Gospel Musicians launch Black Friday Sale (up to 70% OFF)
Gospel Musicians is running its annual Black Friday Sale, offering 50% off a wide range of plugins, expansion packs, and production tools for macOS and Windows. Gospel Musicians are known for their keyboardist- and musician-focused virtual instruments, so their Black Friday sale is always worth a look. This year includes discounts on some of their [...]
View post: Gospel Musicians launch Black Friday Sale (up to 70% OFF)

TIDAL Introduces “Upload,” “Spotlight,” and a $100k Contest for Indie ArtistsTIDAL's new feature gives creators direct access to the platform, bypassing traditional distributor gatekeepers, and incentivizes artists with contests and editorial coverage.
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SOS Awards: Cast your vote! Voting for the SOS Awards closes on 30 November 2025 — please do take a look and have your say on the best kit of 2025! 

“Making professional-grade monitoring more approachable”: Berlin’s EVE Audio launches EXO Series of studio monitorsBerlin-based studio monitor purveyor EVE Audio has unveiled the EXO Series, a line of monitors which sets out to “make professional-grade monitoring more approachable”, with modern music creators in mind.
Comprising four models – the EXO 24, EXO 25, EXO 27 and EXO 28 – the series is designed to combine “advanced acoustic engineering with hands-on usability”, with a newly developed Precision Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter at the heart of each unit.
This – paired with a Guided Directivity Control (GDC) waveguide – essentially offers a wider sweet spot, meaning it’s no problem if you aren’t sitting perfectly centred between your stereo setup.

READ MORE: BandLab’s Membership drops to its lowest price ever for Black Friday

In addition, each monitor can be adjusted for room tuning and calibration, with settings including EQ, filters and volume easily tweakable via a rear OLED display and SMART-knob. There’s also Ethernet connectivity for “future software control”.
Credit: EVE Audio
Complementing the Precision AMT tweeter in each unit is a custom-designed coated aluminium woofer and high-headroom amplification, resulting in “detailed, punchy lows and clean, precise highs”, says EVE Audio.
Each monitor also sports EVE’s Low Diffraction Enclosure (LDE) design – featuring rounded edges to reduce reflections.
Credit: EVE Audio
The EXO Series is designed to integrate seamlessly with modern studio setups, with balanced XLR, unbalanced RCA, and S/PDIF digital I/O compatibility. Each unit also has wake-on-signal and wake-on-LAN functions, so it’ll power up automatically when you start your session.
“With EXO, we set out to make professional-grade monitoring more approachable: monitors that sound honest, translate well, and fit naturally into any workflow,” says Roland Stenz, CEO at EVE Audio. “Now that they’re shipping, we can’t wait to hear how creators make them part of their studios.”
If you’ve read this far you’ll probably be interested in reading some technical specifics, huh? Here we go…
EXO 24
Woofer: 4”
Frequency range: 54 Hz – 24 kHz
Max SPL: 102 dB
Ideal for: Compact studios, mobile setups
EXO 25
Woofer: 5”
Frequency range: 44 Hz – 24 kHz
Max SPL: 110 dB
Ideal for: Small to mid-size rooms
EXO 27 
Woofer: 6.5”
Frequency range: 41 Hz – 24 kHz
Max SPL: 116 dB
Ideal for: All-round production work
EXO 28
Woofer: 8”
Frequency range: 37 Hz – 24 kHz
Max SPL: 120 dB
Ideal for: Large control rooms, bass-heavy projects
Pricing and availability
The EVE Audio EXO Series is available now via authorised dealers and distributors, with MSRPs (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) starting at around €479 (approx. £422) for the EXO 24.
For more information, head to EVE Audio.

