KV331 Audio’s new SynthMaster 3 Player is made for those who prefer tweaking presets over designing sounds from scratchKV331 Audio has launched a stripped-down version of its flagship modular software synth, SynthMaster 3.
This simplified rendition, SynthMaster 3 Player, is tailored towards users who prefer tweaking existing presets over designing sounds from scratch. It comes with all the factory presets of SynthMaster One, SynthMaster 2, and SynthMaster 3, and there’s a free version of the new Player available too.

READ MORE: Cherry Audio releases Korg-inspired Trident Mk III synth plugin

SynthMaster 3 Player lets users edit layer voice, zone, fx, arpeggiator and sequencer parameters, and load presets into new layers to create multi-layer patches or drum kits. It comes with 4,450 factory presets created by a team of sound designers including Arksun, Aiyn Zahev, Bluffmunkey, Brian Transeau, BigTone, Cipryan Bot, Davide Puxeddu, Demis Hellen, Electronisounds, and many more.
The Player also provides two different types of views to edit layer parameters: Track View, which is used for editing keyboard zones, velocity zones, voicing, unison, arpeggiator and sequencer parameters of multiple layers, and Mix View, used for editing insert FX and FX send parameters of multiple layers.

Each layer in SynthMaster 3 Player has a separate arpeggiator and sequencer, as well as its own MIDI output channel so that users can route the MIDI generated by the Arpeggiator / Sequencer to different tracks in their DAW. An intuitive preset browser also offers advanced search features, so you can filter presets by Product, Author, Bank, Instrument Type, Attributes, Styles, Preset name, Release Date or your favourites.
The free version of SynthMaster 3 Player comes with 500 presets curated from SynthMaster One, SynthMaster 2, and SynthMaster 3 factory libraries. The standard version is available now for an introductory price of $29 until 31 October (rising to $49), but if you already own a licence for SynthMaster One, 2, or SynthMaster Player, you can get it for a reduced fee.
To find out more or purchase a licence now, head over to the KV331 Audio website.
The post KV331 Audio’s new SynthMaster 3 Player is made for those who prefer tweaking presets over designing sounds from scratch appeared first on MusicTech.

Musicians, Get Ready For Spotify 2025 Wrapped: Here’s HowWith the release of Spotify 2025 Wrapped just weeks away, the countdown is on for every musician to be part of this rare global cultural moment. Fortunately, Spotify makes it easy with a guide to help musicians get ready for Spotify Wrapped.
The post Musicians, Get Ready For Spotify 2025 Wrapped: Here’s How appeared first on Hypebot.

Women’s Audio Mission Announces WAMCon 2025 (Discount Code!)Women’s Audio Mission is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing women and gender-expansive individuals in music production and the recording arts.
The post Women’s Audio Mission Announces WAMCon 2025 (Discount Code!) appeared first on Hypebot.

Steinberg hardware products are being re-branded as Yamaha and will “receive a dedicated focus”Steinberg has announced that its hardware products are to be re-branded as Yamaha, as part of a restructuring of both companies’ product development systems.
The first hardware products jointly developed by Yamaha and Steinberg were launched in 2008 – notably the MR816 audio interfaces and CC121 Cubase controller – and as a result, a range of Steinberg-branded audio interfaces and controllers have since been manufactured by Yamaha. Now, with this hardware product re-brand, the companies aim to provide users with a “refined, integrated product experience” that brings software and hardware under one roof.

READ MORE: Steinberg’s new SpectraLayers 12 has “a strong focus on the needs of the post-production industry”

