Soundtoys Little Plate reverb plugin is FREE for a limited timeSoundtoys is giving away its Little Plate reverb plugin for free until 1 December 2023.

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Soundtoys’ Little Plate is a reverb plugin known for its emulation of classic plate reverbs. It features a user-friendly interface, a warm decay, modulation controls for adding movement, and a mix knob for balancing wet and dry signals. This plugin is regarded highly by producers for its simplicity and vintage reverb character, making it a popular choice for enhancing vocals, instruments, and mixes with a classic plate reverb sound.
The brand has now decided to offer the Little Plate reverb plugin, which usually costs around $80, for free. This offer runs until 1 December 2023 and is available via Soundtoys.

“After the release of SuperPlate earlier this year, we thought it the perfect time to give everyone a chance to experience the original (and still awesome) Little Plate plug-in. It’s an amazing-sounding reverb that’s become a staple of many pro users. We’re constantly hearing how much people love the EMT 140 sound, modelled on the plates in our collection,” said Soundtoys’ CEO and lead designer Ken Bogdanowicz.
“SuperPlate dives much deeper into the world of analogue plates with five different plate reverb models and with much greater creative control over the reverb sounds.”
If you’re an avid user of plugins, you’ll no doubt be aware of Soundtoys’ widely-used catalogue of software, which includes the likes of EchoBoy, popular for its versatile echo and delay effects, and Decapitator, offering lush analogue saturation.
Soundtoys also allows you to shape your sound using FilterFreak’s filter and modulation controls. The brand’s own Little Radiator effect is useful too for adding a little ’60s-esque tube heat to bass and synths.
Little Plate is not the only reverb offered by Soundtoys. It released the SuperPlate in August, and in our review of it, we wrote, “a wonderful sound, concise and easy to use GUI, and a few neat tricks up its sleeves”.
Head to Soundtoys to find out more.
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INCIRIOS Solo Woodwinds Experience the genuine tones of our Solo Woodwind library. This collection includes four distinct woodwind instruments, recorded in Sofia, Bulgaria. The spacious hall's acoustics contribute... Read More

How artist subscriptions and two-tier payouts are perfect together [Mark Mulligan, MIDiA]Two-tier payouts is coming to music streaming and along with it concerns about how it will affect long-tail artists. Mark Mulligan suggests ways in which Spotify and other DSPs can. Continue reading
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How indie artists can tap into the Brazilian music marketBrazil is full of unique venues, enthusiastic fans, and a wide variety of music tastes, perfect for any indie artist looking to expand their horizons. by ERIKA PARR of DIY. Continue reading
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What are sped-up songs and why are they so popular?This week’s Hypebot Flashback Friday resurfaces a post that goes deeper into one of the main culprits described in this week’s article on how 1 million modified tracks on streamers. Continue reading
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Sonicware’s Lofi-12 XT exceeds $100k in Kickstarter campaign fundingSonicware has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Lofi-12 XT, an advanced model of its lo-fi groovebox sampler that was originally launched in 2022.

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The Kickstarter has already amassed a whopping $101,000 in funding, exceeding its original target of around $33,000.
Sonicware’s Lofi-12 XT aims to let you “turn everything into lo-fi”. It retains the signature retro appeal of the original, offering 12kHz/24kHz sampling with a unique 12-bit sampler mode reminiscent of classic samplers from the 1980s. It extends the sampling time per sample to 300 seconds and accommodates up to 256 samples per project.

The sampler comes equipped with an 8-track sequencer, facilitating both unquantized and step recording, allowing users to create tracks and beats in real-time. Dynamic parameter recording is made easier with parameter locking, too.
There are eight effects available per track – delay, reverb, and a master compressor with side-chain capabilities. It comes with an SD card preloaded with over 1,000 samples from legendary drum machines. A unique feature of the Lofi-12 XT is its mix-tape recording functionality, which lets you capture performances continuously in the background, and accommodate various recording qualities.
With versatile connectivity options, the Lofi-12 XT can import and export audio files via USB or SD card, connect to a range of audio sources, and integrate seamlessly with DAWs and other devices.
MusicTech reviewed Sonicware’s Liven Bass&Beats, a drum and bassline synth, in 2022. Sadly, unlike other Sonicware products, it didn’t live up to our expectations, achieving a score of just four out of ten.
In the review, we wrote that the Bass&Beats “feels like a toy”, going on to write, “This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially given its affordable price. But there’s a fine line between good value and just plain cheap, and the Bass&Beats is teetering on the edge of it. You can make music with it, sure. But it’s not the sort of hands-on organic experience that can make DAWless production such fun.
“If anything, the arcane modus operandi, small screen and functional idiosyncrasies only serve as a reminder as to why the music-making world embraced computer-based music production in the first place.”
We’re hoping for better results from Sonicware’s Lofi-12 XT, which you can find out more about at Sonicware.
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Audio Developer Conference 2023 returns from 13-15 November in LondonADC23: The annual Audio Developer Conference is back this year with an extensive program of 65 talks, keynotes, panels, and workshops dedicated to audio development technologies including encompassing music applications, gaming, audio processing, and embedded systems.

