A rare retro synth signed by Bicep is up for auctionA rare MAM Systems MB33 Retro synth signed by electronic duo Bicep is up for grabs in a fundraising auction for Youth Music.
Youth Music is a national charity based in the UK that helps marginalised young people to make and monetise music. It funds grassroots music projects and supports aspiring young creatives. The auction is organised by A Noble Gift, and also features a number of other music-themed items up for grabs as well as experience gifts like spa days.

READ MORE: Loops, leaks and Roger Linn: How Akai’s MPC Sample became the most-hyped gear of 2026

Opening bids for the MAM Systems MB33 Retro start at £250. This analogue monophonic bass synth features all the core sound parameters of the classic Roland TB-303. There is little information out there about MAM Systems, but this 2017 Synth Anatomy article refers to it as “a very little company from Germany”, which developed the synth in partnership with Thomann and Musicstore.
Other goodies up for grabs include a custom-made Dr. Martens jukebox machine, hand crafted by Sound Leisure, which is one of only a small number created for Dr. Martens and was previously housed in one of their high street stores. It even offers Bluetooth connectivity.
Also on sale are two autographed Arctic Monkeys albums (AM and their most recent record, The Car), a print of the iconic ‘Bowie’s Eye’ photograph by Rankin, and an AlphaTheta X ELIJAH Omnis-Duo, a limited-edition all-in-one DJ system featuring a custom skin designed by Elijah, a London-based DJ. It also features his mantra: “If you love music, you should learn how to DJ.”
If you fancy placing a bid on the Bicep-signed MB33, then you can also check out our tutorial on how to sound like Bicep.
To learn more or place a bid, head over to A Noble Gift. You can also find out more about Youth Music.
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Elektron responds to acquisition concerns: “It strengthens our ability to realise our plans quicker”On 8 April, Swedish synth creator Elektron was acquired by Bonnier Capital, an investment arm of Swedish family-owned media conglomerate, Bonnier Group. The buyout was touted as “the beginning of a more ambitious journey” for Elektron, according to Alexander Hellström, CEO of Elektron. The immediate reaction online, however, was less optimistic — comments on MusicTech’s social media post of the news saw synth fans concerned about Elektron’s future.
Following MusicTech‘s reporting earlier this week, we reached out to Elektron with questions about the acquisition, what it means for the future of Elektron’s staff and ethos, and whether Elektron fans and customers will see a change to the brand’s beloved product line. The Elektron Team has responded in detail to each question, which you can read in full below.
MusicTech: What was the price of the acquisition? Are you making this publicly available?
Elektron: “We can’t comment on that, unfortunately, which is standard practice for acquisitions of this nature. But we can state that the acquisition took place with Elektron already in a very stable economic position. As such, we have been courted by many prospective parties. This has allowed us to be very careful in choosing the right owner or partner. Bonnier has a long-term commitment to all its investments and is investing from its own balance sheet using its own internal funds for acquisitions, without using loans or debt. We are therefore now in an even stronger financial position.”
MT: Why Bonnier Capital and why now? Was Elektron actively seeking investment, or did Bonnier approach Elektron?
E: “Elektron has been open to and received investment over the last 15 years. Our current CEO joined the company through that process a couple of years ago. The previous investment group, with Jonas Hillman as the main owner, had been leading the company since he took over in 2005. When Bonnier Capital approached us, they stood out through their long-term perspective and genuine understanding of Elektron — not just as a business, but as a company rooted in creativity and music culture.
“As custodians of the Elektron name and legacy, that was the most important factor in our decision. Many of us are Elektron users ourselves, and so that perspective is integral to how we think about the company and its direction. Bonnier Capital becoming majority owners is in many ways a continuation of the previous method, rather than a big change in the ownership process. Jonas Hillman and the management team have reinvested as part of this transition, underlining their continued commitment to Elektron.”
MT: The press release mentions that Elektron’s existing staff will remain — does this mean a commitment to no lay-offs during the transition period?
E: “The transition period is already complete. There are no plans for restructuring or lay-offs. Bonnier’s position is one of a long-term commitment to supporting already exceptional brands and teams, helping them grow and develop over time. Examples are companies such as Acast, Adlibris, and BookBeat.”
MT: Does this change any product roadmaps Elektron had that customers were anticipating?
E: “The acquisition does not change our product roadmap. If anything, it strengthens our ability to realise our plans quicker and more efficiently than we were previously able to. We remain committed to developing exciting new instruments — with some already in the works — and supporting and improving existing machines with fun OS updates and extra features — a core part of our DNA.”
Learn more about Elektron at elektron.se. Read more music tech news. 
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Hip-hop figure Afrika Bambaataa has died at 68Founding hip-hop figure Afrika Bambaataa has died aged 68 due to complications from cancer. In the later years of his career, the rapper, DJ, and producer was accused of child sexual abuse and trafficking, which he denied.
Bambaataa, born Lance Taylor, grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City during the black liberation movement. In 1973, he co-founded the Universal Zulu Nation, an international hip‑hop awareness group.
His 1982 hit Planet Rock garnered global recognition and was certified Gold by the RIAA in the US. Across his career, he worked with a number of musicians across varying genres. In 1985, he helped make the anti-apartheid album Sun City along with Run-DMC, The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, Bono, Ringo Starr and many others.
As per the BBC, Bambaataa led Universal Zulu Nation until 2016, when he stepped down after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced from the 1980s and 1990s. He denied the accusations, describing them as “baseless”. In 2025, he lost a civil case in which he was accused of child sexual abuse and trafficking after failing to show up in court.
The Hip Hop Alliance shared a statement regarding Bambaataa’s death. It reads, “Today, we acknowledge the transition of a foundational architect of Hip Hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa… His vision transformed the Bronx into the birthplace of a culture that now reaches every corner of the world.”
The statement also acknowledges “that his legacy is complex and has been the subject of serious conversations within our community”, and goes on to conclude: “Today, we extend our condolences to all who were impacted by his life, his work, and his presence… Rest in Power Bam.”
You can read the full statement, posted to Instagram, below:

