Scene: Lotus from Native Instruments The latest addition to Native Instruments’ Scene series delivers a range of Japanese-inspired soundscapes designed for cinematic compositions.

Did xAI lie about Grok 3’s benchmarks?Debates over AI benchmarks — and how they’re reported by AI labs — are spilling out into public view. This week, an OpenAI employee accused Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, of publishing misleading benchmark results for its latest AI model, Grok 3. One of the co-founders of xAI, Igor Babushkin, insisted that the company was […]
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Album Review of "Dragon Season... The Awakening" by Busta Rhymes (5/10)The Conglomerate/Hitmaker Music Producers: VariousThis 6-track EP by hip-hop veteran Busta Rhymes illustrates a contrast on how a legendary artist can deliver a project which is less than remarkable. Busta possesses the ability to produce impressive verses and timeless music, but this offering is hard to engage with. Production is average. And at approximately 18 minutes in length, I’m left questioning the value of The Awakening; and if it had the potential to be more than what it turned out to be. The post Album Review of "Dragon Season... The Awakening" by Busta Rhymes (5/10) first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

KiCad 9 Moves Up In The Pro LeagueDo you do PCB design for a living? Has KiCad been just a tiny bit insufficient for your lightning-fast board routing demands? We’ve just been graced with the KiCad 9 release (blog post, there’s a FOSDEM talk too), and it brings features of the rank you expect from a professional-level monthly-subscription PCB design suite.
Of course, KiCad 9 has delivered a ton of polish and features for all sorts of PCB design, so everyone will have some fun new additions to work with – but if you live and breathe PCB track routing, this release is especially for you.

One of the most flashy features is multichannel design – essentially, if you have multiple identical blocks on your PCB, say, audio amplifiers, you can now route it once and then replicate the routing in all other blocks; a stepping stone for design blocks, no doubt.
Other than that, there’s a heap of additions – assigning net rules in the schematic, dragging multiple tracks at once, selectively removing soldermask from tracks and tenting from vias, a zone fill manager, in/decrementing numbers in schematic signal names with mousewheel scroll, alternate function display toggle on symbol pins, improved layer selection for layer switches during routing, creepage and acute angle DRC, DRC marker visual improvements, editing pad and via stacks, improved third-party imports (specifically, Eagle and Altium schematics), and a heap of other similar pro-level features big and small.
Regular hackers get a load of improvements to enjoy, too. Ever wanted to add a table into your schematic? Now that’s doable out of the box. How about storing your fonts, 3D models, or datasheets directly inside your KiCad files? This, too, is now possible in KiCad. The promised Python API for the board editor is here, output job templates are here (think company-wide standardized export settings), there’s significantly more options for tweaking your 3D exports, dogbone editor for inner contour milling, big improvements to footprint positioning and moving, improvements to the command line interface (picture rendering in mainline!), and support for even more 3D export standards, including STL. Oh, add to that, export of silkscreen and soldermask into 3D models – finally!
Apart from that, there’s, of course, a ton of bugfixes and small features, ~1500 new symbols, ~750 footprints, and, documentation has been upgraded to match and beyond. KiCad 10 already has big plans, too – mostly engine and infrastructure improvements, making KiCad faster, smarter, and future-proof, becoming even more of impressive software suite and a mainstay on an average hacker’s machine.
For example, KiCad 10 will bring delay matching, Git schematic and PCB integrations, PNG plot exports, improved diffpair routers, autorouter previews, design import wizard, DRC and length calculation code refactoring, part height support, and a few dozen other things!
We love that KiCad updates yearly now. Every FOSDEM, we get an influx of cool new features into the stable KiCad tree. We’re also pretty glad about the ongoing consistent funding they get – may they get even more, in fact. We’ve been consistently seeing hackers stop paying for proprietary PCB software suites and switching to KiCad, and hopefully some of them have redirected that money into a donation towards their new favorite PCB design tool.
Join the pro club, switch to the new now-stable KiCad 9! If you really enjoy it and benefit from it, donate, or even get some KiCad merch. Want to learn more about the new features? Check out the release blog post (many cool animations and videos there!), or the running thread on KiCad forums describing the new features&fixes in length, maybe if you’re up for video format, check out the KiCad 9 release talk recording (29m48s) from this year’s FOSDEM, it’s worth a watch.

Klamper Audio EQ 4KUnlock the power of superior audio customization with the EQ 4K, a professional audio processing plugin designed for audiophiles, sound engineers, and music producers. This intuitive and highly... Read More

Measure of Music conference free online thru SundayIt's not too late to join the free Measure Of Music online conference and hackathon happening thru Sunday 2.23.25. With an emphasis on music data, the three day virtual event includes something for musicians and music industry professionals at all stages of their career.
The post Measure of Music conference free online thru Sunday appeared first on Hypebot.

