Merging Technologies launch Pyramix 16 Designed for engineers who demand uncompromising sound quality and production flexibility, the latest version integrates the PanNoir plug-in with the DAW’s mixer, adds a built-in Dolby Atmos Renderer and introduces an array of other new additions and improvements. 

Reason 14 is coming, with a new track panel, sequencer upgrades, and more Reason Studios has announced the latest edition of its primary DAW, Reason 14. There are many new features included in this version, such as the Track Panel, improvements to the sequencer function, and the RV-9 Reverb Station device.
With the new Track Panel function, signal chain, levels, and sends can be accessed in the mains sequencer window. Now users won’t have to switch views in order to alter the sounds of individual tracks. Simply select a track to work in, and the panel will appear with all its specific info alongside the full session.

READ MORE: Elektron acquired by investment firm Bonnier Capital: “The beginning of a more ambitious journey”

Reason has also made significant upgrades to the sequencer function by refining the piano roll and clips, in addition to adding track folders to help with organisation.
Plus, the entire DAW will default to dark mode now for an easier experience on the eyes, and there are new navigation buttons for the Track Panel, Edit Area, and Groove Mixer, among other elements, for a simpler workflow. Other updates for workflow include automatic tempo detection on import and MIDI note chase.

A significant upgrade to Reason 14 is the RV-9 Reverb Station. This replaces the RV7000. In the new version, there are nine new algorithms to mimic everyday spaces, such as a cathedral, as well as spaces Reason describes as “infinite, experimental soundscapes.”
Lastly, Reason 14 adds over 900 new drum samples, 50 Europa patches, and 20 impulse responses for more experimentation.
“With Reason 14, we set out to rethink the music-making workflow,” says Mattias Häggström Gerdt, Product Manager at Reason Studios.
“By centering the experience around the sequencer and bringing key elements of each track and Rack into view, it’s easier to stay focused on what matters most: making music.”
Reason 14 is currently in Beta. Everyone who purchased or upgraded to Reason 13 and/or Reason Rack 13 after March 1, 2026, can upgrade to the next respective version for free. Reason 14 is expected to be available in May 2026. Reason+ and Reason Rack subscribers will have access to Reason 14 immediately upon launch.
For more information and to sign up for the Reason 14 Beta, head to Reason.
The post Reason 14 is coming, with a new track panel, sequencer upgrades, and more  appeared first on MusicTech.

Hivetune releases Relica 2, a FREE 8-bit synthesizer plugin
Hivetune has released Relica 2, a free subtractive synthesizer designed to recreate the sounds of the 8-bit era. If you’re after NES-style leads, classic handheld console percussion, or chiptune sequences, this one is worth a look. Relica 2 is the sequel to the original Relica synth from the same developer. It offers four classic oscillator [...]
View post: Hivetune releases Relica 2, a FREE 8-bit synthesizer plugin

Superlunar TS-440TS-440 is a cassette tape machine emulation that faithfully models 20 real cassette recorders and 4 tape formulations, capturing the unique preamp characteristics, EQ topology, head response, and transport behavior of each machine. Every cassette recorder features a preamp with its own sonic fingerprint. The TS-440 models each one, from the warm JFET input stage of the original TEAC 144 to the punchy op-amp circuits of the Tascam 424 series. Crank the input to overdrive the preamp and push it into harmonic saturation, or bypass the tape entirely to use TS-440 purely as a channel strip. TS-440 also includes four tape formulations, each offering different styles of compression and saturation. Type I Ferric, Type II Chrome, Type III Ferrichrome, and Type IV Metal. Driving each formulation differently is one of the most powerful creative tools in TS-440. Beyond the preamp, TS-440 gives you hands-on control over the physical degradation of the tape and transport. Simulate years of use and damage by dialing in tape aging, head wear, drift, wow and flutter, dropouts, hiss, and other lo-fi artifacts. Like many of these vintage recorders, TS-440 lets you control the pitch of the playback for detuned, warped effects. Three tape speeds further shape the character, with slower speeds naturally increasing hiss, saturation, and wow and flutter. 33 factory presets provide instant starting points across the full range of TS-440's capabilities, from clean studio masters to fully destroyed tape effects. Use them as-is or as a jumping-off point for your own sounds. Whether you are looking for destroyed lo-fi textures on individual tracks or reaching for subtle analog warmth and natural compression across your mix buss with a pristine hi-fi deck on Metal tape, TS-440 delivers. Twenty unique preamps, four tape formulations, and deep degradation controls give you a range that stretches from tape machine as an instrument to tape machine as a mastering tool. Read More