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Polyend’s MESS gives you wildly creative effects sequencing£549 / $599 / €599, polyend.com
Polyend has never been one to follow the herd. From the world’s first standalone hardware tracker to its own novel synth architectures, this Polish company has a knack for reimagining what electronic music tools can do.
Its latest release, MESS (standing for Multi-Effect Step Sequencer), is no exception. More than just an effects box, the MESS is a cradle for experimentation through sequencing, modulating, and straight-up mangling audio in real time.
At first glance, MESS promises a tantalising blend of high-end multi-effects and step-based control that aims to offer something truly different. The real question is whether all this sequencing power actually translates into creative payoff — or if it just makes a mess of your workflow.
Image: James Langey
Getting started with MESS
Unboxing MESS, I’m pleasantly greeted by a weighty yet compact unit. The build quality feels premium: a beautiful brushed steel faceplate and a sharp, vibrant screen.
Two smooth, range-limited pots handle input gain and mix, while four infinite encoders handle effects parameters. Polyend has opted for clicky encoders rather than smooth for these, which I like — it makes it easier to precisely dial in effects, while sweeping the knob more aggressively results in a bigger step change for quicker edits. I was expecting a frustrating battle with the touch buttons throughout use, but they’re surprisingly responsive, requiring a light touch to activate.
There’s no power supply included, which feels odd at this price point. Those with dedicated pedalboard PSUs won’t mind, but synth- or keys-focused users might. Another minor stumble: the input is a single stereo jack rather than two mono jacks — presumably to save space for the EXP input — so you might need to think twice about cabling, depending on your setup.
MESS has four effects ‘lanes’, which can be routed in series, parallel, or dual parallel. You can leave effects static or hit the ‘play’ footswitch to run the sequencer.
I begin my MESS testing with guitar, flicking through factory presets to mixed reception. Some sounds are too weird, while others I’m not sure are doing anything much at all. On six strings, I’m not convinced. But this is when my mind begins to open — I wonder what this would sound like on drums? Synth? Even the mix bus?
I hook up a Korg Monologue and a Teenage Engineering PO-32 and continue down the rabbit hole, and MESS quickly reveals its aptitude for mangling drum loops.

What effects does Polyend MESS have?
MESS boasts over 120 effects, bucketed into various categories. Parameters for each are fairly simple, with two or three at most.
While there’s standard fare like choruses, reverbs, delays, and filters, I’m instantly drawn to the more unusual effects. Under the ‘Shaper’ category, ‘Rectifier’ and ‘Redux’ grab my attention, the latter adding a prominent downsampled texture:

That said, a little can go a long way. With the panning effect, I add depth and complexity to arpeggiated guitar chords:

Likewise, a humble low-pass filter does a lot of heavy lifting on a simple bassline:

Moving to MESS’ more unique tricks, the two Pitch effects add wonderful glitchy character, although there’s a touch of latency that’s worth keeping in mind for live performance:

The two ‘Spectralizer’ effects, Expander and Screamer, are the most unusual of the bunch. They don’t seem to do much until I follow the manual’s advice to try them on drums, creating warped, digital timbres that enhance an otherwise simple loop.

The various saturation types will likely leave guitarists wanting, and there’s a slight digital sheen to the reverbs — but on the whole, MESS’ arsenal of effects impresses even without any sequencing.

Sequencing effect parameters with MESS
Speaking of sequencing, this is MESS’ distinguishing feature. The sequencer is programmed using 16 touch buttons on the front, and it doesn’t take me long to get to grips with the process.
I love the step length feature. With each effects lane independent, MESS presents intriguing polyrhythmic opportunities. I have a lot of fun with this on various sources:

It’s easy to imagine MESS as a mainstay within my percussion workflow, and I could spend hours listening to its evolving, rhythmic modulation. You can also set probability for each step, injecting randomness into your sequence. On the whole, the process feels effortless, each tweak instantly rewarding you with shifting grooves and textures.
Melodic material is trickier — results are either too subtle or too chaotic, and it’s hard to find the sweet spot with many of the effects. I try Particle Sample and Tape Delay on ambient pads, adding pleasant movement and complexity, though things get a little unwieldy once I start sequencing delay time:

Despite the relatively streamlined sequencing workflow, sequencing pitched material often feels awkward. In this context, many effects resist truly musical modulation, and sequencing parameters from scratch quickly becomes a barrier to experimentation — though with future updates, the process could become far more fluid.
A few quirks cause further frustrations. Changing the lane’s effect deletes existing sequence data, which makes it impossible to quickly audition sounds. There’s no mute function for individual tracks either, instead requiring a manual workaround by riding the effect lane’s gain control. However, this function is being implemented soon in firmware Version 1.1.
Minor drawbacks aside, the welcome news is MESS’ firmware is still at Version 1.0, so there’s an opportunity for improvement. I’d love to see Polyend add some kind of ‘randomise steps’ feature in a later update to double down on its role as an ideas box in your setup, as well as a way to ramp/glide between sequenced parameters instead of hard step changes.
Image: James Langley
Alternatives to Polyend MESS
Ultimately, MESS’ price is probably the clincher for most buying decisions. At £549, it’s certainly not cheap. Given the myriad multi-effects on the market today, does Polyend deserve your hard-earned cash? Well, it comes down to use case:
Countless options from Zoom, Boss, and Mooer cost a fraction of the price and cover live performance or guitar-focused needs. You could even pick up a used Line 6 Helix LT for around £600, with deep preset/snapshot functionality and solid amp simulation. For instant audio transformation that forgoes MESS’ sequencing capabilities, boutique pedals like Hologram’s Microcosm or Chroma Console, and Chase Bliss’ Lost + Found deliver experimental sound design with more immediacy than MESS — and at a lower cost too.
If it’s mainly motion you’re after, the 8 Step Program from Electro-Harmonix brings step sequencing to any pedalboard for about £130, controlling other hardware via EXP or CV inputs. Tinkerers might prefer Empress’ modular Zoia. Its patch-building environment offers near-infinite possibilities, and with a built-in sequencer module, it can rival much of what MESS does — though you’ll need to build that functionality yourself.
Don’t overlook plugins. Cableguys ShaperBox 3, Sugar Bytes Effectrix, and Devious Machines Infiltrator 2 all cost around £100. They’re quicker and easier to use, though they lack the tactile immediacy of a hardware box.
With all that said, MESS remains a compelling purchase for many, especially given Polyend’s solid record of updating and improving its devices’ firmware.
Workflow quirks and the high price remain sticking points, but it’s an incredibly powerful box. The payoff for rhythmic content is often extraordinary. And with careful tweaking, it can reshape melodic input into rich, evolving soundscapes, too — though the path there is less straightforward.
Undoubtedly, MESS delivers moments of brilliance, but only if you’re willing to wrestle with it. It already feels indispensable for percussion-driven experimentation. For everything else, it’s a tougher sell — but with the right refinements, it could one day shine just as brightly on melodic material.

Key Features

120+ effects including modulation, delay, reverb, shaping, and more
150 factory presets and space for 1,000 in total
4 effect lanes per patch
Apply effects with or without sequencing
Tap tempo, bypass, and sequencer play footswitch controls
Assignable macro knob per preset
Sequence length and step probability for random variation
Single mono/stereo in, dual mono out
Expression pedal input
MIDI in/out via TRS Type B
USB-C port for USB MIDI to a computer
MicroSD card reader for storing presets and data
Dimensions: 18 cm x 12 cm x 5.7 cm
Weight: 0.93 kg

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Polyflo App from FAC Available for the Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro, Polyflo is capable of simultaneously transmitting MIDI and CV data, and comes packed with comprehensive modulation tools.

Your Morning Coffee Podcast: AI Artists Galore & a Human Artist With 1B StreamsEpisode 276 of Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart's podcast Your Morning Coffee: Weekly News for the New Music Business is available now.
The post Your Morning Coffee Podcast: AI Artists Galore & a Human Artist With 1B Streams appeared first on Hypebot.

Buy Pitch Innovations Rhythm Box for $1 and get IK Multimedia MixBox for FREE
Plugin Boutique just launched a crazy Black Friday offer. You can grab Rhythm Box by Pitch Innovations for just $1 using the BLACKFRIDAYINDIA coupon, and choose IK Multimedia MixBox (full version) as your gift-with-purchase. In other words, you’re effectively getting two plugins for $1, one of which is the full version of MixBox. It’s one [...]
View post: Buy Pitch Innovations Rhythm Box for $1 and get IK Multimedia MixBox for FREE

