“Not an instrument for the impatient and unforgiving”: Soma Laboratory’s Lyra-4 is a feral, affordable, drone monster£362 / $450 / €360, somasynths.com 
Who doesn’t love a good drone?
It’s incredible how much can be contained in the simple ringing-out of a few notes, or even just one. The exact timbre, gentle movement or how much dissonance there is between notes can communicate so much about the emotion, intention and style of a composition. Arguably, the company at the forefront of drone instruments is Soma Laboratory. You may have even spotted the company’s Lyra-8 in an Apple promo video a few years back.

READ MORE: These are the 10 best synthesizers of 2024, according to MusicTech’s reviewers

But niche, bespoke instruments like this can be pricey, with Lyra-8 clocking in at $800. Now, Soma has introduced a little sibling, Lyra-4 which, as you might have guessed, has half the voices, but also only costs $450.
Lyra-4 has four voices but, unlike your typical synthesizer, there’s no traditional keyboard. In fact, it’s not even pre-tuned to the Western equal temperament scale you’re probably accustomed to. Each voice is tuned manually using an unquantised knob, allowing you to explore microtonality and dissonance. But you can also just tune everything to octaves and fifths and play it safe, too.
The trick here is, of course, that you have to tune it yourself and it can be pretty fickle. If you plan to use Lyra-4 in combination with other melodic instruments, you’re gonna need a precise ear to ensure they’re in tune with each other. And even then, you’ll want to be aware that the oscillators on the Lyra can interact in unpredictable ways and have a tendency to drift. This is not an instrument for the impatient and unforgiving.
Our audio demos below should give you a strong idea of how gnarly this synth can get within a matter of seconds.

Taming the untamable
The raw sound of the oscillators is rich, but not in a way that might feel familiar. It has more in common with the unstable tones of early electronic music experiments than it does with the thick analogue titans we’re used to. Almost everything about this instrument feels like it was inspired more by the test equipment-equipped studios of the 50s and 60s, like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, rather than a Moog or a Buchla.
Most modern synth conventions are simply thrown out the window. There’s no ADSR envelope (only a fast and slow switch), no filter cutoff, and even familiar modules like the LFO are presented in near-inscrutable ways. There are countless opportunities for feedback loops and self-oscillation, and the entire sound design philosophy here is about exploring the unpredictable results of smashing two barely-contained analogue signals into each other. The Lyra series is Soma Laboratory fully embracing the ‘labs’ part of its name.
What elevates Lyra from a simple noise maker to a future classic space drone machine is how all the individual pieces come together. It’s the way the effects of the modulator decrease in FM mode as the envelope decays. It’s the way two voices rub against each other creating new harmonic (and inharmonic) tones due to the inability for them to be accurately in tune with each other. It’s the tortured howls you get from cranking the distortion and delay. And it’s the sci-fi sound effects you get from pitting the various modulation sources against each other.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
All of these parts are meant to be played, to be interactive. Lyra isn’t the sort of instrument where you dial in a patch, pick your modulation settings, set your delay levels and play a melody. The movement and musicality come as much from turning the knobs and flipping the switches as it does from triggering notes.
With multiple modulation sources, a brutal distortion circuit and lo-fi delay, Lyra-4 has an ample array of sound shaping processes built in. But if you want to try and tame some of its more barbed qualities, external effects are a must. On its own Lyra doesn’t really do gentle particularly well, but with some fully-wet reverb and creamy chorus you can create atmospheres that are destined for the next instalment in the Alien franchise.
Visceral hardware
The hardware is also an integral part of the Lyra-4 experience. For one, it is a substantial instrument that matches its heavyweight sound. It’s all metal, with sturdy knobs and switches that deliver a satisfying thunk when flipped. But just as important are the four sensors for triggering the voices. They consist of a pair of contacts and you have to physically close the circuit between them by touching them (or laying something conductive on top of them like a coin). Because you’re literally closing an electrical circuit, the way you touch those contacts, and even the moisture on your skin, impacts how the note sounds. This is the closest a synthesizer gets to recreating the interaction you get with a stringed instrument like a guitar or violin.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Add to this the fact that Lyra-4 is a noisy beast and you have one of the most visceral instruments available today. It crackles with life even when you’re not touching it. Lower voices bleed in when you trigger the higher-pitched ones. Soma Labs describes both Lyras as ‘organismic’ synthesizers, their design inspired by the nervous systems of living things. Inside is a chaotic network of interconnected parts that, on their own, might seem familiar to your average synth enthusiast, but the final product is something uncontrollable.
Sure, you can try to shepherd the Lyra-4 to where you want it, but ultimately it’s going to do what it wants to do. You can’t even use the CV input on the back to play specific notes, and instead, it simply replaces the LFO as a modulation source for your voices.
For some of you, this will sound like an absolute nightmare. Less like an instrument, and more like a failed assemblage of components that has aspirations to synthdom. Lyra undoubtedly won’t be for everyone, and if it’s not for you there’s no shame in that. For others, though, the allure will be undeniable.
Lyra-4 is feral and physical in a way that other synths can only dream of being. And, unlike its bigger sibling, it’s priced so that even drone fiends on a budget can indulge their wild side.