In recent years, Steinberg’s UR, UR-C and UR-RT series have provided audio interfaces that range from compact versions aimed at mobile production, to multi-channel studio versions with digital I/O. With the launch of the IXO series in 2024, Steinberg-branded hardware took ultra-portable audio interfaces to a new level, marking a suitable milestone from which Yamaha can take the development and sales of hardware products forward.
With that said, Steinberg will now be focusing exclusively on software development and sales. The new structure will allow both companies to focus on their respective expertise, while continuing to work closely together as group businesses, according to a press release shared with MusicTech.
As part of the transition, the Steinberg-branded IXO12, IXO22, UR22C, and UR44C audio interfaces will be reintroduced under the Yamaha brand as the UR12MK3, UR22MK3, URX22C, and URX44C respectively. Other Steinberg-branded audio interfaces will gradually be phased out.
“This transition is a very positive evolution for the product line. By moving our range of audio interfaces to Yamaha, we are ensuring that they receive a dedicated focus and allow both companies to play to their core strengths,” says Clyde Sendke, managing director at Steinberg.
“It will also ensure there is greater clarity for both our customers and the industry, regarding the respective product lines. Steinberg’s reputation for groundbreaking audio software is second to none and it makes absolute sense for this to be given our exclusive attention.”
Yamaha and Steinberg will both continue to provide product support for the foreseeable future. Find out more about Steinberg and Yamaha via their respective websites.
The post Steinberg hardware products are being re-branded as Yamaha and will “receive a dedicated focus” appeared first on MusicTech.

TC Electronic M100 returns TC Electronics' M100 multi-effects unit is back, and this time around, it comes equipped with MIDI connectivity.

Harrison to launch D510ua interface card With its latest expansion card fitted, Harrison's D510r can function as a USB audio interface with up to 10 analogue inputs, 14 analogue outputs and 16 channels of bi-directional ADAT I/O.

NoiseWorks offers TranSplit transient shaper for FREE for a Limited Time
NoiseWorks Audio is once again giving away TranSplit, its innovative transient and body balancing plugin, completely free for a limited time. The plugin normally costs €49, but you can grab it right now at no charge from the NoiseWorks website. If you’ve missed it the first time around (it was briefly free back in June 2023), [...]
View post: NoiseWorks offers TranSplit transient shaper for FREE for a Limited Time

The Waterboys Shimmer at The BellwetherMike Scott, main man with British/Irish folky rockers The Waterboys, may be one of the most underrated songwriters on the planet. Like a Scottish Marshall Crenshaw, he's had a couple of hits but he's kinda criminally known for them by the wider world, when in fact his entire body of work deserves serious attention. He should be studied, and perhaps one day he will be.

At the Bellwether, Scott and his band were incredible. Essentially, they performed a handful of crowd faves, then the recent Life, Death and Dennis Hopper album in its entirety, then more classics.

Scott has surrounded himself with wonderful musicians, with the one American in the band -- Memphis keys man Brother Paul Brown -- the wild performer in the ranks. His keytar, which Scott refers to as the "white thing," is both glorious and hilarious.

Within the first batch of songs, we got the gorgeous "Glastonbury Song," as well as the "woo-hoo-hoo" sing-along of "Fisherman Blues" (the band's best song, in our opinion).

The Life, Death and Dennis Hopper portion of the set started with a video of country icon Steve Earle singing the Scott/Earle co-written "Kansas." From there, the live rendition of the album took us on quite the journey, Scott the narrator. He clearly adores visionaries, of which Hopper is definitely one. Earle too.

"Hopper's On Top (Genius)" is a celebration of that, and by the time the album ended with the beautiful and dramatic "The Passing of Hopper," we felt like we knew the legendary actor a little better. Or at least, a little deeper.

For the final portion of the set, we were back to Scott's arsenal. "Don't Bang the Drum," "Spirit," and "The Pan Within" are all from 1985's classic The is the Sea album, and they were given new life here.

Naturally, The Waterboys pulled out "The Whole of the Moon" as an encore, before finishing with a cover of Prince's "Purple Rain" (there's Scott's love of visionaries again).

Underrated Scott may be. But not by the crowd that gathered at The Bellwether on a Friday night.

Edit this setlist | More The Waterboys setlists
The post The Waterboys Shimmer at The Bellwether first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Ethereum Foundation announces 'Privacy Cluster' teamThe team of 47 professionals from the blockchain industry will help research and develop privacy features for the Ethereum layer-1 network.