View this post on Instagram

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Save 90% on IK Multimedia’s TOTAL Guitar MAX at Plugin Boutique
You can now save 89% on IK Multimedia’s TOTAL Guitar MAX as part of a limited-time deal at Plugin Boutique. It’s been quite a while now since IK Multimedia’s 2025 Group Buy promotion, and I still think about it every time the developer’s name comes up. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to playing a [...]
View post: Save 90% on IK Multimedia’s TOTAL Guitar MAX at Plugin Boutique

Sonuscore releases LUX Orchestral Strings Elements, a FREE library for Kontakt Player
Sonuscore has released LUX Orchestral Strings Elements, a free orchestral strings instrument for the free Kontakt Player. The amount of high-quality orchestral content available for free nowadays is something I still find hard to believe. Even ten years ago, getting your hands on an in-depth orchestral string library without spending serious money was pretty much [...]
View post: Sonuscore releases LUX Orchestral Strings Elements, a FREE library for Kontakt Player

Audiotool is hosting a “hackathon series” to teach people how to make virtual instruments, plugins and music education toolsAudiotool, a free multiplayer music studio, is launching a new initiative to get more people making virtual instruments, music-related games, and music education tools, without any need for coding skills.
The initiative, called Let’s Build!, partners with organisations and educational institutions around the world, and will run from 11 May – 6 July this year. This “hackathon series” will bring together students, musicians, music lovers, and developers to make apps and DAW extensions using AI-powered coding and NEXUS, Audiotool’s SDK.