Voidstar Audio releases KLYP, a free soft clipper plugin
Voidstar Audio has released KLYP, a free soft clipper plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux. I actually found out about this one a little late. It came out around four months ago, but a BPB reader (thanks, bunbonnie!) recently pointed me toward it, and I’m surprised it hasn’t made the rounds yet. After spending some [...]
View post: Voidstar Audio releases KLYP, a free soft clipper plugin

BandLab’s Membership drops to its lowest price ever for Black FridayAd feature with Sony and BandLab. Editor’s note: BandLab Technologies and MusicTech are both a part of the Caldecott Music Group.
BandLab is offering its best pricing ever on a full annual Membership package this Black Friday from 14 November. This will save you a whopping 60 per cent off full price, coming in at just $5.80 per month.
So what does that get you?
BandLab’s Membership covers a range of creative and career-building tools for all types of its 100 million musicians, artists and producers. Even British rapper Central Cee is using BandLab to build out his beats and ideas.
The Membership gives you access to over 25 additional creator tools within the powerful BandLab app in your web browser or on your iPad, iPhone or Android device. This lets you compose, create and arrange music, with innovative tools built in, including automatic track mixing, visual EQ, advanced voice processing and auto-generation with Extend, Re-compose and Layer composition and arrangement features.
BandLab’s new Voice Cleaner and Voice Changer software is also included in the Membership. These AI-powered features give you more control over your vocal recordings, allowing you to reduce background noise with one tap, or completely change the sound of your voice with 15 different vocal styles.

This Black Friday deal also includes 35 exclusive drops — beats, presets and sound packs to help you boost your creativity. You can create with up to 32 tracks, convert audio to MIDI data for ultimate flexibility and, of course, master your music with BandLab’s intuitive Mastering Presets. All these features are just the tip of BandLab’s iceberg.
The BandLab Membership will also give you early access to the Cakewalk Next DAW and give you enhanced features in Cakewalk Sonar.
For quick inspiration, your Membership lets you claim a new ready-made royalty-free beat every week from a library of over 1,000 tracks, spanning hip-hop to rock and pop.
Once your tracks are complete, take advantage of BandLab’s Artist Services to release your music on worldwide services like Spotify, Apple Music and more. Plus, with Opportunities, you can connect with professional industry platforms to promote your music, get booked and have your music featured on radio and sync placements. Then, use Fan Reach to market your music and connect with your listeners.
This exclusive deal ends after Black Friday, and it’s the perfect chance to unlock the power and opportunities of a full annual BandLab subscription for an amazingly low price.
Claim the deal at BandLab.com
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Meet MultiWAVE, Make Noise’s new 8-channel wavetable oscillatorMake Noise has unveiled MultiWAVE, an 8-channel dual wavetable oscillator designed for the New Universal Synthesizer System (NUSS) or any Eurorack modular synth.
Make Noise Founder Tony Rolando describes MultiWAVE as “taking the internals of a polysynth and bringing them up to the panel”. At its core, MultiWAVE uses a single set of controls to generate audio waveforms across eight independent channel outputs.
Each channel houses two independent wavetable oscillators (A & B), each capable of loading its own wavetable with variable frequency, modulation, and wavetable position. Every wavetable contains 64 waves, and the module can store eight banks of eight wavetables.

READ MORE: Valhalla reverbs are some of the most revered in the business – after 8 years in development, FutureVerb delivers its “most transparent and realistic” yet

A MultiMod-driven LFO and individual modulation settings for each oscillator give each channel its own character. Combined with Spread and Modulation Dissemination options, users can have variable modulation timing and depth across all voices, letting each of the eight channels behave independently. With the detune knob cranked fully clockwise, MultiWAVE even behaves as a harmonic oscillator, giving you unusually playable additive-style timbres straight out of the box.

MultiWAVE includes an output header for creating pre-patched connections to the audio signal inputs of two QXG modules. When grouped up with PoliMATHS, it creates the 8-channel core of the New Universal Synthesizer System.
Notably, the module can also generate polyphonic activations from monophonic sequences, using Modulation Dissemination, Span modes, Spread, and Accumulate – allowing all eight channels to diverge and evolve simultaneously.
For musicians who want to further customise the identity of MultiWave, you may do so by loading your own WaveEdit-format wavetables. Any or all slots can be replaced with your own custom sets.
Priced at $529, MultiWAVE is available now for pre-order, with shipping to follow later this month and into December.