Honoring the Legacy of Robert Murray-SmithWe at Hackaday are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Robert Murray-Smith. The prolific experimenter had spent over a decade on YouTube, creating more than 2,500 videos where he gleefully demonstrated his seemingly endless collection of homemade contraptions. At least eighteen of which ended up on the pages of Hackaday since we first crossed paths with him back in 2013.
Like many of you, we were also shocked to find that Robert made the decision to end his own life. As cliché as it might sound, he simply didn’t seem like the type. His demeanor was always boisterous in his videos, exhibiting an almost child-like joy as showed off his latest creation with a laugh and smile.
But as explained by his brother Dave in the brief announcement video posted yesterday, his outward appearance was a well-rehearsed mask that covered a deepening depression. Regular viewers of Robert’s videos knew he lost his wife, as he shared a memorial video for her in April of 2024. What he was less open about with his viewers was his own health, which it turns out had been rapidly declining for the last few months.
We now know that simply getting up and walking around had become painful for Robert, a fact obscured by the fact that most of his videos saw him seated at his workbench or in the back garden. That he was able to continue making so many videos at all speaks not only to his passion for technology and engineering, but the great love he had for the community that he’d built.
From the video we also learned that Robert found it very difficult to discuss his declining mental and physical health with friends and family. For men of his generation, the “strong and silent type” was often the ideal. Given all that he was going through, nobody could fault him for experiencing a sense of hopelessness, and yet his brother explains that Robert would never admit to the difficulties he was facing. Whenever pushed to talk about his feelings, he’d respond with that phrase which we’ve all heard (and maybe used once or twice) — “I’m fine.”
Because of this, Robert’s family has partnered with the suicide prevention charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) to try and raise awareness about men’s mental health. They ask that anyone who wishes to honor Robert make a donation to CALM, in the hopes that they can help others who may find themselves in a similar situation.
It’s no great secret that many in the hacker and maker communities face their own daily struggles. Whether its from being neurodivergent, or the inability to fit in with mainstream society. Several of the staff here at Hackaday are from marginalized groups, and even among those who aren’t, let’s just say we have it on good authority that most of them didn’t get to sit with the “cool kids” back in high school. We also know that, just like Robert, many in the community find it difficult to communicate with others about how this impacts their mental health.
The lasting legacy of Robert Murray-Smith will of course be his incredible body of work, which will continue to inspire millions of viewers. But we can also honor him by making sure that we’re looking out for the well-being of friends, family, and even ourselves. There are resources available, and there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it.

OpenAI’s Nick Turley on transforming ChatGPT into an operating systemIn an interview, OpenAI's Head of ChatGPT discusses the company's push into developing an AI operating system full of third-party apps.

zazz RumbleVST plugin for enhancing transient sounds. The plugin captures the initial portion of a transient (with detection controlled via the Trigger section), time-stretches the snippet (with adjustable pitch), and layers it with the original transient. Similar to https://www.kvraudio.com/product/transient-enhancer-by-zazz. Transient can be only pitched down, but plugin does not introduce any latency. Read More

Iconoclast partners with Vermillio to monitor use of Tony Bennett’s name, image, voice and likeness on gen-AI systemsThe collaboration will use Vermillio's TraceID technology to scan the internet and AI models for unlicensed uses of Bennett's likeness.
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Traktor MX2: Native Instruments’ New 2-Channel ControllerNative Instruments has introduced the Traktor MX2, a next-generation 2-channel DJ controller aimed at DJs of all levels. This is the first Traktor controller that we’ve seen in years – the renewed Z1 and X1 being the most recent. The aesthetic of the Traktor MX2 (fairwell, “Kontrol”?) matches those releases design language. This new controller […]
The post Traktor MX2: Native Instruments’ New 2-Channel Controller appeared first on DJ TechTools.

In The Trenches with Bahar Tas of world music venue Drom NYCAn experienced marketer, Bhar Tas began working at the Drom NYC as a volunteer. For the last 18 months she's served as the Marketing Manager at this seminal New York world music venue.
The post In The Trenches with Bahar Tas of world music venue Drom NYC appeared first on Hypebot.