READ MORE: Reason 14 is coming, with a new track panel, sequencer upgrades, and more 

Events will happen online on Audiotool’s Dev Discord, as well as in real life at partnering organisations. The resulting projects will go before a panel of judges, including Manon Dave, Head of Future World Design at BBC Research & Development and award-winning music producer who has worked on projects for will.i.am and Idris Elba.
Along with top music schools, such as Berklee and NYU, Audiotool will collaborate with some of its long-standing supporters, including the Esports World Cup, Esports Nations Cup, and the WHO Youth Council. Let’s Build! is also supported by OpenAI, Base44, and ElevenLabs, among others.
Audiotool says that Let’s Build! is “the first step in what promises to be the complete transformation of music into a flexible world where everyone can play thanks to AI code assistants”. Andreas Jacobi, its co-founder and CEO, says its core ethos is to be “community-first”.
Jacobi says, “We have worked for years to remove barriers to collaboration, creativity, and exploration, and now technology is allowing us to tear down yet another – the technical barrier between a cool idea and an amazing new piece of software. If you can describe it, you can now build it. We can’t wait to see what community members, music-loving developers, artists, really anyone who’s excited about coding, come up with.”
Manon Dave adds, “I’m super excited to be invited to judge the Let’s Build! hackathon. I started out making tunes in my bedroom and hacking away on software similar to Audiotool, trying to find a unique sound for my music, so I know how powerful it is when you’re given the chance to get under the hood and bring your ideas to life.
“What Audiotool is doing here is opening that up even further, bringing creativity and coding together so people can build entirely new ways of making music. I’m excited to see what people create when you have the space to experiment.”
Find out more or sign up for free via Audiotool.
The post Audiotool is hosting a “hackathon series” to teach people how to make virtual instruments, plugins and music education tools appeared first on MusicTech.

MeldaProduction MLimiterX is 90% OFF for BPB readers (only €10)
MeldaProduction is offering BPB readers an exclusive 90% discount on MLimiterX, its brickwall limiter plugin. Use the coupon code BPBMLX90 at checkout to bring the price down from €99 to just €10. The offer runs until April 19th. MLimiterX is a mastering-grade brickwall limiter built on MeldaProduction’s MDynamics kernel. The whole idea here is to [...]
View post: MeldaProduction MLimiterX is 90% OFF for BPB readers (only €10)

Ex-SEC, Coinbase staffer becomes Securitize presidentNewly appointed company president Brett Redfearn briefly worked as Coinbase’s head of capital markets and served for more than three years at the SEC.

ChatGPT finally offers $100/month Pro planOpenAI announced on Thursday something that power users have been asking for: a $100/month plan. Previously subscriptions jumped from $20 to $200 per month.

Upgrading a MacBook Neo Using a 1 TB iPhone NAND FlashThe nekkid Flash footprint with unused pads perimeter. (Credit: dosdude1, YouTube)
For some reason the newly introduced MacBook Neo appears to be the subject of a lot of modding, though a recent mod by [dosdude1] leans into the fact that this laptop has been assembled using what are effectively iPhone 16 parts inside a laptop case. This consequently means that there’s an overlap with certain iPhone 16 components, such as the NAND Flash. Incidentally storage on the Neo is limited to 512 GB when you purchase it from Apple, which is weird since the same SoC in the iPhone 16 Pro happily uses 1 TB.
Even if it was just a price point thing that Apple went for, there’s seemingly nothing standing between a Neo owner with a hot air gun and sheer determination. As long as you’re comfortable soldering a fine-pitched BGA NAND Flash package, natch.
Of course, there was always the possibility that Apple used a different NAND Flash package footprint, but the installed 256 GB model chip that comes installed matches the replacement 1 TB model K8A5 chip as hoped. This just left disassembly and preparing the PCB for a storage replacement. Removal of the BGA underfill and desoldering the old chip without taking out surrounding SMD parts is definitely the hardest part, but handled in the video with the equivalent of an IC spatula and a temporary removal of some capacitors.
Interestingly, the uncovered IC footprint shows a whole perimeter of unused pads that might target other NAND Flash packages. Regardless, the new chip installed fine, giving the Neo 1 TB of storage and a slightly faster read/write performance.