READ MORE: PC Music’s Pop Crypt at London’s HERE was an unforgettable spectacle – a fantastic farewell from the hyperpop label

The event will take place in London between 13-15 November, in a hybrid in-person and virtual format. Topics of discussion range from audio research, to professional practices, to standards in audio development, as well talks about application areas and career development.
Attendees, onsite or online, will have the opportunity to acquire new skills and engage with industry leaders, including representatives from major companies like Focusrite, Avid, Native Instruments, GPU Audio, Audiotonix, L’Acoustics, and others.
Online tickets (which start at £49 or $60) will grant you access to the complete online conference, including workshops, all talks, the conference Discord server, and the virtual exhibition room. In-person sessions will be broadcast live to online attendees and online sessions will be broadcast into the venue.
Some of the upcoming programmes include:

Commercialization of Audio Technology by Josh Reiss
From NIME to NISE: Rethinking the Design and Evaluation of Music Interfaces by Anna Xambó Sedó
Practical DSP & Audio Programming Workshop by Dynamic Cast
An Introduction to Inclusive Design of Audio Products Workshop moderated by Jay Pocknell
Exploring New Opportunities in Audio Software Development Round Table moderated by Andrew Scheps

The talks were curated from the ADC Call for Papers and anonymously voted on by the audio developer community. You can visit the ADC 2023 website to view the full program schedule.
This year, organisers have also created a virtual conference hall through the Gather platform to foster networking among online attendees. Virtual participants can use the avatars they create to connect with other guests and explore talks and the like.

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VSTBuzz Offers FREE The LO.VE. Piano For Kontakt Player
VSTBuzz offers The LO.VE. Piano, a FREE piano sample library for Kontakt Player. Despite the many excellent piano libraries available, I’m always happy for more, especially if it’s compatible with the free Kontakt Player. The LO.VE. Piano (LOw VElocity Performance) is one such library, and it’s now available to download for free (previously $29). One [...]
View post: VSTBuzz Offers FREE The LO.VE. Piano For Kontakt Player

Jocavi’s Soundspace Pro Modular Rooms Jocavi's Soundspace Pro is a prefabricated modular room system that incorporate the company's renowned acoustic treatment solutions and offers a significant amount of isolation.

Live Nation has already sold 140m tickets to its shows this year – 19m more than in the whole of 2022Concert promoter posted revenues of $8.2bn across all of its divisions in Q3, up 32% YoY
Source

FabFilter’s new Pro-R 2 reverb boasts Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 support and IR import capabilityDutch brand FabFilter has announced the Pro-R 2, a new and improved version of its acclaimed reverb plug-in Pro-R. The latest iteration introduces a host of modern features, including multichannel compatibility, two brand-new reverb algorithms, IR import and replication, ducking and gating functions, analogue-style saturation, and more.

READ MORE: Cubase 13 lets you produce “more naturally, intuitively, and conveniently”

First of many exciting developments is the addition of Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 support. “Pro-R 2 configures itself for multichannel formats automatically whenever it is added to a surround channel, and individual Decay Rate and Post EQ bands can be applied to any combination of channels using the new Speakers panel,” says the brand.
There’s also a new Surround Settings panel that allows you to balance the relative levels of every reverb parameter.
The Pro-R 2 expands on the clean, natural sound of Pro-R with two new reverb algorithms that bring a variety of retro flavours to mixes. ‘Vintage’ is inspired by classic digital reverb units of the ’80s and ’90s, and is the go-to for long, bright hyper-real spatial ambiences, while ‘Plate’ replicates the sound and character of vintage plate reverb.
Fanfilter has also included a Ducking control for users to separate their dry and wet signals. With the Pro-R 2, you can dial in density and saturation with the Thickness knob; get your Phil Collins on with the tempo-syncable Auto Gate; and capture and hold the tail indefinitely with a click of the Freeze button.
Other useful features include the ability to import impulse responses (IR) and have them automatically recreated as algorithmic setups, as well as a new preset browser with tags, favourites, search and filter functions, and a new library.
FabFilter Pro-R 2 is now available at $169/ £144, supporting both Windows and macOS in VST and VST 3, Audio Units, AAX, and AudioSuite plug-in formats.

