomeroy, Co-Founder and CTO of Traxsource, adds: “We envision a future where shopping for music is like shopping for food today, conventional products right next to certified organic, with the choice left to the consumer. We’re simply using technical means to preserve and uphold organic, human artistry, while keeping the option open for those artists who are pushing the envelope of technology, not wishing to stifle the creative process.”
To learn more about its AI policy, head over to Traxsource.
The post Traxsource to introduce labels to identify both human-made and AI-assisted music appeared first on MusicTech.

FINNEAS says Rick Rubin may have some technical ability after all: “There are many videos of him setting up the mics. He doesn’t ‘know nothing’”Producer Finneas has shared his thoughts on Rick Rubin’s self-confessed lack of technical knowledge, and like many others, he finds it hard to believe that Rubin really knows “nothing about music”.
Rubin said these exact words back in 2023 during an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes, when he also said he didn’t know how to use a mixing desk. Finneas, known for his production work with sister Billie Eilish and others, has said he feels Rubin perhaps isn’t being literal when he says he knows nothing.

READ MORE: Finneas on why a Minimoog was the perfect instrument to “encapsulate Millennial cringe” on Netflix’s Beef: “He’s not a musician and he has a $25k synth”

Speaking to Billboard, Finneas explains, “He’s made work that I’m really inspired by. I’m a little confused by his kind of… He swears that he knows nothing at all about music, and it’s like, just Google Rick Rubin, Johnny Cash. There are many videos of him setting up the mics. He doesn’t ‘know nothing.’”
He adds: “What I assume he means by that, and I respect this, is similar to what I’ve said before: there are a lot of people that know a lot more than I do. I don’t know the most, but I also don’t know ‘nothing.’
“I think it’s an effective [strategy]. I try to do the same thing, which is, I don’t want to make people feel like it isn’t achievable,” he says. “You don’t want to intimidate somebody out of trying to make something by way of, ‘I have my 10,000 hours, I know so much, you’ll never know as much as I do.’ So I like that.”
Check out the full conversation with Finneas below:

Finneas isn’t the only artist to call Rubin’s confessions into question. Jacob Collier has also shared his own confusion around his claims. In a 2024 interview for the Colin and Samir podcast, Collier said he “doesn’t trust” Rubin’s creative philosophies, adding, “I’d love to sit with Rick at some point and just talk to him and chew the cud and push him.
“[I’d] also welcome to be pushed because all of us need to be examined. Our opinions need to be squeezed and broken and I just think that anyone sitting there and saying ‘This is the wrong way to do it’, like Rick saying art is only pure if it’s made for art’s sake. Absolutely false.”

While other artists have felt particularly riled up by Rubin, including Pete Townshend, who suggested someone should “occasionally slap” Rubin, others who have worked with him have praised his practices, including Kesha, System Of A Down’s Daron Malakian, and Beabadoobe.
Read more music tech news
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ADDAC System has designed a modular synth that can be played like a guitarWhat if a modular synth was also a guitar? ADDAC System is answering that question. The Portuguese brand has just announced the Four String Series, which will incorporate physical strings into your Eurorack.
Originating from a desire to incorporate some synth tech into a lap steel guitar, the Four String Series utilises tactile modules and mechanisms to pluck each string. The design allows your Eurorack layout to twang and vibrate the strings from below, with the option to expand and customise as you please.

READ MORE: “If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate shit, you’re disgusting”: SZA calls out the “vultures” training AI on tracks without permission

The most important attachment of the bunch is the base ADDAC120 Headstock and Bridge module. Developed so that your strings can be elevated high enough to accommodate your modules underneath, it allows string gauges up to 0.055, has four locking tuners and costs €210.
While you can pluck the strings yourself from the top, there’s no reason you can’t leave it all to your synth to do the legwork. An ADDAC124 Plectrums module was designed for exactly that reason; designed with little metal ‘picks’, the module can pluck each string independently. Priced at €280, it can send triggers through buttons or via a MIDI input.