Key features

4 freely-tunable analogue oscillators
Organ and FM synthesis modes
Complex dual LFO
Hold / drone mode
Digital delay with modulation
Analogue distortion
Vibrato
2 CV inputs
Dimensions: 241 х 203 х 62 mm
Weight: 1.2 kg

The post “Not an instrument for the impatient and unforgiving”: Soma Laboratory’s Lyra-4 is a feral, affordable, drone monster appeared first on MusicTech.

How YouTube Works for MusicThis week, Ari is joined by George Karalexis & Donna Budica, the co-founders of TEN2 Media, to discuss YouTube growth and monetization.

Biden admin’s final rule banning Chinese connected cars also bars robotaxi testing on U.S. roadsThe U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.  “China is trying to dominate […]
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Ripple execs lash out at SEC’s refusal to postpone appeal filingAccording to Ripple’s chief legal officer, the SEC will continue with its appeal of a judgment in the civil case despite Chair Gary Gensler stepping down in six days.

Audio on a Shoestring: DIY Your Own Studio-Grade MicWhen it comes to DIY projects, nothing beats the thrill of crafting something that rivals expensive commercial products. In the microphone build video below, [Electronoobs] found himself inspired by DIY Perks earlier efforts. He took on the challenge of building a $20 high-quality microphone—a budget-friendly alternative to models priced at $500. The result: an engaging and educational journey that has it’s moments of triumph, it’s challenges, and of course, opportunities for improvement.
The core of the build lies in the JLI-2555 capsule, identical to those found in premium microphones. The process involves assembling a custom PCB for the amplifier, a selection of high-quality capacitors, and designing lightweight yet shielded wiring to minimize noise. [Electronoobs] also demonstrates the importance of a well-constructed metal mesh enclosure to eliminate interference, borrowing techniques like shaping mesh over a wooden template and insulating wires with ultra-thin enamel copper. While the final build does not quite reach the studio-quality level and looks of the referenced DIY Perks’ build, it is an impressive attempt to watch and learn from.
The project’s key challenge here would be achieving consistent audio quality. The microphone struggled with noise, low volume, and single-channel audio, until [Electronoobs] made smart modifications to the shielded wiring and amplification stages. Despite the hurdles, the build stands as an affordable alternative with significant potential for refinement in future iterations.

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Hackaday Europe 2025 Tickets on Sale, and CFP Extended Until FridayWe’re opening up shop for Hackaday Europe, so get your tickets now! We’ve managed to get the ticket price down a bit this year, so you can join in all the fun for $145. And if you’re reading this right now, snap up one of the $75 early bird tickets as fast as you can.
Hackaday Europe is going down again in Berlin this year, on March 15th and 16th at MotionLab. It’s going to be a day and a half of presentations, lightning talks, badge hacking, workshops, and more. This is where Hackaday hangs out in person, and it’s honestly just a great time – if your idea of a great time is trading favorite PCB design tricks, crafting crufty code, and generally trading tales of hardware derring-do.
In short, it’s the best of Hackaday, live and in person. Throughout the weekend, all the meals are catered, we’ve got live music at night, and the soldering irons will be warmed up for you. It’s going to be great!
If you’re in town on Friday the 14th, we’ll be meeting up in the evening to get together over some pre-event food and drink, sponsored by Crowd Supply. It’s a nice opportunity to break the ice, get to know the people you’re going to be spending the next 48 hours with, and just mingle without missing that great talk or wonderful workshop.
The Badge
The badge is a showpiece of SAOs – the simple add-ons that we were cheekily calling “Supercon Add Ons” a couple months ago. For Supercon, we just exposed the I2C busses and GPIOs, flashed Micropython on the thing, and let you go wild. For Europe, the badge is going to have re-vamped firmware, and the range of SAOs that we’re including in the bag has gone bonkers.
You see, we held this Supercon Add-On Contest, and the winners were insane. Plus, we’ve got the Supercon-issue touch wheel, LED spiral, and CH32V003 prototyping boards. Did we mention that the badge can flash them through the SAO port?