Blue Cat Audio release Axiom 2.3 Axiom 2.3 delivers improved audio performance along with multi-touch display support, expanded MIDI control, greater compatibility with third party plug-ins and much more.

Elektron acquired by investment firm Bonnier Capital: “The beginning of a more ambitious journey”Boutique gear brand Elektron has been acquired by Bonnier Capital, a Swedish investment division of the “family-owned media group,” Bonnier Group, according to a press statement issued by Elektron. Day-to-day operations will proceed as usual for customers and partners.
The acquisition of Elektron Music Machines AB — based in Gothenburg, Sweden — will “provide long-term support for Elektron’s continued development, international growth, and future expansion,” continues the statement. Elektron will continue to operate from its Gothenburg headquarters, along with its offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. The existing team will remain intact, as will Elektron’s “commitment to creating instruments and tools for music makers worldwide.”
The sum of the acquisition is not currently publicly available.
Jonas Von Hedenberg, the investment director at Bonnier Capital, says, “Elektron has built a truly distinctive position at the intersection of technology, creativity, and music culture. We are deeply impressed by the team’s craftsmanship and vision, and we see strong alignment with our long-term approach to building enduring, creative businesses in the music industry. Our ambition is to support Elektron’s continued growth while preserving the unique identity that has made it so respected by artists worldwide.”
Elektron, the company behind the Digitakt, Syntakt and Machinedrum, was founded in 1998 as an independent company. The Bonnier acquisition will reportedly provide the company with “access to broader strategic resources while preserving the focus and identity that have defined Elektron over the years.”
Alexander Hellström, CEO of Elektron, added: “Joining Bonnier marks an exciting new chapter for Elektron. It gives us the support and strategic backing to keep doing what we love most—creating inspiring instruments and pushing the boundaries of sound and performance. At the same time, this is just the beginning of a more ambitious journey ahead. Together with Bonnier Capital, we see strong opportunities to grow further, as we expand our role in shaping the future of electronic music creation.”
MusicTech has reached out to Elektron for further comment. This is a developing story.
Read more music tech news. 
 
The post Elektron acquired by investment firm Bonnier Capital: “The beginning of a more ambitious journey” appeared first on MusicTech.

I can’t help rooting for tiny open source AI model maker ArceeArcee is a tiny 26-person U.S. startup that built a high-performing, massive, open source LLM. And it's gaining popularity with OpenClaw users.

Bitcoin wallets absorb 4.37M BTC as network activity flips to 'bull phase’The Bitcoin supply held in long-term investor wallets moved above 4 million BTC, while a network activity index flashed a “bull phase” signal.

TinyGo Boldly Goes Where No Go Ever Did Go BeforeWhen you’re programming microcontrollers, you’re likely to think in C if you’re old-school, Rust if you’re trendy, or Python if you want it done quick and have resources to spare. What about Go? The programming language, not the game. That’s an option, too, with TinyGo now supporting over 100 different dev boards, along with webASM.
We covered TinyGo back in 2019, but they were just getting started at that point, targeting the Arduino and BBC:micro boards. They’ve grown that list to include everything from most of Adafruit’s fruitful suite of offerings, ESP32s, and even the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. So now you can go program go in Go so you can play go on the go.
The biggest drawback–which is going to be an absolute dealkiller for a lot of applications–is a lack of wireless connectivity support. Claiming to support the ESP8266 while not allowing one to use wifi is a bit of a stretch, considering that’s the whole raison d’être of that particular chip, but it’s usable as a regular microcontroller at least.
They’ve now implemented garbage collection, a selling point for those who like Go, but admit it’s slower in TinyGo compared to its larger cousin and won’t work on AVR chips or in WebAssembly. It’s still not complete Go, however, so just as we reported in 2019, you won’t be able to compile all the standard library packages you might be used to. There are more of them than there were, so progress has been made!
Still, knowing how people get about programming languages, this will please the Go fanatics out there. Others might prefer to go FORTH and program their Arduinos, or to wear out their parentheses keys with LISP. The more the merrier, we say!