DIY and Independent Musician News Last WeekThis week, our tips, advice and independent musician news last week covered how to start a band, where to go to network this year, and more...
The post DIY and Independent Musician News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

I Wrote This Because People Are Still Dying.Attune's Matt Thomas calls for the industry to wake up over the threat to artists from mental health and addiction
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Universal Audio UA 1176 plug-in currently free Universal Audio are running a limited-time offer that gives users the chance to claim a free license for UA 1176 Compressor, a special native version of their hugely popular emulation plug-in.

Signing Stories: Deep Sea DiverDate Signed: September 2024Label: Sub Pop RecordsType of Music: Indie RockBand Members: Jessica Dobson, Peter Mansen, Elliot JacksonManagement: Red Light ManagementPublicity: Frank Nieto - frankn@subpop.comWeb: thisisdeepseadiver.comSeattle-based rock band Deep Sea Diver, led by guitarist and vocalist Jessica Dobson, is celebrating their stronger support from their new home at the legendary Sub Pop Records. With the backing of the label, Dobson most looks forward to the extra care and assistance that she will have access to, something foreign coming from her hustling DIY nature."In the beginning, I have been close to the process and it can be painful at times," Dobson shares. "Hearing crickets from the time you send your record in. 'Is it in the void?' 'Do people not like it?' This time around, it was pretty quick that we got responses and Sub Pop was one of the first that said, 'We believe this. Let's keep talking.'""With self-released albums on an independent label, we know what goes into promoting an album, keeping it on the radar... there are moving parts," says Dobson. Dobson has logged time as a touring member for Beck and The Shins and has performed with numerous other acts, including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spoon, Dinosaur Jr. and more. In addition to headline touring, they've supported Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, and most recently, playing to the largest audiences of their career, supporting Pearl Jam."It's quite a gift for us to have landed on a label that we have respected for years," says Dobson. "We went with SubPop because they were on board and loved what we were doing already. That's what we'd hope for when signing to a label is that they love you already. You're not having to work backwards." As for connecting with fans and labels alike, Dobson advises, "You cannot force an audience to love what you do. You can just make the best [album] you can, and the people will decide." Deep Sea Diver recently shared a video for “Let Me Go,” a collaboration with Madison Cunningham. Their fourth album Billboard Heart is out now. Check the group on their tour, which kicks off and finishes up with hometown shows in Washington.  – Joseph MalteseThe post Signing Stories: Deep Sea Diver first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Brian Armstrong says Coinbase spent $50M fighting SEC lawsuit – and beat itCoinbase on Friday said the SEC has agreed to drop the lawsuit against the company with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again.  The move, which is still subject to the approval of the SEC’s Commissioners, is yet another signal that the Trump administration plans to be more friendly to crypto than the SEC was […]
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Reviewing a Very Dodgy BSK-602 Adjustable Power SupplyThere’s no shortage of cheap & cheerful power supplies which you can obtain from a range of online retailers, but with no listed certification worth anything on them calling them ‘dodgy’ is more of a compliment. On the [DiodeGoneWild] YouTube channel an adjustable power supply by the model name BSK-602 is tested and torn down to see exactly what less than $5 off sites like Alibaba will get you.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, voltage regulation is very unstable with massive drifting when left to heat up for a few hours, even though it does hit the 3 V to 24 V DC and 3 A output that it’s optimistically rated for. After popping open the adapter, a very basic switching mode power supply is revealed with an abysmal component selection and zero regard for safety or primary and secondary side isolation. With the case open, the thermal camera reveals that the secondary side heats up to well over 150 °C, explaining why the case was deforming and the sticker peeling off after a few hours of testing.
The circuit itself is based around a (possibly legit) UC3843RN 500 kHz current mode PWM controller, with the full schematic explained in the video. Highlights include the lack of inrush protection, no EMI filtering, a terrible & temperature-dependent voltage reference, not to mention poor component selection and implementation. Basically it’s an excellent SMPS if you want to blast EMI, fry connected electronics and conceivably burn down your home.

UC3843-based BSK-602 circuit schematic in all its dodgy glory. (Credit: Diode Gone Wild, YouTube)

From Ole Obermann leaving TikTok to Daniel Ek’s $666m… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest stories from the past week – all in one place…
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Somerville Sounds Rubber Bridge PlucksOn a whim, spurred by a YouTube binge, Jon Meyer decided to transform a parlor acoustic guitar. He replaced the bridge with rubber, strung it with flat wound strings, and added the cheapest electronics... Read More

Skeuomorphism: What it is and why it matters in music
Learn about what skeuomorphism is, how skeuomorphic design is applied in audio plugins, and why it still matters in 2025 and beyond.