Learn more at Fabfilter.
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Introducing Beatport Studio, a new cost-effective subscription model for plugins and samplesBeatport has launched Beatport Studio, a brand-new platform which combines Loopcloud, Loopmasters and Plugin Boutique into a singular subscription model.
Structured around a more cost-effective model – as opposed to buying the same number of plugins outright, for example – the new platform gives producers access to thousands of plugins and even more samples in one central hub.

READ MORE: Deadmau5-backed Pixelynx launches BeatKOR AI music collection in partnership with Beatport

Subscribers have access to 10 plugins per month – from the likes of developers like Baby Audio, Excite Audio and more – and can rotate their selection every month. As Beatport explains, if a user finds they’re not using certain plugins, they can deselect them using the Beatport Access app and select a new plugin to try for the following month.
Additionally, Beatport Studio subscribers get access to hundreds of thousands of samples and sounds via the ever-expanding Loopcloud Sounds plugin. Browsing takes place directly within your DAW, and loops are automatically synced to your project’s tempo.
To sweeten the deal, Cubase LE and Bitwig Studio 8-Track are included as part of the subscription price of Beatport Studio.

Robb McDaniels, Beatport CEO, says: “Beatport Studio marks a significant milestone in our commitment to empowering music producers worldwide. We’ve harnessed the collective creative strength of Beatport’s Producer Group to deliver an integrated production marketplace that reflects our dedication to innovation and flexibility to ensure our users are at the forefront of shaping the sonic landscape.”
“It’s an exciting time for music producers,” adds Gareth Halsall, VP of Beatport’s Producer Group. “We’re proud to bring a new dimension to the industry by combining flexibility and choice, ultimately enriching the creative experience for our users. Beatport Studio is more than a membership; it’s a gateway to a vast world of sound, right at your fingertips.”
Price-wise, a Beatport subscription – which includes 10 plugins and 100 sounds per month – costs £11.99/$11.99 monthly, or £119.99/$119.99 annually.
For more info, head to Beatport.
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Universal Audio’s compact UAFX pedal review Check out our review of the new 1176 Studio Compressor, Orion Tape Echo, Heavenly Plate Reverb and Evermore Studio Reverb UAFX pedals.

“It might have been easier if I used AI, but I didn’t”: How Giles Martin created the backing vocals for The Beatles’ Now and ThenGiles Martin has opened up about the production process behind one of the most highly anticipated songs of the year, Now and Then, by the Beatles.

READ MORE: Rick Rubin: “What’s missing today is what SoundCloud used to be”

Released on Thursday (2 November), the song — touted as the fab four’s “last” – features sonic contributions from all four Beatles: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Before the song’s release, talks about the alleged involvement of AI in the track’s making had caused a stir among fans. In a new interview with Variety, Martin clarifies that AI software was only used to extract and clean up Lennon’s vocals on the demo track, with the bulk of the song being recorded or spliced together from the Beatles catalogue.
Of the song’s backing vocals in particular, Martin says: “No, it’s not artificial or intelligent. No, it’s the same process that I used, as you say so rightly, in Love.”
“And Paul was nervous about this, actually… My thought was this: that I really thought this needs to sound like the Beatles. And I have Paul, and he’s definitely the producer of this track, and I’m producing it with him.”
He adds, “The band would have probably sang “ahhhhs” in those things, but they’re not around anymore. So I’m not using AI to recreate their voices in any way. I’m literally taking the multitrack tapes of Eleanor Rigby, some stuff from Because and Here, There, and Everywhere, just in the same way the Beatles are splicing that in.”
“So, no AI, no. It might have been easier if I used AI, but I didn’t,” Martin continues. “And it’s funny, because it gives a different quality. I was listening to the song today, and the backing vocals have a sort of tape feel to them, like they’re on tape.”
“They feel like they’re from the Beatles, and they are from the Beatles. I think if they were from some machine learning program, they wouldn’t sound right.”