The ADDAC124 Plectrums module has two modes: Pluck mode, which will properly twang a string, and Harmonic mode, if you’re after more of a light string tap.
An ADDAC121 Humbucker module has also been developed to capture string sounds. However, it’s not like a conventional humbucker you’d find on a standard electric guitar. Instead, it uses an ADDAC122 Quadrophonic Pickup configuration, with a pickup for every string, to fully capture your experimental sounds. And it also allows for independent string volume control, for maximum configuration.
Elsewhere, there is a Rotary Exciter, which generates a rotating magnetic field to excite strings that are at the same frequency as the motor rotation speed. Another new module, the Ebow slider, was then developed to create a harness and sliding mechanism, making it possible to produce an Ebow effect on any string.
Credit: ADDAC
Other ways of stimulating your strings include the ADDAC126 Rotary Exciter, which generates a magnetic field that can have an impact on strings at the same frequency as the motor’s rotational speed. The ADDAC127 Ebow Slider also offers a unique Ebow-like effect, thanks to its “harness and sliding” mechanism.
An ADDAC125 Strings Mute module is also available, which can help dampen unwanted vibrations. The company likens its sound to a palm mute, but one that your tech can do without having ‘hands’; the attachment uses a servo motor, raising and lowering a piece of foam to dampen the vibration of your strings.
Credit: ADDAC
Though, if you’re keen to get involved, ADDAC System has also considered those who might prefer to play with a bow. As a result, there’s a nifty Bow Arch Attachment, which can be popped onto your headstock. The attachment essentially raises the two middle strings, which should make it easier to play each string individually while wielding your bow.
Of course, all of this sits most comfortably in the ADDAC120F Strings Frame. Sitting at €360, the custom-built frame is designed specifically for the Four String Series and can comfortably accommodate all of the available modules. The frame also has a dedicated power supply and should serve as a great base if anyone hopes to expand or customise their frame.
The Four Strings Series will begin shipping in July. For more information, head to ADDAC System.
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Superhuman acquires AI detection startup GPTZeroSuperhuman, which also has an AI detection tool as part of Grammarly, has snapped up GPTZero.

FILM - TV - THEATER - GAMES: PROPS AND OPPS FOR JUNE '26PROPS

Mega Ran, the GRAMMY-nominated rapper and educator known for pioneering nerdcore hip-hop and bringing the worlds of videogames and music closer together, returned to Morocco for a second national tour this spring. He was joined by rapper and gaming culture innovator Richie Branson, for a cross-country tour that brought the duo’s unique blend of hip-hop and video game culture to 12 cities. Through a partnership with the American Cultural Association and the American Language Centers, the tour was able to engage students and adults through live shows, workshops, and creative sessions focused on hip-hop fundamentals and game design for beginners. Together, the artists are using music and gaming as vehicles for storytelling, creative expression, and cross-cultural connection. Contact Jeff Moses at management@megaran.com for more information.

A live audience recording of Experiencing the Dream: MLK the Musical recently took place this spring at Greater Emmanuel Temple in Lynwood, California. Written by Kesha L. Ealy and co-written and composed by Marcus S. Mason, the 26-song production featured a 27-piece orchestra and explored the less-public side of the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King from their courtship through the civil rights movement. Rather than focusing solely on King's legacy, the musical takes a look at the fear, love, and personal sacrifice in his private life, inviting audiences to see his story as an unfinished, living call to purpose. For more information, contact Tim Choy at t.choy@dcpublicity.com.

Five-time Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal brought a newly imagined score for Fritz Lang's landmark 1927 silent film Metropolis to the stage at the Karlín Musical Theatre in Prague this past April. Conducting the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in a live-to-picture performance, Beal wove electronic sound design into the orchestral presentation to create a fully immersive experience for the audience. The event served as a highlight of the 5th Edition of Composers Summit Prague, an international gathering of leading film, television, and video game music composers. Beal drew on the film's themes of wealth inequality, artificial intelligence, and humanity's relationship with technology to connect Lang's vision to the modern age. For further details, contact Rebekah Alperin at ralperin@costacomm.com.