Bill Ackman confident he’ll win over UMG shareholders to $64 billion bid, says Bolloré response was ‘music to my ears’The transaction requires the support of UMG's board and a two-thirds vote of shareholders who attend a meeting called for the purpose
Source

How to create vocal harmonies: A step-by-step guide
Explore the qualities that make a vocal harmony effective and learn how to write your own harmonies from scratch.

KRK Kreate 5 Monitors Elevate Miami’s 555 Studios Creative SpaceSome studios are built for recording. Others are built for content. 555 Studios, tucked inside Miami’s ever-electric Wynwood Arts District, is chasing something bigger—an ecosystem where creativity doesn’t just happen, it collides.

Inside the 10,000-square-foot labyrinth, it’s not unusual to find a podcast being tracked upstairs while a fashion shoot unfolds down the hall and a live performance pulses below. It’s organized chaos in the best way—exactly how Studio Manager Cristian “Cris” Castro envisioned it.

“I always wanted a place where independent artists could record their music, shoot their videos, take photos, and perform—all under one roof,” Castro says. What started as an idea now feels more like a living, breathing organism—one that “blends the energy of a live venue with the precision of professional production suites.”

That balance—between vibe and technical polish—is where KRK’s Kreate 5 monitors quietly earn their keep.

Originally brought in as playback speakers for the podcast studio, the Kreate 5s didn’t stay put for long. In a space that refuses to sit still, neither could they. “The Kreates were initially chosen to be playback monitors in our podcast room,” Castro explains, “but now they move all around the building.” And that mobility isn’t a compromise—it’s the point.

Compact enough to travel from room to room but still packing the punch of a larger system, the monitors have become a kind of sonic glue across wildly different creative setups. Whether it’s dialing in dialogue for a podcast, setting the mood during a shoot, or filling the lobby with clean, balanced playback, they’ve become a constant in a space defined by change.

“From recording to playback, consistency is everything—and that’s why KRK is part of the workflow at 555 Studios,” says Castro—and it’s a sentiment that’ll resonate with anyone who’s ever chased a mix across multiple environments. “555 blends the energy of a live venue with the precision of professional production suites. The KRK Kreate K5s give us a trusted clarity in a more flexible form factor. Whether we’re fine-tuning a podcast or setting the tone during a photo shoot, the monitors deliver a balanced, reliable sound that translates across real-world listening environments. Plus, the portability and Bluetooth make it easy to bring that quality into any room instantly, which is key in a space as dynamic as ours.”

And in a studio where one day’s workflow might look nothing like the next, that kind of dependability matters. A lot.

There’s also something refreshingly unpretentious about how the gear is used here. No sacred control room. No precious “don’t touch” setups. Just tools that move as fast as the ideas do—Bluetooth-enabled, easily repositioned, and always ready to adapt.

If 555 Studios proves anything, it’s that today’s creative spaces don’t live in neat categories anymore—and neither should the gear.The post KRK Kreate 5 Monitors Elevate Miami’s 555 Studios Creative Space first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Sound Devices unveil the Astral Mini Plus The Astral Mini Plus builds on the success of its predecessor by offering improved battery life, an extended RF tuning range and IP67 water resistance.