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Max MSP Beginners Guide: Presentation Mode and presets for your synthesizerIf you haven’t caught up on the previous four tutorials where we go through the basic tools needed to use Max MSP, how to build an input/output and oscillator, how to build an envelope system, and a filter system, you can do that ahead of this tutorial.
In this guide, you’ll add the finishing touches to your synth by creating a GUI (Graphic User Interface) and a bank of presets.
First, open up your patch from the last tutorial and ensure that the page is setup correctly before we start patching. Unfortunately, these do not save, and need to be reset each time you open up Max MSP. You can refer back to Part 1 of this tutorial series if you need any guidance.
Presentation Mode
Now you’ve built the synthesizer, you might want it to look like an actual synthesiser rather than just a circuit board.
To do so, you’ll access Max MSP’s Presentation Mode, which can be found at the bottom left of the screen, next to the lock icon.
When you click that, your patch will disappear. But, don’t worry! Your work hasn’t been deleted, it’s just hidden.
Presentation Mode allows you to select what objects you want to see and what objects you want to hide so that you can make your synthesiser look more aesthetically pleasing.
To get elements of the main patcher on to the presentation mode, left-click on all the things you want to put in your final synth; whether that be objects, messages, and/or comments. You then need to select ‘add to presentation’. After they’ve been added to presentation mode, they’ll have a red border.
Once all the elements have been selected, click back into Presentation Mode, and feel free to move everything around until it resembles a synthesiser.
However, rest assured that no matter what you move while in Presentation Mode, it will remain in place in Patching Mode. You will also find more use for the comment boxes that were used throughout the tutorials, as they can turn into labels for your final patch.
Using the inspector sidebar, you can also change the colours of objects, messages and comments to make it look however you like. There are also other customisation options within the inspector, such as the shape of bangs, the length of the Kslider, and many many more.
We recommend using an object named ‘Panel’, which you can use as a background to your synth and create different boxes for different elements to your patch.
At this point you have complete create freedom, so feel free to mess around.
For inspiration, here is our finished synthesiser in Presentation Mode:
Finished synthesizer in Presentation Mode
Presets
The synthesizer has now been complete both in terms of the patching it’s final look. Now, we recommend creating presets of the entire synthesiser, as well as a reset button.
This step is entirely optional, but it gives you the chance to transform the synth at the click of a button, rather that setting it manually.
To do so is fairly straightforward and involves the object ‘Preset’. It’s best to do this step in patching mode.
Once the object has been created, open up the help file, and you can see that it programmes presets through messages, which will instruct the object to ‘store’ data into the different presets.
Therefore, you need to create a message that says, ‘store 1’ and link it to the preset object. After this is done you need to set the synthesiser up to your desired settings, before clicking on the message. You will that the first box on the preset object will turn a light grey. This means that your preset has been set.
You can continue to do this for how many presets you want, changing the store number each time. At this point you can also create separate messages stating ‘1’, ‘2’, etc, which will recall each preset for you. Add these to Presentation Mode.
After you have created all of your presets, you will want to create one more, but setting all of the elements in the patch to zero. This will then act as our reset button. As we have only decided to created three presets, this reset will be stored into 4.
However, instead of adding the ‘4’ message into our Presentation Mode, you can attach a bang to the message, and add that to the presentation mode instead, as it will still trigger the fourth option on the preset object, but will simply look different. Therefore we have three preset options for our synth, and a bang which will reset the patch.
The Final Steps
The final step for to this monophonic software synthesiser is to export it.
Firstly, ensure that when the Max MSP file is opened, it opens in Presentation Mode, rather than the patcher itself. To do so, go to View > Inspector Window, and scroll down to where it says ‘Open in Presentation’. Ensure that box is ticked.
There are multiple ways to export a Max MSP Patch, but we will be exporting it as a standalone application.
Under file, click on ‘Build Collective/Application’. A ‘build’ window should pop up, giving you options of what you want to happen when the application opens. However, as we are not using any additional audio, video, or files, you can just click ‘Build’ at the bottom of the screen and ensure it is saved to the location of your choice.

Congratulations! You have just built a monophonic software synthesiser from scratch using Max MSP. This should hopefully provide you the skills and tools needed to continue on your software synth journey using Max MSP.
Want to share your finished piece? Drop an image on socials and tag us!
If you haven’t yet downloaded Max MSP, Cycling 74 are offering a four week free trial.
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