Learn more at Make Noise Music.
The post Meet MultiWAVE, Make Noise’s new 8-channel wavetable oscillator appeared first on MusicTech.

Beloved SF cat’s death fuels Waymo criticismThe death of a neighborhood bodega cat named Kit Kat has shaken San Francisco’s Mission District and prompted new debates about robotaxi safety.

Revealed Recordings Revealed Spire Dirty Dutch Leads Vol. 1Revealed Spire Dirty Dutch Leads Vol. 1 is a collection of 100 presets built around the authentic Dutch House sound that sparked a global wave of club music. Inside, you'll find the classic elements that defined the early era: sharp pitchbends, portamento slides, bleeps, percussive bloops, bouncy leads, and more. Each preset is equipped with modwheels and all four macros controls, giving you enhanced flexibility in shaping your sound. With Spire Dirty Dutch Leads Vol. 1, you get a suite of source sounds capturing the raw attitude and energy behind the early anthems that fueled the Golden Era. Reveal Yourself. Revealed Spire Dirty Dutch Leads Vol. 1 - Details LEAD [100]. 100 presets Core synthesizer patch mapping and programming All presets assigned intuitive modwheel parameters All presets assigned all four macro controls for easy tweaking and multiple sound variations. Preset format(s): .swzip (Full Bank) Note: Presets Require Full Retail Version of Spire 1.5.16 or later Approx. 14.7MB compressed .zip download. Read More

The Simplest Ultrasound Sensor Module, Minus the ModuleJust about every “getting started with microcontrollers” kit, Arduino or otherwise, includes an ultrasonic distance sensor module. Given the power of microcontrollers these days, it was only a matter of time before someone asked: “Could I do better without the module?” Well, [Martin Pittermann] asked, and his answer, at least with the Pi Pico, is a resounding “Yes”. A micro and a couple of transducers can offer a better view of the world.
The project isn’t really about removing the extra circuitry on the SR-HC0, since there really isn’t that much to start. [Martin] wanted to know just how far he could push ultrasound scanning technology using RADAR signal processing techniques. Instead of bat-like chirps, [Martin] is using something called Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave, which comes from RADAR and is exactly what it sounds like. The transmitter emits a continuous carrier wave with a varying frequency modulation, and the received wave is compared to see when it must have been sent. That gives you the time of flight, and the usual math gives you a distance.

The raw IQ signals translate into a range plot giving distances to everything in view.
Since he’s inspired by RADAR, it’s no surprise perhaps that [Martin]’s project reminds us of SDR, and the write-up gets right into the signal-processing code. Does it work better than a chirping module? Well, aside from using fewer parts, [Martin] can generate a full range plot for all objects in the arc of the sensor’s emissions out to 4 meters using just the Pico. [Martin] points out that it wouldn’t take much amplification to get a greater range. He’s not finished yet, though — the real goal here is to measure wind speed, which means he’s going to have to go full Doppler. We look forward to it.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Pico doing fun stuff at these frequencies, and Doppler RADAR is a thing hackers do, so why not ultrasound?

GRAMMY Nominations 2025: Best Dance Pop RecordingThe 2025 GRAMMY nominations are here and we're going to help you to untangle it all right up until the big event, continuing with the Best Dance Pop Recording category.

Take a listen to the nominated recordings below--who do you think will win?

See the full list of nominees in every category here.

Bluest FlameSelena Gomez & benny blancobenny blanco, Dylan Brady & Cashmere Cat, producers;benny blanco & Cashmere Cat, mixers

AbracadabraLady GagaCirkut, Lady Gaga & Andrew Watt, producers; Serban Ghenea, mixer

Midnight SunZara LarssonMargo XS & MNEK, producers; Tom Norris, mixer

Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)Tate McRaeTyler Spry & Ryan Tedder, producers; Manny Marroquin, mixer

IllegalPinkPantheressAksel Arvid & PinkPantheress, producers; Nickie Jon Pabon

Zara Larsson photo by Charlotte Rutherford

The post GRAMMY Nominations 2025: Best Dance Pop Recording first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.