Shy Audio introduce EQT-1M Their latest offering is decidedly less crunchy-sounding than their 90s-inspired releases, and shifts the focus from purposeful ‘character’ to uncompromising audio quality.

Wire Grind BlizzVerb 2BlizzVerb 2 is a high-quality algorithmic reverb plugin. It features an "Acoustic Model" for realistic reverb, and "Artistic Controls" for everything else. Other controls provide for classic sounds, tonal coloration, and reverb-based echo. There are also three freeze modes, most notably a mode that does "freeze and replace" which can be saved. Highlights: Realistic sounding reverberation. Echo Fluttering. Self-refreshing "Freeze and Replace" mode. Auto predelay mode. Virtually seamless parameter changes. Acoustic Model: The "Acoustical Wetness" slider works by rebalancing the acoustic model. It improves realism compared to knobs labels "mix," "dry," and "wet". Frequency damping is modeled on measured acoustical data. Dual stereo models for headphones and speakers. Room Size adjustment. Artistic Controls: Three freeze modes including a new and fully savable "freeze and replace" mode. Echo fluttering: Makes the reverb sound periodic and repetitious. Can also be tempo synced. Tone mode: an alternate mode for hi/lo frequency decay. It provides stronger coloration than default "room" mode. Predelay adjustment with "auto" mode. Can also be tempo synced. Classic Dyr/Wet adjustment for vintage and creative reverb sounds. Other Features: Highly automatable: Parameter adjustments are very smooth. Hyperwidth: Stereo rendering up to 200% (Physics sets a soft limit around 100%). Undo / redo. A / B settings toggle. Factory presets. Read More

UVI launches Vintage Casio Legacy – with six software versions of classic Casio synthsUVI has unveiled its new VST suite Vintage Casio Legacy, offering software versions of six classic Casio synthesizers.
As UVI explains, in the landscape of the early ’80s, many synths on the market boasted premium price tags, putting them out of reach of many would-be players. “Casio took a different path,” the brand says, specialising in more affordable digital synths, like the now-iconic CZ range.
Now, with UVI’s new Vintage Casio Legacy pack, producers can access the early digital synths that inspired a wave of burgeoning electronic music makers some four decades ago.

READ MORE: Reason 14 is coming, with a new track panel, sequencer upgrades, and more

The package includes software versions of six classic Casio machines, and, of course, is Casio approved.
As such, in developing the plugins, UVI had access to the original Casio hardware and recorded them in multiple sessions to capture their unique characteristics, like tonal variations, voicing, and signal path colour, on top of the faithful sound.
Here is the lineup of synths included in the package:

CZ, which is based on the flagship CZ-1 that’s known for its phase distortion.
FZ, the popular 16-bit sampler.
VZ, the interactive phase distortion.
HZ, based on the spectrum dynamic synthesis of the HZ-600.
CTK, modelled after the Integrated Cross-Sound Architecture (iXA) from the rare CTK-1000.
RZ drum engine, inspired by the RZ-1, and also featuring additional Casio-sourced material.

On top of the individual machines, all six of them can be combined with Multi mode into one workstation. Plus, UVI has added contemporary features to the old school machines via sound-shaping tools, performance controls, and hundreds of presets.

Vintage Casio Legacy is available now, priced at €199. Head to UVI to learn more.
The post UVI launches Vintage Casio Legacy – with six software versions of classic Casio synths appeared first on MusicTech.

Audiotool is hosting a “hackathon series” to teach people how to make virtual instruments, plugins and music education toolsAudiotool, a free multiplayer music studio, is launching a new initiative to get more people making virtual instruments, music-related games, and music education tools, without any need for coding skills.
The initiative, called Let’s Build!, partners with organisations and educational institutions around the world, and will run from 11 May – 6 July this year. This “hackathon series” will bring together students, musicians, music lovers, and developers to make apps and DAW extensions using AI-powered coding and NEXUS, Audiotool’s SDK.