And we would be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to take the step into making your own SAO to bring and trade with others. An SAO doesn’t have to be complicated to be cool. Just a good idea, and some time spent designing a PCB, getting it fabricated, assembling it, programming it, maybe debugging it, perhaps making a jig and some tooling to help you with the short production run… OK, who are we kidding? It’s a low-stakes, lighthearted look at the full-stack of hardware creation. Pick a meme, or do something unique, and get a small batch made. The experience is worth even more than the smiles you’ll put on all of our faces.
CFP Extended
Procrastineers, rejoice! Today marks the official end of the call for proposals, but since we always do, we’re extending it a bit. If you’ve been thinking about giving a talk, and just never reached activation energy, it’s now or never! Draft up an abstract and get it in before the clock strikes metaphorical midnight on Friday.
Everyone Can Participate
But it’s not just speakers who can bring something to show off at Hackaday Europe 2025. We’ve got lightning talks going on Sunday morning after brunch and before the badge hack showcase. The whole event is an informal show-and-tell anyway, because people always bring whatever they’re working on, or have just finished, to demo to a like-minded crowd. And on that note, if you want to bring something that’s cool but takes up more space than a breadbox, let us know by sending an e-mail to editor@Hackaday.com with [Hackaday Europe] in the subject line. We’ll try to find space for you.
But to join in, you’ve got to be there. Get your tickets now and we’ll see you in Berlin!

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Vintage launch Retro Series amps Vintage have announced the launch of a new collection of modelling amps that recreate a range of sought-after classic sounds and include a set of built-in effects.

Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, MoreDiscover the highlights from the Chartmetric 2024 Report including new superstars, trigger cities, glocalization and more: One of several shockers: of the 11 million Spotify profiles tracked by Chartmetric, only 1.58 million (14%) have more than 10 listeners per month.
The post Chartmetric 2024 Report: new Superstars, Glocalization, More appeared first on Hypebot.

Junk Ticket Fee Protections: NITO Pushes FTC for Stronger RulesThe National Independent Talent Association (NITO) and its member booking agencies and managers and the thousands of artists they represent, has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand its ticket junk fee protections.
The post Junk Ticket Fee Protections: NITO Pushes FTC for Stronger Rules appeared first on Hypebot.

Side Door helped artists earned $1.7M at small venue gigsSide Door helps musicians and small venues connect, market and sell tickets. The number of shows it facilitates and the dollars earned don't make great headlines.
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Get IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Mastering Processor for $29
Until January 23rd, you can grab IK Multimedia’s T-RackS One exclusively on VSTBuzz for $29. This plugin regularly sells for $99, so this deal is a 70% discount. Months ago, we covered the VSTBuzz Closing Down Sale. However, the website was later re-launched with new owners and new deals. T-RackS One is designed to make [...]
View post: Get IK Multimedia’s T-RackS Mastering Processor for $29

“A collection of the greatest reverbs in recorded history”: Softube launches Dimensions reverb pluginSoftube has unveiled Dimensions, a new reverb plugin kitted out with six dynamic, adaptable reverb algorithms.
Dubbed a “transcendent tool for your sound”, Dimensions offers a variety of colours and sounds via six distinctive reverbs: Spring, Plate, Concert Hall, Room, Random Hall, and Cathedral. “From vibey and colourful mechanical reverbs, such as the Spring and Plate reverbs, to recreations of the most coveted reverb designs in music production, such as the ethereal Concert Hall and the famous Random Hall, with its beautiful spatialisation that glues together any source,” says Softube.

READ MORE: What to expect at NAMM 2025

Elsewhere, Dimensions features a Reverb Tail Visualiser, which, inspired by the Fairlight CMI sampler workstation and synth from 1979, and Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover, enables users to see exactly what’s happening with their reverb tails. There’s also a Shimmer Effect, which turns any of the six included reverbs into a shimmer reverb, and a comprehensive preset collection which aims to help producers get creative right away.

Each reverb mode can be easily tweaked within the plugin. Users can adjust the bass and treble, as well as the time and pre-delay. There’s also the ability to adjust wet/dry balance, or tweak how dark or bright it feels.
“When it comes to creating equipment that enhances workflow and offers supreme sound quality, our reputation is rock solid and illustriously long,” says Softube. “Our partnerships with premium brands like Tube-Tech, Solid State Logic, Chandler Limited, Weiss Engineering, and Trident have spanned decades.
“Dimensions was built on this legacy of creativity, passion, and obsession with details. Because to create tools that innovate and elevate, you have to have heart, soul, and Rock & Roll Science.”
Dimensions is available now, at an introductory price of €99, down from €149. For more information, head to Softube.
The post “A collection of the greatest reverbs in recorded history”: Softube launches Dimensions reverb plugin appeared first on MusicTech.

The Leverhulme Amplification Project: PhD Scholarships The Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts at the University of Huddersfield are currently inviting applications for 12 full scholarships for PhDs as part of the Amplification Project.