Orchestral Soundtracks, a San Diego-based community orchestra devoted to video game and anime music, teamed up with Scarlet Moon recently to present their free 2026 Spring Concert at Canyon Crest Academy. Founded in 2023 by volunteer musicians from across San Diego County, the group offered free admission on a first-come, first-served basis. The program featured arrangements drawn from popular titles and series including Xenoblade Chronicles, Genshin Impact, Frieren, Arcane and Beastars, among others. San Diego game music labels Scarlet Moon Records and Streaming Arrow Records also participated in the event. The orchestra was created by musicians with a shared passion for soundtrack music and a desire to keep performing together after college. Contact Jayson Napolitano at jayson@scarletmoonpromotions.com for further details.

OPPS

July 30 is the deadline to submit your work (the registration deadline is July 24) to the Indie Film Music Contest, a competition that focuses on musical storytelling without giving consideration to sound quality, so beginners have a fair chance. The winner will be announced September 18. This international competition is open to amateur composers of all ages who will have the chance to get feedback on their work from professionals in the field. Learn more at indiefilmmusiccontest.com.

Though applications for professionals are closed, pre-professional dancers can still video audition until June 15 for the Laguna Dance Summer Stage Festival, August 7-9. Video submissions will be fully reviewed by the Laguna Dance Artistic Team and stand an equal chance as live auditions. Laguna Dance is a nonprofit arts organization that offers world-class dance performances across theaters, film, and public spaces. Apply at lagunadance.org/about.

The Small Plates Choreography Festival, open to both emerging and seasoned choreographers, will accept applications until August 1. The November 13 and 14 event in New York entails a series of two curated dance performances with facilitated dialogue between the artists and audience. Learn more about this unique festival and how to apply by visiting smallplatesdance.com/performances/nyc.

The post FILM - TV - THEATER - GAMES: PROPS AND OPPS FOR JUNE '26 first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

MIDI editing tips for producing better tracks
From quantization to automation, level up your music with these key MIDI editing tips.

Mark Zuckerberg ordered Meta staff to develop moneyless prediction market: NYTThe Meta CEO reportedly plans for the company to launch a prediction market independent of its other apps allowing users to place wagers using a points system rather than money.

Reviving MSN Messenger’s i-Buddy USB AccessorySome of our esteemed readers were not yet out of diapers back in 2013 when Microsoft decided to put MSN Messenger out to pasture, but the memories that this instant messenger’s (IM) interface and notification sounds have left are hard to erase. This also includes some of the weirdest accessories that this IM spawned, such as the USB-connected i-Buddy. Recently [Rayly Retro] got his mittens on a new-in-box one to revive alongside an era-appropriate Windows 7 PC.
What the i-Buddy gets you is the ability to light up the head in seven different colors, twist the torso and flap the butterfly wings, all of which can correspond to certain events in the MSN IM or for more general notifications, as set by software running on the connected PC. Interestingly, this i-Buddy is recognized by Windows as a USB HID, so no special driver is needed. A range of ways to program it exist too, including a .NET-based library from back when it was still being sold for around $20.
Although the MSN Messenger network’s servers have long since been dumped into an e-waste dumpster over at Microsoft HQ, an alternative exists in the form of the Escargot service using which a range of official clients can work again.
In the video it’s demonstrated how to create a user account with the Escargot site and how to patch the messenger – here Window Live Messenger 2009 – before signing in. With that step completed, getting the i-Buddy up and running is next. This took a lot of struggling, since the version of the i-Buddy software that comes with the device didn’t like Windows 7 much. Fortunately an old forum post led to a download of version 2.10, using which the gadget jumped to life, happily lighting up and flapping its wings.

KORG Collection 6 is 50% OFF at Plugin Boutique
Plugin Boutique is offering 50% off KORG Collection 6, dropping the software instrument bundle from $399 to $199 until July 21st. KORG Collection 6 is a huge bundle of official KORG software instruments and effects. It covers A LOT of stuff, including analog classics, digital workstations, physical modeling, pianos, organs, grooveboxes, and effects. If you [...]
View post: KORG Collection 6 is 50% OFF at Plugin Boutique

Undertone Audio’s MPEQ-1 goes virtual Undertone Audio’s MPEQ-1 plug-in is said to capture the sound and flexibility of the real thing, while adding some creative tools that extend its capabilities beyond what was possible in the hardware version.

UMG’s Bravado targets A$AP Rocky merch bootleggers on ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ tour with trademark suit, seizure orderA trademark infringement complaint was filed on Thursday June 11
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