READ MORE: Reason 14 is coming, with a new track panel, sequencer upgrades, and more 

Events will happen online on Audiotool’s Dev Discord, as well as in real life at partnering organisations. The resulting projects will go before a panel of judges, including Manon Dave, Head of Future World Design at BBC Research & Development and award-winning music producer who has worked on projects for will.i.am and Idris Elba.
Along with top music schools, such as Berklee and NYU, Audiotool will collaborate with some of its long-standing supporters, including the Esports World Cup, Esports Nations Cup, and the WHO Youth Council. Let’s Build! is also supported by OpenAI, Base44, and ElevenLabs, among others.
Audiotool says that Let’s Build! is “the first step in what promises to be the complete transformation of music into a flexible world where everyone can play thanks to AI code assistants”. Andreas Jacobi, its co-founder and CEO, says its core ethos is to be “community-first”.
Jacobi says, “We have worked for years to remove barriers to collaboration, creativity, and exploration, and now technology is allowing us to tear down yet another – the technical barrier between a cool idea and an amazing new piece of software. If you can describe it, you can now build it. We can’t wait to see what community members, music-loving developers, artists, really anyone who’s excited about coding, come up with.”
Manon Dave adds, “I’m super excited to be invited to judge the Let’s Build! hackathon. I started out making tunes in my bedroom and hacking away on software similar to Audiotool, trying to find a unique sound for my music, so I know how powerful it is when you’re given the chance to get under the hood and bring your ideas to life.
“What Audiotool is doing here is opening that up even further, bringing creativity and coding together so people can build entirely new ways of making music. I’m excited to see what people create when you have the space to experiment.”
Find out more or sign up for free via Audiotool.
The post Audiotool is hosting a “hackathon series” to teach people how to make virtual instruments, plugins and music education tools appeared first on MusicTech.

This bright-pink Rhodes piano is inspired by marshmallows – and it’s a serious piece of eye candyRhodes Music has unveiled a very dreamy and very pink piano known as the MK8 Marshmallow.
The new piano forms part of its Custom Shop series, which offers a limited-run of unique MK8 pianos, each shaped by a distinct visual concept. Hand-built in Leeds, UK, by Rhodes Master Builders, each instrument is made to order, individually numbered, and will not be reissued once the order window closes.

READ MORE: Bang and Olufsen marks its 100th birthday with half a million dollar speakers

Rhodes says its aesthetic is inspired by the “pillowy forms” and, er, “nostalgic tones” of “classic marshmallows” – think soft sounds that channel their sweet and foamy insides, perhaps.
All of this is of course expressed through its soft pastel pink aesthetic, including a pastel pink hood and matching hood strip, as well as a pink tolex base and cheekblocks. Additional details include a matching front panel with rose pink preamp and FX inlays, custom rose pink dial caps, and silver-on-rose-pink logo plates, and it even has a colour-matched sustain pedal and footplate.
Aside from its good looks, the MK8 Marshmallow offers a 73-note Kluge Klaviaturen keyboard (Steinway Group), onboard custom stereo analogue FX, including compressor, phaser, chorus, and delay (true bypass). Its analogue preamp also comes with parametric EQ, drive, envelope, wah, and vari-pan.
Take a closer look at the model in the images below:
Credit: Rhodes
Credit: Rhodes
Credit: Rhodes
Credit: Rhodes
Back in March, Rhodes also expanded its lineup of virtual pianos and keyboard instruments with Pianology, a collection of three “timeless pianos”: a concert grand, acoustic upright and vintage electric grand.
The collection offers producers and composers access to instruments which are “rare and seldom encountered outside renowned studios, concert halls and private collections”. Its three software instruments were sampled by Rhodes’ engineering and sound design teams “with a focus on instant playability”.
The Marshmallow is available exclusively through the Rhodes Custom Shop from 9 April to 23 April 2026, with optional MIDI for an additional £1299. Pricing without MIDI stands at £11,995 (+VAT) / €13,995 (+ local taxes) / USD: $15,995.
Find out more or buy now via Rhodes Music.
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