Trona Audio Dream Catcher DRME Dreamy — Dual Ribbon Mic Emulation Audio Plugin by Kyle Hurst &TRONA AudioDream Catcher DRME — Dual Ribbon Mic Emulation by TRONA Audio. We got tired of music feeling like work. So we built something that makes it feel like music again. The Dream Catcher DRME started as a personal frustration. Ribbon microphones have a sound that nobody forgets — warm, honest, and alive in a way that condenser mics rarely are. They make recordings feel like recordings. Like someone was actually in a room, playing something that mattered. But real ribbon mics are fragile, expensive, and out of reach for most people making music today. So we measured ours. Not modeled. Not approximated. We captured actual impulse responses from real physical TRONA ribbon microphones — the little ribbon and the large ribbon — and built a plugin around what we found. Every knob in the DRME exists because something real in that microphone behaved that way. What came out the other side is a plugin that doesn't feel like a plugin. It feels like putting up a mic in a room and just playing. The proximity bloom when you lean in. The figure-8 pattern bleeding in from behind. The transformer adding that last little bit of weight that makes a vocal sit in a mix without you having to think about it. It sounds like the records that made you want to make music in the first place. That's the only reason we built this. Not to add another tool to your chain. To give you back the feeling that started all of this for you. Features. Dual Ribbon Engine — R1 (Little Ribbon) — smaller element, grittier character, higher harmonic content (~7.5% THD) — R2 (Large Ribbon) — larger element, cleaner response, smoother saturation (~2.4% THD) — R1 and R2 Length controls (0–100) — shape the physical ribbon length and its effect on frequency response and pattern behavior. Three Processing Modes — RR Mode — length-based comb filtering, dramatic figure-8 character and frequency shaping — PR Mode — physics-correct Faraday induction modeling, more transparent and realistic ribbon behavior — OFF Mode — all ribbon processing bypassed, IR and character processing only. Ribbon Controls — Proximity (0–100) — distance simulation from 1 foot to 1 inch close-mic, with authentic low-frequency bloom — Ribbon Tone (0–100) — blend of measured impulse response and harmonic character — Port Size (0–100) — rear acoustic port simulation from tight cardioid to full figure-8 — Rear Distance (0–100) — acoustic rear path length from 2 to 6 inches — Corrugation (0–100) — ribbon tension and resonance pattern, tuning the low-frequency floor from 70Hz to 20Hz. Character Controls — Transformer (0–100) — output transformer saturation and warmth, from subtle color to heavy saturation — Ribbon Glue (0–100) — warmth, high-frequency sag, bloom, and gentle compression in one control. Level Controls — Input Level (-60 to +12 dB) — Sensitivity (-60 to 0 dB) — virtual mic position and source level — Output Level (-60 to +12 dB). Utility — BK (Back) — simulates rotating the mic 180° for a darker, more saturated tone — LC (Low Cut) — cycles OFF / 30Hz / 80Hz / 160Hz — PH (Phase Flip) — 180° polarity inversion — BYP — plugin bypass with 60ms crossfade, use instead of DAW bypass for clean transitions — A/B Comparison — store and recall two full parameter states for instant comparison — Delta Mode — monitor the wet/dry difference only, for precise dialing of subtle processing. Under the Hood — Real impulse responses captured from physical TRONA ribbon microphones — Harmonic saturation models built from measured THD profiles — Physical modeling of Faraday induction, resonance, and phase effects — Acoustic emulation of port sizes, rear paths, and corrugation patterns — AutoFreeze CPU management — silently captures and freezes processing after 5 seconds of inactivity, dropping from 20–25% to 5–8% CPU, instantly unfreezing when any control is touched. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS — Formats: AU (Audio Unit), VST3 — Platform: macOS 10.13 or later — Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel) — DAW Support: Logic Pro, GarageBand, MainStage, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, any AU or VST3 host — Sample Rates: 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz — Bit Depth: 32-bit floating point — Latency: 100–300 samples (IR-dependent) — CPU Usage: 15–25% per instance (5–8% when AutoFreeze is active) — RAM: 16 GB recommended — License: 1 license, up to 3 computers — Price: $49. Read More

Mastering The Mix releases REFERENCE 3 mix referencing plugin (win a FREE copy!)
Mastering The Mix has released REFERENCE 3, a major update to its popular mix referencing plugin. We are taking a closer look at the latest update and giving away one license to one lucky BPB reader. REFERENCE 3 is priced at $79 with a 15-day free trial available (no credit card required). Owners of REFERENCE 1 [...]
View post: Mastering The Mix releases REFERENCE 3 mix referencing plugin (win a FREE copy!)